Lot - The Smell of Smoke on His Clothes

Lot – The Smell of Smoke on His Clothes!

>>> Read Genesis 19 <<<

 

What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? . . .What can a believer share in common with an unbeliever? . . . Therefore come out from them and be separate says the Lord.

         2Cor. 6:14-15, 17

 

The opening verses of Genesis 18 and 19 present a striking contrast.  Abraham is shown sitting at his tent door (18:1) and Lot is sitting "in the gate of Sodom" (19:1). One believer enjoys his earthly pilgrimage while he waits for a better place, and the other associates with the judgment-doomed world. What actually brought the judgment of God down on Sodom?  Since God did not go from city to city destroying them because they were ungodly, we could ask why Sodom was singled out (along with its sister city, Gomorrah).

 

Sodom had a particular element that was odious to God – it was the presence of a believer holding a place of honor in the city (the city leaders held meetings at the gate). Lot's 'righteous' presence in the city mocked God in the eyes of his 'friends' (verses 7-9). Remember, we only refer to Lot as 'righteous' because of 2Pet. 2:7.  While it is true that God will judge the wicked who reject and mock Him, He will also deal with those who claim to know Him while their lives contradict that assertion.

 

Today many believers, rather than witness to the grace of God, prefer to be associated with the world. God calls people to enter into relationship with Him so that they can represent Him as they become conformed to the likeness of His Son. When they tolerate the things of the world, they mock divine things. Today's churches are full of people like Lot. Evangelical leaders share the public platform with apostate religions as they seek to bring people together in the name of politics, morality or 'fellowship.' We must not be fooled by those who tout the name 'God' but who cannot utter the Holy name of the Lord Jesus and claim Him as their life.  It will never be acceptable to God for His children to have fellowship with those who reject His Son.

 

It is not necessary for us to try to determine the saved or unsaved state of others (after all, if I were to judge Lot, I would say he didn't belong to God at all!), but we need to be clear about the state of our own hearts.  It is also important that we associate ourselves with those who have some evidence that they know Christ personally. Lot didn't partake in the evil deeds of the people of Sodom, but he had no witness for God among them. There is no evidence that he had fellowship with God or that his family had any regard for God whatsoever. 

 

When it came time for Lot to leave Sodom, he hesitated; the angels, who came to save him from judgment, had to drag him out of the city. His wife had such longing for the city that she turned to take one last look despite the warning not to do so. Lot could not even follow the angels when they tried to get him completely away from the cities and into the mountains. Fear drove him; he could not trust God to keep him safe. Lot had no power to influence others for God, no ability to show forth God's presence, no communion with God and no confidence in God to keep him safe. He was spared from judgment with the smell of smoke on his clothes! In the end, he left behind a posterity that became the constant enemy of God's chosen people (the Moabites and Ammonites).

 

When we think of Sodom, we focus on God's judgment of the city. However, this chapter focuses on Lot. Lot followed Abraham, the man of faith, out of Haran and stayed with him for a time, but Lot was no friend of God or man of faith. Lot followed Abraham, but he did not follow God. He shows us the plight of the believer who gets his foot in the door of justification, shares acquaintance with strong believers, yet has no desire to cultivate a  relationship with God for himself.

 

While it's true that weak believers are easily led into corruption, the point of this chapter is to show God's disdain for the worldly-minded believer who would even settle down among the defilement of the world. Lot wanted to profit by the world yet retain the authority to bear testimony against its wickedness (Gen 19:7). Although we are told that Lot was vexed by the world around him, Scripture does not record the words, "by faith Lot did such and such…"

 

On this side of the cross, with the Holy Spirit as our teacher and the written Word of God as our resource, we have greater accountability than Lot, for he had limited revelation of God. We are told, "Because you are lukewarm … I will spit you out of My mouth" (Rev. 3:16). This is God's word to us – we live in the age of the Laodicean church, as described in Revelation 3. God is serious about His testimony upon the earth – we should be serious about it as well. We need to be earnestly seeking the Lord and interceding on behalf of the Church – praying that her members would wake up to the delusion of Lot that exists today.                                                             LJ 10/09