The Sin Of Sodom

[SarahM777]

Sarah, I am aware of that. If my information is correct, it was the Geneva Bible that was the very first Bible to insert verse separations into the text. And then when the Authorized King James Holy Bible was translated, it became the standard of how the Biblical text would be numbered and how the verse separations would be set.

N​

ow Sarah, did you notice what The Lord said to the woman after she responded and answered His question?​

11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. - John 8:11 (KJV)

She was to go and to no longer continue in her sin of adultery.


Sarah, I take it that you did not even take the time to watch the video sermon which I posted in the original post where Bryan Denlinger preached on the subject of the Sin of Sodom.

Do you know why he preached this sermon? He preached it to warn the sodomites that if they do not repent, then they will go to Hell. Bryan Denlinger preached this sermon because he genuinely cares for the lost people who are ensnared in the horrible sin and lifestyle of Sodomy.


It takes true love to warn those who are headed for Hell. You have to call out their sin and simply tell them that they need to repent and get saved.

And we are not to condone sodomy, even if most of the mainline denominations have decided to condone it. And even they ordain Sodomite ministers. It does not matter. Sodomy is wrong. It is vile, it is wicked, and it is an abomination. Therefore we are to preach against it.

UMM Well and good Chosen,but you do realize with all the churches that are now accepting it,and "using" scripture to prove their point and with churches on the other side like Westboro baptist church on the other side,you are dealing with people who have built up a wall ten feet thick on this. There is a better way to get through to them than by hammering them on them doing the act. This comes from talking to far more of them then you will most likely ever do in your life.
Many of them can come back with scripture to "prove" their point. There is one thing they can NOT get around and that is even if one can somehow show that it's OK,(A stretch I know) not even they can say they have dealt with it HONESTLY their whole lives,in others words they have lied,they can not escape that,can not hide it. It is the one weakness in the underbelly. Even the most hardened ones admit that this is true,it is the one opening that they can not twist it,hide it or run away it because it's the truth and they know it.

 

[thecreationtutor]

what about our own sin?

 

[ChosenbyHim]

I think the title of the thread was about the of Sodom,and my point was it was NOT just sodomy that the city was destroyed for. It was far wider then just that.

Again, there were other sins being done in those two cities.

But the main sin that those two cities were destroyed for, the sin that was very grievous that they were doing was the sin of Sodomy:


Lamentations 4:6 KJV
For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.

 

[AvalonXQ]

The sin of sodom was not homosexuality, but rather failing to look after the poor:

Ezekial 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.

As for the idea that America is somehow quickly falling into ruin, take another look at the crime statistics. Violent crime rates have been falling for more than two decades - and if you ignore the gang-infested areas of our big cities, the US is still one of the safest countries in the world to live.

 

[SarahM777]

Again, there were other sins being done in those two cities.

But the main sin that those two cities were destroyed for, the sin that was very grievous that they were doing was the sin of Sodomy:


Lamentations 4:6 KJV
For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.

UMMM Weren't they also guilty of these?

Deuteronomy 12


29 When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31 Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to theLord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods

Deuteronomy 7


25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therin: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

18


9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee

20


17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lordthy God hath commanded thee:

18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the Lord your God.

27

Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.

Guess what Chosen they were doing ALL of them. And all that is done is what is shown as AN EXAMPLE of how far they had fallen and that is used to prove the point,not that that was the only or the main reason why. The example is FORCED to make it say something that is NOT the complete picture.


The only way you can force it to point to sodomy as the main thing is by taking the only example in the Bible of what they were and forcing it to prove your point. History shows they were involved in far more then just that,and many other things things that ALSO ARE ABOMINATIONS before the Lord.

 

[ChosenbyHim]

UMM Well and good Chosen,but you do realize with all the churches that are now accepting it,and "using" scripture to prove their point and with churches on the other side like Westboro baptist church on the other side,you are dealing with people who have built up a wall ten feet thick on this. There is a better way to get through to them than by hammering them on them doing the act. This comes from talking to far more of them then you will most likely ever do in your life.
Many of them can come back with scripture to "prove" their point. There is one thing they can NOT get around and that is even if one can somehow show that it's OK,(A stretch I know) not even they can say they have dealt with it HONESTLY their whole lives,in others words they have lied,they can not escape that,can not hide it. It is the one weakness in the underbelly. Even the most hardened ones admit that this is true,it is the one opening that they can not twist it,hide it or run away it because it's the truth and they know it.

Well Sarah, here is the thing. People generally do not like sound Bible preaching. In fact, a lot of Christians don't like to hear sound Bible preaching anymore. They want to hear just positive messages that make them feel good on a Sunday. Which just shows further that we are in the Laodicean Age where the apostasy is really bad.

And yes, you can reach out and talk to them and show that you care for their soul. But the bottom line Sarah is this, you need to tell them the truth in love. They need to know that if they do not repent, that they will die and go to hell. Like I said in my previous post, it takes true love to warn those who are headed for hell. We cannot sugarcoat the truth.

Another thing is they have to be reached with the Biblical Gospel. They need to be severely warned in love.

Now let's say Sarah, that some of them do take Scripture out of context and that they twist the Scriptures to try to make them say something else, in their attempt to justify and condone their own sin. And for them to do that though, they will have to wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction (See 2 Peter 3:16).

Now I understand a lot of these sodomite friendly churches where they are ordaining lesbian and sodomite pastors, a lot of them use the NIV or the New Oxford Annotated bible (RSV) because they know that these modern bibles have reinterpreted key Scriptures that deal with Sodomy. And that is why these sodomite friendly churches use them.

And yes Sarah; absolutely, a lot of them do know the truth. I think that there are a lot of them that know deep down that it is wrong. What they are doing and everything. And yet continue in their sin and error. They keep resisting the Holy Spirit; while the Holy Spirit strives with them to repent, but a lot of them will not. They continue to harder their hearts.

They continue in their rebellion against God. And it is very unfortunate.

 

[Praus]

People generally do not like sound Bible preaching. In fact, a lot of Christians don't like to hear sound Bible preaching anymore.

Now let's say Sarah, that some of them do come back with Scripture to try to condone it, for them to do that though they will have to wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction (See 2 Peter 3:16).

And yes Sarah; absolutely, a lot of them do know the truth. I think that there are a lot of them that know deep down that it is wrong. What they are doing and everything. And yet continue in their sin and error. They keep resisting the Holy Spirit; while the Holy Spirit strives with them to repent, but a lot of them will not. They continue to harder their hearts.

They continue in their rebellion against God. And it is very unfortunate.

Matt 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Rom 13:8-9 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if [there be] any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

And you also may want to check out the book Peter Ruckman did on Bible Numerics:

What About Ruckman?

Peter Ruckman has been divorced two times and married three times yet he has been a pastor all along and he defends his unscriptural marital status in his book on divorce and remarriage and mocks those who challenge his qualification. His first marriage was before his conversion, and it ended in 1962 when his wife left him and filed for divorce. He began pastoring the Brent Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, soon after that.

In 1972 Ruckman married the divorced wife of one of his former students. When a vote was taken in Brent Baptist as to whether the congregation supported his second marriage, 200 voted for it and 100 opposed it.

He subsequently resigned and started the Bible Baptist Church in Pensacola in 1974 with 17 people.

In 1988 Ruckman's second marriage ended when his wife walked out and sued for divorce.

Ruckman’s third marriage was to a member of his church, a mother of three.

Divorces do not take place in a vacuum. They take place in an environment filled with anger, carnality, hostility, bitterness, and sin. That is not judgmentalism; it is fact. Some of my divorced friends confess this as forcefully as I do. In fact, consider how Ruckman himself describes his family life in days gone by:

“I have had two wives desert me after fifteen years of marriage ... I have been in court custody cases, where seven children’s futures were held in the balance; in situations where Gospel articles were being torn out of typewriters, Biblical artwork torn off the easels, women trying to throw themselves out of cars at fifty m.p.h., mailing wedding rings back in the middle of revival services, cutting their wrists, threatening to leave if I did not give my church to their kinfolk; deacons threatening to burn down my house and beat me up; children in split custody between two domiciles two hundred miles apart, and knock-down, drag-out arguments in the home sometimes running as long as three days” (The Last Grenade, p. 339).

That is what the man admits took place. That is only a small glimpse into the sin and confusion surrounding those years. Friends, you can label me a judge if you want, but a man with that type of family life has no business in the pastorate. Let him preach on the streets. Let him preach in the jails. Let him preach in the nursing homes. Let him preach in other ways, but we must obey the Bible and reserve the pastorate for men who have godly homes.

Ruckman mocks those who call for high standards for the pastorate and who don’t believe a divorced man fits God’s requirements for the office. He calls them hypocrites and Pharisees. Consider how he describes his third marriage:

“... we got married in a regular Sunday night service after the offering was taken up: bridesmaids, wedding cake, rice, shaving cream on the car, the whole works. Standing room only. I WAS FLAUNTING MY FAITH IN THE FACE OF THE APOSTATE FUNDAMENTALISTS WHO WERE GOING TO ‘CASH IN’ ON MY MARRIAGE” (Ruckman, The Full Cup, p. 280).

On page 211 of his biography, Dr. Ruckman says that those who ask the question, “Do you think a divorced preacher is qualified for the ministry,” are “SELF-RIGHTEOUS PHARISEES.”

This mocking, ungodly attitude has encouraged other men that it’s O.K. to be divorced and remain in the pastorate and even to flaunt the same before anyone who disagrees. Yes, sadly, many have followed Ruckman’s lead.

 

[Starcrash]

Yes your children are held accountable by your faith. Until they reach the age of accountability. Paul taught this, if you be unequally yoked. meaning your spouse does not believe as long as you stay with your spouse your children are protected. yet if you abandon your spouse and the children stay with the unbeliever they are at risk. Many say that at the rapture thousands of babies are going to be missing, that is not true only the ones that have a parent that is faithful.

This is a logical answer to the question I posed, but do you understand the implication of this argument? If God holds people accountable for the actions of their parents, then He punishes innocent people. I'm quite certain that you would not want to go to jail for what your parents did, or your ancestors, or literally anyone else -- it wouldn't be fair or just. One of the reasons that Christians believe Jesus deserves honor and praise is because he took on a punishment that wasn't his -- the implication being that such sacrificial punishment in another's place is undeserved.

Even though you didn't cite your assertions, they are consistent with scripture. Your last assertion about only some babies being taken in the rapture is unfounded, though. I don't know of any bible verses that would support it, and I'm fairly sure that many of your Christian brethren wouldn't agree with you. If you want to make factual claims, you have to provide evidence in the form of a citation.

 

[homwardbound]

what about our own sin?

If we believe we receive new life in God's Spirit from God the Father, and God the Father shows by Christ we are able to get new life a gift from God. So through God our sin because of Chrsit is taken care of and we walk as he walked in the Spirit of God.
Colossians 1:22 in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

We are looking back at the cross. The dividing line of Human History. Before the cross under Law after the cross freed from the curse of the Law that was put on the First Chosen and many others that adopted to try and be perfect through the Law. And not one can or ever could other that Christ.
1 John 2:2 and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

[homwardbound]

Again, there were other sins being done in those two cities.

But the main sin that those two cities were destroyed for, the sin that was very grievous that they were doing was the sin of Sodomy:


Lamentations 4:6 KJV
For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.

The taking of another's free will is what God is against. To sodomize is taking away another's free choice, against their will they did to them what they wanted. God got mad at this, just look at what God said in Noah's time befre the flood about the peoples.

 

[homwardbound]

Well Sarah, here is the thing. People generally do not like sound Bible preaching. In fact, a lot of Christians don't like to hear sound Bible preaching anymore. They want to hear just positive messages that make them feel good on a Sunday. Which just shows further that we are in the Laodicean Age where the apostasy is really bad.

And yes, you can reach out and talk to them and show that you care for their soul. But the bottom line Sarah is this, you need to tell them the truth in love. They need to know that if they do not repent, that they will die and go to hell. Like I said in my previous post, it takes true love to warn those who are headed for hell. We cannot sugarcoat the truth.

Another thing is they have to be reached with the Biblical Gospel. They need to be severely warned in love.

Now let's say Sarah, that some of them do take Scripture out of context and that they twist the Scriptures to try to make them say something else, in their attempt to justify and condone their own sin. And for them to do that though, they will have to wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction (See 2 Peter 3:16).

Now I understand a lot of these sodomite friendly churches where they are ordaining lesbian and sodomite pastors, a lot of them use the NIV or the New Oxford Annotated bible (RSV) because they know that these modern bibles have reinterpreted key Scriptures that deal with Sodomy. And that is why these sodomite friendly churches use them.

And yes Sarah; absolutely, a lot of them do know the truth. I think that there are a lot of them that know deep down that it is wrong. What they are doing and everything. And yet continue in their sin and error. They keep resisting the Holy Spirit; while the Holy Spirit strives with them to repent, but a lot of them will not. They continue to harder their hearts.

They continue in their rebellion against God. And it is very unfortunate.

Is this passage of Scripture sugarcoating the truth?
Colossians 1:22 in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Does this make one that sins feel good and take it for granted and sin all the more? Or does the Love of God heap coals of fire upon one's head, and cause them to willingly change to trust the Living God?

 

[ChosenbyHim]

Is this passage of Scripture sugarcoating the truth?
Colossians 1:22 in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Does this make one that sins feel good and take it for granted and sin all the more? Or does the Love of God heap coals of fire upon one's head, and cause them to willingly change to trust the Living God?

Well Homwardbound, I believe that when a Christian sins, that he Will be convincted about it.

And also God will chasten and scourge him.


Hebrews 12:5-8 KJV
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: [6] For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. [7] If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? [8] But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

 

[jimmydiggs]

The sin of sodom was that they used the KJV instead of the ESV. amirite or amirite?

 

[ChosenbyHim]

UMMM Weren't they also guilty of these?

Deuteronomy 12


29 When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31 Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to theLord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods

Deuteronomy 7


25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therin: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

18


9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee

20


17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lordthy God hath commanded thee:

18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the Lord your God.

27

Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.

Guess what Chosen they were doing ALL of them. And all that is done is what is shown as AN EXAMPLE of how far they had fallen and that is used to prove the point,not that that was the only or the main reason why. The example is FORCED to make it say something that is NOT the complete picture.


The only way you can force it to point to sodomy as the main thing is by taking the only example in the Bible of what they were and forcing it to prove your point. History shows they were involved in far more then just that,and many other things things that ALSO ARE ABOMINATIONS before the Lord.

Well yes they were guilty of those also. But again Sarah you are still missing the point. There was a sin that was considered very grievous.

Not sins. But a particular sin (singular).

Remember the video in the original post. Bryan Denlinger preached specifically on the sin of Sodom.

Genesis 18:20-21 KJV
And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; [21] I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

Isaiah 3:9 KJV
The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.


Lamentations 4:6 KJV
For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.


Again Sarah I don't see sins (plural) being mentioned in those passages of Scripture dealing directly with Sodom.

So the bottom line Sarah, is that the main reason for the overthrow of both Sodom and Gomorrah was because of their grievous sin of Sodomy. And here is another Scripture that shows that this is the case:


Jude 1:7 KJV
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.



Its very clear Sarah. Don't complicate it.

 

[Starcrash]

The taking of another's free will is what God is against. To sodomize is taking away another's free choice, against their will they did to them what they wanted. God got mad at this, just look at what God said in Noah's time befre the flood about the peoples.

Are you... are you actually aware that sodomy and rape are two entirely different things? Having sex with someone of the same gender can be (and usually is) consensual, not violating anyone's free will. Also, the bible gives 2 justifications for the flood -- angel DNA in humans and increased violence, neither of which is rape or sodomy.

 

[Starcrash]

It's interesting, looking over this thread, that the only way one can figure out what Sodom's crime(s) was/were is by looking at bible references. There's no way to figure out logically what would cause a city to be wiped off the map by heavenly fire because it's inherently illogical. What sin or sins could only be fixed by destroying all of the sinners? Whatever justifications that one might give for the genocide of the Midianites or Amelekites, one could easily apply it to Sodom and ask "why didn't God deal with it the same way"? For that matter, why wouldn't God destroy every city filled with these particular kinds of sinners (whatever the deserving sin might be), especially since we think of God as consistent and never-changing? We can't inductively reason what sin would be punished this way because there's no pattern -- there isn't a certain sin that God always punishes this way.

 

[homwardbound]

Well Homwardbound, I believe that when a Christian sins, that he Will be convincted about it.

And also God will chasten and scourge him.


Hebrews 12:5-8 KJV
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: [6] For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. [7] If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? [8] But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Do you, I or anyone really understand this Chastening
Romans 5:5 and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Romans 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

God loves us all, as shown through Son Christ, back at the cross. This world scourges, for its own gain, when God does for our gain in loving God above all else

 

[homwardbound]

Are you... are you actually aware that sodomy and rape are two entirely different things? Having sex with someone of the same gender can be (and usually is) consensual, not violating anyone's free will. Also, the bible gives 2 justifications for the flood -- angel DNA in humans and increased violence, neither of which is rape or sodomy.

Starcrash, appreciate your response to my post. Do you have free will? Do you want others free will taken away that do not do it right? Because you want them to have life right?

So let us go ahead and pray that God take away free will okay?
Now one problem with that prayer is, if you want free will taken away from the people that harm other people. then your free will would have to be taken away also. Do unto one, all would have to be done the same.
So do you still want free will taken away? I don't and trust God to reach all, for all to make the conscious choice to either believe in God or not. Everyone believes there is a God. No Atheist in a fox hole. Just not everyone puts their Faith in God
It is God's job to reveal himself to others through his children that believe him like Christ did and does. This is why he said to wait and receive the Holy Ghost of promise to his disciples, because they could do nothing with out him
The day of Pentecost came and is still alive today, being born again led by God not self.

 

[AvalonXQ]

Everyone believes there is a God.

No, everyone does not believe there is a God. I don't see how anyone could spend any time at all talking to atheists and still think this.

 

[homwardbound]

It's interesting, looking over this thread, that the only way one can figure out what Sodom's crime(s) was/were is by looking at bible references. There's no way to figure out logically what would cause a city to be wiped off the map by heavenly fire because it's inherently illogical. What sin or sins could only be fixed by destroying all of the sinners? Whatever justifications that one might give for the genocide of the Midianites or Amelekites, one could easily apply it to Sodom and ask "why didn't God deal with it the same way"? For that matter, why wouldn't God destroy every city filled with these particular kinds of sinners (whatever the deserving sin might be), especially since we think of God as consistent and never-changing? We can't inductively reason what sin would be punished this way because there's no pattern -- there isn't a certain sin that God always punishes this way.

Again is about free will all have been given free will. So tell me who has the right to take another's free will away?
And when Christ came and did his work for reconciliation, he went to the Spirits held in prison and preached and all those that changed their mind and believed in him as the Christ were set free. God is Merciful. Loving kind peaceful and righteous in all God does has done and or will do. Never interfering with free will.
It is te Love of God that changed me, not any man.