God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. What were the sins of these two cities?
Let’s read 2nd Peter 2:6 and Jude 7 from the New King James Version: “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly…as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having GIVEN THEMSELVES OVER TO SEXUAL IMMORALITY AND GONE AFTER STRANGE FLESH, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
As you can see from Jude 7, the particular sin of these two cities was “sexual immorality.” The Holy Spirit then adds that they had “gone after strange flesh,” which means they weren’t just guilty of fornication or adultery between a man and a woman, but they engaged in “homosexuality.” This is confirmed when we look at the historical account of this sin in Genesis 19. In verses 1-3 we see that two angels, in the form of two men, came to the house of Lot and he invited them to spend the night. Then we read the solemn account of their sin in verses 4-5, “Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us THAT WE MAY HAVE RELATIONS WITH THEM’” (NASB). We read that “all the people from every quarter” were involved, so this was not a “secret sin” but one that had been practiced and accepted by all! God refers to this as “going after STRANGE FLESH,” for homosexuality is NOT NATURAL. God designed sexual relations to be between a MAN and a WOMAN.
There are those today who say, “But this happened in Old Testament times and God changed His mind on this issue and He doesn’t condemn it in the New Testament.” The problem with that view is that we began by quoting God’s condemnation of this sin in the New Testament! We can also add Romans 1:26-27 to those verses, “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even THEIR WOMEN EXCHANGED THE NATURAL USE FOR WHAT IS AGAINST NATURE. Likewise also the men, LEAVING THE NATURAL USE OF THE WOMAN, BURNED IN LUST FOR ONE ANOTHER, MEN WITH MEN committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” It is clear from this passage that God not only condemns “homosexual acts” between men, but also between women.
In closing, it is sad and tragic to think of how these sins are not only ACCEPTED in today’s society, but they are looked upon as NORMAL. I just saw on the news last night that some schools in America are handing out surveys to their students (as young as 11 years old) that deal with their sexual orientation (without the permission of their parents). In this survey they ask the boys if they are GAY and the girls if they are a LESBIAN, and it is obvious that they are teaching them that this is perfectly normal. Those who do accept these sins as normal should consider what we saw in 2nd Peter 2:6 and Jude 7 where God says that He “made Sodom and Gomorrah an example to those who afterward would live ungodly.” In light of what we have seen from Scripture on this subject and how our culture not only accepts this sinful lifestyle but encourages it, I would close with a solemn warning. God IS going to judge those who practice these sins when His Son returns to judge the world and I believe the acceptance of these sins is a “sign of the times.” Luke 17:28-30 declares, “Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot…on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. EVEN SO WILL IT BE IN THE DAY WHEN THE SON OF MAN IS REVEALED.” (295.1) (DO)