Sodom-The Cesspool of Sin, Part 1

It's been 15 years since Abraham rescued Lot and the city of Sodom from the kings of the east. We read about that battle a number of weeks ago. And for those 15 years, Lot has become a man more concerned with the people of society than with the promise of the seed. And so we're going to understand what happened to that man. And we need to study Genesis chapter 19. For the next few weeks we're just going to cover the first 11 verses.

So let me read them for you. They said, however, no, but we shall spend the night in the square. Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. And they called to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may have relations with them.

But Lot went out to them at the doorway and shut the door behind him and said, Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with men. Please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like.

Only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof. But they said, Stand aside. Furthermore, they said, This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge. Now we will treat you worse than them. So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.

Amazing story. But that's just the beginning of Sodom, the cesspool of sin. There are three things we want to cover in the first 11 verses.

We're only going to cover the first two this morning. The first thing is the contrast of characters. The second is the loss of Lot.

And the third is the sin of Sodom. The first one is the contrast of characters. I want to contrast for you Abraham and Lot. I want to contrast them to you in four areas. Number one, the delegation, those who came to their home.

Number two, I want to contrast for you their location. Then their reception, and then their invitation. And by looking at the contrast between Abraham and Lot, you are going to understand how far gone this man actually is by the time you come to Genesis chapter 19. First of all, I want to contrast these characters by looking at the delegation, those who came to Sodom versus those who came to the home of Abraham.

The text says that there were two angels who came to Sodom. That's quite a contrast in and of itself. An unholy city and holy angels coming to that city. But it's important for you to note that these angels came looking like men, dressed like men, taking on the form of a man to Sodom. We have spent time looking at that when we looked at the first few verses of Genesis chapter 18.

As you recall over in verse number 21 of chapter 18, these two men are the two angels who left the Lord and went on their way towards Sodom. It is now a few hours later from the time they met with Abraham, and now they have embarked on the city of sin. And you're going to ask, how does the delegation, these angels, represent a contrast? Simply this, there were three that came to Abraham, the Lord Jehovah and two angels. But there were only two that went to Sodom. The Lord did not go. Now it's quite honorable that two angels would go, but the Lord did not.

The Lord said that He would go down and examine the city, scrutinize the city. He would send these two angels to do that work, and they would confirm the fact of the wickedness in the city. But I want you to notice who didn't go.

And that was the Lord. And to understand that is to understand the difference between Abraham and Lot. To understand that is the difference, or is the way to understand the difference between a man who seems to hear the words of God more clearly and follow them more succinctly than those who tend not to hear the word of God and follow Him. Simply this, that a worldly Christian does not receive the choice spiritual blessings as those who walk with God. And Abraham was called a friend of God, Lot was not.

Are you a friend of God? I trust that you are. The second thing I want you to see is the location. The location where Abraham was when the delegation came and the location as to where Lot was when the delegation came. This is very important. It says that it was evening and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. Now cities in those days were surrounded by great walls. And then there was archways, deep archways that would lead the way into the city. And it was Thomas Whitelaw in his pulpit commentary who says this.

Corresponding to the ancient form of the Romans or Agora of the Greeks, the city gate among the Hebrews was the customary place of resort for the settlement of disputes, the transaction of business and the enjoyment of ordinary social intercourse. Officials of the city would sit at the gate ready to take care of legal matters and business as people would present them. Many commentators believe that Lot had gained a place of status in the city. A place where he had risen to a level of authority in the city that would allow him to sit in the city gate, that would allow him to be there and judge over people's matters.

That's very important because where he was as opposed to where Abraham was is very significant. It was one author I read who records these words. Faith never put him there. A spiritual mind never put him there. His righteous soul never put him there. It was simply love for this present evil world that led him first to choose, then to pitch his tent toward and finally to sit in the gate of Sodom.

He was there because that's where he chose to be. You will notice back in chapter 18, verse number 1, that Abraham was where?

In his tent. Now to you that might not be a big thing, but I believe that every word of God of Scripture is inspired and therefore you need to understand the contrast as to where one man was versus where the other man was. Granted, Abraham's place was not a very popular place. It's not a place where most of us would like to be at home in the heat of the day, relaxing in our own house. But Lot had found himself very comfortable in the ways of the world, leading in a city that was consumed with sin.

And there are going to be people who say, well, wait a minute, don't we as Christians need to be a part of that society, to win that society? And I'm the first to tell you that I believe that we ought to be salt and light.

But I will let you know something, Lot was neither of those. If you're in an environment and people in that environment are not getting a greater glimpse of God and not growing closer to God, you're in the wrong environment. If you're not having an impact on those people where they know for certain that you honor God, serve God, love God more than anything else, to the point where they would ridicule you for your stand on truth and righteousness, then you're in the wrong place or you're doing the wrong things.

You need to stand strong for Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us to be salt and light in the world and that's what we need to be. But most of us are not that way. We want to kind of fit in. We want to kind of look like everybody else. Who do you long to be with? Lot was a man who longed to be with the people of society. He loved to be with them, to associate with them. Abraham was in his tent. Not the most popular place. Not nearly as exciting. And many who choose that kind of place are mocked and ridiculed.

But remember that Abraham understood the fact that he was a pilgrim. He understood that he was an alien and a stranger in a foreign land. I wonder if Lot ever thought to himself, boy, I wish I would have been like Abraham and commended my kids. Sadly, usually it's too late when parents come back and say, man, I wish I would have done that or I wish I would have said this or put this parameter on my children. Say, well, you know, Sparks, you're meddling a little bit. You know, I don't know whether to draw the line between preaching and meddling.

I kind of think they're the same thing. You know what I'm saying? I think we need to understand what the Word of the Lord says. I read about Abraham. He commanded his household and God communed with him. Lot didn't do that and God didn't even go to his house. That speaks volumes to me. It should speak volumes to you. Do you want God to commune with you? Do you want to understand the Word of the Lord? Do you want to be right with God? Where you live, who you associate with, where your children associate, who they hang around with, speaks volumes of their impact, speaks volumes of your leadership in the home, or lack.

Is that not true? Sure it is. So we need to understand what God's Word says about the contrast of characters. The third thing I want you to see is the reception.

Listen to what Lot says. He said, Behold, lords, please turn aside into your servants' house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise early and go on your way. That sounds like a pretty good thing, doesn't it? But now you contrast that with what Abraham did. When it says over in chapter 18, verse number 2, he ran. Verse number 6, he hurried. Verse number 7, he ran again. And verse number 1, all this in the heat of the day. What you don't see about Lot is spiritual fervency. What you see about Abraham is not only spiritual fervency, but spontaneous enthusiasm.

He was literally excited about what he was doing. Lot was merely going through the motions. The karma Christian kind of goes through the motions. Oh, they may have an office in the church. They may teach in the church. They may even have some kind of leadership in the church. But because their devotion for God has begun to wane, they kind of go through the motions. It's a chore for them. It's a drudgery for them. They just kind of do it to put in time. And with Lot, there was no spiritual fervency.

You say, Pastor, I don't see that in there. How'd you get that out of there? Glad you asked. Look at what the angels said.

What'd they say? Sure, we'll come in. What'd they say? They said no. No. They said no, but we will spend the night in the square. These angels said no. No. But to Abraham, they said sure. Abraham ran around. He demonstrated a sense of tenacity, a desire to accomplish the will of the Lord. And he said, come on in. The angels said, sure, we'll come in. But here they said, no, thank you. No, thank you. That speaks volumes. What a slap in the face to Lot. What a sad indictment upon the man. They rejected.

They rejected the man's invitation. They didn't want to go in there. They didn't want to be a part of his household, which leads us to the fourth element, the invitation. Yet he urged them strongly. So they turned aside to him and entered his house, and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. You see, the genuineness of his invitation was tested. Abraham's wasn't, was it? They immediately responded and went into the tent, where these men said no, because the carnal Christian, ready for this, is very hard to trust, because they have divided loyalties between God and the world.

And the worldly Christian is very shifty. Very sneaky. And so you want to test the fact about whether or not this man is really true to his word. And the angels, of course, would test the genuineness of his invitation. What happened? How did this man get so far down the road? That moves us to main point number two, from the contrast of characters to the loss of Lot.

What caused him to go so far to the left that he would lose everything? Listen very carefully. We've covered this before. Turn back with me to Genesis 13 for a moment. Genesis 13. And when you come to verse number 10, it says, And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere. And then this little note, This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.

Now listen very carefully. Before he ever looked, before he ever looked, that's what his heart desired. Check with 13, verse number 1. So Abraham went up from Egypt to the Negev. He and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him. Remember when there was a famine in the land? Lot went with Abraham and Sarah down to Egypt. They went there to escape the famine. And Abraham didn't call upon the name of the Lord, and thus made a grave mistake. Lot got down to Egypt, saw the success of Egypt, saw all was there, and you know what?

His heart was in Egypt. He wanted that. So now when he has a choice, he looked, and that's what he wanted. It wasn't the looking that caused him to long for it. It was already what was in his heart. That's why the Bible says, Proverbs 4, 23, Guard your heart, for out of the flow all the issues of life.

Protect your heart. Don't give your heart away. Give your heart only to God. Love him with all your heart. Know him with all your heart. Study him with all your heart. Why? Because if you don't protect your heart, if you don't guard your heart, you'll lose the battle. That's where it all begins. He longed in his heart, so that when he looked with his eyes, that governed his choice. And then it says in verse number 12, Abram settled in the land of Canaan while Lot settled in the cities of the valley and moved his tents as far as Sodom.

And then it says in verse number 13, Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord. You think Lot knew that? Yes, he did. He moved his tent. He pitched his tent toward the city. He stayed outside the city because he knew that it was exceedingly wicked. But he leaned that direction. Because he had already looked and he had already longed for that environment. And then it says in chapter 14, verse number 12, And they also took Lot, Abram's nephew, and his possessions and departed.

For he was what? Living in Sodom. Now he's living there. He longed. He looked. He leaned. Now he lives in Sodom. I guess I can really go in there and I can make a difference. I can make an impact. I can have an influence on a sinful society. And the sad thing about that is you can. You can. But he didn't. God knows you can. The question is, where's your heart? Has it been protected? Or is it longing for that environment? And so now when you come over to Genesis chapter 19, he's sitting in the gate of Sodom.

Not only did he long for Sodom, not only did he look towards Sodom, not only was he now living in Sodom, now he leads in Sodom. Now he's a leader in the city. Listen.

Now he loves Sodom. Now he loves it. How do you know he loves Sodom? How do you know he loves Sodom? Listen to what it says down in verse number 6. When the men come to him, he went out through the doorway and shut the door behind him and said, Please my, what? My brothers, my dear friends, my loved ones, don't do this wicked thing. Let me ask you something.

If there were homosexuals on your doorstep and they came after your children, what would you do? Oh, my dear brothers, this is not the place for you. Is that how you would deal with them? He was so entrenched with the city. He loved the city. He loved his position in the city more than he loved the promise of the seed that was to come. He loved it. He had grown so accustomed to it and it surrounded him so much he had fallen in love with the city of Sodom. My brothers, and it's even emphasized even more when he says this, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man.

Please let me bring them out to you and do to them whatever you like. You tell me, is that a man who loves his daughters? Is that a man who loves his family? Or is that a man who loves his reputation in the city so much that he will preserve his own life, his own position, his own status? He'll sacrifice his daughters on the altar of purity to maintain his status in society. He loved that city. Which leads me to this. Now you see his loss in it. He loses everything. He loses his wife. He loses all his friends.

He loses his daughters. He loses his testimony. He loses everything. And I want to ask you a question. Is it worth it? I mean, listen, if you're dabbling in the things of the world, if you're flirting with the world, read Genesis 19 and ask the question, is it worth it? Is the affair worth it? Is the love for the world worth it? So much that you'll lose everything because of it. Is it? He lost everything. He lost his family. He lost his city. He lost his legacy. He lost his testimony. He lost his ministry.

He lost it all. And when you come to the end of Genesis 19, it is such a sad, sad end to a man. Where are you today? That was the loss of lots. Where are you in that process? Are you in that longing process today? Oh, I want that over there. Oh, I wish I had that. Are you at the place where you have looked because you've longed? Or are you at the place now where you have begun to move in that direction? Physically move in that direction now.

Toward the area of sin. Toward the city of sin. Toward the environment of sin. Or are you so far into it that now you're leading in the place of sin? And everybody's looking at you saying, man, you are just fantastic. And you're saying, yeah, you're right, I am. I am pretty good. So much so that you have become so enamored with it that you just love it so. That you're willing to sacrifice your wife, your kids, your time with them, everything, because you've got to have what the world gives. Beware.

You will lose it all. Unless you repent today. Unless you give your life to Christ today. Unless you say, Lord, no more. No more. No more. Where are you today? Have you been cleansed from your sins? Have you been washed in the blood of the Lamb? I trust that you have this morning. Let's pray.