On which two ancient cities did God rain brimstone and fire? If your answer is Sodom and Gomorrah, you are right. But if you think that God was all eager to destroy the two cities, you are wrong!
God wasn’t willing at all. He was not on a sin hunt. He was on a righteousness hunt so that He could spare the cities (see Genesis 18:23–32). And I believe that if Abraham had asked God, “What if You can find just one righteous man?” God’s answer would have been the same: “I will not destroy the place for the sake of one righteous man.”
Today, the righteousness of one Man—Jesus—has come. Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our justification. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our sins against us!
Therefore, no judgment will fall on you today because it fell on Jesus 2,000 years ago at Calvary. And if God was gracious enough to remove Lot and his family before the judgment fell (see Genesis 19:12–22), how much more will He do for you who are no longer under judgment!
And because God does not judge you, don’t be like Lot’s wife, who became a pillar of salt when she turned around to look at the brimstone and fire (see Genesis 19:24–26). She wanted to see God’s judgment, even though the angels had warned, “Don’t look back, lest you be destroyed” (see Genesis 19:17).
So don’t be judgment-focused and look back at the sins you have committed. God is not against you. He is for you and on your side. He remembers that He has already judged and punished your sins in the body of His Son. And because He is faithful to His Son and to what His Son has done, He will never judge or punish you. Any trouble that you might have today is not from Him. But He will show you a way of escape because He is on your side. He loves you and has your best interests at heart.
Beloved, God is not out to get you. He is out to bless you. And He wants you blessed more than you can ever ask or imagine (see Ephesians 3:20)!
"I'M HERE TO TELL YOU" EDITOR'S NOTE
When someone has bee exonerated, they have been fully forgiven and are under no obligation for any misdeed. No obligation. Fully absolved. Forgiven. What Jesus did on the cross, He did it for you. When you accept His free gift of redemption and His sacrifice as if it was you dying for your sins, then you are free. There are a lot of courtroom dramas on TV. There is nothing like the Judge of the world saying to you "You are free, go and sin no more." It's funny, even though it seems people today are less responsible than ever, they still feel the doom of their actions and know that they will be judged and can only look forward to condemnation. What the world needs today is love. Sweet love. Love is right in front of us. Jesus stands knocking on the door. What He has done reconciles us back to the Father and exonerates us from any judgment. Today, ask God to allow you to feel the freedom and show you how to live free from guilt and condemnation. Pray that you finally and fully understand what it means to be fully exonerated.
