Audio Messages:
Pastor Wade Burleson

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Escape from Hell: A Picture (Part V)
Remember Lot's Wife

Genesis62.mp3 (13.5 MB)

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Genesis 19:24-26 (KJV)

24. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
25. And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

The story of Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt is one that even those unfamiliar with the Bible know. Her name, according to Jewish tradition, was Edith, but it is nowhere given in the Bible. What is remarkable is Jesus said, Remember Lot's wife (Luke 17:32).

Before we can remember Lot's wife properly, we must ask "is Lot's wife saved or lost?" Contrary to most, but not all, commentators, I believe Lot's wife is a picture of a Christian. Or more precisely, Edith pictures one who is saved, but wrecks her life by her choices.

1. She did not die the way those without God's grace died. . .
   1. She had already been taken by the hand of the angel of God -- the grip of grace.
   2. She was outside the city gates -- the inhabitants of Sodom were within the city.
   3. She did not die of fire and brimstone -- she turned into a pillar of salt.
2. The words of Christ infer that she was a believer who faltered. . .
   1. In Luke 17:32 Jesus is speaking to his disciples only -- not the lost.
      He is telling them to forgive. He is telling them to keep their eye on the eternal.
      He says the riches of this world will not go with you. Remember Lot's wife.
   2. Lot also faltered, but he pleaded for the mercy of God. Lot's wife "looked back."
      This "looking back" speaks of a longing -- with no sense of guilt or wrongdoing.

Edith pictures the graced person who knows Christ's command and refuses to obey.
Christ's command (v.17): "Look not behind thee, neither stay thou in the plain . . . run."
Edith's choice (v.26): "But Lot's wife looked from behind him . . ."

1. Disobedience to the command of Christ is a serious matter . . .
   There is no room in the life of a believer to debate whether or not he will obey. The Lordship of Christ cannot be separated from salvation. "Let all the house of Israel know that God hath made that same Jesus, both Lord and Christ (Savior) " (Acts 2:36).
   Jesus said to learn from Him, and "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:30).
2. Disobedience to the command of Christ takes two different forms . . .
   There is the disobedience of Lot -- he heard the standard, "Flee to the mountain" and he realized his condition and pleaded God's mercy -- never questioning the standard. God heard his plea for mercy and granted Lot to run to Zoar -- a testimony of grace.
   There is the disobedience of Edith -- who "looked back," longing for the city Sodom. Lot pictures the person who hates the fact he can't reach the standard. Edith pictures the person who is really upset over the fact that there even is a standard. She dies.
3. Your Christian life will sometimes falter due to your own frailty (v.18-19).
   "I cannot escape to the mountain . . . lest some evil overtake me, and I die" (v.19). Dr. Gill points out that Lot was older in age, and due to his own frail condition could not make it. There are times when we all fail to reach the standard for which we aim. God is acquainted with our weaknesses and He is an easy listener. "God is faithful; he will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear" (I Corinthians 10:13).
4. Disobedience to the command of Christ can lead to premature death . . .
   Let's be very clear. Not all premature deaths are a result of disobedience to Christ. And the death to which I refer would include the death of a ministry or a marriage. Salt is good, but if salt itself loses its taste, with what can its flavor be restored? (Luke 14:34).

   "Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself and you will find, in the long run, only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, run and decay. But look for Christ and you'll find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in." C.S. Lewis

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