March 26, 2023: 2 Peter 2:7-8 - God will Deliver the Righteous

“…and delivered 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 Peter 2:7-8

How many of us who have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who believe in Him as our Savior, the precious Redeemer of all our sins, are feeling like Lot must have felt in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah? How many of us are tormented by what we see in our nation, in the world today? How many times have we prayed for salvation of the lost, including many in our own families, who have wholly rejected God, not partaking of His free gift of salvation through believing in Jesus Christ, but instead have chosen to follow the god of this world? Oh, does our heart break when we see children being ensnared in the web of lies and in the trappings of the devil, as he propagates his lies and confusion among the masses, as the prince of the power of the air! When we see such celebration of sin and perversion, we recall the warnings of God and what He did to Sodom and Gomorrah, knowing that our ways are much worse than even theirs, and what wrath must be being made ready to fall upon us. We have a sense of dread, as we hear the ticking of the clock, knowing the time is short, oh, so short, until God sends His hand of judgment upon us, only patiently waiting in His love and mercy for more to turn to Him so that they can be delivered from wrath, as Noah and his family were delivered through the flood and Lot and his family were delivered out of Sodom.

How do our hearts hurt when we hear people professing to be pastors of God’s churches twisting the divine Scriptures, the word of God, so that it accommodates their sins and the sins of those who sit in their church pews, as they feed them poison disguised as the bread of life? Can we not see what is happening to the Christian faith, especially in the western nations? As Peter warned us in 2 Peter 2, it has been overtaken by false teachers, “who will secretly bring destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.” (2 Peter 2:1-2) Is our sin not even worse than Sodom’s, for we in these countries and in the USA are blaspheming God, all the while acting as though we are servants and teachers of God? We have exchanged the truth of God for the lie of Satan, and our society, our culture has become exactly as Paul described in Romans 1:18-32, “who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:32)

I’ve heard it said before that Noah is an example of the remnant, the one-third of the Jews who will be delivered through the time of Jacob’s trouble, also known as the 7-year tribulation period, and that Lot is an example of the church, those who believe in Jesus Christ, who will be delivered out of the world, caught up to Christ, during the time of Jacob’s trouble. Whether that is true, we will see, but I do know this: God is a righteous God and He will take care of His own. Let us recall Abraham’s question to Him before God destroyed Sodom: “And Abraham came near and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?’” He had asked God if He would spare Sodom if there were fifty righteous people in the city, and God said He would spare the city for the fifty righteous. Abraham kept lowering the number until he finally asked God if He would spare Sodom if only ten righteous people were found in it, and God answered him, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” However, God did go on to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because not even ten righteous people were found in them, but God delivered Lot and his family by removing them out of Sodom.

Let us remember the words of David in Psalm 28. David cried out to God, and He heard his voice:

“To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock:

“Do not be silent to me, lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You, when I lift my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. Do not take me away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts. Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; give them according to the work of their hands; render to them what they deserve. Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up.

“Blessed be the LORD, because He has heard the voice of my supplications! The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.

“The LORD is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; shepherd them also, and bear them up forever.”

Finally, let us remember the words of Paul in Colossians 1:13-14, and let us hold on to these truths, waiting for the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ:

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” ✝️