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God’s Righteous Judgment and Mediated Mercy
Genesis 18:16-19:38
How can God be both just and good? A God who hates sin and a God who forgives sinners? This tension is so great for some that they reject a God of justice in favor of a God who loves. So they design their own god - a god who always loves, never accuses, and even approves of sins; which by their redefinition are no longer sins. Or the only sin is to judge others of sin. Why? Because this god wants them to be happy. And that reveals their true god - their own happiness. And their mantra? “That’s my truth!” “We listen and don’t judge.” “Good vibes only.” “Love is love!” “Follow your heart.” They have their own designer god crafted according to their taste. But the living and true God reveals himself as both righteous and just.
Today we see one of the most terrifying accounts in all of Scripture - the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. But as we study it in context, it’s more than an account of fire and brimstone. It’s an account of mercy - how God can dwell among a wicked people. And how he does this, to spare the guilty, is through the means of a mediator. We will see 2 truths from this passage. Firstly, God is willing to show mercy because of a mediator. Secondly, God is resolved to judge because of wickedness.
Firstly, God is willing to show mercy because of a mediator. After speaking to Sarah, the three visitors left Abraham’s tent. They looked toward Sodom. Just as how God looked and saw the continual wickedness of mankind before the flood, and sent the flood; just as how God saw man’s pride at Babel and responded with dispersal - God knew something about Sodom. Verse 20 - the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great because their sin was very grievous. But in verse 17, he asked himself - “shall I hide from Abraham what I’m going to do?” Why did God say this? So we’d know the greatness of Abraham. Verse 18 - he was to be a great and mighty nation. So here, we see two kinds of greatness compared.
We see Sodom’s first. The outcry against her was great because her sin was so grievous it reached not only Mamre, but heaven. Their reputation known to the whole region. In Genesis 13:13, we already saw that “the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” Just as Sarai was fair - very very, and Abram was rich - very very, Sodom was wicked - very very. No wonder there was an outcry! The word “outcry” often describes the cry of victims of injustices - like how Abel’s blood cried out from the ground. This means there were victims of great wicked injustices in Sodom. So the Lord came to investigate. So what sins were they? Ezekiel 16:49 says that it was pride, gluttony, laziness, and oppression of the poor. These people had grown rich; and in their riches indulged themselves and oppressed others. But 2 Peter 2:8 also referred to unlawful deeds. Jude 7 said they gave themselves over to fornication and strange flesh. Meaning, amidst social injustices like oppression of the poor, there was also sexual sin and perversion. And Genesis 19:4-5 reveal it as homosexuality and homosexual exploitation. That’s what strange flesh means - unnatural flesh. Sodom’s men - from young to old - wanted to have sexual relations with the visitors. Now clearly, homosexuality wasn’t the only sin, but it was a significant one. One pastor and author wrote - “Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of a great many sins; we don’t have to prove that homosexual practice was the only sin to show that it was one of them.” The point is that their sins were great. That’s why they were destroyed.
But we see the opposite in verses 17-19 - Abraham’s greatness. Why God asked if he should tell Abraham his plans was because Abraham would be a great nation; a blesser of all nations. Sodom falls under his purview. Furthermore God said, “For I know him, he’ll command his descendants and people to keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment!” This is Abraham’s greatness. God knew him in a special way. He’d bless all nations by influencing his spiritual children to keep God’s ways - to do justly and rightly. Abraham would be a channel of blessing. And that’s the comparison. God saw Sodom - great in wickedness. God knew Abraham - great in blessing. Sodom didn’t do what was just and right. Abraham did justly and rightly. Sodom’s ways caused many to cry out. Abraham would cause many to follow God’s way. Her young and old men were wicked. His children - young and old would be righteous. She was a collection of curses. He was a channel of blessing. She was a city of great continual wickedness. His was a nation of great covenantal potential. God saw the wickedness. He’d destroy Sodom for her great sins. God knew Abraham. He chose him to be righteous and a great father.
And we immediately see how great Abraham was - by his demonstration of great mercy. As the two angels headed toward Sodom, verse 22 says, “Abraham stood yet before the LORD.” It almost seems like he stood between God and Sodom. And what follows is the first great prayer of intercession in Scripture. Abraham, the friend of God, was mediator for the wicked. Notice what he said, “will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?” Are you going to destroy even the righteous people? And he appealed to God’s character in verse 25 - “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Now, Abraham was not haggling with God. He only asked him to be consistent with his own nature. God doesn’t destroy the righteous. So Abraham was bold because he knew God. If the cities are destroyed and innocent suffer, then God’s mercy is suspect. But he also knows that if the cities are spared, and the guilty escape, then God’s integrity is suspect.
So this is where, he appeals to God’s mercy. In fact, 5 times. His prayer was for God in his mercy to spare the wicked for the sake of the righteous. He’s not asking God to dismiss the sins of the wicked, but that he chooses not to destroy them because of the righteous. So with persistence, Abraham worked the number down from fifty to ten. And with each plea, God yielded - from 50, to 45, to 30, 20 and finally to 10. And each time he asked, he was humble - don’t be angry with this humble request. He knew he was nobody before God. But God chose him to act in this role. So each time, God was open to listen; willing to show mercy. And each time he agreed. Beloved, that’s God’s character - despite his great righteousness, he’s merciful. That shows his greatness even more. For the sake of a righteous remnant, the wicked can be spared. And because there was a righteous mediator, God was willing to hear. The presence of the righteous is a buffer against judgment. That’s how Abraham would be great. Because of him, many nations will be spared. And this is God’s mercy to the world.
But we also see secondly, that God is resolved to judge because of wickedness. God’s mercy doesn’t erase God’s justice. Despite the pleas for mercy and despite willingness to be merciful, when the angels arrived in Sodom, they couldn’t even find 10 righteous people - not even 4! Abraham stopped at ten, perhaps thinking of Lot’s household. Verse 12 implies he had sons, daughters, and sons-in-law. But while chapter 18 showed the beauty of mediation, chapter 19 shows the horror of corruption; of those who reject God. Two kinds of wickedness are compared. Chapter 19 tells us the two angels finally made it to Sodom. Lot met them and showed them hospitality. Initially, they wanted stay in the streets, but he strongly insisted. Why such strong insistence? Was it because hospitality was customary? After all, he was one of the leaders of the city. He sat at the city gates - he was a judge. Or was it because of something more sinister? Verses 4-5 - after dinner, all the men of Sodom, from young to old, came from every quarter of the city to surround Lot’s house. They told him to bring the men out so they could have sexual relations with them. There was no shame. They came en force. Their request was a demand. And their desired action was rape. To be clear, this was not a sin of ignorance. It was brazen, public, and violent. It shows they seared their conscience. And Lot knew these people.
But how could they come to this? How could a society be so depraved that this act was considered normal? It’s because they rejected God. Romans 1 says that God’s angry at those who suppress the truth. Instead of worshiping the living and true God, man wants to serve himself. Some worship idols, others serve their own sins - the idols of their hearts. So how does God show his anger? He gives them up to their sins. Meaning, the more a person or society doesn’t want to follow God, the more he gives them over to their sins - even to the extent of sexual perversion. Romans 1:26-27 tells us “that’s why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women rejected nature to indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result, they’d receive the penalty they deserved.” So according to this passage, verse 32, societal approval of homosexuality is proof of society’s depravity. Why weren’t they ashamed in Sodom? They had a reprobate mind, verse 28. A reprobate delights in and defends such sin. We see it in Sodom. They didn’t hide their lust, they celebrated it and forced him to release the angels.
Now, to be clear, Lot wasn’t blameless. In weakness, he fell into sin a compromised believer. He entertained wickedness. Yes, he was a believer - 2 Peter 2:7 calls him righteous Lot. But we see his tragic decline. It all began when he lifted up his eyes and chose the Jordan Valley, where the wicked cities were. He did it for economic prosperity. The plains were well-watered like Eden. But prosperity wasn’t enough. He wanted political authority. He moved from a tent into the city, and sat at the gates of Sodom. He was a city leader. But was’t this good? Couldn’t he influence them for good? But instead there was compromise. His righteousness was invisible. His testimonies bore no weight. Yes, 2 Peter 2:8 says he was troubled by Sodom’s evil deeds. But he didn’t leave the city! He didn’t stand up to evil! And this led to close identity. When the men wanted to rape the angels, Lot said in verse 7 - “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.” He called them brothers! He identified with them. But when they insisted, he did what was unthinkable. He suggested sexual immorality. In verse 8, he offered his two virgin daughters to them. To do what? I quote “do to them what is good in your eyes.” He was willing to sacrifice them to immorality to protect the men. One commentator said, “hospitality was more sacred than sexual morality to Lot…[Why?Because] compromise distorts values.” In the end, we see his moral invisibility. Despite being a city leader, they had no respect for him. In verse 9, they said he was only a stranger trying to fit in. And they’d do worse to him than the angels. And when he warned his son-in-laws to flee, in verse 14, they thought he was joking. And this shows something sad. It’s no surprise he offered his two unmarried daughters to the men. He’d already married off his other daughters to godless men. And when he finally escaped with his two unmarried daughters, they got him drunk. They slept with him to bear him sons; which were also his grandsons. His indignity is forever recorded to show his compromise with evil. From economic prosperity, to political authority, close identity, sexual immorality, moral invisibility, and finally to shameful indignity. While it was difficult to get Lot and his family out of Sodom, it was infinitely more difficult to get Sodom out of his family. In the end, only 4 made it out - and not even that. Verse 12 implies he had more in his family. But they saw it as a big joke. There weren’t even 10 righteous people.
Lot is such a sad example of a believer. Saved but compromised. Yes, compared to Sodom, he was righteous. His actions against his daughters are unthinkable. But do we not also sacrifice our own children? Do we not also sacrifice ourselves? Success instead of godliness. Protection instead of confession. Compromise instead of separation. What a terrible contradiction. Yes, he did try to protect the angels. Yes, he pleaded with his unbelieving family. Yes, he was a believer! But what a sad shell of one. And how aptly his life may describe ours. But why was he saved? God showed mercy to Lot because Abraham interceded for him. Verse 29 - because God remembered Abraham, he sent Lot out of the midst judgment. This compromised man was saved because of a righteous man. But what was his life like after?
God demonstrated mercy because of mediation. But here we see God’s great judgment. The judgment fell in two ways. Firstly on the reprobates. Verse 11 - the angels struck the mob with blindness - both small and great. They refused to see anyway, why would they need their eyes? Then verse 24 - he rained brimstone and fire from heaven on the wicked cities. The Hebrew is emphatic. It starts and ends with the Lord - “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven.” This judgment was brazen, public, and violent again sin that was brazen, public, and violent.
But judgment also fell on apostates. Verse 26 tells us that Lot’s wife “looked back.” Her body was outside the city, but her heart was still in Sodom. And interestingly, her judgment was not the fire from heaven, but the salt of the earth. Jesus told his disciples to be salt and light - to be witnesses of God’s goodness. She became a pillar of salt - a monument to the danger of loving the world more than God. And why did she love that wicked city? Because she was wicked. She was wicked. Lot had to live with it.
As we look at this account, we’re left with a problem. Chapter 18 tells us mercy requires a righteous mediator. Chapter 19 says there’s no one righteous enough to save the city. Sure, Abraham was a great mediator, but he couldn’t find ten righteous men. Lot was a “righteous man” but was impotent to save his family, least of all himself. But Scripture tells us that there’s a better mediator - one who wouldn’t stop bargaining at 10, but would go all the way down to One! Who’s the truly Righteous One who’d stand in the gap? The only Mediator between God and Man, the man Christ Jesus. Abraham interceded, but Christ intercedes forevermore. Lot was dragged to safety by angels, barely escaping the fire, but Christ secures our salvation. Lot’s wife looked back and perished, but Christ eyes were fixed on the cross to die for sinners. That’s the gospel. At the cross, the Judge of all the earth did what Abraham couldn’t imagine. He didn’t spare the righteous with the wicked; instead, he treated the Righteous One as if He were wicked, so that He could treat the wicked as if we are righteous. Fire should fall on us - but God poured his anger on Christ. He became the curse for us. So Christ’s the Mediator who not only pleads for mercy but secures it. Because of him, God is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Sodom warns us that God’s judgment is certain. But it also assures us that God’s mercy is available through Christ. The difference between you being a Lot and a Lot’s wife is simple - who’s your savior? Lot left because he wanted to be saved. Lot’s wife died because she loved Sodom. Do you love your Savior? Then you will leave your sin. And God forgives you of all your sins, if you bring them to him. Even if you struggle with the sins of Sodom - even if you struggle with sexual sins, pride, oppression, God forgives you, if you have Christ as your savior. And how do you know if Christ is your savior? You will forsake your sins, and be a pillar of salt - a testimony of his salvation.
1. God Is Willing to Show Mercy Because of a Mediator (18:16-33)
A. Two kinds of greatness compared (16-21)
i. Abraham and his people’s greatness
ii. Sodom and Gomorrah’s greatness
B. Great mercy demonstrated (22-33)
i. Abraham bold mediation
ii. His repeated merciful pleas
2. God Is Resolved to Judge Because of Wickedness (19:1-38)
A. Two kinds of wickedness compared (1-10, 14, 30-38)
i. The lust of hardened reprobates
ii. The weakness of compromised believers
B. Great judgment demonstrated (11-29)
i. The judgment on reprobates (23-25, 27-29)
ii. The judgment on apostates (11-22, 26)
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2026, Rev. Mark Chen
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