REMEMBER
SODOM AND GOMORRAH!

Roelf L. Ruffner
No one who has grown up in the Western world can doubt what the phrase "Sodom and Gomorrah" refer to. According to the Bible these were two cities of the plain that God destroyed because of their sexual immorality, in particular their practice of homosexuality. This historical account of their annihilation is recorded by the Holy Spirit and the prophet Moses in the book of Genesis, Chapter 19.

Their destruction has served as a reminder for all time of the judgment of Jehovah upon an ungodly, depraved people. "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." (Jude 7).

Yet many in our society are fast forgetting this warning. For a generation homosexuals and their amoral allies have infiltrated our entertainment and media with sympathizing portrayals of their sad choice. Now they have successfully lobbied our governmental bodies and courts demanding acceptance by society. Recently the United States Supreme Court deemed their sexual deviancy "a right" protected by the Constitution. This "right" was not even hinted at by the writers of the Constitution or any other Court since the founding of our Republic. It joins another aberrant Ruling by the Supreme Court, Roe vs. Wade (1973) legalizing the murder of the unborn. Both rights were produced out of whole cloth! "And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there." (Eccl. 3:16).

Does anyone doubt that God destroyed these cities because of homosexuality? Some modernist theologians try to explain away this account. But Moses records for us that both these cities were well know as sexually corrupt places. "But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." (Gen. 13:13). God sent angels to Sodom to check out its reputation. They found only one righteous man, Lot. The Bible records how the men of the city (Gen. 19:4) surrounded Lot's home and demanded, ". . . Bring them out unto us that we may know them." (Gen. 19:5). If any reader believes that the Sodomites wanted to know these messengers from God in an entirely social way, please understand that the same word is used by Moses to describe the marital relations of Adam and Eve: "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived . . ." (Gen. 4:1).

Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, links the destruction of the cities to going after strange flesh (Jude 7). The phrase "going after" implies that they were addicted to the practice and "strange flesh" means that which is against nature (cf. Rom. 1:27).

Why is the practice of homosexual sex wrong? The answer is quite simply that God has prohibited it and ordained only heterosexual sex within the bonds of matrimony. For Him it is an abomination or detestable. "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination." (Lev. 18:22). In the Bible it is often linked with idolatry, with those who had given up God: "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves." (Rom. 1:24). So this sexual practice is:
  1. Disobeying God;
  2. Dishonoring one's body given by God (Rom. 1:24); and,
  3. Against nature (Rom. 1:26-27) or against the natural order God has given for human sexuality.
If this is not enough warning the Bible further elaborates. To the Christians in the ancient Greek city of Corinth Paul writes, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit of kingdom of God." (1 Cor. 6:9-10). (The New King James Version translators of the Bible have translated "effeminate" in verse 9 as "homosexual".) If one does not inherit the kingdom of God or Heaven at death, at the Judgment what will they receive? They will receive eternal punishment or Hell (cf. Matt. 25:46; Rev. 21:8).

God does not overlook that nation which embraces this perversion. No nation or society in the past lasted long in such a state. Ancient Greece, Rome and Israel are in the dustbin of history because of their acceptance and promotion of this lifestyle. What about the United States of America? "Who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they that practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also consent with them that practise them." (ASV, Rom. 1:32).

But however much God loathes the practice of homosexuality, He loves the one caught up in this cruel way of life. His love is go great that the Father sent His dear Son to shed blood so that their sins, however abhorrent to Him, could be forgiven. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (Jn. 3:16). The all-encompassing love of that gift of salvation cannot be denied.

Apparently many in New Testament times accepted that offer and were forgiven of their homosexual behavior. At the end of the apostle Paul's condemnation of sin in I Corinthians 6, he adds, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:11). You too, dear reader, can be cleansed of all sin and made right in the sight of God as they were. The Bible tell us we need to,
  1. Hear the word of God (Rom. 10:17).
  2. Believe in Jesus Christ (Jn. 8:24).
  3. Repent of all sins, even homosexuality (Acts 17:30).
  4. Confess Jesus Christ as God's Son (Rom. 10:9-10).
  5. Be baptized for remission of sins (Acts 2:38).
When one is baptized (immersed in water) for remission of sins the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us of our sins (Acts 22:16; Rev. 1:5; 1 Jn. 1:7). He then rises from that watery grave a new creature in Christ, a Christian (Rom. 6:4).

Please remember Sodom and Gomorrah and get right with God!



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