Righteousness Which Is According to Faith

Transcript

GR 1711
12/8/2013
Righteousness which Is According to Faith
Hebrews 11:6-7
Gil Rugh

We are in the book of Hebrews and the 11th chapter. These are days when we have special attention focused on the coming to earth of the Son of God, and the reason for His coming—to be the Savior of the world. But the book of Hebrews reminds us of the importance of the sacrifice He made to be the Savior, but it also reminds us it's not easy to be a follower of Jesus Christ in a fallen world. And so the writer to the Hebrews has been writing to remind the believers first of all of the finality of the revelation God has given in His Son with the coming to earth of Christ, His taking to Himself humanity, His offering the sacrifice of Himself as our representative. You have the fullness of God's revelation and His purpose and plans for salvation. For those who come to believe in Him, it is the beginning of a life of walking with God, of serving God. That is not an easy road in a fallen world.

So when we come to Hebrews 11 the writer gives a series of examples from Old Testament history to encourage these believers in their walk. They have examples of those who have been faithful to God. And so Hebrews 12 after these examples will begin, “therefore since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance, the sin which so easily entangles us. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Faithfulness, you can't quit, you can't give up. In Hebrews 10 leading into this chapter, verse 35, ”therefore do not throw away your confidence which has great rewards.” Sometimes with trials, difficulties, distractions that come into our lives as believers we get confused, we begin to wander. The book of Hebrews is an encouragement to faithfulness.

He began Hebrews 11 “with verse 1, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Our faith really gives substance to everything. That is the foundation for our lives. We believe in the living God and the revelation He has given of Himself. He began by giving the example of our faith. We believe that God spoke the word and the worlds were created. Just take you back to that verse, some of you may seen the article in the Omaha World Herald this week. The title of the article is Family Tree Is Shaken Up. This came from this past week, this is the first page of the paper. Scientists have found the oldest DNA evidence yet of humans' biological history. But instead of neatly clarifying human evolution, the finding is adding new mysteries. And a rather long article continued on the second page. Basically they found the bone and they were able to extract DNA from that bone. And they think that the bone was 400,000 years old. It was found in a cave in Spain. The problem is the DNA they've found doesn't fit with the history of evolution that they have developed. This DNA is not the same DNA as what they had extracted from the bones that they thought gave them the line. So the new finding, reading to you, is hard to reconcile with the picture of human evolution that has been emerging in recent years based on fossils and ancient DNA. And they go on for the next 3-4 paragraphs to overview what had been the previous view of the history of evolution. And then the scientist concludes with this statement. Now we have to rethink the whole story.

Now they're not rethinking evolution, they just have to rethink the whole process that they thought they had worked out. I just share this because sometimes believers are viewed as having faith in God and what God has said in His Word. You understand these scientists have a greater faith in that sense than we have. And we think science is something settled and established. In certain areas where they are dealing with what can be demonstrated and observed, but this idea that they are going back supposedly 400,000 years, they've left the realm of science. They are just trying to come up with an explanation without having to acknowledge the existence of a God who created it all. And we as believers need to be careful that our faith is settled in what God has said. It's clear.

They will continue to have new findings and science will demonstrate this. And then what science has supposedly demonstrated will have to be changed. There is no end to it because they have rejected the only true answer. So The Family Tree Is Shaken Up is the title. DNA evidence from a 400,000 year old fossil raises new questions about how humans evolved. In the first place who said it was 400,000 years old? Well, they did. Well, they were wrong in what they said before. I can tell you with my unscientific mind, it absolutely is not 400,000 years old. So if you don't learn anything else, learn that from scientist Gil Rugh who knows very little science but who knows the God of the Bible and what He has said.

We're in Hebrews 11. Important, we who believe the Bible accept what God has said at face value. If you read very much these days, that kind of statement is an object of mockery—the idea that you take it at face value, you take it literally. But that's exactly how the writers of the New Testament take what is written in the Old Testament. We've seen that through the book of Hebrews. We haven't come to anything where we're told that is not to be taken at face value. So as it is in creation, verse 3, as an example of the faith and what those who truly believe in the living God, do believe. They believe the account of Genesis 1 as we have looked at. They believe the account that is recorded of the faith of Abel and the acceptance of his sacrifice and the rejection of Cain and his sacrifice, just as it is recorded in Old Testament history.

We considered Enoch. In Genesis 5 we are told in that list recording the death of all these ancestors of the Jews, and Enoch did not die. Enoch was caught up from the earth without dying. Why? He believed in the living God. That's why Abel's sacrifice was accepted by God. He believed and always faith that brings salvation manifests itself not just in acknowledgment of certain fact, but by the manifestation of a life that has been changed by the power of God and now people who have truly believed and are righteous before God because He has credited them with righteousness, walk with God. And to walk with God as Enoch did, Hebrews 11:5 and the record from Genesis 5, he was pleasing to God. That's the manifestation that our faith is saving faith. It begins at a point in time but it has no ending.

So we come to verse 6. “And without faith it is impossible to please God.” There is no pleasing God apart from faith. Why? For he who comes to God must believe two things—first must believe that He is, that God is; and secondly that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. That's why religious people do not please God. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Well, religious people have faith, that's why they are religious. And religious people believe in God, that's why they are religious. When he says they must believe that God is, we're talking about you believe that He is the living God. He alone is God, the God who has revealed Himself, the God who has spoken and that record is contained as our Scriptures.

Come back to Exodus 3. And the account here is when God is appointing Moses to go back to Egypt and bring His people Israel out of that life of bondage and to bring them to the land that He has prepared for them. And so verse 10, “therefore come now and I will send you to Pharaoh,” God speaking to Moses, “so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, that I should bring the sons of Israel out?” Well, you're right, you are nothing. “But certainly I will be with you.” I mean, Moses is one man, God says, “I will be with you. This shall be the sign that I have sent you.” When you've come out of the land of Egypt, you will worship in this mountain where I am speaking to you so you'll see My word is fulfilled. In the future here you will come to this mountain with the people of Israel, here you will worship Me. You'll see that you have brought the people of Israel out just like I promised.

Verse 13, “Moses said to God, behold I am going to the sons of Israel. I will say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. They will say to me, what is His name? The God of your fathers has sent me, but who is this God?” And the answer is what we want to note. “God said to Moses, I AM who I AM. You shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me.” What kind of answer is that? The point is I AM the eternally existing God, the only true and living God is the One who has sent you. Egypt had its gods, the other nations of the time had their gods, but you tell them I AM has sent you, the only God who is truly God, who has existed throughout eternity, always has and always will. He is God, I AM. There is no other god to compete with Him, there is no other god in existence.

Come to the New Testament to 1 Corinthians 8. This is where we left off in our study and I just want to review this material with you. Verse 4, “therefore concerning the things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, that there is no god but one.” Now in the city of Corinth there would have been a variety of gods worshiped, a variety of idols to different gods. We are familiar somewhat with the Greeks, the pantheon of gods and so on. But there is no god but one. He is the I AM, there is only one God. Now even if there are so-called gods, small “g,” whether in heaven or on earth and that would include then even angelic beings like Lucifer who has tried to exalt himself to be like God. So even though there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, and indeed there are many gods and many lords, small “g” and small “l,” gods and lords, there are countless of those. Yet for us there is but one God, the Father from whom are all things and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things. One God, He is the I AM, He is the only God. And even though the world has many we recognize there is only one God.

That's why coming back to Hebrews 1:1, “God.” You just launch right in. And we're talking about the God who “spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets.” That's our Old Testament. That's the only God there is, the God who has made Himself known, who has spoken. And “the One now who has spoken in these last days in the One who is His Son, the One who is the radiance of His glory and the express image, the exact image of His nature, the One who upholds all things by the word of His power.” This is the only God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is the only God.

So when we come to Hebrews 11 and we say “without faith it is impossible to please Him,” verse 6, “for he who comes to God must believe that He is.” You must believe in the only true and living God, the God of the Bible, the God who has revealed Himself and made Himself known. And you “must believe that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” You must believe what He has said in His promises to those who seek Him. We talk about those who seek Him. This is not as often talked about a seeker service where unbelievers are supposedly seeking God. What he is really talking about is those who believe in Him seek Him in the sense they desire to walk with Him, to be pleasing to Him, to worship Him, to honor Him. Basically becomes the same thing as walking with God, seeking Him, desiring Him, to honor Him. They recognize He rewards those. There is a distinction between those who believe in the living God and His promises and those who don't. And without faith in the living God and the promises He has given, you cannot please God. That's why many people are in church today. Many people are in religious services around the world at different times. That doesn't mean they please God. Is their faith in the God of the Bible and the promises He has given? That becomes the foundational issue.

Hebrews 10:35, he is encouraging these believers to keep on. “Therefore do not throw away your confidence which has great reward.” You don't quit. We've noted through Hebrews the pressure and trials of life have caused some of these Jewish Christians to think, maybe I'll go back to Judaism, maybe there is an easier way. There isn't.

So these examples from Hebrews 11 are to encourage his readers, right down to us today, to endure. We don't lose heart. We don't lose interest, we don't get overwhelmed with the trials and difficulties that come into our lives. They are part of living a godly life, of walking with God in an ungodly world.

And so he comes to his next example in Hebrews 11:7, by faith. And that's the repeated expression, I believe it is some 18 times in this chapter—by faith, by faith, by faith. “By faith Noah being warned by God about things not yet seen in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” You'll note, all these examples are not just by faith he believed certain facts, and that's it. By faith he walked with God, so he believed what God said. Important. We've reduced Christianity to believe this set of facts and that's it. That is not it. “Saving faith” is believing the truth that God has revealed about His Son and His finished work and now living a life believing in the truth of God's Word. And if that's not the case, it's not a faith that pleases God. It's not a faith that is acceptable to God.

So we have Noah, well-known figure. We've had Abel as an example and Cain his brother as a negative example, we've had Enoch as an example of a man who walked with God. Now we have Noah, and Noah stands out because we have extended information on Noah in the book of Genesis. We had a little bit of information on Cain and Abel and the sacrifices there. We had very little information on Enoch in Genesis 5. But Noah covers Genesis 6, 7, 8 and 9. So we get to find out something of how he pleased God and became an heir of righteousness in his response of faith.

“By faith Noah being warned by God about things not seen.” Come back to Genesis 6. Noah lived in very difficult times, Noah lived in days when the whole world was enveloped in wickedness, in violence, in ungodly activity. Genesis 6 opens up, “now it came about when men began to multiply on the face of the earth.” And you have detail there of the sons of God and the daughters of men. Come down to verse 5, “then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was evil continually.” That's the sum total. His mind was never set on pleasing God. Now this is God's evaluation of every single person on the face of the earth except for eight—Noah, his three sons and their wives. Eight people altogether. God said, verse 7, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals, creeping things and birds of the sky. But,” verse 8, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” He had God's approval as we have seen, God testified on his behalf. He is pleasing to God.

“These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time. Noah walked with God.” So you see Noah by faith is going to build an ark because Noah was a man who lived by faith. He was a righteous man, he was blameless. He lived his life with a desire to be pleasing to God. He walked with God. Now he didn't earn his righteousness, he had it by faith. This has been the whole argument of the book of Hebrews. But since he had his faith for his salvation in the living God and that this God would do what He promised, He was a rewarder of those who obeyed Him, He walked with God. He is in fellowship with God. He is in obedience to God.

He had three sons—Shem, Ham and Japheth. And you all ought to be interested in this because Noah is the great, great grandfather of us all. You can put a lot of greats in there. And all of us have either Shem, Ham or Japheth as out relative. The whole race is descended from Adam through Noah, and from Noah through his three sons. So he is mentioned here with his three sons.

Then we're reminded, verse 11, the condition of the earth. “The earth was corrupt in the sight of God, the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the earth, behold it was corrupt for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. God said to Noah, the end of all flesh has come before Me, the earth is filled with violence because of them. Behold I am about to destroy them with the earth. So you make an ark” and he gives the dimensions, verse 15, how it is to be built. Why? “Behold I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall perish. But I will establish My covenant with you and you shall enter the ark with your sons, your wife, your sons' wives with you and you take two of every living animal and bird and bring them on the ark to preserve them through the flood.” Verse 22, “thus Noah did according to all that God had commanded him, he did.”

It seems simple when you read it in history, doesn't it? God said this, why wouldn't Noah do it? Then we come to our day-to-day life, we come to the Word of God and here is what God says. Yes, but I can't do it. What do you mean? What would you think if we were reading this and Noah's response was, no, I can't do that. Do you realize the situation Noah is in? Hebrews 11 said that “he had been warned by God about things he had not seen.” You know the indication of Scripture is Noah had never seen a flood that covered the earth. Of course he hadn't, it had never happened. But there is more to it than that, Noah had never even seen it rain. Now you want me to build a big ship out in the middle of nowhere with no big body of water around. You tell me that you are going to send water on the earth that's going to flood the whole earth. You could help me out by sending a little bit of rain, at least give me a preview. I mean, it's going to take Noah 120 years. They didn't have power tools. They didn't have some of the things we have. But he and his three sons have to go to work on building this huge ship in anticipation of a flood.

I say it hasn't rained. Back up to Genesis 2. We're told in verse 6 how the earth was watered. “A mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.” I guess something like our dew that God caused “a moisture” to come up like a mist from the ground and water the earth.

Come over to Genesis 9, after the flood. The flood is over, we're about a year past now, Noah can come off the ark and God says in verse 9, “I Myself do establish My covenant with you and your seed after you, your descendants.” That's down to us. The promise is I'll never again destroy the world by a flood of water. Verse 11, “I establish My covenant with you and all flesh, never again shall be cut off by the water of the flood. Neither shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” He didn't say there won't be local flooding, but He said there would not be a worldwide flood again. And verse 13, “I set My bow in the cloud, it shall be a sign for a covenant between Me and all the earth.” The rainbow, the rainbow happens when you have the sun shining through some of the rain. So here is the start of the rainbow, further indication there hadn't been any rain up until this time.

Back up to Genesis 8:1, “God remembered Noah and all the beasts and the cattle that were with him in the ark. God caused the wind to pass over the earth.” First mention of wind in the Bible because the wind involves temperature change. And just as God was going to set the rainbow in the sky, He was setting the events that would take place and it would cause the rainbow to shine. He sent the rain. So now here you have wind blowing, the temperature is changed, the tropical environment of the world under that canopy of water is now different. That explains why you find tropical vegetation on high mountains, the top of mountains where you would not expect it.

So this indicates that not only, when it says that Noah was told of things, warned of things not seen, that's more than just a worldwide flood. That's all that would go with it—rain and a deluge of water that could cause such a thing. How can this be? And yet God says He will send it.

Back up to Genesis 6 and you have a picture of how awful the world is. Noah is obeying God and believing God in a time when no one but his immediate family has the same faith as he does. God is going to destroy the whole world. I jotted down some figures, and these aren't my own, they probably came from Henry Morris; this comes from Henry Morris, one of his books. You are familiar with Henry Morris who wrote The Genesis Flood with John Whitcomb, which is still probably the foundational work that covers this from a biblical perspective. He estimates the minimum population of the world at the time of Noah would have been 325 million. At present population growth it would be 3 billion. I don't know if that's a lot or not, but I know 8 out of the low estimate, 325 million, I didn't bother to try to divide that out to see what percentage that is, but even if that's high, out of all the people on the face of the earth you have 8 that are believers. And do you know what God is going to do? He is going to wipe out every other person on the face of the earth. Important for us to keep this in mind because some of the criticism that comes to us who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, including future things, they say you are pessimistic and you don't focus on trying to make the world a better place and improve the social conditions and all of that. You have that negativism.

Same criticism that would have come to Noah. He's building an ark and telling people the whole world is going to be destroyed. Of course, you're the only ones right, I assume. Just you and your kids. The other millions of us, we are wrong, you are right. And God is going to destroy everybody but you and your family, right? That's right. That's really arrogant, you thing you are right and everybody is wrong. That's right. I am right and the whole world is wrong not because I'm some great person, but because God is always right. And this is what He said. Now when we lose that focus we begin to wander and weave, even as believers. This is what is happening to the Hebrews. That's why we have these examples. Here is Noah, he lives in an ungodly world. Genesis 6:5 “the wickedness of man was great on the earth, every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continuously.” We look around at the world and we think, what is happening, as though we think the world ought to be getting better. Have you read your Bible? Do you believe it? Like we're shocked at people who are making these wicked decisions. Do we believe what the Bible says? This is the condition of fallen man, he rejects God, he refuses to believe in Him and bow before Him. You'll note the violence goes with the wickedness. We have all these peace initiatives around the world. There will never be peace around the world until the Prince of Peace comes and establishes His rule over the world. Men pretending that they weren't evil as they try to deceive other men so they can assert power. And on it goes. And the violence in the world is a reflection of the evilness of their hearts. It's a condition that the world was in, in the days of Noah. The character of men has not changed.

He destroyed the world with a flood but the sin nature comes through the flood. Noah was righteous by his faith in God, not because he was a perfect man who never sinned. He was righteous by faith. But he brought the sin of Adam through the flood and it is passed on so men are no different in their character as the descendants of Adam than they were in the days of Noah. So it's only what we call the common grace of God that restrains the fullness of the out breaking of sin until the time in God's plan when He is going to bring judgment on this fallen world. That's one thing the account of Noah reminds us of.

So these are awful days. Noah is going to spend 120 years building this boat. No rain in the first year, no rain in the 30th year, no rain in the 50th year. From birth and after 70 years Noah still has 50 years of building to go. Anyone here 120? If you raise your hand, you're demonstrating your fallen nature. Of course we're not, nobody is . . . Noah had to build an ark for 120 years. All he had was the promise of God. No periodic rainstorm with a flood that came up six inches to cause him to think, this can really happen. I have evidence that proves what God says could become true. No, you just have the Word of God. Do we need anything more? Haven't we based our whole hope for heaven on nothing but the Word of God? If God would only roll back the sky and let me look into heaven, would I be anymore sure than I am now of what He has promised? No.

So Noah was a righteous man, Noah walked with God. Can you imagine the ridicule? I would think that they would be giving tours from other parts of the world. There is this loony guy building this big boat over here in the middle of nowhere. You have to come see this. But Noah is building. Everybody is wrong, God is right.

Come back to Hebrews 11. Note in verse 7, ”by faith Noah being warned by God about things not yet seen.” And remember Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 5, “we walk by faith and not by sight.” In reverence, he is honoring God, he is giving God honor. In reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. He believes God. That's how we honor God. Jesus said, if you love Me, you will keep My Word. In reverence he prepared an ark because God told him to. For the salvation of his household by which he condemned the world. The life of a person walking with God is a condemnation of the world. That's why there is antagonism between the believer and the unbeliever. A godly life convicts the unbeliever. Not saying we don't need to share the Gospel for people to be saved, but your very presence antagonizes the unbeliever. That's why we feel the pressure to mellow our words. We want to not make the world think we have a “holier than thou” attitude. But we are holier than they are. Not because we are better but because the grace of God has brought His salvation to us and now our God who is holy said, “you shall be holy for I am holy.” And then He addresses us as holy ones, saints. That's antagonistic to the world. We think, we adjust. If we are more like the world, the world will like us better. God never said, reach the world by becoming more like the world.

Noah wasn't to make an adjustment in his walk with God and his righteous character so that he might have more impact with the world. I'm not talking about being self-righteous, I'm talking about being faithful to God. He condemned the world. Why? By his believing God and responding in faith to God, he was condemning those around him who would not believe God, and their life opposed God.

He became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. He didn't earn righteousness, but it was by faith. But saving faith is a life of faith. I believe in the God who has revealed Himself, but I'm not going to do what He says. I believe in God and what He has said, but I'm not living for Him. I'm not walking with Him right now. My life is not righteous now but I am still a saved man. There are no examples like that in Hebrews 11, and there are no examples of that today. Saving faith is life-changing faith. I'm not saying believers never sin. This idea, as long as you say you believed these facts—the death, burial and resurrection of Christ—you are saved. Well, you have to believe the revelation God has given concerning the death, burial and resurrection of His Son as payment for your sin. And if you truly believe that, trusting Him, His power transforms you on the inside. And if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, a new creation. Old things have passed away, new things have come. How has your life changed since you say you have trusted Christ? Well, I don't think it has changed, I just trusted Him to be sure I wouldn't go to hell. Well, then, you need to back up. Saving faith is life-changing faith.

Noah became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. What God promised will now be his. So you see it is future. In 120 years nothing happens. Then he realizes what God has promised. And the ultimate realization which is pictured here; we'll see Noah in heaven with his family because they became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Now I want to take you to some verses on Noah. We just have a one-verse statement here. You'll note the writer to the Hebrews under the inspiration of the Spirit takes the account of Noah exactly factual.

Come back to Ezekiel 14, look at verse 12. “Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it, cut off from it both man and beast.” In other words the people have been in rebellion against Him, come under the judgment of God. “Even though these three men,” verse 14, “Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by they own righteousness they could only deliver themselves, declares the Lord.” What we want to note here, when God selects three men as examples of righteous character, approved by Him, Noah is one of those three. That's remarkable. I pick three men who would stand out before Me because of their faithfulness in walking with Me as righteous men—Noah, Daniel, Job. But they couldn't save that city by their righteousness. They could save themselves. They could only deliver themselves. God will not destroy the righteous with the wicked. This was Abraham's discussion with Him when Lot was in the city of Sodom. He won't destroy the righteous with the wicked. “Shall not the judge of all the earth be right?” Of course He will. But even men as righteous and godly as Noah, Daniel and Job can't save others from destruction.

He repeats it again and again. He comes through showing the signs of judgment. Then verse 16, “though these three men were in its midst, as I live, declares the Lord, they cannot deliver either their sons or daughters.” That's why the evidence would be that Noah's three sons and their wives along with his wife were believers also, because Noah's righteousness couldn't have saved his sons, couldn't have saved his daughters-in-law. They had to have the faith of Noah. Again in verse 18, “though these three men are in their midst, as I live, declares the Lord, they couldn't deliver either sons or daughters.” They alone will be delivered.

He pulls it together in verse 20, “even though Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, as I live, declares the Lord, they cannot deliver either their son or their daughter. They would only deliver themselves by their righteousness.” Showing, you may have a godly parent, you may have a godly wife, a godly husband, their godliness won't save you. Their righteousness won't save you. Their righteous life is a testimony to you of your need for salvation, but when it comes to the judgment of God, you may be married to a believing man, a believing woman and on your way to an eternal hell. What a terrible thing to miss the salvation of God, to have lived with one who belongs to the living God, who walks with the living God and have rejected the God that they love and serve. Righteousness found only in Him.

Come over to Matthew 24. Christ is going to refer to Noah and he's going to take what is said about Noah in the Old Testament as exactly historical fact. Many of those who claim to believe the Bible say the flood of Noah wasn't a literal worldwide flood, it was just a local flood, illustrating the principle that God saves the righteous and destroys the wicked. That's not what I read in Genesis, that's not how it is taken in the New Testament references.

In Matthew 24 Jesus is speaking. And we'll pick up with verse 37, talking about being ready for the coming of the Lord. And He has talked about the judgment that will come with His coming. “But of that day and hour,” verse 36, “no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of man will be just like the days of Noah.” Note what was going on in the days of Noah—“for as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark.” Here is the Son of God. He was present as God the Son. He says right up to the day, and the day that Noah entered, the day when God brought the judgment, right up to that time people were going on with their life, normal living. I have chores to do, I have business to conduct, I have investments to make and I have somebody in our family getting married or I'm planning on getting married. Life is going on.

But it's not going on. Verse 39, “they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away. So will the coming of the Son of Man be.” People refuse to get ready. There is Noah for 120 years building an ark, testifying to the world of coming judgment. I have things on my mind, things to do, life to live. I’m just not interested in those things. Judgment comes and takes them away. Better learn from Noah. What is Noah illustrating? Not only a historical situation, but it is illustrating to us that God is going to bring judgment on the wicked again. You can be sure of it. Luke 17 has the same account.

Come over to 1 Peter now, 1 Peter 3:18, “for Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison.” So that same spirit that was His before the incarnation in the days of Noah, note verse 20, “who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark in which a few, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.” Now back in those days Noah, while he built the ark, was telling people of the need to turn from their sin and believe in the living God and prepare for coming judgment by believing in Him. And it was the Spirit of Christ through Noah giving that message. “Their spirits are now in prison,” they've been placed in Hades awaiting final sentencing to hell. In verse 19 Jesus said that those destroyed in the flood in the days of Noah were presently, as He spoke, in prison. We know they will finally be called out of that prison to be sentenced to an eternal hell at the Great White Throne in Revelation 20. See how serious this is as Christ speaks, as Peter writes under the inspiration of the Spirit. You better be ready for coming judgment.

2 Peter 2. This chapter, very similar to the book of Jude in its content, begins by warning about false prophets and false teachers who corrupt the truth that God has revealed, the truth concerning His Son. And he gives examples, God will bring judgment, you can be sure of it. Verse 5, and “He did not spare the ancient world but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, a herald of righteousness.” So we see from Peter's first letter it was the Spirit of Christ in Noah and Noah is giving out the truth of God, the revelation from God—turn from your sin, believe in the living God, judgment is coming. He preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. Any who say that the flood was just local and not everybody was destroyed in the world is denying the truth of Scripture. Both Old Testament Scripture and New Testament Scripture, we better be careful. The chapter opened up by saying, watch out for false prophets and false teachers. They claim to believe the Word but they change its meaning. They alter what it says so they might fit more with the world in its unbelief.

Turn over to 2 Peter 3. The view of the world, all things continue as it has always been. That's evolution, it's just time. And over time . . . The laws of nature, how nature ever began, we just don't know. It just did. And now continues on. And you'll note what Peter is encouraging his readers to do. Hebrews is written to believers, Peter is writing to believers. But do you know the concern? We believers get weary in well doing, as Paul referenced with the Galatians. You know, pressure and distractions, the cares of this life just seem to catch up and overwhelm us.

Peter says in 2 Peter 3:2, “you should remember the Word spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior, of Christ who spoke to His apostles, knowing this first of all in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, saying, where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as it was from the beginning of creation.” Some people say, you've been talking about future things and the coming of Christ and this has gone on for years. You would have been better off to spend your time to make the world a better place and to help some of the problems instead of always talking gloom and doom about judgment coming. This is not new to our day.

Look at verse 5, “when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the Word of God the heavens existed long ago. The earth was formed out of water by water through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.” The judgment in the days of Noah…. they choose to ignore that or reinterpret that and thus deny it. But it is an example. “By His same word,” verse 7, “the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. And don't think the Lord has lost track of what He has promised. Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

You know we don't want to lose heart in our walk with God. Noah had to work on building the ark for 120 years. He didn't see any results in conversion of souls, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was being faithful. Difficulties come, discouragement comes, opposition comes. We don't want to throw away our confidence, as we were told in Hebrews 10:35. It has great reward. I'm not looking to change the world, I'm not looking to see the world improve, I'm not surprised that our own country is on its way to hell and the bulk of people here have rejected Him and glory in their sin and celebrate it and are antagonized by Christians who manifest righteousness in their lives. Because I believe the promise of God, I believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, whose commitment is to walk with Him, trusting Him, believing that what He has said is true, that I will enjoy the reward that He has promised for those who love Him. My confidence and faith is not in the improvement of the world or the world beginning to approve us as the church of Jesus Christ, my confidence is in the promise of God. That's what gives stability to our lives. The promise hasn't changed and we can be sure these examples from the history of Israel encourage us to walk by faith, walk with God, manifest righteousness, be holy in life, continue to believe that what God said is true, continue to live in obedience to what He has said. And if you have not, don't think that because judgment hasn't come yet, you've escaped it. God in His great patience is giving you another opportunity to respond in faith to His offer of salvation by trusting in His Son.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the testimony of the life of Noah. Lord, how gracious you are to have called him to yourself. We thank you that his life is a testimony of walking by faith and of your faithfulness to your promises. Lord, we desire that our lives as your children in this day will be such a testimony that we walk by faith. We believe the promises you have given, living in a world where the people of this world, every intention of their hearts is evil continually—the violence that sweeps through the world, the opposition to truth, the rejection of you. Yet in it all we have stability, we have confidence, we have an assured foundation—you are our God, your Word is true and unchanging and some day we will enjoy the reward that you promised to those who trust in you. We praise you in Christ's name, amen.