The Bible is a marvelous book. Alongside of the record of Abraham, it gives us the negative history of Lot. For quite a long time, I did not understand why the Bible included such a negative record. There are certain verses in Genesis 19 that, humanly speaking, I do not like to talk about. But the Lord's divine revelation is economical; not one word is wasted. Hence, every word in the Holy Bible is very important. What then is the purpose of chapter nineteen of Genesis? It is to give us a warning example. I have the strong burden that in this message so many of us, especially the young people, need to see this warning example. We need such an example because today's situation is no better than that of Sodom.
We thank the Lord that His Word gives us both a positive history of Abraham and a negative one of Lot. There is no record in the entire Bible that is as complete as the account of Abraham's life. This record shows how Abraham was called by God, how he answered God's calling, how he lived by faith in God for his existence, how he was trained to know grace for the fulfillment of God's purpose, how he was dealt with by being circumcised, and how he was brought into intimate fellowship with God, cooperating with Him on the human level. I appreciate this record of a fallen man who was saved, transformed, and brought into wonderful fellowship on the human level with the glorious and holy God. Yet alongside of this record, we have a black, negative record of Lot. In this message we must consider this record in detail, taking it as a warning for ourselves and for our children and relatives.
If we read 2 Peter 2:6-9, we see that Peter was much in favor of Lot. In verse 8 Peter referred to him as a "righteous man" whose "righteous soul" was vexed with the unlawful deeds of the people in Sodom. In verse 9 he describes Lot as godly. Thus, according to Peter's concept, Lot was both righteous and godly. Although we may find it difficult to believe this because Lot's record in Genesis is so negative, we must believe it because the Bible tells us so. If you still say that Lot was not righteous and godly, then I would ask you about yourself. Are you more righteous and godly than he? In a sense, Lot was more righteous and godly than many of us. But although he was saved, righteous, and godly, he was a defeated righteous man.
As we consider Lot's history, we see that he was passively brought into God's way by others (11:31; 12:5), having been brought into God's way by his grandfather and his uncle. His grandfather brought him from Ur of Chaldea to Haran, stopping halfway because the grandfather would not go on. When God took the grandfather away, Abraham, Lot's uncle, took him from Haran to Canaan. Although it is good in the eyes of God that there are grandfathers and uncles who can bring their grandchildren and nephews into God's way, it is not the best to be passively brought on by others. Lot had a very weak start. He did not have an active, positive beginning in spiritual things. Young people, it is not the best to be passive concerning holy things or your following of the Lord. Lot was righteous and godly, but he was defeated because he had a very weak, passive start. His passive beginning was the cause of his eventual defeat.