By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sermon Text: Genesis 18:22-33
Sermon Theme
God reveals to Abraham his plans for Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham has been chosen to follow the way of the Lord (Genesis 18:19). Upon hearing of the pending judgment on two very wicked cities, Abraham intercedes for them. He prays earnestly for them. He keeps asking, are there enough righteous people in the cities so that God could conceivably spare them? Abraham prays to God in terms of God’s ultimate justice, which is also his mercy, his steadfast love (Psalm 85:10; Romans 3:26). Here Abraham is wrestling with God over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, acknowledging that even a small number of righteous persons can make a huge difference. We need to remember that one person praying can change the course of history (James 5:16-17).
Sermon Outline
- Petition. God acknowledges that Abraham has a special status. He has been chosen by God to follow him “by doing righteousness and justice.” Abraham’s status is based on God’s promise, not on any achievement of his. His righteousness is the righteousness of faith (Romans 4:13). Knowing that God has chosen him, Abraham is both bold and compassionate. Abraham undertakes to intercede, to pray for these two depraved cities whose sins included not only sensual degradation, but pride, devil worship, (Deuteronomy 32:17, 32) and neglect of the poor and needy (Ezekiel 16:49). Their sins cry out to God (Genesis 18:20). Abraham is not afraid to appeal to God based on God’s own character as the judge of all the earth, who will do what is just. Abraham rightly understands (as many others have not) that God’s justice is subservient to his mercy (James 2: 13; Hosea 11:8-9; Ephesians 2:3-5). Abraham’s appeal then is not based on the sinfulness of the majority (a fact he never denies) but on the possible presence of a few righteous persons leading God to be merciful (Psalm 25:6-7).
- Persistence. Abraham undertakes to wrestle with God over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. The fact that Abraham cares for these two completely unjust cities is a testament to his faith and character. Abraham first raises the prospect that there may be fifty righteous people in the cities (“righteous” here of course is a relative term, Deuteronomy 25:1; Psalm 34:15-16). God answers in his mercy that if there are fifty who are righteous he will forgive the whole place for their sake (Genesis 18:26). We do not read of any effort on Abraham’s part to find fifty righteous people. Nonetheless he may have inquired of his nephew, Lot who would have told him, “Fifty righteous!? You have got to be kidding!” (or words to that effect). Abraham doesn’t give up. He suggests forty-five, then forty, all the way down to ten. Why does Abraham do this? It can only be that he, like David, has a heart for God in following the way of the Lord (I Samuel 13:14). He does not give up on the hopeless sinners who neither know nor care that he prays for them (Jonah 4: 11). Abraham is Sodom and Gomorrah’s only hope. We may be called to be the only hope for hopeless sinners.
- Presence. Abraham’s entire prayer for Sodom and Gomorrah is based on the truth that a small number of faithful people can be the salvation of a city or even a nation. There are the examples of Esther, Daniel, and Nehemiah whose faithfulness benefits not only Israel but the foreigners in whose nations they live and serve. The exiles of Israel are to pray for the welfare of the city to which they have been taken (Jeremiah 29:7). We as Christians live as exiles in a foreign world, a world that is turned away from the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 11:13; I Peter 2:11). Yet we can be among the ten for whose sake God will forgive “the whole place” (Genesis 18:26). The tragedy of Lot is that, even though he was a righteous person, he was all alone (II Peter 2:7). He was abandoned by his sons-in-law, then his wife (who looked back) and finally by his two daughters who led him into degeneracy with fateful consequences for the future of Israel (Genesis 19:30-38). It is difficult, but not impossible, to be a lone voice. Abraham alone cries out for Sodom and Gomorrah. It is not enough. Yet others bring salvation to their corrupt cities and nations (Daniel 6:25-27), sometimes in spite of themselves (as in the case of Jonah). The faithful presence and prayers of the people of God have changed the course of history again and again. That is still true today.
Questions for Us
- Why do you think it is hard for us to pray for the hopeless sinners of our world? What impact do you think such prayers would have on us spiritually?
- What does it say about the nature of God that he will forgive a completely wicked city for the sake of a few righteous persons in it (Genesis 18:26)? How important is it then for us to remain as a witness in places where God is neither known nor acknowledged?
- What does Abraham's prayer tells us about the difference between being successful and being faithful?
