As we dig into the scriptures today, we are going to look at a couple of guys, one of which we have become familiar with over the last couple of weeks which is Abraham and another one who was briefly mentioned in Greg’s sermon last week and that is Lot.

 

And what I’ve loved reading and preparing for this sermon today is, I was led to begin comparing and contrasting the lives of these two men.  Comparing and contrasting their lives, their faith, the decisions that the make and because of those decisions, the legacy that they passed on in the later part of their lives.

 

So, as we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks, we have this guy named Abraham and we’ve learned about his amazing faith to follow and obey God.

 

Remember what God spoke to him in Genesis 12:

 

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

 

Essentially what God tells Abraham is…”Abraham, I want you to leave everything that you know, I want you to leave everything that makes you feel secure and comfortable and safe in this world.  I want you to leave it and I want you to follow me.”  And Abraham follows…he obeys…

 

Abraham is a man that has lots of flaws and lots of weaknesses and we’ve seen that over the last couple of weeks.  But at the end of the day, Abraham is a man that is marked by these demonstrations of faith that truly are courageous. 

 

But, then there is Lot…Lot is Abraham’s nephew, who actually started out on this journey of faith with Abraham.  But eventually what we see in Chapter 13 is Lot decided to part ways with Abraham and go off on his own.  Which is where we begin to compare and contrast…

 

So, as we look at the scriptures today, we are going to see two different men or two different examples of faith and surrendering…

 

First, we see and know that Abraham is an example of a believer that says, “God I believe you, God I trust you, you are my true security, so I’m going to surrender all the promises of this world and I’m just going to follow you.”  Abraham is an example of a believer that says God, you are enough.  You are all I need and I’m just going to follow you.  

 

And with Lot, we are going to see an example of a man that says “God I believe you, God I trust you, God I’m going to chase after you, but…I’m also going to chase after the things of this world.”  To be clear Lot is a believer.  He knows God, he trusts God, as we will see he converses with God.  But Lot is an example of a believer that tries to hold on to both.  Lot wants to hold onto both the promises of God and the world…

 

Two different men that have very similar walks of faith, but when it’s all said and done, the legacy’s they leave behind, could not be more different. 

 

Let’s start in the beginning of chapter 18, Abraham is hanging outside the door of his tent and God manifests himself into the form of a man and brings a couple of angels with him and he comes walking up to Abraham and Sarah and he reminds them of His promise, that they are going to have a son and the God is going to bring this messiah through his lineage one day.  Sarah laughs at him because of the whole concept of her having a child at that age.  And God rebukes her and says “Nothing is impossible with me because I’m God.”  And then immediately after that, God changes the subject and he begins talking about the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

Genesis 18:20

 

20 Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” 22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.

 

Ok, so what’s happening here is God and Abraham are talking and God brings up the fact that He’s heard about the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah and in the eyes of God it’s so bad, he refers to their sin as grave…. Sounds pretty bad….

 

 

Now, for most of us that are familiar with this story where we think about what could possibly be the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah that was so great, that God calls their sin grave…I think most automatically jump to the conclusion of sexual immorality.

 

And although that is true…and we actually see that later on in chapter 19 when these same angels are visiting Lots home and are then surrounded by those in the city whose desire was to take advantage of them…not good…

But, as I was studying this week, I want to show you what I found in Ezekiel. And this blew me away and in some ways made me cringe, because honestly, with a broad brush, you could paint the western suburban church with the same sin as Sodom and Gomorrah.  And because of that sin God was compelled to destroy it.

 

Ezekiel 16:49-50

 

49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty (they were arrogant, they were conceded) and did an abomination before me (they were a disgrace to me…So I removed them, when I saw it.

 

So, again if you ask most people in the church today why was Sodom destroyed, they’d say because of sexual immorality, but if you ask God the very same question, He would say because they were prideful and comfortable and rich and they didn’t give to the poor…So I took them out…

 

Wow…if that is not a warning shot across the bow to the church today, then I don’t know what is…Now, to be clear I’m painting with a broad brush, and for the church of Restoration, I want to say that most of us are doing a good job here. But let’s individualize it for a second.  For most of us, we might look to the right or left of us and believe we are doing it better than the other, but that’s not that point is it.  Our pride, our arrogance, our comfort, our generosity to the poor, to those in need is not about you and you and the person sitting next to you, it’s between you and God. 

 

So, you must ask yourself, how are you doing with that today?  You might be in here today and you aren’t struggling with sexual immorality in your life, but when you look at your pride, arrogance, comfort lack of generosity to the poor…You have to ask yourself, how does this story compel me to move forward?  What about my life do I need to change…because it’s obviously important to God, so perhaps it needs to be important to me…

 

And so here, because of the grave sins of pride, arrogance and greed, God is telling Abraham His need to address the wickedness.

 

Moving on, what we see next from Abraham is absolutely incredible for a couple of reasons.  First thing we see is Abraham step into a role that has never been done in the scriptures up to this point.  No one in the scriptures has ever stepped up to the plate and pleaded to God on behalf of others before…And what Abraham is doing at this point, is he is making a case for why those accused of such grave sin, should be forgiven.  He is interceding on behalf of this wicked and broken city.

 

Look at what happens here…Genesis 18:22

 

22 So the men (the angels) turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 (Now look at what Abraham says here…this is incredibly bold on his part) Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

 

Now, why is this request so bold.  When reading this, why should we completely taken aback by Abrahams request…when he asks “God will you not punish sinners?”

 

Now, here is essentially what Abraham is asking…God will you not punish the many, will you not destroy the many, will you not judge the sin of many because of the righteousness of the few?”

 

Again, why is this such a crazy and bold request…

 

Well, there are a couple of reasons…One, God always judges sin, because sin is in direct contradiction to God and His holiness…And up to this point in the scriptures, how has God handled it?  It’s always come with consequence, am I right?  Justice for sin, must be enacted…Adam and Eve, when they sin, they are driven out of the garden and cursed.  After Cain murders Abel, Cain leaves the presence of God, leaves Eden and settles East in the land of Nod, Because of the sin of the world God floods the entire earth during the story of Noah and on and on we go…Up to this point in the scriptures, God has always judged his people and up to this point in the scripture there has never been the request or even thought of God not judging sin. 

 

Secondly, another reason why this is such a bold request is because of what we learned about in Genesis Chapter 3. When Adam and Eve sin against God and eat from the tree of knowledge, they are then cursed, and the guilt of sin is then passed down from Adam from generation to generation.  In other words, because of Adam’s sin, you and I are now guilty of sin (or guilt by association) and from what the scriptures say, we are actually born into sin…

 

Look what Paul has to say in Romans 5…

 

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all have sinned…

 

So again, what Paul is saying here is that because of one man’s sin, the guilt and consequence of that sin which is death have been passed down to all men.

  

Are you beginning to see why this is such a bold request?  One, God always punishes sin, but two the scriptures show us that because of one man’s sin, all have sinned and God must always judge sin. 

 

Abraham’s request is so bold because he’s fully aware of God’s character and God’s right to judge sin, but he’s asking “God if you are going to destroy these cities because of the wickedness and sin of the many.  God would you consider saving the many because of the righteousness of the few?”

Now, what’s even crazier than Abraham asking this question, is that God says yes…

 

Look at what he says…

 

Genesis 18:26

 

And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

 

Wow! 

 

Do you see what just happened?!?  I love this, I was so blown away as I studying this week, because what we are seeing for the first time in the scriptures, is not God’s need and ability to judge sin and destroy the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, but rather his willingness to save everyone on account of the righteous…

 

Church, I believe what we are seeing here is a nod or wink from God into the future of his plans to save mankind.  That God is absolutely willing to not judge sin of many…if the righteous can be found in their midst…

 

Church…that’s Jesus…right here is Chapter 18 of Genesis, God is beginning to reveal his plan for the salvation of many because of the righteousness of one….

 

 

But…there’s a problem here in Genesis 18…When Abraham asks that question and God says yes…Abraham begins to realize that maybe he asked for too much…and Abraham is thinking to himself…”You know what, there might not be 50 righteous inside.”

27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. (Now this is hilarious, Abraham just asked God to do this crazy thing and now he’s questioning if he’s even righteous…”who am I but dust and ashes God?”)

28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And God said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

 

And what happens is Abraham goes on and on and on and he’s beginning to realize more and more the problem with his request and he’s trying to play it safe…He goes from 40 to 30 to 20 to 10 and with every change in number, God continues to say yes…Yes, Abraham for the sake of the many I will spare them…if the righteous can be found in their midst…

 

But then even though I believe Abraham could keep going down and down and down until he got to one and God would keep saying yes…Abraham quit asking at 10 and the Lord went his way and Abraham returned to his place…But why did Abraham quit at 10? 

 

Because, what Abraham realized in this moment and yet is one of the most troubling and amazing truths in the scriptures that we see today, is that even though God was willing to save the many, if even one could be found that is righteous…the scary truth is that there isn’t one… none of us are righteous…none a single one…

 

Paul touches on this in Romans 3….

 

“None is righteous, no, not one;

11 no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.”

 

No…not one is righteous…not even one…

 

 

Isn’t it amazing that Abraham, the one who is pleading on behalf of others in a hopeless situation, hoping for one righteous person to save the rest, is the Father of the fulfilled promise, the Savior, Jesus, the one in whom we find our hope today?

 

Abraham’s motivation here is selfless, and it is a beautiful foreshadowing of the self-less sacrifice Jesus made for us by dying on a cross to take the judgement for our sin, to cover us with His righteousness and to save us from sin, once and for all.

 

 

Now, as we are looking to compare and contrast the lives of Abraham and Lot, I want you to see a couple of things…

 

The first thing we see with Abraham is a man that believes in God, he trusts God, he’s in relationship with God and converses with him, and when he hears of the impending destruction that is to come, he doesn’t hesitate to boldly petition on the behalf of others…Not for the benefit of himself, but for the benefit for those that are living within the gates of Sodom and Gomorrah…

 

Contrast that with Lot in Chapter 19, where it shows Lot pleading on behalf of another city, but the only reason is for Lot to find safety.  He requests this city to be spared for completely selfish motives…

And secondly, even though Abraham realizes the error in his request…He still leaves the conversation trusting God and surrendering to His plans…

 

Now at times, yes, Abraham will waver with the promises of God because of His unbelief, but Abraham will grow strong in his faith as he gives glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He promised…Which is why is faith is counted to him as righteousness.”

 

 

So, let’s take a deeper look at Lot…

 

Moving on to Chapter 19:1

 

19 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

 

 

Right away, this should feel familiar…If you remember this is exactly how Chapter 18 started with Abraham…It’s almost identical…Both men meet the same angels at the gates or door, both greet the angels, both invite them into their homes, both offer food and both eat…And it’s because of these similarities that I was led compare and contrast these two men.

Even though Abraham and Lot started out their lives looking very similar, they both ended their lives looking completely different. 

 

For instance, there was a time where Abraham and Lot lived and journeyed together in obedience to where God was leading them, but if you remember Greg touched on this last week, in Genesis chapter 13 they separated.

 

Abraham needed to continue heading toward the land of Canaan the land that God was promising him, living in obedience to God’s call on his life.  But, Lot when given the opportunity to change direction, he headed east toward the Jordan Valley because when he lifted up his eyes, Lot saw that it was beautiful and lush and well watered and even though the scriptures  tell us that Lot would be fully aware of the wickedness and sin of Sodom, Lot moves his tents as far as Sodom.

 

So, instead of following and trusting in the promises of God and walking by faith, Lot instead walks by sight…Lot lifted his eyes and he saw the opportunity. It was a logical decision, it was a rational decision.  It was a decision that regarded investment into his future…It was a decision that he thought would secure the things of this world, the things we strive for today like comfort, security, ease and status.

 

 

And I think so many of us can relate to Lot in this moment.  Each and everyone of us are making decisions throughout the day.  And of course some decisions are bigger than others, but my question is how often do you make decisions without regarding God before moving forward on them?

 

How often do you take into consideration the promises of God, the calling He has on your life and filter those decisions through the lens of God’s word before you make them?

 

 

Perhaps you are much like me…you simply look at the circumstances of the situation and you look at the possibilities of what could happen and you decide that the best thing to do is make the most logical and most rational decision at the moment. And again, more often than not, the decision we tend to make is that one that is going to bring ourselves security, comfort, ease and status.

 

For instance, you may have made the decision to buy that house that is beautiful and wonderful and it’s in the right neighborhood.  But now that house limits the calling that God has placed on your life and the ability you have to be generous to those in need?

 

Or, maybe you’ve decided to pursue that promotion at work and all the status that comes with it. But, because you now feel the pressures to prove yourself and the hours that come with it, you come home with nothing but the scraps of your life to give to your wife and kids. And you’ve completely neglected the calling on your life to lead your family well.

 

Or perhaps you’ve felt a distance between you and your spouse and because of that you are now pursuing a relationship outside of your marriage, because it makes you feel wanted and comfortable and needed. But, instead all you have done is drive a wedge into the relationship that God has a given you to care for and lay your life down for.

 

You see, much like Lot, who without seeking God’s desire in his life and living in obedience to God’s calling, he looked towards Sodom and saw that it was good and he took it…

 

And honestly, I believe this could be seen as the root that leads to sin.

 

Rather than looking to God for what is good and beautiful and best for our lives, we instead look with our eyes to things like our homes, our jobs and others…

 

 

True story…but almost 10 years ago and I can’t believe I’m admitting to this right now…but almost years ago, I was having a bad day or really let’s just say it was a bad season in ministry and I wanted something that was going to bring me happiness, some change that would fulfill this emptiness that I was feeling.

 

So, of course what’s the natural thing you do…I opened up the HAR app on my phone and started looking for homes…And the next thing I know, during my lunch break I’m driving into Woodforest, I walk into a model home and I’m writing a check for $5000 to reserve a lot on a home that I want to build…No consideration of how much it was going to cost, no conversation with God or how it would impact the calling on my life and probably the most shocking…no conversation with my wife…

 

Seriously, y’all if you looked up the definition of what a man looks like by walking by sight and not by faith, you’d find a picture of me…

 

Anyone else feel me on this? 

 

Anyone else see themselves making decisions in life without any concern for what God might think and the impact that it might have on the calling He has given to you in your life?

 

 

Well, that’s what Lot is doing…

 

Now what we should also see here in chapter 19 is that Lot is no longer near Sodom, is he?  No, Lot has moved into the gates of Sodom and is now living there…

 

And I can’t help but think of the analogy that my old boss used to tell me.  He would say, “Josh, if you don’t want to fall off the cliff, then don’t go near the edge.”  But the reality is so many of us can relate to Lot right here. 

 

We are constantly wanting to walk the edge of the cliff.  Just to see how close we can get without falling off.  How close can I get to sin without actually sinning…

 

We tend to justify our sin by saying stuff like, nudity in a movie is ok as long as I’m not looking at porn.  Or messing around with my girlfriend isn’t a sin as long as I don’t have premarital sex.  Or making degrading jokes towards another human being as long as we follow it up with “Bless their heart…”

 

But, the reality is we are always trying to find the edge of that cliff, trying to get as close to it as possible. Much like Lot, who tried to get as close as possible to Sodom without going in, but eventually what happened?  He found himself in Sodom…

 

 

And to be honest with you, this is a struggle for me. For so many years in my life, I wanted to walk the edge of that cliff, because I thought the edge of that cliff would bring me pleasure, I thought it would bring me comfort, I thought it would fun…I thought people would like me more, because the closer I got to that cliff it seemed like the more people would celebrate it.  Because we live in a culture that celebrates the thrill seekers, the ones that push the boundaries, the ones that put it all on the line, so for some reason I thought walking the edge of that cliff was going to bring my status…

 

And we always somehow think we’re the one that can get away with it…strong enough to control it and hold it all together.

 

 

But as time went on, I found myself no longer on the edge…because in 2007, I had already fallen over.  I took my eyes off of Jesus and I looked to things that I thought would bring me pleasure and comfort and all I found was shame and guilt and a broken man at the end of his rope destroying his marriage and his career.

 

Each and every time I walked on the edge of that cliff and took one more step away from Jesus and I found myself alone.  I failed to look to Jesus for guidance and direction and remembering the calling that he had placed on my life and I made decisions that I thought were best for me…

 

And what I didn’t realize was how much it was costing me to walk the edge...

 

 

 

I didn’t realize it was costing me my relationship with God, my

relationship with my wife, my relationship with my employer, my integrity with people that I was leading, my relationship with my friends…and on and on I could go with all that it cost me, but the problem was I was making decisions based on what I wanted and what I thought needed, with no realization of how far I had gone.

 

And much like the quote goes… “Sin will take you farther than you ever want to go, keep you longer than you ever want to stay and cost you more than you ever want to pay?”

 

You see, like Lot, I was walking by sight rather than by faith.  I believed in God, I trusted in God, but I wanted the things of this world as well…

 

And it nearly cost me everything that I loved and truly everything that God had given me to care for.

 

 

Thankfully, even as Greg has mentioned over the past couple of weeks, God still works outside of our disobedience…Because after confessing, repenting and turning back to the life that God has called me to, my marriage is thriving and the neighborhood we live in became a catalyst for us to move to Restoration a little over two years ago.

 

It is only by God’s grace and mercy that He has held our family together, and that my wife and I now have the opportunity to pass along a legacy of forgiveness and unconditional love to our children…

 

 

Which leads me to my final point and that is to compare and contrast the legacy that Abraham and Lot leave as they pass on. And again, the reason I want to do this, is because it’s just another example of what our lives could look like if we try to hold onto both God and the things of this world.

 

Because, Genesis 19 is actually the last time that we are going to hear about Lot.  His story ends here in what I would say is a shocking tragedy.

 

Lot who decided he was tired of living in tents with Abraham, is a man who moved to a large city and a nice home, the man who left the path that God had for him and instead looked for comfort and prosperity for the rest of his life…At the end of Chapter 19 where do you find him?

 

In a cold dark cave…not in a home…you find him in fear and wondering what’s next, not in the security of God’s promises. 

 

Lot’s legacy ends in tragedy and heartache…And again, I believe this is a warning to us of what happens when we try to hold onto both God and the things of this world.

 

Lot’s story ends with himself and his two daughters escaping the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but his daughters are afraid that there are no men to marry in order for them to continue their lineage and so they come up with this crazy plan to get their father drunk, take advantage of the situation.

 

And the result of this plan, is the first daughter gives birth to Moab, the father of the Moabites who are known for worshipping the gods of fertility and sex. And the second daughter gives birth Ben-ammi the father of the Ammonites (who are known for their cruelty and child sacrifices). 

 

Lots legacy is terrible…the story ends with him living in fear, living in shame, living in guilt, living in a cold dark cave and when he breathed his last, he most likely did so, broken and humiliated wondering where did it all go wrong…

 

And why this is a warning for us today, especially for those of us in the church that believe we can pursue both God and the things of this world, when we pursue the things of comfort and ease and riches and pleasure, is that the outcome of our legacy, when pursuing both, will end further from God’s plan for your life then you ever imagined.

 

You can’t serve both…these are mutually exclusive and cannot coexist.  Jesus says in the sermon on the mount that you can’t serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other…

 

Or I love my how friend Jason Torres put it this week during Men’s Bible Study, he said “You are either living out God’s plan for your life or you are living out the plans of the enemy.” 

 

 

But on the other hand Abraham’s story continues…He and Sarah are finally given what’s been promised to them through the birth of Isaac and Abraham’s legacy is Isaac, Jacob, Judah and on and on and on until Jesus is born.

 

And so, how do you think Abraham felt at the end of his days…Having left his country, his father’s house…leaving all the comforts and securities of this world…and placing all His trust in God saying “God, you are my true security!”  How do you think he felt at the end of his life…

 

Genesis 25:7 NASB

 

7 These are all the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, 175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people.

 

Satisfied and completely content…Abraham gave up all and pursued God. He gave up his life, so that he could gain his life. He breathed his last in peace, not in fear. 

 

How do you want to breath your last…Like Abraham, satisfied and knowing that you pursue God in faith, surrounded by those that love you…Or like Lot, lonely and in fear until the bitter end…

 

 

You see, one of the problems for me when reading stories like this and wondering how in the world could a man like Lot end up in a such a dark place.  A man that knew God, trusted God, a man that had a calling on his life…Lot was even warned of the impending destruction of the cities and yet he still choose the path of destruction…And we are reading this story and we’re screaming in our heads, Lot just run…run from the sin, run from the destruction, run from what’s keeping you from God’s blessings…And yet he doesn’t…And I wonder to myself why?  Why is that?

 

Well, I think we see it pretty clearly in Chapter 19:12

 

 

At this point, Lot is has protected the angels from the growing mob outside his doors, and the angels are going to give Lot a warning and listen closely to how Lot responds…

 

12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

 

15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. (He did what? He lingered, he hesitated, he waited.)

 

In verse 16 we see something absolutely shocking.  When the angels tell Lot to get up and escape, because they are about to destroy the city. Verse 16 tells us the Lot lingered, he waited around, he hesitated…)

 

Honestly, I think that is the problem summed up in both the hearts of Lot and us.  Think about this…When did Lot hesitate?  The morning of Sodom’s destruction. What seems so crazy at this point is that the promise of God’s judgement of sin could be so clear and so obvious and yet somebody would hesitate from escaping it? 

 

Why does he linger?  Lot knew first hand the condition and sin of Sodom.  Lot knew the judgment that was coming down on ALL within it’s city walls, the angels told him clearly that they were sent to destroy the city and he knew that God was a God that always kept his word and would always do what he said he would do and yet he hesitated.

 

And again, when we read this story and we stop and think how could Lot be so crazy and reckless….How could he possibly linger

 

….and yet we fail to recognize we do the exact same thing…

 

We are like Lot…

 

We know the destruction that sin causes, we know that there are always consequences to the decisions we make, we know that we often put ourselves so close the edge of the cliff, that we will most likely fall into the abyss…and yet what do we do…we linger…we question…we doubt…

 

And isn’t that the fundamental flaw, even as believers?  It’s the same flaw that we see in Adam and Eve, Cain, the people of Noah and here with Lot…and that is the fact that we linger, we hesitate, we doubt…

 

We believe, but we don’t fully believe. We trust, but we don’t fully trust. We’re constantly questioning, we constantly doubting.  We love God, but we also love the stuff of the world.  We hate our sin, but we also love our sin. So we hold onto it and we don’t put it to death.

 

And so, the question has to be asked this morning is there any hope for a heart that lingers…Is there any hope for a heart that is constantly reluctant and questions God’s calling on our lives.

 

 

Our only hope church is this…and we saw it earlier in Chapter 18, when God gave that nod or wink into the future of what His plan is to reconcile mankind back to himself and that hope is this…

 

That God would send to us, one who is righteous.  And his name is Jesus…a man that stood and walked in our midst and was punished in our place, so that we could be forgiven, not because we were good enough or worth it, but rather because he was.

We are going to be spared, not because of how good we are, but because of how good he is.

 

Which is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21…

 

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

What is the hope for a heart that lingers…it’s grace and mercy of God…

 

You know what’s so amazing about God’s grace? You know what’s so amazing about God’s grace towards us…It’s not that we are so wonderful, it’s not that we are so worth it, what’s so amazing that we are so messed up and that we are so not worth it and yet Jesus came and died for us and took our place…

 

That’s what so amazing about Grace…

 

And so what should our only response be in that?  What should the response of those that doubt and linger and question…

 

I think Paul sums it up beautifully for us in Philippians 3…

 

Paul says this…

 

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having fa righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—