Remember Lot's Wife

Remember Lot's Wife

Introduction: This past Wednesday was Women's Day, a day to remember women's rights, and the Lord calls his disciples to remember one woman in Luke 17:32. There is no warning in all the Bible more sobering than this one. The Bible says that Lot was a righteous man, but apparently his wife was not, it seems that she was just a professor of religion. Heaven may have been upon her lips but Hell was in her heart. Jesus doesn't ask us to remember Sarah, Hannah, Esther, or Ruth, but of the women in the Bible we are commanded to remember this one un-named woman, who is only known as Lot's wife. He singles out one woman who is eternally damned, and says, "Remember her." Jesus was on the subject of his Second Coming and how unprepared the people will be when he returns. He speaks as if we are all in danger of forgetting this important lesson. He speaks to us this morning to "Remember Lot's wife." (Introduction adapted from Joseph Clark's: Proclaiming Bible Truth Vol.1)

Transition: What is it about her that the Lord wanted us to remember? I want to point out three things that we should remember about Lot's wife. First, remember the disobedience of Lot's wife.

I. Remember the disobedience of Lot's wife

Lot was the nephew of Abraham and when the two of their clans chose to part ways because of the arguments that were rising up between their herdsmen, Abraham chose to go to Canaan. Lot chose to live in the well watered low lands of Jordan. Lot pitched his tents near Sodom where the people were wicked and exceedingly sinful.

Because of the wickedness in the city of Sodom and Gomorrha, God was going to destroy the city but after Abraham pleaded for his nephews life, God sent two angels to deliver Lot and his family from the city that he was soon going to destroy.

When the people of the city saw the two angels go into Lot house they demanded Lot hand them over so the Sodomites could rape them. It shows you just how depraved they were when their lusts had them screaming for the rights to abuse God's angels. After they tried to manhandle Lot out of the way, the angels blinded them so they couldn't find Lot's door and after Lot and his family hesitated, the angels grabbed Lot's hand and his wifes hand and his two daughters and they took them out of the city as God was raining down burning sulfer on it and as they were leaving, the angels gave them the command not to look back at Sodom. Only one disobeyed: Lot's wife.

There are many things we could examine about Lot, such as why he chose to give up his tent life to live in a town full of sin? or why would a righteous man want his bones to be laid down in a place like Sodom? But we are not told to remember Lot, we are told to remember his wife, who in this case was his worse half.

Let's remember whose wife she was. She was the wife of a man who, with all his faults, was a righteous man. She was united to him in the closest possible way and yet she perished. We should remember that grace isn't passed on through the blood stream. you can be married to the most saintly man and still be the devil's daughter. Lot's wife was there when Abraham received the promises from God, she was there when Melchizedek came to meet Abraham, she literally held the hand of God's own angels and in spite of all of these great priviliges she died graceless, hopeless, godless, and unbelieving.

Jesus said "they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven." Lot's wife may have outwardly conformed to her husbands religion but the world was in her heart and she determined that not even the grace of God was going to take it out. We may be saved by grace but it is only through faith that we can receive it. Lot's wife never had any saving faith - evidenced by her unwillingness to accept salvation on God's terms and as a result, damnation naturally followed.

She lived her life in divine opportunity. She was surrounded by God's people, living directly in recorded history, God's wonderful plan was being played out all around her and yet what good did it do her. None whatsoever.

You can be so close to salvation and not be saved. You can be next to God and not have him in your heart. You can go to the best church and have the best preacher and still be lost. Gehazi was Elisha's servant; Demas was Paul's co-worker; Lucifer was one of God's angels; Judas was Christ's disciple; and yet they are all damned.