The Descent into Sodom

The Bible describes Lot as a righteous man (2Pe 2:7,8) who had left Ur of the Chaldeans and traveled with Abram to the land of promise. Yet, we find Lot living in the city of Sodom (Gen 14:12) a city described as "exceedingly wicked" (gen 14:13) , being tormented daily by the sin he saw around him. How did he come to be there? And why did he remain there?

Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

Then Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me: if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left."

And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere-- this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-- like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. (Gen 13:5-11)

Both Abram and Lot had prospered. Now their prosperity was creating problems, friction between their servants. And now Lot faced a choice. But note, his real choice was not between the plain of the Jordan and the hill country; his real choice was between his possessions and following Abram and God. Lot could have said, "Dear uncle, I love you and the Lord more than these flocks, I will sell my possessions that I might continue with you. After all, they are but sheep and goats." But he didn't say that, rather:

Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere-- this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-- like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. (Gen 13:10,11)

Lot had separated himself from Abram in order to retain his own possessions. His heart had betrayed him. The next time we encounter Lot, he is taken captive along with his wife, children, servants, and possession, as well as all the inhabitants of Sodom. Abram comes to the rescue, and in this victory we see the difference between a heart that is held captive by possessions and a heart held captive by the Lord.

When Lot had separated form Abram, he was offered the choice of the land, Abram said,

"Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me: if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left." (NAS Genesis 13:9)

Abram gave first choice to his nephew, he would be content with whatever was left. And here, at his victory, Abram refuses to take a reward from the king of Sodom saying,

And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.' I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share." (Gen14:22-24)

Jesus warns us repeatedly about the dangers of possessions. In His parable of the soils He says:

"And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (NAS Matthew 13:22)

Is this not precisely what happened to Lot? The deceitfulness of riches and the cares of the world had choked the Word of God and Lot had become unfruitful. In Genesis chapter 19, we find Lot seated at the gate of Sodom, perhaps trying to be a righteous judge and bring peace and justice to the city's inhabitants. Perhaps he thought that this was his 'ministry!'

How often do we do the same! We seek to fulfill the desires of our own heart. We pursue prosperity. We pitch our tents toward Sodom. And then we seek to justify our sin by telling ourselves that "this must be my ministry." Oh, how deceitful our own heart can be! How easily can the love of possessions creep in unseen and unsuspected and turn our hearts away from the Lord. Yet we continue to think we are fine, righteous, and servants of God. For we do not know that the first symptom of the disease is a loss of sight. We become blind to our own spiritual condition. We can not see the cancer that is growing within. Oh, we can still clearly see the sins of others, as also Lot did. And as Lot, we are tormented by the sin we see around us daily. But yet, we do not leave Sodom.

Why did not righteous Lot pack his bags and say, "I've had enough! The good life is not worth it. I cannot endure this sinful society any longer. I will sell my house, pack up my family, and return and dwell in the tents of Abram." How many times might Lot have said this to himself? How many times did he say "I can't take this evil city any more?" But he never left. His wife loved the place. His daughters were engaged to local men. To leave would surely cause strife in his family. So Lot must have decided that it was not practical to leave Sodom. He would serve the Lord in the gates of the city. Perhaps he could do some good there.

Now great multitudes were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and take counsel whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks terms of peace.

"So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

"Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Luke 14:25-35)

Delivering up his Virgin Daughters

Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

And he said, "Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square."

Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them."

But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof." (NAS Genesis 19:1-8)

Here we see the depths of darkness the unseen but malignant cancer of the love of possessions would bring us to. Look where Lot's compromise with the world had brought him! Look how the desire for the good life on the well-watered plains of the Jordan had blinded his spiritual eyes! All for the sake of his flocks!

Here we see the fruit of the deceitfulness of riches in all its rotten ugliness. Righteous Lot was about to give his two virgin daughters willingly over to a lust crazed mob. He would quench the fires of the mob's desire with the bodies of his own daughters. My God! Now the men of Sodom had become "my brothers"! Behold the madness of compromise! The man of God, seeks to "protect" the angels of the Lord from his "brethren" by throwing his daughters to them to be ripped apart.

But we are not like Lot, are we? We would never come to such low point. We, surely would never sacrifice our children for the ease of Sodom! Brethren, let us remember that Lot had lost his sight long before the angel of the Lord put out the eyes of the Sodomites. Do we not also dwell in Sodom. Have we not chosen to remain in the midst of the American culture, pursuing the American Dream? Have we not identified ourselves with the people of this land, calling ourselves Americans, pledging allegiance to its flag, and worshiping its idols? Have we not thrown our children to the Roaring Lion by sending them to public school to be trained in the ways of the world, seven hours a day, five days a week? We too, have chosen to remain in Sodom, because of family, jobs, possessions, and yes, even 'ministry.' God help us! God restore our sight! Grant us repentance! Send you messengers to call us out of the City of Sin, that city about to become The City of Destruction!

Then the men said to Lot, "Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it. "

And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, "Up, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city." But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

We cannot dwell in the midst of Sodom with our 'brother' citizens and be a true witness for the Lord. Not even our families will listen to us.

And when morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up, take your wife and your two daughters, who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city."

But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. And it came about when they had brought them outside, that one said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, lest you be swept away."

God remains faithful, even when we are unfaithful. Lot hesitated! In spite of everything and the express command of the Lord, Lot still could not bring himself to separate from Sodom. Oh, how the tentacles of this world had wrapped themselves around Lot's heart! The Lord had to take Lot, his wife, and daughters by force and put them outside the city!

But Lot said to them, "Oh no, my lords! Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your loving kindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest the disaster overtake me and I die; now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved. "

And still Lot is held captive by his desires. He bargains with God to let him dwell in one of the other cities of the plain rather than flee to the mountains where Abram lived. Lot was afraid he could not survive there. He trusted in the world and its riches more than he trusted God. He feared to leave the security of the well-watered plain with its prosperous cities. He feared this more than he feared God.

But we are different, right? If the Lord tells us to move, we will gladly leave our houses, our refrigerators, our TVs, our life insurance, our health insurance, our property insurance, our cars, our families, our soft beds in our air-conditioned, heated, comfort controlled homes. Right? We would leave the security of our jobs, our businesses, our clubs, our churches, and willingly follow the Lord into the wilderness. Right? Or do we, like Lot, remain in the land of Sodom because in the secret darkness of our own hearts, we love it more than we love God? Do we also bargain with God, asking to be allowed to dwell in this 'small' town near to Sodom? Do we ask to be granted permission to remain just worldly-lite?

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

"Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. "And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty. (2Co 6:14-18)

Yet, we too hesitate and cling to the world. Will God have to physically drag us out of the kingdom of darkness? What will He have to do to separate us from our love of this world and this land? He calls to us. He promises to protect us. He guarantees He will never leave us nor forsake us, and will provide all our needs. But still we hesitate. Still we say, "its not practical to obey the Lord." Again and again we water down His commands, telling ourselves that our hearts are not given over to the love of this world and the things of this world. We tell ourselves that we are in the world but not of the world. We deceive ourselves that we can live in the midst of Sodom and partake of the 'good life' and yet remain free from the love of money.

Producing Moabites and Ammonites

And Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters.

Then the first-born said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth. "Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father."

So they made their father drink wine that night, and the first-born went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. And it came about on the morrow, that the first-born said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father." So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. And the first-born bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. And as for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day. Gen 19:30-38

Doing God's work man's way. The daughters of Lot were seeking to fulfill the first commandment the Lord had given, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth" They were concerned that their father would not be able to find the husbands and they would be childless. So as Abraham and Sarah also did, they decided to take matters into their own hands and do God's will in their own way, according to their own wisdom. Abraham did this and produced the father of the Ismailites. Now the daughters of Lot would bring forth the Moabites and Ammonites to plague the People of God.

Certainly we do not do anything like this today! Except that is in our churches and our missions. Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations, but long ago we decided that we knew better that He how to accomplish the task. We decided in our wisdom that if we adopted the ways of the world to the service of the Kingdom, everything would go so much better. So we jumped into bed with the god of this world and produced our own races of cursed children to plague the Kingdom of God.

We have produced generations of half-christians. They attend church and may even go to bible-study, yet they are not disciples of Jesus and do not keep His commandments. Our evangelists call sinners to come forward and accept the Lord, yet it is a call stripped of repentance and cost. We would not want to add 'works' to the 'grace' of God! But our call is not the call of Christ. We have rejected the Gospel of His offer of pardon and a new life at the cost of giving up our own life, and replaced it with a cheap 'come forward', 'raise that hand', 'repeat this sinners prayer after me' salvation that can save no one. We build great barns, equip them with all the technology and techniques of Hollywood, hire carnival barkers for pastors who can make more promises and tell more lies per minute than any politician, tempt the lost with every goody we can think of, or with 'answers' to the 'felt needs' revealed by community surveys. And when we have filled the 'church' with an unregenerate mongrel people who have never known the Lord, much less committed themselves to follow Him to the cross; we slap ourselves on the back and tell God how successful we are at being His servants.

And a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus *said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." And another of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." But Jesus *said to him, "Follow Me; and allow the dead to bury their own dead." (Matt 8:19-22)

"So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. (NAS Luke 14:33)

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. " (Matt 28:18-20)

In this country there exists the so-called "grace" movement. As so well documented by John McArthur in his "The Gospel According to Jesus," and "The Gospel According to the Apostles", the true Gospel of Jesus has been replaced by a cheap substitute that replaces repentance and commitment to Christ with "making a decision for Christ" or "coming forward", or "believing the facts of the gospel." Jesus warned us that the way is narrow and difficult and only a few find it. American Christians have decided that there is a problem with the Lord's Way and have proceeded to build a new free-way removed a bit from the broad way that leads to destruction. This new way is broad and smooth with gently sweeping on-ramps. The highway is especially constructed of reinforced concrete to handle the biggest of 18 wheelers in order that the rich might be able to take all their possessions with them on a smooth and scenic journey to heaven. There is only one problem with the new route. Because it has to parallel the Way of Destruction to avoid the mountains and valleys of the Lord's Way, it also ends at the Lake of Fire.

Even worse (if that is possible) is the gospelers of gold; those preachers of greed that fill the air-waves of "Christian television." The other day I heard one teach that "God commands that we multiply our money." Appealing to the carnal desires of their audience, they line their pockets with the money of the hopeful and the naive.

And He said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble. (Luke 17:1-2)

Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.  These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. (Jude 1:11-13)

Our churches are filled with unbelieving believers! Moabites and Ammonites! How seldom does one encounter a true disciple of the Lord! For most, Jesus is just something added to their life, a life otherwise indistinguishable from the life of unbelievers.

Our God is a Jealous God. Jesus will not be placed on the shelf next to our other household gods. He will not occupy second place next to our house, or job, or family, or hobbies. He will not wait quietly in our living rooms while we fornicate in our bedrooms with the world.

Does the typical church of America produce disciples of Jesus? Absolutely not! The churches are far more a hindrance than a help. Take a poll. Ask Christians what discipleship is. And then compare the answer with what Jesus said. The churches teach that discipleship is:

• Tithing
• Regular attendance at all church meetings
• Actively assisting with the 'ministry' of the church.
• Avoiding the items on a list of NO-NOs.
• Bible study

This is the discipleship of the Pharisees, not of Jesus. Jesus says, "Follow Me." To be a disciple of Jesus means to follow Him. To sit at His feet and learn from Him. To do the things He does. It means committing one's self to Him without reservation. To make His thought one's own. To take Him for one's husband. To love, honor, and obey. To have the goal of becoming like Him and being always pleasing to Him.

There are many who would argue, "I may not be a disciple, but I'm a Christian, I believe in Jesus, I'm saved, and I'm on my way to heaven." But none dares ask, "can one be a Christian without being a disciple?" Can one? What do Jesus and the Apostles say?

Fundamental to the Gospel is the concept of Jesus as Lord. Yet for most 'Lord' is considered only a title or name. Jesus deals with us directly:

"And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great." (NAS Luke 6:46-49)

Obedience is a fruit of the New Birth. True faith produces action. We can sing "Yes Lord, Yes Lord" all day every day, but when the Lord tells us to do this or do that and we stick our finger in our ears and continue in stubborn disobedience, we show that He is not Lord at all in our hearts. If we do not wish to be ruled by Jesus, we show that we are not saved, and are fit only for hell - the eternal home of the enemies of God.

This is so common among those who call themselves "Christians" that one can only conclude that most have no real understanding of the New Covenant and have never been saved. Let us stop for a moment and take a look at the New Covenant:

"Behold, days are coming,": declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.

"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jer 31:31-34)

"For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." (Eze 36:24-27)

Here we have ten promises of what God will do in us through the New Covenant:

1. I will put My Law within you and write it on your hearts
2. I will be your God and you will be My People
3. I will make you all to know Me
4. I will forgive your sins
5. I will cleanse you
6. I will gather you
7. I will remove your hard heart and give you a new heart
8. I will give you a new spirit
9. I will put My Spirit within you.
10. I will cause you walk in My statutes and you will be careful to obey My ordinances.

In order to save us God had to deal with two things that separate us from Him.

• He had to deal with the problem of our sins, our unrighteous acts that make us guilty before the bar of Justice. God had to find a way to deal with what we've done, yet remain just and holy Himself. (Justification)
• God had to find a way to transform us from sinners into saints. Heaven is no place for those who are still enemies of God. We commit sins because we are sinners. God had to deal with what we are. (Regeneration, sanctification, and glorification)

Being justified (forgiven) is of no value without being regenerated and God will not do the first without the second. The unrighteous cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And yet multitudes and multitudes imagine that they are saved without their lives showing evidence of a New Birth. These are the Moabites and Ammonites that fill the churches. These are those who split churches over the color of the carpet in the sanctuary and fire godly missionaries who fail to conform to the manmade rules of the mission board. These are those who seek power in denominational offices and play politics in the temple. They are pastors who preach on Sunday and sleep with the church secretary Saturday night. They are every worldly deacon who thinks he should run the church rather than Jesus. They are the respectable, hard working, patriotic, sports-loving church-going men who are too proud to fall at the feet of Jesus. They are the devoted women, always ready to help at church or do good deeds, but are trusting in their own righteousness and have never been to the cross.

No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD (Deuteronomy 23:3)

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (Corinthians 5:17)