Before It’s Too Late Gen. 18:14 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Have you been burdened for your friends or relatives because they aren’t saved yet? Why don’t you tell them about Jesus or witness to them again before its too late? I realize that the decision to trust Christ rests with each individual and that we cannot make the decision for them. However, we are the preachers who are sent by the Lord so that others can hear of their need to call upon the Lord [Rom 10:13-15]. We need to tell them before its too late.
In the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah we have a perfect picture of someone who waited until the last minute to tell his family of their need to follow the Lord [Gen 19:14]. Of course, by then it was too late. So, we want to study what happened here in hopes that this study will encourage us to get the news to our friends and family before its too late.
To keep from waiting to tell others about Christ until it’s too late, remember that:
Building your wealth is not as important as preaching to their souls – Gen 13:10-12 – you can tell that Lot spent a great deal of time with his cattle business – when the angels showed up in town, he was even sitting in the gate [Gen 19:1] at the end of the day – this is where the town decisions were made – he was a busy man – too busy to concern himself with his children’s souls – by the time he came to warn them of the impending destruction of the city it was as if they were hearing about the Lord for the first time – his sons in law thought he was mocking.
Maintaining your reputation is not as important as bearing the reproach of Christ – Gen 19:1, 7 – Lot had really elevated his reputation in town – he had come there to sojourn [Gen 19:9] and now he was sitting in the gate and calling the heathen in that city, “Brethren” – that’s a man who is a lot more concerned with his reputation than with bearing the reproach of Christ [Heb 11:26-27; Heb 13:13; 1 Pet 4:14] – you can’t do both at the same time.
Retaining your separation is not as important as reproving their sin – 2 Pet 2:6-8 Lot vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds – but it doesn’t appear that he ever opened his mouth to reprove them – open rebuke is better than secret love – the children of light are supposed to reprove them [Eph 5:11-13] – so when he showed up to warn his sons in law no wonder that they thought he was mocking – they had never heard him speak negatively about their sin before – to preach Christ we must reprove and rebuke [2 Tim 4:2].
Waiting on a divine appointment is not as important as regularly sowing the seed – Gen 19:12-13 – we get the idea sometimes that we must wait for just the right opportunity to open our mouths with the gospel – but divine appointments like that are rare – Philip had a divine appointment with the Eunuch – but most souls who come to Christ have the seed regularly sown in their hearts – so we must sow regularly [in fact many times] – then the Lord has something to work with.
Conclusion: you know that everyone whom you know is going to eventually die and face God at a judgment – and if they die without Christ they are going to burn in hell just like the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah burned up in their cities – that’s as certain as the sunrise – the only thing you don’t know is when and how they are going to die – so you and I need to develop a habit of regularly sowing the seed with our friends and relatives – we need to quit being so concerned with continually working, fearing ridicule, and refusing to reprove sin, and we need to be more concerned with regularly sowing the seed of the word of God and preaching the gospel. We’ve got to tell them before its too late.