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Remember Lot's Wife

By Joe Crews
Introduction
"Remember Lot's wife," said Jesus. That is probably the most dramatic, potent illustration the Master ever used in a sermon. As we read the conte t, it is very obvious that the words were bein! applied to those livin! on this planet ri!ht now. ""n that day" refers to the "day when the #on of man is revealed." $ere is what Jesus actually said% "Li&ewise also as it was in the days of Lot' they did eat, they dran&, they bou!ht, they sold, they planted, they builded' (ut the, same day that Lot went out of #odom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. )ven thus shall it be in the day when the #on of man is revealed. "n that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to ta&e it away% and he that is in the field, let him li&ewise not return bac&. Remember Lot's wife." Lu&e *+%,-./,. 0hat did Jesus mean by that cryptic e pression "Remember Lot's wife"1 0hat does that woman of lon! a!o have to do with people who are watchin! the closeout of history1 0hy did the Master relate Mrs. Lot to our day1 Jesus used her as a fearful warnin!. That woman became cold, careless, and disobedient. 2inally the 3ud!ments of 4od fell upon her, and she became a pillar of salt on the plains of #odom. " !ather that one of the most deadly perils for 4od's people in the last days will be to slowly slip away from the truth as Mrs. Lot did. Jesus warned that the loss of spiritual power ta&es place almost imperceptibly% "And because ini5uity shall abound, the love of many shall wa cold." Matthew ,6%*,. As pressures of conformity and compromise crowd in, the faith !radually erodes and disappears. " confess to you that this is the pastor's most perple in! problem today. 7erhaps a newly bapti8ed family in the church is bubblin! with that wonderful first.love e perience. They are willin! to !o anywhere and do anythin! for the Lord. Their conta!ious enthusiasm is a 3oy to behold. (ut soon the pastor notices that the ardor is be!innin! to wane a little bit, and the family is no lon!er e cited about their faith. They slowly be!in to withdraw from participation and even attendance at church. The pastor visits the family and tries to uncover the problem. To his surprise, he discovers that they still believe as much as ever, but they have lost their love for the truth. $ow can we e plain this slac&in! of spiritual power1 $ow does the devil steal the very heart out of the 9hristian e perience1 :ne thin! is certain% it does not happen suddenly or overni!ht. 7eople lose their love for the truth by de!rees. Little by little they lower the standards and compromise the faith, until nothin! remains e cept a dead, empty formalism.

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After readin! all that Jesus said about those who are saved, we see one !rand absolute truth standin! out clearly. There will be no divided heart in heaven. There will be no half surrender on the part of the redeemed. Those who enter 4od's &in!dom will be there because they wanted eternal life more than anythin! else in the whole world. The Lord Jesus used Lot's wife as an e ample of those in the last days who will not be sin!le.minded for the truth' who will love material thin!s more than the thin!s of 4od. 9hrist said, "#o li&ewise, whosoever he be of you that forsa&eth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." Lu&e *6%//. ;o you remember the story in the (ible about the businessman who went searchin! for the most priceless !em in the world1 At last he located it and learned that it was for sale. (ut the price was outra!eous< "n order to buy that pearl he would have to sell his home, his business, and use every penny of his lifelon! savin!s. (ut mar& this% The man's desire for that pearl was so deep and compellin! that he did not ar!ue about the cost. $e did not consider waitin! until he could better afford the purchase. =or did he attempt to bar!ain for a lower price. "mmediately and ea!erly he hurried away, sold everythin! he had, and brou!ht the money bac& to buy the !em from the owners. The pearl, of course, represents eternal life, and those who desire it must be prepared to invest everythin! they have in order to obtain it.

Lot's Good Intentions

(ut let's come bac& to the story of Lot's wife and try to understand what Jesus wants us to learn from her e ample. Accordin! to the (ible record, she belon!ed to one of the finest families in the )ast. As the nephew of Abraham, Lot shared the tremendous faith of his uncle and prayed at Abraham's altar. 0hen 4od's call came to !et out of Mesopotamia, Lot went ri!ht alon! with Abraham, not &nowin! where the call mi!ht lead. To!ether they brou!ht their families to the enterin! place of the 7romised Land and offered their sacrifices of than&s!ivin!. Then dissension erupted between the herdsmen of the two wealthy &insmen. Their vast combined floc&s and herds didn't have enou!h room to !ra8e in such a restricted area, and they had to separate. Lot was !iven the choice of direction as the whole land stretched out before him. :n one side lay the verdant hills with their lofty trees' the other led down into the crowded centers of commerce and trade. The materialistic appeal of the prosperous cities had an immediate impact on Lot, and the (ible records very simply that he "pitched his tent toward #odom." 4enesis */%*,. The predictable pattern of future tra!edy was settled by that early decision to move near those wic&ed cities. Lot stands forth as a man of !ood intentions. >uite obviously he did not actually plan to ta&e his family into the urban environment of sinful #odom. $e would only live in the vicinity, where he could ta&e advanta!e of the economic opportunities of such a bustlin! trade capital. ?ery li&ely he made special mental reservations about lettin! his family min!le with the de!raded inhabitants of #odom and 4omorrah. "n fact, he had no idea at all of !ivin! up his reli!ion. $is move was prompted by selfish concern over temporal advanta!es, and he had no intention of losin! anythin!. (ut what happened in spite of all the wonderful intentions1 7oor Lot lost his wife, his possessions, and almost his own life. 4ood intentions were not !ood enou!h. $e moved closer and closer to the cities until finally he actually moved in to dwell with the #odomites.

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$is plans to !uard the spiritual interests of his children failed to materiali8e. All his rationali8ation about counteractin! the wic&edness with stricter prayer schedules and family.altar reli!ion 3ust didn't seem to wor& out as planned. $e !radually compromised with the environment and watched his children slowly assimilate the ways of their heathen nei!hbors. "'m sure Lot did not feel at ease when he first settled amon! the evil citi8ens of that abominable place. )very day he heard news of the mushroomin! crime rate. $e must have been repulsed and even horrified by the vile 3o&es and obscene lan!ua!e. Then he had to watch with alarm the !rowin! fascination of his family for the perverted lifestyle of their friends and associates. 2inally, his dau!hters fell in love with worldly men and married them. :utside of the home, united with the enemies of 4od, they lost all faith in the ancestral reli!ion of their childhood and youth. They be!an to loo& upon Lot as narrow and bi!oted and soon e pressed their e treme loathin! of his half.hearted appeals to establish true worship in their homes. =evertheless, we still tend to sympathi8e with Lot in his frustrated attempts to hold the reins on his unre!enerate wife and children. $e had much a!ainst him, but most of it had been created by his own wea&ness and indecision. :ne compromise led to another, until finally he must have become totally demorali8ed over the rebellion of his worldly family.

Mrs. Lot's Response to Sodom

#till, it was an act of fla!rant presumption when Lot actually settled within the city. The society there was shameless, de!enerate, and entirely se .perverted. Mrs. Lot not only moved into #odom, but #odom moved into her. #he was the type who loved fine thin!s, and the mad whirl of social activities fascinated her from the be!innin!. #he was soon cau!ht up in the e citement of party rounds of pleasure, and the evidence seems to indicate that she eventually shared much of the materialistic mind.set of the #odomites. 9an we analy8e the cause of such a shoc&in! turnabout1 $ow could it happen to the wife of Abraham's relative1 0as it, perhaps, because no one was prayin! for her in that provocative situation1 =o, indeed. Abraham was pre. sentin! his prayers and sacrifices ni!ht and mornin! for his nephew's family. 0as it because no warnin!s were !iven concernin! the spiritual dan!ers1 0e cannot believe that those an!el messen!ers left them without full information concernin! the snares of #odom. Then what brou!ht terrible soul@ruin to this woman1 0as it because she disbelieved the call of 4od to !et out1 =o. #he did not moc& the messa!e as did her married dau!hters and their husbands. #he believed the warnin! and actually started on her way to safety. (ut mar& this @ there was no ea!erness in her heart and no enthusiasm for the pro!ram. #he was so reluctant to leave the fine appointments of her affluent #odom home that she lin!ered. $er heart and life had been so bound to material thin!s that she could hardly pull away from the accumulated treasures of those finely furnished rooms. 0ith death at her heels, she lin!ered. 0ith life and security awaitin! her on the mountaintop, she lin!ered. 0hat was wron! with the woman1 #he loved the world more than she loved 4od. #he still believed the truth' she &new what she ou!ht to do' she wanted to be saved@yet she lin!ered.

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0e still find many people e actly li&e Mrs. Lot. They also believe the truth, &now what they ou!ht to do, and want to be saved. They lin!er, too, 3ust as she did. Li&e Lot's wife, many of them wait until the pull of the world overpowers the will to act, and they are not able to let !o of "thin!s." 0hy will people lin!er over the call of 4od1 $ave you ever done it1 Millions have lin!ered until the best years of their life are !one. They lin!er until their children !row up and are lost in the world. They lin!er until the world holds them with bands of steel and the voice of 4od dimly fades away. (ut at last Mrs. Lot be!an to move. The record describes how an!els had to ta&e hold of their hands to hurry them out of the doomed city. The an!els cried, ")scape for thy life' loo& not behind thee." 4enesis *A%*+. (ut Lot's wife did not reach the safety of the mountains. 0hy1 The (ible tells us that she "loo&ed bac&," and immediately she was turned into a pillar of salt. 0hy did 4od deal with her so severely1 0as it not the smallest offense of all 3ust to move the head sli!htly1 The 0ord of 4od has a name for that type of action% sin. #he disobeyed the commandment of the Lord, and her 3ud!ment underlines the ur!ency of obedience. 4od means what $e says. There is no e cuse for sin, and 4od cannot overloo& it.

Is There a Little Sin?

=owhere in the (ible does 4od !ive the sli!htest tolerance for men to modify $is revealed will. 4od says what $e means to say, and $e accepts nothin! less than full compliance with $is commandments. #ome dramatic e periences are recorded in the #criptures which emphasi8e this ur!ent truth. Two sons of the hi!h priest offered stran!e fire before the Lord, and they died on the spot. 4od had re5uired that they use only the sacred fire in the sanctuary durin! their priestly ministry. To them it seemed unreasonable that one fire could not burn sacrifices as well as another fire. Bsin! such human 3ud!ment, =adab and Abihu disobeyed the direct command of the Lord and died. They did not understand the seriousness of violatin! the sanctity of that which 4od had set apart for a holy use. #imilar ar!uments are used today in connection with thin!s which have been sanctified by 4od. :ften it is as&ed, "0hat is the difference between worshipin! on the #abbath and worshipin! on #unday1 :ne day is 3ust as !ood as the other." The tremendous difference is that 4od made one day holy and wrote an unchan!eable law about it on tables of stone. The day is different because it has 4od's special blessin! upon it. 0oe to the man who touches with common hands those holy institutions of 4od< =adab and Abihu were not !uilty of any rebellious defiance of their faith in other areas of their reli!ious office. They never considered refusin! to carry out the proper type of offerin! in the manner prescribed by the Levitical statutes. The small matter of the fire was the only command which struc& them as frivolous and arbitrary. "n that area alone, they felt 3ustified in ma&in! a tiny chan!e that would more easily and smoothly fit into their idea of functional worship. They reasoned that such a minor deviation in the interests of such a sanctified pro!ram could not brin! any serious conse5uences. 4od would certainly not count it a sin to improve on a pro!ram to worship $im. 0hat an irony that much disobedience of 4od's law ta&es place in the name of reli!ion< 9hrist ac&nowled!ed that men would be worshipin! $im while they substituted the "commandments of men" for $is re5uirements. $e re3ected such worship as vain and empty. "n the sermon on the mount, $e described a lar!e class who would see& entrance

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into the &in!dom because they had prophesied, cast out demons, and done many wonderful wor&s "in thy name." Cet Jesus will say to them, "" never &new you% depart from me." Matthew +%,/. $ow can people become so blind and deceived that they feel securely saved while willfully brea&in! 4od's commandments1 "n their vain worship, they bowed re!ularly in prayer, san! son!s of praise, and probably never missed a church service. They professed !reat love for 4od and !ave movin! testimonies of the same. "s the same problem with us today1 ;o reli!ious people still disobey 4od's law while professin! to love $im1 :n any !iven #abbath, loo& around you to see what is !oin! on. 7eople will be i!norin! the very heart commandment which 4od wrote on the tables of stone% "The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy 4od% in it thou shalt not do any wor&." ) odus ,D%*D. 0ho are these people who i!nore 4od's #abbath commandment1 As you see them hurryin! about their re!ular wor& pro!ram, pursuin! their own pleasure on the seventh day, there seems to be no remorse for violatin! the clear command of 4od. Cet tomorrow many of them will be in church, prayin!, sin!in!, and tal&in! about how much they love Jesus. 0here did they !et their definition of love1 0as it from the bumper stic&ers on the interstate@"#mile if you love Jesus," "0ave if you love Jesus," "$on& if you love Jesus"1 That is not what Jesus said, is it1 $e declared, ""f ye love me, &eep my commandments." John *6%*E.

To Obey is Better
0hy do people feel secure in brea&in! one of the Ten 9ommandments1 2or the same reason #aul felt secure in brin!in! bac& the forbidden sheep and o en. 4od had told him not to brin! bac& a thin! after he defeated the Amale&ites. (ut #aul was !oin! to use those animals to sacrifice in his worship of 4od. =otice the incredible illo!ic of his actions. $e disobeyed in ta&in! the animals and then tried to 3ustify the disobedience by usin! the stolen animals in worshipin! 4od. "n the same way, modern church members disobey 4od by ta&in! the #abbath for their own use. Then they do li&e #aul and try to 3ustify their disobedience by worshipin! 4od in the name of what they have stolen. 4od declared throu!h the prophet #amuel, "To obey is better than sacrifice." "t is also better than all the vain worship of a thousand reli!ious services performed in con3unction with the willful violation of $is specific command. :bedience is better than anythin! else in revealin! our love. Jesus said so. ""f ye love me, &eep my commandments." ;isobedience is worse than anythin! because it is an act of disloyalty in its very nature. :bservin! a counterfeit day derived from the pa!an worship of the sun is no more acceptable to 4od than #aul's pri8e.winnin! sheep and cattle. $e is not honored by disobedience, and $e is especially offended by the brea&in! of $is commandments in the name of worship. $ave you noticed that in the stories of =adab, Abihu, and B88ah the seemin!ly sli!ht offense had to do with thin!s 4od had set apart for sacred use1 The fire was holy and the ar& of the covenant was holy. (oth were to be reserved and preserved for one sacred purpose only. 9ommon hands were not to be laid on the ar& and common fire was not to replace the holy fire. 0hen those "set apart" thin!s were treated 3ust li&e other thin!s, the 3ud!ments of 4od fell.

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Are there sanctified thin!s today which 4od has set apart for a holy use1 "ndeed there are. The #abbath has been described by 4od as "my holy day." "saiah E-%*/,*6. That one.seventh of time has been si!nally blessed and commanded by 4od for rest and worship. The tithe is somethin! else which has been separated by the 0ord of 4od for a special, sacred purpose. To appropriate that one.tenth for ourselves is actually to steal from the very coffers of 4od. The #criptures describe it thus% "0ill a man rob 4od1 Cet ye have robbed me. (ut ye say, 0herein have we robbed thee1 "n tithes and offerin!s." Malachi /%-. #ome people are horrified to read about the 3ud!ments which fell upon B88ah when he touched the ar& of 4od and upon Lot's wife when she simply turned her head. Are tiny infractions so serious that sudden death can ensue1 ;oes this indicate that the 5uantity of sin is not so si!nificant as the 5uality of it1 "f )ve's simple act of bitin! the fruit could precipitate si millenniums of planetary sufferin! and death, surely we dare not measure disobedience in terms of si8e or appearance. =o wonder, then, that Lot's wife suffered the same terrible conse5uences as all others who trifled with the word of a holy 4od. The offense of loo&in! bac& indicated a divided will. "t also revealed the fact that her heart was still bound up with the affairs of a corrupt, condemned social order. Two voices were competin! for her alle!iance% one, the voice of the hi!hlands@the voice of 4od callin! her to liberty, purity, and salvation' the other, the voice of the lowlands@the voice of popularity and pleasure, the voice of #odom. #lowly the voice from beneath !ained the mastery of a badly bent conscience, and Mrs. Lot stands before us as a tra!ic e ample of a divided heart. Jesus said, "Remember Lot's wife," and $e said it to those who would live throu!h the final traumatic moments of earth's history. $e is sayin! it to us ri!ht now@"Remember Lot's wife." 0e need that messa!e. Millions are 3ust as double@minded as Mrs. Lot. They find no time to pray with their family. Li&e Mrs. Lot, many read ma!a8ines more than the (ible, and thus they have only a superficial form of reli!ion. Li&e Mrs. Lot, they lin!er around the ed!es of sin@ma&e no stron! decision to !o all the way in obedience to 4od.

God's Ultimatum to Lot

0hat did 4od thin& about the namby.pamby way Lot had neutrali8ed his influence in #odom1 Cou &now the story of how those an!els visited Abraham and then Lot, tellin! him that 4od had tolerated their fence.straddlin! lon! enou!h. They had reached the limits of their double life, so 4od faced them with an ultimatum% !et out or !et in< "This is it<" 4od said. "Cou can't be neutral any lon!er. 9hoose ri!ht now what you will do. 9ome all the way out, or stay there and perish." 0hat a fantastic confrontation% a final call, a last.minute chance to slip from death to life< ;oes it sound familiar1 "f it doesn't, you had better loo& around a!ain and see what's happenin! to the world. The same fiery fate which loomed over #odom has been decreed for this wic&ed a!e as well. Jesus pointed to the parallel conditions between the two periods of history. After describin! the e cesses and indul!ences of Lot's day, Jesus said, ")ven thus shall it be in the day when the #on of man is revealed." Lu&e *+%/D.

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0hat did $e mean by "even thus"1 #imilar moral and social problems1 =o doubt about that. ;id $e also foresee a startlin! final appeal to lin!erin! Lots and Mrs. Lots whose wills have almost been paraly8ed by indecision1 "ndeed, the lan!ua!e of the Master seems to indicate that the whole sordid picture of a dyin! world was before $im. As in the days of #odom, men would have 3ust one last opportunity to say Ces or =o' then it would be over. #ome, li&e Lot's wife, will be so wedded to the world that they cannot let !o in time. They will have to perish with the thin!s which they loved more than they loved 4od. :thers, li&e Lot, will arouse 3ust in time to choose 5uic&ly and decisively. 0ithout a bac&ward !lance, they will move out in complete obedience to the will of 4od. This is the choice everyone faces. The same issues which precipitated the dramatic showdown in #odom are leavenin! the 9hristian churches at almost every level. Materialism and lu&ewarmness have placed a mold upon the lifestyle of millions who profess to be followers of truth today. 0hile the winds of destruction are slowly slippin! throu!h the fin!ers of the four apocalyptic an!els who have been holdin! them bac&, the professed people of 4od rela mar&ets and a compromised faith. 4od loo&s upon the nauseous blend of flesh and spirit as intolerable. As the True 0itness of the Laodicean church, $e calls upon this last@day reli!ious remnant to repent. Just as those heavenly messen!ers laid down the ultimatum so lon! a!o, we are also bein! called to leave it all or perish. There is no more time to be divided. 4et off the fence, 4od says, and be either hot or cold. 9ome all the way out and live, or stay lu&ewarm and perish. There is no place for half.surrender in the church of the translation< The story of Lot and his family proves that 4od will not lon! tolerate a double lifestyle on the part of $is professed people. Those who are tryin! to live in two worlds must ma&e a decision. 4od's 0ord declares that the friendship of the world is enmity with 4od. "0hosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of 4od." James 6%6. Another (ible writer, who was the closest of 9hrist's disciples, declared, ""f any man love the world, the love of the 2ather is not in him." F* John ,%*EG. in a carnally secure dreamworld. Li&e Lot's family, they have become comfortable in the society of money

What One Sin Can Do

0hy did Jesus say, "Remember Lot's wife1" (ecause $e &new that many others would be 3ust as attached to "thin!s" as she was. They would lin!er, and then loo& bac& with lon!in! heart upon those thin!s which are forbidden. "0hosoever he be of you that forsa&eth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." Lu&e *6%//. 0hat do modern church members &now about the principle of self.denial and forsa&in! all1 The boo& of Revelation foresaw the unholy mi ture of Laodicean 9hristianity which would ma&e 4od sic& on the stomach. $e said, "" will spue HvomitI thee out of my mouth." Revelation /%*J. Those words are probably the most !raphic that ever passed the lips of our Lord. $e was addressin! the sub3ect of hypocrisy in the end times. #imilar stron! lan!ua!e was used by Jesus in describin! the same condition amon! the reli!ious leaders of $is day. $e called them hypocrites !eneration of vipers, and whited sepulchres. "n the :ld Testament, 4od used e5uivalent rhetoric in callin! for $is vacillatin! people to !et off the fence. ""f the Lord be 4od, follow him% but if (aal, then follow him." * Kin!s

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*-%,*. "n all these instances, 4od was spea&in! to those who laid claim to bein! $is favored, chosen ones. Cet their practice was not the same as their profession. There was a min!lin!, in their e perience, of the holy and unholy. They were sayin! one thin! and doin! somethin! else. The result was a wea&, wishy.washy witness which made no positive impact on others. 4od found such conduct repulsive. That is why $e demanded that choices be made' but ta&e note that only two alternatives were ever available. "t was either 4od or (aal, obedience or disobedience. :ne of the stran!est obsessions of modern churchianity is to blithely blend the concepts of salvation and sin. The (ible ma&es it very clear that willful trans!ression is the antithesis of spiritual security. 4od's call is to "come out of her and be ye separate." ;eliberate disobedience cannot coe ist with a clear 9hristian conscience. The 0ord of 4od has much to say about sin, but never a !ood word. =o one has ever read the sli!htest inspired intimation that sin should be reduced or diminished. 0henever it is mentioned, sin is declared to be non.ne!otiable. "t is to be abandoned, re3ected, and utterly repudiated. Jesus did not say to the adulterous woman, "4o and taper off on this sin." $e said, "4o and sin no more." John did not write% "My little children, these thin!s write " unto you that ye sin less and less." $e plainly declared, "" write unto you that ye sin not." The story of Lot's wife is a dramatic illustration that the presence of one small act of willful disobedience can lead to eternal loss. Any effort to reconcile 4od's love, character, or ri!hteousness with a tolerance for sin must end with miserable failure. $ow is it with you today1 "n this final fra!ment of probationary time, have you renounced every competitor of 9hrist for first place in your heart1 Just as the an!els pleaded with Lot and his family to ma&e a total surrender, the $oly #pirit ur!es upon us the same &ind of commitment today. The call is for separation and ur!ent action. Multitudes lin!er in the twili!ht 8one of indecision while the fires of destruction are poised for the annihilation of this world. 0orldlin!s and professed 9hristians ali&e are hearin! the plea of 4od to turn loose. The door of probation is open for 3ust a few moments more. To every soul there comes a !olden last moment of decision before the door shuts. 0ill all be able to reco!ni8e that moment1 Tra!ically, no. #ome, with senses dulled by worldly compromise, will not even discern the final departure of 4od's messen!er of salvation. The sins of #odom are 3ust as hypnoti8in! and appealin! today as they were lon! a!o. The same perverse practices have become more commonplace and popular than they ever were in the doomed city of the plains. Lot had no time to ta&e anythin! with him. =either do we. There must be a willin!ness to deny self and cut away from the abominations of the flesh in every form. :ur only hope is to move 5uic&ly in separatin! from the evil attachments of a corrupt society. A lovin! #aviour stands behind the invitation, "9ome out from amon! them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord." The secret of bein! able to resist and re3ect the appeal of a perverse, rene!ade society is to loo& at the cross of Jesus 9hrist. 0e mi!ht abhor the evil and desire deliverance, but there is only one source of stren!th to brea& the pattern of sin. 9hrist's substitutionary death at 9alvary satisfied the penalty which trans!ression had placed a!ainst every livin! soul in

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the world. The bro&en law demanded death, and when Jesus suffered that penalty for every man on the cross, a !lorious transaction was made. Le!ally, every lost soul was freed from the penalty of disobedience. A!ain, in a le!al sense, the whole world was redeemed throu!h the atonement of the cross. The corporate !uilt of Adam's descendants was canceled by the corporate 3ustification accorded throu!h the death of Jesus. 0e can truthfully assure every sinner ri!ht now that his sentence of death has already been le!ally satisfied and e ecuted upon his substitute, Jesus. 0hat a fantastic truth< This means that 4od actually too& the initiative in savin! man. $e almost made it difficult to be lost by declarin! an emancipation from the slavery of sin for every person who would receive it. (ut please ta&e note that somethin! was done even for those who would not receive it. A corporate 3ustification actually was made effective for the entire world, both !ood and evil. Throu!h that universal 3ustification the curse of universal condemnation was erased, and Adam's children could be born without bearin! the !uilt of their father's sin. FRomans E%*-G (ut the most !lorious conse5uence of the atonement is seen in the e perience of the ones who claim personal 3ustification throu!h faith in $is blood. 7aul described it thus% "(ein! 3ustified freely by his !race throu!h the redemption that is in 9hrist Jesus% 0hom 4od hath set forth to be a propitiation throu!h faith in his blood, to declare his ri!hteousness for the remission of sins that are past, throu!h the forbearance of 4od' To declare, " say, at this time his ri!hteousness% that he mi!ht be 3ust, and the 3ustifier of him which believeth in Jesus" FRomans /%,6.,JG $ere is clearly revealed a picture of individual acceptance of all those who claim Jesus as for!iver and 3ustifier. 0hat is accomplished for the ones who enter this intimate relationship of 3ustification by faith1 Are they merely delivered from the !uilt of sin, or do they also receive deliverance from the sin itself1 7aul answered that 5uestion. "(ut 4od forbid that " should !lory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 9hrist, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and " unto the world." 4alatians J%*6. "n this verse we find that victory over the world system of evil is definitely tied to the atonement of the cross. =o one has been delivered from sins of the flesh without receivin! that deliverance as a !ift throu!h the merits of 9hrist's sufferin! and death. 0e are made dead to the world's appeal by loo&in! into the face of our #ubstitute and #aviour. $is a!ape love, revealed at the cross, melts the stubborn will and weans the heart away from every attraction the world can devise. That is how Jesus is "made unto us wisdom, and ri!hteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." * 9orinthians *%/D. "t is all in the cross. Loo& at it daily and remember Lot's wife, that you may be saved from her terrible fate.

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