Remember Lot's Wife

The Bible is filled with miraculous events, both well-known and obscure.  One event I thought strangest as a kid was the account of of Lot's wife demise as she fled from Sodom.  God sent angelic messengers to not only warn Lot and his family of the certain judgment of the region, but to lay hold of them so they might be delivered from death.  Genesis 19 records the event in detail.  Lot and his household were very reluctant to leave their home as we read in Genesis 19:16: "And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city."  Lot, his wife, and two daughters were brought outside the city and given clear instructions in verse 17:  "So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."  As God began to destroy the region of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and burning sulfur, Genesis 19:26 contains the last mention of Lot's wife:  "But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."

Needless to say, being turned into a pillar of salt is an uncommon way to die.  Ancient historians such as Josephus have attested to the existence of this pillar in confirmation of scripture (Chapter 11, Antiquities).  This pillar remained for years, a testimony and warning in a most unique form.  What led me to consider Lot's wife is the mention Jesus makes of her in Luke 17:32:  "Remember Lot's wife."  It is wise to obey Jesus!  What can we observe of this woman?  I am struck first by the fact we are never told her name.  The second point is the angels did not find her eager to leave Sodom, for she lingered until she was taken by the hand and brought out of the city.  Third, Lot's wife disobeyed the command of the angels:  "Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain."  God is under no obligation to tell us the each specific outcome of disobedience.  The wages of disobedience is death, whether in the city or the plain!  Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

I do not need to justify God's judgment upon Sodom or Lot's wife.  The Bible says there was not even 10 righteous people in the entire city.  God, in His great mercy, intervened and saved those who were obedient and willing.  This story of turning back reminds me of a song often sung at baptisms:  "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back."  Whether moved through curiosity or deep longing, Lot's wife looked back.  That decision led to her destruction.  The context of Christ's command to remember Lot's wife concerns His second coming.  Luke 17:31-33 reads, "In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. ³² Remember Lot's wife. ³³ Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it."  Jesus bids for all to take His Word seriously.  Deviation from His command will bring certain, severe consequences.

When I remember Lot's wife, I instinctively think about looking back.  As Christians following Jesus, we can choose to look to Christ or look back with longing at our life without Him.  Just like some husbands or wives fantasize about how great it would be to be single again, Christians can sometimes have this same abominable longing to depart from God.  Lot chose to walk in obedience and refused to look back.  2 Peter 2:7-9 tells us God "...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)-- ⁹ then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment..."  We read in the Bible that Lot was oppressed by the sins which surrounded him, his righteous soul tormented by what he heard and saw.  We do not read the same concerning his wife.  It is possible that Lot was the only righteous person in all of Sodom!  God is merciful to extend salvation to all.

Looking back is the step which leads to going back.  The tantalizing wares of this world may have great appeal to our flesh, but provide no life or strength for our souls.  Far more common than outright apostasy is the peril of a divided heart.  We follow Jesus best when we are looking to Him alone.  When I think of Lot's wife as a pillar of salt, cold and motionless on a desolate hillside turned facing Sodom, I am filled with sorrow.  All that is earthly will some day face the same end of destruction by fire.  Will I set my eyes God or on things of this earth?  2 Peter 3:10-12 says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat ?"  Let us be ones who never turn back but fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, our Salvation!

Not Guilty AND Righteous!

The Gospel is so good it is staggering.  When we repent and trust in Jesus Christ, our sins are cleansed by His blood.  "Not guilty" only describes one effect of Christ's regenerating work.  By God's grace we are deemed righteous and without fault.

I remember being in a university classroom on 3 October, 1995 when O.J. Simpson was declared "not guilty" of a double homicide by a jury after a nine month trial.  Most people in the class were outraged.  With the circumstantial evidence presented, they could not believe Mr. Simpson was innocent.  Similar comparisons have been drawn in the recent case of Casey Anthony and the death of her daughter.  After incredible media coverage, Casey went from incarceration and facing the death penalty to being declared "not guilty" and was released with time served.  Though I am not living in the United States, the negative public view of the verdict is felt across the world.

Without going into details of either case (which would be inconsequential to this post), it would be safe to say the media coverage influenced the opinions of the general public that a guilty verdict was justified.  Though both declared "not guilty," both Mr. Simpson and Ms. Anthony will live the rest of their days under a dark cloud of suspicion.  Both plead innocent, and after much deliberation and expert testimony both were declared "not guilty" by judge and jury.  Because there was reasonable doubt of guilt does not mean the accused were completely guiltless.  It is a sobering to consider that some will only remember these two because of the accusations leveled against them.  Even their staunchest supporters questioned their innocence.  To some they will always be monsters, regardless of the trial's legal outcome.  Even 50 years served in prison will not erase the "priors" of a convicted felon.

Now consider the natural condition of you and I before God.  There is no question we have ALL broken His perfect Law completely, willfully, and repeatedly.  Romans 3:23 tells us, "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  The Bible also teaches us the penalty for breaking a single of God's righteous requirements:  death!  Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  There was reasonable doubt in both the cases of Mr. Simpson and Ms. Anthony, but there is no doubt all have sinned before God.  Evidence of a single indiscretion in either word, deed, or thought is grounds for eternal damnation.

When we repent and trust in Christ as LORD and Savior, God declares us "not guilty" and justifies us from our sin.  Not only that, but He declares us righteous and holy!  I would say "Imagine that!" but this is a reality!  We are seen by God not only as "Not Guilty," but "Righteous!"  The cloud of sin and damnation that condemned us has been obliterated by the grace, mercy, and justice of God.  1 John 1:9 reads, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  God does not reserve suspicions of guilt or hold our sins against us, for Christ has made us righteous!  We will face no punishment for our sins because Christ has offered Himself as our Substitute, and not even a shred or memory of our guilt remains.  We are as righteous as God Himself, for our life is hid in Jesus Christ.  We can hardly appreciate how good this is!

No matter how the rest of Casey Anthony's life unfolds, people will be quicker to associate her with O.J. Simpson than with Mother Theresa or Princess Diana.  But the fact is for every sinner who repents and trusts in Christ for salvation, God associates us with God made flesh:  Jesus Christ.  Read for yourself in Romans 3:21-26:  "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."  Praise God for such Good News of grace!  What eternal riches God gives to any who repent and trust in Him!

The Ligament of Love

"But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection."

 Colossians 3:14

I am continually in awe of the dynamic descriptiveness of the Bible, the divinely inspired Word of God.  It is a book no man can master:  it is a book which masters us.  Learning the Bible and the truths it contains is not the end, but the chief end of scripture is to introduce us to Jesus Christ as our LORD and Saviour.  We learn of the perfect Law of God, the fallen state of all men, and how we are separated by God due to our sin.  We learn that God is righteous, just, and holy, and is no respecter of persons:  the soul that sins shall surely die.  But we also read that God is not willing that any should perish, and has revealed His great love for us through the death of Jesus while we were yet sinners.  If anyone repents and relies upon Christ as Saviour and is born again, the same will be delivered from death and provided eternal life in heaven.  The Gospel certainly is Good News!

After a person is born again by grace through faith in Jesus, he or she becomes an individual part of the corporate Body of Christ, the church of which Christ is Head.  Ephesians 4:15-16 teaches us, "...speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."  All the different denominations, home groups, and people who have repented and trusted in Christ make up His unified body on earth.  Christ is physically in Heaven preparing a place for us, and the Holy Spirit has been sent to empower us to fulfill God's will and glorify Jesus.  The love of God must not be divided from the normal operation of each individual Christian or the church as a whole.  1 John 4:7 exhorts, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God."

After reading the Colossians 3:14 passage, I wondered what Paul exactly meant when he described love as the "bond of perfection."  When I looked up the words in my Word Search Bible program, I found the phrase is literally, "uniting, controlling, ligament of completeness."  The word "ligament" caught my attention in light of the Ephesians passage which describes the body of Christ as being "joined and knit together by what every joint supplies."  Then I briefly looked up medical definitions of what a ligament is.  From what I read, a ligament is a connective tissue designed to stabilize and control the range of motion of joints.  Ligaments also support the bones and joints, maintaining the proper alignment while moving.  In addition, ligaments hold internal organs in the correct place.  It is easy to say that ligaments provide an invaluable, necessary function in a healthy body.

What an intriguing thought this is!  While the Spirit of God provides the strength, power, and life, the love of Jesus Christ is to be the stabilizing, supporting, aligning influence in the lives of every Christian and the church.  Instead of having a structure of authority like a corporation, federal government, or monarchy, the church is to rule through love.  Sounds almost bizarre, doesn't it?  Jesus says in Matthew 20:25-28:  "...You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  On the night Jesus was betrayed, He girded Himself with a towel like a slave and washed His disciples' feet.  Jesus did not threaten His disciples with damnation, nor did He manipulate or bribe them with heavenly glory.  He loved them and met their most basic needs with joyful humility.  Love is not an emotion but compassion in action.  Jesus saw dirty feet and He washed them without grumbling or complaining.

Love can be compared to a strong, flexible ligament.  As ligaments keep the body in alignment, so love keeps the church and all followers of Christ in alignment with their Head, Jesus Christ.  A church which does not operate wholly in love is out of joint with the Head.  For those of you who have experienced chronic back and neck pain, you have deep appreciation of the value of proper spine alignment.  Love is not some soft, wishy-washy feeling which allows anything.  Our bodies would be racked with pain if our ligaments were too flexible and yielding.  We would not even be able to stand!  Joints would be over-extended, muscles torn, and internal organs ripped from their places.  How insightful this is, that love is the ligament of the Body of Christ!

May we be mindful as members of the Body of Christ to led by the Spirit and governed by love.  Sometimes ligaments can be torn or damaged, and sometimes we choose not to walk in love.  Praise God that we serve a God who is a Healer and a Restorer of souls!  When we look to Jesus and follow His example through the Holy Spirit, we can regain the alignment necessary to live a life which pleases and glorifies Him.  May we love one another as Christ loves us!

Quote from D.L. Moody

When I was in the States, my folks bought me an Amazon Kindle which I have enjoyed very much.  Today I "kindled" The Overcoming Life by D.L. Moody.  It was not long before I read a memorable and valuable illustration I am happy to share:

A gentleman in India once got a tiger-cub, and tamed it so that it became a pet.  One day when it had grown up, it tasted blood, and the old tiger-nature flashed out, and it had to be killed.  So with the old nature in the believer.  It never dies, though it is subdues: and unless he is watchful and prayerful, it will gain the upper hand, and rush him into sin.  Someone has pointed out that "I" is the centre of S-I-N.  It is the medium through which Satan acts.

Our old nature is like that tiger in captivity.  We therefore must be vigilant to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ.  As long as we walk this earth in these bodies, there is a potential for a great fall.  Quoting a pastor of mine, "You are only one bad decision away from a fall."  Praise God that He is a God who does not only prevent our falling but our stumbling as well!  Proverbs 3:21-26 reads, "My son, let them not depart from your eyes-- keep sound wisdom and discretion; ²² so they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck. ²³ Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. ²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. ²⁵ Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; ²⁶ for the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught."  We are more than overcomers through Jesus Christ!