OceanSide church of Christ




Click here to see all of the YouTube videos belonging to OceanSide
(opens in a new browser)

 Previous Return to Sermons Next  Click to download Audio

WHAT WE HAVE FAILED TO LEARN

FROM

SODOM AND GOMORRAH

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.     Men have a difficult time learning from history.

1.      We read the stories.  We see what others did wrong.  We see the consequences that were reaped.  Yet, we walk in their ways.

2.      The old saying is true:  “Those who fail to learn from the past are bound to repeat it.”

 

B.     There is a story in the book of Genesis with which many are familiar. 

1.      It involves God versus man.

2.      It involves evil.

3.      It involves the judgment of God upon wickedness.

 

C.     The story is found in Genesis 18 and 19. 

1.      It involves the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain.

2.      Most individuals, even those who are not Christians, know something about Sodom and Gomorrah.

3.      Yes, many know about these cities, but we have not learned the lessons these cities teach us.

 

D.     The title of our lesson this morning is:  “What We Have Failed to Learn from Sodom and Gomorrah.”

 

I.             BACKGROUD INFORMATION

 

A.     The first time Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis 10:19.  It is said to have been part of the border of the land of the Canaanites.

 

B.     In Genesis 13:10, it is described to us.

1.      It was part of the plain of the Jordan River.

2.      It was well watered everywhere.

3.      It was like unto the garden of the Lord.

4.      Too, it was like unto the land of Egypt.

 

C.     In Genesis 13:7, a strife developed between the herdsmen of Abraham’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle.

1.      Abraham told Lot to choose the portion of the land that he desired.

2.      In Genesis 13:11-12, we read of Lot’s choice.

 

Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and journeyed east…and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

 

II.           THE SINFULNESS OF THE CITY

 

A.     Genesis 13:13 is the first description we have of the people of the city.

 

But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

 

1.      They were wicked and sinners.

a.      Wicked:  bad, evil, malignant, unkind, vicious in disposition, hurtful

b.      Sinners:  reckoned as offenders and exposed to condemnation

2.      The verse tells us that that were wicked and sinners “exceedingly.”  Exceedingly means:  much, abundantly, to a great degree, in abundance, and wholly.

 

B.     At the beginning of Genesis 18, three men come to Abraham. 

1.      These men are angels manifested as human beings.  (NOTE:  One of these individuals may have been the second member of the Godhead, Jesus Christ).

2.      They are on a mission regarding Sodom and Gomorrah.

3.      After having been refreshed by the hospitality of Abraham, they made their way to Sodom and Gomorrah.

4.      The Lord decides not to hide his actions from the patriarch.  The words spoken to Abraham tell us more about the cities (Gen. 18:20-21).

 

And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous:  I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

 

a.      They evils committed in the city caused men to cry out.  These cries were heard by the Lord.

b.      He said:  “…their sin is very grievous.” 

1)      Grievous means “heavy, weighty, burdensome.”

2)      The weight of the sin is made even greater by the word “very.”  This is the same word translated “exceedingly” in Genesis 13:13.

 

C.     When Abraham heard about this mission, he pled for those in the city.

1.      His plea began by asking the Lord not to destroy the city if 50 righteous could be found therein (Gen. 18:26).

2.      However, when he ended his intercession, he pled for only 10 righteous to be found in the city (Gen. 18:32).

 

And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry and I will speak yet but this once:  Peradventure ten shall be found there.  And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

 

a.      We are not told how many people lived in the city of Sodom.

b.      Surely 50 righteous could be found.  No so!  Abraham knew better.  He hoped that at least 10 could be found there.  (NOTE:  Surely Lot’s family would account for at six righteous souls.  Only 4 more would be needed).

 

D.     The reaction to the men when they came into the city.

1.      When they came into the city, “Lot seeing them rose up to meet them” (Gen. 19:1).

a.      He exhorted them to spend the night with him.

b.      When the men said they would abide in the street all night, Lot “pressed upon them greatly” to go into his home (Gen. 19:3).

2.      The men of the city surrounded Lot’s house.

a.      All of the men of the city came to Lot’s house (Gen. 19:4).

 

But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter.

 

b.      They expressed their evil desires to Lot (Gen. 19:5).

 

And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night?  bring them out to us, that we may know them.

 

1)      They wanted to do evil to the visitors in their city.

2)      They wanted to “know” them, that is, they wanted to have sexual relationships with them.

3)      In verse 7, Lot urges them saying:  “…”I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.”

c.       This wickedness did not stop until the angels blinded the men of the city so they could not find the door (Gen. 19:11).

 

III.          JUDGMENT CAME UPON THE CITY

 

A.     Once this heinous act occurred, the angels announced the destruction of the city (Gen. 19:13).

 

For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord:  and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.

 

B.     The Lord rained down brimstone and fire on the cities (Gen. 19:24-25).

 

Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven:  and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

 

C.     The destruction of these cities was so complete that we still have not found the location of Sodom and Gomorrah to this day.

 

IV.          SALVATION WAS PROVIDED FOR ONLY A FEW

 

A.     Lot, his wife, his daughters, and their husbands were warned with these words:  “Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city” (Gen. 19:14).

 

B.     The sons-in-law refused to leave.  It was then the angels told Lot and his wife and daughters to leave again (Gen. 19:15).

 

Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters; which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

 

C.     When they lingered, angels took them by the hand and led them out of the city, saying:  “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee…” (Gen. 19:16-17).

 

D.     Sadly, as they fled the city, Lot’s wife turned back, violating the conditions of salvation (Gen. 19:26).

 

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

 

E.      The following morning Abraham looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah “and, lo, the smoke of the country went up like the smoke of a furnace” (Gen. 19:28).

 

V.           LESSONS WE HAVE NOT LEARNED

 

A.     Sexual perversion is wicked and sinful.

1.      The men of Sodom were practicing homosexuality.

a.      The men were called sinners.

b.      Their sin is described as “very burdensome” and grievous.

2.      In our society today, there is a momentous push being made

a.      For all to accept those in the LGBTQ community as being “normal.”

b.      For us to allow our children to choose their gender at the ages of 6, 7, and 8 years old.

1)      Drag queens are invited into schools to perform and have story hour.

 

See the source image

 

2)      Children are allowed to choose their genders at school without notifying a parent if a switch occurs.

3)      Our government wants to fund counseling, hormone therapy, and surgeries for children without the consent of parents.

4)      Books are being put into libraries and into curriculums of schools that teach the supposed “virtue” of the LGBTQ community.

 

See the source image

 

5)      For us to accept the sin of pedophilia.  The new name for a pedophile is “minor-attracted person” (MAP).

c.       Our government celebrates the LGBTQ community.

1)      The White House is lit up for LGBTQ celebrations.

 

See the source image

2)      Drag queens are now the guests of the President of the United States.

 

See the source image

Marti G. Cummings

3)      Those with gender dysphoria problems are put into prominent places in our government.

 

See the source image    See the source image    See the source image

Raffi Freedman-Gurspan       Dr. Rachel Levine, Assistant             Sam Britton, Dept. of Energy

First openly trans                   Assistant Health Secretary

Staff member

 

B.     Those who practice this type of wickedness will be punished (1 Cor. 6:9-10).

 

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?  Be not deceived:  neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

 

C.     The righteous can be influenced by evil.

1.      The Bible tells us that Lot remained a righteous man while living in Sodom (2 Pet. 2:8).

 

(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.

 

2.      However, his family was impacted by the iniquity of the city.

a.      His sons-in-law did not leave.

b.      Lot’s wife had a difficult time leaving and looked back as she fled and was killed.

c.       The daughters did not hesitate to have incestuous relationships with their father after they escaped the city.

3.      The righteous do not need to hob-nob with evil in any way (1 Cor. 15:33).

 

Be not deceived:  evil communications corrupt good manners.

 

D.     The Lord will spare the righteous.

1.      God was willing to spare the cities if He could find just ten dwelling there.

2.      He was able to spare Lot and his two daughters.

3.      If we remain righteous, God will spare us (2 Pet. 2:9).

 

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.     Why can’t we learn the lessons of the past.

 

B.     Sodom (scorch, burnt) and Gomorrah (a ruined heap) were totally annihilated.

 

C.     Do we honestly believe that God will just overlook our sins? 

 

D.     Judgment will come.