Noah’s Persevering Faith
8/23/15
Gen 6:9-14
“These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous
man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three
sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the
earth was filled with violence. And God
saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their
way on the earth. And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end
of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I
will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make
rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.”
On all continents &
among almost all peoples there are accounts of the flood ~250-300 found.
· Modern movies sensationalize the chaos
& destruction.
But to focus in these
films is primarily on God’s judgment and misses the much greater theme
o
Gen
6-8 is a picture of the grace of God & the Gospel.
§ While unbelievers received their deserved
judgment, Noah found undeserved grace. Gen 6:5-9, Rom 11:22, Eph. 2:8-9
Righteousness is from grace/faith
saved Noah from judgment, not his deeds/works.
· From grace comes faith & thru
faith comes righteousness which leads to obedience to God's standards of right
& wrong.
Noah was not sinless
but by God’s grace he lived a righteous life that stood out against the world’s
sinfulness.
· He had a credible reputation
(blameless) among people of his day.
o
Noah
practiced the faith that he proclaimed.
· More telling: those closest to him (sons)
saw his integrity.
o
Men:
your family follows your lead. Where leading them?
o
Parents
live your convictions.
§ Kids read our lives much more than
our lectures.
All Christians can have
a “righteous” testimony in a corrupt world if we walk with God.
· Have Faith in God’s Word….assumes we
hear & know Word.
o
Noah
knew what God commanded him to do. Heb 11:7, Rom 10:17,
§ This intimate fellowship will not
happen by osmosis; it must be cultivated.
· It takes discipline to be godly.
· Obedience is evidence of your faith.
Jam 2:14-17, 1 Jn. 2:3-6
o
Saved
by grace thru faith apart from works, but faith that saves works.
· No matter how difficult, illogical,
or costly, by grace Noah obeyed God.
o
God
gave Noah a full-time job, he preached and they mocked him for 120 years! 2 Pet
§ not until 1858 was a vessel of greater
length built: “Great Eastern”
· Noah’s faith persevered through hardships,
ridicule, & no converts!
o
Persevering faith is saving faith.
Ark was a place of protection
designated by God for His people in a time of judgment & also part of plan
to fulfill His promise of salvation for us in Gen 3:15. Gen 6:11-14, Jn.
8:31-32, Heb. 3:14, Rom 8:1, Phil 3:8-9
· Interesting: both gopher & pitch
(tar) from Heb. root for atonement:
“to cover”
o
Ark
seen as 1st reference to Jesus Chirst’s atonement for all Christians.
· Atonement is a work Jesus did in life/death
to earn our salvation.
o
Christ
is our arc of safety, the one that rescues/shelters us from judgment
· Knowing about ark did not save men
then…only being in ark saved them.
o
Are
you in Christ?
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