January 8
Gen 18:16-19 | PS 8 | Prov 2:6-15 | Matt 6:25-7:14
Sin is like the example of the frog in boiling water. If you place that frog immediately into boiling water it will sense the danger and jump out. But if you place that same frog in cold or lukewarm water it will sense no danger at all. Then as you raise the heat, the frog relaxes, sensing no danger at all. It gets a little hotter and it actually drains the energy away from the frog, blinding it from the inherent danger. When the water finally comes to a boil, drained of any resistance, the frog simply dies in the water. Sin for the human is just like this. Sin is actually an archery term. When you miss the mark, or bullseye, it's called a sin. These misses might be very far from the center or might just miss. Either way they miss what is perfect. Sin is just like that. God gives us His perfect standard. We miss that standard, then continue to move in that direction. Like a ship that simply starts off one degree from it's original course, you will eventually find yourself somewhere you never planned on being. Just reflect for a moment and consider the godless nation that we call home. These godless changes did not occur immediately, otherwise, people would have risen up and revolted. But one degree, one ever so small change at a time, we have become those frogs, and have come to accept or tolerate behavior which is unthinkable to a perfect God. In our shamelessness we actually think we have the moral high ground to point at other nations deeming ourselves better, all the time we are both in that same boiling pot. Do we really think that God is okay with the killing of millions of babies in our nation, billions worldwide since 1973 in the name of abortion? Do we really think that God is okay with every sexual perversion from pornography, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, transgender, when His perfect standard only allows that union to take place between a man and a woman in marriage? Do we really think that God is okay with lying, slandering, manipulating the truth in politics, in the media, etc. for what these godless individuals deem for "the greater good"? As true as this is for our nation, it holds just as true for us individually, in terms of what we permit as normal in our own lives. What forms of entertainment do we deem okay, that God would never agree with?
Yes, the term "sodomy" is derived from the sin which was clearly portrayed in Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19, but it is so much more than just this. The sin of Sodom is a brazenness to sin, a shamelessness. The prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Amos all use Sodom and Gomorrah to show this sinfulness to include areas such as sexual perversity, pride, idleness, poor treatment of those less fortunate, etc. It is used to illustrate total depravity. I'm sure very few children in first grade ever raise their hands and tell the teacher that it is their desire to miss the mark and to grow up falling deeper and deeper into sin. But it occurs in slow increments. We can look at Lot and see how slow and subtle this occurs. In Genesis 13:10, we read, "Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)" It starts with a look. we then read in 13:12, " So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain." After looking at Sodom, he moves towards Sodom, just outside. By 14:12, we read, " They also captured Lot—Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom—and carried off everything he owned." He now lived in Sodom when it was captured. We come to 19:1, "That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there,...". In biblical times the gate of the city was much more than an entrance, but was reserved for city leaders to give advice and render important decisions. Lot was now a leader of this godless city. Notice how he now refers to this godless mob who seek to rape the two angels in 19:7, "Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing." Lot started on a pilgrimage seeking God with Abraham, and now is living in a cesspool calling the godless inhabitants of Sodom, "his brothers".
Before we get too critical of Lot, he did not plan to move as far in the wrong direction as he did. But that is sin. One small wrong move at a time, and without realizing it, almost imperceptibly, you are almost unrecognizable from what you started out from. Such is the truth about sin. It may not seem harmful. It might seem innocuous at first. It can be easily rationalized, after all, "everyone else is doing it". But God has given us a perfect plan in His word, the Bible. He does not deal in shades of gray, or the middle of the road. In Scripture notice God's terms are never ambiguous: there is right and wrong, right directions and wrong directions, etc. It is a very dangerous presumption to debate God on the topic of how bad something really is. The truth is we all have sinned, and we will all continue to sin. But we should keep short lists with God, and come to Him in a spirit of confession when we realize that we have missed the mark. May we never rationalize, or justify behavior that God has clearly stated is wrong. Though we sin, may we not choose to live in that sin. Lot chose to live in that sin and he payed dearly for it. May we learn from his example.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: