The symptoms and diagnosis of the sins of Sodom

The sin of Sodom was so great that God heard the outcry, and the LORD came down to intercede…

So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the LORD. (Genesis 13:12-13)

So the LORD told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.” (Genesis 18:20-21)

Symptoms: When the Lord got to Sodom, he found they were openly practicing rape, torture, and murder. He searched for 5 righteous people in the city. Failing that, he got Lot, his wife, and 2 daughters out of the city. Even then, his wife looked back with longing for the lifestyle and was turned into a pillar of salt. And his daughters got him drunk and had sex with him, from whom sprung the Moabites and Ammonites. What a disaster! (Genesis 19)

Diagnosis: The condition of Sodom was awful, but the sin of Sodom was even worse. Many years later, the prophet Ezekiel received this word from the Lord GOD…

As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, Sodom and her daughters were never as wicked as you and your daughters. Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen. (Ezekiel 16:48-50)

Remember, Jesus discussed the difference between the symptoms and the diagnosis…

You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
(Matthew 15:7-9)

“Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.” (Matthew 15:6-20)

What about us? Do our lives have the same diagnosis as Sodom?

Pride

pride—inherited by Moab, her offspring (Isa 16:6; Jer 48:26), and by Ammon (Jer 49:4). God, the heart-searcher, here specifies as Sodom’s sin, not merely her notorious lusts, but the secret spring of them, “pride” flowing from “fullness of bread,” caused by the fertility of the soil (Ge 13:10), and producing “idleness.”  (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)
Pride: which was the sin of the devils, and the cause of their ruin; the sin of our first parents, by which they fell, and destroyed themselves, and their posterity; and is the prevailing, governing, sin of human nature: it has been the ruin of kingdoms and states, of cities and particular persons; a sin hateful to God, and destructive to man (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible)

Gluttony

The land of Sodom was very fruitful before it was destroyed; it was like the garden of the Lord, Genesis 13:10; it brought forth plentifully, so that there was great fulness of provision, of all sorts of food, which is meant by bread: this, considered in itself, was not sinful, but a blessing; it was the Lord’s mercy and goodness to them that they had such plenty; but it was their sin that they abused it; luxury and intemperance, eating and drinking to excess, are here meant; which led on to that sin, and kindled the flames of it, and were the fuel to it, which has its name from them; and, besides, this fulness of good things enjoyed by them was the source of their pride, and served to increase that, as before mentioned (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible)

Laziness

abundance of idleness—literally, “the secure carelessness of ease” or idleness. (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)
Abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters; or, “peace of rest” (b); prosperity and ease, security and quietness, at leisure, and without labour; two words are used to express the same thing, and to denote, as Kimchi observes, the abundance of it: sloth and idleness, as they often arise from the goodness and fruitfulness of a country, said fulness of provision, so they are the cause of much sin and wickedness; for, if persons are not employed in some business or another, either of the head or hand, they will be doing evil (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible)

If our lives have the same diagnosis of Sodom: pride, gluttony, and laziness, we are going to end up with the same symptoms of Sodom: rape, torture, and murder.

For Jerusalem will stumble,
and Judah will fall,
because they speak out against the LORD and refuse to obey him.
They provoke him to his face.
The very look on their faces gives them away.
They display their sin like the people of Sodom
and don’t even try to hide it.
They are doomed!
They have brought destruction upon themselves.
Tell the godly that all will be well for them.
They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!
But the wicked are doomed,
for they will get exactly what they deserve.
(Isaiah 3:8-11)

What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem,
and you who feel secure in Samaria!
You are famous and popular in Israel,
and people go to you for help.
But go over to Calneh
and see what happened there.
Then go to the great city of Hamath
and down to the Philistine city of Gath.
You are no better than they were,
and look at how they were destroyed.
You push away every thought of coming disaster,
but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer.
How terrible for you who sprawl on ivory beds
and lounge on your couches,
eating the meat of tender lambs from the flock
and of choice calves fattened in the stall.
You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp
and fancy yourselves to be great musicians like David.
You drink wine by the bowlful
and perfume yourselves with fragrant lotions.
You care nothing about the ruin of your nation.
Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives.
Suddenly, all your parties will end.
(Amos 6:1-7)

• Your sins have separated you from God
• Have you hardened your heart against God like Pharaoh?

Cure: this doesn’t have to be the end of the story because God is a God of love and redemption. The good news is that God has already paid the debt for your sins so you can be clean. You don’t have to continue living with an evil heart of pride, gluttony, and laziness. He is knocking at your heart’s door right now. Won’t you let him in? Please read What is the gospel?