Introduction: 2 Pet. 2:7-8 (Lot was living in Sodom and Gomorra, very wicked cities. The relentless pressure from the evil ways of those who lived their tormented him. It seems to have eroded away at his family s sense of values. Perhaps what happened to Lot in some way mirrors what is happening to the church today. The relentless onslaught of immorality seems to have flavored our thinking and our standards are slipping.)
I. What Happened With Lot:
1. An Unbelievable Offer: Gen. 19:4-8 (It is beyond me how Lot could offer his daughters to be raped by a mob of degenerates. I wonder if this is a reflection of how much he was being vexed by living in such a sinful area.)
2. A Dead Wife: Gen. 19:17, 26 (Lot s wife shows weakness when she disobeyed God and looked back. Their time in Sodom and Gomorra is taking its toll.)
3. An Unthinkable Act: Gen. 19:30-38 (After their escape Lot s daughters conspire to get him drunk and sleep with him. I cannot understand the mentality that would lead two girls to do this to their father. Again, it seems their time in Sodom and Gomorra took its toll.)
II. What Is Happening Today:
1. Sexual Immorality: Eph. 5:3-5 (The Lord is very specific that we must not indulge in fornication and such sins. Have we slipped a little? Are some Christian parents providing their kids with birth control? Is this kind of behavior thought of as a shame the way it once was?)
2. Modesty: 1 Tim. 2:9-10, Prov. 11:22; 1 Tim. 5:22, 1 Pet. 3:1-5 (Solomon tells how terrible it is when a woman flaunts her beauty and fails to exercise discretion. Paul told Timothy to keep himself pure or chaste. This includes the idea of modest clothing. Our values in the church have radically changed with the times, so much so that we don t hear much said about modest clothing anymore.)
3. Entertainment: 1 Cor. 13:6 (Love does not rejoice in someone s sin. Many forms of entertainment that are common today celebrate sin. As our standards grow looser we are letting ourselves slide with the time. Love, as well as other principles, precludes us from participating in a lot of what the world finds entertaining.)
4. Drinking: Prov. 20:1, Rom. 14:21 (Alcohol makes fools out of people. We all agree that drunkenness is wrong, but we differ on the moderate use of alcohol. Does it make sense to flirt with disaster? Are we getting lax on drinking? Are we tolerant of some situations that are at best bad judgment and at worst wrong?)
5. Divorce: Mt. 19:4-6 (Jesus teaches that God intends marriage to be permanent. We understand there are certain circumstances in which God permits divorce, but are we loosening up in our attitude about divorce? Are we too quick to see this as an alternative when we should be respecting and preserving the sanctity of marriage? It seems our values are slipping with those of the world around us.)
Conclusion: (To some degree, we are living in a Sodom and Gomorra like world. It seems to be whittling away at our values. We must hold fast to godly principles and not allow ourselves to be tossed about with the changing times.)
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