Passage: Genesis 19:1-26

The Big Idea

We all want our lives to matter. Lot was a saved man, called “righteous” in the New Testament, yet he wasted his life. He compromised with Sodom, tried to change it by telling people to change, and tried to fix problems in his own flesh. When judgment came, even his sons-in-law thought he was joking. And his wife, whose heart was still in Sodom, looked back. Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Don’t follow Jesus while looking back over your shoulder.

Does Your Life Matter?

We all want our lives to count. No kid dreams of growing up to be an “extra” in a big movie.

But as we live, we can get tricked. The meaning of life can get fuzzy, or maybe it’s always been a mystery to you.

I believe one of the saddest days is when someone realizes they’ve wasted their life, that much of what they’ve done doesn’t matter.

Lot in the Gate (Genesis 19:1)

The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.

Look at Lot’s slide:

First he looked toward Sodom (Genesis 13:10).
Then he pitched his tent toward Sodom (Genesis 13:12).
Then he lived in Sodom (Genesis 14:12).
Now he’s sitting in the gate of Sodom, the place where city leaders and judges sat. He’s a civic leader, a politician.

We know Lot was saved. But he wasted his life.

Peter tells us God rescued righteous Lot, who was distressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked. That righteous man, living among them day after day, tormented his righteous soul by what he saw and heard (2 Peter 2:7-8).

He was righteous. He knew God. He believed.
He was oppressed. He wasn’t insulated. Their sin affected him.
He dwelt among them. He chose to get into what they were into.
He tormented his own soul. His choices brought torment, because they weren’t right. He knew right from wrong, and no matter how much he thought he was making a difference, he wasn’t. All his suggestions and opinions about city policy didn’t change a thing.

Why? Compromise. Compromise destroyed Lot’s testimony. He was more concerned with getting along than with being set apart, and he was pathetically ineffective.

The first way to waste your life: be known for compromise. Don’t go all in. Be afraid of the risks.

The Men of Sodom (Genesis 19:1-7)

When Lot saw the two visitors, he got up to meet them, bowed down, and urged them to spend the night at his house. They said they’d spend the night in the town square. (You do not want to do that! That’s not a neighborhood to hang out in.) Lot insisted strongly, so they came to his house, and he made them a feast.

Before they lay down, the men of Sodom, young and old, from every part of the city, surrounded the house and demanded that Lot bring the visitors out so they could abuse them sexually. Lot went outside, shut the door behind him, and said, “Please, my brothers, don’t do this wicked thing!”

Lot appealed to them as “brothers.” He minimized the difference between the saved and the lost.
He tried to get them to modify their behavior: “Just stop. Stop being wicked!”
But they were wicked because they were spiritually dead. He was essentially saying, “Stop being dead and start being alive!”

Trying to change people’s hearts by telling them to change doesn’t work. It’s like walking into a cemetery and yelling at the corpses to try harder to be alive!

The second way to waste your life: try to change the world by telling it to change. That’s the Law, the Old Covenant way: human effort, human ability, better programs and structures, more reasons to be good.

Lot’s Terrible Offer (Genesis 19:8)

Lot then offered the mob his two virgin daughters instead, telling them to do with them whatever they wanted, as long as they left his guests alone.

The third way to waste your life: try to get things done in your own flesh.

What part of this glorifies God? None! It’s horrifying.
This is Lot trying his best to stop a bad situation in his own strength.
What is he even communicating? That the only problem is the kind of immorality?
It’s a complete lack of faith. His daughters weren’t perfect, as we’ll see, but no one deserves to be offered up like this.

When we try to get things done in the flesh, we end up hurting the people we love. In marriage, parenting and work, when we attack problems without going to the Lord in prayer, we’ll wound those closest to us.

The opposite is waiting on the Lord in His Word and in prayer, trusting His guidance and His Spirit.

“This Fellow Keeps Acting Like a Judge” (Genesis 19:9-11)

The mob said, “Get out of the way! This guy came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play judge! We’ll treat you worse than them!” They pushed hard against Lot and moved in to break down the door. But the angels reached out, pulled Lot inside, shut the door, and struck the men at the door with blindness, so they wore themselves out trying to find it.

This shows how the world often feels about Christians who just tell them to change. They’re fed up.

Lot’s misguided attempts to be a godly leader had failed.
The world saw him as just like them: “You came here to stay. You do the same stuff we do! Your life doesn’t look any different. Where’s your victory over sin? Show me, and I’ll believe.”
And they saw him as judgmental: “You’re not helping. You’re just telling me what I need to change, not how to change!”

The church has to tell the world the how! And what is it? Jesus gives people a new heart by His grace. He changes them from the inside. Changing an evil heart isn’t just difficult; it’s impossible. It has to die and be raised to new life. That’s the amazing power of His grace.

“Get Out of This Place!” (Genesis 19:12-14)

The angels asked Lot, “Do you have anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, anyone in the city? Get them out! We’re about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD.”

How successful had Lot been? Had he led anyone to the Lord?

Lot went and told his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters, “Hurry, get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But they thought he was joking.

That’s a clear verdict on Lot’s “ministry.” No matter how serious he was now, his life of compromise, his attempts at behavior modification, and his lack of spiritual power drowned out his warning.

When Abraham interceded, he probably figured Lot would have influenced at least ten people. He hadn’t. Now his ministry was all he cared about, but to them it was a joke.

Lot Lingered (Genesis 19:15-16)

At dawn the angels urged Lot to hurry and take his wife and two daughters, or they’d be swept away in the city’s punishment. But he lingered. So the men grabbed his hand, and the hands of his wife and daughters, because the LORD was merciful to him, and led them safely outside the city.

Lot was so slow to respond to the coming judgment because his heart was still in the city. He still loved it. That’s a sign of backsliding and compromise.

John says not to love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. Everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, isn’t from the Father. The world is passing away, but whoever does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17).

It wasn’t that Lot loved the people of the city. He loved the city. It was fun, rewarding and comfortable.

As one commentator put it, Lot was in the worst possible place: he had too much of the world to be happy in the Lord, and too much of the Lord to be happy in the world.

“Escape for Your Life!” (Genesis 19:17-23)

Once outside, the angel said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the valley. Flee to the mountains, or you’ll be swept away!” But Lot said, “Oh no, my lords! You’ve shown me great kindness by saving my life, but I can’t flee to the mountains; disaster will overtake me and I’ll die. Look, that town is close enough to run to, and it’s small. Let me flee there; isn’t it small? Then I’ll survive.” The angel agreed to spare that town, and said, “Hurry, because I can’t do anything until you get there.” That’s why the town was called Zoar (“small”). The sun had risen when Lot reached Zoar.

Escape for your life! Because it’s basically all he had left. He had wasted his life.

Paul says that by God’s grace he laid a foundation, and others build on it. But each one should be careful how he builds, because no other foundation can be laid than Jesus Christ. If anyone builds with gold, silver and precious stones, or with wood, hay and straw, each one’s work will be revealed by fire. If what someone built survives, they’ll receive a reward. If it’s burned up, they’ll suffer loss, though they themselves will be saved, but only as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

That’s Lot: saved, but as through fire.

We can only build lasting rewards on Jesus. What you share with people must be Jesus. Why you serve people must be Jesus.

Lot’s Wife (Genesis 19:24-26)

Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, out of the heavens. He overthrew those cities, the whole plain, all their inhabitants, and everything that grew. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

(What did Lot say to his wife? “Can you look back and see if anyone’s following us?”)

The Hebrew for “looked back” means more than a quick glance over the shoulder. It carries the idea of gazing with regard, longing, paying attention.

Some have pointed to salt formations near the Dead Sea and wondered if one could be Lot’s wife. I don’t know. But she really did become a pillar of salt. What is God trying to tell us?

“Remember Lot’s wife”

Jesus spoke of the days before His return. As it was in the days of Noah, people were eating, drinking and marrying, until the flood came. As it was in the days of Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, until the day Lot left Sodom and fire rained from heaven. So it will be when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, whoever is on the housetop shouldn’t go down to get his belongings, and whoever is in the field shouldn’t turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it (Luke 17:26-33).

Jesus tells us the lesson of Lot’s wife: caring about earthly possessions, being in love with this world, will cost you spiritually.
If your life is really about your possessions, you’re looking back, away from Jesus.
Looking at Jesus means looking away from what this world offers.
Setting your heart on getting rich is a trap (1 Timothy 6:9). God has already promised to provide what you need as you trust Him (Matthew 6:33).
No servant can serve two masters. You can’t serve God and money (Luke 16:13).

You can’t follow Jesus while looking back over your shoulder. It will kill you.

Just pick one: go to Sodom, or go with God.

But remember: whoever tries to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

It might feel like following Jesus means giving up your life, dying to everything you ever wanted. And in a sense, it does. But He will save you. He knows how to rescue those who trust Him (2 Peter 2:9).

Lot’s wife didn’t really trust the Lord. She wasn’t all in. She wasn’t convinced Sodom was all that bad, and she was going to miss its pleasures.

It’s interesting that she became a “pillar.” The image of Lot’s wife standing over the Dead Sea region, where to this day almost no life can exist, is a lasting reminder: don’t look back or turn back from the faith you’ve professed. Follow Christ, and abide in His love and grace.

Grace Takeaway

You can be saved and still waste your life, through compromise, through trying to change people by telling them to change, and through doing things in your own strength. But God was merciful to Lot, and He’s merciful to you. Don’t linger in Sodom, and don’t look back. Fix your eyes on Jesus, build your life on Him alone, and lose your life for His sake. That’s how you find it.

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Three Ways to Waste Your Life