Grace Bible Church Gillette, Wyoming

a. God did not spare the city even though Abraham tried to negotiate with God over the number of righteous living in Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:23-33). There were not even ten righteous in Sodom.

b. However, God did spare Lot and all who would come with him (Gen 19:12-14). So, God rescued Lot in addition to his two daughters (Gen 19:15-16, 30). Lot’s wife would have been saved had she not looked back (Gen 19:26).

2. Lot Called Righteous

a. Though it may come as a shock to us, Lot is called righteous three times in the text of 2Pe 2:7-8 (“righteous Lot,” “righteous man,” “righteous soul”).

b. Lot’s righteousness is a dilemma for us because of several factors.

1) Lot cannot necessarily be condemned because he chose Sodom (Gen 13:10-11), unless of course Lot knew of Sodom’s reputation beforehand.

2) However, once in Sodom and learning of their “exceeding wickedness and sin against the Lord” (Gen 13:13), it might be assumed that Lot would get his family out of there immediately.

3) We see that Lot, similar to his wife, “hesitated” on his way out of Sodom (Gen 19:16).

c. Yet the Bible does give us several clues in regard to Lot’s righteousness.

1) Abraham believed that Lot was righteous and petitioned God for his safety.

2) Abraham argued on the basis of God’s justice, who would know the hearts of all men.

3) Lot was “oppressed” (present participle of kataponeō), meaning he was constantly being worn down by torment and mistreatment (cf. Act 7:24). The mistreatment had something to do with the “sensual conduct of unprincipled men.” They were so unrestrained in their lustful behavior as depicted by Gen 19:4-11, that Lot’s battle with what “he saw and heard” was exhausting to his soul.

4) In fact, Lot’s soul was tormented by the sin and immorality while living among them.

5) The frequency of his torment was on a daily basis (“day after day”).

6) The conclusion is that Lot hated sin, he could not indulge in unrighteous behavior, and along with the testimony of Scripture, Lot was righteous.

E. Aid for Believers, Not Unbelievers (9)

1. Rescue the Righteous

a. We finally come to the conclusion of the conditional clause (if…then) designated with the supplied word, “then.” If God did not spare angels (2Pe 2:4)…if He did not spare the ancient world (2Pe 2:5)…if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (2Pe 2:6)…“then” begins Peter’s conclusion.

b. Peter will conclude with two points. The first is, …then God rescues the righteous. The second is, …then God punishes the unrighteous.

c. In the midst of the judgment upon the unrighteous, what happens to the righteous? They are preserved. Lot is an example of the Lord’s deliverance in the midst of judgment upon a sinful world.

d. Peter began by asserting to the righteous who were wondering about God’s deliverance, that God “knows” (perfect indicative of oida - understands and comprehends, “God has known and continues to know”) how to rescue the righteous. A fact that his readers may have forgotten.

e. Here, the idea of “temptation” (peirasmo - test, tempt, or attack), from which the godly will be rescued, is the idea of “attack with intent to destroy” (MacArthur cf. Mar 8:11; Act 20:19; Rev 3:10), i.e. God’s wrath.

f. The Lord knows how to separate the righteous from the unrighteous along with the appropriate deliverance or judgment (Mat 13:36-43; 1Th 4:13-18; 1Th 5:1-5).

g. The Rapture is a future event that coincides with the truth that God does not punish the righteous with the wicked.

1) The Church will be rescued from the Tribulation because the Rapture will take us out before the Tribulation occurs (1Th 4:13-18; Dan 9:24-27; 2Th 2:3-9).

2) Numerous passages show that God knows how to rescue the righteous.

a) Believers are to wait for the Son who “who rescues us from the wrath to come” (1Th 1:10).

b) Believers have not been destined for wrath but for salvation (1Th 5:9).

c) Believers will be “[kept]…from the hour of testing” (Rev 3:10).

d) Believers will return with Christ at His Second Coming, which will conclude the Tribulation (Rev 19:14 cf. Rev 19:7-8). How can the Church come back with Christ unless they have already been removed?

2. Punish the Unrighteous

a. Nevertheless, God knows how to punish the unrighteous. When Christ comes again (Second Coming), it is described as wrath against Israel’s (God’s) enemies (Rev 19:11-16).

b. After Christ’s thousand-year reign (Millennium), the wicked are gathered and brought before the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:11-15).

c. The major point that Peter was making was that if God is a holy God, then He brings judgment against all those who have rejected Christ. False teachers reject Christ personally and in their teaching. Is it possible that God would not bring judgment upon false teachers, past, present, and future? Peter declared an emphatic no.

IV. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

A. Believers will go through trials and temptations in this life, but not the wrath of God (1Th 5:9 cf. Rom 8:1). Believers may experience God’s displeasure and discipline, but it is heavenly discipline designed to make His children share in His holiness (Heb 12:9-10).

B. Unbelievers (and false teachers) on the other hand, do not receive the gracious heavenly discipline of the Father for they have no relationship to Him (Heb 12:7-8). Instead, they are storing up wrath for the day of wrath (Rom 1:18; Rom 2:5; Rom 9:22).

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516