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For the Sake of 1

Pastor Jeremy Schultz
July 25, 2010

Attending the National Youth Gathering of the LCMS in New Orleans last week was an awesome experience! Gathering under the theme, "We Believe," our 16 high school youth and leaders worshipped alongside of 25,000 others who were just their age and who believed just the same. We spent five days soaking in God's Word through song and speakers and break-out sessions and even servant events. But one of the additional experiences we shared was a tour of the Hurricane Katrina damage.

It's been five years already since Katrina made the levees around the city swell and burst sending the surging flood waters into the bowl of the city. Five years! And our tour guide still couldn't talk about it without getting emotional. She told us that normally when hurricanes come, they hunker down and have parties. She smiled and said that the people of NO are always in the mood for a party. But Katrina wasn't normal. We heard the story of one lady who decided that she wasn't going to leave because she just had a new litter of pups. But when the flood waters came, it carried her pups away. We heard about another man who was trapped on the roof of his house for three days waiting for rescue. Even our tour guide told us that she is only one of three on her entire street that has come back. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated a large portion of the Big Easy. It reminds me of our Bible story for today.

In Genesis 18, God tells Abraham that He is about to destroy the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin is so very grave. And the outcry against them has come to the Lord.

(At this point, let me make something clear. I am not equating the city of NO with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Neither am I equating the sin of those cities with sin found in NO. And I say this because five years ago, we all heard a lot of people make those comparisons. But we simply can't do that. We only know what GOD reveals to us. And God never revealed to us why Katrina did so much damage. But God did reveal what that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and He told Abraham exactly why.)

And immediately, Abraham begins bargaining for their lives. Go to an auction sometime where you see items for sale. And you'll also see and hear a fast-talking auctioneer there to make sure that the price is always going up. But Abraham's number goes down. For the sake of any righteous that may be found in Sodom, Abraham's number continues to drop. "[Lord], suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it" (vs. 24)? The Lord then responds by telling Abraham that for the sake of 50 righteous, He would spare the whole place. Abraham presses on. What about 45? 40? 30? 20? 10? And each time, God responds by saying that for the sake of even 10, He would not destroy it.

Abraham knew a couple of things about God. #1 – Abraham knew that God is just. Abraham knew that God would never sweep away the righteous with the wicked. He knew that God would never do such a thing. God is a just God. But Abraham also knew that in justice, God would punish sin. So Abraham does not try to defend Sodom and Gomorrah. He doesn't try to rationalize away their sin. He doesn't try to make excuses for them. In fact, Abraham doesn't even mention their sin. He is speaking to God on the basis of His justice. Abraham is counting on the fact that God will surely not sweep away the righteous with the wicked. So what if there are 50, God? What if there are 10? God will surely bring punishment upon the people for their sins. God is just. Abraham knew that. And we should too.

Yes, God hated the sin of these original sin-cities. He hated their sin of homosexuality, just as He hates the sin of any sexual perversion. He is holy. The people of these towns were so twisted and turned in on themselves that according to Ezekiel 16 they were very prideful. And though they were very prosperous, they did not help the poor and needy. God hates sin. God hates all sin. He hates my sin and your sin – whatever it may be. But notice what I did not say, I did not say that God hates the sinner. Because He doesn't. He doesn't hate the sinner at all, but would freely receive all who would come to Him. You see, this is the other thing that Abraham knew about God.

#2 – Abraham knew that God is gracious. God had just reaffirmed His covenant with Abraham that He would be His God and the God of all who would believe in Him. God had promised a son to Abraham and his wife in their old age. God had forgiven Abraham for some very foolish and sinful actions of the past. So Abraham knew that God is gracious and full of mercy. He knew that even in His justice, God still thinks about and longs to have mercy. This is why Abraham was so bold to speak with God. Abraham was not really haggling, but he was praying with the persistence of a man, who knows the tender and gracious heart of God.

In the New Testament teaching on prayer, Jesus shares the illustration of a man who comes knocking on the door of his friend's house at midnight, because he has a need. And Jesus says, "I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will arise and give him whatever he needs" (Luke 11:8). So you see the reason that Abraham prays like he does is because he knows that God is more than a friend. He knows that God is a loving heavenly Father. He knows that God is not only just, but is gracious and merciful for the sake of 1.

That 1 is the one Lord Jesus Christ, about whom we confess, "We Believe!" That one Lord Jesus Christ was sent for each one of us that by believing we might be saved.

God is just and in His justice He demanded punishment for sin. In His justice He threatened you and me with death now and forever. Yet even in His justice, God still thinks about and longs to have mercy. So God sent His Son to the rescue you and me from a most hellish destruction. God sent Jesus to the rescue. God's grace is so magnificent that He satisfies His own justice by punishing not you and me for our sins, but His own Son. That's what was happening on the cross. On the cross, we see how serious of an offense our sins are. And we see the justice of God on display. But we also see God's grace in the fact that Jesus took our place. He took our punishment. He rescued us from everything that we, by our sins, deserve.

And now in Jesus Christ, we are the righteous ones. As Colossians 2 says, "having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him, through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses...God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us...nailing it to the cross" (vs. 12-14).

This righteousness is not on our own. It comes from Christ, in whom you have been baptized and raised to life through faith. Together with me, you were as good as dead, but for the sake of the one Jesus, you have been saved! Jesus is the one who has saved you and made you righteous. And He would have come if only for you. Not just for 50 or 45 or 40, 30, 20 or 10...but for the sake of one – for you, Jesus has come.

You see, this is the kind of God in whom you trust and believe. The kind of God you pray to on behalf of others. Our God is both just and filled with grace. Our God is serious about sin...but He is so gracious that He sent His One Son for you. This is the kind of God you come to. This is the God who came to you, for the sake of 1. Amen.