“…and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked…”
and delivered righteous Lot
God “delivered” Noah, and now Peter alludes to another deliverance, Lot’s liberation from the city of Sodom. “Delivered” means that God rescued Lot from the sins of Sodom.
“Righteous Lot” does not refer to his moral character but to his judicial standing before God. Lot stood justified before God eternally. We would never suspect that he was a believer from reading the book of Genesis.
who was oppressed
“Oppressed” means tormented or distressed, with the implication of being worn out by Lot’s experience living in a homosexual community. The New Testament uses this word two times, here and in Acts 7:24. Lot was tormented by the overwhelming degradation around him. This depravity overcame him and exhausted him. The sin of homosexuality tortured Lot’s soul. Lot became distressed by the lawless sin of Sodom. Their sin wore him down because it drained his sense of right and wrong. The homosexuality of Sodom tormented and vexed his soul.
by the filthy conduct of the wicked
The word “filthy” carries the idea of unprincipled (here and 2 Pe 3:17). “Filthy” means sexually debauched (2 Pe 2:2). These people live like dogs morally and have little sense of shame. “Filthy” denotes refusing to be subject to a legal requirement; they abandon the norms of society to fulfill their desires. They had no sense of shame. These are lawless people, unruly. Lot was troubled by the lawlessness of the people of Sodom.
The word “wicked” means lawless (here and 2 Pe 3:17). This person refuses to be subjected to legal requirements. He is unruly and does not comply with the law; he breaks legal restrictions to fill personal lust. The papyri use this term for a father who breaks off his daughter’s engagement because he learned that her fiancé gave himself over to lawlessness. These “wicked” people live a life of disgrace and have little sense of decency. They are “past feeling” (Eph 4:19).
PRINCIPLE:
God never accommodates His standards to sexual perversion.
APPLICATION:
Homosexuality is an assault on both God and humanity. It is a state of anarchy toward God and leads to lawlessness. They love to make new laws out of their abnormality. They want to call homosexuality normal. However, this sin is outside God’s law, which He never changes. It is a perversion of the institution of marriage. Sodom and Gomorrah lived under mob violence, a tendency still prevalent today.
