- Psa. 16:10: For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
- Psa. 68:20: He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death.
- Psa. 41:1: Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
- Psa. 32:1: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
- Isa. 38:17: Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
- Isa. 43:25: I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
- Mic. 7:19: He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
- Matt. 28:19: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
- John 5:27: And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
- 1 John 2:1: My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
- Rom. 8:33-34: Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
- Deut. 29:4: Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
- 1 Cor. 1:21: For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
- 2 Pet. 1:19: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
- Rom. 1:28: And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.
- Isa. 6:11: Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate.
- Ezek. 16:49: Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
- Gen. 18:16ff.: (Abraham’s intercession for Sodom and the justice of God).
- Gen. 6:5-7: And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
AI Analysis: A Reformed Perspective
Divine Foreknowledge and Judicial Hardening
Deut. 29:4 and Rom. 1:28 present the somber Reformed doctrine of Judicial Hardening. While God is not the author of sin, He sovereignly withholds the "heart to perceive" from those He has not chosen for life, righteously giving the impenitent over to a "reprobate mind." This is further seen in Isa. 6:11, where judgment continues until the land is desolate. This underscores that faith is a gift (Sola Gratia); without the proactive, regenerating work of the Spirit, the human heart remains "only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5).
The Covenant of Redemption and the Victory over Death
The messianic promise of Psa. 16:10, applied to Christ in the New Testament, is the bedrock of the believer's hope. Because the "Holy One" did not see corruption, the "issues from death" (Psa. 68:20) now belong to the Lord for the benefit of His elect. Our deliverance from the "pit of corruption" (Isa. 38:17) is a legal reality secured by the Son’s obedience and resurrection, ensuring that for the saint, death has lost its judicial sting.
Forensic Justification and the Intercession of Christ
Rom. 8:33-34 and 1 John 2:1 articulate the forensic (legal) nature of Justification. If God, the Supreme Judge, has justified the elect, no charge can stand. This is not because the elect are sinless, but because they have an "Advocate" at the Father's right hand. Christ’s intercession is not an emotional plea but a legal one, based on His "righteousness" being credited to our account. Consequently, our sins are not merely ignored but "blotted out" (Isa. 43:25) and "cast into the depths of the sea" (Mic. 7:19), satisfying Divine Justice completely.
The Trinity and the Means of Grace
The command in Matt. 28:19 establishes the Trinitarian foundation of the Covenant. Salvation is a work of the Father (Election), the Son (Redemption), and the Holy Spirit (Application). God chooses to apply this salvation through the "foolishness of preaching" (1 Cor. 1:21) and the "sure word of prophecy" (2 Pet. 1:19). The Reformed view holds that God’s Word is the primary instrument of the Spirit, serving as a "light in a dark place" until the day of final consummation.
Ethical Manifestations of the Elect
Finally, the judgment on Sodom (Ezek. 16:49, Gen. 18) serves as a warning against "abundance of idleness" and neglecting the poor. In Reformed ethics, the "blessedness" of the forgiven man (Psa. 32:1) must result in a heart that "considereth the poor" (Psa. 41:1). Good works are the necessary fruit of a justified life. The rejection of Sodom was not only for their specific sexual sins but for a systemic pride and heartlessness that signaled their utter rebellion against the Creator's moral law.