“Hear the word of the Lord,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
‘What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?’
Says the Lord.
‘I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
Incense is an abomination to Me.
New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.
So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.’” (Isaiah 1:10-15 NASB1995)

What do Sodom and Gomorrah represent in our day and time? They are symbols of sin, particularly in the areas of sexual immorality, perversion, homosexuality, and rape (forced sex). And they were arrogant, haughty, prideful, apathetic, complacent, idle, and lacking in compassion toward the needy and the hurting. And they did detestable (abhorrent) things (what was morally disgusting) in the sight of God in willful defiance of God and of his commandments, without conscience, and without remorse.

But all this was while they were playing faith in God, i.e. while they were making physical sacrifices, supposedly to God, purportedly in worship of God. But those sacrifices meant nothing to God, and actually they were an offense to God, for they were not given in truth and in righteousness, with a desire to do what is pleasing to God, to show love to God. It was all an outward show to look spiritual and religious. So God considered their sacrifices to him as a trampling of his courts, for they were hypocritical.

Now, what comes to mind here is a marriage between a man and a woman. And such a union as this is supposed to be centered in life-long commitment to one another with regard to loyalty, devotion, and faithfulness. But what if this union is all one sided, with one person doing all the loving and the giving, while the other person might put on a performance of sacrificial love, but while that person is cheating on their spouse with another person, or via porn addiction and all that goes along with that, in immoral behavior.

For, as those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, in truth and in righteousness, our faith in Jesus Christ means that we are now married to Christ, and that he is our husband, and that we (male and female) are his bride. So our relationships with Jesus Christ should be like a godly marriage. Now Jesus always does his part, but we have our part to do, too. We must deny self, die to sin, and obey our Lord’s commands, in practice. And we must be faithful in our service to the Lord, and no longer live in addiction to sin.

We must not be those who just put on an outward appearance of righteousness and genuine faith in Jesus Christ but while secretly we are engaged in willful, defiant, deliberate, and habitual sin against our Lord, and perhaps against our spouses, too. And sexual sin is huge today within the gatherings of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, partially due to the ease of access via the internet, and especially on handheld devices like smartphones and via the convenience and privacy which they offer.

And God definitely lets us know, both in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament, how he views deliberate and habitual sin among those professing his name. For the Scriptures teach us that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord’s commands, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. For we can mouth words of love and faithfulness, but the proof is in our actions, just like in a marriage. Saying, “I love you,” means nothing if not proved genuine by our actions.

So, this is what God says regarding such fakery of faith (love) which is not followed up with action (death to sin and obedience to God’s commands):

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB1995)

Love for God and faith in Jesus Christ are not seen in lip service only or in performance of “good deeds” only which are not followed up with genuine repentance (death to sin) and walks of obedience to our Lord. You can sing all the praise and worship songs there are to sing, and attend all the gatherings of the church (or what are falsely being called “church”), and you can be a “good deed doer,” and give your offerings, but if sin is still your practice, and not obedience to God, you do not have eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

For love, which is genuine, is seen not in outward performance, but in genuine abiding faith and obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For the Scriptures teach that if we love God, we will obey his commands. And if we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commands, in practice, that we are liars who do not live by the truth. And if we claim to be in fellowship with God/Christ, but while sin is still our habit, we are liars, too. And then God, who loves us, does not have love returned to him by us.

Living Sacrifices

Based off Romans 12:1-2; Romans 6:11-14 NIV
An Original Work / September 14, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you,
In view of God’s mercy,
To give yourselves to God in love
As living offerings,
Pleasing to God, holy in love.
This is your true worship.
Do not conform to worldly lives.
Let God transform you today.
Then you’ll be able to
Test and approve of what
God’s will is – His pleasing
And perfect will. Oh, holy ones,
I counsel you – Offer yourselves unto God.

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you –
Do not be conceited.
Humble yourselves before your God.
Do not be self-righteous.
The strength you have to live in love
Comes from your Lord God, so
Live your new lives in pow’r of God.
Be changed in heart, mind and will.
Do this because of what
Christ did for you when
He died on the cross to save
The world from sin. Oh, holy ones,
I counsel you – Humble yourselves before God.

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you –
Count yourselves dead to sin,
But be alive to God in Christ.
Do not let sin reign in
Your earthly lives so you
Obey its evil desires.
Offer yourselves unto your God
As those who’ve been born again.
For sin shall no longer be
Your lord and master.
Give of yourselves to God
For righteousness. Oh, holy ones,
I counsel you – Be alive to God in Christ.

Unrequited Love
An Original Work / January 5, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love