The World is Evil, but God is Just - Pastor Tom Loghry
In Genesis 18:16-33, God warns Abraham of what he has planned for Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham entreats Him to save Lot.
Transcript:
Our scripture reading this morning is from Genesis 18: 17 - 23. Then the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. Then the Lord said, , the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin is so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.
The men turned away and then went towards Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said, Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
I want you to use your imagination this morning. I want you to imagine that you are sitting at a desk. You're sitting at a desk, and a mysterious man, clad in an ominous suit, has now walked up to the desk and placed a briefcase on it. He opens it up and directs your attention to a button mounted at the center of the case.
And he tells you this. Press this button and you will eliminate evil from the world. Press this button and every evil person will be eliminated. And the man walks away into the shadows. Will you press the button? Before you decide, you should consider that God could do just this. He could eliminate evil.
But he hasn't. Would you execute the judgment God has withheld? It's a lot to consider. Now, we do know that God has brought down judgment at various times and places. We see it at a universal scale in the flood. But what's so interesting about that case is that while Noah is called righteous, he and his kin propagate sinfulness and give evil a second chance.
So it can be seen that God did not entirely eliminate evil. God also brings judgment upon various nations, including Israel, but he allows other evil persons and places to continue to exist. God reveals his measure of justice, but holds back from pouring out his complete judgment. For now. In Genesis 18, Abraham's story intersects with the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.
And the story of the fate of those two cities begins here, but will only be completed in chapter 19. For now, our attention is turned completely to God. You will recall that Abraham and Sarah were entertaining three mysterious visitors. Two of these are in fact angels, and one of them is the Lord himself.
And now, in the light of Jesus Christ, since he's been born, he lived, he died, he rose again, he's ascended. Since we know all that happened, we would say that this one, who only appears as a man at this point, is the son of God before he was born human. And he has told Abraham and Sarah to expect that they will welcome a newborn son very shortly through Sarah's own womb, despite the fact that they're very old.
And as we look further in the chapter, there's more to tell. News that will set Abraham's mind racing. And as we begin looking at verses 16 through 20, it starts by, you can almost imagine these three men being huddled together, but seemingly within earshot of Abram, Abraham, and a question is asked, seemingly rhetorically.
The Lord asks, basically, Would I really hide from Abraham what I'm about to do? Abraham's the one that I've given these promises to. God's basically saying, how can I possibly hide this from him? We see the specific reasoning, I think, in verse 19. God says, For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. So it seems that part of the reason why God is sharing what's about to befall Sodom and Gomorrah with Abraham is so that Abraham has an instructive example in the Lord about what it means to do what is right.
What it means to be a just person. And that this is going to have ramifications for all of Abraham's children because he's going to instruct them in the ways of the Lord. Now, what we, what has prompted all of this, this confrontation with Sodom and Gomorrah, is that there's been an outcry that has arisen.
Verses 20 to 21 says, The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know. Now we won't get into the specifics of what they're doing. We'll get into that next week, but it's enough to say that they've been bad.
Very evil cities. This outcry has reached God. Now it is interesting that God kinda goes through these, this process of coming down to visit these cities.
We see this sort of language used also in Genesis 11 with the Tower of Babel. It says in Genesis 11: 5, but the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. Then also later on, when you have Moses and the children of Israel leaving Egypt,
preceding that, that Exodus actually. In Exodus 3: 7- 9, the Lord says, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land.
A land flowing with milk and honey, the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.
Is God a physical being like us such that he would have to come down and see these things? Does God have ears so that we would have to reach a certain decibel level that he would hear us? No. This is just all a manner of speaking in order for us to understand that God does see. That God does hear. That he knows what's going on. And this idea of coming down communicates to the first audience of scripture and it communicates to us that God is near nothing is hidden from God. And just as you would expect, you know, a judge to expect, you know, will show me the evidence before I render my verdict, God is taking in all the evidence. He's not missing anything. So that's what God is demonstrating by going through these steps that aren't really necessary for his divine nature, but it's helpful to us as human beings. Now, we know that things are really messed up in Sodom and Gomorrah because Abraham has no doubt about the evil in those cities.
He was familiar with them. Besides his business dealings and past military partnership, he actually kind of saved their butts. They had been conquered and he helped get all their stuff back, basically. Besides all that, his nephew Lot resided in Sodom with his family. So Abraham cares about their fate, if for any reason, because he cares about his nephew.
And in verses 22 through 25, he pleads for mercy because he knows these cities will need it. So we've read the first couple verses, but I'll, I'll read it as a whole. See, the men turned away, this is verse 22, and went towards Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said, Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing -- to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the judge of all the earth do right? So the case that Abraham brings before God is basically, well, what about those who are innocent? What about those who are righteous in the city? And he, he points that out and then he appeals to God's justice, will not the judge of all the Earth do right. Now, what Abraham is expressing here is something that Moses also takes up in his song later in Deuteronomy 32, in terms of assessing the character of God.
In Deuteronomy 32, verse 4, Moses says of God, He is the rock. His works are perfect and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong. Upright and just is he. So if God is just, how could God possibly also punish the righteous along with the wicked? I mean, none of us have ever liked, you know, the way that teachers have to kind of discipline their classes sometime where you have some troublemakers and then you have some kids that didn't do anything wrong, but you're going to have a pizza party and everyone loses out on the pizza party, you know, because of a few bad apples.
Surely God's not like that. That's what Abraham is basically saying here. And it's interesting. We hear Moses and Aaron make this sort of appeal in Numbers 16 as well , when you had the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, and they basically said, God, don't consume all the people, just deal with the bad ones.
So moving on into verses 26 through 29, we find God's response and Abraham's follow up. The Lord said, If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Then Abraham spoke up again. Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty?
Will you destroy the whole city for a lack of five people? If I find forty five there, he said, I will not destroy it. Once again he spoke to him, what if only forty are found there? He said, for the sake of forty, I will not do it. Now at this point, we feel like Abram's getting a little bit nervy here. He's like trying to, like he's whittling down God, but we do see him demonstrate a sense of his own position before God.
He knows who he is. He says that I'm nothing but dust and ashes. I'm making an appeal to you, the God of all creation. So, Abraham's not judging God here. What he is doing is, in fact, pleading based on the character of the God that he trusts. And so, he just keeps going. He pushes further. In verse 30, it says, Then he said, May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak.
What if only 30 can be found there? He answered, I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham said, Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there? He said, For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it. And he said, May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.
What if only ten can be found there? He answered, For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it. When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham returned home. Now, we kind of have to be grateful at this point that Abraham didn't start on a much larger figure than 50. We would have been here all day working down the numbers.
Abraham's very persistent with his petition. And this is not inappropriate. God, in fact, invites us to plead before him that he would intervene and act justly. We think about Jesus and how he taught his disciples in Luke 18 , about the parable of this persistent widow that kept basically bothering a judge, saying, you know, hear my case, do me justice, pay attention to me.
And finally, the judge was not a just judge, but he was like, I just want this woman to go away. He listened. And the point Jesus was trying to make, if even the unjust judge will listen because of this persistence, how much more will God, who is the most just judge, listen to us? So, what Abraham's doing here is not inappropriate, I think it can be understood that he's pressing into who he know, he know, he knows God is.
And as far as God kind of going through this whole rigmarole with him, it's kind of similar with the idea of going down to the city. What he's doing here is he's not entering into an actual negotiation with Abraham. Sometimes, I don't know about you, it, I know better, you know, I've, I know better. I've studied the theology, but it's so easy in our prayer lives to kind of get into negotiation with God.
It's like, okay, I'll do this, you know, God, if you do this for me, I will do this and stuff. And like, as though you could change God's mind. But the appropriate posture to come before God in prayer is, Thy will be done. I know this is true about you, God, which is what Abraham's doing here, but Thy will be done.
And what God's doing here, this whole exchange with Abraham, is He's revealing something to us. He's revealing to us His just character, and He's also revealing to us the breadth of His mercy. You've got these cities that are just filled to the brim with evil and wickedness, and if God could just find ten righteous people in those cities.
He wouldn't destroy them. He would withhold his judgment. Now, a bit of a spoiler alert, God does judge these cities. , He's not even able to find ten righteous people in Sodom or Gomorrah. And at this point, I think it's important for us also to consider that this use of the word righteous comes with an asterisk.
Because being counted righteous before a human judge is different than being counted righteous before the divine judge. Relative to one another, you know, we can be found innocent before, you know, in the law of the land when we stand before a judge. But when we stand before God, the standard is so much more high.
And we see this, I think, demonstrated just so vividly in the case of the prophet Isaiah. If you think of anyone who would be righteous, You would think it would be the prophet Isaiah. This is a man who's faithful to God. He hasn't gone along with the idolatry. He's obedient to God. He's speaking the word that no one wants to hear among his people.
And yet when he comes before God, when he's brought before God's presence, we hear him say this in Isaiah 6: 5. Woe to me, I cried, I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips. And I live among a people of unclean lips. And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. Now, what Isaiah is revealing here in his own confession is the reality that before God, none of us measure up to the standard of God's righteousness.
We come up short of it. And Scripture testifies of this elsewhere. You see this in Ecclesiastes and in Psalms. In Ecclesiastes 7: 20 it says, Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. You have to emphasize that, and never sins. And in Psalm 53: 3, Everyone is turned away, all have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good, not even one. You could turn over to Psalm 40 and see basically the same thing. And then Paul picks this up. So there's continuity here between the Old Testament and New Testament. Paul picks this up in Romans 3. And he basically reiterates what those scriptures say in verses 10 and 11.
And then in verse 20 he says, Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law. Rather through the law we become conscious of our sin. So if we really attend to the heart of God's law that he's given us in scripture, we will come to the same conclusion that Isaiah did when he stood before God.
That we are unclean. That we are unworthy. God's law boils down to this. Love God with everything that you have. Heart, soul, mind, body, strength, spirit. All of it. And love your neighbor as yourself. And the fact is, none of us do that. We've all come up short in various ways. It cannot be said of any of us that you've never sinned.
So it's important for us to remember this because all death, all suffering is ultimately ultimately a consequence of this human rebellion that we are co conspirators in. So, you know, whether we die today, die tomorrow, we all die. We're all living under that, that judgment. And if we're unreconciled to God, on the Day of Judgment, we will be destroyed.
And there's no way for us to save us. The salvation that we need lays beyond our grasp. But, there is good news. Because God also testifies in the Scripture that He's not going to destroy all people. Isaiah 65: 8- 9 It says, this is what the Lord says, as when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes, and people say, don't destroy it, there's still a blessing in it.
So will I do in behalf of my servants. I will not destroy them all. I will bring forth descendants from Jacob and from Judah, those who will possess my mountains. My chosen people will inherit them, and there will my servants live. So on the appearance, it looks like there is no hope. But God's able to, to bring Jews from a place of nowhere, basically.
And the way that he does this is, is very unique. It's brought to pass, not because he was able to find ten righteous people, but because he found one righteous man. God offers salvation to the world for the sake of the one righteous man, Jesus Christ. He's a better intercessor for us than Abraham ever could be.
You know, you might feel great, you know, if Abraham was still living and he could intercede on your behalf, but the thing is that he couldn't, he could not come close to the intercession that we have because Jesus lives. He is at the right hand of the Father and he is our mediator.
Abraham tried just to bring a little bit of salvation by pointing to a few righteous people, but Jesus, he knew better. He points to himself because he is enough to cover all who are with him. And the book of Hebrews testifies to this beautifully. In Hebrews 7 verses 24 through 26, we have this testimony about how Jesus is our high priest, our intercessor.
It says, Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need. One is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
All those characteristics, none of us could say that about ourselves. But it can be truly said of Jesus, and that's how we can be our high priests. And the good news is, is that in Jesus, we are both forgiven and we're also restored. It's unfortunate that I, I, in some, some explanations of the gospel that I've heard, it's focused strictly on the forgiveness part, which is so essential.
We need to be forgiven of our sins. None of us are righteous. But if we were just forgiven of what we've done, that would give us no hope for tomorrow because we'd just go right back to doing what we always do. But the promise that we have in Jesus is that we are also, we are forgiven and we are also restored.
So in Hebrews 10 verses 14 through 18, it says, for by one sacrifice, he's made perfect for ever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First, he says, this is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts. See, that's the problem.
God's law is not on our hearts. But this is what God has promised is going to happen in Jesus. I will put my laws in their hearts. And I will write them on their minds. Then he adds, their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. It's like they didn't happen. God doesn't count it against us. And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
Because Jesus has, has done it all. We don't have to do anything else, whether it would be by the offering of sacrificial animals, or trying to rack up a bunch of good works to save ourselves. It's all accomplished in Jesus. So let's go back to the desk. That button. It's sitting before you. And by now, you should know better than to push it.
Because to destroy all evildoers, to destroy all evil, would mean that at this moment, you yourself would be destroyed. You are not righteous enough to save Sodom and Gomorrah. You are not righteous enough to save yourself. But Jesus is righteous enough to save you if you'll turn to him. Turning to Jesus does not mean you'll be spared the curse of this world.
You will suffer and die like everyone else. The difference is that you have been joined to the one who has tasted our curse. You have been united with the one who has overcome sin's power by his obedience, and death's grip by his resurrection.
So yes, you're a sinner today, but you can be saved if you turn to Christ to intercede for you. And so if God's judgment did come today, you would have that assurance that you will be saved. But we definitely still don't want to push that button because there's more people that need to come to know Jesus.
Our present acceptance by God in Christ, unseen by the world, will be revealed on the last day when the final judgment comes. We will pass through the fire on account of Jesus and live with Him in our resurrection. This is how you can be saved. As for all those others that I've mentioned, you yourself can't save them.
But you can lead them to their salvation. We go to the world not as super saints, but as sinners who have found grace. We go in humility. As D. T. Niles has said, Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread. We are all beggars at the point of starvation. The trouble is, is that it's just so easy for us to only care for our own hunger.
The example that we have in Abraham is that he cared. He was urgent in his efforts that his nephew Lot and his family might be spared. And, as a result, these cities along with them. You and I need that kind of urgency. Judgment is coming. It won't be put off forever. What we can do is lead our neighbors to the one righteous man through whom they can be spared.
And we need to just think practically about this, like, when's the last time you invited someone to come to church or maybe join you for a study? Go to a seminar. I'll admit like on a personal front for me, this is always a challenge because my whole life is just surrounded by like Christians, Christians, Christians, and many of them are already plugged into a church, but we need to find those people in our lives who don't need Christ, who don't know Christ, they need Christ, they don't know Christ and connect them.
Bring them to church so that they can encounter Christ in his body. We can pray that God would open their hearts to him. That's what we ultimately need. You know, you could drag someone kicking and screaming in here. Wouldn't make a lick of difference. I've said this before. Jesus met tons of people in his life who rejected them.
They saw Jesus face to face and they still rejected him. That's going to happen. Not everyone's going to believe. And that's why we need to pray that God would change their hearts. But we, in all of this, we need to be urgent. We won't be urgent, you won't be urgent, if you don't believe in judgment, if you don't believe in that one man.
Abraham believed in the reality of God's judgment, and he hoped just that some righteous contingent would be found. If God's judgment doesn't burden you, pray that he would impress its reality upon you. Pray that he would turn your heart to care for those around you and pray that the hope of Jesus Christ would burn bright before your eyes, brighter than all the flashing bulbs all around us, trying to distract us amidst all the calamities of this world so that you will urgently direct everyone to him.
Let us pray.
Dear Father,
you are so just and you are so merciful, Father. We see both these things held together, Father, because we see your mercy and that you've been so patient with us. And truth be told, Father, you were so patient with Sodom and Gomorrah. And yet in those cities, Father, we also see your justice revealed. That you will punish sin.
And while we continue to live under your mercy today, father, we understand that your justice will be accomplished. That evil will be answered. And so father, we pray that you would spur us to point people to Jesus. To point them to Him as the only one who can intercede on their behalf, Father. Help us see this reality, Father.
It's just so easy for us to just think of these things as things on a page.
Bring the reality home to our hearts. Finally, Father, we just thank You that in Jesus Christ, we are accepted. We are forgiven. And that we are restored in him. We give you praise in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)