I'm excited It is a privilege to be an unprofitable
servant to our God If you'll turn in your Bibles to 2nd Peter
chapter 3 2nd Peter chapter 3 I'm sorry chapter 2 2nd Peter chapter
2 and we'll begin in verse 6 and turning the cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making
them an example unto those that after 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 temptations and to reserve the unjust until
the day of judgment to be punished. So Lord willing, we're gonna
look a little bit, this man lot, just lot, Who is Lot? Who was Lot? There's three things
we'd like to address tonight. Who was Lot? Why did the Holy
Spirit inspire Peter to call Lot a righteous and just man? And thirdly, why did God deliver
just Lot? Pray God will grow us in grace
and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as we're
taught by the Holy Spirit. The first thing, who is this
man just like? He's a righteous man dwelling
among the wicked in Sodom. He was Abraham's nephew. His
dad had passed away, which is Abraham's brother. And he was
like a son to Abraham. And God had given them much,
much cattle and much goods, so much that there was a need for
them to separate. We look in Genesis 13, verse
10, Genesis 13. Let's look in 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 into Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain
of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves
the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of
Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched
his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked
and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." And several years after that,
Lot and Sodom were captured by their enemies. And God sent Abraham,
he took a small army, 300, to deliver them and restored all
their goods. And after that, God sent out
to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and those cities that surrounded
it. And Abram, Abram asked the Lord,
will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? And that's where
he pre-adventure, if there were 50, if there were, and went on
down to 10. And God sent his angels in to
deliver just Lot, just Lot, not just Lot, just Lot, just righteous,
declared righteous. And his two daughters and his
wife out of Sodom. And they fled to Zoar. And Lot's
wife, Look back and turn into a pillar of salt. We know the
story. And Lot was afraid to stay in
Zoar. So he and his two daughters went
to live in a cave. And God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Then in Genesis 19, let's flip
over there. Genesis 19, verse 30. We know the story well. And Lot went up out of Zoar and
dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him. For he
feared to dwell in Zoar, 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 into us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us
make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we
may preserve seed of our father.' And they made their father drink
wine that night. And the firstborn went in and
lay with her father, and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when
she arose. And we know the second daughter
did the same thing. And down over in verse 36, Thus
were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father, and
the firstborn bear a son and called his name Moab, the same
as the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger,
she also bear a son and called his name Benammi, the same as
the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. The Moabites
and the Ammites, they were enemies, wicked people, and enemies to
God's people. Enemies to God. And we'll see
more of them in a little bit later. A lot is briefly mentioned
in Deuteronomy, and then here in Peter, as a just and righteous
man. Now the second thing. Why did
the Holy Spirit inspire Peter to call Lot a just and righteous
man? Surely nothing that we read about
him would make us think he's righteous, would it? But we're sinful, and we tend
to look at the outward appearances. We tend to sit back and judge
because we're a lot better But God knows the heart. God
sees the heart. And God is not a respecter of
persons. And what God says is right. And all that matters is
what God says. So what did Lot do to be righteous
in the sight of God? Lot did exactly what Abraham
And all of God's elect do to be righteous before God. Nothing. Not one thing. Lot didn't do
anything. We don't either. Our righteousness
is as filthy rags and the flesh cannot please God. All we do
is sin. God's holy. God's righteous. Turn over to Galatians chapter
two. Galatians chapter two and verse
16. Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,
even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for
by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. And then let's go over to Romans
3. Let's turn over to Romans 3 and verse
10. As it is written, this is what
God says, there is none righteous. No, not one. There is none that
understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that
doeth good. No, not one. Not even one. Salvation is of
the Lord. Salvation is not contingent,
nor is it conditioned on anything that you do, or don't do, or
say, or don't say. Doesn't have a thing to do with
it. Salvation is of the Lord by God's
free and sovereign grace in His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. A lot was justified and righteous
before God by the imputation of Christ's righteousness unto
Him. There is nothing righteous or just in man. We're sinful,
we're born spiritually dead by nature, and we have that God-hating
nature in us of Adam. the one we fell in who was our
representative head. The Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest
in flesh, came to this earth to save his elect from their
sins. He came to save sinners, to redeem
God's chosen elect with his own precious blood. He's our substitute
and he's our surety. And we were chosen in Christ
by the electing grace of God before the foundation of the
world. He didn't look to see what we would be. He made us
what we are. And he chose us in his son before
the world was that he created. And he is the Lord, our righteousness.
He brought in that perfect obedience to God's law. He fulfilled the
law for us. He walked perfectly as a man.
while he was on this earth. He was obedient to the will of
God unto death and to the cross in our room instead. And he brought
in a perfect righteousness. Look at Romans 3. We're in Romans
3. Look down at verse 20. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by
the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there
is no difference. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. being justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth to be that propitiation, the propitiation. He's the propitiation. He is
that sacrifice that God chose and God will only accept. through
faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission
of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. To declare,
I say, at this time his righteousness, that he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. It is the God-given gift of faith
that God gives to each of his elect. That life, spiritual life
he gives, that everlasting life he gives in Christ, that's how
we believe on his son. It's the only way we believe
on him. It's Christ's righteousness, it's his faithfulness, and he
only gives it to his chosen elect that are in Christ. Man is born totally depraved,
spiritually dead, bound by Satan and bound in our sins. We died spiritually in Adam.
And we were born sinning and hating God. Christ Jesus. Yeah, do something for us, don't
we? We're helpless. We're bound. We're not stronger
than Satan. We can't even see. But Christ
Jesus is the elect's representative head. And he came and he suffered,
he bled, he died, he rose again that we might have life in him.
We belong to him. He bought us with his own blood.
We don't belong to ourselves. We're bought with a price. And
we need the grace of God. We're solely dependent on the
mercy of God and we need Christ Jesus. That lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. It was done in eternity when
God spoke, accomplished when he sent his son voluntarily to
come and die and accomplish salvation for his elect and to glory his
father. We need to be reconciled to God
in Christ Jesus, 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. That is the only way we're righteous before God, and
the only way Lot was. Same way he was delivered for
our offenses, and he was raised again for our justification.
And it is God who effectually calls us We're scattered. We're scattered
to the four corners of the earth. Lost. Sinful. We're elected. And then he has his appointed
time of love for each one of his children. I can never get
away. That is so precious. Each one
of us says we outnumber You can't count us, yet for each one of
his elect, he has an appointed time of love when he calls you
by his irresistible grace, by his gospel that he sends. And he sends a man to declare
it. That's God's means. That's God's means. And he draws
you to his son through that word. Christ is the word. Brother Rex
put Christ in the place of charity and put him in so many other
words, because he is all to us. And it's his love, that charity,
that constrains us. That word constrain means to
hold you. He holds you tight. You're not going to get away.
That's how much he loves you. His love constrains us. By his gospel preached, read
second, let's go to 2 Thessalonians 2, 13. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13. But we are bound to
give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the
Lord. Because God had from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth. Where unto he called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ in you is holy and he
is righteous. and in him there's no sin. You
must be born again. Lot was born again. Just Lot. Each one of us has that appointed
time of love by God when he reveals himself to you in the face of
his son. That's the only way he does it.
And he reveals Christ in you, the hope of glory. Oh, wrap your
minds around that. Wrap your minds around that.
And your heart. By the will of God, you're born
again by the will of God who chose you in his son. Christ
has preeminence. He was the firstborn. Firstborn
of the Spirit. His mama, she was of the flesh. But his father, he born in the
spirit of God. And when he borns you again,
you're flesh. But in you, he creates a new
creation. Doesn't doctor up this old flesh.
Doesn't use that old heart. He gives you a new one. He gives
you a spirit. There's Christ in you. The hope
of glory. And God's appointed time of love
for each one of us. He gives you everlasting life.
That's your inheritance, is Christ. And Christ is everlasting life. He gives you faith. That faith
to believe on Christ by that inward working of the Holy Spirit
of God in you. He reveals Christ in you the
hope of glory for by grace you are saved through faith. And
that not of yourselves. A lot didn't do a thing. We don't
do a thing. Not one thing. Anything we do
is going to be sinful. But it's that gift of God. Not
by works, lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship. Created, created anew in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God has already ordained that
we should walk in. What a privilege it is to be
an unprofitable servant, serving our God. All that we are given,
it's of God. It's for his glory and it's for
the saving of his elect. That new man God creates in you
is one with Christ and in Christ there is no sin. One with Christ. He's made you one with his beloved
son as he and the father are one. God dwells in that new man. See
how you're not young. Christ overcame the world for
you. There's nothing can hurt that
new man. They can kill and they can torture the flesh. But that's
that old man. He crucified. He's crucified
with him on the cross. We're dead. We're dead to the
law. We're dead to sin. That new man
don't sin in Christ. He don't sin. He's as holy and
righteous as Christ because Christ is holy and Christ is righteous.
Therefore, you be holy and you be righteous. That's not of you. That old nature can't do it.
That's why we rest in him and that's why they just live by
faith. Lot, as all of God's elect, was
made just and righteous and holy in that new birth. God imparted
the righteousness of Christ to him. It was imputed to you when
he died on that cross. but it was imparted to you in
the new birth. He made you righteous, made you
holy, new creature in Christ. Our old man, he's still there
in those two natures that every one of God's elect have, war
with each other, that we can't do what we would like to do. Sin can't, the sinful flesh can't
sin as much as it wants to, And that new man can't love God,
praise Him, glorify Him, glory in Him like we want to. But greater
is He that's in you than he that's in the world. Remember where
it said the elder shall serve the younger? Your flesh was born
first, then your new man was created in you. But that old
man serves the younger, because greater is God than your old
man. made us partakers of the divine
nature. That's in Christ. That spirit,
that self-same spirit. And in Christ there is no sin. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who God has made unto us. He's made Him all to us. That
wisdom that we have of knowing Him, that's of God. That's Christ in you. That's
the Spirit, it's Holy Spirit in you, teaching you, conforming
you, correcting you, convincing you, convicting you of sin, righteousness,
and judgment. And he's made him righteousness
to us. It's the only righteousness we have before God. And sanctification,
he's made him our sanctification. We're holy because he's holy.
and redemption. He bought us with his blood,
made us pure. That according as it is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. We got nothing to
glory in. Not one thing. There is salvation in none other
than Jesus Christ. And he is our all. His love constrains He's hugging you, he's holding
you tight. Oh, the third thing, the Lord delivered lot. Why would
he deliver lot? The Lord knows how to deliver
his elect. He delivered you from your bondage
of sin and sake, the fear of death. And he's our only acceptance
and righteousness before God. And in Christ, by his one-time
sacrifice of himself that God chose. God chose him a sacrifice
for the atonement for our sins. He appeased the holy justice
of God that we offended. Therefore, we don't fear the
day of judgment because the wrath of God is no longer on our heads.
Christ bore it, took it away. There's no sin. God's not angry.
Be reconciled to God. Quit being angry with God. Quit
trying to fight God. Put off the old man. Put on the
new. Because how easily we're vexed.
How easily we're vexed by our surroundings. That old man still
loves sin. And if God lets you alone for
just a second, you're going to run from it. You're going to
run to that sin. And you're going to enjoy it. But he loves you. That grace,
that mercy, that love that constrains you. He holds you. You come from afar off, he already
knew you was coming, because he's the one that drew you. Before
you could say, I'm not worthy. He's already fell on you and
kissed you. Kissed you, hugged you. It's by His blood. He was delivered. Oh, He delivered us from that
judgment, that justice of God. We stand in Christ Jesus alone
in His righteousness, and all God sees is that blood that we're
washed in, and that robes of righteousness that He has put
us in, and He sees His Son. He said, I want a bunch of them
just like Him. So he made us just like him.
He's conforming us to be just like him, because he loves his
son so much. It's for Christ's sake. We no
longer fear that wrath of God, because he appeased the holy
justice of God for us. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ. who walked not after the flesh,
but after the spirit. But Lot was vexed. It says Lot
was a vexed man. Lot was a vexed man with the
filthy lives of the wicked people that surrounded him. Aren't we? Man. Sodom and Gomorrah used to sit
and think how horrible those people are. Now look around. God show me
just how bad I am. Just a glimpse. I don't know
it in full. Just like I don't know how wonderful
he is. And he dwelt among them. Can you see when God came to
this earth? Surrounded his self with us sinful
people. But he came to save the sinners. Came to save his people. They
were sinners. Filthy. Polluted in your own
blood. And he passed over you. Said live. We're not better than they are.
It's Christ in you. Because there was no sin in him.
When he came to this earth, there was no sin. No sin in him. And Lot saw and he heard the
wicked, as we also do. His righteous soul, it says,
was vexed from day to day with their unlawful deeds. Their wicked, ungodly deeds.
The people of Sodom As you know, practice homosexuality in the
open. All of their shameful sins, they
practiced in the open. They weren't ashamed of them,
had no fear of God. There was no reverence to God. And how our society today, if
you look around, when God shows you what you are, Look around you. Are you not
vexed? Are we not vexed? Just like Lot. By the grace of God, we are what
we are. By the grace of God, Lot was only who he was. God
uses everything to his glory. It's his creation. He created
it and he can do with it whatever he wants. That includes every
man, woman, child, no matter what it is. He created it all
for his glory, his purpose, his will of saving his people and
his son. He'll use everything, everything
the way he wants to. And everything he does will be
right, no matter what we think. No matter what we do, no matter
what we say. And his love constrains us. They
felt no shame. No, their hearts were waxed.
They were hard. Had no fear of God. A lot felt
that shame and sorrow, don't you think? Don't you? When God
shows you what you are and who he is, and tells you to love
your brother, to love your enemy, that's against our nature. We
can't even love our people who love us, let alone love an enemy. That's Christ in you. These things in you, are these
things in you? Work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. Study to make thyself approved.
that you might be able to give somebody that comes up, God give
you an opportunity to declare your Savior to him and what he's
done for you. Be ready. Be ready. Be concerned about you, about
the people around us. Is any of them too sinful that
God can't save? If there is, Oh no. Look at all the examples he's
given us in the scripture. Every one of these people were
human beings. God's not gonna give his glory to anybody. Not
you, not me, not anybody. It's his glory. He's the one
that saves. He's the one that saves. Lot
was weighed down with guilt and shame He had compassion for these
ungodly people. Some of them were his friends
and his family. And he tried to warn them. There in Genesis
19 verse 14, 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. Angels of
the Lord done told him, it's gonna happen. If you got anybody
that you care about, you go tell them. You go tell everybody.
But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. Just like brother Mark said before
we come out here, if you don't have hope, if you don't have
a good hope, If God ain't gave you hope in Christ Jesus, where
does your hope lie? The Lord told him, get out. Go
tell the people to get out. That's from God. Only God can make you hear. Only
God can give you ears to hear. He has to born you again. You
have to be one of his elect in Christ Jesus and he has to born
you again. We didn't understand. We didn't understand a thing.
And anything we know now, don't glory as if you ain't received
it. Let us not ever glory like we haven't been a recipient. That's the grace of God. That's
the grace of God. That's the glory of God. And
he won't give it to anybody else. They wouldn't listen. They wouldn't
hear. Lot was vexed with their sins,
and he's vexed with his own sins. Look at Hebrews 2. Let's go to
Hebrews 2. Wrong way. Hebrews 2 verse 1. Therefore we ought to give the
more earnest heed to the things which we have heard. God's given
you ear to hear. Hear ye him, lest at any time
we should let them slip. God doesn't tempt anybody with
sin, and God can't be tempted with sin. But when we're lured
away by our lust in the flesh, we sin. And death is after sin. Look what God has done for us.
How many times a day do you do that? How many times? And how many
times has he forgiven you? What has he forgiven you for?
And Lot lingered. When the angels of the Lord told
him, get out, he lingered. And they grabbed him by the hand.
And they pulled him out. God knows how to deliver his
people, don't he? Peter in that water, he walking
on water. I'm walking on water. Who pulled him out? Who pulls
you out? When you think you something, when you think you know something, it's not by your works. It's
not by your studying. It's not by your... A man can
read this Bible from a child to be 100 years old. You wouldn't
understand a word unless the grace of God gave you ears to
hear, eyes to see, faith to believe. Everlasting life in Christ Jesus,
his son. Let's go over to Hebrews 4. Well,
it's my place. Bear with me, I got excited. Was it Hebrew? We've already
been in Hebrew, haven't we? Yeah. Lord would let me turn
there if he wanted me to. Let's go on. Lot was God's elect,
one of his sheep. He was the apple of his eye.
And he told us, he will not leave or forsake you. And he delivered
him. God also knows how to reserve
the unjust, it says, until the day of judgment to be punished.
God made those people an example. That's what it said in verse
six. He said, I give nations for you. Do you see that? He made an example out of the
ungodly of Sodom and Gomorrah. We still read about him. We still
hear about him. He made him an example unto those that would
live ungodly. We're the only one knows we're
ungodly. It's for our learning. He gave
nations of people for his elect. There was just one, a just man
named Lot. And he didn't destroy that city
until he pulled them out. He didn't destroy it until he
pulled them out. So who is Lot? He's one of God's
elect. He's a sinner, like you and me,
saved by grace. He's a just man, because God
said so. How is Lot made righteous? He's
made righteous in the Lord, our righteousness. God born him again,
made him a new creation in Christ. Christ died that he might have
life. And he made him the righteousness
of God in him. He was imputed to him, imparted to him. Because God said so. And why
did God deliver Lot? Because it's God's will. It's
God's purpose from the beginning. He chose a people and his son
to save. God said so. And Christ is coming
again. He's going to gather a lot. Abraham, all our brothers and
sisters. He's going to present us to the
Father. That he might present it to himself. A glorious church. Not having
spot or wrinkle. Or any such thing. But it should
be holy and without blemished. There's a lot. We know better
than a lot. A lot no better than anybody
else. It's Christ. It's Christ in you. Washed in
his blood, robed in his righteousness forever. It's forever. And the
ungodly, they shall perish forever. The judgment. They have to fear
the judgment because they're going to stand there in their
own righteousness and argue with God that they've done something
for him. And he's going to say, depart
from me, you workers of iniquity, because I never knew you. And we as the children of God. Anything we've done, Lord, you've
given it to us, you've done it for us. We didn't do anything. We didn't clothe you when you
was naked. We didn't even know you was hungry. What have you done? Done your reasonable service.
You've done those works that the Lord has ordained for you
to do in Christ. In Christ. All right, one more
thing. Now, y'all have heard this before,
and I'm sure you know it better than me, but I was real tickled
when the Lord showed me You remember the Moabites, that incestuous,
yep, with his daughter, a lot son from his oldest daughter,
the Ammonites, they hung close to the Moabites. And they were
all wicked people, idolater. Well, you know, when the Lord
was going through and brought the children of Israel over and
they were destroying whole nations of people, killing everything. Not even a stone to be unturned,
right? Look in Deuteronomy chapter two,
verse eight. It says, and when we passed by
from our brethren, the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir,
through the way of the plain from Elath and from Isengaber,
we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. And
the Lord said unto me, distress not the Moabites, neither contend
with them in battle, for I will not give thee of their land for
a possession, because I have given our unto the children of
Lot for a possession. Go back over in Matthew chapter
one, Matthew chapter one. You remember the Moabites were
wicked people. They were enemies to God's people. They were a thorn in their side
for a long time. Why did God spare the Moabites? The book of the generation of
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Drop on down
to verse five. And Salmon, We got Booz of Rickab
and Booz begat Obed of Ruth. And Obed of Ruth, we got Jesse
and Jesse, we got David, you know, King David and Solomon.
Ruth, remember? She was a Moabite. Doesn't God have a purpose in
everything? It's his providence. Ruth had to be born. He spared
the Moabites because Ruth had to be born. She had to be born
in the flesh, and she had to be born in the spirit. Goes on down on verse 16, and
Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus,
who is called Christ. God's in control. He is in sovereign
absolute control over all of his creation. It's all for his glory, all for
the saving of his elect, his purpose. And it's all for Christ's
sake, his namesake, that he saves us and loves us and keeps us
and delivers us just like just like. I hope the Lord be pleased to reveal his word to our new
hearts.