01-30 Finding Grace

Genesis 6:5-8

There’s a well known phrase, I’m sure you’ve heard it “the point of no return.” This phrase originated in aviation which is the time or location during a flight in which the airplane doesn’t have enough fuel to return to its departing airport. At that point the aircraft must proceed as it can’t turn around.

The expression is used in various ways but also to speak of an irreversible action—which often has very harmful effects. I was reading a news account (several years ago) of a man in Stone Mountain, GA—where there is a dome rock (825’). He was hiking and climbed over a fence and began to walk out over the sloped dome and came to the point of no return where he fell to his death (not too common but it does happen—also at Grand Canyon).

It illustrates the catastrophe of going beyond the point of no return. I wonder if we’re at this point as a nation. Have we come to the place where there can be no turning around and returning to the place of God’s blessing? I think this nation once benefited from that. Our nation is on a very steep moral decline.

Proverbs 14:34 NASB95

34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.

Just like in Noah’s time, when wickedness was rapidly increasing and moral corruption was nearly unrestrained, we seem to have come to that point in our own time—living out what Isaiah prophesied concerning God’s judgment upon His people.

Isaiah 5:18-23;

This heavy cart is not being pulled by animals, but men. And the cart is their own iniquity/sin. Each one is determined to carry his sin with him and the result is that we live in a world where right is wrong and wrong is right. We live in a world where men are women and women are men. We live in a world where human life is of no value.

We’re living out the drama of Romans 1:21-32—and the people in our nation don’t even know it (partly b/c pulpits are no longer exposing the sins of the heart). This is where God has abandoned the unrighteous to their own devices—God says “you love your sin (that you keep dragging wherever you go)…here you go...” God gives them over—This is God’s wrath and not the place you want to be. Have we come to the point of no return?

Like those in the time of Isaiah, God was giving a respite, a time to repent and return—but they failed. Like those in Noah’s time, God was giving a respite—120 years to repent…but they did not and God judged the world.

As we studied last time, the primary purpose of the flood was to preserve the pure seed thru which the Messiah would come forth (fulfillment of God’s promise in Geb 3:15). Human contamination resulted from the perverted marriages and offspring of “sons of God” and “daughters of men.”

There was, also, a secondary purpose for the flood and that was to illustrate for future generations the urgency of repentance in light of God’s judgment.

2 Peter 2:5 NASB95

5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2 Peter 3:3–9 NASB95

3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” 5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 But 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. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Past judgment illustrates the need for the present generation to turn from sin and trust the LJC. In the current state of our nation—being morally bankrupt as it is, the message of coming judgment must be faithfully proclaimed as a warning against those who keep pulling their carts full of iniquity. This is the urgency we see in our vv today concerning God’s judgment—which is being detailed in 4 ways...

1. Judgment Exposes Man’s Fallenness

There is a lie that has been propagated by Satan from very near the beginning of humanity—though all are sinners there is a goodness in each person from which they are able to please God from what is within. And so many people have believed this lie. It is very common (maybe the most common answer) to hear people respond to the question “why would God permit you to enter into His heaven?” People say “I’ve live a good life, don’t kill, steal, use profanity, I help my neighbor, etc...” From the human standpoint those things are good. But God is not concerned about our perspective or our definition of what is good. That was part of the temptation—feeding the desire to know good and evil (as God knows). God alone gets to define what is “good.” And He does that as He creates…it was good (very).

Fast forward to the beginning of the public ministry of JC—He cuts thru the centuries of deception, instructing men about God’s standard of goodness.

Matthew 5:48 NASB95

48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

He is the only one who has lived out this standard. Every other human has fallen short and though by human standards there are many who appear to be good—no one is perfect and we all fail to please God and therefore need a Savior.

It is a stark contrast to what God “saw” after creation:

Genesis 1:31 NASB95

31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Only 5 chapters later:

Genesis 6:5 NASB95

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 only evil continually.

There’s a great deal in this verse, ultimately describing the total depravity and utter ruin that resulted from Adam’s sin (passed on to every descendant). Let me unpack it for you—in 4 words:

Outward

“wickedness of man was great” This is the general word for that which is evil or bad. It is the very opposite of the goodness God saw in His creation. Here the outward manifestation revealed in the lives of men, that is their practice is pronounced by God to be wicked. What did this entail? I think all forms of moral insanity are included. Jeremiah describes what that looks like in relationship to God:

Jeremiah 1:16 NASB95

16 “I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

Jeremiah 4:18 NASB95

18 “Your ways and your deeds Have brought these things to you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart!”

Idolatry is the height of wickedness. It was for Israel and its not too difficult to imagine that there was a great deal of self-worship going on in Gen 6. It was there in the descendants of Cain (Lamech). God saw that it was “great”, excessive, numerous—the outward manifestation of evil.

Inward

Every intent of the thoughts of his heart. The word “intent” is the Heb word “to form or design.” It is used of the potter that forms a lump of clay into a vessel to be used. It is used here to explain the premeditated forethought of the wickedness that is acted out. There is a strategizing, planning, forming intentions that the person will act on—all carried out in advance of the sin that is committed.

Here, God is peeling back the layers of the make-up of man to reveal what is inside: his heart. This is the word describes the innermost part of man. It is the symbol for the focus of life—Mission control center. This is what God sees and a profound contrast to what we see. We see someone who commits murder and we say “that man is a murderer.” Because we cannot see what is in the heart—we suppose the condition of the heart on the basis of how a person conducts himself.

God, on the other hand, looks at the heart and reveals a different reason for the outward action. God says “he murders because He is a murderer.” God is giving us the divine prescription for the root cause of man’s problem—it is an internal problem. Jesus taught the same truth.

Mark 7:14-23;

Outward acts of wickedness begin in the heart—where planning and forethought are at work, masterminding sin—inventing ways in which he can rebel against the Creator.

Psalm 36:1–4 NASB95

1 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For it flatters him in his own eyes Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it. 3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and to do good. 4 He plans wickedness upon his bed; He sets himself on a path that is not good; He does not despise evil.

Comprehensive

The words “every” and “only” just how extensive/comprehensive this sin condition of man’s heart truly is. It is important to remember that it is the heart that controls what we think and what we do.

Luke 6:45 NASB95

45 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Sin has affected every part of our being to the extent that what we think and do and plan/purpose is under the influence of our fallen nature. Theologians use the term “total depravity” to describe this comprehensive condition. Now, that has sometimes been misunderstood to say that people are as bad as they can be and that there is nothing a person can do which is good. People certainly do things and have aspirations of relative goodness. But what depravity means is that even our best is spoiled by the comprehensive sin nature. I think a better understanding would be “total inability.” That is totally unable to please God, to satisfy the demands of perfect righteousness that God has set as the standard before all.

The sin nature has so much infected every constituent part of man that his thinking, mind, reasoning, will, affections, desires, ability is hindered from doing that which pleases God. This is God’s diagnosis “every intent…only evil.” but it doesn’t stop here:

Continuous

This translates 2 Heb words “the whole day.” God’s description of man’s condition is that it is thoroughly diseased, corrupt, evil—and that overflows to reveal its true nature in actions which are truly wicked. And this is every day, the whole day, all the time—continuously. And I know this description makes us uncomfortable and we’d like to think that man is a little better than what God has said. But this is the unerring testimony of the condition of man’s heart—of your heart. And if you get this wrong you will misunderstand the gospel.

If you raise man up you will bring God down and you will minimize God’s grace. But if man is down here in the pit of despair—in the dungeon of sin…deserving eternal hell, and if God is high, holy and highly exalted then the grace that is needed to span that gap b/t us and Him is amazing grace, infinite, marvelous, incomprehensible grace.

Psalm 14:1–3 NASB95

1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. 2 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.

Jeremiah 17:9 NASB95

9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

Ecclesiastes 9:3 NASB95

3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.

Man would never come up with this diagnosis on his own. He is blinded to his condition.

One writer comments (George Bush 1839):

“Had it been drawn by the pen of a prejudiced erring mortal it might have been supposed to exceed the truth. But this is not the testimony of man, but of God who sees things precisely as they are, and His infallible declaration is, that the thoughts of man are evil without exception, without mixture, and without intermission.”

It is this condition which necessitates God’s judgment. And His judgment is just and deserved—exposing man’s fallenness.

2. Judgment Expresses God’s Heart

I think there is a common misconception that God is gleeful, happy to condemn, filled with excitement as He sends people to hell. Nothing is further from the truth. God is grieved with the condition of His creation—especially the apex of His creation—man.

But don’t suppose that God was shocked or surprised about this condition to the point where He thinks He made a mistake in creation.

1 Samuel 15:29 NASB95

29 “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”

God’s eternal joy and happiness cannot be disturbed. But what Moses writes reveals that God is not disinterested in what happens among His creatures. One of the traits of personality is the feeling and expression of emotion. Here, God is pained. Gordon Wenham explains that this word “expresses the most intense form of human emotion, a mixture of rage and bitter anguish. Dinah’s brothers felt this way after she was raped; so did Jonathan when he heard Saul planned to kill David.”

Psalm 78:40 NASB95

40 How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness And grieved Him in the desert!

Isaiah 63:10 NASB95

10 But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.

Human sinfulness grieves God—it pierces Him in His heart. Even the sin of believers causes a similar reaction:

Ephesians 4:30 NASB95

30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

When God determines, then, to act—it is an expression of how pained He is by sin. He is not delighted.

Ezekiel 18:4 NASB95

4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

Ezekiel 18:23 NASB95

23 “Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?

Ezekiel 18:32 NASB95

32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live.”

Ezekiel 33:11 NASB95

11 “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’

3. Judgment Erases Corrupt Sinners

vs 7.

God says “I will blot out man...” that word means to wipe clean. Leather scrolls in antiquity could be reused by washing or sponging off the ink. It was used of erasing a debt from a ledger or wiping a dish—usually the picture of water comes to mind which is an apt illustration of the flood and God’s choice to eliminate mankind with the waters of the flood.

When God determines to act in judgment, it would necessarily involve the complete erasure of humanity and along with it—those creatures man was given dominion over. The only creatures spared are those in the sea. God’s purpose—expressed in the promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head, would find resolution in a most horrifying manner (as we’ll discover later—entire global flood). The human race had been corrupted by the demonized marriages and therefore not able to deliver that pure seed. So God determined to act in a way that would destroy humanity—except for 8 people:

4. Judgment Escaped Because of God’s Grace

vs 8.

If we only read to verse 7—we’d be left completely without hope and God would be entirely just/righteous to destroy His creation. vs 8 begins with a hopeful “but...”

Noah found favor (every modern translation). Favor is the Heb chen (grace, underserved, unmerited favor) and it could be translated grace or favor (not much difference b/t the 2). This is the 1st occurence of the term in the Bible. Though God has been gracious up to this point (Adam & Eve, Cain)…this is the 1st recorded instance of someone finding grace in Scripture.

It is very important to recognize that Noah did not earn grace but he found grace. Noah was a wretched sinner just like the rest of humanity. There was nothing good in him.

Rom 3:10-18;

Noah was not an exception to this. He was a fallen sinner, deserving to be judged, drowned and condemned as the rest of the world. But God extended His favor upon this man for no other reason than it was God’s good pleasure to do so.

Romans 9:15–16 NASB95

15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.

Thank God that it does not depend on us for no one would choose Him apart from the divine work in that person’s heart drawing the lost, dead sinner to Himself. That where we all were until God saved us and like Noah we found grace.

God is still the God of grace—He continues to pour out His mercy and rich love, desiring all to come to repentance and so He offers the gospel to sinners at a time when He has momentarily stayed His judgment. And the certainty of that coming eternal judgment is illustrated in the certainty of the global flood that brought destruction upon all humanity save 8 people.

This should be a sober reminder to every soul that has found grace. We are the light of the world, salt of the earth. We are called to herald the gospel of grace to sinners who are in imminent danger of eternal condemnation.

If you’re here and you have not found that grace—you will find it in Christ alone. Just like Noah was saved from the flood in the ark, LJC is the ark of salvation and deliverance from the wrath of God. Trust Him today—today is the day of salvation and find grace for your soul.