(vs24-26), “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But [Lot's] wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Looking back will destroy us. We come to Christ, follow Him, and we don't go back into this world for any reason, not the pleasure or pain of sin. We go back for nothing and for no one. We never return from whence we came (Heb 11:15).
First, we are redeemed and follow Christ life long, unlike Lot's wife, who “looked back” (vs26). This isn't a sprint but a race to the end, and we follow Him, because we have nothing in Sodom. We are not of this world. We're born of God, and we love the gospel of His grace. We've come to Him filled with sin, and He forgave us and GAVE us power to obey. We're those to whom He has said, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house”, and He spoke with power (Luke 5:24). Now, instead of living for self, family, and pleasure, we live for the Son of God, in thankfulness and praise, in obedience to Him. The world isn't our redeemer, and God's promised wrath to all who love it. So, we love the Savior, and we're involved in His business. We are not merely out of Sodom by election and grace, but WE don't look back by believing and pressing on into the kingdom. It is written in present tense day by day language, “the kingdom of heaven suffers violence”, allowing men to press in, “and the violent take it by force”, pressing into the kingdom continually, overcoming by power given freely (Matt 11:12). We look for MORE of Christ and not less.
Secondly, looking back happens because of sin. People say, “I'm a sinner. I have failed, and I can't get up”, and so they return, like dogs to their vomit and pigs to wallowing in the mire (2 Pet 2:22). Instead of believing there is GRACE for sinners, sinners choose a false christ who enables them to live in the flesh, rather than believe the power of Christ to cleanse.
We are not damned because we fail. Lot lingered in Sodom and went to Zoar rather than the mountains, as God had said. Yet, the Savior says, “See, I have accepted you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there”, so that He patiently bears with us, fixes us, and changes us without condemnation (Gen 19:18-22, 30). Looking back, however, is FAR different than falling down. Looking back is returning to the unbelief from whence you came, rather than continually believing in the power of the Lord to make you stand. He says we are to “stand”, and we're to believe that we can, lest we fear the Lord and serve our own gods (2 Kings 17:33). We look back to this world because we never believe that we've been saved from it.
Thirdly, look forward to what you have in Christ, keep pressing, and you will not fail. Peter promised that if we make our calling and election sure, if we DO those things that he says, following Christ daily, then we'll glide into glory. He says, “for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 1:10-11). The man who makes sure of his boat has real assurance, compared to the person who gives no diligence, has a false peace, and this fleshly peace produces fleshly results.
God isn't saying, “We'll see how it goes”. He is saying, “Be sure you are saved, grow in areas that I reveal to you, and doing this, you'll have assurance and peace”.
Making my election sure is a life of obedience because I believe on Christ to do for me in my body what only He can do. Scripture says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death... that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us” (Rom 8:2-4)! As we believe, He honors His gospel, abiding with us in power, giving us peace. As we KEEP ON believing, obeying His gospel commandments, peace and assurance grows, as we bring forth fruit.
Finally, do not be Lot's wife. She “looked back, and she became a pillar of salt”. She had every privilege but died in sins. Her husband and daughters were saved, but she perished in love for this world. We read plainly, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). She chose the “now” over the eternal. She found pleasure in what God hates, rather than in what God loves.
The Lord of glory will save and damn. Be among the saved, love salvation, and save others.
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