Audio Tapes # 47,    Oct 29, 2000       (Notes Updated Oct 30, 2000)

Don't miss the pictures of the zoo days. The Lord willing, Creation Creature Features soon.

Review: (Gen 1-18) See the previous sermon notes on the Web -

The Text (Blue Letter Bible): Genesis 18:16-19:38
(Strong's numbers, Hebrew-Greek lexicons, cross references, etc., can be accessed from the above link)

Brief Outline, Exposition, and Commentary - 

Sodom's Story (His-Story): An example of God's holiness, judgment, mercy, and grace in response to man's sinful socialization, from generation to generation.

- The LORD stays with Abraham, "the friend of God" (Isa 41:8; 2 Chr 20:7; Jam 2:23), and the two angels go to investigate the problem and deal with it.  The revelation is given to Abraham both because he is intimate with God, and also so that he can pass it on as a warning to further generations.
- Separation is the picture our omnipresent and omniscient God always paints between Himself and sinful man.
Yet God is holy love, so He makes a way for some to be redeemed.
- Salvation is available by merciful grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of God alone.  So Abraham appeals to the LORD's character for the faithful few in Sodom (Lot and his household).  Note Abraham stops short at the number of 10, apparently because he was concerned about more than just "blood" relatives.  He truly was concerned about any righteous souls, regardless of their personal connection to himself.
- Low Self-esteem (a clear awareness of unworthiness) seen in Abraham is the right heart attitude before God and man (Job 42; Philip 2).
- Households: Even unbelieving family members are always pictured in God's Word as both receiving some of the blessings rewarded to their faithful, fellow family members, but also standing alone in ultimate judgment for their personal decision of either submissive faith or rebellious doubt (Ezek 18:20).
- Sodom's men were "exceedingly sinful", and this indictment is another indication of the responsibility that MEN, more than women, bear for the state of things under God's hand of delegated authority.
Whether it be in the home, the church, a nation, or the world, it is the men who will stand before God for the ultimate outcome.
- Men in Sodom try to capture the two male visitors (not knowing they are angels), and the men try to abuse them immorally.
- Lot was a relatively righteous man.  1 Cor 4:6 warns us not to speculate beyond what Scripture reveals, so don't try and read too much into Lot's heart attitude by looking at his choice.  The Bible says of him, 

"righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked, for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds". (2 Pet 2:7).

Desensitization leads to toleration !

- As later chapters of Genesis will reveal, Lot's tent was pitched "close" to Sodom, then in it, then he became a political leader in the very "gates" of corporate responsibility.  
- Lot's family becomes affected as it is infected by the culture around it:

* Lot becomes confused and offers to sacrifice his virgin daughters to the evil men in the streets, in order to protect the "men".   He tries to prevent sin with another sin.  Hospitality can go too far, folks, when it causes you to violate your priorities to your own family.  
* The angels strike the evil men with a strange distorted vision, so that they are not afraid and keep trying to find the door, but they cannot find it.
* Two of his daughters had married men who mocked the Word & warning of God.  These were either the two virgin daughters who were betrothed to these men, or two other daughters.  
* Lot lingers, slow to obey the command to leave, and must be dragged out.
* His wife so loved the things of the world (her treasure)(1 John 2), that her heart would not leave even as she physically followed her husband.  She looked back and God solidified the decision of her heart into a statue of tasteless salt for all to see for generations to come.
* Lot whines and complains in fearful doubt, even as the angels are rescuing him.
* The angels cannot destroy Sodom until Lot is safe, because that is their command from God.
* Lot is saved because God "remembered Abraham".
* Lot's daughters selfishly commit an act of unspeakable immorality, even deceptively involving their father without his direct knowledge.

"Sodom" is mentioned 49 times in the Bible:

- All 49x's the context is an example of sinful socialization.
- Sodom is a type also of the final judgment to come upon the world for its selfish, rebellious rejection of God.
- The destruction was so severe, that many believe the hole left in the earth is now filled with the northern part of the Dead Sea (1,300 feet, as compared to only 3-4 feet for the southern end).
- The smoke of Sodom's irreversible destruction is a type of the smoke of the Lake of Fire, that will burn forever as the final punishment of all those who refuse to submit in faith to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
- Listen to a few of the NT comments regarding the sinful socialization of Sodom's character:

Mat 11:²³ "And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴ "But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

Luk 17:²⁹ "but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ "Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

2 Pe 2:^{4 "}For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; ⁵and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; ⁶and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; ⁷and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked ⁸(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— ⁹then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, ¹¹whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord."

Jude 6 "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; ⁷as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. ⁸Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. ⁹Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" ¹⁰But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves."

Rev 11:^{7 "}When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. ⁸And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. ⁹Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. ¹⁰And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.  ¹¹Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹²And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them."

Socialization or Sexualization 

1 Cor 15:^{33 "}Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits.
- Socialization is inescapable.  Everyone will be socialized.  Contagious yawning, accents, .......
- The question is what character will we and our children absorb from the surrounding influences?
- Believers are ambassadors who are called to be "in", but not "of" the world.
- Don't be like lots wife, whose heart was addicted to the past patterns of pleasure in this condemned world.  We must burn the bridges to our past patterns of sin (the old man, Eph 4:22-24), and build new patterns of godliness in Christ.
- Don't let others lead you into sin, like Lot who let his daughters manipulate him into the grossest of abominations.

Example:  How do we, personally, fail at being in, but not of the world?

We're not called to be monks or nuns, isolated from the world (1 Cor 5:9-13).
But we run the danger of letting the culture soak into our souls and families and churches like spiritual osmosis.
First we loose our sensitivity to the horror of sin.  Just as a physical scar is hardened and less sensitive to pain, sin sears our souls to the reality and danger of the world's ways.
Then we increasingly tolerate the sin. (Rom 1)
At times we actually indulge in the sin and enjoy is pleasures, because we love self naturally more than God and neighbor.
Eventually we can become so deceived that we actually exalt the sin, promote it, and try to encourage others to embrace it as well.  (Col 2:8-9).

** Have your kids been overexposed to the pleasures of the world?  Have you socialized them to God's family character, or to the character of the world?  Remember, even if they don't run after really gross sins, just a lack of zeal for the things of God is enough to ruin their lives and God's honor!

God desires to rescue a remnant out of this world, before it is too late:

God loves to use the impossible to demonstrate His power, love, and wisdom. (1 Cor 1-2)
These men, however, were well trained (2 Tim 2).
In the same way, folks, your little family and our little church can rescue souls who've been captivated by the ways and philosophies of the world, and L.E.A.D. them into restoration and maturity in Christ.

The captives all around us:

Pantheistic socialism.
Psychologized promises of abundant life.
Chemical alternatives to reality (drugs).
Our brothers and sisters persecuted in other countries!
Etc., . . . . . 

Slouching Towards Gomorrah : Modern Liberalism and American Decline, by Robert H. Bork.  Robert H. Bork received his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Chicago. He has been a partner at a major law firm, taught constitutional law as the Alexander M. Bickel Professor of Public Law at the Yale law school, served as Solicitor General and as Acting Attorney General of the United States, and served as a united States Court of Appeals judge. Author of the best-selling, The Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law, he and his wife live in Washington, D.C., 
William J. Bennett, author of The Book of Virtues, says of Bork's book:

"A brilliant and alarming exploration of the dark side of contemporary American culture. Bork has done an important and good deed." 

Contemporary Magazine describes the book this way:

"Chapter by chapter, Slouching Towards Gomorrah methodically takes us through the sectors of our experience which have been infected by the excesses of post-1960s liberalism: from popular culture to crime, illegitimacy, the welfare system, abortion, euthanasia, sexuality and sexual roles, race, intelligence, religion, and morality. On each of these topics Bork brings to bear an astonishing range of information and argument."

Of our own president Bork writes: 

"Thirty years ago, Clinton's behavior would have been absolutely disqualifying. Since the 1992 election the public has learned far more about what is known euphemistically, as the 'character issue'. Yet none of this appears to affect Clinton's popularity. It is difficult to conclude that something about our moral perceptions and reactions has
changed profoundly. If that change is permanent, the implication for our future is bleak."

Reportedly, the next edition of Esquire Magazine (December probably) will have Pres. Clinton pictured on its cover, seated with the camera angle looking up at him from the ground, as his expression looks down with an air of arrogant contempt.

Online articles on socialization, which support a biblical view:
* Tragedy Raises Question About Peer Socialization, by Michael Farris, J.D.
- That Dreaded "S" Word
-  Home Schooling and Socialization of Children by Nola Kortner Aiex
-  Unschooling Undefined by Eric W. Anderson
- Socialization: Our Biggest Gripe With Homeschooling by John Anderson
- Socialization: A Great Reason Not to Go to School by Karl M. Bunday
-  Children's Peer Relationships by Christine B. Burton
- Television and Socialization of Young Children by Aletha C. Huston and John C. Wright
- The Valedictorian Who Failed Socialization by Neysa C. M. Jensen
- Life is an Education by Marnie Larsen Ko
-  Socialization by Heather Madrone
- Public School Reform: Potential Lessons from the Truly Departed by J. Dan Marshall and James P. Valle
-  A Comment on Schooling from Marvin Minsky
- The Development of Social Competence in Children by Sherri Oden
-  What about the Prom, by Jackie Orsi
- Social Development or Socialization? by Linda Kreger Silverman
- Developmental Phases of Social Development by Linda Kreger Silverman
- Promoting Positive Social Development by Linda Kreger Silverman
- Socialization of Home School Children: A Communication Approach by Thomas C. Smedley
- Socialization Issues by Fred Worth
- Socialization: The “S” Word by Ann Zeise
- Homeschooling and the Myth of Socialization by Manfred B. Zysk