Building the Ark: The Obedience of Faith

Introduction

We have just seen how humanity and creation has degenerated into something completely wicked and unholy before God.

Where things were once declared to be “good” now things were so bad that God was grieved and saddened by the state of His creation, even where Scripture states that He regretted making man.

But, as we will see, God will save one man and his family as He seeks to save and redeem humanity from itself.

But what led to Noah’s salvation? This is the question that must be answered because there are two different thoughts concerning his salvation.

Of course, we are constantly reminded of Paul’s statement that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone and not by works. So the first thought is that we are saved by faith.

But some will say that Noah was not saved by faith, he was saved by his works of obedience. If Noah wasn’t willing to obey, then he couldn’t have been saved. Of course, the logic of this is hard to refute. So what is it? Was he saved by faith or by works? Did God operate differently with Noah than He does with everyone else?

Genesis 6:9–22 (ESV)

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. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

We Are Saved by Faith Alone

Genesis 6:8–10 (ESV)

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

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.

God Gave Noah Grace

Noah found favor… He did not earn God’s favor.

God showed His grace towards Noah long before Noah could do anything to earn it. Noah, apart from God’s grace, would have headed down the same path as the rest of the world. But God was gracious and kept him from the same rebellious path as the rest of the world.

Righteousness Comes Only By Faith in Jesus

Righteousness - To be in a right standing before God.

Sin - We cannot be righteous on our own. We need a righteousness from someone else.

Justification - By faith we receive the grace God has given. And that grace gives to us the righteousness that belongs to Christ alone.

Romans 3:21–24 (ESV)

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Now, Noah didn’t know about Jesus because Jesus hasn’t come yet.

How was Noah and the other Old Testament saints saved and justified?

This question was asked to me the other day and it is a great question. It is one that must be asked if we are really paying attention.

But the answer is the same as for us. They were saved by faith as they looked forward to what God would do in Christ, even though they didn’t know what it would look like.

We are saved by faith as we look back on what God has done in Christ.

Credit and Debit

The OT saints were saved on credit. Their faith was looking forward to the day when God would make the payment for sin. We are now saved on debit. Christ, through His death on the cross, has paid the price of sin and given us His righteousness which is there in the bank account for all those who would call on His name.

You and I can only be saved as we trust in the work and righteousness of Christ, not in our own works or righteousness. We cannot be saved by our own efforts.

We are Not Saved by a Faith that is Alone

But while we are saved by grace through faith alone, we are not saved by a faith that is alone.

True saving faith will always produce the works of righteousness and obedience God desires for us.

Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

As we see in Noah, while he was saved solely by the grace of God, there was not anything he could do to earn it, once he received that grace by faith, that grace began to produce the fruit of righteousness. He was not simply declared as righteous, God is sanctifying his life (making him physically righteous) to demonstrate the righteousness of Christ.

Faith Produces a Blameless Life

Genesis 6:9 (ESV)

These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

First, we see that Noah was called a blameless man.

This does not mean he was sinless, as we have already discussed.

The idea of blameless means that he was a man who lived according to what he believed and trusted in.

He refused to compromise his beliefs for the sake of pleasing the people around him.

This blamelessness came as a result of his faith and trust in God, not because of his own sinlessness.

Noah lived life as a man who believed God.

He was blameless in his generation.

Not only was he blameless, but his own lifestyle of faith and repentance served as both a witness and a condemnation of the culture around him.

Noah would not conform to the world around him, but was rather, transformed by the renewing of his mind as he focused on God and commands to him.

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Spurgeon - When Charles Haddon Spurgeon first began to preach in London in 1855, he was ridiculed perhaps more than any man in his generation. They said he was preaching an outmoded gospel, foolishness. Although many came to hear him, the sophisticated commentators of the day argued that his popularity with the rabble would be short-lived. “Up like a rocket, down like a stick,” was their judgment. But Spurgeon hung on, saying that although he stood alone, he stood on the Word of God that cannot be shaken. He said that he was willing to be called a dog now, knowing that in fifty years he would be vindicated, while those who had reputations now would be discredited. Today we remember Spurgeon but cannot think even of the names of his detractors.

There are many today who say, that as the church remains true to the doctrine and the teaching of Christ that has been passed down 2,000 years, that we are now on the wrong side of history. We are being questioned, “Did God really say,” as we are challenged on the issues of sexual purity, marriage, and abortion and there is a pressure to abandon God’s Word and God’s truth in order to be seen as relevant.

Sadly, there are many who claim to be Christian who are rejecting the teaching of God’s Word to gain a more favorable view among the culture.

And please hear me when I say that while we must remain true to what God’s Word says, we must also be loving in our approach to those who are outside of Christ. But being loving means we must also be honest about what God’s Word says. But we must do so in a spirit of compassion.

But nevertheless, if we are to be blameless, we must remain faithful to the God we have placed our faith in as we seek to love and reach out to a lost and dying world around us.

We cannot compromise the truth of God’s Word to simply make others feel better about themselves.

Faith Holds Fast to God’s Word

So along with being blameless, a faith that saves is a faith that believes and holds fast to God’s Word.

Genesis 6:11–15 (ESV)

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. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.

Noah listened to God’s Word

God spoke to Noah because by faith, Noah was willing to listen to His Word.

If we are going to have a true and saving faith, we must be willing to listen to what God has to say and not just assume we already know what God has spoken and to put words in God’s mouth for Him.

I don’t know exactly how Noah received these instructions, but it would seem that God spoke audibly to him in some way.

While God may or may not speak audibly to us today, God has spoken to us through His Word.

Are we willing to have the faith to listen to what God has said and to take the entirety of His Word?

There were things God spoke that did not seem very nice or pleasing to Noah’s ears, but Noah did not have selective hearing. He chose to listen to all God had to say to Him.

We must be willing to listen to all that God has spoken to us. Do not just read the easy parts of God’s Word or our favorite parts. We must read and listen to all of His Word.

Noah believed God’s Promise

When we think of God’s promises, we typically think of those things that tend to work out towards our favor. We think of the good promises. But God makes a lot of promises that do not sound good.

Here, God is promising Noah, and to all humanity, that He is bringing destruction upon all the earth.

Genesis 6:13 (ESV)

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.

This is a promise, not simply an empty threat or warning. This is what God is going to do.

As a result, we see that because Noah had faith, he is going to believe that God’s promises will come true.

But he also saw in this bad news promise, the glimmer of good news. Because as soon as God declared what He would surely do, He tells Noah to start building a boat. The promise of destruction, led to a promise of salvation.

There is a Promise of Destruction and Judgment

Too often, we hear that God just loves people and would never judge sin because that would be unloving.

But if we say God would never punish and judge sin, but He actually does, is about as unloving as it gets. To not warn people about the promise of judgment is the most hateful thing we can do.

If we are going to live by faith, we must believe and receive all of God’s promises, both the good and the bad.

There is a Promise of Salvation for those Destined to Destruction and Judgment

But God has promised more than just judgment. He has provided a way of salvation to those who deserve destruction.

For Noah and his family, God provided plans and material for a boat. He provided the means to bring the animals to Noah. God provided everything for Noah’s salvation if he would simply trust Him.

For us, He has provided Jesus as our salvation, as our ark to carry us through the judgment we deserve. Jesus took upon Himself the wrath of God for our sin so that we could stand before God in Christ’s righteousness. All we need to do is to receive this grace by faith as we trust in God’s promise given to us in Jesus!

Faith Produces a Godly Obedience

Genesis 6:22 (ESV)

Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Noah, by faith, built the ark God instructed him to build.

Hebrews 11:7 (ESV)

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Noah’s faith led to his obedience to God’s Word.

Faith Without Works

True saving faith will result in obedience to God’s commands and promises.

James 2:19–26 (ESV)

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Noah was saved by grace through faith alone. But that saving faith produced the works of righteousness that we were created to do.

It was not enough for Noah to simply remain blameless, to hear and believe the word of God, and to be declared righteous by God. This saving faith, which was trust alone in the work of God, not in his own works, produced the work and righteousness of God in his life as he set out to obey and follow through with God’s commands.

God gave Noah the instructions to build the ark and all the animals and food to take with him. However, if Noah simply said he believed without actually living out his belief, he and his family would have died along with everyone else, because his belief would have remained simply an intellectual belief rather than a saving faith.

This is why James says that faith without works is dead. True faith is going to follow in obedience.

True faith is going to lead us to be God’s workmanship which was created in Christ Jesus to do the works God has prepared before hand for us to do (Eph. 2:10)

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

True faith is going to lead us to love God with everything we are and when we love someone, we are going to want to honor them with our lives.

John 14:15 (ESV)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Yet Not I, But Christ in Me

But once again, we are not trusting in our works, we are trusting in Christ’s work in our lives, which means we must depend upon God’s grace to produce those works in us and we receive that grace by trusting in Christ. So when it is all said and done, it is God who gets the credit for the works done in faith.

Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Noah did not plan his own salvation. God planned Noah’s salvation. God gave him the details. God gave him the materials. God even brought the animals to him. All Noah had to do was simply trust and obey! But his true saving faith led to his obedience, which is all to the glory of God in Christ!