Grace Beyond Salvation
The grace (unmerited favor of God) truly is an extraordinary gift. Anybody, no matter how evil or wicked, can come to Him in repentance and faith and God will gloriously save him.
But the apostle Paul says that God’s grace doesn’t stop at salvation. From Titus 2:11-15, he teaches that grace should lead us to righteous and godly lives and away from worldly pleasures and nearer to Him. Look at what John said, 1 John 2:29, “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices (lives) lifestyles, righteousness is born of Him.”
Paul warns us to deny ungodliness so as not to become a disgrace to the grace that God so abundantly gives. We are called to be separate from the world systems.
Let’s look at the life of a man named Lot. In Genesis 13, when Abraham left his homeland to go to the land of Canaan, his nephew Lot went along. The Bible tells us that he was just and righteous. Abraham and Lot were both wealthy and their herds were so large there was not enough grazing for them. So a dispute arose, Genesis 13:8-10. Genesis 13:11, is when a good man, Lot, went wrong. He chose Sodom. This is the key—He chose Sodom. He didn’t pray and he wasn’t looking to God. He chose Sodom.
In verse 12, “Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan and Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. Verse 13, the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against the Lord. The key was that Lot stayed!
Four Principles to Apply from Lot
1. Resist the pull of the world. Lust of the eye, Lust of the flesh, Sodom’s pleasures, Sodom’s possessions, pride of life in Sodom, philosophy. And Lot was drown in. 1 John 2:15-16 says these 3 are at enmity with God, the world systems. Romans 12:1-2, our first responsibility should be: to present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to the world, but be ye transformed from it, renewing your mind that you may know the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.
2. Refuse the persuasion of the world. How did Lot end up in such a horrible state? By pitching his tent toward Sodom, he compromised himself and his family. Next he made a wrong decision, he chose to move on in and become a part of the culture. However, I do not believe that he and his family even did the things of the Sodomites. 2 Peter 2:7 says “Righteous Lot was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.” He was being stained by the conduct, and it gets worse. Genesis 19:1 says, “And there came two angels to Sodom at evening and Lot sat at the gate.” The gate is the courthouse—the place of authority where decisions were made. Lot had become a leader in Sodom. But, I want you to see something. In Genesis, Lot calls the Sodomites “his brothers.” Do you see how the world had persuaded him, conformed and corrupted him?
3. Realize the pollution of the world. In 2 Peter 1:4 Peter says, “The Devine nature of God allows us to escape the corruption and depravity that is in the world through lust.” We always have the “helper,” the Holy Spirit of God to help us escape the pollution of the world. Lot didn’t have that, but the seed of God’s Word had been planted in him by Abraham. Also, he was heir of God’s covenant partner, Abraham, so God wanted to “save” him. Back to the story in Genesis 19:9-11, God sent two angels in to deliver Lot and his family. The men of Sodom saw the beautiful angels and wanted them to commit sodomy. Verse 12 says, “Have you anyone else, so Lot offered his two daughters.” In Genesis 19:8, Lot became so vile to avert himself from his judgement by the angels.
4. Remember the god of this world system—Satan. 2 Corinthians 4:4. Lot’s family, except his wife and two daughters were in the city as it was destroyed. In Genesis 19:13-22 and 26, when we read the story, Lot had to be pulled out of the city by the angels. His wife “looked back” and turned into salt. She looked back on her love for the old life of “Sodom.” Jesus warns us not to look back. Luke 17:28-33. 2 Peter 2:9—God knows how to deliver the righteous and to deliver them out of temptations. It was the covenant with Abraham that God delivered Lot. Remember that there is a system in place run by the devil that seeks to undermine us. There is a worldly philosophy that would lure us into complacency. But, we can see where it got Lot.
In fact, the rest of the story tells us in Genesis 19:35-38, that the Devil incited his two daughters to commit incest with their father to extend his lineage. They took things into their own hands and left out God. The result were two cursed lineages—the Moabites and the Ammonites to become Israel’s enemies.
We must always be on the guard against Satan’s strategies. AMEN!
But the apostle Paul says that God’s grace doesn’t stop at salvation. From Titus 2:11-15, he teaches that grace should lead us to righteous and godly lives and away from worldly pleasures and nearer to Him. Look at what John said, 1 John 2:29, “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices (lives) lifestyles, righteousness is born of Him.”
Paul warns us to deny ungodliness so as not to become a disgrace to the grace that God so abundantly gives. We are called to be separate from the world systems.
Let’s look at the life of a man named Lot. In Genesis 13, when Abraham left his homeland to go to the land of Canaan, his nephew Lot went along. The Bible tells us that he was just and righteous. Abraham and Lot were both wealthy and their herds were so large there was not enough grazing for them. So a dispute arose, Genesis 13:8-10. Genesis 13:11, is when a good man, Lot, went wrong. He chose Sodom. This is the key—He chose Sodom. He didn’t pray and he wasn’t looking to God. He chose Sodom.
In verse 12, “Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan and Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. Verse 13, the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against the Lord. The key was that Lot stayed!
Four Principles to Apply from Lot
1. Resist the pull of the world. Lust of the eye, Lust of the flesh, Sodom’s pleasures, Sodom’s possessions, pride of life in Sodom, philosophy. And Lot was drown in. 1 John 2:15-16 says these 3 are at enmity with God, the world systems. Romans 12:1-2, our first responsibility should be: to present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to the world, but be ye transformed from it, renewing your mind that you may know the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.
2. Refuse the persuasion of the world. How did Lot end up in such a horrible state? By pitching his tent toward Sodom, he compromised himself and his family. Next he made a wrong decision, he chose to move on in and become a part of the culture. However, I do not believe that he and his family even did the things of the Sodomites. 2 Peter 2:7 says “Righteous Lot was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.” He was being stained by the conduct, and it gets worse. Genesis 19:1 says, “And there came two angels to Sodom at evening and Lot sat at the gate.” The gate is the courthouse—the place of authority where decisions were made. Lot had become a leader in Sodom. But, I want you to see something. In Genesis, Lot calls the Sodomites “his brothers.” Do you see how the world had persuaded him, conformed and corrupted him?
3. Realize the pollution of the world. In 2 Peter 1:4 Peter says, “The Devine nature of God allows us to escape the corruption and depravity that is in the world through lust.” We always have the “helper,” the Holy Spirit of God to help us escape the pollution of the world. Lot didn’t have that, but the seed of God’s Word had been planted in him by Abraham. Also, he was heir of God’s covenant partner, Abraham, so God wanted to “save” him. Back to the story in Genesis 19:9-11, God sent two angels in to deliver Lot and his family. The men of Sodom saw the beautiful angels and wanted them to commit sodomy. Verse 12 says, “Have you anyone else, so Lot offered his two daughters.” In Genesis 19:8, Lot became so vile to avert himself from his judgement by the angels.
4. Remember the god of this world system—Satan. 2 Corinthians 4:4. Lot’s family, except his wife and two daughters were in the city as it was destroyed. In Genesis 19:13-22 and 26, when we read the story, Lot had to be pulled out of the city by the angels. His wife “looked back” and turned into salt. She looked back on her love for the old life of “Sodom.” Jesus warns us not to look back. Luke 17:28-33. 2 Peter 2:9—God knows how to deliver the righteous and to deliver them out of temptations. It was the covenant with Abraham that God delivered Lot. Remember that there is a system in place run by the devil that seeks to undermine us. There is a worldly philosophy that would lure us into complacency. But, we can see where it got Lot.
In fact, the rest of the story tells us in Genesis 19:35-38, that the Devil incited his two daughters to commit incest with their father to extend his lineage. They took things into their own hands and left out God. The result were two cursed lineages—the Moabites and the Ammonites to become Israel’s enemies.
We must always be on the guard against Satan’s strategies. AMEN!