Grace in spite of sin (Genesis part 35)
Text: Genesis 19:30-38
By: Ken McKinley
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A couple of weeks ago we looked at Genesis 18 and we saw that God had revealed to Abraham His plan to bring judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah. And we saw Abraham intercede for whoever was righteous in those places. And God said that He would spare those cities if there were just 10 righteous people there. Last week we saw that there weren’t 10, and God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. And I also told you last week, that this isn’t a story about the good guys and the bad guys… it’s a story about bad guys and a good God.
Now before we go on and look at our text; there’s something we’ve got to look at, that will help us understand God’s point of view in this, and I think it kind of adds to our understanding of how serious God takes the sin of unbelief. So turn with me to the New Testament, the book of Matthew 10:11 – 15 (Read). Now this was Jesus teaching His disciples about sharing the Good News. And about what happens to those who reject the Gospel. As terrible as the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were, Jesus said that those who reject the Gospel are liable to an even worse punishment… an eternal punishment!
We need to keep that in mind as we look at our text this morning.
Now I told ya’ll last week that I was tempted to skip this chapter in Genesis… This chapter is one of the clearest depictions of the depravity of man. But that’s exactly why we go through these books like we do. I would imagine that there are very few preachers would pick Genesis chapter 19 to preach on; and unfortunately, because of that, very few congregations get to hear what God’s Word has to say about these things. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, you all have to decide.
So let’s set the stage for our text; Sodom was a community without Christ. The people had rejected God, and God gave them over to their own sins. It’s explained how this happens in Romans chapter one. In 2nd Peter however; we’re told that Lot was righteous. But we saw last week, and from our text this morning, that Lot doesn’t seem very righteous. And so what we learn from this passage is that Lot was a man, who was part of the covenant community, but he was filled with worldliness. Was Lot a believer? Well based on 2nd Peter, and based on God delivering him from His wrath; I would have to say, yes… yes he was. You might ask how that is possible? And I would say it’s only by the grace of God. So I would say that based on Scripture, Lot was a believer, but he was filled to the brim with worldliness.
When Lot had escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, it was his choice to go to Zoar, but verse 30 tells us that he became afraid. And really who could blame him. He just saw Sodom destroyed because of their wickedness, and he goes to Zoar, and most-likely they were wicked too, and Lot’s thinking to himself, “I’ve got to get out of here!” And so… he goes and lives in a cave. Now think back a little bit, about what has happened to Lot. When he and Abraham went their separate ways, Lot chose the best land, the most fertile plains, but the allure of Sodom pulled him in, and as he made his way in Sodom, he ended up being placed in a position of prominence. He had some power and authority. And life looked really good for Lot for a time; but eventually, he began to reap what he had been sowing. There are some lessons to learn here.
First; we see where striving towards materialism will lead, Lot had gone after the material things, and ended up in a cave. Second; we see that the people we associate with can lead to sin, Lot associated with sexually immoral people, and ends up committing incest. We also see a connection between drunkenness and sexual immorality as well. Lot’s sin wasn’t that he had a drink, it’s that he engaged in drunkenness. And anything that clouds your ability to think clearly and removes your inhibitions can lead to bad decisions that you might regret later on in life.
But before Lot engaged in his drunkenness, something was already way wrong. Just think about the mindset that had to be in play here. Lot and his daughters barely make it out of Sodom alive. They go to Zoar and decide that it’s probably not a safe place either, and they run to the mountains and live in a cave, but they manage to bring the liquor? What’s up with that? That goes back to that twisted and corrupted thinking. “Hey our cities about to be destroyed, make sure you grab the whiskey and the 12 pack.” Kind of shows you what their priorities were doesn’t it? And I'll just tell you, that's a prevailing mindset in our world today. Awhile back there was this guy named Harold Camping... he's a false prophet, who was predicting the end of the world... and I came across a Facebook page that was mocking this guy... Camping... but the problem with this was that the people on this particular page were saying things like, "Hey; if the world ends, we should sleep with as many people as possible before it does." Or, "Hey if the worlds about to end we should all get stone cold drunk, and party til we puke..." Over and over again there were posts like this. And it shows you the mindset of people today. It's messed up.
And a lot of people say, “Well Lot was so drunk here, he didn’t know what was happening. His daughters are the ones to blame for this.” Yes, that’s true. Each of us is responsible for our own decisions, our own actions, and our own behavior. But we’ve also got to ask the question, “Who raised Lot’s daughters and who taught them right from wrong?” They learned from their father… You know… and look at what he taught them? Lot taught them that sexual perversion was alright by his choosing to live in Sodom in the first place. He taught them that they were worthless by telling that mob of perverts that they could do anything they wanted to with them. His actions and his lifestyle, whether they were obvious or subtle is what led to this. On the other side… yes the daughters are responsible for their decisions and behavior as well, but just like Lot’s mind had been darkened by the world and sin to the point where he thought his solution of giving his daughters to the mob outside of his house was an acceptable and reasonable solution… his daughters minds were so darkened by sin and worldliness that they thought that their sinful act with their father was an acceptable solution as well.
And that’s the danger of sin. It’s the frog in the pot analogy. They say that if you take a live frog and drop it into a pot of cool water and then slowly heat it to a boil, it will stay in the water until it’s cooked. But if you drop a live frog into a pot that is already hot, it will immediately jump out. Sin is deceptive. A little bit here and a little bit there, and at first we hate doing it, and we plan to repent and ask forgiveness, but then… after awhile, you’ve moved on to bigger and bigger sins and those little ones aren’t even so bad anymore. And then as time goes on, it’s even bigger sins, and the ones that used to be the “big” sins aren’t so bad now, and the ones that used to be “little” sins aren’t even seen as sinful. And it goes on and on, and your mind becomes more and more twisted.
This story of Lot and his family should remind us that all of our decisions are significant and that ideas and beliefs have consequences. Lot’s lifestyle, and his behaviors and his actions all ended up having consequences. The people that came from the sins of Lot and his daughters… the Moabites and Ammonites would end up being some of Israel’s greatest enemies. So in-other-words; Lot’s great, great grandchildren would end up going to war, and fighting, and murdering his uncle Abraham’s great, great, great grandchildren. Not only that, they would lead them into idolatry and sin. The Moabites got them to worship Ba-al and the Ammonites got them to worship Molech.
So Lot has messed up! Seriously messed up!
But our God is a God of grace. Ya’ll know that God doesn’t see time like we do. He see’s everything at once. He is omniscient – He knows all things. He sees all things. And out of all this wickedness, God uses it for His purpose. Later on, God would appoint a Moabite woman to be the grandmother of King David, which means that there is a Moabite in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus. And as you know; Jesus would offer salvation to all nationalities, even those people whose ancestors are Moabites and Ammonites. We don’t read about that in Genesis… it’s not until we get to the Book of Ruth that we see God working this out in accordance with His will.
Ruth was a Moabite. She was a descendent of Lot and one of his daughters. But thanks to a godly woman named Naomi; Ruth was converted and became a believer. She then married a man named Boaz, who was also a believer. And when you follow the line of their family you see King David, and you see Jesus Christ. Romans 8:28 says, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purposes.”
People say, “Well Kenny, you don’t know how dysfunctional my family is.” And I say, “You don’t know how good, and merciful and gracious my God is.”
And so when we look at this story of Lot, and Sodom and Gomorrah, and all that takes place here; there are two main themes that come to mind… at least to my mind. And that’s that God is a God of justice and grace.
Matthew Henry in his commentaries said, “From the silence of Scripture concerning Lot henceforward, we may learn that drunkenness, as it makes men forgetful, so it makes men forgotten…” We don’t know what happened to him, we know who his ancestors were, but we never again hear any more about Lot. We really don’t hear about him until Peter mentions him. 2nd Peter 2:3 says that Lot was… “a righteous man, who was profoundly troubled by the evil around him.” And I guess that would include his own evil actions. The problem with Lot was that he didn’t consistently stand for what he believed in. He didn’t cause any change in his community – he just wanted to do his thing, keep his faith private and not rock the boat, he didn’t do any evangelism, and he didn’t raise his daughters in a Christian environment… He knew what was right but didn’t practice it, and it got to the point where he didn’t know right from wrong anymore.
Let me tell you how this applies to me personally. I look at my two girls there, and I ask myself, “Am I raising them in a healthy home? Am I teaching them right from wrong? Am I raising them up in the way that they should go? Do they know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior?” And I look at myself and ask, “Are my actions and behaviors… the things I do and say… are they teaching something to my girls that I don’t want? Or are they teaching them what it means to be a Christian? Am I living in such a way that when my daughters get married, if their husbands are like me, would I be happy or sad?”
And here’s how it applies to all of us. If you are a Christian here today, I want you to ask yourself, does your family, friends, and community know it? Or is your faith hidden? Now I’m not talking about beating them over the head with the Bible and condemning them. One of the biggest problems we have is condemning the world for acting like the world. We want to condemn non-believers for acting and living like non-believers… of course they’re going to live like non-believers; that’s what they are. Jesus never said to go into all the world and tell the world to live like Christians.
No; He said go into all the world and preach the Gospel. It’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is the power of God unto salvation. And to be saved means to be born again by an incorruptible seed and given a new nature. And until a person has been given this new nature by means of the new birth, they are going to live in accordance to their old nature. Their sin nature. And for us to tell non-believers to live like they have a new nature when they still have their old nature would be like telling a cow to be a dolphin and a dog to be an eagle. Are you letting the light of Christ shine, in your words, your attitudes and in your life? Because that’s what’s going to create those avenues that allow you to share the Gospel with others. And it’s going to confirm that the Gospel has in-fact changed you yourself to an unbelieving world. And more importantly; to your family.
Second point of application; I said earlier that I believe that, based on Scripture, Lot was a believer… but being a believer did not exempt him from the consequences of his sins. Lot’s life was filled with pain, sorrow, and regret. He lost his job, his livelihood, his wife, and the last thing we see of him is that he committed a terrible, immoral, sin. His actions went on to produce the Moabites and Ammonites…
Grace is not a license to sin, and our sins will always have consequences, sometimes long reaching consequences, that can not only hurt us, but hurt our friends and family, in ways that would break our hearts if we could see them.
Third point of application, and then we’re done. Maybe you’re here today and you can relate to Lot… (not in his is specific sins, but in the fact that you haven’t lived as you should). Let me just tell you, God’s grace is greater than our sin. Jesus died for that very purpose, so that God’s grace could be shed abroad in your heart and so that you could be forgiven. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, where you’ve come from, what kind of upbringing you’ve had.
God’s grace is greater.
CLOSING PRAYER
