The Result Of Rebellion

Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?
–Genesis 18:25

Before God sent His judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah, He told Abraham what He was planning to do. And Abraham’s response was to intercede on their behalf. He said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? . . . Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” (Genesis 18:23, 25). You can always depend upon God to act justly. He does not treat the righteous and the unrighteous alike, and Abraham understood that. So he said, in essence, “If I can find ten righteous people in Sodom, will You spare the city from judgment?” God said yes.

Apparently, there were not even ten righteous people, as evidenced by what happened in Genesis 19. When God sent His two angels to Sodom, Lot offered to have them stay with him. Then the men of Sodom surrounded the house and shouted, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them” (v. 5). The men of Sodom saw new faces, new bodies, and all they could think of was raping these two visitors. Sexual perversion was not the only sin in Sodom, but it was the sin that brought about God’s judgment.

One of the clearest statements in all the Bible about God’s attitude toward homosexuality is Romans 1:26-28. Paul was talking about people who have rejected the truth of God in favor of a lie. He wrote, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and . . . men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another.” Paul was saying that people who abandon the truth of God’s Word fall into perversions like homosexuality. It a manifestation of rebellion against God.

In Matthew 19:5, Jesus reiterated God’s pattern for human sexuality: “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” God’s plan for sex is that it occurs between a man and a woman in the bounds of marriage. Any deviation from that pattern, whether it is premarital sex, adultery, or homosexual behavior, is a twisting of God’s plan. If you are struggling with sexual sin, know that there is no sin beyond the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. But to receive Christ’s forgiveness, you have to recognize your sin.

The people of Sodom were totally unrepentant. So the angels seized Lot and his family and brought them out of the city, “then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24). As Abraham looked down and saw what once had been two great cities, there was nothing but the smoke of God’s judgment.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “When God Says, “Enough!”” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2009.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org