SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
04/07-2004
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “The
True Believers Delivered” (Lot)
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Peter
2:6-9a
Message of the
verses: “6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example
to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; 7 and if He rescued righteous
Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous
man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day
by their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord
knows how to rescue the godly from temptation,”
As we begin part two of this section I want to quote
again from Dr. Wiersbe: “God enabled Lot
and his family to remain unpolluted, even though they were living in the midst
of a cesspool of iniquity. God also
rescued Lot and two of his daughters before the judgment fell on Sodom and the
other cities of the plain (Gen. 19). Lot
was not rescued because of any merit on his part. He was rescued because he was a believer and
because his Uncle Abraham had prayed for him.
Abraham outside of Sodom had more influence than Lot inside the
city. Lot even lost his testimony to his
own family, for his married daughters and their husbands laughed at his
warning, and his wife disobeyed God and was killed.
“Lot chose to
live in Sodom and cold have avoided the filthy influence of the place, but many
people today really have no choice and must live surrounded by the pollutions
of the world. Think of the Christian
slaves who had to serve godless masters, or Christian wives married to unsaved
husbands, or believing children with unsaved parents. Christian employees working in offices or
factories are forced to see and hear things that can easily stain the mind and
heart. Peter assured his readers and us
that God knows how to ‘be delivering the godly out of testing and temptation’
(2 Peter 2:9, WUEST) so that we may
live victoriously.
“He also is able to rescue us from judgment. In Noah’s case, it was a judgment of water,
but in Lot’s case it was a judgment of fire.
The cities of the plain were caught in a violent overthrow as the area
became a vast furnace of fire and brimstone.
This certainly would parallel Peter’s warning about the coming judgment
of fire (2 Peter 3:10).
“Peter was not pointing to Lot as an example of separated
living, but rather as an example of one whom God rescued from pollution and
condemnation. In a sense, Lot was even
rescued against his will, because the angels had to grasp him by the hand and
pull him out of the city (Gen. 19:16).
Lot had entered Sodom, and then Sodom had entered Lot, and he found it
difficult to leave.
“Our Lord used both Noah and Lot to warn us to be
prepared for His return (Luke 17:26-37).
The people of Sodom were enjoying their regular pleasures, careless of
the fact that judgment was coming; when it came they were unprepared. ‘Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for
such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot,
and blameless’ (1 Peter 3:14).”
We will continue looking at what Dr. Wiersbe wrote on
this subject in our next SD.
9/3/2017 7:15 AM
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