“Run for your lives!  Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!  Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” (Genesis 19:17).

 

These words were spoken to Lot and his family as they were preparing to leave the city of Sodom.  The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were cities of terrible sin, and God had decided to destroy them.  This is why Lot, who was a godly man, was urged by the angels to leave with his family.  If you are not saved, then in this verse there are three very important matters for you to consider.

 

1.  Remember that you are in great danger.

 

The angels said to Lot, “You will be swept away!”  The people of Sodom and Gomorrah had committed great sin against God, and finally the judgement of God was about to be revealed against them: they were going to be swept away into eternal destruction.

 

 

If you are not saved, then you are like the people of these cities.  You have lived a life of sin against God and His holy word for many years.  Perhaps you have had a good and a comfortable life, so you think that God no longer cares about your sin.  But you are wrong.  The judgement of God is coming against all who live lives of sin and that judgement cannot be postponed for eternity.

 

The Bible tells us plainly that the day is coming when the Lord Jesus will return and that when He comes, He will judge the whole earth according to what they have done.  Just because you have a good and a comfortable life at the moment does not mean God has forgotten about your sins.  Be warned: destruction is coming unless you repent and turn to God.

 

2.  Remember that the only way of salvation is to leave your love for this world.

 

The angels said to Lot, “Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere.”  The only way Lot could be saved from the destruction that was to come was to run.  He could not remain in the city; if he did, he would die like all the other people.  Also, he could not go back to his home and collect his favourite possessions.  He had to forsake everything and run.

 

There are millions of people in the world today who are

lost because they love the world and the things of the world.  They know that it is a sin to love these things and to pursue them, but they love the world and so they ignore the word of God.

 

Reader, if you want to be saved from the destruction that is to come when Christ returns, then one thing is certain: you must give up your love for the world.  God will not save you if you love your sin; He will only save you if you forsake your sin and if you forsake this world and its pleasures.  As long as you love the world and its pleasures, you cannot be saved.

 

3.  Remember that the only way of salvation is to escape to a safe place.

 

The angels said to Lot, “Flee to the mountains!”  The judgement of God was going to be poured out on the cities, and the only place of refuge and safety were the mountains.  If Lot did not run to the mountains he too would be swept away when the judgement of God came.

 

The Bible tells us that there is only one safe place where we can escape the eternal judgement of God, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Bible tells us that He is the Saviour whom God promised He would send; it tells us that He was called Jesus because He came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).  It tells us that

He came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10); that He came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).  This was His purpose in coming into the world; it was to save sinners from the holy and just judgement of God.

 

The Bible tells us that the only way of salvation is through His death and resurrection.  It tells us that He died to bring sinners to God (1 Peter 3:18), and that all who trust in Him are forgiven and cleansed and made the children of God.

 

Reader, if you are not saved, then you are in great danger.  The judgement of God is about to be poured out on you.  Soon you will die and stand before God in judgement.  What will you do then?

 

There is only one place of safety and that is Christ.  He invites you today and is willing to receive you and forgive you and save you.  Let go of your sin and of your love for this world and come to Him; flee from the judgement that is to come.