Bible Discussion Thread

32 Remember Lot's wife.

33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. ( Luke 17:32-33).

To keep this verse in context; we need to see that it wasn't preservation of life that was the whole issue here; it was dying to self gratification and the world as temptations to hold us back from His deliverance when it comes. One may ask "ok what does this have to do with persecution?" In this case; the enemy had a stranglehold on Lot and his family that began when he chose to move to the fertile area of the plain and Abraham decided to hang out in the backside of the desert. Nothing wrong with that a man in the flesh would argue. It is unclear how much Lot knew about the area when he arrived; but no doubt he saw opportunity to prosper economically in that location; and it is certain that at some point the sin became so clear that it caused his "righteous soul to be vexed" ( 2 Peter 2:8 reveals that fact to us). So I am "perplexed" (get it it rhymes with vexed; ok give me some latitude it's late)...

The enemy in a sense was persecuting him; and in this case it was mostly his own fault. No one was forcing him to stay there; no doubt and based on how the story ended it is clear they had little respect for him; but until he had to speak up they probably tolerated him. That was the men's response in Genesis 19:9 when to appease the sodomites Lot offered his daughters to them instead of what they thought were men but were angels of God. God delivered Lot but it reminds us of Revelation where we are told not to be naked ( Revelation 16:15 at the onset of the bowl judgments). This is reminiscent of those who make it to heaven; but as through the fire suffering loss ( 1 Corinthians 3:15). All of scripture fits together and is useful ( 2 Timothy 3:16).

The point is; just like Jonah we can't run and hide from being salt and light and proclaiming the truth and we can't be content compromising with evil.