In the summer of 2020, I attended a retreat at the Billy Graham Cove led by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. His teaching very much changed how I view decisions in life. As I worked through the gospel of John, I saw many of the same scenarios that were presented by Dr. Kaiser: What is the righteous choice?
Dr. Kaiser worked through the life of Abraham over five days of teaching. On the second day of the retreat, Dr. Kaiser commented on Lot’s decision to pitch his tent toward Sodom and how this was not a righteous choice. For the duration of the retreat, I could not shake his comment on Lot, and it ended up coloring how I received the rest of his teaching all the way through Friday, even though he did not again refer to righteous choices.
When Lot and Abraham stood overlooking the land before them, Lot made a decision for abundance and careless ease. Ezekiel 16:48-50 He forgot God and did not regard his own righteousness. It was a selfish decision which led to a continual slide further into sin until he is on the brink of some of the most heinous acts we can imagine. Initially, we are told that he pitched his tent toward Sodom. However, when the angels come to rescue Lot and his family, Lot is in Sodom, offers his daughters to appease a mob, and his wife turns back. Then, his daughters commit heinous sin which leads to enemy tribes who would later fight against Israel.
Chances are, Lot knew of the potential for famine in Canaan, and the landscape of the eastern land toward Sodom was too enticing to pass up in spite of the potential for compromise. His decision led to moral lapse and being unequally yoked with an evil culture. Was this his intent or did he not seem to consider it as a problem? There is evidence, Dr. Kaiser suggested, for Lot having taken the symbol of the covenant given to Abraham. Did Lot want to be righteous, but did his decisions undermine this desire?
On this hilltop, Abraham had already been promised Canaan. Why did he let Lot choose first? This was a heavy question for me because it exposes just how freely Lot made this decision. Abraham trusted God. Lot was absolutely free to choose Canaan, and he was condemned by his own decision to go toward Sodom.
Can you see now “the righteous choice”? Lot’s was a free decision, void of any pre-determination by God or influence by Abraham. God may know what our decision will be, but He waits on us.
God ratified Lot’s decision, and He does the same with us. We are free to choose to move toward God or move toward evil. There is nothing stopping us from either way. If we choose righteousness, then it necessarily involves surrender of certain things to God and risking what we possess by placing obedience to God first (i.e., Isaac on the altar, another righteous choice). The righteous choice requires a great deal of trust in God for a good outcome. We trust in the justice and goodness of God.
The God who promises and calls us to lay everything on the altar – including that which might lead to His promises being fulfilled – is unchangeable!! Hallelujah! Abraham believed this firmly when leading Isaac to the altar. God said to Abraham when he put Isaac on the altar, “Now I know…” But God already knew. God tests us so that WE may know that He is God and that we may strengthen our trust in Him. It had to be solidified in Abraham, not in God. God tests us for our own edification, not His. Abraham made a righteous decision, and it evidenced his complete faith in God even to the point of putting all of God’s promises on the altar.
Abraham trusted that God would give him Canaan even if Lot chose it.
God ever stands before us waiting on us to choose Him and to make the righteous choice. From Genesis 12 to 25, there are at least 8 instances where a righteous choice was made or could have been made, and the decisions were all freely made. The righteous choice looks something like this:
• Puts worship of God first
• Trusts in God in the difficult things
• Does not compromise with the world or give in to temptation for careless ease and abundance at the expense of righteousness or at the expense of the needs of others
• Maintains the substance of the covenant with God and does not just go through the motions or make it appear as though he or she is righteous.
• Tells the truth, even if it results in harm to self. Truthfulness, even by avoiding half-truths, respects the other person who has to make a decision based on the evidence they have. If they receive half-truths from us, we fail to respect their need for information and fail to respect them as a person. Half-truths and whole lies are not good!
• Obeys God even if to the point of giving up the very possession God promised. Abraham obeyed to the point of placing Isaac on the altar.
• Brings God into major decisions and seeks both to honor God in the decision and invites God to lead to the right decision. Does not rely on self alone to make the decision.
• Has a servant’s heart and surrenders self to the needs of others, even at great expense. Walter Kaiser painted an image of Rebeccah with a 1.5 to 2 gallon vessel to get water for Abraham’s servant and freely agreed to water the camels – the servant’s prayer. He said a camel can drink 35 gallons of water at a time after long travel, and there were 10 camels. That comes out to roughly 175 to 180 trips back and forth to the well for water. What a servant she was, and what a righteous choice!
• God waits for us to make the righteous choice. This is an extremely important point. Genesis 15:16, Jeremiah 18:7-10, 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. It is a decision made freely. Failing to make the righteous choice results in a gradual slipping away from God and widening of the separation between us and God until we find ourselves in Sodom and at risk for judgment. Choosing righteousness brings us closer to God and results in justification, acceptance before God, the bounty of His blessings, and receiving His promises even if we first have to put them all on the altar.
If we do not choose righteousness, we are deserving of judgment. God ratifies our decision, marks us for judgment, and takes away the gain we selfishly try to preserve. It is of God’s justice and mercy that we are warned of doom and judgment and given space to turn toward Him. Lot’s judgment was fully deserved, as was the judgment on Sodom. After 430 years, judgment on the Amorite (Genesis 15:16) was deserved, and again Jerusalem deserved its punishment in the gospels.
If there is going to be revival, yes, the Holy Spirit must be at work. However, I am more convinced now than ever that God is waiting on us to turn toward Him first through righteous choices.
Throughout the gospel of John, we are confronted again and again with the righteous choice. This is the opportunity or instruction to do what is right provided by Christ, and then He waits for a decision. The unrighteous choice condemns us in the moment we make it, while the righteous choice leads to favor with God.
As we work our way through the gospel of John, I would invite you to ask in each passage, “What is the righteous choice?” Once you have a handle on the answer, then ask, “How can I make righteous decisions in my own life?” For, in the gospel of John, the instruction of Christ and scenes with Christ have a timeless application. In John 13:34, Christ commanded the disciples and us to love one another as He loved the disciples. This verse thrusts Christ’s teaching in the gospel of John on us and places the burden on us to make the righteous choice.
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