In 1 Timothy 4:1-2, we read, “The Spirit says clearly that some people will abandon the faith in later times; they will obey lying spirits and follow the teachings of demons. Such teachings are spread by deceitful liars, whose consciences are dead, as if burnt with a hot iron.” (GNT)
Our conscience is that precious gift that God has placed inside each one of us, so as to discern right from wrong. The purpose of our conscience is to counsel and sensitize us when we do wrong, and to prompt us to do what is right and pleasing to the Lord while here on earth, as one day we must all stand before the judgement seat of God to give an account for all that we did in our life time.
In 1 Timothy 4:1-2, Paul explains how in the last days, many people will lead lives wherein their conscience is seared or dead. The searing of our conscience can be compared to using an overheated iron box on a fabric and getting it completely burnt or ruined. Just like a burnt dress will be of no use, no matter how expensive it was, so also if we constantly still the voice of our conscience, and choose to deliberately keep on sinning, there will come a time when our conscience will become ineffectual to us. This searing of the conscience does not happen all at once, but is gradual process that pulls a person on the downward path, and often the person involved does not even realize where it all began.
Learning from Lot’s life
Lot journeyed with Abraham
In Genesis 12:4 we read, “When Abram was seventy-five years old, he started out from Haran, as the LORD had told him to do; and Lot went with him.” (GNT)
God called Abraham to come out of the land of Haran to the land that the Lord had promised for Abraham, and his descendants to possess, and Lot who was Abraham’s brother’s son accompanied him on this journey because Lot perceived that God was with Abraham. Both of them started out on this faith journey not knowing what lay ahead of them, but simply trusting the fact that the God who called them was faithful.
We further read in Genesis 13:5 that “Lot also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and servants.” (GNB)
The call and promise of God was to Abraham, but because Lot associated himself with Abraham, he too received God’s abundant blessings. The Lord blessed Lot, just like He did Abraham with sheep, goats and cattle as well as giving him his own family and servants.
When we associate with children of God their blessings will become ours as well, but on the other hand if we cohort with the wrong people, we will miss out on all the blessings that God intended for us to have. If we partner with people of faith, and spend time with those who speak words of faith, our faith too will grow and we be strengthened. That is also why we must be wary of being addicted to news channels most of which thrive on broadcasting bad news, for by constant exposure to such information, our minds are filled with fear and anxiety. Therefore, instead of filling our minds with the atrocities that are happening around us, we must discipline ourselves to read and hear words of faith from the word of God, which alone can strengthen our walk of faith.
Proverbs 13:20 says it this way, “Keep company with the wise and you will become wise. If you make friends with stupid people, you will be ruined.” (GNB)
If we desire to have wisdom and act wisely, we must have as our accomplice those who are wise. There are times when we encounter an adverse situation, and the Lord strengthens our faith through the prayer and encouragement of fellow believers. However, sometimes we are also in close friendship with others, who speak negatively, and as we give heed to those people and allow their skepticism to influence us, we will find that our faith begins to dwindle. If we are eager for our faith to grow, it is important that we choose to be in the company of those who are walking and exercising their faith in God every day.
Lot parted ways with Abraham
In Genesis 13:7, we read, “And there was an argument between the keepers of Abram's cattle and the keepers of Lot's cattle.”(BBE)
Lot was blessed greatly by the Lord because of his partnership with Abraham, but as their livestock increased on both sides, there was a dispute that arose between Abraham’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen as the land was not sufficient for all the herds to graze on. The disputes led to arguments between the two parties, which ultimately lead to their separation.
We read further in Genesis 13:11, “So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself and moved away toward the east. That is how the two men parted.” (GNB)
Lot chose the Jordan Valley purely based on what he beheld with his physical eyes, but the moment Lot parted from Abraham, he began to lose out on all the blessings that were his earlier, when he remained in fellowship with Abraham.
The dispute among the disciples of Jesus
In Luke 22:24, we read of “An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be thought of as the greatest.” (GNB)
There were disputes even among the disciples of Jesus. If we were to study the background to this verse, we find that Jesus had just then celebrated the Passover meal, and predicted to his disciples that he was going to suffer and die for the sins of all mankind. The disciples paid no heed to Jesus’ agony, but were busy arguing as to who would be the greatest. The disciples had the best master, teacher and example in Jesus, but even they allowed the enemy to sow seeds of disunity and discord among themselves.
There is so much of division today in families, church and society. Generally when there is a problem in the church, the blame is thrown on the pastor. In many families, husbands and wives are opting out of their marriages over insignificant arguments and misunderstanding without realizing that this is totally against God’s will and plan for families. Divisions are always the clever scheme of Satan, and his only goal is to bring dissension and disharmony in relationships.
Many families have stopped going to church, and being in fellowship with other believers because they want to avoid any sort of disagreements and disputes that prevail in a fellowship. They therefore opt to stay at home and watch messages and programs that are televised in the comfort of their homes. God’s word exhorts us in Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.”(GNT). There is no church, pastor or group of believers who are perfect, as we all have faults and failings, but the good news is that we are all moving on towards perfection.
Lot moved towards Sodom
In Genesis 13:12-13, we read, “Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled among the cities in the valley and camped near Sodom, whose people were wicked and sinned against the LORD.”(GNT)
The Bible described Sodom as a land whose people were wicked, and who sinned against the Lord, and it was toward this land that Lot moved. As Lot set his camp outside of Sodom, he must have observed the evil and treacherous ways of the people of that city. Lot continued to live in the vicinity of Sodom and over a period of time, he too became complacent and began to move towards becoming a citizen of Sodom.
King David’s downfall
David was a mighty king, a worshipper of God, and a wonderful person. But at the time of war David decided to stay back in his palace. Lazing around one afternoon, he let his eyes roam and saw a beautiful woman, the wife of Uriah, with whom he committed adultery, and from then on it was a downward spiral for David. He plotted and killed Uriah, and in spite of all his wrong doing he felt no remorse whatsoever, as he had stilled the voice of his conscience and in the bargain seared his conscience. It was only when the prophet Nathan confronted him, did David repent and seek the Lord for mercy and forgiveness as he expressed his grief in Psalm 51.
The searing of one’s conscience does not happen overnight, but gets there as a result of willful disobedience to the voice of God, and the word of God. There’s much obscenity that is portrayed both on the television and internet and if one is not cautious and would view these profane images as harmless entertainment, there will come a time when their conscience will be seared and they will have stilled the voice of God completely in their lives. It is better to nip these bondages in the bud, rather than let them grow and become a snare to our soul.
Like Lot and David it is possible for any one of us to fall into sin, and be in a place where we can still the voice of our conscience. In matters pertaining to relating to the opposite gender, irrespective of how young or old we are, we must exercise extreme caution, avoid being together alone, as both men and women are vulnerable to fall into this snare. Sin will never overtake us suddenly, but it will over a period of time, if left unchecked, overpower us and enslave us. Today many people have gotten into relationships through social media, and what started off as an innocent and casual friendship has landed many in immorality and adultery. When the conditions are conducive a small seed can grow and become a huge plant, so also a small sin that is left unrestrained can become a tool in Satan’s hand to ensnare and enslave us into bondage.
Lot moved into Sodom
We read in Genesis 14:12, “Lot, Abram's nephew, was living in Sodom, so they took him and all his possessions.” (GNB)
Lot first camped outside Sodom and later moved into Sodom for we read in Genesis 14:12 that when Kings from other nations attacked Sodom, they carried away Lot and all his possessions.
In Genesis 19:1, “When the two angels came to Sodom that evening, Lot was sitting at the city gate.” (GNB)
Later as we read in Genesis 19, Lot was sitting at the gate, probably now an elder in the city of Sodom because it was the elders who generally sat at the city gate. If we observe the sequence of events, we realize how Lot was gradually lured into Sodom and soon he and his family became a part and parcel of this sinful city.
Let us long to have a good conscience before the Lord, and in order to do that we must be sensitive to the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives, and seek to set right anything that is not pleasing to Him. If we allow those so called inconsequential sins to grow, we will soon come to a stage where we can no longer hear the voice of our conscience, and will be in danger of being ensnared by the evil one who will bring great destruction in our lives.
Lot guarded himself but his wife was ensnared
In the midst of all the sin and wickedness of Sodom, Lot was able to protect himself, and be a righteous man, but Lot was not alone, he had his wife and children. When the Lord decided to destroy Sodom, He graciously took Lot, his wife and children out of Sodom, but Lot’s wife was so captivated by Sodom, that she looked back and became a pillar of salt. Lot’s daughters had become so used to the immoralities of Sodom, that they did the detestable thing by sleeping with their own father, in order to have offspring, as their conscience also was seared with time from being associated with the wicked and adulterous lifestyle they witnessed while living in the land of Sodom.
Here’s a word of caution to parents. The wrong choices we make in life will have adverse effect on our children, and for the generations to come. Our children observe us and imitate our actions. If we do not live good lives, our children will do the same irrespective of how much we tell them or warn them about what is right and wrong. The Lord wants us to be the salt of the earth, but if we live in disobedience to the voice of the Lord and our conscience, we too like Lot’s wife will become a pillar of salt, of no use to anyone. Let us surrender our lives to the Lord, give no room for compromise, be cautious in all our relationships and yearn to have a healthy and good conscience. Daily let us discipline ourselves to give heed to the voice of God, live in obedience to the word of God, and the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
