God knows how to rescue the godly

Okay, so I admit that you are now helping me out as I think through a text that I'll be speaking on in two weeks, 2 Peter 2:4-10. If you don't have an open Bible in front of you, here's the text:

^"4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; ⁵if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men ⁸(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. ¹⁰This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority."

This is not the kind of text that I would usually pick to speak from on a Sunday morning. It's kind of gloomy and troublesome. But I started 2 Peter a while ago and feel a strong sense that I should finish it. So this passage is next up in the progression.

You can read the text over and over again--I don't need to say much about it here. But here's my one point for today and the reason I write:

"God knows how to rescue the righteous from trials."

This is written, of course, about Lot. We're told a lot (no pun intended) more about Lot's righteousness here than in some other passages. The story of Abraham and Lot leaves us with the idea that Lot was selfish, somewhat unwise and a guy who made compromising his integrity a steady, slow fade. Based on that reading alone we might lump Lot into the OTHER category this passage addresses. (God also knows how to "hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment.")

Here's the story of God rescuing Lot:

While Lot's friends all turned on him, he offered his own daughters up to be raped and abused, his house was crushed and destroyed (along with his town), his friends were killed and his wife loved that scene more than God and was herself killed, turned into a pillar of salt (that is one weird consequence), yet Peter tells us here that all these things were the action of God to "RESCUE" him through his trials. (I told you this is not necessarily a "feel good" blog entry.)

I do believe that Lot was experiencing the natural consequences of selfish and unwise decisions. In other words, had he made wiser choices early on, "that righteous man" may not have been as "tormented in his righteous soul" by the sin around him. In this case, some of the trials that Lot faced were brought about by his own choices.

Here's the BIG question: "What was the "rescue" that God knew how to offer?"

1. WARNING. A couple of angels showed-up and told Lot of impending judgment. Through God's grace, Lot listened. Hey, while the culture deteriorates around "the righteous" and our very souls are tormented, I implore you friends, to LISTEN to the exhortations that line-up with God's revealed word. Listen closely!! The warnings of Scripture should be studied, prayed over and heeded. They are God's grace to us and the beginning of His "rescue."
   
2. HARSH JUDGMENT on the sin. Lot's family was extremely blessed to see that God, in his grace, is NOT KIDDING when it comes to judging sin. I want my eyes & Nikki's, my sons' eyes and your eyes WIDE-OPEN. What if you and I had angels come to us one night and say, "Hey this entire place is going to be judged tomorrow because of all the nasty sin." And then, after hearing this, we saw it happen just as the angels said it would. I'd like to think that would make me take God's holiness even MORE SERIOUS than I do now. God's harsh judgment against sin is an expression of his ability to rescue the righteous. It's an expression of His grace, too.
   
3. BIG GOD. We don't have a psychological analysis of Lot for our report. It looked like God was blessing Lot in unspeakable ways through his family (Abraham), choices ("Which land do you want, Lot?") and wealth. But then God moved in and took away all those "blessings" in order to rescue him. How did Lot deal with the death of all his friends, the destruction of his property and God's righteous judgment of death against his own wife? How did he cope? What was the process? A big God. "Lot, when life falls apart, cling to your maker!" This is my favorite part of the whole story. Oh that I would allow my life to be defined by clinging to the presence and promises of the only living God! I often see discomfort as a sign that God needs to be hearkened into action on my behalf. In Lot's case, the discomfort itself was a gift from God, not the absence of God. How did Lot feel? Terrible! And that in itself was somehow used in the rescue. God is big. Really big. Lot's feelings about the aftermath of God's grace to him are missing from the story--and I'm kind of glad about that.
   

So this post is already way too long. If you're still reading, wow. Amazing.

I'm certainly not predicting or wishing for this kind of display of God's power and holiness. I'm not saying that because of the sin around us that God's judgment is soon coming on our land--I'm not necessarily saying that.

Concluding thoughts: it may be God's grace to us and His rescuing hand to take away our stuff, destroy our culture and offer a visible harsh judgment against sin. If that comes, please remember with me that being rescued does not equate to being comfortable and rich. Being rescued means that our real citizenship and secure position in Christ is never in doubt, and God will hold us in His loving hand until we are indeed and finally "rich and comfortable" with Him in heaven, forever. BTW, there's another reason to celebrate Easter! Christ is risen and the rescue is secure.

God knows how to rescue the godly!! Happy Easter.