TITLE: THE JUSTICE OF GOD IN THE DAMNATION OF SINNERS
SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 18:20-33
This challenging topic “THE JUSTICE OF GOD IN THE DAMNATION OF SINNERS” originates from a sermon by American Christian Theologian - Reformer - Author - Pastor -- Jonathan Edwards, originally published in the year 1734.
Edwards, who was actually a Puritan preached the sermon during the First Great Awakening (1730–1755) in a series of sermons entitled "JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE" in 1734. The result of Edwards' preaching was the beginnings of a great revival in Northampton and along the Connecticut River Valley in the winter and Spring Of 1734-5. During this same period, more than three hundred of Edwards' congregation made professions of faith. "THE JUSTICE OF GOD IN THE DAMNATION OF SINNERS" was preached against the principles of Arminianism, namely the disabling effects of original sin, free will and the tendency to make morality the essence of religion.
I want to plant my flag this morning in the midst of this familiar OT text found in the book of the Beginnings – Genesis and filter it through this challenging thought as penned by Rev. Edwards over 270 years ago.
When you think of Sodom and Gomorrah, what comes to your mind?
• God’s wrath and fiery judgment?
• The truth is that God was not all out to judge the people of Sodom and Gomorrah
• He was not on a sin hunt
• He was, in fact, on a righteousness hunt!
This is evident because if God was on a sin hunt, He would not have allowed anyone to consider stopping Him. But we know that He let Abraham in on what He was about to do and even allowed Abraham to entreat him. Rev. Jonathan Edwards in his sermon argues -- THAT SINCE GOD IS AN INFINITELY PERFECT AND HOLY BEING, ANY SIN AGAINST HIM IS AN INFINITELY HORRIBLE OFFENSE THAT JUSTLY DESERVES INFINITE PUNISHMENT.
• He shows how all sinners tend to have too high a view of themselves and too low a view of the infinite perfection and holiness of God
• By the end of the sermon, he has powerfully shown that none are deserving of heaven and that God would be perfectly just in damning us all to hell
• But, in His mercy, He has made a way through Christ to save all who put their trust in Him
Note that Abraham began his encounter with the Lord with an over-inflated view of the people of Sodom. He figured that there must be at least 50 righteous people living there.
• But as he proceeded, he grew less and less sure of his figures
• Finally, he whittled his most hopeful number down to ten
• As it was, there was only one barely righteous man in the whole city
• I PETER 4:18 “AND IF THE RIGHTEOUS SCARCELY BE SAVED, WHERE SHALL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER APPEAR?”
Abraham's prayer for Sodom -- really for Lot and his family -- is an amazing revelation of the faith of one man in the justice of almighty God and an incredible boldness of a mere human before the Creator of the Universe. Abraham seems to stand before God alone; yet wields significant influence over God's actions.
Let me take a moment and set the historical stage in context of this exciting text for our examination. Years prior Abraham had immigrated to Canaan along with his nephew Lot, but as the uncle he retained a strong obligation to protect his nephew, a member of his extended family.
• Lot had settled in Sodom, a sinful city in the fertile valley near the Dead Sea
• The kings of Mesopotamia would eventually attack Sodom and carried off Lot and other residents as slaves
• Abraham raised his own personal military force, attacked the Mesopotamian Army by night, rescued Lot, and returned him to his home
Lot, once again, finds himself and his family threatened by another overpowering force – this time, God himself.
• And Abraham finds himself contending for Lot before the Lord
• Abraham has entertained three men
• It turns out that two of them are angels on their way to Sodom and the third is Yahweh himself
• Here is where our narrative of the text begins
Earlier God has told Abraham that "THE SIN OF THE AMORITES HAS NOT YET REACHED ITS FULL MEASURE" -- so He isn't ready to punish the Amorites at this time. But now, the sins of Sodom have indeed reached the point where a righteous God must punish them.
• Throughout the ages God has shown mercy to peoples that have sinned
• If God destroyed us for our sins, who would remain?
• But God is merciful, giving us a chance to repent
• Nevertheless, Sodom's days are numbered
• There is a time that judgment must fall and that time has come
Abraham is under no illusions. He knows how bad Sodom really is. He knows how truly wicked the city and its leaders are, evidenced by the fact that he refused to accept anything from the King of Sodom.
• He knows that when the Lord's angels observe the sins of the city, he will be obligated by all that is right and holy to destroy it
• But Abraham feels an obligation to protect his own family from that destruction
Now when God proposes something, as he does here in proposing to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, he always enlists a man as his partner. So, we have here a picture of God talking to himself or perhaps speaking to the other part of the Trinity - He says, "SHALL I HIDE FROM ABRAHAM THE THING I AM ABOUT TO DO?" and He begins to list to himself the reasons why He should include Abraham in his plan. I firmly believe God’s list could be called, "The Rights Of Friendship." Here is where Abraham earned the title which is given to him in both the Old and the New Testament, "...THE FRIEND OF GOD” -- II CHRONICLES 20:7 - ISAIAH 41:8 - JAMES 2:23.
This is fascinating to me as well as remarkable that Abraham was termed the friend of God. The Great - Almighty - Ever-Present - All-Powerful - All Knowing God was the one who made this statement. It is God who calls Abraham His BFF.
• This was not Abraham’s assessment of his relationship with God
• Nor how he thought about God
• It was a statement that God made about Abraham
We have all met many, many people over the course of our lives to the present and, no doubt, we will meet many more in the future. However, only a comparative few have ever been, or ever will become, our close friends. One of the most obvious reasons as to why, is that of agreement. Think about it for a minute.
• Our very best friends are those who agree with us on the greatest number of really important issues
• Friends think alike
• We can be on friendly terms with others
• That is, having pleasant and warm conversation with them, enjoy seeing them from time to time
• But our closest friends are those who think like us
Clashing Minds - Diverging Opinions - and Preferences do not really make for close relationships.
• In the words of the old saying, birds of a feather flock together
• So, it was in the case of Abraham and his friendship with God
• He was in total agreement with God
True friends are loyal and faithful to one another when the going is easy and when it gets tough –
• True friends support each other
• True friends sacrifice for each other
• True friends are dependable – they’re always there when needed
• I wonder if God can call any of us this morning – His Friend
The relationship Abraham enjoyed with God was a remarkable one by human standards – but tremendously encouraging for us.
• God is not a partial God
• He is not a respecter of persons
• God doesn’t involve Himself in Cliques or narrow, exclusive groups of people that only a few can enter
• Rather, He extends the hand of friendship to all of those in His family
• If we follow the example of our spiritual forefather Abraham
It is not enough to have this favored position with God. I think many Christians believe that because they have accepted Jesus Christ, all God has, is now open to them. But there must be the walk, the daily appropriation of what he is, so that we learn to walk in righteousness. When we do, then God begins to share revelation with us. I think the reason some people get a lot more out of the Bible than others is they have learned this two-way relationship - God loves to reveal his position with His people.
Before He judges the cities of the plain, God carefully investigates the charges and probes to see what the conditions are. Then he tells Abraham that He is going to destroy these cities. Actually, he does not specifically tell Abraham what he will do, but when Abraham hears the ominous words, "I WILL KNOW," then he knows what God will do.
• Abraham knows all the unbridled lust
• The foul acts of homosexuality
• The open passion for obscenity
• The lurid and salacious attitude that permeated all public and private life in these cities
• Abraham knows that the cities doom is sure
God's proposal not only enlists the partnership of man, but is based on an impartial and careful justice. The Lord says to Abraham in VS. 20 "BECAUSE THE OUTCRY AGAINST SODOM AND GOMORRAH IS GREAT AND THEIR SIN IS VERY GRAVE, I WILL GO DOWN TO SEE WHETHER THEY HAVE DONE ALTOGETHER ACCORDING TO THE OUTCRY WHICH HAS COME TO ME." This, of course, is the language of accommodation. God does not need to go down and visit any city in order to see what is going on. He is using Abraham's own language to express the truth which reflects his nature. He talks as though a great outcry has been coming up to his throne from these wicked cities.
When I read this, I can't help but think that every sin of man is like a voice crying out from earth to heaven.
• What kind of a cry must be going up from America today as a result of the terrible flood of pornography inundating our theater programs and our literature
• The tide of immorality that is sweeping across this country
• God, according to this record, sees it all
• God is walking in our streets and taking note of all that happens to us
• He visits our homes and marks everything, misses nothing
• He invades our most sacred privacy
• Even our thoughts and subconscious ideas are naked and open before Him
This is where this truly remarkable account takes an interesting twist.
• I wonder what we would have said if we had been in Abraham's shoes
• I think some of us would have wrapped our robes of self-righteousness around us, and said -- Good for you, Lord; they've got it coming
• I wondered just how much you could take
• I've long since had enough"
• Or perhaps we might have said, "Lord, do you mean you are going to destroy the city?
• All these wonderful people -- I know they are evil, Lord, but they mean well. They have just been carried away a little bit
• Don't be too hard on them." Perhaps we would have interceded in that way
Abraham approached God and said: "WILL YOU SWEEP AWAY THE RIGHTEOUS WITH THE WICKED? WHAT IF THERE ARE FIFTY RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE IN THE CITY? WILL YOU REALLY SWEEP IT AWAY AND NOT SPARE THE PLACE FOR THE SAKE OF THE FIFTY RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE IN IT? FAR BE IT FROM YOU TO DO SUCH A THING -- TO KILL THE RIGHTEOUS WITH THE WICKED, TREATING THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED ALIKE. FAR BE IT FROM YOU! WILL NOT THE JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH DO RIGHT?"
Abraham had no time for self-righteousness, smugness, or sentimental nonsense however. When these two angels left to go down to the city, this would have been the cue for Abraham to say goodbye and get back to his tent. But it appears that Abraham did not let the Lord go. He stood yet before the Lord. There was something on his heart, and we see in this dialogue the emotion, the strong passion, that is awakened in this man's heart by God's proposal.
I imagine when Abraham viewed this large city that in essence he set the bar pretty low by lifting there must surly be at least 50 people in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah that are living or at least attempting to live for the Lord. Abraham recognizes the mercy of God. Notice that he says, Lord, suppose there are fifty men in the city that are righteous. Wouldn't you spare the whole city for them? Notice the way he is arguing. This is so easily misunderstood. ABRAHAM IS NOT TRYING TO SHAME GOD INTO DOING THE RIGHT THING BY APPEALING TO HIS SELF-RESPECT IN THIS REMINDER, "SHALL NOT THE JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH DO RIGHT?" -- as a parent might shame their child into doing right.
• God does not need anyone to remind him to do right, or to tell him it would be wrong to slay the righteous with the wicked
• Rather, Abraham is basing his appeal on the knowledge of God's nature
• He knows God would never destroy the righteous with the wicked
• Now he is asking him to go further and spare the wicked for the sake of fifty righteous
• Abraham is recognizing the basis of God's mercy in every age since then
I recall hearing about a Preacher walking past a Church Bulletin Board one day and noting the announcement of the sermon: "IF I WERE GOD." "'If I were God'" -- that's an interesting title for a sermon.
• "If I were God, I'd just lean down over the battlements of heaven, take a big, deep breath, and blow this earth out of existence!"
• Why has not God done that long, long ago, with all the shameful record of human defiance, rebellion, and depravity which history records?
• It is because of this very principle to which Abraham appealed: There are righteous here
Note that Abraham began his encounter with the Lord with an over-inflated view of the people of Sodom. He figured that there must be at least 50 righteous people living there. But as he proceeded, he grew less and less sure of his figures. Especially since God agreed with him so quickly.
Over the course of the next few minutes, Abraham boldly bargains God down from 50 to 10 righteous people that would prevent God from destroying Sodom -- and the Lord agrees. Abraham dares go no lower.
Throughout this bold prayer, Abraham asks for the Lord's indulgence, repeatedly acknowledging his own humble place before Almighty God -
• "NOW THAT I HAVE BEEN SO BOLD AS TO SPEAK TO THE LORD, THOUGH I AM NOTHING BUT DUST AND ASHES...." 45 -- (VS. 27)
• "MAY THE LORD NOT BE ANGRY, BUT LET ME SPEAK...." 40 & 30 -- (VS. 30)
• "NOW THAT I HAVE BEEN SO BOLD AS TO SPEAK TO THE LORD...." 20 -- (VS. 31)
• "MAY THE LORD NOT BE ANGRY, BUT LET ME SPEAK JUST ONCE MORE...." 10 -- (VS. 32)
Here is a fine balance of humility, knowing our place, and yet boldness, taking the opportunity that God has given by inviting us to intimacy with him, the King of Heaven.
• This is praying with two factors in mind --
1. The joy of having God as our Father
2. Maintaining the realization of God's awesomeness
My question in this text is -- why does god bargain with Abraham?
• God could have said, "What I plan is just -- because I say so!"
• Certainly, God is the Judge of All the Earth
• He would have been justified in destroying that wicked city and all who chose to live in it
• Or he could have said, "Abraham, frankly there aren't even ten just people in Sodom. Don't waste your breath"
• Be he didn't
• Instead he engages in dialog with Abraham to see how far Abraham's faith will take him
Notice, this bargaining session, that Abraham is not offering to do something in return for God's favor -- trying to buy God's response.
• We don’t find – Lord if you heal me of this or bless me with this or that I will go to Church more or Tithe more
• Instead Abraham is appealing again and again to God's own gracious and righteous character
• This is the kind of bargaining that doesn't demean God by cheapening His response into a transaction, but exalts God by magnifying his righteousness
• By insisting that his great righteousness requires Him to spare the city for even ten righteous persons
THE JUSTICE OF GOD IN THE DAMNATION OF SINNERS. God was not out to destroy then, how much more today, when God has already judged our sins in the body of His Son?
--At the cross, Jesus exhausted all of God’s fiery judgments until there was no more fire of God’s wrath left for us!
--Today, God is not judging us for our sins because He has found the righteousness of One Man—Christ Jesus
--So do not let anyone tell you that God judges you for your sins and punishes you with cancer, car accidents, business failures or brokenness
--God would be unjust if He punished the same sins twice — in Jesus’ body and then in yours
--Beloved, God is not out to judge you but bless you today
--Not because you deserve it, but because Jesus was judged and punished in your place!
--Oh! But don’t be deceived or mistaken
--For those that don’t have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ
--For those that don’t know Jesus for the pardon of their sins
--They will experience -- THE JUSTICE OF GOD IN THE DAMNATION OF SINNERS
