Brian Cole: 'Compromise' - Part Two

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GENESIS 19:1-38 - COMPROMISE - Part 2

[Read part one here]

Last week we began Genesis 19 and saw where compromise had left Lot. Now things get real crazy picking it up in Vs. 4

Vs. 4-8 - “Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom (ALL the men, not some! Total infestation of sin!) both young and old (even the young ones!!) surrounded the house. They called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.’

Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said: ‘No, my friends (brothers), don’t do this wicked thing.’”

(Notice what he calls these guys. Now remember, Lot was on this tremendous spiritual pilgrimage following Uncle Abram, and look where compromise got him! Now here is this entire infestation of perversity before him and what does he call them? Brothers, Friends! See that?)

Vs. 8 -“Look, I have 2 daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

Now this is rough stuff! They, being this infested group, both YOUNG and old - ALL of these men of Sodom, they desired to assault these angels they thought were men, sexually!

The Bible is VERY clear that homosexuality is a sin! I know that’s not a popular thing to say in today’s culture, but the Bible lumps homosexuality IN with bestiality and incest! We are not going to get into a message about this today, but I want us to see what is underneath it all.

One of the things that those who promote homosexuality try to lay out as a defense is that: ‘Well, they're just like everyone else. They're just like heterosexuals except for being attracted to people of the same sex. Other than that, we are absolutely normal, just like everyone else.'

However, when you begin to look at the behavior of the homosexual community you begin to discover that they are NOT ANYTHING like the heterosexual community concerning their behavior. Consider this. 43% of homosexuals have had at least 500 or more sexual partners. Less than 1% of the homosexual community has had 4 or less sexual partners over the course of their lives. The Department of Health and Human Services tells us that 77% of homosexuals have had sex in a public place. 62% in bars. 61% in movie theaters. 38% in public restrooms. Only 28% even admit knowing their sexual partners for more than a week before engaging in sexual activity.

So you begin to discover, when you look at some of the behavior of the homosexual community, that it is NOTHING like the behavior of those in the heterosexual community.

They are indeed, as Paul said in Romans 1, they are "burning with their desire.” They take part in an incredibly high volume of very risky sexual behavior without desiring any obligation whatsoever.

Now we have to be very careful and very clear, because we know that God speaks JUST as harshly in the Scriptures towards heterosexual adultery as He does towards homosexuality. So, it’s not like somehow we can dump homosexuality into some kind of category of ‘special sin,’ but yet that’s a big mistake many Churches and believers make all too often.

They isolate and elevate homosexuality above other sexual sin, but this is not so in the word of God. And when we do that, the only thing we are accomplishing is we are pushing the homosexual community away from the Kingdom of God. God speaks out against ALL sexual sin!

So, what else is interesting in these verses is that: Here is this guy who has 2 daughters who are virgins and he’s willing to turn them over to this sex crazed crowd. Of course their not interested in them because they are woman, but it’s incredibly troubling that Lot is willing to turn his own daughters over to these men rather than offend these strangers! I wish I could tell you why, but I cannot. I have studied and researched this text thoroughly and researched the background carefully and there is nothing I can bring to you to help us understand why Lot did what he did concerning his daughters.

It does, in a lesser sense, show us the very high view that this culture had of hospitality, and also, unfortunately, shows us the very low view and value that they placed on women. But other than that, there’s nothing to help us understand why Lot did what he did.

What it does CLEARLY show us is how very deeply sin had been absorbed into Lot’s life. His conscience is absolutely ‘seared!’ Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 4:2 the effect of repeated sin: It absolutely sears the conscience, makes you insensitive to it!

So that’s why, even as Christians - are we forgiven? YES! Sin, past, present and future is wiped out on the cross. But we need to be so careful with sin, because as we repeat sin, as we continue in sin, the effect on our heart is just a searing of the conscience to the point where we just don’t care anymore.

We also see on display the unspeakable wickedness of this city! So, why would God wipe it out? Because we are being shown how persuasive this infestation of sin had become.