The Ark Built by Faith
15 September 2019 AM – Hebrews 11:7 – Heb19 – Scott Childs
Introduction: God was greatly grieved that the human race had turned their back on Him (Ge 6:3). God saw the wickedness of man (Ge 6:5). God repented or was sorry and pained that he made man (Ge 6:6). Man’s rebellion grieved the Lord’s heart. God planned to destroy all living creatures on the face of the earth (Ge 6:7). Among the few who still feared God, Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Ge 6:8).
God warned Noah of things not seen as yet. Yes, God told Noah of His plans to destroy the world and save the righteous in an ark which Noah must build (Ge 6:13-21).
We have no idea HOW God told Noah, but that information was the trusted information upon which Noah based his faith.
Transition: In Hebrews 11:7, we find three results of Noah’s faith that ought to move us to have similar faith in God’s Word.
1. (Result) By faith, Noah moved with fear.
a. Noah’s fear was a cautious, circumspect, fearful, reverence for God and His Word.
1) Noah had a fear or reverence for God.
a) Noah was reared in a God-fearing family. His great-grandfather was Enoch. His grandfather was Methuselah whose name evidently pointed to coming judgment. His father Lamech, who feared God, gave Noah his special name (Ge 5:29).
b) Noah had scores of younger siblings (Ge 5:30), yet only found grace in God’s eyes (Ge 6:8).
c) By faith, Noah believed in his heart that God existed and that God was his sovereign creator and judge. His personal faith in God made him a just or righteous person, even in a vile world (Ge 6:9).
d) Respectful fear of God is a personal choice that no one can make for you. You must choose to fear God yourself.
2) Noah had a cautious, circumspect fear of the coming flood God described.
a) Now remember, none of what God said made logical sense to Noah. It had never rained on the earth. God watered the land with a mist (Ge 2:6). He was to build a HUGE ark
on dry land. He was to build pens in the ark for every KIND of breathing creature.
b) Upon hearing God’s plan to destroy all flesh (Ge 6:13), Noah walked circumspectly and with great caution. It terrified Noah to think that God would soon destroy every living creature.
b. Noah’s fear set him in motion.
1) He wasted no time. He obeyed God (Ge 6:22).
2) Noah obeyed God explicitly. Notice the word “all”. Those who truly fear God will obey ALL that He tells them to do.
3) The Apostle Peter calls Noah a “preacher of righteousness”. Not only did Noah build the ark, his fear moved him preached passionately the righteous expectations of God. Men ignored his preaching and carried on with life as usual. (Matthew 24:38) “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,”
4) Today, what does the Bible say is still ahead of us? Rapture, Tribulation, Millennium, Final Judgment. If we truly believe what God says is coming in the future, we too will move with fear, believe and witness for the Lord.
2. (Result) By faith, Noah prepared an ark to the saving of his house.
a. It took Noah many decades to build that ark.
1) Some claim that Noah built for 120 years, yet that is not what the Bible says. God decided to destroy the world 120 years before it happened (Ge 6:3).
2) Noah’s boys were born when Noah was 500 Japheth (Ge 5:32), 502 Shem (Ge 10:21; 11:10), perhaps 504 Ham (Ge 9:24).
3) It sounds like the boys were all married when God told Noah to build (Ge 6:18). If Noah’s sons all married by 25 years old, they may have taken about 75 years to build the ark.
a) After the ark was complete, they had to gather a year’s worth of food for all the creatures.
b) The flood began when Noah was 600 (Ge 7:6). 600-500-25 = 75 or less.
b. Noah built the ark to save his household.
1) God told him before he began to build that only his family would believe (Ge 6:18).
2) Despite that fact, Noah was a preacher of righteousness. For years, he preached as the world around him either ignored him as a lunatic or mocked him as a fool. Not one single person repented and believed God’s warning.
3) Like Noah, we must faithfully share the Gospel with those around us. The Gospel is their only hope of salvation from the coming judgment of hell fire.
3. (Result) By faith, Noah condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
a. Noah was already righteous
1) He was righteous before he built the ark (Ge 6:9)
2) He was righteous while he was building (2Pe 2:5)
3) He was righteous before the flood began (Ge 7:1).
b. Noah condemn the world and become heir of righteousness
1) Noah condemned the world in several ways.
a) He condemned them by his righteous living. His righteous example made the world’s wickedness the more evident and condemned. If you will do right in this ungodly world, those who do wrong will feel condemned by your right actions.
b) He condemned them by his righteous preaching. (2 Peter 2:5) “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;” God’s way leads to life. All other ways lead to death. (Proverbs 16:25) “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
c) He condemned them by his escape of the flood. God shut the door of the ark (Ge 7:16) and once the flood began, Noah could do nothing more to help those outside.
2) Since Noah was already righteous, I do not believe this is speaking of inheriting righteousness as most commentators claim. Consider this.
a) (Galatians 4:7) “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Note here that a Christian is an heir of God. That does not mean he receives God as his inheritance. It means he receives what God has for him.
b) I am an heir of my parents. When they pass away, I will receive a portion of what they possesses. I will not inherit them.
3) Noah had faith in God’s trusted word about a coming flood, the need to build an ark, and God’s promise to keep him and his family safe inside that ark. (Genesis 6:18-19) “But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.”
4) Noah became heir of what God promised. By faith, he became heir of salvation from the flood.
Conclusion: The flood was an unparalleled storm, yet there is another judgment coming that will be FAR worse than the devastating flood of Noah’s day. That judgment is God’s final judgment where unbelievers will be sentenced to the Lake of Fire for all eternity.
In Noah’s day, God’s grace extended right up to the day that He shut the door of the ark. Once that door was closed, it was too late. God’s grace today is also limited. When you die or when Christ returns God’s grace to you will end. Now is the time to enter God’s ark of salvation for eternal safety.
Noah’s faith in God’s Word saved him. Have faith in God!
Song: God’s Final Call – 250