The message of the Bible is a message of salvation, a message of salvation for fallen and ruined man. As God speaks in his word, he speaks to bring before the hearts and minds of men and women, young people and children, the glorious and wonderful news of salvation, which he provides through his son. Indeed, if we wanted to summarize the message of the Bible down to one simple statement, we could say the message of God's word and the message of scripture is salvation for the sinner through the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation for the sinner through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the message of the Bible. This is the central theme of scripture. Salvation for sinners through Jesus Christ. There are many people and there are many churches and they will read the Bible. They will even quote from the Bible. And they will draw moral and ethical lessons from the scriptures. And there's many people who behave in this way. They talk about the good book. and they draw certain moral and ethical lessons, which in and of themselves are not wrong. But this is what they do. They simply draw out moral and ethical lessons from Scripture, but at the same time they sadly ignore and turn a blind eye to the central truth, the golden thread and theme of Scripture. This is a book that sets before us salvation for the sinner in the Lord Jesus Christ. And a quick overview of scripture will clearly reveal this. If we think right back to what God said after man fell into sin, God spoke and his word came graciously to Adam and Eve. And what God said was this, the seed of the woman, and that of course is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is uniquely the seed of the woman born of a virgin. The seed of the woman would bruise or crush the serpent's head. The serpent, of course, is a reference to the devil as he deceived Eve. There we have, at the very commencement of Scripture, the glorious message of salvation through the Son of God. This was the first time God spoke to man after the fall. And yet, what was the message that God delivered to man? Salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. The seed of the woman, the one born of the virgin, would come and he would bruise, he would crush the serpent's head. And He was setting before man salvation itself through His Son. If we think of Noah, building the ark and saving his family. What is this teaching us? What is the whole account of the ark revealing to us? Again, it's teaching us of salvation. Salvation from the judgment of God. Salvation in God's provision. Because that's what the ark was. It was God's provision. God's gracious provision for a sinful world. And of course, Noah and his family were saved in the ark. And it brings forth this truth. Salvation in God's provision. Again, think of Israel in Egypt and how God saved them from Pharaoh and from bondage and slavery in Egypt. God delivered them through the blood of the Lamb. But the message again is all very clear and very emphatic. God is the God of salvation. And he's showing us, he's revealing to us, how we can be delivered and set free from the bondage and slavery of sin through the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Lamb. Remember what John the Baptist said, he pointed to Christ and said, behold the Lamb of God. And so the whole account of Israel being delivered out of Egypt sets before us again this great central theme of scripture, salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ coming into the New Testament. as we read of how the Lord Jesus entered this world, and how he came and became man and walked among us. As this happened, the Lord Jesus Christ reveals to us the very purpose for which he came. He says in Luke 19 verse 10, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. As this book reveals to us the person, the great person, the glorious person, the work of Jesus Christ, it is bring before us the message of salvation. He's the savior and he's come to save and that's what Christ preached. That's what Christ revealed in his earthly ministry. I am the savior and he's come and come to seek and to save that which is lost and then in the book of Revelation, final book of the Bible as God's word comes to a close once more, we're is that of salvation. Salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. The final invitation God gives to man in the closing words of scripture is this. Come. Come, and let him that heareth say come. And let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. This book is then clearly the book of salvation. And so God is issuing the great invitation to fallen ruined man. Come to me. Seek me and you shall have salvation. The salvation that I have graciously provided through the Son. Let no one doubt or be mistaken concerning the central truth and message of this book. It is salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what the Bible is all about. This is the theme. This is the message of scripture. And this is why we're having even this very gospel meeting tonight, to preach Christ, to preach the message of this book and to set forth a glorious news of salvation that is found in Jesus Christ. The message of the book, the message of the Bible is then clearly one of salvation. However, alongside, alongside this wonderful message of salvation contained in God's word, there is also a very solemn warning given. A very solemn warning given. It is a warning to all who reject the salvation which God declares in His Word. You see, the truth of this book, the truth of the Bible, is not just something which we can just take or leave as it pleases us. It is not something which can just flippantly be dismissed and forgotten about and ignored without serious consequences. No, you reject what God says in this book And the consequences that men will face are most severe and shocking. God's judgment and wrath will fall upon all who ignore and reject the Word of God. In the Bible, we're warned on numerous occasions of the danger of turning from the message of the Bible. And again, this is something that we see throughout Scripture. Think of Cain, the very first man born into this world. The very first man born into this world. And what did he do? He rejected the message of the Bible. He rejected the way of salvation that God had provided for him. And of course, God's judgment came upon him. God drove him out. Think of the people in Noah's day. Oh, God provided a most marvelous way of salvation, but they rejected it apart from Noah and his family. What happened? They perished in the flood. What about Judas Iscariot? A man who sat under Christ's ministry, a man who was taught by the Savior for three years. He not only heard the Savior preach, but he saw his wonderful miracles. But in the end, this man rejected Christ. He rejected God's Word. And God's judgment came upon him. Psalm 9, verse 17 declares, the wicked shall be turned into hell. The Word of God contains many warnings about rejecting the way of salvation. But one of the most solemn warnings given to us in Scripture is what happened to a woman who quite literally turned her back on God. We're not given this woman's name. She's only identified in Scripture as Lot's wife. Lot and his family had been living in the wicked city of Sodom, a place of great sin, a place of great wickedness. But because of the grievous wickedness of this place, God was going to move and going to judge and destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Whoever in mercy, God sent his angels to bring out Lot and bring out his family, to deliver them from his judgment and wrath that was coming. As his family were then escaping out of Sodom, God's word came to them, and it was this, escape for thy life. Look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain. Escape to the mountain. least thou be consumed. This family were to flee. They were to flee to the mountain. They were not to abide in the plain. They were to flee to the mountain and they were not to look back. Not to look back. But then we read this in Genesis 19 verse 26. But his wife looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt. Lot's wife looked back God's judgment fell upon her head. It fell upon her head. She rejected the way of salvation that was provided for her. And in a moment, God's wrath and judgment fell upon her. She was condemned. Now many years later, as the Lord Jesus preached to the people in his day, he out of the blue pointed the people to Lot's wife. In the words of our text this evening we see this is what happens. Notice what it says here in verse 32 here in Luke 17. The Savior says, Remember Lot's wife. Remember Lot's wife. Now why does the Savior say this? Well he says this because Lot stands as a solemn monumental warning to all who reject God's salvation. Christ was preaching to the people here. He was speaking to the people and warning them that they needed to prepare for his coming again, his return to this world. And as he does, as he says, let's remember Lot's wife. And the reason why he says to remember her is because she is a warning. A warning that we must be prepared for Christ's return and we must not be a people that reject God's salvation. In the dying moments of this meeting, I want us then to remember Lot's wife. and to consider what a warning she is to us, what a solemn warning she is to us about the danger of turning your back upon God's salvation and rejecting the provision that God has made for sinners. As we then think about the warning of this woman's life, there are a number of things I want us to note here as we think about Lot, or Lot's wife. We must remember Lot's wife, firstly, For she stands as a warning to all who dismiss the message of God. She stands as a warning to all who dismiss the message of God. Lot's wife had received the message of God so clearly and so unmistakably. God said to her through his messenger, escape for thy life, look not behind thee. This was a simple, a simple message clearly directing Lot as to what she must do. Run for your life. Run for your life, look not back. Run to the mountain, don't abide in the plain. But Lot's wife, in her own belief, dismissed the message of God. And she stopped, and then she looked back, and God's judgment fell upon her. She became a pillar of salt. And we should note here, this was a very simple message that Lot and his wife and his family received. A most simple message. And this was a message that could not be misunderstood. Run and don't look back. It was so simple, so clear, so plain. This lady wasn't no doubt of what she needed to do. God's message to her was just so plain and simple. But she shunned the message. In her unbelief, she rejected it. Therefore, we must remember Lot's wife, for her ruin stands as a testimony to all who dismiss the message God. Now, God has spoken to us. He's spoken to us in his word very, very clearly concerning the greatest matter of all, the matter of our salvation. The Bible is emphatically clear on this. God has spoken to us. And there's no questions, there's no F's or buts, there's no uncertainty as to what men and women must do if they are to Because God has spoken. Oh yes, men have their opinions. And men have their ideas. And people will say, well I believe this, and I believe that. And we have all sorts of different religions in this world. And they all have their theories. And they all have their teachings. And they're all the ideas of men. But really it's all of no consequence whatsoever. What men think. Men's ideas, men's thoughts are really irrelevant because God has spoken. God has given us his word and the word of God is abundantly clear. If man is to be saved, he must make Christ his savior. And that's what God's word says. That's the clear message of Scripture. That's the message that comes so boldly and so loudly and so forcefully from Scripture. If you are to be saved, If you're to know sin is forgiven, if you're ever to be in heaven, if you're ever to be accepted by God, then you must make Christ your Savior. The message of God to man in sin is unmistakably clear. John 3.36 says, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Think of these words. If you believe in the Son, if you have Him as your Savior, you have everlasting life. But if you don't, the wrath of God abideth on you. Acts 4.12, neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. And again, we can't deny the simplicity of this, the clarity of this. There's salvation in nowhere else, and in no other person, but in Christ. Romans 10, 13, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Oh, the message of God to the sinner is crystal clear. It is simple. It is straightforward. It is unmistakable. We need Christ if we are to be saved. We cannot be in any doubt of this. This is what God has said. This is his holy word given for our salvation. Therefore, all who refuse Christ and refuse to confess and repent of their sin and call upon God for mercy are simply following in the footsteps of Lot's wife. They are dismissing the message of God. That's what Blatt's wife did. She dismissed the message of God, the simple, clear message of salvation given to her. And she perished. And all who reject Christ, all who turn their backs upon him, they're behaving exactly in the same manner. Is this what you're doing this evening? Is this what you're doing? Yes, you know well what God says. You really don't need a preacher to explain the way of salvation. You don't need someone to sit down beside you and explain to you your need of Christ. You've been schooled in it. You know that you're a sinner. You're no doubt of this. You know what the Bible says about Christ. You know these truths that I've already sought to convey to your heart and mind. You've often heard the message of the gospel. which speaks of the one way of salvation and the only saviour of sinners. You've heard it countless times. How Christ died for sinners, died in the sinner's place and took the sinner's punishment. But the truth is you've still never escaped for your life. You've never escaped for your life to Christ. Yes, you've received the message of God. You know it well. But in your heart, you've dismissed it. Well, remember Lot's wife. Remember the warning of this woman. She perished in her sin. Not because she did not know the truth. Nor was she uncertain concerning the message of the truth. But because she dismissed the truth. She dismissed The message of God. Is this what you've been doing? Is this how you've been living? Knowing the truth. Knowing it well. Clear in your mind as to how you need to be saved. But yet never actually obeying the truth. Lot's wife is a warning to us. A warning to all who dismiss the message of God. But then notice something else here in this passage. Lot's wife was not only a warning to all who dismiss the message of God, she's also a warning to all who despise the mercy of God. Despise the mercy of God. How merciful God was towards Lot, his wife, and their family. There was Lot, and he was living with his family in the city, the wicked city of Sodom. God had pronounced his judgment against this evil place. The sword of his holy wrath was drawn over it. And it was just about to fall. God's vengeance had already been kindled. He was just about to pour out His wrath upon this place. Yet God, just before He judges these cities by raining fire and brimstone upon them, He sends in His angels. And He sends in His angels to rescue Lot and his family. In the book of Genesis, read of the great mercy that was shown to Lot and his family. And this is what it says in Genesis 19 verses 15 to 16. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men, or it was the angels, laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, Note these words, the Lord being merciful unto him, the Lord being merciful unto him, and they brought him forth and set him without the city. You see here how God was merciful to this family. When they lingered, when they dithered, and when they failed to see the urgency of the situation, God's angels literally laid hold upon them and brought them out of the city and then urged them. to flee to the place of safety. Think about all the families, all the families which lived in Sodom, home after home, family after family, whole communities of people, street after street, multitudes of people living in Sodom, living in Gomorrah. But it was Lot. It was Lot, his wife and his two daughters, which God through his angels laid hold upon. It was this family God showed great mercy to. These people God manifested his mercy to. And so as Lot's wife looked back, as she turned her back on God and looked towards Sodom, what was she doing? She was despising the great mercy of God which she had been shown. The other people in the city didn't receive this mercy. But Lot's family received this, Lot's wife received this, led hold upon by an angel and brought out, directed in the way of life, the way of deliverance. But she despised it. As you look back, she despised God's great mercy towards her. Therefore, we must remember Lot's wife, for she was one who despised the mercy the mercy of god. She warns us about this great danger of despising the mercy of god. Her own is a warrant to all who have enjoyed in their lives the mercy of gospel privileges. The mercy of gospel privileges, the mercy of knowing the truth. and yet turn their backs on god. God's angel and mercy, they'd and pointed her to the place of refuge. What mercy. What mercy was shown to this woman. Mercy that wasn't shown to the other people in Sodom. But as you think about this, I want you to consider how often God and mercy has let hold upon you. How often God and mercy has let hold upon you. You have enjoyed gospel privileges, while others have been passed by and left to perish in their sin. Now this has happened. Multitudes in this world tonight. And God's judgment is hanging over their heads. And they have never heard of Christ once. The truth of salvation has never been declared to them. They've never experienced God's mercy in this sense. But that's not true of you. Like Lot's wife, God has been merciful to you and revealed to you the truth. This very meeting this evening is God again laying hold upon you. Showing you again. Directing you again into the way of life and to the way of salvation. Again, God's been merciful. And think of the different ways God and mercy has laid hold upon you in your life. Maybe God has let hold upon you through a Christian upbringing, born into a Christian home, taught the truth from your earliest days. God has let hold upon you through Christian relations and friends, or even a Christian colleague at work. Perhaps God has let hold upon you by showing you one who has been converted, and you've witnessed the great transformation, the great change in their lives. You've seen this. And none of this God has been merciful to you. God is revealing to you the way of life and the way of salvation. And yet here you are. After God being so merciful towards you. And you're still turning your back on God and despising his mercy. Despising his mercy. Oh, be warned. Remember Lot's wife. She despised God's great mercy and her ruin was both swift and sudden. God was so merciful to this woman. While multitudes were passed by, God was merciful to this woman. But she turned her back upon God and in a moment, God's judgment fell. And she was destroyed and eternally ruined. Proverbs 29 in the verse one says, He that been often reproved, hardened at his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Often reproved speaks about often receiving mercy, the mercy of instruction. And such will be cut off, and that without remedy. This is what happened to Lot's wife. Is this the path that you're on? Is this where you're found tonight? Oh, what a warning. the wife of God is. A warning of despising God's mercy, the mercy of knowing salvation, the mercy of knowing the truth, the privilege of being well acquainted with the gospel. Let me say this, you cannot despise the mercy of God and not suffer the judgment of God. This lady stands as a monumental warning that you cannot despise God's mercy. and not face God's judgment. I've already said tonight that this book is the book of salvation. God is declaring to men the way of life, the way of truth, the way to heaven through his son. And as God speaks to us in this way, he's manifesting his mercy. He's been gracious to us. He's saying, listen, you don't deserve eternal life, you don't deserve forgiveness, you don't deserve heaven, but I'm merciful! And if you turn to me, and if you believe in my Son, and if you cry to me for salvation, I will be merciful! But if you reject that, you despise that, you will face God's wrath and judgment in a way in the very same way that Lot's wife did. You will be destroyed in that without remedy. Therefore, Lot's wife is a warning to all who despise the mercy of God. All who despise the mercy of God. And all who dismiss the message of God. Finally, notice here in this passage, Lot's wife is a warning to all who decide for mammon instead of God. all who decide for mammon instead of God. Lot's wife looking back reveals to us what she really loved and what she really desired. Let's just for a moment place ourselves into the shoes of this woman. She had now lived for a number of years in Sodom. Sodom was a wealthy, prosperous place, a place of luxury, a place where there was an abundance. Remember why Lot took his family there. He pitched his tent towards Sodom because he had looked out upon the well-watered plains of that area. In other words, it was a place of wealth, a place of riches, a place of prosperity. And so Lot's wife had lived there with Lot and her family for some time, and she had enjoyed many luxuries and many worldly comforts. The things of this world had really become the great and important matters in her life. These were the things that she lived for. These were the things that she delighted in. And so, as she was taken out of Sodom, and as she walks further and further away from the city, she ponders with each step all that she was leaving behind, the comforts and the luxuries and the pleasures of that life. And before her was a mountain, which really was rugged and barren and nothing to be, nothing that was attractive to the to the physical eye. And as she thinks in these things, she with a longing heart and with longing eyes turns her back on God and she looks back. You see, this looking back was not a mere glance to see God's judgment upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. It wasn't a curious looking back to see what would happen how God was going to re-infirm brimstone upon it. Now this looking back was the decision of her heart. She wanted the world and all that it had and not God's salvation. That's what this looking back was concerned, was really, that's what it involved. This angel was saying, don't look back, in other words, don't desire to be here. Don't have any interest in this place. Flee from it! And flee from it without any inclination of returning, because God's wrath is there. But Lot's heart was for the world. She loved its luxury. She loved its comforts. She loved its pleasures. And so therefore, her looking back was really Lot's wife deciding for Mammon. instead of God. Choosing this world instead of the Lord. Remember what Christ said? Christ said you cannot serve God and mammon. In other words, you can't live for God, you can't love the Lord and live for the things of this world. Live and love the things of time. It's one or the other. It's one or the other. And this was the predicament that Lot's wife was in. There was Sodom, and all of its comforts and pleasures. And there was salvation before her. But she decided for Mammon instead of God. And this is why she's a warning to us. This is why we need to remember Lot's wife. For she decided for Mammon instead of the Lord. The decision of her heart It was one of looking back. And verse 33 really emphasizes this truth also in this passage. Notice what it says in verse 33. After the Savior hears, remember Lot's wife, he says, whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it. Whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. What does the Savior say? He said, if you live for the things of this time, of this world, if you live for the things of time, if you focus upon yourself and what you can have in this world, and how well off you can be, and how you can find satisfaction in the things of time, you'll lose your soul. But if you reject this world, if you lose your life in this world, reject the temptations of time, then you'll save your soul for eternity. Christ also asked the question in Mark 8 36, For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Think of Lot's wife again here. She just wanted Sodom and all that it had to offer, but she lost her soul. As Lot's wife came out of Sodom, she had a choice to make. Salvation lay before her. God at mercy made a great provision for her. Tremendous provision. Bringing her out. Declared to her the way she needed to go. Behind her lay the world and all that it could offer. And there was Lot's wife stuck in the middle. And imagine this scene in your mind's eye tonight. Brought outside Sodom. Set on the road to life and to salvation. Knowing what you must do. Flee to the mountain and not look back. Sodom was behind her with all its temptations, all its allurements, all that her heart desired. What would she do? She looked back. She decided for the world. And God's judgment fell upon her. She was ruined. Now, here we are tonight. And what really is, spiritually speaking, a very, very similar position. Here we are tonight. Christ is offered in the gospel. Here we are tonight and Christ is set forth in his word as the only Savior of sinners. The Savior himself has come into this world and he went all the way to the cross and there he suffered and he bled and he died to take atonement, to make atonement for sin, to provide salvation for undeserving sinners such as you and I. And Christ is set forth tonight as our hope And the command of the gospel is, flee to him. Don't deny, don't hesitate. Flee to him. But of course, there's the call of the world tonight. There's the call of sin. There's the temptations that are found within your heart. Therefore, what will you do? What will you do? Here we are in the dying moments of this gospel meeting. And the question is this, are you going to look back or are you going to flee in faith to Christ? Are you going to flee in faith to Christ? And the warning is this, remember Lot's wife, for she made the wrong decision and she perished. If you turn your back on Christ, eternal and unquenchable fire will torment your soul for all eternity. That is the simple truth and the warning of God's word. Oh, remember Lot's wife. Heed the warning of this woman's life. Do not go this way. Do not choose this path. But come this very night. Come Behead in the place of safety. Be found in Him. Be found sheltering in Him. Be found in that provision that has been made for your soul through Christ's life and death. And be delivered from the terrible wrath of God, which is coming, which is coming upon this world. I trust that each one in our meeting tonight will heed the warning of Lot's wife, that none will dismiss the message of God, that none will despise the mercy of God, and none will decide for a mammon instead of God, but all will flee to Christ and be saved. May this be the case in each one of our lives. I trust God will bless His word to our hearts for His own name's sake. Amen and amen.