Would you turn with me to 2 Peter
2. I'm always delighted to be here. I love to preach here. Love you. Love your pastor. I don't remember
ever being here when I didn't feel just so comfortable. And I appreciate
that. 2 Peter 2. Verse 4. For if God spared not the angels
that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into
chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, and spared not
the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher
of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the
ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes,
condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those
that afterwards should live ungodly, and delivered just Lot. Vexed with the filthy conversation
of the wicked, For that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing
and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their
unlawful deeds. The Lord knoweth how to deliver
the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust unto
the day of judgment to be punished. Now would you turn to Genesis
chapter 13. I've entitled this message, The
Two Accounts of Lot. We have the New Testament account
that I just read, and we have the Old Testament account. Now
in many ways, Lot appears to be an enigma, doesn't he? Puzzling. Baffling. There were great contradictions
in his life. His name means veiled. And indeed, he seems veiled and
covered. Till we reach the New Testament
account, there's so much that is just disturbing about this
man named Lot. Does that sound like anybody
you know? Perhaps you don't need to look much past the nose on
your face to see this greatly conflicted and contradictory
man. Now, we're introduced to Lot
in Genesis chapter 12, verse 4 as the nephew of Abraham. Lot's claim to fame was his connection
with Abraham. Look in chapter 13, beginning
in verse 5. And Lot also, which went with
Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. He was a very wealthy
man. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might
dwell together, for their substance was great. so that they could
not dwell together, and there was a strife between the herdmen
of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle. And the Canaanites
and the Perizzites dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto
Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee,
and between my herdmen and thy herdmen, for we be brethren.
Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray
thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left hand,
then I'll go to the right. If thou depart to the right hand,
then I'll go to the left. Now it seems to me that Lot ought
to be saying this to Abraham and showing deference to Abraham.
But here we have Abraham saying this to Lot. Verse 10, And Lot
lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan. that
it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of
Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain
of Jordan. And Lot journeyed east, and they
separated themselves the one from the other. And Abram dwelt
in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain,
and pitched his tent towards Sodom. But the men of Sodom were
wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. Now, Lot showed
himself to be a covetous man, a man interested in the things
of this world, and he didn't show deference to Abraham as
he should have, and he pitched his tent toward Sodom. Something that would bring him
great, great sorrow in his life. In chapter 14, we read of Sodom
being raided and Lot and his family is carried off and Abraham
rescues them. Lot is no longer having his tent
pitched towards Sodom, but he lives in Sodom. And these five
kings come and attack Sodom, and Lot is carried off. And Abraham
comes and rescues him, and this is where we also read of Melchizedek
for the first time. Now, what is Sodom known for? Sexual sin. Homosexuality. The Sodomites. That's what Sodom
is known for. Homosexuality represents human
religion. It cannot produce life. It cannot produce life. What a horrible place for him
to be. Now perhaps you remember When
the Lord came to Abraham and told him what he was going to
do in destroying Sodom. Now understand this, homosexual
sin is evil. Homosexuality is evil. It represents
man's religion. That's why God hates it the way
He does. It can't produce life. Now look
in Genesis chapter 18, verse 23. And Abraham drew near and said,
Will thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Talking about
God coming to destroy Sodom. It was a large town. Most people
say hundreds of thousands of people lived in Sodom at this
time. Abraham says, per adventure there
be fifty righteous within the city, without also destroy and
not spare the place for fifty righteous therein, that be far
from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the
wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that
be far from thee, shall not the judge of all the earth do right? I love that verse. We can have
confidence in that. Whatever the Lord does, shall
not the judge of the earth do right. Whether you and I understand
it, it doesn't matter. We know that whatever he does
is right. And the Lord said, verse 26,
if I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I'll spare
all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said,
Behold, now I've taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which
am but dust and ashes. Peradventure, there shall be
like five of the fifty righteous. Wilt thou destroy all the city
for the lack of five? And he said, If I find there
forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet
again and said, Peradventure, there'll be forty found there.
And he said, I'm not good for forty's sake. And he said unto
him, O, let not the Lord be angry, and I'll speak. Peradventure,
there shall be thirty found there. And he said, I'll not do it,
if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I've
taken upon me to speak unto the Lord. Peradventure, there shall
be twenty found there. And he said, I'll not destroy
it for twenty's sake. And he said, O, let not the Lord be
angry, and I'll speak yet once more. Peradventure, ten shall
be found there. And he said, I'll not destroy
it for ten's sake, if there were ten believers there. God said,
I won't destroy it in this big city. And the Lord went his way
as soon as he left communion with Abraham and Abraham returned
into his place. And the chapter 19, and there
came two angels to Sodom at even and lot sat in the gate of Sodom. Now what that means now lot has
some kind of civic responsibility in Sodom. He has some kind of
position. That's what means the people
of honor set at the gate. He had some kind of civic position.
He's gone from having his tent pitched toward Sodom to living
in Sodom. Now he's somebody in Sodom. And
there came two angels to Sodom and even. And Lot sat in the
gate of Sodom and Lot seeing them arose up to meet them. And
he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said,
Behold now, my Lord, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's
house and tarry all night and wash your feet. And you shall
rise up early and go your ways. He recognized these men as angels. And they said, Nay, but we will
abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly.
And they turned in unto him and entered into his house. And he
made them a feast and did bake unleavened bread. And they did
eat. But before they lay down, The men of the city, even the
men of Sodom, compassed the house round about, both old and young,
all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot and
said unto him, Where are these men which came to thee this night?
Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went
out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him. And
he said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold, now
I have two daughters, which have not known man. Let me, I pray
thee, bring them after you, and do ye them as is good in your
eyes. Only unto these men do nothing,
for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof." Now,
what a mess he got himself into, trying to protect the angels
he offers of his daughters. That's horrible. And it's all
because he's in Sodom. He didn't have any business in
Sodom. He shouldn't have been there. And there he was. And you look at the grief he
brought on himself. And they said, verse nine, they
said, stand back. And they said, again, this one
fellow came to sojourn, and now he needs to be a judge? Him judging
us? Now we'll deal worse with thee
than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot,
and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand
and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. And
they smote the men that were at the door of the house with
blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves
to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast
thou any besides, son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters,
whatsoever thou hast in the city? Bring them out of this place,
for we will destroy this place. Because the cry of them is waxen
great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us
to destroy it. And Lot went out and spake unto
his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up,
get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city.
But he seemed as one that mocked into his sons-in-law. You see,
he'd lost all credibility in his family through his actions. What a sad, sad commentary. He seemed as one who mocked. We can't take anything he says
seriously. Verse 15, And when the morning
arose, then the angels hastened, saying, Arise! Take thy wife
and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in
the iniquity of this city." And while he lingered. Now, do you see that? God says,
I'm going to destroy this place. Lot didn't want to leave. He looked around at all this
stuff that he invested so much time in and money in. It's all
going to be destroyed. He lingered. He lingered. He did not want to leave. And it came to pass, while he
lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of
his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being
merciful unto him. And they brought him forth and
set him without the city. You know, that's the first time
the word merciful is used in the Scriptures. First time. And you know what
it tells me? God's mercy is not an offer. God's mercy saves. He grabbed him by the hand and
he yanked him out of the city and brought him out, the Lord
being merciful to him. But God, who is rich in mercy
for His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were
dead, you see, Quickened us together with Christ. By grace are you
saved. What mercy! Verse 17, And it
came to pass, when they brought them forth abroad, that he said,
Escape for thy life, and look not behind thee, neither stay
thou in all the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest
thou be consumed. The angels knew he was going
to be saved, didn't they? But look at the way they spoke
to him. Escape for your life, don't hasten, do it right now,
don't wait. And Lot said unto them, O not
so, my lord. Behold, now thy servants have
found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy
which thou hast shown unto me in saving my life. I cannot escape
to the mountain unless some evil take me and I die. Look at the
unbelief even at this time. Look at the weakness even at
this time. God had done this for him, but some evil might
overtake me. Can't you trust the Lord to save you? Here he
is in fear. He says in verse 20, Behold,
now this city is near to flee into, and it's a little one.
Oh, let me escape thither. Is it not a little one? And my
soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I
have accepted thee concerning this thing also. And you know
that word accepted there is the word that's usually translated.
I have forgiven or I have pardoned thee concerning this thing also.
Aren't you thankful the Lord forgives and pardons. Oh, there
is forgiveness with thee that thou mightest be feared. Oh,
thank God for His forgiving mercy. He said unto him, I have accepted
thee. If God forgives you, that means He accepts you. He accepts
you for Christ's sake. And he said, See, I have accepted
thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this
city for which thou hast spoken. Haste thither! Escape thither!
Haste! Hurry up! For I cannot do anything
till thou come thither. Now, isn't that glorious? The
angel says, as long as you're here, I can't do anything. You're going to have to be brought
out and delivered before I can destroy this place. Do you know,
if the Lord Jesus Christ shed his precious blood for you, you
cannot be punished. There is therefore now, right
now, no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Everybody
Christ died for can't run the risk of the possibility of being
anything but saved. Isn't that wonderful? He said,
I can't destroy this place. I can't do anything until you're
brought out. Verse 23, The sun was risen upon
the earth when Lot entered into Zonar. All of a sudden there's
light. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom
and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
And He overthrew those cities and all the plain and all the
inhabitants of the cities. And that which grew upon the
ground. But his wife looked back from behind him. And she became
a pillar of salt. Now, remember the Lord said,
look ahead. Don't look back. Don't look back to your works.
Don't look back to your evidences. You look straight. That's what
looking to the Lord Jesus Christ is, isn't it? When you look to
Christ, you're not looking at your feet. You're not looking
behind. You're not looking to the side. You're looking straight
ahead, looking to Him. And when she looked back, every
time there's a special judgment in the scriptures, it's for a
religious sin. It's for a religious sin. And she looked back, not
looking to Christ. Now, if I was running and I saw
a new fire and brimstone, I'd kind of want to look back and
see what happened. I understand that you would do. But this is
not what this is about. This is about this woman failing
to look to Christ, looking back somewhere else. Verse 27, And Abraham got up early in the
morning, to the place where he stood before the Lord, and he
found out there were not ten believers there. And he looked
toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain,
and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the
smoke of a furnace. What do you reckon must have
passed through Abraham's mind at that time? Submission. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? He just did right. Humility, that would be me apart
from the grace of God. Fear, our God is a holy God. He just looked at that plane
and saw the smoke going up. Verse 28, or verse 29, And He
came to pass, when God destroyed the cities
of the plain that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the
midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which
Lot dwelt. One reason why Lot was delivered. One reason. His connection with
Abraham. That's the only reason. One reason
I'm deluded. Listen to this scripture. Be
kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's
sake. had forgiven you. He didn't forgive
you because you asked to be forgiven. He didn't forgive you because
you promised to never do it again. He didn't forgive you because
you promised to straighten up and fly right. He forgave you
for one reason, and it's the only reason that's needed, for
Christ's sake. That's a wonderful reason, isn't
it? Verse 30, And Lot went out of
Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him.
For he feared to dwell in Zoar, such a weak, unbelieving man. And he dwelt in a cave, he and
his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the
younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth
to come unto us as after the manner of all the men of the
earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will
lie with him, that we may preserve the seed of our father, And they
made their father drink wine that night. The firstborn went
in and lay with her father, and he perceived not when she lay
down, nor when she rose. And it came to pass on the morrow
that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight
with my father. Let us make him drink wine this
night also, and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve
seed of our father. And they made their father drink
wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him,
and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she rose.
Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son,
and called his name Moab, the same as the father of the Moabites
unto this day. And the younger she also bare
a son, and called his name Benamai, the same as the children of Ammon
unto this day." Now, these two products of drunkenness
and incest plagued the children of Israel. for years and years
and years and got them in so much trouble. Now this is the
Old Testament account of Lot. And it's not a very pretty picture,
is it? Lot. Lot. Can you identify with this
man? Lot. What a weak. What a contradictory. What a conflicted man. What a
man who... You see for yourself, don't you?
Now let's turn to 2 Peter 2, and here we have the New Testament
account of Lot. 2 Peter 2. Verse 6, He turned the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah unto ashes, condemned them with an overthrow,
making them an example unto those that afterward should live ungodly,
and delivered just lot. Vexed with the filthy conversation
of the wicked for that righteous man. dwelling among them, and
seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day
with their unlawful deeds, the Lord knoweth how to deliver the
godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust until the
day of judgment to be punished." Not one mention is made of anything
that he did in the Old Testament. He's called just what. He's called that righteous man
who possessed a righteous soul. He's called godly. That's what
the Holy Spirit says about this man. This is what God says about
this man, and what God says is what He is. Just lot? Righteous lot? Justified lot? Not one mention
is made of his contradictions and inconsistencies and weaknesses. Why? Because he's justified lot. Justified. Don't you love the
fact that God justifies the ungodly? And Lot is altogether righteous
before God. That's God's testimony of this
man. Just Lot. Because of the just
one, we have just Lot. And he was vexed with the filthy
conversation of the wicked. He was vexed with his own filthy
conversation. I guarantee you he was vexed
with it. You know, it's the new man that's vexed with the conversation
of the old man. And he was vexed with the filthy
conversation of the world. And I love this description of
him in verse 8, for that righteous man, dwelling among them in seeing
and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their
unlawful deeds." Now, this is speaking of the imputation and
the impartation of righteousness. He's a righteous man with a righteous
soul. Now, how in the world can a sinner
be righteous? He's called Just Lot. And this is God speaking. This
is God's testimony of this man. And God's testimony of the man
is the way he is. You know, people, and I've used
this term, justifications, just as if I've never sinned. No,
it's not. I never sinned. If I'm justified, I've never sinned.
I stand without guilt before God. Just love that righteous
man with his righteous soul. The work of Christ for you, righteous
by imputation, and the work of Christ in you. That was his righteous
soul given a new, righteous, holy nature. That righteous man
and his righteous soul. Now, how can a sinner be righteous?
Let me give you six things the Scripture teaches. First, a sinner
is righteous by virtue of his union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you remember when the Lord came up to John the Baptist and
said, I want you to baptize me? And he said, can you imagine
how uncomfortable he was? He said, I need to be baptized
in thee. And askest thou me? And you want me to baptize you?
And the Lord said, suffer to be so now, for thus it becometh
us to fulfill All righteousness. You see, everything the Lord
did, he did as an us. And if I'm united to him when
he fulfilled all righteousness, I did, too. He said, John the
Baptist, thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. You see, a sinner can be truly
righteous because he's united to the Lord Jesus Christ. Righteous
because you're made righteous. Now God can do this, I don't
understand how, I don't understand this really, I don't need to,
I just believe it. For he hath made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Somehow God could take my sin
All my sin, and place it upon the Lord Jesus Christ, so that
it became His sin." That's where he said, my iniquities have gone
over my head as a heavy burden, they're too heavy for me. My
sin became His sin. He was guilty of that sin, but
just as truly as my sin became His sin, His righteousness is
mine. So it's my personal righteousness
before God. Righteous by imputation. Third
way. Righteous by imputation. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord imputeth righteousness without works,
saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose
sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. And then we're righteous by gift.
We read in Romans 5, 17 of the gift of righteousness. The gift
of righteousness. Now, if God gives you something,
you know what? You got it. You got it. If you don't have it, He never
gave it. If He gave it, you got it. The gift of righteousness. If He gave you righteousness
as His gift, you possess righteousness. And then there's righteous by
nature. The scripture speaks of being
a partaker. of the divine nature. That's that righteous soul that
was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. That's that new
man, a new heart. Righteous by nature, and righteous
by faith. What does that mean? Righteous
by faith. You know, it says, to him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness. Can I see, physically, That I've
been eternally united to Christ? No. But by faith, I believe I
am. The evidence that I am is believing
the gospel. Can I see that my sin became
Christ's sin and His righteousness becomes mine? No, there's nothing
I can do to see it, but I believe the gospel. That's evidence it's
mine. Do I have some kind of document that proves that His
righteousness was imputed to me, and my sin was imputed to
Him. No, I don't. But what's the evidence
it was? I believe the Gospel. I'm relying on the Lord Jesus
Christ. What's the evidence that He's given me this gift? I believe
the Gospel. I do. I'm trusting Christ as
my only righteousness before God right now. That's what folks
do who He's given the gift of righteousness to. How do I know
I have a righteous nature? Is it because I can see it? Because
I believe the Gospel. I believe the gospel. Lot is
called godly. The Lord knoweth how to deliver
the godly out of temptations. Now, in the Old Testament account,
we could call him self-centered, worldly, weak, contradictory,
greatly conflicted, incestuous, and drunken. That's what the
Old Testament tells us, but none of this is even hinted at in
the New Testament. Isn't that amazing? Now here's
what the Lord does. I love thinking about this. What
good would it do you? What good would it do you right
now if God gave you a perfectly clean slate? It wouldn't do you any good at
all, would it? You'd mess it up in a second, wouldn't you?
You'd mess it up in a second. I don't need a clean slate. I
need a new history. Behold, I make all things new,
and I have a new history that's nothing but righteousness, godliness,
a righteous soul. A new history can't be changed,
can it? You can't change history. And
this is God's testimony of every believer just righteous. Turn with me to 1 John 3. Now, which account is true? We have the Old Testament account,
and we have the New Testament account. Which account is true? Well, both of them are true.
You know, when the Lord looked at His disciples and said, if
you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
You reckon he hadn't said, what's he doing saying that to us? Why
is he talking to us like that? No, you know, they knew exactly
what he meant when he said that. That Old Testament account is
true. But the New Testament account is true. And here's the difference.
The New Testament account is eternal. There's my history,
just righteous. That's my history. That's eternal.
Now look here in 1 John chapter 3. Verse 4, Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law, and
you know that he was manifested to take away our sins. Did he do it? Did he do it? Beloved, when they became on
him, they were no longer on me. Sin can't be two places at once.
When they left me and came to him, they're off me. And he took them away. He obliterated
them. He canceled them. He blotted
them out. They are no more. He was manifested to take away
sins. And in Him is no sin. And if I'm in Him, I have no
sin. Whosoever abideth in Him, Sineth
not. Now, what does it mean to abide
in Him? This last thought I want to leave you with. What does
it mean to abide in Him? If I would say that the only
place of safety is in this room, and in this room, not only is
it the only place of safety, everything you could ever want
is found in this room. Everything you could ever desire
is found in this room. Everything good is found in this
room. And outside of this room, there's
nothing but the wrath of God. Where would you want to be? You'd
want to be in this room. Would you want to go out? No. You would want to abide in this
room. I abide in the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't want to be outside of
Him. Paul said, Oh, that I may win Christ and be found in Him. When God comes looking for me,
I want Him to find me. I know naturally you'd love for
the Lord to come back and you're reading the Bible or praying
or witnessing or something like that. I mean, we think that. And I would. I mean, I'd rather
come back. I'd like to be preaching. But
you know, all that kind of stuff is vanity. One way I want to
be found that's in Christ where all God sees is His Son. Whoso abideth in Him, what's
it say? He sinneth not. And that is the
history of every believer. Amen.