Genesis 18 & 19, Psalm 103:12

Teresa Phillips

If I were to say, 'Sodom and Gomorrah', what would be the first words that come into your head? Wickedness? Sin? They are two places that you may have heard about in a Bible story at school or Sunday school. Everyone remembers the bit where Lot's wife turns into a pillar of salt. It's good to go back to these passages, and ask yourself, what more could there be to learn here? You think you know them, and then, well, you read them again. Anyhow, I thought I'd share my most recent musings on these famous wicked cities with you.

You'll find the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18 and 19. The background to the story is of a history between two men, uncle and nephew, Abraham and Lot. Abraham had brought Lot up, but they parted company when their servants started arguing. Lot moved away and pitched his tents and people near Sodom, a city renowned for being full of sin.

In chapter 18, you'll find that God tells Abraham that the sin in Sodom and Gomorrah is so great that He plans to destroy them. Abraham, knowing that his nephew and his family are living there, pleads with God to remember Lot, a man who knows the Lord, but, living in such a sinful place, struggles to keep his standards in line with God's.

In chapter 19, it is written that God sends two angels to warn Lot that the city is about to be destroyed. Lot is persuaded and he flees with his wife and daughters. As the city crumbles behind them, his wife looks back to her home. She turns into a pillar of salt.

This account teaches us about God's character. Lot, like the rest of us, was a sinful man. He had a degree of status within the city, a good home, and material possessions. He wanted to be comfortable. However, he had compromised his faith by moving into a city where the sin is, in God's words, 'grievous' (18:20). If you think our society is bad, take a look at these chapters. Anyone living amongst that level of sin would find it tough to keep to God's laws. Yet God was willing to move to save Lot and show him His grace. He did not turn His back on Lot, but gave him another chance.

Years and years later, the very son of this God, breathed His last on a cross. A perfect being, the man that should have never been blamed for anything, was blamed for everything that He didn't do. For the sake of you and I, he stretched out His arms and became the very thing His father could not look at; sin. That thing that stands as a barrier between us and God until we accept His forgiveness. Whether it's the first time or the hundredth time, let us not think that we can gloss over our sin, sweep it under the carpet, hope it will go away. Let's not think that if we do it again, and again, and again, that it'll be okay; that we can always say sorry afterwards. Let us also not think that if we are trapped in our repetitive sin, that there is no escape.

I have been since mulling over forgiveness and feel that there are two things I need to write here about it:

• Don't just say sorry to God and then struggle on; repent. Repentance is a funny word. My Dad - a wise man in my eyes - said that repentance is like a U-turn. Turning your back completely on sin and walking in the other direction. Refusing to do it again, or go anywhere near it, for that matter.


• Stop holding onto your sin and thinking that God hasn't or won't forgive you. Simply ask yourself the questions: am I actually sorry? Do I want to stop doing it? Do I want God's forgiveness? Look at Lot's wife. For her, the pull of sin was just too great. If you can say that you are truly sorry, then this is for you:

'As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.' (Psalm 103:12)

So, let go of your sin. God's grace, the same that saved Lot from destruction, that saved many other people in Bible times and millions of others besides, is that which was manifested in the perfect man Jesus. He loves YOU, and is available for you today, whether you have been a Christian for 10 years or 10 days, and you need to embrace His grace. Embrace it, accept it. But you have to let go of your sin. You have to turn around and walk away.