The Five Unforgivable Sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Five Reasons Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed by God. Sodom and Gomorrah are two of the most famous cities in the bible.
Other than Jerusalem, God’s chosen City, Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus, Babylon, and Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah are probably the most familiar to most Christians. The twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are set in the time of Abraham and Lot, his nephew, whose stories are narrated in the book of Genesis. Sodom and Gomorrah are infamous for being completely burnt to the ground because of the severity of the sins and wickedness.
God’s judgement on the two cities was complete, total, and most devastating! Nothing was left standing! There were no trees, no buildings, no monuments, or people remained.
Not many cities, before and after Sodom and Gomorrah, has suffered the same fate directly because of their actions. Which raises the question: What exactly did they do? What evil did the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah commit to warrant such a swift and decisive retribution?
What exactly were their sins? In this episode, we are going to answer these questions. If you watch until the end, you will learn why sodomy is used to describe the activities of male homosexuals; and whether homosexuality is the main reason God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
The answer will greatly surprise you! Before we continue, please help this project along by liking and sharing this video. If you are new here, please subscribe to this channel.
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Amen! Now let’s get started by setting the stage for the episode with the story pf Pompeii, another city that was destroyed long after Sodom and Gomorrah. In around 79 AD in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, the inhabitants lived peaceful but vibrant lifestyle in the shadow of the gigantic Mountain Vesuvius.
Everyday started like any other. But on one fateful morning, the mountain roared to life. As Vesuvius erupted, a towering column of ash and smoke ascended into the sky.
Panic gripped the city as people tried to flee, but it was too late. A deadly pyroclastic surge raced down the mountain, engulfing everything in its path. In a matter of hours, Pompeii was buried beneath a thick layer of fire, ash and debris.
The once-thriving city became frozen in time; its inhabitants vaporised, and its secrets hidden from the world for centuries. The story of Pompeii is not so different from that of Sodom and Gomorrah in its complete destruction. While Pompeii was destroyed by the random power of nature, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by the steady hand of God.
We do not know why Pompeii was eviscerated by lava spewing from the mountain, but we know why Sodom and Gomorrah was wiped out by God. It was due to their sins and repeated tendencies to ignore God’s warning. In the remainder of this episode, we are going to lists the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Sin number 1: Wickedness. The word “wickedness” is a generic representation of evil that could mean many things. It is the opposite of goodness, righteousness, and virtue.
“Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know. ” Genesis 18 verse 20 to 21.
This passage speaks of the cry for help from people who suffered as a result of sins and wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. They reached out to God when they had nowhere else to turn. Still, we do not know what sort of sins were being committed.
In the following verse Genesis 18 verse 23, it gets a tiny bit clearer. It says: “Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ” Aha!
The wicked! Always a magnet for God’s wrath. "Wickedness" is a term used to describe behavior that is morally evil, sinful, or morally wrong.
It refers to actions or intentions that are deliberately harmful, malevolent, or malicious, often with the intent to cause harm or suffering to others. It includes such evil actions as deceit, cruelty, violence, dishonesty, torture, murder, and many other forms of criminality. Sodom and Gomorrah was a cesspool of pervasive evil, wickedness and corruption.
It was so rotten that it had absolutely no chance of redemption. Thus, God decided the ultimate solution was a complete annihilation of the cities. Abraham tried to plead with God that there must be some good people in the cities.
After some negotiation, God agreed that if ten people could be found in the two cities that have not succumbed to the wicked nature of the inhabitants, he would spare the cities. For just ten righteous people, God said He would not destroy the Sodom and Gomorrah! Apparently, there was no such luck because He ended up destroying the cities.
Sin Number 2: Idolatry and Idol Worship. While not explicitly mentioned in the Genesis account, we can infer that the cities were involved in idolatry and the worship of false gods. It is obvious that people who perpetrate wickedness without remorse are ungodly and idolators.
It is impossible to worship God in truth and in Spirit and still be wicked, deceitful, violent, malicious, and cruel. For such people, the object of worship must be false gods in the forms of idols, power, prestige, money, and worldly fame. As Apostle Paul writes: “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie; and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.
” Romans 1 verse 25 This is the true definition of idolatry and idol worship: to worship and serve created things rather than the Creator of thnigs. Here is what Jeremiah said when he compared Sodom and Gomorrah to errant Jerusalem: “But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me; and its inhabitants like Gomorrah. ” Jeremiah 23 verse 14.
Sin Number 3: Homosexuality. There are those who claim that the only reason God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was the pervasive homosexual practice in the cities. I do not believe this.
Homosexuality was certainly one of the sins of the people, but it was not the only one; or even the worst! While homosexuality is sinful and immoral, according to bible, it may not be considered wicked, in the strictest sense of the word. That is because no one is physically hurt in the practice.
Spiritually? Well, that’s a different matter. Still, homosexuality is a sin and it is one of the many reasons God destroyed the city, but not the primary reason.
Sodom and Gomorrah has become front and center in modern consciousness because of the growth and ubiquity of homosexuality. A huge part of the population now practice and advocate for homosexuality. Governments are creating laws supporting and legalizing gay and lesbian marriages.
Even the Catholic Church has now said that homosexual couples can be blessed by catholic priest! Check out my video on the topic. The link will be in the description.
The word “sodomized,” which refers to the activities of male homosexuals, comes from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The term has also been used to refer to people who practice acts of perversion, usually of sexual kind. The main sin associated with Sodom and Gomorrah was not jus homosexuality, it was sexual violence.
As the population grew, so was their pervasive tendencies. Men and women began to twist God’s intended purpose for sex, replacing it with vile and shameful passions. This is how Apostle Paul describes it: “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.
Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
” Romans Chapter 1 Verses 26 to 27 If this is still not clear to you, this passage is talking about lesbians and gays --- homosexuality. Paul says these actions are shameful. Because he did not say directly that it is a sin, some have argued that it is not a sin, but merely a distasteful sexual practices to Paul and many in his generation.
They are wrong! It is not only that homosexuality is a sin, it also, in itself, a punishment for sin! The bible made things clearer in the following verses: Leviticus 18 verse 22: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
” Leviticus 20 verse 13: “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. ” Jude 1 verse 7: “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. ” There is nothing I can add to these to make it any clearer.
If you are Christian and find yourself struggling with homosexual feels, talk to Jesus about it and seek solace in the Holy Spirit. He will surely guide you to redemption! Sin Number 4: Idleness.
It is hard to imagine idleness as a sin. But it is the source of many evils. Perhaps you are familiar with the proverb, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.
” To be idle is to not be working towards any specific worthy goal. It is to miss the point, which is the true meaning of sin --- or Hamartia (a Hebrew word that means to “miss the mark. ”) The people in Sodom and Gomorrah lived in wealth as affluence.
They did not need to do much to eke out a living. This lack of passion for virtue soon turned into passion for evil as they became arrogant, prideful, and decadent. They felt entitled to whatever their heart desires.
Does this remind you of this generation? It does to me! This is how Prophet Ezekiel describes it: “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.
They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it. ” Ezekiel 16 verses 49 to 50.
Do not let your blessing of abundance make you goalless and aimless. We have been commissioned to work in the vineyard of Jesus Christ. If you are not doing anything to supports that work, you are missing the mark; and that is a sin that can lead to a passion for decadence, arrogance, pride, lust, and shameful pervasion, just like the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Sin Number 5. Pride in Sin. It is damning to be sinful, but even worse to be proud of your sin!
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah did not only sin, they reveled in it; they enjoyed knowing that they lived in sin as they publicly published their sins; boasting about it to all who care to listen. In other words, they lost the ability to hear the cautionary whisper of the Holy Spirit. Here is how Isaiah describes it: “For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence.
For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.
” Isaiah chapter 3 verses 8 to 9. The pride and arrogance of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah is summed up in the story of Lot and the two angels that visited him to warn him of the impending destruction of the cities. The angels arrived at Lot’s house.
However, before they could retire for the evening, a mob of men from Sodom, described as "the men of the city, the men of Sodom," surrounded Lot's house. These men were notorious for their sinful, immoral and violent behavior. They demanded that Lot bring out the two strangers so that they could have sexual relations with them.
Lot was appalled by the wickedness of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah and tried to protect his guests. He even offered his own virgin daughters to the mob instead, to placate them, even though the action itself is an abomination in the sight of God. Still, the men of Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed by their own passion; they wanted only to defy the male guests.
Lot was determined to prevent the men from committing such shameful and sinful acts against his guests, but he was running out of options, as the men started to threaten harm against Lot and his family. They were going to break down his door and come to rape the men in his house. Seeing Lot's futile resistance and impossible predicament, the angels decided to act.
They struck the mob with blindness, preventing them from attacking Lot and gaining entrance into his house. Soon after, the angels told Lot of the impending destruction of the town of Sodom and Gomorrah. They then led Lot and his family out to escape the impending destruction of Sodom.
If you are shocked by Lot’s willingness to offer his daughters to the mob, you are not alone. It might tell of his determination to protect his guest, something that was seen as sacrosanct in that culture, but it also speaks of the way women were unfairly treated by men. Oftentimes, they were nothing more than a bargaining chip as Lot demonstrated with his own daughters.
In the face of provocation, Lot compromised. He could not muster the faith to defend his own values and the chastity of his daughters to the end. The observant listener will notice that this is not very different from what people do today.
Many so-called Christians spend their lives compromising their Christian values in other to placate other people with questionable values. They cave under the slightest of pressure from peers in social media and other places. If there is anything we can learn from Lot, it is that if you walk with the unrighteous, you will soon be asked to carry their baggage of sin!
To end the biblical story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; after Lot and his family were led to safety by the angels, the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. The cities were completely destroyed under God’s uncompromising judgement. Like Pompeii, it was buried deep in ashes and sand!
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Amen.
