“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”
1 Peter 4:17-19 ESV
To understand suffering in this world – as Christians – we must look at Scripture itself for our definitions. .
There is first the difference between the trials that strengthen our faith and the suffering of consequential wrath in the life of the believer. A sure goal should be to avoid the displeasure of the Spirit of God and this is done only through a life that’s focused, not on the world’s stuff, but on wisdom. As obvious as wisdom is something God says we should treasure most, isn’t it telling how little we speak of it? And not only the world but the church itself!
Many an immature Christian blows right past a careful consideration of Proverbs and their lives reflect that neglect. Rather than using it as a diagnostic of their own character, life goals, and practices, they conform to the world. Rather than placing their desires and plans in the sieve of Scripture, they’re conformed to the ideas of the age. When they find themselves on a self-imposed island against the wise people the Lord has placed in their lives, they aren’t concerned in the least. They boldly press ahead. The stop-signs and red lights that God places in their path don’t cause them to soberly assess themselves. They storm ahead, ignoring good counsel.
Such is the path of consequential wrath. As easy as it is to see a speeding ticket coming if we drive too fast, God’s world has fences and barriers designed to warn His children. More still, we have the wisdom of Scripture meant to teach, rebuke, and encourage us.
Lot is, perhaps, the best example of unwise decision making. Pharaoh, on the other hand, is an ideal study of the utter stupidity of sin and how it leads to complete ruin. With the latter, the unsaved and unregenerate leader of Egypt, we note the terrifying crescendo of judgments that should have caused Pharaoh to relent. But unrepentant sin causes great bitterness toward God. The pride of sin is the foolish (and stupid) insistence that one is their own god, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Unless there is grace, all of us are like Pharaoh only without all the wealth and power. Lot, though, is the example of the unwise Christian living in the world foolishly, awed by wealth, not God.
He was Abraham’s nephew, of course, and after he and Abram, came out of Egypt, they (Abram really) were so wealthy that factions had grown between their herdsmen. Evidently, Lot and his uncle couldn’t sort things out with the cattle keepers or cowhands who had grown hostile to one another. Never underestimate the petty contentions that pride, greed, and worldliness produce. Abram was very fond of his nephew and had yet to have the promised heir. He was 75 and childless. Ever since his calling by God his life was characterized by trouble. Indeed, Abram’s life was one trial after the next and this is the pattern of God’s people: to be unchastened is, Rushdoony says, to be a bastard.
Lot, though, is given the rich blessing of living in his uncle’s shadow. To stave off greater conflict Abram is so gracious as to offer him his choice of location in a separation to keep the peace. Abram concedes to give up half of his possessions. What do we know about Abraham from Genesis 13? That he sets up altars to the Lord wherever he goes and that he’s willing to suffer (75 and childless, famines, strife, etc.) without bitterness toward God. Of Lot we know that he chose the plain of Jordan, going east, separating from his blessed uncle to go his own way. He pitched his tent toward Sodom.
Lot’s life is, therefore, a biblical example of the danger of living by one’s sight rather than upon the promises of God. The Bible doesn’t say but we can assume that Lot was tested by prosperity and the promise of more when he agreed to go his own way. And what way was that? The way of Sodom. The way of the world.
All that Lot saw was the fertile land and the promise of the wealthy cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram was promised to be the father of many nations and yet there he was, wandering in Canaan in advancing age and childless. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, we’re told (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3). Lot took off after the promise of prosperity.
While we know the end of Lot’s story, the cherished cities of the plain smoldering ruins behind him, all that he had destroyed, his wife a pillar of salt, friends and extended family dead (Genesis 19:14), we should consider the broader lessons. There was no Dead Sea before God destroyed Sodom. In fact, it was once a near paradise comparable to the Garden of Eden! Consider the personal stories of Abraham and Lot – their goals, their struggles, their decisions. And consider the sweeping tide of history too! The glories of kingdoms past and their fate. Consider the wealth of Sodom but its rampant sexual sin (Genesis 19:5) and its cruel indifference to the poor (Ezekiel 16:46-56). It was once “full of bread” and the symbol of wealth. Then consider the Lord’s words:
“Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
John 15:2 ESV
Consequential wrath, though it can and should be avoided by wise living, is yet a blessing from the Lord! When we’re punished for being stupid it’s a sign of love. It’s for this reason that the Scripture says that he who hates correction is stupid (Proverbs 12:1). A rebellious Christian will bristle against God’s loving restraints. They may even break free. For a time. Sin always wants life on its own terms rather than God’s. This is how we are to know when we’re out of God’s favor: we disregard His clear teaching and/or the goal of our course is to get to Sodom…to get something we want and what we want is more important than the righteousness of faith.
Should Lot have left Abram’s employ? We don’t know for certain. We aren’t told. But we are told the pattern. Lot was passive before the world – first with the grumbling and complaining of the herdsmen, then with his own desire for wealth. Abram was loyal. Lot not so much. Abram sought Lot’s benefit even while awaiting the Lord’s upon himself. Abram accepted the frustration of waiting and all the trials that brought because he was waiting on the Lord. To believe the Lord is to wait for Him, not try and fix the situation yourself through worldly means. Lot, who had the authority to do so, didn’t confront his own men who were grumbling against the uncle who loved him. This showed the vacillating spirit of a practical man. God won’t use practical men. He uses faithful men. There is nothing practical about faithlessness. The Enemy will always offer us the shortsightedness of sin as a practical thing.
So, Lot went toward Sodom and then even ended up there. He was saved, but is a picture of an unwise Christian who loses it all because he liked the wealth of the world too much. The destruction of his life’s work is the classic example and cautionary tale of God’s consequential wrath. By placing ourselves downstream of God’s judgment we may, by His grace, like Lot, be spared, but lose everything else.
The message is, therefore: faithfulness is always key and that requires patience in trials. The trials are the Lord’s pruning. We often see it the other way around and regard worldly ease as the blessing and the hard stuff of spiritual growth as a curse. We must look to Scripture as our life’s guide: are we like Abram trusting God, setting up altars where ever we go, in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, while others chase their dreams in Sodom? Or are we conformed to this world with its superficial customs and vicious ethics? Do we chase faithfulness even through our trials or is our goal worldly success? Is our motive envy or ease? Is our motive love and faithfulness? A trial will come to all who are faithful, but lack of wisdom brings wrath…even for those in Christ.
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