Introduction: You remember the discussion, right? It is one of those passages that lingers in the soul. It’s Genesis 18. It’s where Abraham pleads with God. He intercedes on behalf of sinners and a sinful civilization. And God teaches a mighty powerful lesson.

Bottom line up front: There is none righteous. That is why we must look to God, not to man, for rescue.

Here’s the second half of the chapter:

²² So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³ Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ 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? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” ²⁶ And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

²⁷ Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” ³¹ He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” ³² Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” ³³ And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. (Genesis 18:22-33, ESV)

The type: Typologies are overt here. Abraham typifies the one who interceded on behalf of sinners to God. He was the intercessor/mediator/go-between. He loved his people, but he knew that they were just like he was, sinful.

There’s the revelation of latent works-righteousness that’s typified here, too, and their utter sinfulness to God. In his pleading on behalf of Sodom, Abraham starts at 50 supposedly righteous men. Then it’s 45. Then it’s lower still. Then again. On and on Abraham lowers the standard. Why? Because he knows no one is sufficient. The lesson is clear: none is righteous. We need to look away from ourselves, away from man-centeredness, to be saved. We must flee to God in the gospel.

Connections: If you are a Christian, you are likely involved in a church. But if we are honest, how often do we see man-centeredness in the church? Rather than a God-gifted and qualified plurality of elders to shepherd the flock of God, what can often happen is that undiscerning sheep are misled by deceptive hirelings whose god is themselves. What we are required to do biblically is to look away from ourselves, away from man-centeredness, to be saved. We must flee to God in the gospel.

New Testament Connection: I was in 2 Timothy this morning and Paul is so clear about what’s on the line. In verse 10 and following of 2 Timothy 3, Paul writes this:

 ¹⁰ You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹ my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. ¹² Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it ¹⁵ and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:10-17, ESV)

Paul tells Timothy lessons Abraham, too, learned in Genesis 18–that none is righteous, that we need to look away from ourselves, away from man-centeredness, to be saved. We must flee to God in the gospel.

Paul tells Timothy the following fundamentals:

• Persecution of faithful Christians is unavoidable (vv. 11-12)
• Impostors are pervasive, and will only grow more brazen (v. 13)
• Impostors not only deceive others, but they deceive themselves. They are blind guides. (v. 13)
• Look away from man-centered worship, and turn to God in Christ (v. 15).

Teaching: Abraham learned that God would not destroy the righteous. You know why? There weren’t any righteous. God did spare Lot and two of his children out of sheer grace. In fact, Peter would call Lot righteous in his (Peter’s) writings (2 Peter 2:7). Lot, though gravely sinful, did intercede on behalf of the angels, trying to prevent their rape by the homosexual rapists in Sodom. The principle, I would argue, is not that Lot was righteous (sinless) but that he fought the good fight in his day, though imperfectly. Like Abraham, he, too, knew he was not righteous. He, too, had to look away from himself, away from man-centeredness, to be saved. He fled to God in the gospel.

Encouragement: Abraham pleaded on behalf of those he loved. He was used by God in God’s mission of redeeming a people for himself. Paul, too, pleaded on behalf of those he loved. The letters to Timothy are among the most beautiful letters in all of Scripture and world literature. Paul loves his child in the faith. So he does what? He tells him the truth–to be discerning, to be wise, to not be sheeple who follow impostors. Why? Because, Paul writes, those are “evil people and impostors [who] go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (v. 13). Abraham interceded; Lot interceded; Paul interceded; and Timothy went on to intercede, too. But they’re all types of the only Interceder, the Lord Jesus, who bore the wrath so that all of us who flee to Him might be spared. And to do that, we must look away from man-centered thinking, man-centered worship, man-centered impostors, and look to the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-3).