The Price of Indecision

Wes Terry

Faith in the Waiting • Sermon • Submitted 2 months ago • Presented 2 months ago

Abraham Believes God’s Promise

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INTRODUCTION:

Have you had to face one of those life changing decisions wherein choosing wrongly would negatively impact the trajectory of your life for years to come?

I’m not talking about decisions on where to eat lunch or what you watch on TV. I’m talking about those life altering decisions that have ripple effects throughout the rest of your life.

Those decisions have a way of paralyzing us, don’t they?

Important choices can lead to indecision.

And indecision leads to missed opportunity.

One of the biggest decisions that people are indecisive about is what they decide to believe about God and being in right relationship with God.

It’s big because where you land on that issue doesn’t just have ripple effects in “this life” but also in the “life to come.”

Are you spiritually “sitting on the fence?” If God decided to pay you a visit would you be ready? Not ready? Or not sure?

Setting the Table

That question stands behind our passage today. It’s a question we started to answer last week with God’s decision to visit Abraham in Genesis 18.

Abraham had a heart characterized by readiness.

When God came knocking Abraham went running.

When God came over Abraham offered his best.

When God gave a blessing, Abraham & Sarah were ready to receive it.

When God threatened judgment, Abraham starting praying for the righteous to be delivered.

Having a heart that’s ready to meet with the Lord is one of the foundational disciplines of living the Christian life.

Many people, however, are NOT ready to meet with the Lord.

Others know they should be ready - but aren’t where they need to be because they’re not willing to pay the price.

We’re going to see that in the heart of Lot, Abraham’s nephew.

When Jesus enters Sodom to take stock of what’s going on, Lot is eager and happy to receive him.

But the longer Jesus stays the more conflicted Lot becomes until he’s ultimately confronted with an either or decision.

In seeing Lot’s hesitation we’ll also come to greater understand our own and the consequences of lingering in Sodom when the day of judgment arrives.

Context

Just to give you a bit of context, a preincarnate appearance of Jesus had just shown up at Abraham’s house along with two angels.

The angels pronounce a blessing on Abraham because of his ready heart but pronounce a judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness and social injustices.

As Jesus and his angels leave for Sodom to examine the landscape, Abraham stands before God in prayer and intercedes for God to spare the city for the sake of the righteous.

Lot is Abraham nephew who he loves very much and had previously risked life and limb to save.

God had promised to spare the city on account of ten righteous persons living within it. The problem was, ten righteous people could not be found.

So the angels are marching forward to execute judgment on his sinful city.

Read the Text

Genesis 19:1–9 CSB

1 The two angels entered Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in Sodom’s gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them. He bowed with his face to the ground 2 and said, “My lords, turn aside to your servant’s house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way.” “No,” they said. “We would rather spend the night in the square.” 3 But he urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house. He prepared a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate. 4 Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house. 5 They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!” 6 Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him. 7 He said, “Don’t do this evil, my brothers. 8 Look, I’ve got two daughters who haven’t been intimate with a man. I’ll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want to them. However, don’t do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection of my roof.” 9 “Get out of the way!” they said, adding, “This one came here as an alien, but he’s acting like a judge! Now we’ll do more harm to you than to them.” They put pressure on Lot and came up to break down the door.

Profile of the Not Sure

Before we get into Lot’s reasons for lingering in Sodom I want to paint a profile of a “Not Sure” heart from Lot’s description in these 9 verses.

It says in verse 1 that Lot greeted the LORD and his two angels at the “city gates.”

One of the things I saw a lot of when visiting Israel was the archeological discoveries of many “city gates.”

The City Gates were usually the singular point of entry to an ancient city. They were usually staffed with some kind of law enforcement and headed up by some elected representative in the city.

In other words, for Lot to be sitting in the city gates he wasn’t just leaving “near Sodom” as he first did in Genesis 13. He’s now moved into the heart of Sodom and become one of their key leaders.

Entangled & Immersed

That’s the first description of a Not Sure heart. They’re distinct from but entangled in a culture of great wickedness.

Lot was living in Sodom but he didn’t belong in Sodom. He was not a native to their culture nor was he a participant in their sin.

You even see this acknowledged by the people trying to break down Lot’s door to have sex with these angels. “This man is a foreigner and now acts like a judge?” (Gen 19:9)

Why is Lot in Sodom?

That raises the question, “Why is Lot is Sodom?”

If you go back to Genesis 13 Lot was originally living with Abraham but the land wasn’t big enough to sustain their two houses.

So Abraham gave Lot the freedom to live anywhere he wanted and Abraham would choose from what was left.

It says Lot looked out at the plain of the Jordan and chose it because “it was well watered everywhere like the LORD’s garden and the land of Egypt.” (Gen 13:10)

Lot knew these cities were filled with moral decadence but they were also the cities with the greatest wealth and material prosperity.

So Lot tries to have his cake and eat it to. He sets up his tent “near Sodom” instead of “in it.” (Gen 13:12) The men of Sodom were “evil, sinning immensely against the Lord.” (Gen 13:13)

Five verses later Lot goes from living “near” Sodom to living “in” it and as a result he is taken captive by invading Kings from the East. (Gen 14:12)

And now in Genesis 19 he is not only living “in” Sodom but he is “seated at the gates” as a leader and chieftain of it.

The longer you’re immersed in an environment of sin the more entangled you’ll become with it’s destructive effects.

This was the case of Lot. And it’s a really tragic case.

I want to be careful in the language i use here. Lot was not “indifferent” or “accepting” of the wickedness in Sodom.

You can see his resistance in the passage we just read.

In the New Testament Peter describes Lot as “righteous man” who was “distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral” people in Sodom. “His righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heart.” (2 Peter 2:7-8)

Interesting language: righteous, distressed by immoral behavior, tormented in his soul.

He was distinct but entangled, separate from but immersed in a culture of great wickedness.

Not only was it doing damage to his soul. It was destroying his family as well.

Conflicted but Accommodating

That’s the second description of a Not Ready heart. They’re entangled and immersed in a culture of sin. As such they’re conflicted about the culture in which they live.

But even though they’re conflicted about living in a wicked culture, they’re compliant towards those who engage in the wickedness.

The Not Sure heart is conflicted but accommodating of those who practice wickedness.

This spirit of accommodation really cut both ways for Lot.

Positively, like Abraham and his family, Lot demonstrated incredible hospitality towards Jesus and his angelic visitors.

He knows these men are special. He might even sense that they’re from God. So he gets up from his seat of authority and bows down before them.

Like Abraham he pleads with them to come stay at house, to eat, drink rest and recharge before going on their way.

But unlike Abraham his meal was a rush job. It was unleavened bread because he wanted them out of Sodom the next day.

He knew he couldn’t accommodate these godly men while accommodating wicked sinners at the same time.

In that way Lot is like a lot of us.

We love God. We’ll worship God. We’ll even submit to God’s demands so long as it’s on our schedule and it’s not going to cost us anything socially or materially.

As soon as the Lord starts going places we don’t want him to go or starts staying longer than we wanted him to stay - then we’re confronted with a choice.

Do we accommodate the LORD or do we accommodate our wicked culture?

The sins we tolerate in our hearts will eventually seep in our life.

Family Sacrifice

Lot was willing to tolerate a great degree of sexual sin in and around him. As a result, when a spiritual and moral rot is exposed in his life it’s around the area of sexual sin.

In verse 8 Lot offers up his two virgin daughters to be sexually abused by these moral and spiritual degenerates.

This offer from Lot is revealing.

On the one hand, it reveals that Lot didn’t have the spiritual immunity he thought he had. He might’ve thought himself righteous because he wasn’t as bad as others in his culture.

But there a moral and spiritual rot nonetheless.

You can’t live in a pig pen and not get muddy. You can’t tolerate sin without eventually becoming tainted by it.

But it doesn’t just reveal something about Lot individually. It also reveals how poor spiritual leadership by the Father has consequences for everybody else in the home.

This isn’t the only example of Lot’s failed spiritual leadership. We’re going to see several other examples later on in the chapter.

Notice his daughters don’t object.

His daughters were engaged to be married to other men in Sodom (men who were not godly and refused to leave when they had the chance)

After they’re delivered from God’s judgment of Sodom they concoct a sexually perverse scheme to have sex with their father to continue their family line.

Finally Lot’s wife was also poorly led by her husband. She had greater love for Sodom than God’s will for their family. As a result she is judged by God for her unbelief.

It’s been said that culture is the by product of the good behaviors you celebrate and bad behaviors you tolerate.

And all of us are creating some kind of sub culture in the world we find ourselves in today.

Confronted With A Choice

At the end of the day we have to answer the question, “Accommodate who?!”

Lot was willing to bow before the Lord but he was also willing to sacrifice his daughters.

He was distinct but entangled. Conflicted but accommodating.

A wicked culture will eventually present you with an inevitable choice.

Before whom will you bow? Whose demands will you accommodate?

There’s no more relevant question for us in 2024 America than this question right here.

Our culture is becoming increasingly characterized by the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And it’s increasingly demanding from the people of God something beyond mere “toleration” and more like “celebration and affirmation.”

The Sin of Sodom

There are people who debate, “What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?”

The more liberal leaning people will focus on sins like a lack of hospitality and not taking care of the poor.

The more conservative types will focus on the sin of homosexuality.

The reality is both sins were present. There were a lot of sins in Sodom but sexual sin was the worst.

Ezekiel 16:49–50 CSB

49 Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had pride, plenty of food, and comfortable security, but didn’t support the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable acts before me, so I removed them when I saw this.

Jude 7 CSB

7 Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Sexual immorality is often the “cherry-on-top” of a culture that’s rejected God and on the path to destruction. (Academic Treatment: The Bible and Homosexual Practice, Robert Gagnon)

I don’t know how honest reading of Genesis 19 doesn’t come away with the conclusion that sexual sin (homosexual sex) in particular was the major problem in Sodom.

Actually, the greatest problem in Sodom is the same problem we’re beginning to see in our culture and the problem we see in Romans 1 as well.

Homosexuality and sexual perversion are the penultimate expression of a sinful and godless culture. The ultimate expression is Romans 1:32

Romans 1:32 CSB

32 Although they know God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die—they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them.

Affirming Evil

When a majority applaud what God appalls his judgment and wrath are not far behind.

Sodom was lost. The entire city had become corrupt. You can see this emphasized in Gen 19:4 “both young and old, the whole population…”

This is why Abraham kept whittling down the number of righteous from 50 to 45 to 30 to 20 to 10. The godless culture had corrupted everybody

That’s why we cannot bend the knee to the godless forces in our culture that say “if you don’t affirm me then you don’t love me.”

That’s a false binary. It’s a trap that’ll lead you to moral and spiritual compromise just like Lot.

We cannot love sinners and accommodate their sin at the same time.

On the same token, we cannot immerse ourselves in a culture of wickedness and some how think we won’t be affected.

Remember, the Bible is not a microscope to explore the magnitude of other people’s problems.

The Bible is a mirror for us to look at and see our own sins and moral guilt before the Lord.

There may be some of us who are characterized by the sexual perversion of the men of Sodom.

More likely we’re characterized by the accommodating spirit of Lot and his family.

The Cost of Choosing Rightly

You need to be willing to make a decision and stand against the mob.

You also need to know when you make a decision the mob doesn’t like they will turn on you in a heart beat.

As soon as Lot refuses to give these men what they wanted they turned on him and tried to destroy.

Notice what they say, “This guy is an alien and now he’s acting like a judge.”

We’re fools to believe we can “fit in” or “be accepted” by the world when we’re fundamentally aliens and sojurners in this world.

As the world continues on the course they’ve set out for themselves it will become clearer and clearer the trajectory we are on as well.

There may have been many years where Lot could spiritually ride the fence just like many of us attempt to do the same.

But those days will not last forever. Eventually they come to an end.

And on that day, you’ll pay a price for choosing rightly.

In a wicked world, choosing the good comes at a cost.

But choosing rightly also comes with a reward.

Lot’s Hesitation

Lot wasn’t willing to let his guests be assaulted but the offer of his daughters didn’t satisfy the mob.

The were threatening physical harm on Lot and pressing in to break down the door. (Gen 19:9)

As a result, the Lord steps in. Genesis 19:10-16.

Genesis 19:10–16 CSB

10 But the angels reached out, brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 They struck the men who were at the entrance of the house, both young and old, with blindness so that they were unable to find the entrance. 12 Then the angels said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here: a son-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of this place, 13 for we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people is so great before the Lord, that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to marry his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking. 15 At daybreak the angels urged Lot on: “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. They brought him out and left him outside the city.

Here the story shifts from the profile of a “Not Sure” heart to God’s judgment on a “Not Ready” culture.

What we see is that even in judgment our Lord is gracious and kind.

God’s judgment is tempered by mercy even towards the unprepared and unworthy.

Notice the various ways:

For one, he explains the reason for judgment and puts it in proper context.

Second, before God unleashes the judgment he offers a warning and an invitation.

This is true of any great judgment of God. Before he unleashes his wrath he offers a way to escape.

You see God’s mercy in that

the angels protected Lot from physical harm.

the men of Sodom are merely blinded instead of destroyed. (a fitting metaphor for sin)

the son-in-laws were graciously warned and personally invited before the judgment fell.

And at the very last minute, even as Lot hesitates and cannot find the strength to get himself and his family out of dodge - the angels grab everyone by the hand and bring them outside the city.

The Lord’s Tender Mercy

I love the contrast in Genesis 19:16. Lot lingered but God still delivered. Why? Because of his compassion.

The word is sometimes translated merciful or forgiving or warm. Lot didn’t deserve it. He wasn’t even sure he wanted it. But God’s mercy and grace delivered him anyway.

That description of Lot may describe some of you this morning.

God has been warning you against the life you’ve been living. A life characterized by moral and spiritual compromise.

You know you shouldn’t be living that way but you can’t seem to break away from it.

Maybe, like Lot, you’ve got friends and future family who aren’t willing to go with you.

Maybe if you go with what God wants it’s going to cost you a lot of money or influence.

Maybe obedience to the Lord means you’re going to have to lose people you don’t want to lose.

Here’s the thing about the Lord. Even when we drag our feet and leave with questions and doubt - he is still faithful to deliver us from evil. Trust him. Let him take you by the hand and deliver you from the danger you’re in.

No Turning Back

God graciously delivers Lot and his family. But not everyone was willing to bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

Genesis 19:17–29 CSB

17 As soon as the angels got them outside, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere on the plain! Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” 18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords—please. 19 Your servant has indeed found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness by saving my life. But I can’t run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. 20 Look, this town is close enough for me to flee to. It is a small place. Please let me run to it—it’s only a small place, isn’t it?—so that I can survive.” 21 And he said to him, “All right, I’ll grant your request about this matter too and will not demolish the town you mentioned. 22 Hurry up! Run to it, for I cannot do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name of the city is Zoar. 23 The sun had risen over the land when Lot reached Zoar. 24 Then out of the sky the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur from the Lord. 25 He demolished these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. 27 Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval when he demolished the cities where Lot had lived.

There are so many things that we can glean from Lot’s response to God’s deliverance.

He allows fear to keep him from God’s best for his life. (a decision that will ultimately invite further complications and moral compromise later on down the road.)

Lot’s wife looks back and turns into a pillar of salt.

For some people, even an incredible and miraculous display of God’s mercy and kindness isn’t enough to lead them to a place of true repentance.

She looked back. It a word that means she looked back with desire and longing. She ultimately didn’t want to leave.

But the Lord’s judgment is a reminder that you don’t get to live in grace if you refuse to leave your sin. It’s one or the other. You cannot have both.

But the thing I want to zero in on for the rest of our time is a phrase spoken by the angel in verse 22 and the words spoken by Moses in verse 29.

God’s Mercy and Our Prayers

In verse 22 the angel pleads with lot to hurry up and get to the little town he chose for shelter.

The reason is because the angel wasn’t allowed to unleash the wrath of God until Lot was protected from the judgment.

Then in verse 29 Moses gives an editorial comment, “When God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham and brought Lot out the middle of the upheaval.”

What a powerful reminder of the relationship between God’s mercy in withholding judgment or granting deliverance and intercessory prayers of God’s people.

Remember, Abraham pleaded with the Lord through redemptive intercession for God to spare the wicked for the sake of the righteous.

Well Lot wasn’t righteous, obviously. He was conflicted and confused but God saved him anyway. Why?

At a basic level it was the gracious provision of Jesus Christ and those angels who took them by the hand and took them outside.

At another level, it was the tender compassion of the Lord who took pity on Lot to deliver him and his family even though he wasn’t prepared.

But at an even higher level, it was the compassion and intercessory prayer of Abraham - the covenant mediator - who stood in the gap and prayed for his nephew.

God’s mercy is unleashed as a response to our prayers.

Application

This has application for us at a few different levels.

For some of you, it’s a reminder to continue praying for those people in your life who - from your perspective - are not ready or not sure because of the influence of our wicked culture.

Maybe they’re like Lot’s son-in-laws - they think this whole thing is a joke.

Maybe they’re like Lots’ wife - loving their sin more than God’s grace.

Maybe they’re like men of Sodom, spiritually and morally blind caring about nothing other than the satisfaction of their lusts.

Maybe they’re like others in Sodom who’ve grown spiritually dull because of prosperity and wealth.

The point it, God’s is merciful and gracious even to the unprepared and undeserving. He will extend mercy indefinitely. But he may yet extend it a while longer in response to your prayers. Or he may yet show compassion, and take those loved ones by the hand and rescue them from what the judgment that’s coming.

Will you pray? Will you draw near to God and intercede for these people?

Other’s of you are here this morning and “you are that person.” You are someone who needs God’s grace in salvation but you’ve been to receive it because of doubt and indecision.

And my encouragement to you is to stop delaying and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because God only remembered Abraham because he was a representation of the true Christ and ultimate mediator who was to come. Jesus of Nazareth.

And all those prayers that’ve been prayed for you by these Christian people have been mediated through that same person, risen from the dead who is Lord and King of all.

One day you will bow down before him. Every knee with bow. And one day God’s judgment is GOING TO FALL. Today is a day of mercy and grace. An invitation for you to repent and be saved.

Questions? Sure. Doubts? Absolutely. Hesitation? Maybe so. But our salvation isn’t giving because of the quality of our faith. It’s given because of the object of our faith.

The object of our faith is Jesus. And he can save you doubts and hesitation in tow.