Getting a Clean Slate

Good evening everyone. Thank you for joining us tonight as we continue to explore scripture.

As many of you know I’ve felt very pushed to show and teach Jesus in the Old Testament lately and, if you’ve been here since week one, you are probably wondering in what year will we get out of Genesis.

Good news, not tonight, but as we spent several weeks on Genesis 1-4. Today we’re skipping 5 and covering 6-9. That’s big, at least in my mind.

And we are going big today because I wanted to talk about Jesus and the flood and the themes of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Repentance, Forgiveness, Reconciliation

All this combined can help us redeem relational rifts. and this can help any of us repair what has been broken. Whether it’s family, community or even church.

So, let’s begin with a bit of context today.

Timeline: we are a little after the time of Adam and Eve. Only a few generations really. But when people live 900 ish years a generation lasts a while. So about 1600 years since creation. Many people alive would still have known Adam and still have known the story of creation right from him and even his sons and daughters.

Which makes it really interesting what happened in the world to Adam’s grandchildren and great grand children.

Genesis 6:5 ESV

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Now, to sum this up generationaly. People lived centuries and this is the 2nd generation from Adam. To put it into years we’d understand. The people born in the 1920’s. Most are gone now, but their kids and grand kids and great grand kids are in the world now and how much has changed? A great deal. Cars are better, we have computers, cell phones; things that 100 years ago were at best a dream and more likely a fantasy or fiction.

From Adam to Noah humanity grew and they rose up in many ways, but fell in others. Mainly in their relationship with God. They broke it, didn’t care about it at all.

To put it simply:

Going Another Way

The people were not going God’s way and that was going to end in eternal death for loads and loads of people. Solution?

Genesis 6:6–8 ESV

6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Okay we’ve got 1. 1 guy amongst many and he’s the only one that is finding favor in the LORD.

This doesn’t mean Noah was perfect. but it did mean he was a man after God’s heart. a man who said that he was not good on his own and needed help from his creator.

So God took Noah aside and let him know his plan.

Genesis 6:13–14 ESV

13 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. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.

So, Noah Obeys. In small group we are studying the Shema, which begins with the phrase Hear o Israel. We looked at that word Shema and saw that the word we translate as HEAR also translates OBEY. Noah is Shema. He Obeys.

He makes the Ark and gathers the animals. And he get’s in with 7 other people

It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. I can’t imagine how much he got made fun of. But I bet he was vocal about it at times. God’s going to flood the world, he’d say. There’s room on the ark, you just got to get on, have faith in God and believe him. They didn’t. And this happened:

Genesis 7:11–16 ESV

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14 they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.

I can’t imagine what it was like for the humans outside the ark. But what I do know is that they had their chance to turn around and they did not take it. They died turned away from God.

Repentance is a Choice

Repentance is a choice. Noah chose it. As it seems his wife, sons, and daughters in law. I can’t say this for 100% sure. But they did choose to believe him enough to get on the Ark. They didn’t have to, but they chose to enter the ark. They were saved.

The world caused harm and it had gotten to the point where if something wasn’t done, then no one would follow God and every human being born would be doomed to eternal death. Repentance had to happen.

And that’s not just true for the non-believer.

When we’ve caused harm, whether intentionally or not, it’s a believer’s responsibility to repent. Repentance isn’t obligatory lip service to progress past conflict — it’s a sincere expression of a changed mind that leads to new behavior. Genuine repentance includes a willingness to undo the wrong to make things right.

Now, this looks different for different people. For some, it’s a tearful apology. Some, it’s a lengthy list of their wrongs. Some, it’s a simple, “I’m Sorry.”

And an apology is only as good as the follow through. You can have a gushy tearful apology about staying out all night with friends without a phone call, but it means nothing if you go and do it again that same night.

In contrast, when all you get is an “I’m sorry,” from someone when they hurt your feelings, it might not seem like anything, but if you then see them working hard to not hurt you again, that is true repentance.

Now, even with true repentance, none of us are perfect in our repentance.

The flood did something to the world. It destroyed sin and everything it touched, but after the flood there was still sin, therefore, it’s much harder to get rid of that just an apology and a change of heart.

And repentance is only the first step. When someone repents, it is up to the other person to forgive.

Genesis 8:1–5 ESV

1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, 4 and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

Here with the flood the only repentance that took place was on the ark. The world had to be wiped clean, but that didn’t mean it deserved forgiveness.

There were 8 sinners on that boat. But they were very likely, Noah for sure, repentant sinners.

God Chose to Forgive

And God chose to forgive them. They could have lived the rest of their lives on that ark, the animals would have diminished over time and eventually, they ark would have worn away and sunk. But they repented and God forgave.

So the water’s subside. The world was forgiven and the 8 people could return.

Forgiveness is a posture we hold.

Forgiveness isn’t just something we do — it’s a posture we hold. We must maintain the attitude of forgiveness toward people that Jesus holds toward us. Whether or not a person repents doesn’t hinder our ability to forgive. When we cancel the spiritual debt that someone owes us, we remain free of bitterness — keeping the door open for reconciliation.

Now, we remember Jesus’ first words on the cross

Luke 23:34 ESV

34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

The neat thing about God and forgiveness is that he has already done it. He has forgiven you. Even if you haven’t repented. When Jesus died on the cross, he didn’t just forgive the repentant God fearing followers. He forgave everyone. And before you accuse me of being a universalist or something. Just because you are forgiven, doesn’t mean you are reconciled. Just because you are forgive, doesn’t mean you have recieved the forgiveness.

Like on the cross where Jesus forgives those crucifying him. Not all recieved that forgiveness. So, when you are in a disagreement with someone. You can take up that posture of forgiveness and they can receive it or they can keep fighting, it’s up to them.

For reconciliation to take place you must have both repentance and forgiveness.

I can say sorry, chance my attitude, and truly turn around, but if you don’t forgive, we are at an impasse. Reverse it.

I’m not repentant, but you forgive. You continue loving, I continue rejecting. Again, not going to end well.

Reconciliation is necessary.

Genesis 8:20–22 ESV

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Here is a perfect example of Jesus in the flood.

The world had sinned. So, God stepped in to stop sin from taking over. He wiped it out. Repentance took place in the form of obedience and an offering. Forgiveness was presented as the waters receding. Can you imagine if Noah, after landing on dry ground had said, “Nope, not getting out. We’re good here, we’ve got food and shelter. I don’t need to go out there.

So many of us today do exactly that as believers. Nope, I’m good, I got the forgiveness and I’m going to keep it to myself. I’m not going out there, it’s safe here. I’m not going to change who I am, because that’s not comfortable.

Noah could have done that. He could have repented, but not recieved the forgiveness. And then he’s out the reconciliation

Genuine repentance followed by forgiveness produces reconciliation — the same kind we have with God. When both parties participate wholly in this process, there is no grievance or brokenness beyond the power of redemption.

I witnessed something last week where someone said, you’re just going to have to accept me the way I am. And I’ll say, from a forgiveness standpoint they are exactly right. If you have wronged me. I am to forgive you and accept you the way you are.

But that’s not repentance. If you’ve wronged a person and your solution is, that’s just who I am, if the other person offers you forgiveness, you can’t receive as you are. You have to turn and repent.

And this is God at work in you, all the way.

Jesus not only modeled forgiveness but embodied it on the cross — paving the way for us to follow. When we embrace God’s path for relational unity, there is no brokenness beyond repair.

As proof of a reconciled relationship God said this:

Genesis 9:13–15 ESV

13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

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Jesus came to live this model that Noah had to experience.

We don’t have to go through a worldwide flood in order to reconcile with God or people. But there is a struggle and there is a choice.

In fact, there’s a great illustration of Forgiveness, Repentance, and Reconciliation and it all started with a guy in a tree.

Luke 19:1–10 ESV

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

Luke 19:1–10 ESV

6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

If you have it out with someone. Here are your choices.

You can repent and offer forgiveness and they can reject it. Continue to offer.

They can offer repentance and forgiveness and you can reject it. I hope they keep offering it.

You can offer repentance and forgiveness and they can accept it. And you will be reconciled.

“But pastor, if you knew what they’d done.”

I’ll ask one question. What sin did you commit that Christ can’t forgive. None.

If Christ can forgive your sins, then you can’t withhold it from another.

I don’t know if there is someone in your life that needs forgiveness or that you need to repent to. But I encourage you to take that step and say, “I want to say … I repent, or I forgive. Because even if there is no response, there is healing. And that is a rainbow.

Let’s pray