Worse Than Sodom and Gomorrah!

What’s the worst, most despicable sin a person could ever commit?

Ancient Israelites could easily answer that.  They had heard over and over the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Lot chose possessions, luxury, and ease, pitching his tent toward Sodom (Genesis 13:10-13), rather than a life of faith near his Uncle Abraham.  In his new home, he had to be rescued by Abraham (Genesis 14). Later, he became prominent in Sodom and sat in the gate of the city where the leaders sat (Genesis 19). When God sent angels to investigate Sodom and bring judgment against the city, Lot was there to greet them and, for their protection, Lot kept them in his house overnight. Certain of the men of Sodom came to Lot’s door, asking Lot to send the two men (angels) out so they could know them (Bible expression for having sexual relationships – in this case, homosexual relationships).  Lot refused. They threatened violence against Lot. The two angels rescued him and struck the evil men with blindness.

But sodomy was not the only wicked sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Ezekiel 16:49 exposed their additional sins of pride, fullness of bread (overabundance of food – gluttony), abundance of idleness, and refusal to help the needy.

To say someone or a group of people was like Sodom and Gomorrah was the worst kind of accusation you could hurl at a first-century Israelite.  Surely, residents of Sodom and Gomorrah were headed toward the worst kind of judgment.

Yet that’s what Jesus said about those who refused his messengers and his message! Please note that Jesus was not talking about sodomy, homosexuality, adultery, or any kind of sexual sin.  There are sins worse than that!

Paul never excused the sins of immorality. Yet he had converts in the church at Corinth that had a past history of immorality.  Look at this list in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?  Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”  All of these evil people had been converted, and they were now “new creatures” in Christ Jesus.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17).  As blood-bought sinners, their lives had been transformed into pure and godly men and women.

Sometimes we categorize sins into certain levels of evil.  Murder and adultery (sexual sin) are really bad.  They are prohibited in the Ten Commandments.  But so are disrespect for God and His name, dishonoring your parents, stealing, lying, and coveting. The direct commands against anger, malice, pride, hate, not helping the poor, and many other commands are extremely damaging sins.

But over and above all of these, Jesus warned against the sin of rejecting His messenger and His message. Jesus said, ” And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. (Mark 6:11).

Jesus, in Revelation 21:8, listed the types of sinners that would be cast into the lake of fire. ” But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”  Please note that the fearful and unbelieving are at the head of this list.

The worst sin of all is not believing in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, as your personal Savior.  Jesus said in John 8:24, “if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” “He that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18).

This matter of believing is not just “mental assent.”  It is believing that Jesus is who He said He is. (John 8:24). He is the Creator (John 1:3) and God in the flesh (John 1:14). It is believing that He died for your sins and rose from the dead. (Romans 10:9). It is believing unto righteousness and letting Him change your life (Romans 10:10).

A person comes to the point of conversion and belief, not by good works, but by trusting Jesus’ complete work of redemption on the cross. It is all by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-10).  When we are saved, we have a new life in Christ. God works a change in us. We no longer want to engage in all those evil activities mentioned before in this article.  Instead, we want to love and serve Jesus.  We are not perfect. We have a lot of spiritual growth and character building to do.  We are no longer concerned about earning or keeping our salvation. We now serve Him because we want to and because we love Him.   “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Are you guilty of the worst sin, unbelief?  Come to Jesus today!  Trust Him as your Savior from sin and the penalty of sin. Let Jesus save you today and change your life for now and for eternity.