. They want to keep just as near
to Sodom as possible. By J. R. Miller. Run for your
lives. Do not stop anywhere in the plain.
Do not look back. Escape to the mountain or you
will die. Genesis 19.17 This is still the gospel message. We are in danger of God's judgment,
and must escape from it, if we would live. We must not stay
anywhere in all the plain of sin, for there is no safe spot,
no shelter anywhere, no place where the fires of judgment will
not fall. Some people would like to compromise.
They are willing to flee from some sins, but not from others. There are some professed Christians
who like to stay on the borders of their old life. They are continually
asking whether they can do this or that, go here or there, and
still be Christians. They want to keep just as near
to Sodom as possible, so as not to be burnt up in Sodom's destruction. The answer to all such questions
is, run for your lives. Do not stop anywhere in the plain.
Do not look back. Escape to the mountain, or you
will die. Even the borders are unsafe.
The only safe place is the mountain, the mountain where Christ's cross
stands." Lot's wife looked back. There had been a specific command,
do not look back. Why Lot's wife looked back is
not explained. Was it curiosity, to see the
nature of the terrible destruction that she heard roaring behind
her? Or was it her dismay, as she thought of her beautiful
home, with all its wealth of furnishing and decoration, and
all her jewels and garments and other possessions, which were
now being consumed in the great conflagration? It would seem
to be that she was appalled at the thought of leaving and losing
all her beloved possessions, and paused in her flight and
looked back, with the hope that possibly she might yet run back
and snatch some of the ornaments or gems, something at least from
the awful destruction. But Lot's wife looked back, and
she became a pillar of salt. Remember Lot's wife, Luke 17,
32. We should not miss the lesson
which our Lord Himself teaches us from the tragic fate of this
woman. We cannot have both worlds. Lot's
wife could have escaped with her husband and her daughters,
but she could escape only by resolutely and determinedly leaving
everything she had in Sodom. Her love for her possessions
cost her her life. Just so, there are thousands
today to whom God's message comes. Run for your lives. Do not stop
anywhere in the plain. Do not look back. Escape to the
mountain, or you will die. They somewhat desire to follow
Christ, but their love for the world is so intense that they
cannot give it up. They cannot renounce it. They
must decide, however, which they will renounce. Christ or the
world, they cannot keep both. In Lot's wife, we have an example
of one who was almost saved and yet lost. She was lost because
she loved the world. Remember Lot's wife.