The Sin of Sodom?

Don’t assume that you know the answer.

I thought I did and then was surprised when I did a little cross-referencing.

I think we all assume, from what we have read in the Genesis 18-19 account of the twin OT cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, that they were destroyed because of the sin of rampant and violent homosexuality.

But that would be only a portion of the story.

The first thing that is alarming in the story, is that the Lord tells Abraham He is on His way to Sodom because He has “heard the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant” (Genesis 18:20).

In other words, from God’s perspective, a whole society can sink to a level where sin is no longer done under cover of darkness, concealed behind closed doors, or hidden from others. There is no longer any shame associated with the behaviors.

In Jeremiah 8:12, God accuses His own people of sinking to the level where their sin is so flagrant that they “do not even know how to blush.”

That was the point at which God’s loving patience was exhausted, both with the pagan people of Canaanite Sodom and Gomorrah, and, in Jeremiah’s day, with God’s own people of Israel.

And, lest you subscribe to the ridiculous notion that the Old Testament is largely myth and legend, don’t forget that on three separate occasions, in the Gospels, Jesus Himself refers to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as an act of God’s judgment.

Is “flagrant sin” not now an accurate description of our own culture and times?

No one blushes any more, even amongst God’s people, at every kind of sin, accepted as normative behavior and even glamorized on TV and in the movies.

It is all widely viewed in Christian homes.

And pulpits and the academy in the western world are scrambling to justify it all by propagating the ridiculous notion that because of New Testament grace, evidenced on the cross of Christ, the wrath of God will no longer be directed at “flagrant sin” like it was in the Old Testament.

And we wonder why the fear of the Lord is largely absent from most American churches. We have successfully preached it away.

I believe a strict judgment awaits teachers like this who minimize God’s judgment for sin and try falsely to lighten the burden of Holy Spirit conviction over sin (James 3:1).

But let’s jump back to Sodom and Gomorrah.

Based on the record of Genesis 19, we assume the cities were destroyed by God for the sin of homosexuality, but that would not be accurate.

When you cross-reference the story of the two cities, you are directed to Ezekiel 16:49-50, where we are told by God Himself that the cities were destroyed because of “pride, gluttony and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen.”

Wow!

Suddenly Sodom’s sins come dangerously close to convicting us all, don’t they?

Pride, gluttony, laziness and indifference to the poor and needy amongst us.

God, give us hearts that are tender, easily moved with compassion for all those around us, and easily directed by the Holy Spirit to deliver even a cup of cold water in His Name.

God restore the fear of the Lord in all of our hearts!