Sermon Tone Analysis
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liberty bible church 11~/11~/07 P.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“How Many righteous does it take to save the world?”
Genesis 18:16-33
introduction
Illus. of light bulb jokes.
A dark room and changing a light bulb may be funny, but the thought of people entering the darkness of an eternity separated from God is not.
But will God really do that?
Will He condemn people to hell who are trying their best to be good people?
OPEN to passage.
*Prop.
*In this passage, we see why interceding for the unsaved is important.
Open in PRAYER.
PREVIEW the passage.
Back in chapter 14, Abram had the opportunity to rescue the city of Sodom while rescuing his nephew Lot.
Cf. Gen. 14:11-12; 15-17; 21-24 Now, in chapter 18, he has the opportunity to save Sodom again after his encounter with Lord and the news that soon he and Sarah would have a son.
But, Sodom is bigger trouble this time from more than just a few rogue nations.
And this time Abraham has to deal with something different than before.
He has to deal with the justice of God.
We learn some truths about the justice of God here.
First…
i. the justice of god is not impulsive vs. 16-21
Illus. of parents that discipline or punish in anger.
God doesn’t do this.
His discipline is perfect and just and is never impulsive or heavy handed.
Everything He meets out is fair.
a.
the benefits of The justice of god
V 16 1.
The three special visitors, one of which was the Lord, perhaps a Theophany, were now to be on their way.
They had just given a special message to Sarah and Abraham and now turned toward Sodom.
There visit to the earth was not yet finished.
As Abraham escorts them to the edge of his camp, there is one more message that he is going to receive from the Lord.
V 17 2.
God is going to tell Abraham what his next activity will entail, which we know now to be the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
But, in these next few verses, God reveals why He is telling Abraham His plans.
In this motivation we see the benefits of God’s justice.
V 18 a.
All the nations of the earth will be blessed by Abraham, but not Sodom.
Sodom will be destroyed before they have the opportunity to be blessed by Abraham, even though they had already received one blessing when Abraham rescued them.
But, now their time had come.
V 19 b.
God is revealing this to Abraham so that he can teach his children after him about righteousness and justice and that in order for them to have the full blessings of God, they must be obedient to Him.
Even in today’s age of grace, we must obey God by trusting in Christ or we will have no way of discerning true righteousness and justice.
Illus. of girls getting drunk and putting it on the internet…for fun.
Our culture doesn’t know what is righteous anymore.
Now…
b. the perfection of the justice of god
V 20 1.
Many people had complained to God about the great evil of this city.
Their sin is “grave.”
It can’t get much worse.
V 21 2.
God is coming to see if these things He has heard is true.
Of course, in His omniscience, He already knew the plan.
But, He was showing Abraham His justice.
He was not going to act in judgment presumptuously or impulsively, as we might.
God’s justice is perfect and right.
Abraham was about to learn that.
*Trans.*
The first fact about the justice of God is that THE JUSTICE OF GOD IS NOT IMPULSIVE.
Second…
ii.
the justice of god is impartial vs. 22-33
Illus. of you’ve heard about the harsh policeman… “He’d give a ticket to his own grandmother.”
That’s God’s impartiality.
a. abraham appeals to god’s justice
V 22 1.
The two angels go on ahead, but the Lord stayed behind with Abraham.
V 23 2.
Being a just man, Abraham is convinced there are righteous people in Sodom, besides Lot, that need to be spared.
He had rescued many of these people and hoped that his efforts were not for naught.
V 24 3.
Abraham’s gracious character is revealed in His appeal to God here.
He did not pray that just the wicked be
destroyed.
He prayed that all would be spared for the sake of the fifty righteous.
V 25 4.
Abraham knew the righteous, gracious character of God and He appeals to this grace.
b. god responds with mercy and grace
V 26 1.
God answers affirmatively.
If He finds the 50 righteous, all would be spared.
But, were there fifty?
Abraham doubts it.
V 27 2.
Although this section makes Abraham look like a whining beggar, note that he is humble throughout this entire conversation.
He realizes his mortality in comparison to the eternal God.
V 28- 3.
There is a progression here that reveals the remarkable patience and mercy of a God in judgment mode.
Our
30 God is not angry or impulsive, but He does mean what He says and will do what He promises.
V 31- 4.
Most people were grow very impatient with such a line of questioning and so Abraham here begs the Lord to
32 not be angry with him.
Each time, God answers with grace and kindness, but with resolve.
V 33 5.
God will do what He says if it is promised.
God promises to judge evil and we see that no matter the prayers of the people, His judgment cannot be stopped.
conclusion
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