Sermon Tone Analysis

It has been said, If you really believe in God, there will be evidence of it in the way you live, in the things you say, and in the things you do.

So far, in the Hall of Faith series, we’ve seen faith in the manner which Abel worshipped.

Last time, we saw faith in how Enoch walked the talk.

Today, we’re going to be looking at a very famous Old Testament character, by the name of Noah.

We’ll see his faith by how he lived a life of obedience.

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, the writer of Hebrews has been attempting to show that it is faith in what God has done through Jesus Christ that is able to save a person.

It is not by any works, whether by rigorous spiritual activities or religious superficial rituals.

This teaching is nothing new, for it is seen throughout the entirety of the Bible.

The reality is that if a person is genuinely saved, then good works will naturally be a normal part of that Christian’s life.

There is no clearer passage that I can think of that teaches this so clearly as Ephesians 2.8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as 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 so that we would walk in them.”

So, let’s take some time now and read today’s verse.

Hebrews 11:7 (NASB95)

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.

A person who is saved by grace through faith should live in such a way that shows we believe that what seems impossible is completely possible with God.

Preparation - 11.7a

Noah was told by God to prepare for a major catastrophe, and he did just that.

“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household . . .

Scholars suggest that Noah must have lived in Mesopotamia.

Thus, there would not have been any large lakes or oceans anywhere close by.

Yet, we know from Genesis 6, that God had told Noah about a worldwide flood that was going to destroy everything because of the evilness of humanity.

Just hearing that must have seemed absurd and confusing to Noah.

I grew up in Southwest Kansas, where most of the creeks and rivers were dry.

When we heard about the river in Dodge City and Garden City causing disastrous flooding, as a little boy, I couldn’t understand it.

After all, that “river” was usually dry during most of the months of the year.

How could anything like a flood happen?

Yet, even without a previous experience of a flood, the Scriptures do not suggest that Noah spent any time debating or arguing with God, much less asking Him to prove it.

There seemed to be no hesitation, for we get the impression that Noah simply began working in obedience to what God had told him to do.

In fact, Noah’s faith was such that it appears that he spent over a century working and obeying God’s Word to build an ark.

What an example to us!

We should not be dragging our heels because something seems absurd to us.

We don’t need to worry about the dozens of things that we think need to be done.

Simply recognize the one thing God is telling you to do right now and obey in faith.

What might that be?

Maybe it’s building a ginormous ship when none has been built before.

Maybe it’s the simple act of chopping down that first gopher tree.

Maybe it’s just saying, because you said so God, I’ll do it, even though I don’t understand it, have never done it before, . . .

I want to take a bit of time giving a little information about the ark to help us understand just how incredible this all was, and how Noah truly lived out his faith.

Some of you may remember Bill Cosby telling the story about Noah and the ark.

As the instructions are being given by God, Noah asks What’s a cubit?

Normally, the answer would be the length of the forearm.

Amongst scholars, the smallest distance would be 17 1/2 inches.

So, if we use that information, the ark would have been 438 feet long, 73 feet wide, and 44 feet high.

Since football season is upon us, it was a bit less than 1 1/2 football fields long and it was more than four stories tall.

The Bible tells us that there were three decks.

I hope those of you who love math are having fun with this; I know I did.

That means, the total area of all of the decks would have been 96,000 square feet.

Did I mention that this was ginormous?

Obviously, if you’ve seen scale drawings and read what naval engineers have stated, you would realize this was not going to be a speedboat, nor would there be water skiing lessons offered.

The purpose was to protect the family and animals that would be inside this ark.

You recall that the Bible tells us in Genesis that Noah found favor with God.

Later in this verse we’re reminded that Noah became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

God, in His grace, saved Noah.

However, this was not random cherry picking by God.

Genesis reminds us that Noah walked with God and that he was considered blameless in his time.

Noah chose to obey God, proving his faithfulness to the Lord.

Yet, he was not perfect.

We know this because he was descended from Adam, thus inheriting the sin nature, along with everyone else.

We also see that even after experiencing being saved from the destruction and devastation of the world and the rest of humanity, Noah still blew it.

We see that he became drunk.

One of his sons compounded the problem and committed more sin.

Does this remind you of yourself?

I know it looks an awful lot like me.

I have been saved by grace through faith.

Yet, even though I know of the promises of God and the riches in Christ that I have, I still fail my Lord on so many occasions.

Praise God—I am still His and I have not been rejected, though I fail in my faith walk many times.

We can readily see that Noah’s faith was such that he was willing to live in such a way that what seemed impossible to everyone else, was completely possible with God.

When he was told by God about the imminent destruction of mankind and the world, he believed God.

So much so that he proclaimed repentance to a rebellious people.

When God gave him the blueprint for the ark along with the materials list, Noah did exactly what he was told to do in preparation of saving the family and the animals which God told him to do.

There were no negotiations; there was no whining; there was no digging in of the heels.

Noah believed God and his faith was seen in his absolute obedience.

Condemnation - 11.7b

The people had seen Noah’s boat building exploits, they had been observing his lifestyle, plus they had heard his proclaiming the message of judgment and doom if they didn’t repent.

In essence, everyone outside of Noah’s family were being condemned by the fact they knew better because of their observations, yet they still rebelled against God.

“By faith Noah . . .

condemned the world . . .

A young man from Athens, Greece, is said to have remarked to Socrates,

“I hate you, because every time I meet you, you show me what I am.

Most of us don’t think of ourselves as condemning others.

However, if we are living a lifestyle that glorifies God and proclaims Jesus Christ, then those who refuse to believe, find themselves condemned by our actions and words.

That is what was happening with Noah.

Peter refers to Noah as a preacher of righteousness in his second letter.

Now we might theorize that building the ark was the most difficult thing that Noah had to do.

But I submit that preaching a message of repentance and challenging the people to turn to the Lord was far more difficult.

Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3.12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

We think about how difficult life appears to be right now, but it must have been horrible in Noah’s time.

As has been pointed out previously, God, in His sovereignty, knew exactly when and where we were to be born and live.

Therefore, we need to live in such a way that we believe that what seems impossible is completely possible with God.

Our faith should be evident to all who observe us.

What a message Noah was told to share.

In essence, if the people would not repent, they would perish in God’s judgment.

And this was not a random judgment; it was because of their evil and unbelief.

They heard the message and chose to respond in rebellion.

Lest anyone think that God was thrilled with wiping out the world, except those saved by being in the ark, remember that Genesis 6.6 says that God was grieved in His heart.

Plus, God was more than gracious in giving 120 years for Noah to be proclaiming this message.

People certainly had time to follow God.

We see this explained in 1 Peter 3.20 “the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”

We see this explained in 1 Peter 3.20 “the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”

Just as is today, and always has been, and always will be, there is no excuse for rebellion and unbelief toward God.