THE RIGHTEOUS WILL BE SPARED WHEN THE WICKED ARE DESTROYED

Proclamation:

“Then Abraham approached Him and said, ‘Will You sweep away the righteous with the wicked?  What if there are fifty righteous people in the city … What if only ten can be found there?’  He answered, ‘For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.’”  Genesis 18:20-32

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  When Lot and Abram parted company, Lot chose the well-watered plain of the Jordan and moved his herds and flocks near Sodom.  Unfortunately the people of Sodom were wicked and sinned greatly against The Lord. (Genesis 13:11-13)  It came to pass that the kings in area made war with the other kings nearby, they were defeated and Lot was captured and his possession taken. (Genesis 14:1-12)  When Abram learned of this he took 318 of his servants and attacked and routed them, rescuing Lot and the other captives. (Genesis 14:13-16)  The Lord God told Abram that He was his shield and his very great reward, (Genesis 15:1-5) and God promised him a son.  Abram’s wife Sarai was also old and she was barren, so she gave Abram her slave/handmaid Hagar so that he could have a son.  After she conceived, she began to despise her mistress and Sarai began to mistreat her so she left. (Genesis 16:1-6)  Hagar was confronted by the angel of The Lord and returned and bore Abram a son named Ishmael. (Genesis 16:7-15)  The Lord God changed Abram’s name to Abraham (Genesis 17:5) and his wife Sarai’s name to Sarah. (Genesis 17:15)  God made a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:10-11) and promised him that Sarah would bear him a son and he will be called Isaac. (Genesis 17:17-19)  Then The Lord appeared to Abraham (Genesis 18:1-2) and told him that the sins of the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were so great that He was going to destroy the cities. (Genesis 18:17 and 20)  This is when Abraham questioned The Lord regarding sparing the lives of the righteous living among the wicked. (Genesis 18:22-32)

Application:

The Lord God destroyed the whole earth but spared Noah and his family. (Hebrews 11:7)  Here He told Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah but He would spare the righteous there, namely Lot and his family. (Genesis 19:15-16)  He said that if there were ten righteous people there, He would spare the cities for their sakes.  Even when surrounded by wickedness and corruption, a child of God should maintain his faith and Christian walk.  By doing so we will find grace and favor in the eyes of The Lord and thereby be spared the wrath of God which will come to those people who are doing evil.  

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NOT EARNED IT IS A GIFT FROM GOD THAT IS CREDITED TO US

Proclamation:

“This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’  The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness, for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”  Romans 4:22-25 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the believers in Rome.  Paul was telling them about Abraham, the father of the faithful.  He reminded them that the scripture says that Abraham believed that God would keep His promise and because of his faith in God he was credited with righteousness. (Romans 4:18-25)  Paul told them that those who had faith in God would also be credited with righteousness and their sins would be forgiven just as King David had said. (Romans 4:6-8 and Psalm 32:1-2)  

Application:

Because of our sinful human nature, alone at our best our “righteousness” is but as filthy rags in His sight. (Isaiah 64:6)  It is by the grace of God that we are saved, it is His gift to us, and we did not do anything to earn it. (Ephesians 2:8-9)  If we believe and have faith in God, then we too will be credited with righteousness.  Our faith will be tested, but if we hold on to our belief we will be rewarded.  The testing of our faith leads to the development of perseverance, which helps us mature as Christians. (James 1:2-4)  Because Christ died for our sins, believers can live and be credited with righteousness. (Romans 4:25 and 1 Peter 2:24)

Give God Thanks

"Give thanks to The Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done.  Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.  Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek The Lord rejoice.  Look to The Lord and His strength; seek His face always."  Psalms 105:1-4 (NIV)

In this psalm King David is encouraging Israel and us to give God thanks, to remember what He has done, to rejoice and praise Him for doing it, and to tell others about it as we continue to seek His face.

We are encouraged throughout the Bible to give thanks unto The Lord.  Psalms 105, 106, 107, 118, and 136 all begin with the phrase, "O give thanks unto The Lord ..." and then they each go on to provide a reason for doing so.  During this Thanksgiving holiday season, and every day into the future, we need to give God thanks.  Express your joy and gratitude, and share them with others.

Don't Talk Too Much

"Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?  For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God."  Ecclesiastes 5:6-7 (NIV)

King Solomon, the son of David and the wisest man that ever lived, said that people should not let the words of their mouths cause them to sin.  People promise things to each other and to God, do not follow through with them, and that displeases God.  Solomon basically said that people talk too much.  He also said that man ought to talk less, listen more, and revere God. (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 & 7)

It is not a very good idea to make promises and not keep them, especially to God.  We do not want to make God angry.  It is also not a good idea to talk a lot.  Remember, we must give an account for every word we speak, even every idle word. (Matthew 12:36)  The more we say beyond "yes" and "no", the likely we are so say something wrong. (James 5:12)  The words of our mouths can get us into trouble.  "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."  James 3:6 (NIV)  The less we say, the fewer words we speak, the better off we will be.  If we are not praising God, reading the scriptures, or praying, we ought to spend more time being quiet and listening.

Those Who Have Faith Are Blessed

"Consider Abraham: 'He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you.' So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith." Galatians 3:6-9 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul told the Galatians that they were not blessed because they obeyed the law. They were blessed because of their faith in God, just as Abraham, the father of the faithful, was blessed.

Those of us who believe in God and have faith in God are blessed by God, just as Abraham, who is considered the father of the faithful, was blessed. We are justified by our faith just as Abraham was justified by his faith. All of the blessings that we receive are because of Jesus Christ. Salvation is not possible through faith in any other but Jesus, The Christ. Jesus said, "no man comes to The Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

We Are Assured Of God's Help

"But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham My friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:8-10 (NIV)

The nation of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, were God's chosen people and, because of the remnant of believers, He assured them that He would strengthen them, help them, and uphold them.

Today, Christians are God's chosen people. We enjoy the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. The blessings that God promised to him, are afforded to us. We can be assured that God will strengthen us, help us, and uphold us.