Last week we talked about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel that saves you from sin is also the Gospel that brings you into the Kingdom of God.

Luke 17:20-21 … The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Is your heart submitted to Jesus Christ and his Word? Then you are in His Kingdom. God has always had a people in His Kingdom on this earth. God calls out a people to live for Him, to shine as …

1 Peter 1:14-16 … obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: (15) But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; (16) Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

What has God said of those in His Kingdom, His children saved by faith in Christ?

2 Corinthians 6:16 …. ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

God’s people are called to follow God in love. We are to be ready, and help others to be ready. Jesus is coming again. In our text today Jesus tells us that He will come and the judgment of God will fall. Jesus compares this future judgment to Noah and Lot.

Luke 17:26-30 And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

I believe the latter days are upon us. I believe Jesus could come at any time. When He does, it will be QUICK. Like in the days of Noah, God has allowed the world to hear the Gospel. Much time has passed since Christ ascended to Heaven. There will come a day – maybe today – when the Father says, “Son, go get my children!” When that happens it will be quick. Noah was preaching, then he and his family got on the Ark, and GOD CLOSED THE DOORS. Judgment had come. The rains fell. God’s grace was locked on board the Ark, and if you were on it you were saved.

Do you have Jesus in your lives?

As we are reading about Jesus’ return, our Lord gives us a short command.

Luke 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife.

Word Study What a tiny verse this is! We might consider it so small, that we should skip it, and go read those larger texts. But our God often conveys great truths in short texts. They are no less important. Our Jesus tells us “Remember Lot’s wife”. The verb “REMEMBER” is the Greek μνημονεύω mnēmoneúō, {pronounced mnay-mon-yoo’-o}, which means “to say over and over mentally, to fill your mind with, to dwell on as a child might dwell on a primer, to hold it in your memory”. Jesus did not often tell us to REMEMBER other people. Jesus said of the woman who washed His feet with her tears, and anointed His head and feet with ointment from a precious Alabaster box:

Mark 14:9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

The glorious faith of this unnamed woman with an Alabaster box so impressed our Lord that her wanted her remembered. This is a standard we are to follow. But now Jesus says “REMEMBER Lot’s wife”. This is unnamed woman sets a standard that we are NOT to keep.

Who In The World Is “Lot”?

Go with me to Genesis 12. It does no good to tell you about Lot’s wife, if you don’t know who Lot is. Lot’s story begins with ABRAM, who would later be renamed ABRAHAM. To avoid confusion, I’ll use ABRAHAM as I speak of this great old man of faith. God came to Abraham, telling him:

Genesis 12:1-2 …. Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee …

Jesus said of Abraham, “Father Abraham rejoiced to SEE MY DAY, and was GLAD!” (John 8:56). I believe that Abraham was saved by faith in Christ. That the pre-incarnate Jesus presented Himself to Abraham, and called him to the Kingdom of God. Abraham was given a free choice. “Leave all you hold dear and follow Me, and I will bless you, or NOT”. Abraham did not hesitate. He heard the call to salvation, and moved. Jesus prayed for His followers:

John 17:16-17 They {who follow Me} are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

The Lord told Abraham “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred” (Genesis 12:1), and we read Abraham …

Genesis 12:4-5 … departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: … 5 … Lot his brother’s son …

Lot was Abraham’s nephew. Abraham was not supposed to take his kindred with him, but he took Lot. Beloved, no believer is perfect, not even Abraham. We are flawed. We grow. At this moment, Abraham is only Abram, a young believer. Why did Abraham take Lot with him? I think that – and this is my opinion, and not Scripture (though it seems to fit the context) – Abraham witnessed to Lot, and Lot was saved by faith in Christ also. Haran was a pagan land, as in this area was ancient Babylon. I suspect that Uncle Abraham did not want to leave his nephew, a believer in Christ, in that place. We know that Lot was saved because of what the Apostle wrote in:

2 Peter 2:6-8 … {God turned} the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes {, He} condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 {God} delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds😉

Word Study The Apostle calls Lot “JUST” and “RIGHTEOUS”, signifying he was saved. The Bible says:

1 Peter 3:18 … Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just {díkaios} for the unjust, that he might bring us to God

If a person is JUST or JUSTIFIED, it is because God has done it to us. “The JUST shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11).

Romans 3:24-26 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Lot was JUST and RIGHTEOUS, and he traveled with a JUST and RIGHTEOUS Abraham. But there’s one problem. When you disobey God, it will not be long before trouble comes.

If You Try Living Without God & His Kingdom
Trouble Will Come

It wasn’t long before there was strife between Abraham’s herdsmen, and Lot’s herdsmen. God had blessed both Abraham and Lot for following him, so much that their herds were too much for the land they were on. Abraham told Lot:

Genesis 13:8-10 … Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we be brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

Genesis 13:12 … Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Word Study The name “Lot” means “a searcher”. Lot was saved by faith, blessed by God, but as “a searcher” he began to believe “the grass is greener over on the other side”. Lot’s eyes wandered, then he wandered, and strayed from God. Lot is like the compromising Christian who drifts away, little by little, from God.

Beloved, if you wander from God, you will fall!

Lot wandered to Sodom, married a wife, and set up a nice home in that area. But God wasn’t in it. If God isn’t in it, you are at risk! Enemy armies from five nations, led by Chedorlaomer, the King of Elamraided Sodom and Gomorrah. The destruction was overwhelming. We read:

Genesis 14:11-12 they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. 12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

Had Lot been following God and not on bivouac in Sodom, he would not have become a casualty of war. But Abraham got word that lot was captured. Without hesitation, this grand old man of faith …

Genesis 14:14-16 … {Abraham} armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. 15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

Bear in mind that Abraham – with God’s blessing and just 318 men – defeated a five nation army. Oh, what a blessing it is to live in God’s Kingdom, heeding His Word!

Did not Jesus tells us to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.

When we live in God’s Kingdom, we will be blessed as Abraham. When our hearts depart from God, we enjoy the curse of Lot. Oh, it is so much better to live in God’s Kingdom, heeding His Word.

There is power in walking with God, obeying His rule over your life, in “imitating God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1). The Psalmist cried:

Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the {one} that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

You would think that Lot, being rescued by Abraham, would leave Sodom to follow God. But no, he went back to that foul place. Lot “pitched his tent toward Sodom”, and conformed to the world around him. He has placed himself and his family in the pathway of destruction. But Abraham has once more interceded for him, begging God for his salvation. So God sends a delegation to Sodom to rescue foolish Lot.

Genesis 19:1-2 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; 2 and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.

Sexual sin had taken over Sodom, so much so that an angel could not even walk down the street without being accosted. Men of the city saw Lot take these angelic beings (who looked like men) into his home. The men of Sodom stormed Lot’s home, demanding that these “visitors” come out to them so they could be sexually molested. Lot refused to do this, and the angels confused the men at the door so they could not get in the house. The Angels tell Lot:

Genesis 19:12-14 … Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 13 for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. 14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

Now We Meet Lot’s Wife

Genesis 19:15-16 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. 16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

This is the first mention of Lot’s wife. The Angels told Lot to move, but Lot dragged his feet – HE LINGERED. So the Angels grab hold of Lot, his wife, and his daughters. They literally drag them out of the city. The Angels then give them the COMMAND OF GOD:

Genesis 19:17-22 Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: 19 behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: 20 behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. 21 And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. 22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

God told Lot (through the angels) to escape to the mountains. But Lot still drags his feet, resisting God. Lot wants to go to Zoar. Zoar was one of the cities that God had planned to destroy, along with Sodom and Gomorrah. God in His grace spared Zoar for Lot’s sake. As Lot and his family entered Zoar:

Genesis 19:23-25 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25 and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

God’s destruction on those cities was complete. Now God had told Lot and his family:

Genesis 19:17 Escape for thy life; look not behind thee…

What did Lot’s wife do? The Bible says:

Genesis 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

The Bible warns us that “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Lot resisted God. He lingered. Now his wife, following his example, lingers. She crept along, and got far behind the Angels, and far from God. She toyed with sin.

So many professing believers are like this. They creep along slowly, getting farther and farther from God. “Look not behind you”, the Lord warns. Jesus said:

Luke 9:62 … No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Lot’s wife looked back. Certainly she had a poor example in Lot, but Lot kept his eyes on the Angels as he ran. Lot’s wife looked back. She did just as the first generation of Israel did when they left Egypt – they kept looking back. “The children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full” (Exodus 16:3). We are not to look backward to Egypt. We are not to look backward to Sodom. We are to look forward.

Hebrews 12:1-2 let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith

Faith looks to Jesus – it does not look backward to the old way and the old life. God would not allow Israel to enter the Promised Land because of unbelief. Lot’s wife was not able to enter Zoar because of unbelief. She looked back.

Lot’s Wife Brought A Terrible Doom On Herself

Genesis 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Sin in the life, even in the life of the Christian, destroys the joy of living. It can lead to a horrific loss of life.

Ananias and Sapphira “lied unto God” (Acts 5:4), and they both died.

Wicked Queen Jezebel was thrown from the palace, and dogs ate her
(2 Kings 9:33-37).

Corinthian Christians “are sickly, and many sleep in death”
(1 Corinthians 11:30)

As I dwelt on Lot’s wife as my Master commanded, I asked my God: “Why was Lot’s wife turned into salt? What is the significance of this?” It is because

The Christ Follower Is To Be Salt And Light

• Salt was one of the most valuable minerals in the ancient world. Soldiers were paid in salt. Salt was also very valuable in the Old Testament Kingdom of God.

Leviticus 2:13 states “with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt”.

The Prophet Ezekiel said of the sacrifices made to God, “thou shalt offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the Lord.” (Ezekiel 43:24). Salt was part of the sacrifices made unto God.

• In the New Testament Kingdom of God our Lord Jesus made His people out to be salt. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Beloved Christians, we are to be salt for God while on this earth. Lot’s wife should have been salt. Salt flavors. Salt blesses. Salt preserves. Salt was given in sacrifice. We are to live as “living sacrifices unto God”.

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

If you are a child of God by faith in Christ, you are called to be salt. You are God’s salt. You live for Him. You live in Him. Our hearts belong to God. Our bodies belong to God. We are God’s people, children of His Kingdom. We are not to look back, to the world, to give our hearts to Sodom or anywhere else. God owns our hearts. Look unto Jesus! Live for Jesus!

If you are not a Christ follower, today is a wonderful day to come to Him. Jesus is coming soon. The Judgment of God hangs over the world. Will you escape like Lot, or will you be judged like Lot’s wife? The choice is yours. Receive Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior, and begin visibly living in His Kingdom this very day. Oh the blessings you will have when you have Jesus! May God the Holy Spirit drive this message into the hearts of both saved and lost. Maranatha! Come quickly Lord Jesus! Amen and Amen!