2 Peter 2:7 KJV
[7] “and delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:”
The phrase “just Lot” identifies Lot as a righteous man, not because of his living, but because of his standing before God. The righteousness of God is rooted in God’s grace and not in human merit. Despite Lot’s compromise and poor decisions, God was still faithful to keep His promises. Lot knew the difference between right and wrong. Lot knew what it was like to live by faith, and he knew what it was like to live in the flesh. The story of Lot’s life can be summed up in the fact that God consistently judged the ungodly while preserving the faithful. Sodom and Gomorrah fell under the judgment of God, but Lot was delivered because of his faith.
It is rather shocking to think that Lot is in heaven. He is a clear illustration of a man who was saved “so as by fire.” There is nothing about Lot’s life in Sodom that tells us that he was a believer. What a sad commentary on this man’s life. He knew the ways of God, yet he lived in such a way that he could not even persuade his own family to believe. This is the tragic testimony of many today who may be saved, but they live like they are lost. They do not live a righteous life before those they come in contact with. This will be a fearful reality at the Great White Throne Judgment when souls are condemned to the Lake of Fire. We who are saved will be present at this judgment to witness that awful event. Can you imagine the people who will be cast into this terrible lake, looking at others who were saved but never witnessed to them? Many will look on in terror and fear as they cry out to believers who could have pointed them in the right direction.
Dear reader, it is possible to remain righteous while living in this sinful world. Even though Sodom’s culture was saturated with lawlessness, sensuality, and rebellion against God, Lot could have been a witness to them. I understand that he should never have gone to Sodom, but his greater failure is that he was not a witness to those in the city. He went to Sodom to live a worldly life, not to be a missionary. He completely abandoned his faith, yet God did not abandon him. It is hard to believe that Lot was a saved man, but according to this verse, he was a man of faith.
Lot was “vexed” with the filthy conversations of the wicked. You see, Lot lived in Sodom, but he was miserable on the inside. He experienced inner torment and moral anguish because inwardly, he was a righteous man, but outwardly, he was not. Dear reader, if you are truly saved, you cannot enjoy the worldly ways like you once did when you were lost.