Compromise & Contrasts

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I’m grateful to have finished the Sodom and Gomorrah story. It’s been a long, dark, and challenging week of study. I’m thankful that the sermon culminated with a sighting of Jesus because it’s not good for my soul to be left in the judgment of Sodom. I hope it was good for you as well.

Here are several things I left out of Sunday’s sermon that I hope are helpful to you as you apply God’s word. They are in no particular order of importance and literally ‘musings’ off the top of my head.

On Guarding Ourselves From Compromise

It’s important to remember how deeply influenced we are by the friends that we run with and the media/books/entertainment that we allow in our minds. Two passages and a quote come to mind:

1 Corinthians 15:33: “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’”
Philippians 4:8-9: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
John Calvin wrote, “The first step to living well is to renounce the company of the ungodly. Otherwise, their conduct is sure to infect us with its pollution.”
The point of these is not to de-friend all of the non-Christians we know or to only listen to worship music or K-Love. The point is influence. It’s important to ask: “Are these people influencing me, or am I influencing them?” “Does this music encourage my faith and cause me to thank God, or do I feel compromised?”
Anything or anyone that is influencing us to compromise needs to be put aside.

The Story of Contrasts

The story of Genesis 18-19 is a story of contrasts. Abraham’s relationship and receptivity of God and Lot’s and Sodom’s compromise faith and rejection of God, respectively. John Calvin wrote, “What a difference there is between the pleasant and cheerful state of a peaceful conscience, which the faithful enjoy in fearing God and having his favor, and the fear of the wicked, who with unbridled insolence are dominated by contempt and forgetfulness of God.”

One temptation from sin and the world is thinking that God’s ways hinder us or keep us from experiencing real life. But the Abraham story shows us differently. He’s at peace, waiting on God’s hand, and eager to serve others. He’s overjoyed.
Lot and Sodom are entirely different stories from Abraham. In turmoil, battling his conscience, and seeing his family compromised is the way of Lot. Destruction, judgment, and evil immorality are Sodom’s ways.
From 100,000 feet in the air, it’s not challenging to see which way is life-giving and which brings destruction. But it sure is challenging with our boots on the ground. The battle of faith is to know and believe the way of life.

Lot Is a Perplexing and Gut-Wrenching Character

His willingness to give up his virgin daughters to the immoral Sodomites makes me angry.
His lack of influence over his sons-in-law gives me compassion for him.
The last words spoken about him are embarrassing and make me sad for him.
And 1 Peter makes this comment about him: “if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.” Righteous Lot? Really? What do we make of this?
- One possibility is that ‘compared’ to the wickedness of Sodom, Lot was ‘righteous.’ That’s saying something.
- Most importantly, we can see the extravagant nature of grace in this. In Genesis 19:29, we’re told that God remembered Abraham and rescued Lot. In this, we see grace at work. Lot didn’t deserve to be saved. He was compromised and was ‘tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds,’ which means he knew what he was doing. But God remembered Lot’s relationship with Abraham and saved him. Can you see grace here? God remembers Christ and saves us. Grace is extravagant.

Looking Ahead

This Sunday, we will look at Genesis 20 and Abraham making the same mistake again. It’s a story of our forgetfulness and God’s faithfulness.

From the Cheap Seats

I’m a Cowboys fan, so I cannot root for the 49ers. It’s not in my blood. But I sure respect Brock Purdy. A faithful Christian witness and a solid QB. It’s good to see him succeed and then hear his comments after games. Humble, grateful, competitive, and a great teammate.
73 points from Luka is impressive. I don’t like the NBA, but that’s a fantastic feat.
Losing Jurgen Klopp is a big deal not just for Liverpool but for the Premier League. He’s quite the character and an excellent football manager.

To watch or listen to the sermon described in this post, please click here.