READ: Exodus 34:6-7
CHALLENGE: Experience God’s Salvation
- UNDERSTAND THE REALITY OF JUDGMENT
Let’s understand who God is in light of judgment.
Exodus 34:6-7 – And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
God is compassionate. God is gracious and slow to anger and rich in love. He forgives our sins. That’s such a comforting side of God and it’s hopeful. This provides us the opportunity to repent and get our lives right. God can wipe your slate clean!
For instance, the wicked city of Nineveh escaped God’s punishment by repenting during the preaching of Jonah. However, Sodom and Gomorrah never did change their ways. God is gracious, but he doesn’t leave the guilty unpunished. And please notice that it never says that God never gets angry, it just says that it takes a while. Do people believe that God is so patient that he will never deal with them and their sin? That’s bad theology and bad theology leads to bad life choices.
The righteous and wicked can both be happy about God’s love and patience. The righteous are also happy that God does not put up with nonsense forever and that He will set things right. Ultimate justice gets us through some ugly situations.
As it says in Romans 12:19 – Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. God heard how the Sodomites violated people and his angels experienced it so He’s about to settle the matter. There will be justice!
Romans 1:18 – The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”
The wrath of God is against wicked things that people do. Against people who suppress God’s truth by their evil choices. Suppress means to purposely hold the truth down as one might press down on a beachball to keep it under the water. However, it takes continuous effort because it always wants to come back up to the surface. God’s wrath is against those who are suppressing the truth about Him.
John the Baptist asked, “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath”? What did John the Baptist see? Wrath is coming. You read Revelation and it’s all about God’s righteous judgment being poured out on the inhabitants of the earth and it’s terrorizing! I don’t know how much of the Old Testament you’ve read but God’s anger it’s nothing to trifle with.
God’s wrath and the concept of judgment is something that we must factor into our thinking lest we get caught off guard. 2 Peter 3:10-11 – But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
Everything will be gone someday. Since this is true, what kind of people should you be? It should impact our lives, right? How can we escape it? Our hope is in Jesus. John 3:36 – Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
God’s wrath is never removed from those who reject Jesus as it’s always there until they believe. Life and salvation comes through believing in Jesus Christ.
God punished Sodom for rejecting the truth and living in rebellion. Is that fair? I mean that God would punish these people who have a different perspective. The men of Sodom knew that what they were doing was wrong because they told Lot that they would do something worse to him. As soon as you say, “We’ll treat you worse”, you know that what you’re doing is bad. It was deliberate.
Romans one says that God’s invisible qualities have always been known so all men are without excuse. Romans 2 says that all of us have a conscience given by God. A code of right and wrong has been downloaded into our hearts. So, what is coming on Sodom and Gomorrah has been earned over and over again. They are without excuse, as are we. Our best hope is Christ.
- Reality Means We Warn Others
Genesis 19:14 – So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
Lot warned his future son-in-laws. He told them that Sodom would be annihilated. As it says in Ezekiel, the job of the watchman is to warn of danger and then it’s not on them. I’m sure that Noah warned the people around him of the flood, but they didn’t take any of it to heart. He was called a preacher of righteousness. I’m sure it sounded crazy until it became reality, but they were told .
When I was a boy, I heard about heaven and hell both and it didn’t take a rocket science degree to figure out that I wanted nothing to do with some eternal burning destiny. I give my junior church teachers credit for at least warning me about it.
When I put my faith in Jesus, it was super clear to me that I was avoiding something. I wanted to avoid judgment. Christianity is WAY more than that for me but that’s where it started. I wanted forgiveness and to have a ticket to heaven. Since then it’s about living the right way as Christ transforms your behavior and attitudes. It’s a happy way to live.
Let’s revisit John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
God sent Jesus and he died on the cross. Why was that? So that we would not perish. So, what is part of the salvation message? You might perish. What does that mean? In the classic story of Lazarus and the rich man, there was a place of comfort and a place of torment. The rich man talked about the agony of the flames as he persistently thirsted in the perpetual awareness of his pain.
When we believe in Jesus, we cross over from death to life. We’re already on the death side of the equation and need to find life. There is salvation, but why would you want to be saved unless you realize that you’re heading for death? Salvation from punishment is part of the gospel.
- Reality Means Avoid It
He tells them to get out of this place. This place has no future – run! It would be like someone warning every bug that lives in our wood pile, get out. Someday, don’t know when, but these logs are destined for the fire, you shouldn’t be here! You need to move out. A wise bug wouldn’t live in a wood pile because it will wind up in a fire place or fire pit. It’s inescapable. This is our world!
All sin, and all are in the wood pile. We need to get life through Christ. We get out of the wood pile destiny when we place our faith in Jesus.
This is how precarious our spiritual condition is without Christ! Jesus asked a question about 18 people killed when the Tower of Siloam fell on them. Luke 13:4-5 – Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
It was repent or perish! You have to get out of this sinful lifestyle and Jesus is the answer.
When Covid was around, many did everything they could to avoid that because they didn’t want to get sick and die. OK, but then what? We were concerned about our physical well being, what about our spiritual well-being? Jesus said, don’t be afraid of the one who can kill your body. Be afraid of the one who can kill your body and soul in hell. That’s what we should worry about.
We don’t want to hang out in the proverbial Sodom.
- Reality Means Take It Seriously
What was the response of the future son in laws? They thought he was joking. They didn’t take it seriously at all. I’ve seen this snarky attitude before where Christianity is made to be a joke. Yeah, judgment. That’s never going to happen. Hell means warm beer.
I remember a man making fun of me at work and saying, “How do I get a ticket on the express train to hell”? I keep working. He’s back of me, “Choo choo chug chug chug”. I turned around and said, you’re asking the wrong question. “The question isn’t, how do I get on, the question is, how do I get off?!
There is also something in the Bible called the second death and that’s telling as well. It when we’re separated.
Revelation 20:14-15 – Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Here’s Lot finally getting serious about people leaving the sinful city. He talks to the men pledged to be married and they thought it was a joke. Why is that? Nothing has ever really happened. God’s not really going to punish us. It’s normal thinking – nothing has happened so far!
However, if you don’t take it seriously, you may never get ready. You think that nothing has ever really happened so nothing ever will really happen.
This is the second death. While I don’t understand everything about the Lake of Fire, I do understand that I don’t want to go there. I need to find that escape.
- ESCAPE JUDGMENT THROUGH MERCY
Vv15-16 – With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.
What is the hesitation about? This is humanity. Even when we know that we need to make a change, sometimes, we what? We delay! Sin can get comfortable and we’re looking at the ideal aspects forgetting the ruinous parts of it. Once God points something out to you, don’t delay. As it says in the Bible, “Today, if you hear his voice, don’t harden your heart”.
Fortunately for him, the angels did not allow him to hesitate. They took him by the hand. They urged him. This means they pressed him to hurry!
Illustration:
Now, when the Holy Spirit is urging you and reminding you to make some changes, make the changes. When he’s putting the shoes in front of you and making it clear, there’s no point in delaying!
- God’s Part – He’s Merciful
If it weren’t for God’s mercy, Lot would not have been spared. God’s compassion was Lot’s only way through. What is mercy? It’s the emotion that allows something or someone to get spared. It’s moving you to action in order to save. If God would not have intervened, Lot would have perished.
Illustration:
Does God have compassions on sinners? Yes! God has compassion on the wayward. He pities us enough that he’s making a move to do something. God saves Lot. And it’s a great depiction of what saving looks like. You’d be dead if he didn’t! The angels grabbed his hand and led him out. Destruction is immanent and they get him out of harm’s way.
God is in the saving business. Again, there was sin, punishment, and rescue. God saves. God isn’t just feeling sorry for us. God is saving us.
Jesus said to the thief on the cross. Today you will be with me in paradise. When we cry out to God we find mercy! If you believe you’re going to heaven today, then you must believe it’s by the mercy of God. Only God can save.
How much of our lives is because of God’s great mercy?
Lamentation 3:22-23 – Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
God’s compassion is seen in salvation to the answers of prayers.
- Our Part – Flee from Judgment
Vv17-20 – As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! 19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
It’s interesting that he says to flee for your lives! Your life depends on you fleeing. And don’t stop. Don’t go halfway! There was salvation and they had to run to it. For us, we run to Jesus who saves us. Where do I need to go? What is setting my direction? Jesus!
When there are things that are destroying us – get away from it completely. There are certain patterns and spiritual places just as destructive. Run! Are you doing your part to get away from destructive patterns in your life? Have you run?
Run like Joseph ran from Potiphar’s wife! Get away from it.
- DON’T LOOK BACK
Vv 23-29 – By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
What a terrible and incredible sight this must have been. The cities and entire plain were leveled and all was charred ashes. They were specifically told, “Don’t look back”. When God says, don’t look back, don’t. His wife turned into what is described as a pillar of salt because she stopped to look at the destruction. The disaster was coming so fast there was no time to stop. Her looking back allowed her to get caught up in it in the blast of it all.
They say when Mount St Helen’s was destroyed that the blast wave was moving at 200-300 miles and hour. You weren’t going to out run it! Her stopping to contemplate all that was back there, to mourn, to wish, killed her.
When you leave temptation, don’t look back. There is no going back. Some leave addiction then just take that one more drink or hit because they think it cannot hurt. It’s SO dangerous. Don’t think you left something good behind you ‘cause you didn’t.
Jesus Christ said that when you put your hand the plow you don’t look backwards. You can’t plow straight looking back. He said, if you look back longingly on the old ways, you’re not worthy of the kingdom of God. There’s nothing there.
When Israel was freed from bondage of Egypt they wished to return. We had better food. We’ve been brought here to die. Appreciate God’s salvation and remember that he’s taking you somewhere better.
Let’s note the power of prayer. Abraham’s prayer was remembered and Lot was saved. He was fortunate to have and uncle like Abraham.
Judgment is coming. Only God through his mercy can save us. When you’re saved, don’t look back at the world. There’s nothing there – just leave.