Genesis (Part 23)
Bible Study Time 11-16-08
(From James Roberts 1-26-97)
Bible Study Time 11-16-08
(From James Roberts 1-26-97)
Last week in our Journey Through the Scripture, we considered Lot, Abraham’s nephew. And we saw that Lot had made some very bad choices. He had gone to live in the city of Sodom where he became increasingly involved in the affairs of Sodom. He had even become a leader and had possibly become one of their judges.
God was ready to destroy Sodom because of Sodom’s wickedness, and we find in the book of II Peter that it was God’s plan to save Lot out of Sodom before the judgment came. In Peter’s account, Peter actually refers to Lot as a just, or a righteous man. Now, that is interesting.
Even though Lot was in Sodom, he did not lose his position before God as a just, or righteous person. In this we see that Lot’s position before God was based on his faith. Because of Lot’s faith in God, he was protected from the judgment of God because he was under the grace of God.
So Lot’s position before God was not based on Lot’s good works; it was based on God’s grace. In the Bible, the word grace simply means that you get something that you don’t deserve. When you read about Lot in Sodom, oh my, you can certainly see how he did not deserve to hold onto his position of favor with God. He did not deserve to be considered by God to be a righteous or a just person, but God by His grace made it possible because Lot had faith in the word of God.
Undoubtedly, Abraham had shared with Lot some of the things that God had revealed to him, and Lot had believed the word of God. Lot believed and so God counted it to Lot for righteousness.
Now, let’s consider Abraham and Lot. Abraham had a position before God that resulted in Abraham being viewed as a just man or a righteous man. And that position was His, not because he was living a life that was pleasing to God but because he had believed the revelation of God, and God had extended his grace to Abraham. Abraham was saved by God’s grace through faith.
Abraham’s position before God was not based on Abraham’s good works, and Lot’s position before God was not based on Lot’s evil works. They both entered into a position of favor with God which was based on their faith.
And please let me say this to you, God tells you and me today that our position before God is established in the same way. If we believe in Christ, we are positioned in Christ, and our position in Christ is not based on how good we have been or on how bad we have been. Our position is based on God’s grace. God’s grace means that you get something that you don’t deserve.
So our position in Christ is given to us by God’s grace. God just gives it to us because of His great love for us and because He sees the faith that we have in God’s word. We are saved by grace through faith in what God has said in His word.
Now, Abraham put His faith in God when God told him to leave Ur of the Chaldeans. We exercise saving faith when we believe that God came from heaven’s glory as a man and then went to the cross, as the sinless God of glory in human form, to bear our sins in His own body on the tree.
While Jesus Christ was hanging there on the cross, He died and paid the penalty for all of your sins and all of mycame from heaven't Lo sins so that those sins could never be held against us. Christ paid in full the penalty for those sins. And when we believe that He died for our sins, that He was buried and that He rose again the third day, God counts that faith for righteousness.
It is on this basis of faith that Abraham and Lot and you and I are made right before God. Our acceptance in the sight of God is not because of who we are or because of what we have done, but it’s because of God’s grace and it’s on the basis of our faith in Christ.
We have seen the standing of Abraham and Lot before God, but now let’s look at their state. Abraham was a man who believed God and walked in fellowship with God, and God was able to use Abraham in many ways here on the earth. God gave Abraham promises, and he confirmed those promises to Abraham and to his seed after him.
Lot, on the other hand, was a person who was out of fellowship with God. He lived in Sodom, and he was entangled in the affairs of Sodom. While his position with God was similar to Abraham’s position, his state was very different.
Now, if you read Genesis, Chapter 19, you see a very sad situation. God was ready to destroy Sodom and so He sent two angels in the form of men and to rescue Lot, but let’s see what happened in verse 10:
Genesis 19:10-13 NKJV
10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.
11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city — take them out of this place!
13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."
You see, the men of Sodom had no position before God as righteous people, but Lot was going to be delivered from the coming judgment because he was a righteous person, even though his soul was vexed with the evil deeds of the people of Sodom. Now notice, the angels said:
Genesis 19:13-14 NKJV
13 . . . the LORD has sent us to destroy it."
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said,"Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
You see, Lot had lost his testimony before even his sons-in-law. Now, verse 15:
Genesis 19:15-16 NKJV
15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying,"Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city."
16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
You see, Lot was still reluctant to leave Sodom, even in the face of judgment. The angels actually just dragged him out of the city along with his wife and his two daughters. Now, notice in verse 17:
Genesis 19:17 NKJVudgment, and the angels actually just dragged them out of the city, Lot, his wife and his two daughte
17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that (the angel) said,"Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."
That’s where Lot could have gone in the first place when Abraham gave him a choice as to where he would go. Now Lot is told by the angel to escape to the mountains, but notice what Lot said:
Genesis 19:18-19 NKJV
18 . . . "Please, no, my lords!
19 Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.
Abraham was living safely in the mountains, and God was using him. Lot was in living in Sodom where he was in great danger because Sodom was going to be destroyed and everything that Lot had achieved and that he had acquired was going to be destroyed. And yet, Lot was afraid to go to the mountains. He was afraid that he would be in too much danger there. And notice in verse 20:
Genesis 19:20-23 NKJV
20 See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."
21 And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken.
22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.
Lot had to be dragged out of Sodom, and he was also reluctant to leave the cities of the plains of Jordan. That had been his downfall as far as his spiritual state and his fellowship with God were concerned. Lot was reluctant to leave, and so he asked if he could go to Zoar because it was a little city.
Many times Christians who are out of fellowship with God think that it’s alright to be just a little bit involved in the world. They see all of the really bad things that other people are doing over in Sodom, and they think, I’m not doing all those really bad things; I’ll just stay over here in Zoar where I can be just a little bit worldly.
But please notice that when God delivered Lot, God had to destroy everything that Lot had except his two daughters. Even Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. She was delivered out of Sodom, but she lost her life as she was leaving Sodom because she disobeyed the Lord and looked back at Sodom.
In the book of I Corinthians, we see one of the lessons that we can learn from Lot, and I want you to get this. In the book of I Corinthians, Chapter 3 and verse 9, we read:
1 Corinthians 3:9-15 NKJV
9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.
14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
What a beautiful picture Lot gives us of the person who builds wood, hay and stubble, things that will be burned up in the day of judgment. When we walk according to the flesh, we are building those things that will be burned up just like the things that Lot was building in the city of Sodom.
If we want to have a reward on the day of judgment, our spiritual state before God must be such that we are walking in fellowship with God. Only then will we be building with gold, silver and precious stones. Lot was saved as through the fire. He was dragged out of the fiery judgment. He was saved, but all that he had was burned up.
Oh, it may be that you are listening this morning, and you are living a life that is based on selfish ambition, just doing what you want to do. God tells us that when we walk according to the flesh like Lot, we will lose all that we have built, yet we will be saved as through the fire with nothing to present to the Lord on that day when we see Him face to face.
I trust that you know the Lord as your Savior, and then that you are walking in accordance with His will so that you will be like Abraham rather than Lot.
Well, I see our time is already gone. The Lord willing we’ll be back again with you next week as we continue our Journey Through the Scripture. Until that time, we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
God was ready to destroy Sodom because of Sodom’s wickedness, and we find in the book of II Peter that it was God’s plan to save Lot out of Sodom before the judgment came. In Peter’s account, Peter actually refers to Lot as a just, or a righteous man. Now, that is interesting.
Even though Lot was in Sodom, he did not lose his position before God as a just, or righteous person. In this we see that Lot’s position before God was based on his faith. Because of Lot’s faith in God, he was protected from the judgment of God because he was under the grace of God.
So Lot’s position before God was not based on Lot’s good works; it was based on God’s grace. In the Bible, the word grace simply means that you get something that you don’t deserve. When you read about Lot in Sodom, oh my, you can certainly see how he did not deserve to hold onto his position of favor with God. He did not deserve to be considered by God to be a righteous or a just person, but God by His grace made it possible because Lot had faith in the word of God.
Undoubtedly, Abraham had shared with Lot some of the things that God had revealed to him, and Lot had believed the word of God. Lot believed and so God counted it to Lot for righteousness.
Now, let’s consider Abraham and Lot. Abraham had a position before God that resulted in Abraham being viewed as a just man or a righteous man. And that position was His, not because he was living a life that was pleasing to God but because he had believed the revelation of God, and God had extended his grace to Abraham. Abraham was saved by God’s grace through faith.
Abraham’s position before God was not based on Abraham’s good works, and Lot’s position before God was not based on Lot’s evil works. They both entered into a position of favor with God which was based on their faith.
And please let me say this to you, God tells you and me today that our position before God is established in the same way. If we believe in Christ, we are positioned in Christ, and our position in Christ is not based on how good we have been or on how bad we have been. Our position is based on God’s grace. God’s grace means that you get something that you don’t deserve.
So our position in Christ is given to us by God’s grace. God just gives it to us because of His great love for us and because He sees the faith that we have in God’s word. We are saved by grace through faith in what God has said in His word.
Now, Abraham put His faith in God when God told him to leave Ur of the Chaldeans. We exercise saving faith when we believe that God came from heaven’s glory as a man and then went to the cross, as the sinless God of glory in human form, to bear our sins in His own body on the tree.
While Jesus Christ was hanging there on the cross, He died and paid the penalty for all of your sins and all of mycame from heaven't Lo sins so that those sins could never be held against us. Christ paid in full the penalty for those sins. And when we believe that He died for our sins, that He was buried and that He rose again the third day, God counts that faith for righteousness.
It is on this basis of faith that Abraham and Lot and you and I are made right before God. Our acceptance in the sight of God is not because of who we are or because of what we have done, but it’s because of God’s grace and it’s on the basis of our faith in Christ.
We have seen the standing of Abraham and Lot before God, but now let’s look at their state. Abraham was a man who believed God and walked in fellowship with God, and God was able to use Abraham in many ways here on the earth. God gave Abraham promises, and he confirmed those promises to Abraham and to his seed after him.
Lot, on the other hand, was a person who was out of fellowship with God. He lived in Sodom, and he was entangled in the affairs of Sodom. While his position with God was similar to Abraham’s position, his state was very different.
Now, if you read Genesis, Chapter 19, you see a very sad situation. God was ready to destroy Sodom and so He sent two angels in the form of men and to rescue Lot, but let’s see what happened in verse 10:
Genesis 19:10-13 NKJV
10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.
11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city — take them out of this place!
13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."
You see, the men of Sodom had no position before God as righteous people, but Lot was going to be delivered from the coming judgment because he was a righteous person, even though his soul was vexed with the evil deeds of the people of Sodom. Now notice, the angels said:
Genesis 19:13-14 NKJV
13 . . . the LORD has sent us to destroy it."
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said,"Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
You see, Lot had lost his testimony before even his sons-in-law. Now, verse 15:
Genesis 19:15-16 NKJV
15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying,"Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city."
16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
You see, Lot was still reluctant to leave Sodom, even in the face of judgment. The angels actually just dragged him out of the city along with his wife and his two daughters. Now, notice in verse 17:
Genesis 19:17 NKJVudgment, and the angels actually just dragged them out of the city, Lot, his wife and his two daughte
17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that (the angel) said,"Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."
That’s where Lot could have gone in the first place when Abraham gave him a choice as to where he would go. Now Lot is told by the angel to escape to the mountains, but notice what Lot said:
Genesis 19:18-19 NKJV
18 . . . "Please, no, my lords!
19 Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.
Abraham was living safely in the mountains, and God was using him. Lot was in living in Sodom where he was in great danger because Sodom was going to be destroyed and everything that Lot had achieved and that he had acquired was going to be destroyed. And yet, Lot was afraid to go to the mountains. He was afraid that he would be in too much danger there. And notice in verse 20:
Genesis 19:20-23 NKJV
20 See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."
21 And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken.
22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.
Lot had to be dragged out of Sodom, and he was also reluctant to leave the cities of the plains of Jordan. That had been his downfall as far as his spiritual state and his fellowship with God were concerned. Lot was reluctant to leave, and so he asked if he could go to Zoar because it was a little city.
Many times Christians who are out of fellowship with God think that it’s alright to be just a little bit involved in the world. They see all of the really bad things that other people are doing over in Sodom, and they think, I’m not doing all those really bad things; I’ll just stay over here in Zoar where I can be just a little bit worldly.
But please notice that when God delivered Lot, God had to destroy everything that Lot had except his two daughters. Even Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. She was delivered out of Sodom, but she lost her life as she was leaving Sodom because she disobeyed the Lord and looked back at Sodom.
In the book of I Corinthians, we see one of the lessons that we can learn from Lot, and I want you to get this. In the book of I Corinthians, Chapter 3 and verse 9, we read:
1 Corinthians 3:9-15 NKJV
9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.
14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
What a beautiful picture Lot gives us of the person who builds wood, hay and stubble, things that will be burned up in the day of judgment. When we walk according to the flesh, we are building those things that will be burned up just like the things that Lot was building in the city of Sodom.
If we want to have a reward on the day of judgment, our spiritual state before God must be such that we are walking in fellowship with God. Only then will we be building with gold, silver and precious stones. Lot was saved as through the fire. He was dragged out of the fiery judgment. He was saved, but all that he had was burned up.
Oh, it may be that you are listening this morning, and you are living a life that is based on selfish ambition, just doing what you want to do. God tells us that when we walk according to the flesh like Lot, we will lose all that we have built, yet we will be saved as through the fire with nothing to present to the Lord on that day when we see Him face to face.
I trust that you know the Lord as your Savior, and then that you are walking in accordance with His will so that you will be like Abraham rather than Lot.
Well, I see our time is already gone. The Lord willing we’ll be back again with you next week as we continue our Journey Through the Scripture. Until that time, we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
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