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Sin of Sodom and Gomorrah
97
repentance, and pay no attention, are more guilty than the dwellers
in the Valley of Siddim. The fate of Sodom is a solemn warning,
not merely to those guilty of defiant sin, but to all who do not take
seriously their Heaven-sent light and privileges.
The Savior watches for a response to His offers of love and
forgiveness with more tender compassion than that which moves the
heart of an earthly parent to forgive a wayward child. “Return to Me,
and I will return to you” (
Malachi 3:7
). But anyone who persistently
refuses that tender love will finally be left in darkness. The heart that
has disrespectfully ignored God’s mercy for a long time becomes
hardened in sin, no longer able to respond to the influence of the
grace of God. It will be more tolerable in the day of judgment for
the cities of the plain than for those who have known the love of
Christ and yet have turned away to the pleasure of sin. In the books
of heaven God keeps a record of the sins of nations, of families, of
individuals. Calls to repentance, offers of pardon may be given; yet
a time will come when the account will be full. The individual’s
decision has been made, and by his or her own choice, that person’s
destiny has been fixed. Then the signal will be given for judgment
to be carried out.
Another Sodom
In the religious world today God’s mercy has been taken for
granted and treated lightly. Many people try to invalidate the law by
“teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (
Matthew 15:9
).
Skepticism prevails in many churches, not skepticism in its broadest
sense—an open denial of the Bible—but a skepticism undermining
faith in the Bible as a revelation from God. Genuine devotion to
God has been replaced by hollow formalism and as a result apostasy
and immorality prevail. Christ declared, “As it was also in the days
of Lot ... Even so will it be in the day when the Son of man is
revealed” (
Luke 17:28, 30
). The world is quickly becoming ready
for destruction.
Our Savior said, “Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be
weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life,
and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare
on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth”—all whose