Have you ever found yourself in this predicament? You’re late for an appointment and halfway to your destination you run into a sign that says, “Road Closed Ahead.” The sign isn’t exactly blocking the way forward so you decide to proceed anyway. At first there’s no trouble. But then the road turns into gravel, and then mud. Now you’re in danger of getting stuck and it’s clear that there is no way forward. You’ve wasted precious minutes and now you’ll really be late for your appointment. You should have taken the warning seriously and not ventured down that road.
That’s what Abraham’s nephew Lot learned on his journey of faith: take God’s warnings seriously. That’s also what the people of Sodom and Gomorrah should have done, and what we should do. Let’s find out more.
Last Sunday we heard the LORD tell Abraham that he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. In turn, Abraham pleaded that God not sweep away the righteous with the wicked. He was thinking of his nephew Lot who lived in Sodom and who was still a believer. Lot demonstrated his faith in the concern he showed for the angels, who, as far as Lot knew, were just normal travelers passing through Sodom. When they walked into the city, Lot insisted that they spend the night at his house and not in the town square. Lot also prepared a meal for them, though you wonder just how hungry they could have been after the feast Abraham had recently fed them.
Before they could settle down for the night, men of all ages came to Lot’s house and demanded that he produce the two visitors so that they all could have sex with them. What struck me is how we are told that it was men of all ages, both young and old, who wanted to engage in this sinful behavior. So no, it’s not just the young who struggle with sin, so do senior citizens. I don’t think any of you would argue that point, but could it be that we adults are often quick to condemn the actions of young people while ignoring our own sins? We accuse the youth of being disrespectful, but we ourselves think nothing of mocking those God has placed in authority over us. We lament the foul language that spews forth from adolescents, while the same foul language courses through our minds, though we might be “grown up” enough not to say what we’re thinking.
As the mob clamoured for the visitors, Lot went out to try to reason with them. You have to admire his courage. Lot was more concerned for his visitors’ safety than his own. But then your heart sinks when you hear Lot say, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them” (Genesis 19:7, 8).
What? It was wicked for men to want to have sex with other men, but not wicked for Lot to offer his daughters to this mob? Have we also adopted Lot’s attitude? Do we, for example, think that the sin of homosexuality is worse than other sexual sins, like letting our eyes linger where they should not? And are we callous to our sins of greed, of gossip, of going through the motions of worship, but excuse ourselves by saying, “At least I’m not a practicing homosexual!” But what was it that Jesus once said? “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3) Fellow members, let it be said of this congregation that we are bold in condemning the sin of homosexuality, but let it also be said that we are bold in condemning and confessing our own sins, every single one of them. For if we ever make excuses for our sins or downplay their danger, then we’re not taking God’s warning against sin seriously and that’s utterly foolish!
As it was Lot himself barely escaped God’s judgment. When the mob started closing in on Lot, the angels grabbed him and pulled him back inside the house. They then blinded the crowd so that they were disoriented and couldn’t even find Lot’s door. The angels warned Lot to get out of the city because God was going to destroy it. But when Lot raised the alarm with his future sons-in-law, they thought he was joking.
I bet you have plenty of friends who think you are a joke for believing that God is going to bring this world to an end with fire. But notice how Lot himself had a hard time taking the angels’ warning seriously. Instead of grabbing his family and running for the hills as he had been urged to do, Lot hesitated. Did he think the impending judgment wasn’t going to be so bad—that he could wait it out in the cellar? Even after the angels grabbed Lot and his family and forcibly led them out of the city, Lot pleaded that he be allowed to run to a nearby village instead of into the hills. Even at that crucial moment Lot was trying to make compromises with God. That’s not what strong faith does, however. It takes God’s warnings seriously.
Like Lot do we make compromises? Do we think that dabbling with sin or surrounding ourselves with sinful scoffers isn’t so dangerous? Oh but it is. Look at what God did to Sodom. He burned it to ash. As powerful as the two A-bombs were that fell on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, some people still survived. But God’s judgment of Sodom and the surrounding cities was so complete that no one survived, not one person except Lot and his two daughters. Even the vegetation burned. It seems that this area is still lifeless today, for many Bible scholars believe that Sodom and Gomorrah now lie underneath the aptly named Dead Sea, where nothing can grow because of extensive salt deposits.
Fire is coming again, friends, so take these words of Jesus seriously: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:17, 18). The only way to escape God’s judgment on sin is to put your faith in Jesus. Running to Jesus is like ducking inside the house to avoid big hail stones falling from the sky.
I assume you have done that—you have run to Jesus. But will you stay with Jesus until the very end, or will you eventually stop taking God’s warnings seriously, as did Lot’s wife? The angels had instructed Lot and his family not to look back at Sodom as they fled. Lot’s wife did, however, and she was turned into a pillar of salt! Let me make it clear that this wasn’t a casual glance in the rearview mirror that did her in. The Hebrew word translated as “look” is the same one used in Psalm 34:5: “Those who look to [the Lord] are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” People who merely give God a glancing look will not be radiant come Judgment Day. No, it’s only those who look to God for salvation the way a drowning man looks to a life buoy to keep him afloat who will be saved. So when Lot’s wife looked back on Sodom it was with longing. She yearned for life to go on as it had. Apparently she had no qualms about living in such a sinfully filthy place. But as she looked back, the judgment meant for Sodom’s inhabitants overtook her. Either God miraculously turned her skin and bones into a salt deposit, or the salty sulfur falling from the sky buried her where she stood, the way the ash from Mt. Vesuvius buried people in Pompey. Either way we shouldn’t think that this detail is an exaggeration, for Jesus himself said: “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:28-32).
Take this warning seriously, dear Christian and remember Lot’s wife when you think you can hold on to heaven’s treasures and this world’s trash at the same time. It doesn’t work. Sooner or later you won’t be content to hold on to this world’s trash with one hand. You’ll want more—more house, more car, more toys and heaven will slip out of your hands without you even realizing it.
While God’s hatred for sin is obvious in this true story about Lot so is his love and mercy. How else do you explain why God would make the effort to save Lot? Why not just say: “To hell with him. He made his bed there in Sodom and now he’ll have to lie in it.” Even when Lot was hesitant to leave, the angels took hold of his hand and practically dragged him to safety. In the same way God’s love for you is serious. Jesus took hold of you and dragged you safely out of the path of God’s wrath that was bearing down on you like a Mack truck. God’s wrath over your sins missed you, but it ran over Jesus. But this same Jesus did not stay dead. He has risen. He lives. He will come again—this time to judge. Will you be ready? By God’s grace you will be. For in baptism God dragged you away from Satan’s iron grip. And every time you study the Bible, God pulls you closer to him away from Satan’s incessant swipes to snag you back.
While you might be able to ignore a “Road Closed Ahead” sign and proceed without too much trouble, the same is not true of God’s warnings. If you keep ignoring what he has to say about sin, you’ll pay for it just as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah did. But you don’t have to be an outright scoffer like the citizens of Sodom to miss out on heaven. Lot’s wife may have outwardly seemed like a believer, but her heart gave her away when she looked back on Sodom with yearning. Pray that God drives out of you all yearning for sin—whether it’s the sin of homosexuality, or the sin of cutting corners at work, or the sin of refusing to forgive another. Pray that he does the same in the hearts of your fellow travelers that we may all reach the glorious joys of heaven. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
How did Lot demonstrate his faith?
In what way(s) are we like the citizens of Sodom?
Why should we keep in mind these words of Jesus whenever we read the account of Sodom and Gomorrah? “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)
(not covered in the sermon) Lot was willing to offer his daughters to save the visitors who had come to his house. How is that similar to God offering Jesus for the sins of the world? How is it different?
(for further thought at home) Lot’s sons-in-law thought he was joking when he warned them about the impending judgment. What parts of God’s Word are you tempted to treat like a joke?
(2 questions) When Jane heard the story of Sodom and Gomorrah for the first time she said, “I understand why God would punish Sodom and Gomorrah, but I don’t get why he would punish Lot’s wife!” How would you respond? And what warning is there for you in the way God dealt with Lot’s wife?
Explain: God’s judgment on Sodom was serious, and so was his love for Lot.
