Genesis 18 16-33

You know, we all have those songs that mean very significant things to us. And I've probably told you this before, but in Christ Alone is one of those songs. For me. That's the that's the first song I ever learned how to play for my family and family worship. That's the first song I ever learned how to sit beyond and just you know, quurt A pluck out for us to stand around the piano and sing together, and so it just anyway, that's that's one of those that that means a great deal to me. We've come to the end of Genesis chapter eighteen, as we examine the life of Abraham, as we learn from the life of Abraham, and as we have gone on this journey, and as you've paid attention on the journey, you'll remember and you'll recognize that this is a different kind of look at the life of Abraham. What we are accustomed to is the moralistic look at the life of Abraham. What we are accustomed to is looking at the life of Abraham and basically hearing this, here's what was good about Abraham. Go work real hard so that it can be good about you too. Here's the principle that we learned from the life of Abraham, go and apply this principle, so that God will smile on you too, as opposed to understanding the life of Abraham as the New Testament understands the life of Abraham, not as moralisms to help Christians go out and work harder to earn something that cannot be earned, but really as a picture of what a life of faith looks like, and really as a foreshadowing of what is to come in Christ. The life of Abraham is a picture of the faithfulness of God in bringing about what he promised. In Genesis chapter three, in verse fifteen, the fall has occurred, and God says, I told you, and the day you eat of that fruit. In the Hebrew, it's a wonderful play on words, dying, you shall surely die. I told you that the day you eat of the fruit, dying, you shall surely die, and you will. You are going to die, and unless something was done, you would die in judgment, complete and utter separation from God. But in Genesis chapter three and verse fifteen, the Gospel is proclaimed this chapter three, verse thirteen, verse fifteen that the proto u Agelion is referred to as the first proclamation of the gospel, there will be enmity between the seat of the Woman and the seat of the serpent. And the sea of the serpent is going to bruise him on the heel, but he's going to crush the head of the serpent. And from that moment on there is this enmity between the sea of the Woman and the sea of the serpent. And the serpent tries desperately and diligently to get rid of the seat of the woman. And immediately that happens in chapter three, what happens in chapter four? In chapter four there's murder. The sea of the Woman is murdered. The seat of the serpent says, I know how to deal with this. I get rid of the seat of the Woman. I win, I get rid of the promised sea. I win. Let's kill Abel. I win. No, you don't. Next chapter here comes seth. You don't win. And time after time after time, that's what he tries to do. Of got to get rid of the promised seed. What does he try to do in Egypt? Kill off the promised seed, That's what he tries to do. The slaughter of children is about killing off the promised seed. And inherit what does the seed of the serpent try to do again. Let's kill off the promised Seed because the promised Seed is the answer. Here's what's ironic. The devil looks at the Bible and says, the promised Seed is the answer. We've started to look at the Bible and say, acting more like Abraham is the answer. Working harder is the answer. Earning righteous is the answer. The devil says, I got to kill the Promised Seed because he's the answer. You and I have been duped by this moralistic teaching of our day into believing that the leadership principles in the Bible, or the moralistic principles in the Bible, those are our answers. That's how we defeat the devil. Just work harder and try harder to be like the heroes of the faith. And we continue to run around on the hamster wheel, failure after failure after failure, when the Promised Seed has already come and done his work and victory is ours. So when we look at the life of Abraham, do we see the hamster wheel or are we merely going back and tracing the steps of the providential victory that is ours in Christ? Because God is faithful to his word. And nowhere perhaps is this more prevalent and more important than here at this juncture, because we're about to see some things that if we don't understand this meta narrative, if we don't understand this big picture, we'll misinterpret these things. We'll misinterpret what's going on between God and Abraham here. And if we moralize this, we not only fall into the trap of Work's righteousness, but if we moralize this particular passage that we're looking at at the end of chapter eighteen, we pile on top of Work's righteousness this sense of man centered word of faith idolatry. Let me show you what I mean. Genesis chapter eighteen, beginning verse sixteen. Then the men set out from there, and they looked down towards Sodom, and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Seeing that Abraham surely shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him, For I have chosen him that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord. By doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him. Then the Lord said, because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me verse twenty two or the en verse twenty one. First, I'd lost the phrase in verse twenty one, and if not, I will know verse twenty two. So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 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. Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fair as the wicked. Far be that from you. Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just. And the Lord said, if I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Abraham answered and said, behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. I love that phrase, just dust and ashes, just decorated dust. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking, will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it if I find forty five there. And he spoke to him and said, suppose forty are found there. He answered, for the sake of forty, I will not do it. Then he said, oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there. He answered, I will not do it if I find thirty there. He said, behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Supposed twenty are found there, he answered, for the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it. He said, oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again. But this once, it's the last time. God, We're about ten. Suppose ten are found there. He answered, for the sake of ten, I will not destroy it. And the Lord went his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. We're coming to a crescendo. Here. There's a couple of crescendos here in the life of Abraham, and again that one we all know and so look forward to in the life of Abraham is that moment with Isaac. But this is another one of those crescendos. This is building up to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. And as we build up, there is this scene here that intensifies the pathos of the moment. As we move toward a crescendo, Abraham figures out what's about to happen. You're gonna go destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. There's a parenthetical statement here that's understood. It's not written in the text, but it's understood. You get ready to go destroy Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot lives. That's the understood parenthetical statement here. He's not worried about Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham's not saying, Oh, I love Sodom, I love Gamo. Surely, surely you will spare that wonderful city that I love so much. No, that's not what's going on here. Abraham's saying, I love Lot, and that's where a lot lives. That's what this interaction is about. This interaction is about Lot. This interaction about Lot being spared. This is not about those twin cities. This is about that young man that Abraham loves. He's not so young anymore by the way that Abraham loves. That's what this is about. But the judgment of God is coming, and there is this interaction within the context of the judgment of God. And if we're not careful, we miss what's going on here. If we're not careful, we think that this is somehow about bargaining with God. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is not about bargaining with God. If we're not careful here, we think that this is somehow about the righteous rescuing a city. This is not about the righteous rescuing a city. This is about the judgment of God. And there are several truths that we see here about the judgment of God. The first is this that the judgment of God is revelatory. The judgment of God is revelatory. Remember last week we talked about special revelation versus general revelation. Through general revelation, we just get this picture that there's a God, that there's a creator. The heavens declare the glory of God. You look out and we see a picture. There's something out there. There's something bigger than me. There's a creator out there. But if you'll remember we said you got to go from general revelation a special revelation. If you want to go from there's something out there to the God of Heaven is out there, and he made the heavens and the earth. He revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ provided preserve protected for us that revelation in the Bible. You got to go from general revelation to special revelation there. But there is something else that's being revealed here. The judgment of God reveals something about the nature of God. But if you don't have revelation connected to judgment, we have no idea what's being done. Let me see if I can explain. There are horrible destructive things that happen all the time, all the time, and there are those individuals who always try to find God's hand of judgment and every negative thing that happens, and it's difficult for us to do that. For example, you know, Hurricane Ike comes up, and Hurricane Ike is destructive. It destroys the homes of all sorts of people. Well, do we turn around and say it. We'll see, there's the judgment of God. It was it? How do you know? You don't know unless God reveals specifically that this is an active judgment. Otherwise it could be one of the very normal natural circumstances that are a result of the fall. In general, we live in a fallen world. So hurricanes come, earthquakes come, People die, some earlier than others. Most people get sick, then they die. You ever thought about that. Most people don't just walk in front of a bus. Most people get sick product of the fall, then they die. Trus plagues come. These things happen. But unless we have a specific word from the Lord, we don't know if this is for us to understand as the judgment of God. So when God is doing something in order to bring about judgment and wrath, he reveals that so we don't have to wonder, We don't have to guess. Nobody sits around and goes, you know that flood thing with Noah, I wonder if that is the judgment of God. Nobody wonders that. Why over one hundred years of preaching it's coming and its judgment. Here Sodom and Gamora. Nobody wonders, you know that's Sodom and Gomorrah thing the fired brimstone. Just kind I wonder if that was the judgment of God. Nobody has to ask that question. Why? Because it was revealed from God that this was judgment what we just read in Jeremiah nineteen, when God inflicts this on his people, when his people are carried away, when they are killed by the sword, nobody has to wonder. I wonder if Israel's being judged right now? Why don't you have to wonder? Because he sent his prophets so that you would know that this is the judgment of God. Annius and Sapharrah. In case you're wondering if that stuff happens on this side of the cross, yes it does. Acts Chapter five. How do we know that Annis and Sapharrah being killed right there in church was the judgment of God? Peter kind of helps us on that one. He looks at her and he says, hey, hold the feet of the men who carried off your husband, they gonna carry you off too. Why because this is the judgment of God, and it's being announced there is another judgment to come, How do we know that there is another judgment to come. Two things. Number one, it's been announced. Amen. You can't read Book of Revelation without saying, you know what, there's judgment coming. Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord. God is going to judge the world. He is. So number one, we know because it's been announced. And number two, we know because God's got a track record. Amen, He's got a track record. So the judgment of God is revelatory in that sense, we understand a bit about who God is because he reveals to us when he brings his judgment. He reveals to us that this is an act of judgment. This is not just natural disaster. This is not just haphazard. This is a specific act of judgment. This is a specific moment where I am making a proclamation about who I am and about how I deal with sin. Listen to this from Galvin, seeing that God here takes counsel as if considering a doubtful matter. He does it for the sake of men, for he had already determined what he would do, but he designed it in this manner to render Abraham more intent. Upon consideration of the causes of Sodom's destruction. He adduces two reasons why he wishes to manifest his design to Abraham before he carried it to execution. The former of the first reason that he had already granted him singularly honorable privilege, and second that it will be useful and fruitful in the instruction of posterity. Why does God let Abraham know that this judgment is coming. Number one, because the position of honor that He's already given him. He reveals this to him, And secondly, because it will be useful and fruitful for future generations. Look at this, beginning verse seventeen, The Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do? Seeing that a couple of things. Number One, Abraham shall surely become a great nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. Why for I have chosen him. God's doing this to reveal him himself, not because Abraham deserves it, but because this is what He's determined to do for Abraham. I have determined that Abraham is going to be a great nation. I have determined that Abraham is going to be the father of many nations. And because I have determined it, and by the way, here's this phrase that hasn't been used thus far as it relates to Abraham, and it puts the finest point possible on what's going on in the life of Abraham, the finest point in case anybody was wondering, In case anybody was wondering, if there was any merit in the life and the character of Abraham, he removes it by putting a fine point on it. He says, for I have chosen him, that's why not, because Abraham is wonderful. Now we've already known that. We should have known that Abraham goes to Egypt. We see he's a dirty, rotten scoundrel. When he goes to Egypt. Tell him you're my sister. He gives away his wife in order to save his own skin. He's a dirty, rotten scoundrel. He commits adultery with Hagar in order to try to help God along and bringing about this promise seed. He's a dirty, rotten scoundrel. We've already seen this. So Abraham's not getting this word from the Lord because somehow he is this wonderful, pristine individual who has no sin. No God makes it clear Abraham is going to be a great nation. The father of many nations, because I have chosen him. So I'm going to reveal to him what I am about to do and Sodom and Gomorrah because I have chosen him. This is part of Abraham becoming what God intended for him to become. There's a second reason, and don't miss this. He's very clear about this, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. By doing righteousness and justice. In other words, God says, I'm telling this to Abraham number one because of the position that I put him in. But secondly, I'm telling this to Abraham so that he can communicate to generation after generation after generation. Don't play with God. Don't play with God. And if you wonder who God is, just remember Sodom and Gomorrah. Don't ever forget. Don't don't forget. As though the flood weren't enough, we're just a couple of generations this side of the flood. And now we have another moment that God gives specifically to Abraham, and specifically the text says, so that he can communicate to his children, so that he can communicate to his household after him, so that generation after generation after generation will know the judgment of God, will know the seriousness of God, the holiness of God, the wrath of God. Folks, do we believe in the grace of God. Absolutely, we believe in the grace of God. But one of the problems in our culture today is that we try to communicate the grace of God without communicating the wrath and the justice and the judgment of God. And apart from that, you can't comprehend God's grace. What are we saved from? By the way, We're saved by God from God? Now go wrap your head around that. Saved from what a cross look from God? Saved from a disapproving sigh from God. No, you're saved from the God who smoked Sodom and Gomorrah with brimstone, and who has a place called Hell, reserved from the devil and those fallen angels and all those who do not come to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we're rescued from. Hell is real. Judgment is real, and this is just a foreshadowing and a foretaste. And God says, I'm revealing this to Abraham because of the position that I've given him, and so that he can communicate to his children and to generations after him, who God is. I wonder if we communicate to our children enough, how awful and how terrible it is to fall into the hands of an angry God not trying to scare our children. Were not trying to scare our children into belief or scare our children. It's only God and God alone who can bring our children to faith. But God has ordained the ends as well as the means, and one of the means is stern warnings about the justice and judgment of God. God is not to be played with, Sin is not to be played with. And God reveals what He's about to do so that there is no mistaken what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. What happened in Sodom and Gomorrah was a foretaste and the foreshadowing of the wrath of a holy and mighty God. And we must never downplay that, never ever downplay that. It's ironic that we think that somehow we have to downplay this wrath of God, we have to downplay this judgment of God, so that we can somehow uphold his grace. You know, in many ways, what we need to realize is that we're like the man who shows the diamond in the diamond store. What does he do before he shows you his diamond. He gets a piece of black velvet and he puts it down so that when he places his diamond on it, the contrast is unmistakable. You want to understand the grace and the mercy of God, just get a glade and who he is and his wrath. Just get a glimpse of how awesome and how terrible it can be to fall into the hands of a righteous and just and holy God. It's not until we get there that we see his grace, that we see his love, that we see his mercy as we ought to. The judgment of God is revelatory. You don't understand how much Jesus loves you unless and until you understand the magnitude of his active obedience to God and his passive obedience to God. His active obedience to God demonstrates to us his perfection, his holiness, his righteousness in keeping the law, and his passive obedience to God and laying down his life on the cross and receiving in his body the very wrath of God God against sin, poured out against him. What are we seeing that? What are we seeing that? We see the perfection of Jesus Christ. We see the holiness of Jesus Christ. We see the beauty of Jesus Christ. We see the magnificence of Jesus Christ. And in that light we see the wrath of God that was absolutely undeserved, poured out on the sinless, spotless lamb of God. And the judgment of God in that moment is absolutely revelatory. We must not shy away from the wrath of God. We must not shy away from the judgment of God, because if we do, we're shying away from the beauty and the majesty of the Gospel. To you not know what you've been saved from? Have you no idea what you deserve? Have you no idea who God is? Have you no idea? Look at Sodom and be afraid. The judgment of God is revelatory. But the judgment of God is also just. It's just look at the next part of this, look at verse twenty. Verse twenty says, then the Lord said, because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave. 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. In other words, I will go down and see if they're worthy of destruction. It's interesting in this Hebrew phrase, it's very hard for us to render it. But Abraham has no doubt what was just said, because in the very next line Abraham starts talking about the destruction. So Abraham did not understand God to be saying, Hey, I'm going to go down there and see if things are really bad, and then I'll think about what I ought to do. No, the phrase that is rendered here to Abraham leaves no doubt. I'm going down to wipe out Sodom and Gomorrah. And the key word there is sin. It's because of their sin. Because their sin is great, we see the justice of God. By the way, listen to what Craig Keenan points out, this is a combination of antipomorphism. Again, that word anthropomorphism means we represent God with human language, and theodicy or an explanation of divine action in this story and in the Tower of Babel episode in Genesis eleven, in both cases, to demonstrate divine justice and fairness, God comes down to investigate a situation before taking action. Does God have to come down and investigate the situation? No, but he does this in order to demonstrate his justice. In other words, God is saying just by showing up in Genesis eleven and then again here in Genesis eighteen. Just by showing up, God is demonstrating to us through the life of Abraham, the kind of God he is. I am investigating what is going on. Nothing is hidden from me. So when God acts, he's not capricious at all. It is because there is sin that is deserving of judgment. So God's judgment is not only revelatory, but it's just. Every last one of us deserves death and hell, nothing more, nothing less. That's what we deserve. But thank God that he does not deal with us according to what our sin deserves. Amen, the judgment of God is just and oftentimes again, and you've heard me talk about this on a number of occasions, we ask the question why, why and how would God allow bad things, devastating things to happen to good people. Well, there are no good people. If you or I, if any one of us walks out of this building today and gets struck by lightning and dies. It's way, way, way better than what we deserve. Amen. I mean, who among us would actually sit here and say that if whatever the devastating thing is, you just name whatever the most devastating thing that's ever happened in the world. You just fill in the blank. People who died and whatever. You want to talk about POMPEII, you want to talk about the tidal waves not long ago, you want to talk about whatever. Do you think that anyone in this room would sit here and say, boy, if I had died in that event, it would have been completely unjust. No, No, if I died in any one of those events, it would have been better than I deserve. The question is not why do awful things happen to good people? The question is why is God good to any of us? That's the question. Breath you just took, you stole from God. I would say you borrowed it, but you're never gonna give it back. You didn't deserve to wake up this morning, None of us did. So when God brings his judgment, he is absolutely just. Thirdly, God's judgment is certain, and this is important for us to understand, especially in light of what's happening here with the fifty forty five, forty thirty twenty ten. If we're not careful, and especially if we moralize the text, then all of a sudden, this becomes you know, about Abraham and his intercession. And listen to one statement, for example, listen to how Clark comments on this, and this is just an example of taking that kind of idea. Really, I believe too far. Clark says, knowing that in the family of his nephew, the true religion was professed and practice, he could not suppose there could be less than ten righteous persons in the city, he did not think it necessary to urge his supplication farther. He therefore left off his entreaties, and the Lord departed from him. In other words, Clark says, Abraham was working God down to the number that he assumed Lot had in his household, so that he could somehow rescue Sodom and Gomorrah. Well number one. The text doesn't tell us that. That's not what the text is about. That's not what this is about. This is about the justice of God. Will God do what is right? Will God do what is just? God says yes, I'll do what is just. So for the sake of fifty would you Yes, sure I would. What about for forty five? Sure I would? How many of you know? God knew exactly how many righteous folks there were and Sodom and Gomorrah. See, the discussion was moved. The point was mood. This is a discussion between Abraham and God about God's justice. Abraham's going, God, are you just? God's going yep, I'm just God? Are you just yep? I'm just God? Are you just? Uh huh, I'm just God's not going huh. Let me see. Yeah. If I find out when I get there, then now, okay, then I won't do it. Then I want no, you want to know if I'm just fifty sure, forty five? Uh huh? Forty okay, makes you feel better? Thirty sure? Why not? Twenty? Yeah? Ten? Yeah? Gotta go now, gonna wipe the place out. Glad we had this discussion about my justice, and I'm glad you understand now that I'm a just God. I'm glad you get that now. Well, how can you make that kind of statement? Pastor? You don't know that, you don't get that? Well, you know what, here's what I do know. Listen to this and there are several things that I want us to get here. Number One, our children understand this, They're already beginning to understand this. I just want to do this for a moment, and children, I need you to be light, nice and loud for me. All the children in here who've been through Catechism for Boys and Girls, if you've just been through the first fifteen questions of Catechism for Boys and Girls, you know the answer to these questions that Pastor Vote's about to ask. And I want to explain how even the children in this room understand what I'm trying to communicate right now about the nature of God. Children. Who is God? God is a spirit and he doesn't have a body like a man. Very good? Where is God? God is everywhere? Very good? Children. Can you see God? No, I cannot see God, but He always sees me. Very good children. Does God know all things? Yes? Yes, nothing can be hidden from God. Can God do all things? Yes? God can do all things in his Holy will? Why do we go through Catechism like that with our children? If you understand just those few questions in the catechism, you understand what was not going on between God and Abraham. If you understand the nature of God, God knows all things. God not going down to Sodom and gomor to count righteous people. Nothing can be hidden from God. Can God do all things? Yes, God can do all things in his holy will. If we understand that, we understand the nature of this discussion between God and Abraham. It's not a negotiation going on here. God's not trying to make up his mind about what He's going to do in Sodom and Gomorrah. This is a discussion between God and Abraham about the righteousness and justice of God in spite of what he's about to go and do. Here's a couple of other things that we know. Listen to this Second Chronicles, chapter twenty and verse six, rather than turn to all of these, just sort of jot them down, because there's several Second Chronicles, Chapter twenty and verse six. O, Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you Job twenty three thirteen. But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back what he desires? That he does Job forty two to seven. After the Lord has spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, the Temanite, my anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right? As my servant Job has look at Psalm one point fifteen and three. Our God is in the heavens. He does all that he pleases Psalm one thirty five six. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the deeps Psal one forty seven five. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power. His understanding is beyond measure Isaiah forty three thirteen, also his fourth I am he. There is no one who can deliver from my hand. There is no one who can deliver from my hand. Could Abraham have delivered Sodom and gomore from the hand of God? No? The Bible says, there is no one who can deliver from the hand of God. No one. Remember that principle of hermeneutics, narrative is not normative. You remember that narrative is not normative. What that means is whenever we read a story about something that happened. What we don't do is we don't go to the narrative parts of the Bible and say this happened in the story, Therefore I will build my doctrine from this story. No, you go to the didactic parts of scripture, the teaching parts of scripture, in order to understand what's happening in the narrative. Okay, that's what we do, what's happening in the teaching parts of scripture that are designed to teach on these issues, so that we can then go back and interpret what's happening in the narrative. A great example of that is when we talked about in Acts, chapter six and the feeding of the widows, where you could almost get through from that passage that we just sort of indiscriminately have a feeding of the widows. Well, but there's a didactic passage in One Timothy chapter five that teaches specifically how the church is to conduct its benevolence towards widows. So you don't go to Acts and say it happened in a narrative, therefore we do it without going to First Timothy five, which didactively teaches specifically what you do in that circumstance, so that then you can interpret the narrative and not the other way around. This is narrative here in Genesis eighteen. There's a story. There's something that's happening. Do we build our doctrine of God from this interaction between him and Abraham? Or do we go to what the Bible says about God and the nature of God so that we can then interpret this conversation between God and Abraham. And that's what we do. A couple of more Isaiah forty six nine. Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purposes. The counsel of God will stand. It will not be changed by finite man. Jeremiah thirty two seventeen. Ah, Lord God, it is you who has made the heavens and the earth. By your great power and by your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. Amen, hollelujah, Praise the Lord. Listen to this. Daniel Chapter four, beginning of verse thirty four at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnazar lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me. And I blessed the most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever. For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. She does according to his will among the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? None can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? Matthew nineteen twenty six. But Jesus looked at them and said, with man this is impossible. But with God all things are possible Luke one thirty seven. For nothing will be impossible with God Ephesians one to eleven. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Now I ask you, was it a negotiation with Abraham. No? Now, unless the rest of the Bible is incorrect, this wasn't an negotiation. This was an anthropomorphic interaction. Remember we said anthropomorphic is we're talking about God in human terms. We're trying to explain the action of God in human terms. That's what we have here. That's what we have here. So does this mean that we don't pray to God? Of course not. It doesn't mean that the last few weeks in the Heidelberg Catechism, what have we been going through, what Jesus taught us in the Lord prayer and what prayer means, why we ought to do it, and how we ought to do it. It's absolutely not. That's not what this means. But this means our attitude in prayer is not if I can find the right phrase or the right people to partner with me, we can twist the arm of God and make him do what we want instead of what he has decreed. That's heresy. That's heresy. We've used the illustration before. Prayer is like a boat, that is that is moored to a dock and the boats tied to the dock. So here you are, you're on the ship, You're out to sea, and as you're on the ship out to see you grab a hold of the rope and the rope is tied to the docks. If you pull on, does the dock come to the boat, or does the boat come to the dock? You pull on the rope and the boat comes to the dock. That's prayer. Most people think that prayer is here. I am in the boat. I'm going to pull and I'm going to bring the dock to me. Now, the dock doesn't move, God doesn't move. When I'm praying, I'm pulling the boat to the dock, not the dock to the boat. Thy will be done, Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. That's prayer. I am not trying to convince the Great God of Heaven that I have some piece of information that he's lacking so that he needs to follow me in this thing and not the counsel of his own. Will you hear how foolish that is. But unfortunately that's how we talk, folks, that's how we talk. And when we come to the Old Testament with our moralisms instead of an understanding of biblical theology, that's actually sometimes how we preach. And so all of a sudden, the end of Genesis eighteen becomes an opportunity for the pastor to say, you just need to be more fervent in your prayer and hold on or what we do need to be fervent in prayer. We absolutely do. But that's not what this is about. This is about the justice of God being certain. And finally, God's judgment is for the wicked and not the righteous. Hear me. I did not say bad stuff doesn't happen to righteous people. I said God's judgment is for the wicked and not the righteous. That's what he's talking about here. See, if we're if we're not careful, we'll miss that. Okay, we'll we'll miss that and we'll think, okay, wait a minute. So basically what this means then is we need to increase the number of righteous people in our city so that our city will be prosperous and will not have and you know, you know that's how people interpret this text. Oh, if we just get some more God, if we just get enough people in America praying, then we will see God's favor in America, if we will just get up. Because if there were fifty righteous side, that's not what this text is about. It's not. It's not because first of all, we're talking about the specific judgment of God. We're not talking about natural disasters here, We're talking about God saying I am about to reveal myself through my judgment. Okay, that's what we're talking about here. And secondly, the text makes it very clear that God being just is about the righteous not experiencing judgment. And hey, that's why a lot gets out. We often forget that. We think, oh, well, a lot went down there to Sodom and Gomorah. He's a bad guy. Really, listen to this Two Peter Chapter two, verses four through nine. For if God did not spare angels when they sin, but cast them into hell and committed them to change of gloomy darkness, to be kept until the judgment. If he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others when he brought a flood upon the whole of the young godly, upon the world of the young godly. If by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. And if he rescued righteous lot. How many times you heard people talking about Sodom and Gomora, and assuming that Lot belongs in the category of the unrighteous just because he lived there, the Bible said he rescued righteous Lot. Well, what did Lot do to become righteous? Wrong question? Nobody ever does anything to become righteous. You're declared righteous, amen. And when you declared righteous, this magnificent thing happens. It is God who works in you both to will and to do his good pleasure. So even when we do those things that are the fruit of righteousness, that's the power of God working in us to will those things and to do those things. So unpuff your chest, please, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked. So how come Lot gets away? Some argue, well, it's just because of Abraham and his bargaining. No, God says Lot got away because he's righteous. Righteous Lot got away. The judgment of God is for the wicked and not for the righteous. By the way, that's also true of the final judgment. Notice that Peter says, if this is a foreshadowing, there's something to come. Revelation Chapter twenty beginna verse eleven. Turn to that one. Please, we'll end with this. Revelation Chapter twenty guinea verse eleven. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence, Earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of fire. This is the second death, the Lake of Fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of fire. Then I saw a new heaven and a new Earth, for the first heaven and the first Earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared for a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their god. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. For the former things have passed away. And he who has seated on the throne said, behold, I am making all things new. Also, he said, write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end to the thirsty. I will give from the spring of the water of life, without payment, without payment, without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually, immoral, sorcerers, idolators, all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. God's judgment. It's for the wicked, not for the righteous. Natural disasters just in the unjust get those. But when we talk about the judgment of God, it's in a revelatory sense, and especially in a final and ultimate sense. It's for the wicked, not for the righteous. So here's the question. Who's righteous? The ones declared? So by God, let's read this. We've read it before, we'll read it again. I know I said, we were just going to read that, but I'm not righteous apart from the finished work of Christ. Amens to this. We've read it before again and can't. We just cannot avoid going back to Romans when we talk about the life of Abraham. It's unavoidable because in Romans, Paul gives us the road map for interpreting the life of Abraham. You cannot avoid it. Romans Galatians. He gives it to us. You want to know what the life of Abraham is about, read Romans Redgalatians. It's not about moralisms. It's about righteousness through faith. Beginning of verse nineteen, beginning verse twenty one. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, For there is no distinction for all of sin and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ, Jesus, whom God put forth as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded by what kind of law? By the law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of gentiles? Also? Yes, gentiles? Also, since God is one, he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means? On the contrary, we uphold the law. Who are the righteous who will avoid judge the ones declared so by God? By faith? We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and that to the glory of God alone. How do we avoid the judgment that is to come. Run to Jesus. That's how we avoid the judgment that is to come. Run to Jesus. Cling to Jesus, Trust in Jesus, hope in Jesus, live in Jesus, walk in Jesus. That's how we avoid the judgment that is to come by being found in Jesus, in Christ alone, in Christ alone, just as we're sang, that's the answer, from beginning to end. In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God and helpless babe, this gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones he came to save, till on that cross, when Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied, for every sin on him was laid here in the death of Christ. I stand Father, Thank you for your glorious grace. Thank you for your matchless mercy. Thank you for your justice that reminds us of what we've been saved from. Thank you that you did not deal with us according to what our sin deserved, but you have been merciful to us. I pray for every soul under the sound of my voice, that if there is one present who has not come to Jesus through repentance and faith, that today, by your grace they would run to the cross, That today, by your grace they would cling to the cross, they would trust in the cross. If there are any here who are trusting in their own righteousness, I pray God today that your judgment would bring them to their knees, that they would recognize that never, under any circumstances will any man stand before You justified by his own works or by keeping the law, but only in Christ alone. Thank You for the rest that that brings, for the comfort that that brings, for the peace that that brings, for the hope that that brings. There will be a day of judgment, and the wicked will not escape, and the righteous will not have earned their deliverance, but only only the righteousness that is imputed to us because of the active and passive obedience of Jesus Christ, where we stand in the day of judgment. Hallelujah, Amen.