MAY 15: AVOID SIN'S CONSEQUENCES

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

In one sense, the consequences of sin, the inevitable outcome of a course of action cannot be avoided. One reaps what is sown. Liver disease often results from a life of alcoholism even when the drunkard is saved later in life. Likewise, heavy cigarette smoking can result in lung cancer and emphysema. In a corporate sense, the consequences may not have to fall on the individuals who are perceptive. God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah illustrates this aspect.

To avoid sin’s consequences when judgment is about to fall, we must LISTEN CAREFULLY (vv. 12-13). Sodom’s doom was a unique event. Not every evil city will experience its horrific ending. We sometimes hear an overly enthusiastic person exhibiting more heat than light, declaring about a city he detests, “If God doesn’t destroy that town, He owes Sodom an apology!”

Sodom was unique in at least one regard inasmuch as its name became synonymous with a sexual perversion, a hint at its moral depravity. However, we must not overlook a critical fact. Had there been as many as 10 righteous people there, God would have spared the city from destruction (18:32). Not enough righteousness pervaded the city to stay God’s judgment. The presence of evil remained constant. The lack of presence of the good was the variable.

When the judgment of sin is imminent, believers must ACT DECISIVELY (vv. 15-17). The warning from the angels was quite explicit. Absolute haste to leave Sodom was the command. They had been sent on a divine mission to destroy both Sodom and Gomorrah. In the mood they exhibited, we can almost imagine the fire and brimstone from heaven already being unleashed. Only at their command would the conflagration consume the towns, but time was running out. Only four would be saved, Lot, his wife, and two daughters (v. 15), a number well below the required 15 needed to avoid destruction.

Our Lord’s followers illustrate the principle. Jesus had warned that when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by enemy forces (Matt. 24:16-20), they were to leave everything immediately and flee to the mountains. The fact that Christians abandoned Jerusalem in its time of greatest peril helped split Christianity into a religion separate from Judaism. Many scholars believe a similar scenario will characterize Jerusalem in the last days.

To avoid the consequences of sin, believers must OBEY EXPLICITLY (vv. 23-26). The angel gave the little band strict instructions to “look not behind thee.” Lot’s heart was not inclined to obey, as seen in his request to move to Zoar, a tiny nearby town (vv. 18-20). As a result of his request, the town was spared (v. 21). His wife probably shared his sentiments because she could not resist a final glance at the home and belongings in Sodom. She became a pillar of salt. Nothing in the context or references throughout the Bible suggests the erroneous teaching that she merely became incapable of childbearing. On the contrary, Jesus authenticated the literal interpretation with the warning about not looking back once, especially as the last days approach (Lk. 17:28-33).

As another principle for avoiding the consequences of sin, we simply OBSERVE SOLEMNLY (vv. 27-29). The restriction not to look back applied to Lot and his family, not to Abraham. As he beheld the smoldering ruin of the two cities and the loss of their inhabitants, he saw the consequences of unrestrained sin. The horrible testimony of the cities would reverberate through the centuries (Isa. 1:9-10; Amos 4:11; Matt. 10:15; 2 Pet. 2:6; Rev. 11:8). Sin is costly.