God's judgment operates in two distinct ways: His interventions in present history and His final Judgment at the end of time. While He sometimes brings immediate judgment upon nations and churches in this life, as seen in the Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah, He also has a formal Judgment moment! At the end of the age. Christians will face the Judgment Seat (Bema) of Christ where their works will be tested by fire and non-Christians similarly face final Judgment in the Lake of Fire of the Book of Revelation. Those who reject God's free offer of righteousness given through the Gospel face an eternal judgment, precisely because they have left themselves "in their sins". Christ's forgiveness through Christ's sacrifice offers complete cleansing from all unrighteousness for those who come by faith to Christ, confessing their sins. The severity of both God's judgment and His forgiveness are both the outworking of His perfect righteousness and justice.
Salvation is not automatic, even for those seeking to obey God. The story of Lot's wife serves as a powerful warning that one can be on the verge of salvation yet still perish. Like Abraham interceding for Lot, Christ intercedes for us, but we must respond to His call. Our heart's treasures can hinder our response to God. Some have felt God's call but did not fully commit. Now is the time to look to Jesus, not back at worldly attachments, and to take hold of the incomparable riches found in a relationship with Him.
The sermon explores the concept of salvation as depicted through biblical stories, particularly focusing on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This narrative emphasises faith, judgement, and God's grace. Abraham's intercessory prayer for Lot is used as an example of how faith and prayer play crucial roles in salvation of others. The sermon warns against complacency and the dangers of ignoring God's call, using Lot's wife as a poignant reminder of the consequences of looking back. It encourages the audience to embrace a full commitment to faith, akin to Abraham, and to be mindful of the generational impact of their spiritual lives. The key point is that salvation is not automatic but requires a responsive heart to God's grace and a willingness to separate from the world's values in the outworking of sanctification.
"The judgement of God falling upon a particular place, two towns, Sodom and Gomorrah and their sin had come up before the Lord and so in the way the Bible expresses God to us God says let us go down and have a look or let us go and make a visit and there is a way of using language in the scriptures that talks about God coming and doing a visitation."