Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Genesis

Genesis 19:1-16 07/28/02

Intro: Have you ever asked yourself  'Why can't I  sin, just a little bit? I mean no one will know, no one will get hurt.  Just once in a while, can't I sin...just a little bit?'

     You know what we are really asking is  'Why can't I have it both ways? Why can't I be a Christian  and do what I want, when I want to do it?' Why can't I obey God say, 75% of the time and do my own thing 25%? In baseball if someone bats 750 they would be phenomenal. So why can't I have it both ways?

     To further justify this thinking, way back in the hidden crevices of our minds, where no one else ever hears, a little voice says... 'and besides, God will forgive me anyway. So what's the big deal?'

     It is sad but this is how many Christians live. They straddle the fence between obedience to Christ and obedience to self.
 These people don't reject Christ, in fact they openly profess Him as Lord..but they are not 100% committed to him.
 They have their jobs, families and fun to think about. And when push comes to shove, self will often take priority over surrender.

     Don't get me wrong, these are good people who expect to surrender to the Lord completely..one day, in the future, sometime... really they do..just not today.

     Do you know Christians like this? Are you one of them? Then listen hard, because Ch. 19 of Genesis should scare the self right out of you. It should cause you to separate yourself from the influence and tantalizing lure of the world and what it has to offer. And it should shock you to faithfulness when you see what happens when parents are examples to their children of a life of faith compromises. Remember with children, more is caught than taught.

     For the next two weeks in Ch. 19 we will look at what happens when a Christian compromises his faith and gives in to the pressure and attraction of the sinful world around them.

    My challenge to each of you this morning is  'learn from Lot and his family... so you don't become like Lot and his family.'

Read: Genesis 19:1-11

A faith compromised

     Our text begins much like ch. 18. The two men who visit Lot are the same two men (angels) who visited Abraham. Lot was sitting at the town gate, the entrance to Sodom. This was a place of power and prominence. Lot had made a name for himself in Sodom. He was a big deal in a very evil town and that was not a good thing.

 Anyway, Lot, like Abraham, extends gracious hospitality to the two men.  They enter Lot's home and before long there is a knock at the door. It is the city's welcome wagon. But not one you would expect. This welcome wagon is made up of all the men in the town..young, old alike. And they didn't come bearing homemade cookies in a wicker basket. They came wanting something from the two strangers. What did they want? Sex, homosexual relationshions, and Lot knew it.

     So he goes outside to talk to the men of Sodom, after all, he is a highly respected leader in the community, or so he thought. What he found out was the townspeople only tolerated him. And when push came to shove for them, when their sinful, sexual desires were aroused, nothing else mattered. They told Lot to give them the two strangers or they would do worse to him. So what does Lot do? What does his faith look like in crunch time? 'Hey guys come on, listen, I have two virgin daughters, take them and do what you want but leave these two strangers alone.

 This was not one of Lots finer moments as a parent and this fatherly display of love for his daughters, yea right, will come back to haunt him later. It was only by the providence of God, that Lot's daughters were not violated.

    Lot's response to the men of Sodom was typical for his straddling the fence spiritual state. It showed courage but compromise. Lot's sense of virtue displayed by showing hospitality and protection for his guests is compromised and becomes a vice when he offers his daughters as sex objects.

     A faith compromised believes that we can handle the sinful people, we can handle the sinful lifestyles, we can handle the sinful influence, we can even handle the little, once in a while sins.  The truth is, Lot couldn't handle it and neither can we. In the end Lot acted just like the sinful townspeople...no big deal, take my daughters...please.

    A faith compromised is a faith which suffers great consequences, as we will see.

The sin of Sodom

     Before we leave this part of our text, there is something I need to say. There is no doubt, whatsoever that the sin of the men of Sodom described here is homosexuality. And, there is no doubt whatsoever that God sees homosexuality as sin.
                                             (Lev. 20:13; Rom. 1:26-32; 1 Cor. 6:9-10;1 Tim. 1:8-10)

     The men of Sodom all approved of,  and practiced homosexuality, not just as an 'alternative' lifestyle but as the 'preferable' lifestyle. But did you know that homosexuality was not the only sin for which Sodom was destroyed.

Read: Ezek. 16:49-50

Read: Jer. 23:14

     Pride, hoarding of food, not caring for the poor, inhospitality, lying, adultery, violence and homosexuality, Sodom was guilty of them all. The people of Sodom carried on their unspeakable sinful behavior in the midst of everyday life, as if it were perfectly acceptable and normal. Sound familiar?

     It should, all these are present in our society today. And specifically, homosexuality is being promoted not just to be tolerated and accepted but eventually to be preferred.

     However, if  we think as Christians we can support gay bashing, be warned, that does not please God. Sin is sin and apart from Christ we are all guilty before God.

Read: 1 Cor. 6:9-11

     Christians are the company of the washed. And this text reminds us that it doesn't matter where the dirt came from. It was washed away by the precious and powerful blood of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.  What truly matters is that we were once dirty but now by God's grace and thru faith in Jesus Christ we are clean.. Amen?

     Homosexuals need Jesus just like you and I needed Him when we were in our sin. We must not let hatred ruin the testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

     Well back to the text. The men of Sodom are about to harm Lot so the angels pulled him into the house and blind the men of the town. They get confused and go back to their homes. The angels had saved Lot and his family. And this would not be the last time.

Read: Genesis 19:12-16

Lot's faith compromise caused disbelief in others

     God was going to destroy Sodom and all the sinful people living in it. But, God also made a way of escape for Lot and his family. The angels tell Lot to take his family and get out of town..or they will die. Lot, went to his son in law's to tell them of the coming judgment of God but they didn't believe him. The text tells us that they laughed at Lot and thought he was joking. Why would they think that?

     -Perhaps Lot's lifestyle was not godly. His walk didn't match his talk.
     -Perhaps Lot himself didn't seem too much in a hurry to leave town.

     This is a sad example of a compromised faith. Let me ask you. Are there people in your life that you are witnessing to, that never take you seriously? Although there may be other reasons, might one be that you are not living your faith in front of them so they don't take what you say seriously? Just something to think about.

Half hearted Lot

     In vs . 16 we are told Lot hesitates. Can you believe that? Death and destruction are immanent, and Lot lingers, he drags his feet, he wastes time, whatever you want to call it..he's not very serious about getting out of Sodom. Don't you find that amazing?..even stupid? Why did he drag his feet?

     -Perhaps he had a great home in downtown Sodom that he had fixed up just the way he wanted it.
     -Perhaps his business was thriving
     -Perhaps, he thought it wouldn't be as bad as the angels said.
     -Perhaps, he just really liked living in Sodom and didn't want to give it up.

     Whatever the reason, Lot, his wife and two daughters had to be dragged, by the hand, out of the city, to safety, by the angels. Once again a clear picture of the wonderful sovereign grace of God.

Conclusion

     Is it OK to sin just a little?
     Is it OK to say you want to follow Jesus and still do what you want in life?
     Is it OK to straddle the fence of  follower of God and follower of self?

     You might be saying, well Lot did and he was saved. Why not me? I am certainly a better Christian then Lot was. God's Word says it is not OK to sin a little, to have two masters in your life or to straddle the fence of commitment.

     It is not enough to say you believe in Jesus, you must surrender to His will, obey  His Word. James says faith w/o works is dead. And I believe faith w/o commitment to God is a faith compromised. And a faith compromised may get you to heaven, but until that time, your life on earth will be hell.

     Whatever compromise you may be playing with, whether it is drugs, alcohol, sex, cheating, bad language, pleasure, material things, wealth, prestige ...whatever it is...FLEE IT! Don't hesitate, don't drag your feet...flee for your life and for the lives of your family.

     The consequences of a faith compromised are not worth the temporary pleasure you may experience. There may not always be an angel to save you from a potentially devastating situation.

James 4:7-8a 'Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.'

     Make a faith commitment instead of a faith compromise.