Sodom and Gomorrah Needed 10 Righteous People, What if the USA Did?

April 3, 2009

Franklin church of Christ | Sodom and Gomorrah Needed 10 Righteous People, What if the USA Did?In Genesis 18-19, we have the account of a very sad situation. To better understand what was going on, we need to go back to Genesis 14, which describes a problem between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen. Their herds had grown so large there was not enough grass and water for them. Abram met with Lot and said, “Choose where you want to live with your family and herds. I will go in the opposite direction from you.” Lot looked at the Plain of Jordan that had plenty of grass and was well watered. Lot chose that direction and pitched his tent toward Sodom and Gomorrah.

Sodom and Gomorrah were cities founded and developed by the wicked Canaan and his descendants. The Canaanites were known for their sexual debauchery, their vile sex gods, and their licentious worship services. If you recall, Noah placed a curse on Canaan for his despicable sin against him. Jude 7 says, “Even Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner; giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh. Are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” There were other sins in addition to sexual ones. Ezekiel 16:49-50 says, “They were prideful, abundance of idleness; they were selfish and did not help those that were poor and needy. They were haughty, and committed abomination before me.”

The Lord sent two angels down to Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 18, we have an account of the angels visiting Abraham on their way. The Lord also appeared to Abraham and tells him of the mission of the two angels. Genesis 18:20-21 says, “And the Lord said, because of the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great; and because their sin is very grievous I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it, that has come to me; if not I will know it.” Abraham asked the Lord, “Will thou destroy the righteous with the wicked.” It is quite possible Abraham was thinking about his kinsman, Lot and his family.  Abraham started negotiating with the Lord. He said, “If you can find fifty righteous people will you spare the city.” “The Lord said if I find fifty righteous people in the city I WILL SPARE ALL THE PEOPLE FOR THEIR SAKE” (Genesis 18: 26). Abraham continued to negotiate with God. He dropped the number of righteous people to forty, then to thirty, then to twenty. In Genesis 18:32, Abraham said to the Lord, “If I can find Ten righteous people In Sodom and Gomorrah will you spare the cities?” The Lord said He would not destroy it for the ten’s sake. Just think, ten righteous people could have saved the lives of thousands of people, not to mention all the buildings with the city. The very sad part of this story is not even the tiny number of ten righteous people could be found in these cities. The only righteous people to be found were Lot and his small family. The angels told Lot and his family to get out of Sodom as quick as they could. Unfortunately, as they were leaving, Lot’s wife disobeyed the Lord by looking back at the city as it was being destroyed by fire and brimstone. As punishment she was turned into a pillar of Salt. Only Lot and his two daughters escaped the destruction of the city.

The remainder of my article is going to be hypothetical.  Suppose the Lord sent two angels to the United States to determine how wicked and corrupt this country has become. The purpose of the visit is to determine if he is going to have to destroy the United States because of their unrighteousness. The angels discover that the citizens of the country have become sexually immoral people. They love pornography in their movies, books, and television shows. They live together without being married; young people frequently participate in premarital sex. They find that some states recognize same sex marriage. The Lord’s name is consistently being taken in vain. Many people in leadership positions are corrupt, and work to take Bible principles out of the government. Prayer has been removed from the schools. People have become extremely materialistic. Many of them are more interested in the pursuit of pleasure over service to the Lord.

The Lord decides that the United States is so corrupt he is going to have to destroy it. Jesus comes to the country’s aid, he says, “Father if I can find ten righteous people will you save the country for their sake.” The Father agrees to this request. Jesus finds nine righteous people, now he comes to you. The question is ARE YOU RIGHTEOUS ENOUGH TO BE THAT TENTH PERSON THAT CAN SAVE THIS GREAT COUNTRY???

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Franklin church of Christ | Sodom and Gomorrah Needed 10 Righteous People, What if the USA Did?Sunday Morning In-Person Service is Canceled

UPDATE 1/20/2024 at 7 pm:
Sunday Morning 10 AM In-Person Service is CANCELED

Due to inclement weather our parking lot –has completely frozen with black ice. The temperature is too cold for any salt to be activated and melt the ice. For the safety of everyone, we have canceled our church services for tomorrow. We apologize for any inconvenience to you.