2 Peter 2:7

“and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked”

I remember one time I was attending a small church service of about thirty people. It was during the sermon, the pastor was talking about Abraham’s nephew, Lot and he referred to this verse in Peter. It was then that a lady in the congregation shouted out loud, “he wasn’t that righteous to me!”. The pastor kept preaching and didn’t really deal with her comment. He just said “well, the Bible says he was” and then kept to his preconceived script. But I remember sitting there thinking, what a perfect opportunity this pastor had to elaborate more on this. You see, I have a great concern for the body of Christ. We are taught that righteousness is by faith alone in Jesus and then once you’re on board, once you’re in the family, joined the team, all of a sudden it’s now about here’s what you got to do. Here’s your bat, get up to the plate and you better perform to prove you belong to the team, don’t strike out or else. So, now we get this warped view that our righteousness is really based on what we do for God to prove we are the real sons and daughters of God.  So, of course when a Christian comes to a verse like this one, the common reaction is just like this one lady’s “ Lot? He wasn’t that righteous to me!”.  For those of us that are not familiar with who Lot is, let me introduce you. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Both travelled together but bickering began between Lots’s group and Abraham’s and they realized that they were too big between the both of them and it was best to separate. So, Abraham gave him the first choice to choose where he would like to live. Abraham gave Lot the choice of going either north or south, Lot instead looked beyond Jordan toward a well-irrigated plain and chose that land. Lot camped among the cities of the green Jordan plain and initially pitched his tent facing the sinful city Soddom and Gomorrah. Later on, he actually moved into sin city. He even became the gate keeper and had some influence in Soddom and Gomorrah  but there’s no evidence that he did anything to reform the city. In fact he even offered up his virgin daughters as a replacement to men who wanted to rape some strangers that he invited into his home. Later we read, his very own daughters got him intoxicated with wine and then proceeded to have sex with him. Woah, you’re not gonna hear this in your grandma’s Sunday school. This sounds like more of a rated R miniseries on Netflix than a squeaky clean, feel good movie on Pureflix.  This begs the question. Why was this man, who compromised his integrity many times throughout, considered righteous? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. Actually it’s the same that it’s always been, in the Old Testament and in the New. What makes a person righteous? Is it what we do? Paul tells us in Romans 1:17.  “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Also, He later talks about Abraham and how God considered him justified, which just means to be declared righteous. He says in Romans chapter 4, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.”  So as we can see, if God considered Abraham righteous through faith apart from works, he saw Abraham’s nephew, Lot the same way. He was considered righteous because he simply had faith. Was it always publicly displayed? Did he always get it right? Nope, and he suffered temporal consequences too. Remember, he lost everything he owned, including his wife in the destruction of Soddom and Gomorrah. But the Angels came for Lot to save him from the city and God’s wrath because he was one of the righteous few. Again, not because he was perfect and always did good things, no because he believed and that’s what made him holy. I think this verse should be an encouragement to all of us as Christians.  Let’s not live in condemnation or beat ourselves up, when we’ve messed up or blown it again. Let’s remember that our righteousness isn’t based on our performance but God’s grace through faith. May it also be a reminder for us to stay humble when we are doing a lot in obedience to and for God. When we are following Him, whether it’s mission trips, fasting and praying, giving our whole lives in faithfulness to Him, let’s remember this passage to keep things in perspective so we don’t become full of pride and think it’s about us. These good things do not make us anymore righteous in His eyes and not doing these things does not make us any less righteous. Though when we are obedient, there are rewards and blessings and the same is true that when we are disobedient there are consequences and discipline.  Abraham was blessed beyond measure for his obedience and Lot went through much suffering and loss but both men were considered still righteous by God. Not a righteousness by doing good but one of faith by grace. So as we travel on our spiritual journey, let’s remember and thank God everyday that the same God who looked at sinful Lot as being righteous, sees us the same way. And the more we fully understand this love, it will compel us to live our lives in full obedience to Him like Abraham did. We obey Him not because we have to but for the simple joy of just getting the amazing opportunity to participate in the game. So, whether we strike out at the plate several times or hit home runs consistently, we still wear his jersey of righteousness and on the back of the shirt, is not our name but the only name that declares us holy and perfect from all sin, Jesus Christ and because of Him we are all winners.