3 ¶ And through covetousness shall they with
feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time
lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned,
but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be
reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not
the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness,
bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha
into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those
that after should live ungodly;
There are many modern-day preachers who make merchandise of
their followers because of their covetousness using falsehoods to draw that
following [for feign as fake or a counterfeit see 1Samuel 21:13; 2Samuel 14:2;
1Kings 14:5; & Luke 20:20]. Notice Paul’s warning.
Romans 16:17 ¶ Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which
cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned;
and avoid them. 18 For they that are
such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words
and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Put that together with Paul’s warning aforementioned about
those who corrupt the word of God, and with this warning.
2Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of light. 15
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as
the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Understand that there are a lot of people out there and in
the churches across the land who see the body of Christ as a moneymaking
opportunity and will stop at nothing to fleece the sheep. You can see some of
these people by their outward displays of the wealth they have stolen from
God’s people using deception, control, and flattery along with outright lying
about what the Bible says. You can protect yourself by knowing the Bible and
prayerfully reading it from cover to cover over and over again.
In verse 4 angels are
linked to the sons of God in Genesis
6. An angel is an appearance of
something or someone that is somewhere else. See Isaiah 63:9 for the angel of his presence. Angels can
represent God as in Judges 2:1; children in Matthew 18:10; churches in
Revelation 1:20; or the created beings in the spiritual world, called the sons of God.
If God did not spare the sons
of God who took on human form in Genesis 6, the old world that perished in
the Flood, or Sodom and Gomorrah why would the false prophets and false
teachers think they would escape judgment?
7 ¶
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the
wicked:
Notice how we are given more information here about Lot’s
attitude than we are in the passage about him in Genesis. This is the same
situation we find when from reading Genesis we understand only that Abraham was
obedient in his willingness to offer up his promised son, Isaac. But the Holy
Spirit gives us information as to how he could be so willing in Hebrews.
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered
up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten
son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in
Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him
up, even from the dead; from whence
also he received him in a figure.
Getting more complete information, by way of explanation, is
one of many reasons to read the entire Bible from cover to cover,
cross-referencing the verses and phrases and words as you go. This is how we
learn how the command in Exodus 20 that is such a subject of contention among
Christians and skeptics about not killing…
Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
…is a reference to murder, not self-defense or God’s
commands for the Hebrews to take Canaan from the child-sacrificing,
devil-worshipping, sexually immoral Canaanites.
Matthew 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not
commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Or that Christ, fully God and fully man, fully appreciated
the grip that that act of dying itself holds on the living.
Hebrews 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had
offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that
was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he
obedience by the things which he suffered; 9
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto
all them that obey him;
By reading the Bible in its entirety we see what is meant by
what is written and are not cast adrift in a boat without a rudder. Here we see
another reason why God spared Lot. In spite of his compromises with living
among the people of Sodom and the devastation it had on his family we now know,
for certain, that he was disgusted by them.
8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them,
in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their
unlawful deeds;)
Day to day, Lot sat in the gate of judgment.
Genesis 19:1 ¶ And
there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and
Lot seeing [them] rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face
toward the ground;
[For the phrase sat in
the gate referring to an official position of being a judge of things see;
2Samuel 19:8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And
they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate.
And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his
tent.
Daniel 2:49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon:
but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
Amos 5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and
establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be
gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
Notice by cross-reference that the gates of Hell or the
judgments of Hell shall not prevail against the church because of the
acknowledgement that Christ is God in the flesh.
Matthew 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God…18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.]
Notice that Lot’s righteous
soul was vexed by the wickedness of Sodom. Compare that with the many
sermons that condemn Lot for even living among the people of Sodom, calling him
the classic compromiser and likening him to a carnal Christian. But we see here
upon what justification that God spared him. He was tormented by the wicked
iniquity around him. Preachers who say they believe the Bible often don’t act
as if they’ve read it. The iniquity of Sodom was the following, which included
their wicked attempt to sexually assault Lot’s guests.
Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister
Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her
daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed
abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
Still, to be saved from destruction Lot had to leave Sodom
supernaturally, led by angels. He is a classic example of a Christian who is
given a way out of evil circumstances, told to not look back.
Paul was exasperated at how Christians could tolerate sin in
the congregation without being appalled and disgusted.
1Corinthians 5:1
¶ It is reported commonly that there is
fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among
the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather
mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present
in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that
hath so done this deed, 4 In the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the
power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To
deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 ¶
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are
unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 ¶
I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of
this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then
must ye needs go out of the world. 11
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is
called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or
a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12 For what have I to do to judge them also that
are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth.
Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Of course, he then later told them that the person had
suffered enough and should be restored.
2Corinthians 2:6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment,
which was inflicted of many. 7 So that
contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such
a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. 8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm
your love toward him.
9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out
of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be
punished:
God knows how to
deliver the godly out of temptations so here we have Godly added to the
list of approving words for someone we often hold in contempt as a bad example;
righteous and just and Godly. Now, that might give a different twist to some
possible sermons from Lot’s example than you’ve been used to hearing.
God can deliver the Godly from any temptation…
1Corinthians
10:13 There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to
be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
…so that they will not go punished with the unjust. This is
one argument for the physical translation of the church in the end times, that
God will not only protect them but remove them from the place about to be
judged. None of this makes Lot perfect, just as no Christian is perfect, as we
see by his later disappointing behavior and the behavior of his daughters.
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