A Tour Of Sin City

by Russell Carnley

Of all of the cities throughout the history of the world, perhaps no city calls to mind more reprehensible thoughts than the ancient city of Sodom. This city forever lies in infamy, an enduring witness of the dreadful path of sin and the wrath of Almighty God against it. Sin is progressive, and those who persist in it "...grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived," (2 Tim. 3:13). But how did this city get so bad? What caused these people to fail so miserably? The answer is given by the prophet Ezekiel as he draws a comparison between Judah and Sodom."Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit," (Ezek. 16:49,50) In these two verses we can see five sins that led to the fall of this city. What would we see if we could take a tour of sin city?

Pride

"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall," (Pr. 16:18). Pride is a common malady among men. It is a favorite tool of the devil because it is so effective in causing so many problems. Pride makes us think we're always right and never wrong. And this view we will defend, regardless of the cost to ourselves and others. Pride points the finger at others, and neglects any correction of self, (Mt. 7:3). Indeed pride makes us stupid because: "Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid," (Pr. 12:1).

Consider how pride contributed to the destruction of Sodom. We read in Genesis 13:13 that "...the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord." As a result of this, they were taken captive by the forces of Chedorlaomer, (Gen. 14). When Abram heard of this, he went out and rescued them, restoring the people to their city and returning their possessions. Thus he gave them a second chance; an opportunity to make their lives right with God. Years passed, and the people are wicked. They despised Lot, accusing him of acting as a judge against them, (Gen.19:9). They hated instruction, and because they wouldn't hear they were destroyed.

Wealth

"Fullness of food" shows that Sodom was a place of material prosperity. Now being wealthy is not a sin in itself, for indeed Abraham was, (Gen. 24:35). But it is the attitude that we have regarding it as well as how we use it that is the concern. Wealth and pride feed one another. Our pride causes us to want more and more that we might fell better about ourselves. Thus we become more materialistic. Our wealth feeds our pride, yet never satisfies it. We constantly want more, and in this pursuit we lose sight of others, we lose sight of God, and we lose ourselves.

When how we feel is based upon how much we own, our situation is tragic. Paul understood this and said, "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy," (1 Tim. 6:17). Indeed riches are uncertain and unable to deliver in the day of God's wrath. "Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the Lord's wrath:" (Zeph. 1:18). "For in one hour such great riches came to nothing!" (Rev. 18:17).

Idleness

God says that they had an "abundance of idleness." They had too much free time. The old saying is true, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." Work was ordained by God in the beginning, (Gen. 2:15). God knows that work is good for us, even though we might not like it. The idleness of Sodom is evident in the fact that all the men of the city had the time and the energy to surround Lot's house in pursuit of his guests, (Gen. 19:4,5).

Unconcern for the Poor

While the city was a place of wealth, there were still poor people who were in need of help. As Jesus said, "For the poor you have with you always," (Jn. 12:8). The people of Sodom had no desire for benevolence, they only had concern for themselves. It is true that "the smallest package in the world is a man wrapped up in himself."

Sexual Perversion

Regardless of the arguments and propaganda of the homosexual movement, and in spite of how acceptable it is portrayed by the media, homosexuality is sin. It was an abomination to God in the Old Testament (Lev. 18:22) and it is the same today. "Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due," (Rom. 1:27). God would only tolerate these sins for so long, and when the time came, they were destroyed.

As we end our tour, consider how Lot must have felt in this place. Peter says that it "....tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds" (2 Pet. 2:8). How tragic this was that Lot chose to raise his family in this place, and even when it was about to be destroyed we read that "he lingered" (Gen. 19:16). Why linger in such an awful place? Consider three possible reasons:

He didn't want to leave his family behind. The same is true for many today who refuse to follow Christ because of undue attachment to their family. Jesus said, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me," (Mt. 10:37).
He didn't want to leave his possessions. His desire for the material brought him there, (Gen, 13:12) and his wife's desire cause her to turn back, (19:26; Lk. 17:31,32) Many are lost today because of undue attachment to physical things. For this reason Jesus tells us to lay up our treasures in heaven, (Mt. 6:19-21).
He didn't want to leave the familiar. Sodom was bad, but it was familiar to him. He knew what to expect and in this he found some comfort. He didn't know what was outside and his fear of the unknown prevented his departure, (Gen 19:18-21,30). Likewise many remain in bondage to sin because though it is bad, at least it is familiar.

Let us beware the sins of Sodom, knowing that they can destroy us as well. And "...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1).