Our Reaction to Sin
Introduction
What is our reaction to sin? People react to sin in extremely different ways. There are some radical groups like the Westboro Baptist Church that not only condemn sin, but condemn innocent people in the name of sin. For example, those Westboro nuts go and protest at the funerals of our servicemen all in the name of condemning homosexuality.
Others go to the opposite extreme and completely accept sin. Some even do so in the name of God. And they too will go out and carry signs condemning other Christians as evil because they don’t accept that sin. But most of us fall somewhere in between the extremes. We are not out there protesting, but neither do we accept sin.
What is the proper response to sin? And how should we react to those who are in the midst of sin? Do we condemn them? Accept them? Or just ignore sin altogether? The story that we are going to be looking at today in the book of Genesis goes a long way in helping us develop a right attitude towards sin and those involved in sin.
I. God Hates Sin.
First, let’s look at what God’s response to sin is.
Genesis 18:20-21 (NLT)
So the LORD told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”
Genesis 19:1-13 (NLT)
That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” “Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”
But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”
So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”
“Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door.
But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door. Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.
Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it.”
At first glance, God’s response to sin seems to be very cut and dry. These people sinned so God destroyed their city completely. But that is not the whole story here. Now it is true that God hates sin.
Romans 1:18 (NLT)
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
God hates evil. And I am not going to pick out any one sin as some do from this story. God hates all sin. In the New Testament we have several lists of sin let me read just a couple of them to you.
Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NLT)
Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
Now I want you to notice something about these lists of sin. They don’t rank sin. They give no indication that some sins are worse than other sins. They tell us that God hates all sins equally. Sexual sin, selfish ambition and gossip are all equally hated by God. And those who are living in sin will equally not inherit the Kingdom of God. In other words, the gossip is just as guilty as the murderer. Those who cheat people are just as likely to go to hell as an adulterer.
And, let me add this, we need to be the same way. We need to see all sin as equally evil.
Hebrews 1:9 (NLT)
You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.
We are to hate evil just as much as God does. We need to remember that because we are going to be attacked when we do just as Lot was attacked when he stood up against the evil of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 19:9 (NLT)
“Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door.
When Lot tried to keep the men of Sodom from doing evil they yelled, “Who are you to judge?” Things haven’t changed. If you dare to stand on God’s side against sin, then the world is going to attack you.
I could not count the number of times someone has said to me, “Who are you to judge?” when I stood on the truth of God’s Word against sin. And they will say the same to you if you dare to stand on the truth of God’s Word.
II. God is Patient.
But just because God hates sin does not mean that he is quick to judge. In fact, just the opposite.
Genesis 18:20-21 (NLT)
So the LORD told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”
Just like God did not flood the earth until the thoughts of man were only evil all the time, God did not judge the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah until their sins had become so great that He had no other choice. God gets no pleasure out of punishment. God does not want to judge anyone. There is a great passage of Scripture in 2 Peter that tells us of God’s desire not to judge sinners.
2 Peter 3:8-10 (NLT)
But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
God does not want to judge anyone. God does not want to send anyone to hell. God’s desire is that everyone would repent and be saved. And God will go an extra thousand years in the hopes of saving people from their sins. But the day will come when their sins become so great that God is forced to judge.
That day came for the whole world when God flooded the earth. That day came for Sodom and Gomorrah when he rained down fire from heaven upon them. And that day will come for the whole earth again when God destroys it all by fire. God hates sin. And at some point the sins of the earth will become so great that God will be forced to bring it to an end.
III. What Do We Do?
So God hates sin. And even though God wants to save, there comes a time when God must judge sin. But what about us? What are we supposed to do about sin and those lost in sin? I think that Abraham provides a great example of what we are supposed to do.
Genesis 18:22-28 (NLT)
The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham. Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
And the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”
Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
And the LORD said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.”
Genesis 18:32-33 (NLT)
Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?”
And the LORD replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
When the LORD had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.
God tells Abraham that He is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and what does Abraham do? He negotiates with God to save some. Even if there were just 10 righteous people Abraham wanted to see those cities spared. Couldn’t 10 righteous people make a difference? Couldn’t 10 righteous people turn the tide of sin? Couldn’t 10 righteous people save even more.
That needs to be our hope. Our job is not to condemn sinners. Our job is to lead sinners to repentance. Yes, we need to hate sin. But why? We hate sin because of what it does to people. We hate sin because it drags people down to hell. We hate sins because it keeps people from entering God’s kingdom.
1 Corinthians 9:22-23 (NLT)
When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.
Paul says that we need to do everything to spread the Good News. We need to do everything to save some. We need to do everything to share the blessings of Christ with others.
Tuesday. I went to a web site that had a live camera of Bourbon Street in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. And during one of those times there was a man there holding a sign that listed all those he believed were going to hell. It listed everything from politicians, to homosexuals, to Christians who believe in “once saved always saved.”
I looked at his sign and thought to myself, “What is the point?” What is the point of that sign? What good is it doing for the kingdom of God? What good is it doing for those who read it? And in the end I thought—Nothing. It had no point. It accomplished nothing good for the kingdom.
Now here comes the challenge for us today. I want you to ask yourself: “What is the point?” What is the point of your life? What is the point of your church attendance? What is the point of your stand on sin? If you are one of those who are quick to condemn sin, what is the point of the judgment that you pour out? If you are one of those who condones sin, what is the point of your faith? Is it accomplishing anything? If you are one of those who quietly sits by and ignores sin because it is none of your business, what is the point of your life?
We are called to make a difference. We are called to share the good news.
Abraham made a difference. Because he negotiated with God his nephew Lot and his two daughters were saved. Who is saved because of your commitment to the truth of God’s Word? Who do you need to be working to see saved because you know the truth about sin?
And what about you? Do you still need saved? God will judge us one day. All those whose names are not written down in the Lamb’s book of life will be judged. Is your name written down in the Lamb’s book of life?
