"Just as compromise with the world isn't usually something that takes place in a single act, but rather, is cumulative, so its consequences also do not show up immediately. They are seen only when their effects stack up. Thus, sometimes the important lesson of consequences is lost on us because we don't connect cause and effect. That's where the importance of the Bible can be seen. A believer doesn't have to learn the tough lessons of life the hard way. He or she can instead study the lives of those who have lived before God and learn from their mistakes."

I have several passages of Scripture I want to look at together with you before I begin my message this morning. Please join me in your Bibles at I John 2:14-17:

Also, please turn with me to James 4:4-5:

From these verses we see that the believer is not to love the world. I don't think this means that we can't appreciate a sunset or enjoy a little clean recreation or own a piece of land. These things are fine, unless of course, they take precedence over the things of God or, they place us in such proximity with sin that we cannot avoid polluting ourselves with what God says is wrong. John said, "the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life." When we chose to put our desire for things that gratify or promote self ahead of God, then we love the world. What's so bad about that? John says that the things of the world are temporary. They are passing away. We are not to compromise the eternal things available to us for the things that promise gratification, but are only temporary.

Compromise with the world isn't usually something we do by a single act or on a single day. Compromise with the world most often takes place incrementally – a little at a time. A compromised life is the result of many individual decisions that have inched us away from God until we are controlled, not by our love for Him, but our love for other things.

Just as compromise with the world isn't usually something that takes place in a single act, but rather, is cumulative, so its consequences also do not show up immediately. They are seen only when their effects stack up. Thus, sometimes the important lesson of consequences is lost on us because we don't connect cause and effect.

That's where the importance of the Bible can be seen. A believer doesn't have to learn the tough lessons of life the hard way. He or she can instead study the lives of those who have lived before God and learn from their mistakes.

We're going to study Genesis 19 in this message, which describes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and two other ancient cities whose people loved the world so much that they no longer even acknowledged their Creator. Even more specific, we're going to look at Abraham's Nephew, Lot, who lived in the doomed city of Sodom. Lot, who once was righteous before God, inched his way toward the glitz and glamour of Sodom until his love for what it offered eclipsed his love for God. For him, the destruction of Sodom brought together the cumulative effects of a life of compromise. I've called the message, "The Bitter Fruit of a Compromised Life." My fondest hope is that we will learn the lessons from the text so we don't have to learn them from life.

Lot first appears in the book of Genesis when Abraham brought him along on his departure from Ur. Though this may or may not have been against the instruction of God's original call, it certainly would become a problem in the years that followed. (1)

Wherever Abraham went in those early years, Lot was "with him." (2) In such close proximity, he had opportunity to observe firsthand the faith of Abraham. He saw him obey God under difficult circumstances. He saw him worship God. He also saw Abraham's faith stall out as they went down into Egypt where the patriarch nearly lost his wife, Sarai, to the harem of Pharaoh. Abraham emerged from that fiasco enriched with possessions and livestock, but a much wiser man. It appears that Lot simply emerged rich. (3)

Then came that fateful day when squabbles among their herdsmen forced Abraham and Lot to separate. If you recall, Abraham gave Lot the choice of the land. The younger man, attracted by the decadence and easy living of the cities, selfishly took his half out of the middle. He chose the choice land of the valley and "moved his tents as far as Sodom," though the Bible records that "the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord." (4) Gracious Abraham, to whom God promised all the land, got the leftover hill country. That incident was really the first glimpse we have of Lot's dubious character.

Later, we saw Abraham rescue Lot and his family when Chedorlaomer took them captive out of Sodom. In the previous chapter of Genesis, chapter 18, we saw Abraham's concern for Lot again in his intercession for the doomed city of Sodom.

Through all of this, Lot had lived in the wicked city. He and his family had a comfortable home there. His children were raised there. Their lives are entwined with the citizens of Sodom. Their friends and neighbors are all residents of Sodom. Lot even had what appears to be a seat on the city council. If there is a clearer picture of what James meant in one of the passages we read earlier about being a "friend of the world," I don't know where it would be.

It is amazing how life can be running along smoothly for weeks, months, or even years and then suddenly, take an abrupt change of direction. That is what happened to Lot on that fateful evening when the two angels of God showed up at the gate of Sodom with their message of doom.

We'll pick up the story in chapter 19, verse 1.

That phrase "sitting in the gate" doesn't mean that Lot had unfolded his lawn chair at the main city entrance. The expression "sitting at the gate" is an idiom. It means that Lot was sitting with the elders of the city transacting city business.

Did Lot recognize these men as angels? He must have at least suspected that they had something to do with the God of heaven, considering the extraordinary reception he gave them.

As I read these two verses repeatedly this past week, I saw an underlying urgency I had not noticed before. Lot seems to be in a hurry to get these men off the street and into his home, then on their way again in the morning. In verse 2 he specifically suggested rising early to depart. In verse 3 he urged them strongly not to camp in the city square. Then, when they came to his house, he fed them unleavened bread and not the feast that would normally be afforded a guest. (5) I suggest to you that Lot knew from previous experience how the cities' perverted population treated travelers who spent the night in Sodom. What was about to take place was probably not be the first attempt at homosexual gang-rape that Lot had witnessed.

Apparently Lot thought he had a position of respect with these men. Note that he calls them "brothers." Some suggest that Lot had a position of prominence in the city due to his relationship to Abraham, whom, you remember, rescued them and their city. Here perhaps, he hopes to get back a little return on his investment of his years of befriending them.

That Lot was probably terrified at this whole incident might be said in his defense, but there is nothing I can think of that justifies what he did next.

A compromiser looks like anyone else among the people of faith until the pressure is on. That's when his or her true nature comes out.

So how much do you gain by compromising your position of faith in order to make friends with the wicked people of this world? Do you win them over with your influence? Do they see your heartfelt concern for them and your righteous way of life and come your way when you live just like they do? The next verse holds the answer.

Here is the first piece of bitter fruit that comes from a compromised life:

By "camp" here, I mean the camp of the righteous versus the camp of the wicked.

After all of Lot's compromised living among the people of Sodom, what did it amount to? What did he gain with them? Did he have any influence when the pressure was on? No! When it came to restraining their desires, he was still considered an alien to them. Further, they objected to his righteous request by saying he was "judging them." (Does that sound familiar?) Yet where was Lot among the people of faith. Did he have any standing with them? I suggest not. In fact, after he had left Sodom in the wake of its destruction, we'll see that apparently he never returned to his relatives. He would die a lonely, dejected man. More on that later.

If we try to live for both God and the world, we'll end up with nothing! We will have standing in neither camp. Jesus would teach many years later that "no one can serve two masters." (6) Lot tried. It didn't work. We cannot ride the fence and have the "best of both worlds." If we try, in the end we'll find that we don't have the best. In the end we will have nothing. No standing in the faith. No standing in the world.

Of course, even if Lot had managed to persuade these men to call off their wicked plans for the night, it would still end up as nothing because the city was to be destroyed the very next day. It's just as John said in 1 John 2: "The world is passing away."

It amazes me that even after these men were struck blind by the two angels, they continued to try to find the door. What a statement of the bondage of perverted sexuality!

Though Lot was more serious about his faith than perhaps he had ever been in his life, these family members thought he was joking!

Herein is a second piece of the bitter fruit of a compromised life:

Had Lot been faithfully trying to teach his family the truths of God, even in Sodom, perhaps his words would not have seemed to them to be so strange now. I suggest to you it is likely that he had not told them about the God of Abraham and thus, they had no concept of what he meant now. He couldn't tell them about the God of Abraham because to do so would have meant condemnation of his lifestyle. So, like all those who compromise, he kept quiet. The result? This sudden wave of concern seemed out of character to them. Surely it must be some kind of prank.

The longer we wait to declare our faith to others, the harder it becomes to do so. This is especially true with regard to our families. Before this story is over, we will see that Lot's compromised life not only took his own life down. It took down the lives of his entire family.

The Apostle Paul said in a different context, "If the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?" (7) Some things must be crystal clear, or their intent will be misunderstood. In the same way, if our lives don't produce a distinct sound that identifies us as God's people, then when it comes time to call attention to matters of life and death, no one will pay attention. If, when we blow the "bugle" of our personal testimony, it sounds like a harmonica, will people come suddenly alert, or will they simply feel it is time to gather around the campfire? Lot's family testimony was very weak indeed.

Why did he hesitate? Because he was about to lose everything he had worked for his entire life! Thus we have a third piece of the bitter fruit of a compromised life:

When God called for Lot to leave Sodom, though he had rich holdings and an entire life built in that city, he couldn't take it with him.

You and I don't live in Sodom today (though perhaps a case could be made for the opposite!) We do live in a doomed world, though. Ultimately this world will be destroyed, just as Sodom was, by fire. (8) And, just like Lot, when it comes time to leave it, either when God begins the world's judgment or when He calls us in death, even though we are rich in this world's goods, we won't take a single toothpick with us.

Live for the world and everything you have lived for in the world will perish. In the end you'll lose everything.

Perhaps you have wondered, just as I have, why, if Lot was such a compromiser, God spared him from the destruction of Sodom. This verse tells us that "the compassion of the Lord was upon him," but it doesn't say why. We must keep reading to discover the reason. It's found in verse 29 of this chapter.

God spared Lot as a favor to his friend, Abraham.

Now back to our place in the text…

In these next verses we see that Lot, even in the midst of total overthrow of the wickedness he had lived in, still couldn't bear to do God's will completely.

Life in the mountains, with the people of God, still was not something Lot wanted.

Here we see just another phase of one of the bitter pieces of the fruit of compromise we have already mentioned: A total loss of everything. Lot lost his wife. My only wonder in this is that Lot didn't himself look back and there be two pillars of salt there, just outside the walls of Zoar.

We aren't told how long Lot remained in Zoar after the destruction of the four cities of the plain, nor exactly why he ultimately left it and went to the mountains as the angels had first ordered. Perhaps he had second thoughts about staying there, fearing that God might also destroy that city which was originally marked for destruction. Perhaps the wrath of the residents of Zoar came down upon him since they knew it was the God of his uncle who had destroyed the neighboring cities. Perhaps he saw in that city the same gross sin that brought the destruction of the other cities. Whatever the reason, he was afraid to stay there.

The important things to note there, perhaps, are those words "stayed in the mountains," and "stayed in a cave." They mean that he lived there. This wasn't an overnight thing or even a week's stay in the cave. This is where Lot took up residence! Shocked and fearful of what God had done or might yet do, afraid to return to any city, it appears that Lot lived out the rest of his life in paranoid seclusion, fearing more and more to venture out of the security of his cave.

That brings up a fourth piece of the bitter fruit of a compromised life:

Life in a cave. What a contrast to his former life of luxury in Sodom! Lot's "golden years" had surely turned to "fool's gold."

The way the Scripture leaves him, it seems that he spent the remainder of his life:

The scripture documents Lot's terror, so I won't dwell on that here. As for alienation from his family, we might wonder why he didn't return to Abraham and the rest of his relatives. Surely they would have received him and restored him to some sense of sanity and stability. Yet it seems he just couldn't bring himself to face that, so he stayed in the cave. Thus, his life simply drops off the radar screen of Scripture from here on. Though Lot's name is mentioned at least 29 times before this, there is not one mention of him after this, save those times he is named in genealogy or as an example of certain behavior in the New Testament.

But the bitter fruit of a compromised life had not all been picked, even yet. There was a final piece of it remaining which we could call:

Remember that Lot was not alone in that cave. He had with him his two virgin daughters.

My assumption as I read these next verses is that Lot had spent some time holed up in the cave, thus, it began to appear to his two young daughters that their dad was never going to come out again into the light of day. They would die there in obscurity with him.

So where did this behavior come from? Both the girls were virgins, so it isn't like they had been sleeping around before and just wanted some more of the same. I suggest that they learned it from their father. Not that he told them in so many words to do this act of incest. He suggested no such thing by his words in the cave. Yet I believe he deserves a portion of the blame.

When they were back in the city, and Lot was under pressure to do something drastic to save himself and the two angels from the mob, what had he resorted to? "I have two virgin daughters. Do with them whatever you wish. Just don't harm us." From their own father, under pressure, they had learned that difficult circumstances require drastic compromise of principle. They were simply doing what their father had taught them – when things get tough, it's OK to compromise.

What a revealing view of the influence of a father's actions on the lives of his children! Dad's, the things you do in your life will, to a great extent, determine what your children do in their lives after you. Yes, there are occasionally those stories of children who wise up and go against their upbringing, but they're not all that common. So I ask you today, is your example one of consistency in both the slack and tight situations of life, or is it one of compromise?

What legacy came from these acts of incest in the cave where Lot lived with his daughters? The Moabites and the Ammonites were two tribes who would later be at war with Israel on numerous occasions. With a few notable exceptions, namely Ruth, the Moabitess wife of Boaz, and Naamah, the Ammonitess wife of Solomon, both women whom are named in the genealogy of Jesus, these two tribes were idolatrous, living in the mountains east of the Dead Sea.

Don't ever underestimate the potential for good or evil of one single life!

We often hear in this season of gift giving, about gifts that just keep giving and giving. I suggest to you that the life of compromise that Lot lived just kept giving and giving, but the gift was bitter fruit, indeed.

We can learn about the bitter fruit of compromise two ways: We can learn it the hard way, as Lot did, or we can take lessons of scripture like this one and learn in a much easier way. The choice, and the outcome, are yours and mine.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are brought up short by the terrifying truths of this passage. We see not only your wrath upon the wicked, but also a warning about the bitter fruit of compromise. Please etch these truths in our memory so that they aren't soon forgotten. Then give us your grace and understanding as we endeavor to live righteously before you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Footnotes: Use your "back" button to return to your place.

1. See message #2 in this series, "Going Without Knowing," for a fuller discussion of Abraham's relatives.
2. Genesis 12:4; 13:1
3. Genesis 13:2-5
4. Genesis 13:12, 13
5. Compare the feast Abraham offered to these same angels in Genesis 18:1-8
6. Matthew 6:24
7. 1 Corinthians 14:8
8. 2 Peter 3:7

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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