2nd Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.
It is a solemn statement that we make, that many of our kids who have grown up in church, listening to sermons, attending Sabbath school and pathfinders, will be found destitute of salvation, if great changes in their thinking aren’t made. The story of Lot’s kids is another graphic reminder that we are not saved by families, but everyone who has reached the age of accountability would have to answer to God for themselves.
It is true that God has given us promises in the Bible that we can hang on to, even when things may not seem too promising in the children’s spirituality, but as was stated in a previous Bible study, Jesus could only do so much for persons. He does not force the will of any, but He does everything else that can be done, to bring the kids to a realization of their need of Him. Let’s read:
Isaiah 49:24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
25 But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contends with thee, and I will save thy children.
God sets in motion opportunities and experiences that will favor repentance and will bring children to a place where they can appreciate the blessings of salvation. In addition to the well-directed efforts of parents, God often sends His angels on missions of mercy to woo and encourage the wayward child.
God does this proactively for He knows that the kids do not naturally have it within themselves to turn to Him, and therefore He takes steps that will bring to their minds, the value and meaning of what Jesus has done for them on Calvary. But parents have a definite part to play in the matter, for the salvation of the kids, has a lot to do with parents working in harmony with the instructions God has given.
However, it’s a sad fact that too many parents have come up short in one way or another, for different reasons, and even though we know that there is no such thing as a perfect parent, we must do our best by God’s grace to foster spiritual growth in the kids by precept and example.
In this, the father should take the lead in union with the mother because a good example in two is better than a good example in one, and when both parents are on the same page spiritually, they can present a united front, in love, to their kids, without worrying whether each other will give contradictory precepts to the kids. Let’s read:
Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Lot was partially responsible for the ultimate loss of his kids because of that one selfish decision to move to the city, which had more economic privileges and opportunities than the hill country which he had left for his uncle Abraham. That one decision became a game-changer, not only for himself, but for his entire household.
When parents make the decision to move from one location to the next, for purely economic reasons, without giving due consideration to what effect the new environment will have on their children a grave mistake could be made, and in some cases it would affect the modes of thought and action that the kids will ultimately adopt for life.
The spiritual advantages of any location should be of paramount importance when planning to make a move, for if the new location is rife with immorality, crime, and drugs, the kids will be exposed to evils of no ordinary character, that they will encounter on a daily basis.
And since it is a law of the mind that by beholding, we become changed, the gravitational pull of evils could eventually suck them into a vacuum and leave them in a very dark place spiritually.
This is exactly what happened to Lot’s kids because as they attended public schools in Sodom, they had to intermingle with the students and teachers, who were teaching and practicing gender neutrality and alternative lifestyles. Day in and day out their young minds were bombarded with philosophies that set off conflicts within their minds, and it became too difficult for them to swim upstream.
We should never be deluded as to the long-lasting effects of educational systems which do incorporate anti-Christ philosophies and teachings into all their curriculums, for the kids are brainwashed with evils on a daily basis and evil is likely to be reproduced in their overall outlook on life. Just as iron sharpeneth iron, the influence of others often rubs off on kids without their knowing or being aware it.
Thus, Lot’s kids gradually came to question all that they had been taught in Sabbath school, at the only church in Sodom where Lot was an elder.
According to the scriptures, many of the children in Sodom and Gomorrah’s schools, from elementary to university, had already adopted the gay lifestyles of the adults of their towns, and over a period of time, Lot’s kids began to view the activities of their peers as being the norm, and thus their consciences became blunted as to the gravity of the evils. Let’s read:
Genesis 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter.
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
Not even the Sabbath school quarterly Lot used for worship could counteract the teachings dispensed in Sodom’s schools, for whereas the family worship in Lot’s home might have lasted for only a few brief moments, the education of his kids in Sodom lasted for several hours, in so much that those lessons in their quarterly were overwhelmed with unscriptural philosophies from their teachers and professors.
It’s worthy of note that satan is a diligent protracted and deliberate worker, who will often employ those tools such as gradualism, peer pressure, seniority, censure, applause, and heckling to achieve his goals and thus, in the environment of Sodom’s schools, it would have been practically insane for Lot’s kids to even mention anything religious, for sheer fear of embarrassment, or even retribution.
When children are brought up in those educational environments where the name of Jesus is anathema they often become too scared to stand up for right, for fear of isolation, and heckling from those other students who are going with the flow. Thus, just as it was in Lot’s day, many of our kids have gradually come to see nothing wrong with those alternative lifestyles peddled in high and low places.
But just because Lot failed to do his job as a father doesn’t mean that such an excuse will hold water when it came time for his kids to give an account to God for after coming to the age of reason they were required like everyone else, to search the scriptures for themselves, to find out whether those things are so.
God made several attempts to reach them in former years, but they had become so ingratiated in Sodom that their mode of thought and action reflected the very fabric of the twin cities. Just as those men of Sodom refused to listen to Lot, when he reproved them for their unnatural behaviors, just so Lot’s kids refused to listen to him when the final warning was given.
The men of Sodom made fun of Lot, and the same attitudes were found in his children, for they also made fun of him. One of the spinoffs of education in unscriptural philosophies is that persons develop an attitude of skepticism, and with the passage of time they too often come to think of themselves as being more knowledgeable than God and also their parents.
When educational systems teach unscriptural things or refute what God has given to the human family, a pride of opinion usually takes root in the heart, and the humble attitudes encouraged in God’s word are often exchanged for a “know it all attitude”, which often tends to look down on religion as something for the uneducated.
Thus, when Lot was sent with the final warning to his kids, he was met with scorn and rebuttal at what they considered as uneducated, unfounded fears. It is true that in our day, some kids who have grown up among the remnant people of God, now come to view the second coming of Christ as something not worth their consideration.
But little did Lot’s children know that this would be the last time they would see their father. Nor did it dawn upon them that mercy’s doors would forever be closed, as they made fun of that lone elder, who preached that last sermon.
One of the reasons for Lot’s utter failure is because his daughters had become unequally yoked with the men of Sodom, and they exerted such an influence upon them that it caused them to make light of any religious matters.
When persons become unequally yoked with folks of different persuasions, the things of eternal value are not usually held in preeminence, and there is a tendency to lessen the importance of those great truths which point to eternal realities. Thus, it was that the husbands of Lot’s children took the lead in unbelief, and the wives followed in their footsteps. Let’s read:
Genesis 19:14 And Lot went out, and spoke unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 160] The strangers whom Lot had endeavored to protect, now promised to protect him, and to save also all the members of his family who would flee with him from the wicked city. Lot went out to warn his children. He repeated the words of the angels, “Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city.”
But he seemed to them as one that mocked. They laughed at what they called his superstitious fears. His daughters were influenced by their husbands. They were well enough off where they were. They could see no evidence of danger. Everything was just as it had been. They had great possessions, and they could not believe it possible that beautiful Sodom would be destroyed.
Another reason for the utter failure of Lot’s sermon is that he did not really believe what he preached as was evidenced by his delay and many excuses when it came time for him leave. One of the reasons why some fail to reach the kids in our day is that some of the parents do not really believe the three angels’ messages.
They may talk it, they preach it, or they may be able to explain those graphic charts, depicting the 2300- day prophecy, but by their lifestyles, behaviors, and choices of entertainment, some parents show that they really do not believe. If parents really desire to impress upon the minds of our kids, the urgency of the moment, we would need to act like it.
The laissez-faire attitudes concerning religion, the worldly-mindedness, and our infatuation with the material things of this life, the latest fashions, and the movies of the day, reveal, that like Lot, many do not really believe. And that hesitancy, and a lack of conviction often spawns an attitude of skepticism, scorn, and ridicule, just as it was with Lot’s kids. Let’s read:
Genesis 19:15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:
19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die.
20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
But even though God had succeeded in pulling Lot’s children out of Sodom, He did not succeed in pulling Sodom out of them, for their minds had become so brainwashed by the prevailing immorality in those twin cities, that their consciences were permanently damaged and blunted, so that it was quite difficult for them to distinguish between right and wrong.
Their sad after-history teaches us, in graphic terms, the dangers of becoming too ingratiated in the life, teachings, and philosophies of the godless, for it is a fact that long after we have been removed from the adverse effects of such influences, the fallout could still linger on in the mind, only awaiting the right set of circumstances to converge, and to produce more evil. Let’s read:
Genesis 19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth.
32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
37 And the first born bare a son and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38 And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
Some parents focus primarily on leaving a material inheritance for their children, however the far more exceeding eternal weight of glory and the immortal inheritance is not given such priority, and thus, in all of the decisions and transactions made, materialism figures prominently, but spirituality and religion is found to be languishing.
We must now speak directly to the kids in our day, who are being inundated with false narratives, as it pertains to sexuality, gender neutrality, alternative lifestyles, neutral bathrooms, and the whole nine yards of distorted immorality which threatens to severely and permanently impair their discernment between right and wrong.
There still remains something such as absolute truth which is to be found in God’s word and even if there has been a dereliction of duty on the part of parents it is your God-given right, and sacred duty to search the scriptures for yourself, so that your relationship with God won’t be tethered through your parents.
Lot was saved, but his kids were lost, and in our day the same could be true, but it does not have to be so. If children were to ask God for a mind to study, understand, and obey His word, He will respond in the positive, and grant such a request, because this movement was started by young people, and God is willing to use them again to finish his work.
Daniel and the three Hebrew boys were quite young when they entered the universities of Babylon, yet they did not allow false teachings to compromise their understanding of truth. Through a study and practice of God’s word, they kept their consciences tender and sensitive, so that they were able to read between the lines when faced with temptation.
Similarly, the children in our day do not have to succumb to prevailing views on morality, where the right and wrong have become subjective. Personal opinion must be made to answer to it is written and relativism, and all the other isms should conform to a thus saith The lord.
Therefore, be not afraid dear youth to stand up for right; be not intimidated by professors who might teach error, and do not be scared to challenge their philosophies on gender neutrality. If we become afraid to stand for something, we’ll fall for anything, but God has promised to give us a strong mind that could both discern and decide, in matters pertaining to truth and duty.
We therefore end with two passages of scripture that should encourage Lot and his kids in our day so that the fatal mistakes made in days of old would not be repeated in our experiences. If parents and children would fortify their minds with the word of God, we would have an active reference point to guide our feet through the maze of unscriptural ideologies that have permeated society. Let’s read:
Titus 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
2nd Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
God Bless!