A VEXED SOUL!

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

A VEXED SOUL!

2 Peter 2:7-9

7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

           Peter gives us a curious picture of a “righteous” man in an evil world. Few people think of Lot as a righteous man. His choices certainly do not present themselves as righteous for he chose to pitch his tent toward Sodom! His lifestyle certainly did not present itself as righteous for he offered his own daughters to the lustful crowd banging on his door. His outcome was horribly flawed for, in drunkenness, he impregnated both his daughters in a cave!

           Yet the Apostle Peter referred to him as “that righteous man.” Where did Lot get his righteousness and, perhaps a better question, where did he store that righteousness?

           Lot’s righteousness was received as a gift. It was the righteousness of God. It was not the product of his good works and he did not receive it in some religious ritual. He stored it DEEP within his soul.

           The original language indicates that “filthy conversation” actually means a behavior full of vices. This was the world in which “just” Lot lived and, though it may not have been visible on the outside, inside Lot was grieved by it.

           The good news both for Lot and for us is that “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations.” God went to extraordinary lengths to remove Lot from his condemned city. He sent angels who pulled and chased the family away from the damnation and destruction. God also knows how to deliver you!

Dear Lord, our choices are not always righteous. Our lifestyle would not always be called righteous either but our soul has been made clean by the blood of Jesus. We are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit and we can confidently expect deliverance from this evil world. Thank you, Lord. AMEN