turn to Genesis chapter 19, where we'll be doing our study from. Thank you.
It's lovely to be with you again as we turn to God's Word.
And I have to thank Johnny for leaving this chapter to me. That's very nice of you, Jonathan.
I'll use that name. I know your mother uses that when she's not pleased with you.
So thank you, Jonathan, for the opportunity to look at this this morning.
I just put the title on it, Righteous Lot, with a question mark.
The New Testament calls Lot righteous Lot.
And really, when we read the chapter in front of us, you really ask, really, righteous Lot.
And it's easy to sit in judgment on someone else, another believer in another time and another culture,
and how that culture infects them and their thinking and their behavior,
without at the same time realizing how much our culture pervades our lives and our thinking.
And even as we read this chapter, you might find yourself responding to it in ways
that reveal just how much our culture has infected us and our thinking and our responses to God's Word.
So let's be aware of that as we hear God's Word this morning and as we read it together.
It's the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
A very somber story.
But we trust at the same time that it is written for our instruction and for our good,
that we might learn more about who God is and we might put greater trust in his Son.
So let's read Genesis 19 together.
It follows on just after Abraham has prayed for the city of Sodom,
where God has revealed to him that the destruction is coming.
And then we read,
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening,
and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city.
When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.
My lords, he said, please turn aside to your servant's house.
You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.
No, they answered, we will spend the night in the square.
But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house.
He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.
Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom,
both young and old, surrounded the house.
They called to Lot,
Where are the men who came to you tonight?
Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.
Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said,
No, my friends, don't do this wicked thing.
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.
But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.
Get out of our way, they replied.
This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge.
We'll treat you worse than them.
They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.
Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness,
so that they could not find the door.
The two men said to Lot,
Do you have anyone else here, sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you?
Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place.
The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.
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.
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.
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.
As soon as they 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.
But Lot said to them,
No, my lords, please, your servant has found favour in your eyes,
and you have shown great kindness to me in spurring my life.
But I can't flee to the mountains.
This disaster will overtake me, and I'll die.
Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small.
Let me flee to it.
It's very small, isn't it?
Then my life will be spared.
He said to him,
Very well, I will grant this request too.
I will not overthrow the town you speak of, but flee there quickly,
because I cannot do anything until you reach it.
This is why the town was called Zoar.
By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land.
Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah
from the Lord out of the heavens.
Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain,
destroying all those living in the cities,
and also the vegetation in the land.
But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Early the next morning, Abram got up and returned to the place
where he had stood before the Lord.
He looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah,
toward all the land of the plain,
and he saw dense smoke rising from the land,
like smoke from a furnace.
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.
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar
and settled in the mountains,
for he was afraid to stay in Zoar.
He and his two daughters lived in a cave.
One day the older daughter said to the younger,
Our father is old,
and there is no man around here to give us children,
as is the custom all over the earth.
Let's get our father to drink wine,
and then sleep with him,
and preserve our family line through our father.
That night they got their father to drink wine,
and the older daughter went in and slept with him.
He was not aware of it when she lay down,
or when she got up.
The next day the older daughter said to the younger,
Last night I slept with my father.
Let's get him to drink wine again tonight,
and you go in and sleep with him,
so that we can preserve our family line through our father.
So they got their father to drink wine that night also,
and the younger daughter went in and slept with him.
Again, he was not aware of it when she lay down,
or when she got up.
So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.
The older daughter had a son,
and she named him Moab.
He is the father of the Moabites of today.
The younger daughter also had a son,
and she named him Ben-Ami.
He is the father of the Ammonites of today.
Now we're going to end the reading there,
and somehow we're going to work our way through that together.
In recent years there's been much talk,
haven't there, about our carbon footprints,
the effects which the energy that we use
has upon the world in which we live.
And when you purchase certain products or services,
you can pay a little extra
to offset your carbon footprint,
and perhaps your ecological conscience.
There's little interest, however,
in what we might call our moral footprint,
the effects of the moral choices that we make in life.
But we need to make no mistake
that our moral choices have an effect upon those
who come after us.
The wickedness that we see in the city of Sodom
didn't just happen overnight.
It's the result of the moral footprint of previous generations
who've had a disregard of God's commands,
a disregard for human dignity,
and a selfish pursuit of personal pleasure.
What we see in Sodom is, first of all,
a complete disregard for God's commands,
and in particular in the area of sexuality.
Now, Sodom was obviously a place
that celebrated unrestrained sexual freedom.
Look at the crowd who gather outside Lot's house.
There described all the men
from every part of the city of Sodom,
both young and old.
There was no part of society
which was untouched by this unrestrained sexual freedom.
And many of these men that we read of here
had their own wives and children.
It's a picture of a society
that has completely thrown off the commands of God.
Now, we live in a part of the world
that other cultures in the world despise
for that very reason,
because of its immorality.
There are many people in the world
who reject Christianity
not because of our beliefs,
but because they associate Christianity
with the sexual immorality
of the Western world.
They look on at these so-called Christian countries
and are horrified
at the immorality that they see.
Now, if we're truly Christians,
we need to reject all expressions
of sexual immorality.
All expressions of sexual immorality.
Christians are often presented as people,
aren't we,
who are fixated with homosexuality
as though that were the only thing
that concerned us.
But the truth is
that we're also concerned
about a whole host of other
unrestrained sexual freedoms.
whether it's extramarital affairs
that people are celebrated for pursuing
and being brave enough to pursue,
whether it's rebounding polygamy
as a throuple,
or whether it's just simply accepting
that premarital sex
is the norm to be pursued.
As true Christians and followers of Jesus,
we need to see all of these
as a disregard of the commands of God
and call one another to live
by a different standard
from the world around us.
You see, sin is always,
above everything else,
a rebellion against the God
who made us for himself.
God's word teaches us
that the place for sexual relationships
is within the confines
of a lifelong marriage
between a man and a woman,
and when we choose to pursue
anything other than that,
we are rebelling against
the God who made us.
We're simply telling him
that we know better
and that we will pursue our desires
irrespective of his commands.
But the wickedness of Sodom
goes way beyond disregard
for God's laws
in the area of sexuality.
And rebellion against God
always results
in a lack of love and concern
for others.
And what we see in Sodom
is a complete disregard
for human dignity.
You see, the sin of Sodom
isn't only sexual sin,
it is violent sexual sin.
These men that gather
outside Lot's house
don't care about these men
that Lot has invited
into his house.
These men are simply
the objects of their lusts.
They will take these men
by force.
You see, a disregard
for God's laws
always results
in a disregard
for human dignity.
And we can see
the effects of this
even in Lot himself.
He treats his daughters,
his young daughters,
as objects
with which
he can barter,
offering them
to the men outside
if they will only
leave his guests alone.
You see, most sexual sins
are not only
a disregard
of God's law,
but a complete disregard
of human dignity.
Treating other people
as objects
to satisfy
our own desires.
Whether it's
prostitution,
pornography,
sexual abuse,
domestic abuse,
even what we conveniently
call casual sex,
all shows
a complete disregard
for human dignity.
Treating other people
as objects
to satisfy
our desires.
And the sad reality
that we have to face
is that that is where
all sin
leads.
a disregard
for God's commands
and a disregard
for human dignity
in the selfish
pursuit
of personal
pleasure.
The city of Sodom
reveals where
that pursuit
ends up
with such wickedness
that God
must bring
judgment
on this
city.
And what is true
of the city of Sodom
is true of
each one of us
as individual
people.
We can't
disregard
the commands
of God
and we can't
disregard
human dignity
in the pursuit
of our own
pleasure
and expect
that we will
escape
the judgment
of God.
Because God
is a holy
and just
God
who must
bring
judgment
on human
sin.
now when
Jesus was
on earth
he warned
of a
greater
sin
than that
of Sodom.
As he
sent his
disciples out
into towns
and villages
declaring
the arrival
of the
kingdom
of God
he warned
them
that while
some places
would welcome
them
in other
places
they would
be rejected.
And Jesus
said of those
towns
I tell you
the truth
it will be
more bearable
on that
day
that is
the day
of God's
judgment
for Sodom
than for
that town.
What could
be an even
greater sin
than that
of Sodom?
A greater
sin than
the selfish
pursuit
of personal
pleasure
without any
regard
for the
commands
of God
or for
human
dignity?
Well it
is the
rejection
of God's
Son
Jesus
it's the
rejection
of the
one who
came to
rescue us
from the
selfish
pursuit
of our
pleasure
it's the
rejection
of the
one who
came to
restore us
in the
image of
God
so that
we might
once again
love God
and love
other people
as we were
intended to
from the
very beginning
that is
the greater
sin than
the sin
of Sodom
and you
can be a
very moral
person
who is
disturbed by
the sin
that you
see in
the world
all around
you
but if you
are not
disturbed by
the sin
of your
own heart
so that
you see
your own
need of
Jesus
warns you
that it
will be
more bearable
for Sodom
than for
you
on that
day of
God's
judgment
as God's
judgment
is announced
and the
destruction
of Sodom
foretold
we see a
number of
different
responses in
the chapter
don't we
there are
those who
simply laugh
at the
coming
judgment
those who
cling to
what will
be destroyed
and those
who are
rescued
by God's
mercy
first this
response of
Lot's
son-in-laws
who simply
think it's
all a
joke
they don't
take Lot's
warning
seriously
they're very
much a part
of the city
of Sodom
and they
are going
to share
Sodom's
fate
doesn't the
apostle Peter
warn of
those who
will simply
laugh at
any talk
of coming
judgment
in 2
Peter 3
he says
you must
understand
that in
the last
days
scoffers
will come
scoffing
following their
own desires
they will
say
where is
this
coming
he promised
ever since
our fathers
died
everything
goes on
as it
has
since the
beginning
of creation
any talk
of coming
judgment
is simply
something to
be laughed
at
and ridiculed
but Peter
warns then
that people
have to
forget
God's
judgments
in the
past
you have
to ignore
the flood
in the
time of
Noah
you have
to ignore
the destruction
of the
city of
Sodom
and there
will always
be those
who laugh
at coming
judgment
and keep
following
their own
evil desires
and sadly
that was the
response of
Lot's
sons-in-law
and they
would face
the fate
of Sodom
but there
are also
those in
this story
who cling
to what
will be
destroyed
did you notice
Lot and
his wife
and his
children
they're
literally
dragged
out of
the city
by these
angels sent
to rescue
them
they
hesitate
and once
they're out
of the city
the angels
warn them
to flee
to the
mountains
and not
look back
but Lot
is still
reluctant
to go
he sees
another
nearby
town
and asks
if he
can go
there
instead
he finds
it so
hard
to pull
himself
away
from the
city
of Sodom
it's for
this reason
that Derek
Kidner
calls Lot
the righteous
man
without
the pilgrim
spirit
yes Lot
had a real
and living
faith in
the one
true God
yes Lot
was disturbed
by all the
sin that went
on around
him
and yet
he was
still
attracted
by what
had first
drawn him
to Sodom
in the
first place
in a lot
of ways
Sodom
had been
good for
Lot
he seems
to have
prospered
financially
he seems
to have
got to
a place
of recognition
and honour
in the
city
and now
that he's
got that
well it's
so hard
to pull
yourself
away
from it
to let
go
of what
will be
destroyed
can't we
too live
our lives
for what
will one
day be
destroyed
whether it's
financial
prosperity
the honour
of other
people
we can be
righteous
that is
right with
God
but without
a pilgrim
spirit
the knowledge
that this
is not
where we
belong
and that
we belong
somewhere
else
Lot's
wife
looks
back
and she
will become
a warning
to all
future
generations
Jesus
would simply
say remember
Lot's
wife
whoever
tries to
keep his
life
will lose
it
and whoever
loses
his life
will preserve
it
you see
she loved
this world
too much
and simply
was clinging
on to what
would be
destroyed
and if we
are living
our lives
only
for this
world
then we
too will
perish
with this
world
but there
were also
those in
this story
who are
rescued
by God's
mercy
and nothing
but God's
mercy
Lot and
his daughters
let's face it
they're not
model
believers
but they
did listen
to the
words of
the angels
regarding the
coming
judgment
and they
obeyed the
command
not to
look back
now they
couldn't take
any credit
for any
of that
it has
all been
of God's
mercy
he has
literally
dragged
them out
of the
city
but the
Lord had
remembered
the request
of Abram
and had
not destroyed
the righteous
with the
wicked
now there's
little from
Lot's
life that
many of
us would
call
righteous
but strangely
that's how
the New
Testament
refers to
him
in 2
Peter 2
and verses
7 and 8
Lot's
described as
a righteous
man
who is
distressed
by the
filthy
lives of
lawless
men
indeed
we're
told
that
this
righteous
man
living
among
them
day
after
day
was
tormented
in his
righteous
soul
by the
lawless
deeds
he saw
and heard
now just
in case
you didn't
believe it
it's repeated
three times
isn't it
Lot was
a righteous
man
he was a
believer
in the
one true
God
but he
had made
many foolish
choices
in life
he's not
being held
up to
us
as a
good
example
we're
not
being
encouraged
to rush
out and
buy his
new
best
selling
book
how to
get the
most out
of this
world
and still
be saved
from
destruction
that's
what some
of us
want
isn't
it
how can
I run
around
with the
friends
who party
and get
drunk
and sleep
around
and still
be saved
from God's
judgment
how can
I be
rich
and honoured
and people
look on me
well
and still
get through
this world
without facing
God's
judgment
as though
we can
have the
best of
both worlds
well that's
not what
Lot would
be encouraging
his book
would more
likely be
called
rescued
from a
life
that was
wasted
I'm sure
it wouldn't
sell as
many copies
but are
probably worth
more reading
destruction
did come
upon
Sodom
and the
remains of
Sodom
would be a
continual
reminder
of what
happens to
those who
live in
rebellion
against God
but when
I talk
about the
remains
of Sodom
I'm not
just talking
about the
ashes that
are left
on the
ground
after its
destruction
they were
also in
the hearts
of those
who had
been rescued
from Sodom
we have a
saying
I'm sure
you've heard
it that you
can take
the boy
out of the
street
but you
can't
take the
street
out of
the boy
well we
see a
very similar
thing here
in the
lives of
Lot's
daughters
you can
take the
girls out
of Sodom
but it's
much harder
to take
Sodom
out of
the girls
you see
Lot's
daughters
had grown
up surrounded
by the
immorality
of the
city of
Sodom
and in
the rest
of the
story we
see the
profound
impact
that Sodom
had had
upon them
Lot and
his daughters
abandoned
Zoar and
they choose
to live
alone in
the mountains
time is
ticking by
and the
daughters are
presented with
a problem
their father's
getting old
they have no
husbands
there's no
prospect of
children
they need to
preserve the
family line
and they hatch
a plan that
reveals the
effect that
Sodom has
had upon
them
they plan to
get their
father drunk
so that the
eldest daughter
can sleep
with him
in the hope
of becoming
pregnant
the next night
they repeat
the same thing
again with
the younger
daughter
you see the
remains of
Sodom can
be seen in
the hearts
of Lot's
daughters
they have no
thought of
God's commands
they have no
thought of
their father's
dignity
their only
thought is
the selfish
pursuit of
their own
desires
Sodom is
alive and
well in
the hearts
of Lot's
daughters
others
Jesus warned
that it is
from the
heart that
all kinds
of evil
come
when we
fail to
love God
and love
others as
we were
made to
do
we set
our hearts
upon the
selfish
pursuit of
our own
desires
others
and the
beginning of
the
Christian
life is
realizing
that I
don't love
God
and I
don't love
others
and that I
need my
heart to be
changed
if I'm ever
going to
it's the
very reason
that Jesus
came
to rescue
us from
the desires
of our
own hearts
and where
they ultimately
lead
so that we
might once
again love
the God
who made
us
and love
others
as we
should
the remains
of Sodom
however
stretch much
further
than the
hearts of
Lot's
daughters
at the end
of the
chapter
were pointed
to the
history of
Lot's
descendants
the Moabites
and the
Ammonites
if you're
to follow
on the
story a
little bit
further
what you'll
discover
is that
the Moabites
would later
lead the
Israelites
into sexual
sin and
the worship
of Baal
the Ammonites
would refuse
to allow
Israel to
pass through
their land
when they
were trying
to escape
from Egypt
the descendants
of Lot
would continually
trouble the
descendants
of Abraham
the remains
of Sodom
lived on
long after
the city
had been
destroyed
yes Lot
may have
been a
righteous
man
one who
believed
in the
one true
God
and was
rescued
from the
destruction
of Sodom
but we're
not meant
to ignore
the consequences
of Lot's
choices
what I
called at
the beginning
his moral
footprints
and they're
here as a
warning
for us
the sinful
choices
that we
make
have a
lasting
impact
in the
lives
first of
all of
our
children
and then
in the
generations
that are
to come
and there
is no
amount of
money that
you can
pay
to offset
your moral
footprints
so what
kind of
footprints
are you
leaving
behind
in contrast
to Sodom
and to
Lot
Abraham
was leaving
a legacy
of faith
of one
who simply
believed
God's
promise
who left
everything
trusting God
with his
future
and though
Abraham was
not without
his feelings
he is held
up to us
as a man
of faith
as an
example
worth
following
let us
pray
that God
might grant
us grace
to be the
same
let's pray
together
father we
know how
easy it
is to
sit in
judgment
as we
look on
at the
lives of
others
and even
as we
read the
life of
another
from a
completely
different
time
and a
completely
different
culture
and I
pray that
rather than
doing that
you would
help us
to turn
our eyes
towards
ourselves
and our
own
hearts
to
recognize
the
deceitfulness
of sin
in our
own
lives
to
recognize
the ways
in which
we have
shown
a
disregard
to your
commands
and a
disregard
to the
dignity
of other
individuals
and may
that cause
us to
turn
from the
selfish
pursuit
of our
own
desires
may it
cause us
to see
that we
are people
in need
of
rescue
and that
that
rescue
cannot be
found in
something that
we do
or something
that we
pay
but is
found only
in your
son
who would
give
himself
to pay
the price
that would
deal with
our sin
forever
father
father we
thank you
for the
joy of
knowing
sins
forgiven
but we
pray that
you would
help us
to grasp
something
of the
reality
of the
consequences
of our
sinful
choices
and may
that caution
us as to
how we
live our
lives
protect us
from being
people who
scoff at the
thought of a
coming judgment
protect us
from clinging
on to things
that will one
day be
destroyed
but rather
may we
be people
who
rejoice in
the mercy
that is shown
to us in
Jesus
who has in
the same way
that the angels
grabbed Lot
and his
daughters and
took them out
of the city
grabbed us
and dragged
us out of
the kingdom
of darkness
and brought us
into the kingdom
of the son
you love
and we ask
this in
Jesus name
amen
now as we
close we're
going to stand
together and
sing our
closing song
and my hope
is built
on nothing
less
new
to