Rescuing Lot from Wickedness

Well, let me invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Genesis 19 for time of study. In the word this morning. This chapter, you, you need to know up front, if you don't already know this is one of the most horrid chapters in the Bible. Martin Luther said it's impossible to read this chapter without feeling, being overcome with feelings of deep revulsion.

And so I want you to be forewarned, about, about that as we begin to study this chapter today as a part of our, study through the book of Genesis. This is not a chapter for the faint of heart, but this is the word of God and all things such as this are written for our learning, that we might gain wisdom. In the salvation through passages like this and be helped in how we choose to live our lives today. If you want to give a title to the message this morning, it would be rescuing Lot from Wickedness, and my intent this morning is to look at verses 1 through 11 of this chapter.

One of the sad subplots in the Book of Genesis is the story of Lot. who was Abraham's nephew. Lot started off with many wonderful advantages. Lot had been with Abraham, probably back when he was in Ur of the Chalde, but at the very least when Abraham was in Haran.

Lot was with him and was with Abraham all the way from when he left Haran and came into the Land of Promise in response to the Lord's call. So he had seen Abraham launch out in faith. Lot has seen Abraham worship the Lord on many occasions. Lot was also with Abraham when Abraham went down into Egypt and lied about Sarah being his sister, and we saw the trouble that they got into, we saw how God intervened.

In that situation and rescued Abraham and Sarah from the predicament that they had put themselves in. And after that fiasco down in Egypt, after the Lord had intervened, the text tells us in Genesis 13:1, so Abraham or Abraham went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot. With him. It was then that Abraham and Lot had so many possessions.

That and so many herds that the land was not big enough to sustain both of them. so that they could dwell together any longer. So Abraham has a meeting with Lot and he gives Lot a choice and basically tells Lot, you choose the land wherein you would like to live and I will live wherever you don't choose. And in Genesis chapter 13 verse 10, the text of Genesis tells us that Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan.

That it was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan and Lot journeyed eastward. And Lot settled in the cities of the valley and moved his tents as far as Sodom. Lot chose the most beautiful area that his eyes had ever seen.

He judged by outward appearances. However, in Genesis chapter 13 verse 13, the very next verse, after the one I just read, the text says, now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord. Lott ignores this fact for the time being. And sets up his tents on the outskirts of Sodom, maybe thinking, I'll just live on the outskirts and not actually go into Sodom and be a resident there.

Eventually though, Lot gets sucked into Sodom. In Genesis chapter 14 verse 12, we're told that Lot was living in Sodom. And in our passage today, we're gonna see that Lot was no longer living in a tent, he's living in a house. In the city of Sodom.

And not only that, but when the angels arrive in Sodom in our story today, they're gonna find Lot sitting in the gate of the city, which is basically the business center. The judicial center of the city. So from Genesis 13 to Genesis 19, Lot goes from being a man living on the outskirts of the city to a man living in the city to becoming a man of the city. of Sodom.

Lot is a man in need of an intervention and he doesn't even know it. As one commentator says, Sodom would have destroyed Lot if the Lord had not destroyed Sodom. We know from 2 Peter chapter 2 that Lot has been troubled by his time in Sodom. Peter tells us that Lot was oppressed, literally worn down by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men.

Peter tells us that Lot saw and heard. The evils that were taking place in Sodom, and as he saw and heard these evils taking place, he felt, verse 8, his righteous soul tormented day after day with their lawless deeds. In 2 Peter 2:7-8, we learned something about Lot that we would never learn from Genesis 19. And that is that Lot was a righteous man.

Peter refers to Lot as righteous Lot. He refers to him as that righteous man. And he speaks of Lot's righteous soul. So there's no way around the fact that Lot was a righteous man.

However, we're going to see plenty of evidence in Genesis 19 that the corruption of Sodom has deeply affected Lot and his family just as sin can affect us who know the Lord and are righteous in Christ. As one commentator says, Lot was a conflicted soul. At the same time, both offended and allured. By Sodom.

And as the curtains open on Genesis 19, Lot is under the spell of Sodom. And there is no way that he would break free from Sodom on his own without a divine intervention where God crashes into Lot's world and sets him free. And 2 Peter chapter 2. Peter tells us that one of the big takeaways from the story of Genesis 19, especially the part of the story that we're gonna be looking at today, is that if the Lord rescued Lot, then verse 8, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation.

That's one of the things we need to learn is God knows how to rescue. His people from temptation. Even those temptations that we get enmeshed in due to poor choices that we've made. God's rescue of us is not always pretty, as many of us can testify to.

His interventions are painful, and sometimes they involve collateral damage. But God knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and that should be both good news and sobering news for those of us who belong to Jesus. And we're gonna see the first part of God's rescue operation. of Lot happening in our passage today in verses 1 through 11, where Lot is confronted with and then rescued from An incident of great evil and wickedness.

In Sodom. So that's how we'll frame things this morning. You can use the handout to follow along. And by the way, there's discussion questions on the front pew for those of you that will be leading discussions in your care groups tonight and tomorrow.

But 6 things that happen in this account of Lot being rescued from an incident of great wickedness in Sodom. The first thing that happens, is that the two, we're gonna call them angel men because they're called angels in chapter 19 verse 1, but in chapter 18, and then later in chapter 19, they're called men. So we're gonna call them angel men. They were angels of the Lord who looked like men appearing in human form, and the two angel men arrive in Sodom while Lot is sitting in Sodom's gate.

Look at what happens beginning in verse one. Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. Back in Genesis 18:22, the previous chapter we saw how the two angels had left Abraham and Jehovah talking to one another, and the two angels had left and began to head towards Sodom. Here we see them arriving at some point in the evening.

And when they arrive at the city of Sodom, they find Lot sitting in the gate of the city. The gate of the city, as I said a moment ago, was the heart of the city where business was conducted and where politics happened. It was the place where trading took place amongst the inhabitants of Sodom and other localities that came there to trade. It's the place where legal matters were decided as well.

The gate of the city back in this day was the equivalent of our downtown. of today in terms of its function. In downtown Riverside, we have the courts, we have City Hall, and significant business enterprises, and this is essentially where a lot is found. By these angel men as they arrive in the city.

And Lot is not just in the gate, but he's sitting in the gate, which means that he likely has attained to some position of influence and leadership and responsibility in the city. He is a leader of sorts. Perhaps he is serving on the city council. Of Sodom.

Either way, he is sitting in the gate and once Lot sees these two angel men arriving in the city, he responds swiftly and decisively. And this brings us to the next thing that happens in the story of Lot being delivered from an incident of great wickedness in Sodom. Number 2, Lot convinces the angel men to receive his hospitality in his house. Look at what Lot does.

When Lot saw them. He rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground, and he said, Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet, then you may rise early and go on your way. Lot responds to these visitors in a way that is very similar to how Abraham responded to Jehovah and these two angel men. In the previous chapter.

Lot rose up to meet them, he bowed down with his face to the ground. He refers to them as my lords and he speaks of himself as their servant. This is all very Abraham-like. Lot even goes beyond what Abraham did by inviting these men into his house and asking them to spend the night, which is the appropriate thing to do given the fact that they are arriving in the evening.

However, The rest of the story, and if you read through the commentators on this passage, you realize that Lot had an extra motivation for wanting to get these men into his house. His motivation was to protect these men. Lot knows the wickedness of Sodom. He knows that Sodom is not a safe place for visitors at night.

He knows what the men of Sodom did. To visitors to the city. Imagine the worst fraternity on any college campus that engages in the most humiliating and offensive and dangerous hazing rituals for its new members. And then imagine even worse than that.

And that's the welcome that the men of Sodom were known to give to visitors. So Lot knows that Sodom is not a safe place for these two men, so he pleads with them to come into his house and spend the night, and then he says, In verse 2, then you may rise early and go on your way. Normally, it's not polite. To talk this way to visitors.

Imagine saying to someone, come over to my house. And have dinner, spend the night, and then I want you to get up really early and be on your way. Normally that's not polite, but Lot is not being impolite here. He's looking out for these men, seeking to protect these men.

He wants them to get up early and get out of Sodom. Before anybody else wakes up. Well, in typical Middle Eastern manner, the angels respond to Lot's invitation by declining the invitation. They said, however, no, but we shall spend the night in the square.

In other cities, this would be a fine and a safe thing to do. But not in Sodom. So look at how Lot responds. The text says in verse 3, yet he urged them strongly.

Literally, he pressed them abundantly. One commentator paraphrases this by saying, quote, he did some major arm twisting until they said yes, unquote. And they do say yes. Look at what the text says verse 3, so they turned aside to him.

And Entered his house. This is how we know that Lot has a house now. He's no longer living in a tent. He has a house with a Sodom address.

Once they get into Lot's house, Lot takes good care of them. Look at what he does, verse 3, and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread. And they ate. So far, so good.

There's much to love about what is happening here. Lot and these two visitors seem to have an evening dining together. Lot is showing them hospitality very much like what Abraham did the day before. But just as these visitors, these angel men are about to go down for the night, the picture darkens.

And this brings us to the next thing that happens in this account of Lot being confronted by and then rescued from an incident of great wickedness in Sodom. And that is, let's word it this way, the men of Sodom surround Lot's house with intent to know. His two guests. Look at what happens, verse 4, 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.

Notice how increasingly all inclusive the language is. First of all, they're described as the men of the city. Meaning men who lived in the city and men who were imbued with the spirit of this city. Then they're described as the men of Sodom.

One commentator translates this, the men of Sodom that they were. Indicating that this was a proverbial expression. Everyone knew what it meant to be one of the men of Sodom. Then they're described as both young and old.

Even they're young men. Of the city had been corrupted already, and the old men had not grown and matured beyond their corruption of previous years, but they were still as vile in their lust as they ever were. On top of these descriptions, the text then says, all the people from every quarter. Moses, who's writing this, wants us to know that this was not just some rowdy exceptions to the norm in Sodom.

This was every single man of the city. This language makes it clear that this was an organized gathering that was very likely standard practice. It's the norm and Lot has seen this before. This is how the men of Sodom welcomed visitors to their city, only now they're showing up on Lot's doorstep to come after his visitors.

Once they all assemble, look at what they do, verse 5. says, and they called to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may have relations with them. The expression translated have relations with is basically a translation of the Hebrew word for no.

They're saying we want to know them. This is the same word that is used earlier in Genesis when we're told that Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived a son. These men are not merely wanting to get to know or get acquainted with the visitors at Lot's home, they're wanting to have sex with these men. Even worse, this is forced, non-consensual sex.

These wicked men of Sodom are calling upon Lot to, Forcefully bring his visitors out so that the men of Sodom could satisfy at their expense, the visitors' expense, their sexual lust on these men. As Bruce Walke, the commentator says the city here is guilty of two crimes, violation of guest and unnatural lust. The men of the city cry not just for homosexuality. But for rape.

We know from Jude that one of the sins of Sodom was its immorality and Jude 7. Jude chapter 1 verse 7, it only has one chapter. So, in the 7th verse of Jude, Jude says, just as Sodom and Gomorrah engaged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh. Which means flesh.

That is different from the established order. In other words, these men of Sodom desired flesh other than what they were supposed to desire by God's design. They desired flesh other than the flesh of women. The men of Sodom have no clue that these men in Lot's home are angels, so they're not intentionally lusting after angelic flesh here.

They're going after the flesh of these men because they are men. They look like men as opposed to women, and that's why they say, where are the men? That's what they're lusting after. So this is homosexuality, but it is so much more than that.

Thomas Schriner says that the sin of the men of Sodom consisted of two things. Their homosexual intentions, and their brutal disregard for the rights of the visitors. To the city This is the way the wicked people of Sodom are behaving, surrounding Lot's house and calling for him to bring out the men who were there so that they, the men of Sodom could have their way with them. How does Lot respond?

This brings us to the next thing that happens in this account of God rescuing Lot from a situation of great wickedness and trust me guys, it gets worse from here. The 4th thing is this Lot tries to dissuade the men of Sodom. From their wicked intentions. Look at what Lot does in verse 6.

But Lot went out to them at the doorway and shut the door behind him and said, please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. So far, so good. Lot goes out of his house to confront the wicked mob directly, putting himself in jeopardy for the sake of his visitors. That's, that's a good thing.

Lot shuts the door behind him, trapping himself outside and protecting his visitors inside. That's a good thing. Then he says, please my brothers, do not act wickedly. This is exactly the right terminology to use in describing the sin that these men are wanting to commit.

It's wickedness, and Lot is right to plead with them to refrain from behaving wickedly. On top of that, Lott is being as polite as he could be. He even says, please. Even in the Hebrew, the word please is there.

And he calls the men brothers, he doesn't call them animals. He doesn't call them a bunch of perverts. He calls them my brothers, appealing to them on the basis of their common humanity. But he does speak from a moral code.

That presupposes that there is a God who has defined right and wrong. And Lot is telling these men. That for them to do what they are intending to do would be wicked. And he's telling them, do not act wickedly.

So far, Lot's doing a stellar job. This is great, but what he does next is baffling. He has just rebuked them for their intentions, and he tells them that their intentions are wicked. He's clearly trying to persuade them not to commit the wicked things that they're wanting to do with the two angel men, the visitors that are in his home.

So look at Lot's wickedness prevention strategy. That he voices to the men of this mob in verse 8. He says, now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man. Literally, the Hebrew has lots saying, I have two daughters who have not known a man.

Which means they're virgins, and the verb. Know is used here again. It's the same word that the men used earlier when they said that they wanted to know the visitors in Lot's house. And the fact that Lot uses the same words speaking of his daughters who have not known a man clearly shows that these men We're wanting to have sex with lots of visitors.

So Lot says, I have two daughters who have not known a man, they are virgins. And he says in verse 8, please let me bring them out to you and do to them whatever you like. Notice the word please again. Evidently Lot is just as urgent and pleading with them to do as they please with his daughters as he was and pleading with them not to act wickedly.

With the visitors in his home. Basically his message to the mob is, please don't commit this homosexual sin with my visitors. Instead, do as you please heterosexually with my daughters. And he doesn't even describe what they would do with his daughters as wicked.

The sad thing is lots. Daughters would have every right to hear their dad. Imagine them hearing that through the door. Their dad talking this way and making this offer to the wicked mob.

Lot's daughters would have every reason to hear what their dad is saying and think, wow, it would have been better for us to be a guest. In Dad's home. Than to be His daughters Imagine how devalued they would feel as they heard their father speak this way. Apparently in the mind of Lot to engage in homosexual gang rape of his visitors who had been in his home for one night is wickedness, but gang raping his two daughters who had been under his roof for the last 20 years is somehow more tolerable.

What Lot is actually offering to the mob is just as offensive, if not even more so. Lot is guilty of the sin of trying to prevent sin with sin. Some commentators suggest that And offering his daughters like this that what Lot is doing is not a sincere offer. of his daughters to this mob.

They suggest that this is Lot's way of showing the depths to which he thinks their intentions towards his visitors should be prevented. In Romans 9, Paul Many of you are familiar with the passage. Paul says that he almost wishes that he himself could be accursed for the sake of the Jews' salvation. And what Lot could be saying is, to the mob is what you guys are wanting to do is so wicked that I would sacrifice the purity of my daughters to prevent it.

And some suggest that Lot was hoping to shame the men of this mob and prick their consciences by offering them as daughters like this. Perhaps not intending for them to actually take him up on it. But whatever Lot's motive, we can psychoanalyze what his motive was. But no matter what is motivation, no matter how highly esteemed the virtue of hospitality was in this culture where you protect your guest in your home at all cost.

No matter how you cut this, this is an awful thing for Lot to say. And it's a terrible thing for his daughters to have to hear. Imagine their fear. Lot's offer also leaves us with a sad irony in Genesis chapter 19.

Here in verse 8, Lot is offering his daughters sexually to the mob without their consent, and by the end of this chapter, Lot's daughters will be taking sexual advantage of their father without his consent. Look at Lot's final plea, which is a good plea. He says, only do nothing to these men in as much as they have come under the shelter of my roof. Lot's stated reason for pleading for the protection of his visitors is that they've come under the shelter of my roof.

This is a good thing to say. But I can't help but think that Lot thinks that men. Under his roof are more worthy of protection than women. Here's my daughters, only do nothing to these men.

On top of that, Lot's twisted logic is still intact. If you come under the shelter of Lot's roof for one evening, you are entitled to more protection from Lot than if you were his own flesh and blood daughters who have been under the shelter of his roof for the last 20 years. A lot has been corrupted. By his time in Sodom.

Anyway, how will the men of Sodom respond to Lot's words? This brings us to the next thing that happens in the story of Lot, of God delivering Lot from an incident of great wickedness in Sodom. And that is the men of Sodom persist and escalate their evil intentions. Look at how the men of Sodom respond verse 9, but they said, stand aside.

Initially they wanted Lot to cooperate. With them and their evil plans. They wanted Lot to bring them in out to them. Lot, you can help us.

Bring them in out to us, so that we may know them. But now that they know that Lot is not going to cooperate with them and give them what they want, they tell him to get out of the way, stand aside. This is our culture's message to anyone who speaks words of disapproval. Against whatever they might want to do.

Stand aside is our culture's message to us, get out of our way and let us do what we want to do. Look at what else this mob does. Furthermore, they said, speaking of Lot, they're saying this to one another. This one came in as an alien and he already is acting like a judge.

They're offended that Lot would dare to judge them and dare to tell them. What is right and wrong. And what they should and should not do. Relatively speaking, Lot is a recent arrival to the city of Sodom.

And their thought is, what right does this man have to judge us? This is the way the wicked think. They will find any reason to disqualify anyone. From the right of judging.

Their actions. This sound familiar? So the men of this mob. Threatened a lot.

Look at what they say. In verse 9, they say, now we will treat you worse than them. The language these men use indicates That they know that they were intending to do something. To Lot's visitors that Lot's visitors would not view as a good thing.

They tell Lot now that they're going to treat Lot worse than the other two men and the word translated worse is the Hebrew word for evil or calamity. This means that in the minds of the men of Sodom, they were intending to treat Lot's two visitors badly. And now they are telling Lot that they will treat him even more badly than the bad treatment that they were going to visit upon the two visitors in Lot's house. Their language also indicates that they are still intending To violate the men who are in Lot's house, but their threat to Lot basically now is that they will also violate Lot.

And do even worse things to him. than what they still intend to do to the two men who are in Lot's house. These men of Sodom are not interested in Lot's daughters, they want the men. Their particular lust is for men, not women.

But make no mistake, this is not simply about lust. It's about humiliation and the desire to degrade and inflict hurt. This is about us. It's about the perverse desire.

To see Lot and his two visitors humiliated, and this is why they say to Lot, we will do worse to you than the bad treatment we're going to visit upon the men in your home. So that's the response of the wicked people of Sodom. They're ticked. They're so mad at Lot that they're now going to come after him and violate him.

And when we get to this part of the story, a person might read the reaction of the mob. And think, wow, a Lot must have handled this situation wrong. Maybe if he handled this situation with greater kindness, with more beauty and with more grace, then he wouldn't have gotten this reaction from this crowd. But Be reminded guys, Lot's response could not have been kinder and actually more sinfully compromising.

He pleads with them not to behave wickedly. He says please twice. He calls them my brothers. He even offers his own daughters to them.

As a compromise. And what does he get in response? They take offense at him for daring to call their actions wicked. They take offense at him for judging them, they persist in their intentions to rape the men in his house and they're telling Lot to get out of their way and they tell him basically that they're gonna violate him too for daring to judge them.

We, we learned just from this account. That no amount of beauty, no amount of kindness and graciousness, no amount of compromise on our part. will satisfy those whose hearts are bent on evil. And when you read in the news that people are up in arms about or filing lawsuits against the Christian baker.

Or florist Or some pastor somewhere who said or did something that people are all up in arms about, don't, don't, first of all, don't automatically believe everything you read in those news stories. And don't automatically assume that those Christians must have done something wrong. To provoke that outcry. Guys, Jesus never did anything wrong.

He always spoke with the perfect balance of grace and truth, right? All the time without fail. And the world crucified him And don't expect anything different for you or for your fellow Christians if you stand for the truth and represent the grace and the truth of Jesus Christ. Once this mob delivers their threat, they immediately set about to carrying out on their threat.

Verse 9 tells us the following, says, so they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. Two things are happening here. They're coming for Lot and they're trying to break down the door to get to the two men that are in the house. The situation is clearly out of hand.

Lot cannot handle and hold back this this wicked mob. If something doesn't happen soon, Lot is going to be pulled away from the door and violated and perhaps killed, and there will be no one to protect the door to keep the men from tearing down the door of the house to get to the two men inside. Lot right now needs to be rescued. And this brings us to the final thing that happens in this story of God's delivering of Lot from an incident of great wickedness in Sodom.

And that is the angel men rescue Lot from the wicked men of Sodom. Look at what they do, verse 10. But the men, and these men are the angels, reached out their hands, so they opened the door. And they reach out their hands, and they brought Lot into the house with them, and they shut the door.

These angels opened the door and they move toward the danger. They grab Lot, bring him inside and then shut the door. Lot had tried to protect them and failed. They returned the favor by protecting him.

This is the grace of God upon Lot. At the very same moment, the angels do something else. In verse 11, we're told that they struck the men. The men of Sodom who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both great or both small and great.

In other words, every single man in the city of Sodom is struck with a type of blindness here that keeps them disoriented and unable to find the door of the house. And amazingly, The blindness does not dissuade them from their evil intentions. Look at how verse 11 ends, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway. They're struck blind by God.

Yet they're still trying to find the doorway. And were they able to find the doorway, they would have broken it down and they would have still tried to carry out their wicked intentions even though they're struck blind by God. These men are as desperately depraved as humans can be. They've been rebuked by a lot and they're now struck blind by the judgment of God, yet rather than responding by repenting of their sin and changing their behavior, they still keep fumbling to find the doorway to the point where they wearied themselves.

In their effort. This is the human heart in its deepest depravity. The only thing that's going to stop them essentially from their sin is death. This is a city that is ripe for the judgment of God, which is part of why this incident is recorded for us.

This incident shows us that there was not a single righteous man. In the city of Sodom other than Lot. Not one other than Lot. We'll stop our study of the narrative here for today, but as we wrap things up, let me just make a few observations.

That hopefully will be of some profit. First of all, notice the wisdom of God and how he executes his plan to get Lot out of Sodom. These angels could have just met Lot at the gate of the city and told him to flee from the city because God was going to judge the city the next day. They could have done that, they could have sent a message to him, a written message, get out of the city, God's gonna judge it tomorrow.

They could have told him that directly at the gate of the city. But they knew that Lot would not have obeyed them because his heart was too entrenched in Sodom. God knew that he needed to orchestrate an event that would provoke the wickedness of Sodom and bring that wickedness to Lot's very own doorstep, to the point where Lot's own life would be in jeopardy. Before Lot would be persuaded.

That he needs to get out of Sodom. God orchestrates this circumstance. He allows it to happen to show Lot what the men of Sodom really think about him. In order to make it easier for Lot to leave Sodom.

It may not seem evident to us in the moment, but God is doing a work through all of this, preparing Lot for the call to leave Sodom, which we're gonna see in the coming verses next week. We observe something here that we all know is true. Sometimes God calls us out of sin, but we don't listen. We don't listen to God.

Until God allows that sin to raise its ugly head in its full ferocity against us. And then we truly see the sin for what it is and we're ready to run for our lives away from it. This has happened to me at various points of my life. I think many of us in this room would say this has been Your experience as well.

We dabble in sin and we think we can We can manage its consequences. We can manage the sin. And as long as our sin is acting like a manageable pet, We're comfortable in our sin. But then one day our sin rises up and it's full ferocity.

We can't control it anymore. And it's then that we're awakened and ready to let the Lord begin to pull us away, and that's where Lot is at this point, but Amazingly, we're gonna see next week, he still hesitates. He still hesitates. They have to grab him by the hand and drag him out of the city.

He is so under the spell of Sodom. Another The thing that hits me as I read this story is, obviously we're all horrified by Lot offering his two daughters to the mob, giving the mob permission to do to them as they please. That's, that's horrible. But we as parents should be Asking ourselves if there are ways that we give our children over to the mob today.

Are there ways that we as parents say to the world, do to my children as you please. Speak to them however you please. Sing to them whatever songs you please. Teach my children whatever worldview you please.

Do things in front of my children and pollute the souls of my children however you please. Do we parents hand our children over to the mob? To varying degrees today. As parents, it is hard to hold fast and stand up against the onslaught.

One of the things we learned from this story, guys, is that sin is not content to stay outside your home. It's going to beat down the doors of your house to come in and make wreckage of your home. And against that onslaught, it's easy to throw up our hands and to give up and just give the world and sometimes give our own children what it is that they are demanding from us. But we parents need to put on our big boy pants and fight.

For our families and fight for our children and if we don't, we dare not criticize Lot. For what he did and offering his two daughters over to the wicked mob. Parents, don't give your children over to the mob. And children, when your parents are fighting for you and telling you, Things you wanna do.

No, you can't do this. That's, this is what they're fighting for. With the wisdom they've gained over the years, sometimes wisdom that they've gained the hard way, they're trying to protect you. Because they don't want you given over to the mob.

Respect that. Some parents may give their children to the mob without even realizing it. Maybe the devil has you trapped in your own sins of bitterness and anger or lust. He has some of your eyes perhaps glued to pornography on a computer screen or other diversions and you're not even the one he's after.

He's after your spouse, he's after your children, and as long as he can keep you distracted, he can do whatever he wants with them, and you won't even see it. If you and I As parents are not careful, our families can be sodomized before we even know what's happened. Parents love your children, love righteousness, and don't give your children to the mob. And if your children wanna go to the mob, if they're walking toward the mob, if they're giving themselves to the mob, if they become a part of the mob, don't stop fighting for your children.

Keep praying for them, keep putting Christ before them, and keep calling them to Jesus. We learned from this passage also that God knows how to deliver from temptation. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 2 that if God rescued Lot, Then the Lord knows. How to deliver the godly from temptation, even temptations that we've Become enmeshed in by our own poor choices.

Maybe you've gotten involved in sin, and maybe that sin has risen up and laid its clutches into you such that you can't break free. You're repulsed by your sin, but you're attracted to your sin, and you can't break free. You've come up with your own little compromise solutions to fix the situation just like Lot did. But those compromise solutions, they're just stupid and they don't work anyway, and I plead with you.

If you're caught in a trespass, if you are caught in sin, What you need to do is cry out to God, repent of your sins. God knows how to rescue. His people from temptation. He knows how to rescue you if you will let him.

Quit trying to fix your problems and run to Jesus. And cry out to Him. If you are truly a child of God, And you truly belong to God, God's not gonna let you remain in your sin. He will rescue you.

And his rescue of you will probably not be very pleasant, but God knows how to rescue those who are his from temptation, and that should be both good news and sobering news. For those of us who belong to Jesus. It's also ponder for a moment the daring mercy of the Lord in this passage. God comes to Lot as it were in the form of these two visitors who enter his home and looking like men and they put their feet under Lot's table and they talk with Lot, stay in his house and they're ultimately there to bring Lot physically out of the city.

And this, as we have seen, puts these two visitors, these two messengers of the Lord in jeopardy as the evening wears on. The mob shows up and calls for these two men to be brought out so that the mob can do whatever they want to do with these men. In God's providence, the two angels are kept safe. From the wickedness of the wicked mob, and we can't even imagine the story going any other way, can we?

It's a horrifying. An unspeakable thought to imagine what might have happened if these angels were allowed. To be handed over to the mob and the mob were allowed to have their way with them. Our minds don't even wanna go there because of the sheer wickedness of it all.

But there's something even more unimaginable. Than what I just described, and it actually happened. 2000 years ago. 2000 years after this incident, the perfectly holy Son of God.

Came to Earth. And he lived among us for 33 years and he went about doing only good and teaching the truth about God and about us and about salvation. He did miracles of healing. Raising people from the dead and did only good.

But one day a mob showed up. In the Garden of Gethsemane. And God the Father handed over his holy Son to this mob. This mob in the hours that followed, spat upon the holy Son of God.

They blindfolded him, they punched him repeatedly in the face. This mob placed a crown of thorns upon his head and beat that crown of thorns into his brow. This mob stripped the Son of God of his clothing. And tied him around a great stone and lashed him repeatedly with a scourge in public.

And they made him carry his cross to a certain location where they nailed him to that cross and they crucified him, they killed him there, all the while abusing him with their insults. All of that was actually worse. Than what this mob of Sodomite men would have done. To the two angels.

And it turns out, guys, That we were the mob that killed Jesus. We Are the wicked mob. According to Isaiah 53:5, Isaiah says he was crushed from our iniquities and pierced through from our transgressions. We killed him.

Yet God raised him from the dead and through his dying, God provides for us atonement for our sins. That's what Peter says in Acts chapter 2 verse 36. Listen to this. He says to the people who killed Jesus, he says, God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

And all of us are complicit in the crucifixion of Christ. This is the gospel we preach, that we crucified Him. And through his death, his blood was shed to provide atonement for our sin of crucifying Him and for all of our sins. This is the gospel we preach, which is a better gospel to give to the world than the gospel Lot gave.

Lot's gospel to the wicked mob was, don't do this wicked thing. Here, I present you, good news, I present you my two daughters. Do to them as you like and thereby be saved from behaving wickedly against the guest in my home. Some gospel that is.

Our message to the world is I present to you, we present to you Jesus Christ, whom you crucified with wicked hands by the predetermined plan of God, but God has raised Jesus from the dead. And provided you atonement for your sins through his shed blood, if you will believe in Him as your Lord and Savior. That's been the message of the church over the last 2000 years and people. From every country, from every family on Earth, the great and the small, from every quarter of every city have been hearing that message.

And believing in Christ. And being saved. Believing in Jesus who died. And rose again.

That's our message and sinners have been believing that message from the first century down to today. Listen to what Paul says and we'll close with this. To a group of Christian people in the church at Corinth. 2000 years ago in 1 Corinthians 6, Paul says to them, do not be deceived, neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Those are all descriptions of the mob. And Paul says, and such were some of you. You were this, and you're not anymore. Such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the spirit of our God.

If you're here today and you've never been washed by Jesus. If you've never been sanctified and made holy by Jesus, if you've never been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God, Come to Jesus today. Run to Jesus this morning, repent of your sins, call upon his name. And believe in him and he will be pleasured.

To save you, to forgive you of your sins, and to deliver you. From wickedness. Let's pray together Lord, as dark and difficult as this chapter is, I, I know that there are people in this room who have had Horrific evils visited upon them. They know what it's like to be on the receiving end of terrible evil, and I pray, Lord, that you would minister.

Of your healing balm to their souls. They would look to Christ and know that he suffered also. He bore their every sorrow and their every grief so that he could be their friend in sight of their pain. I pray, Lord, that You would make us a holy people.

who love righteousness. As our Generation grows increasingly corrupt, may we grow increasingly pure. Rather than just going along with them, but just being 10 years behind them in their corruption. Make us lovers of purity, lovers of holiness.

who stand fast for Jesus. And help us to shine as lights in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation in which we live. Protect our families, Lord. Make us repenters of sin and protectors of our own souls, the souls of our spouses, the souls of our children.

The souls of our brothers and sisters and the Lord. We're gonna see next week that the city of Sodom is gonna be absolutely destroyed. Everyone will die. Every blade of grass that grew on the ground in Sodom will be totally destroyed.

Because sin is real and your judgment is real. And I pray if there's any here today. who are caught in sin, maybe they've never called upon your name for salvation. I pray, Lord, that if they're feeling your spirit working in their heart, that they would embrace that conviction and realize that's a sign of life, that's a good thing.

It would be scary for them to sit through a message like this and feel nothing. But may they embrace that conviction and realize God loves me enough to make me feel this sorrow and grief over my sin. And he's calling me to himself today, and may they accept that invitation. And run to Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

There's a 1000 things we can pray. We're thankful that your Spirit prays for us with groanings that are too deep for words. He knows what to ask for our good. So hear our prayer this morning and hear the prayers of your spirit, hear the prayers of your Son Jesus as he intercedes for us.

And do your full good pleasure in our lives. Thank you Lord for this opportunity to give our offerings to you, receive these funds and do much with every penny that is given for the glory of Jesus, in whose name we pray, and all God's people said, Amen.