Question
The Faith of Noah
Hebrews 11:7
(Read Genesis 6-8 for background)
Read Genesis 6:1-12 and describe the general environment and people of Noah’s day. Verse 9b reads, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” What does it mean that he was a “righteous” man? What does it mean to “walk” with God?
Hebrews 11:7a reads, “By faith, when warned about things not yet seen…” What did God warn Noah about? (Genesis 6:13-21) In what respect was it difficult for Noah to believe the things God warned him about? Yet, Noah believed. How was Noah able to believe?
What warnings can be found in the Book of Hebrews about things not yet seen? (2:1-4; 3:7-4:13; 5:11-6:20; 10:26-31; 12:15-29; 13:4) What does the Book of Hebrews tell us to do in regard to these warnings?
What other warnings are in the Bible about things not yet seen? (Luke 17:26; 2Pe 3:7; Rev 21:8; 22:15) What should we do in view of these warnings?
Hebrews 11:7 tells us that Noah not only believed but also “in holy fear built the ark to save his family”. What does “holy fear” mean? In what respect was it a challenge for Noah to build the ark? Yet, how could Noah complete this project according to God’s command? What practical applications can we find from Noah’s example in our own walk with the Lord?
Read Hebrews 11:7b. What do the following statements mean? (1) By his faith he condemned the world; (2) and became heir of the righteousness; and (3) [the righteousness] that comes by faith.
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Message
The Faith of Noah
Hebrews 11:7
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Today we would like to have fellowship with a man named Noah. It has been said, "If you want to make a lot of money, you need to meet people who know how to make a lot of money and learn from them how to make a lot of money." Some people know how to turn one thousand dollars into one billion dollars. Some don't know a thing about money making, so when a grand rolls into his bank account, like the IRS sending him a check for his tax refund, they end up spending it all for nothing, like drinking beers.
Last Sunday Shepherd William said that Hebrews chapter 11 is the Hall of Faith. From God's point of view, we can say that this chapter is loaded up with people who became truly successful, not just while on this side of the grave, but on the other side of the grave. These people are spiritual billionaires, so to speak. We say "spiritual" millionaires or billionaires for some people have lots of money and became extremely successful in money making businesses, yet remain totally bankrupt on their spiritual account. This is a huge problem, for Jesus said, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing," and, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"
So today I welcome you to a spiritual billionaire club and to have fellowship with those who have been truly successful. The previous Sunday we met Enoch who by faith was taken from this life so that he would not experience death. Today we would like to meet Noah, for in his own day, although people were living on the planet earth and tried to improve the conditions of their life, all of them ended up going down underneath the flood waters. Yet Noah was different: by faith he saved his family. What made Noah so successful? What can we learn from him?
First, Noah was a man of faith.
Noah did not become a successful man because he was born special. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Like everyone else, he was born a sinful man. Like everyone else he had all sorts of problems, such as character flaws, bad habits, and sin problems.
But there is one thing that made him stand out high above all others: he had faith in God. What did he believe in? What was the substance of Noah's faith? Well, Shepherd William already answered the question, for in Hebrews 11:6 we learned that faith is to believe in God who exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him. Noah believed that God exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him. Noah became truly successful for he capitalized on the capital called "faith".
As he believed in God, God in turn started working in and through him. Thanks to Noah's faith, the Lord God was able to have fellowship with him. This faith enabled Noah to have fellowship with the richest person in the entire universe. Referring to this fellowship the Bible says, "Noah walked with God." It was in this club run by the God of Creation that Noah was able to withdraw all that are necessary to make him succeed, that is, all the provisions, physical and spiritual.
Thanks to his faith, Noah was able to walk blamelessly among the people of his time. Although his generation was extremely wicked, he walked closely with God. He withdrew from his fellowship with God all that are necessary for life - comfort, joy, peace of mind, the spirit of self-control, gentle kindness, the hope of eternal salvation and much more. These items were not available at the supermarket. But using the spiritual credit card called "Faith," Noah earned a free membership with the Spiritual Supermarket run by God the king of the universe. By visiting there each and every day, he was able to live a life that is truly fruitful, in one of the most difficult generations.
Noah’s example indicates that when one lives by faith in God, he or she can thrive even when the environments are unfavorable. In fact, the darker the generation, the brighter a man of faith shines. This is a Biblical constant known to many. This is so true that there is a hymn called “Faith Is the Victory.” One lyric says, “Encamped along the hills of light, Ye Christian soldiers, rise. And press the battle ere the night, Shall veil the glowing skies. Against the foe in vales below, Let all our strength be hurled. Faith is the victory, we know, That overcomes the world. [Refrain] Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory! O glorious victory, that overcomes the world…”
How are you doing? If you feel down, depressed, maimed, handicapped, trapped, incapacitated, or in any other ways adverse, I would suggest you write down the lyrics of this hymn and sing it quietly over and over. Then the Lord will bless you in a way which you will find truly surprising.
Second, Noah believed in the warnings against things not yet seen.
At this moment, I would like to ask everyone to open the Bible and read Genesis 6:1-22, responsively with me. This passage describes what the "warnings against things not yet seen" are all about: the warnings about the Flood!
Last Sunday Shepherd William made it clear that God did not tip Noah on this "insider" information in a secret manner. Rather God announced publicly with a loud speaker, using his servants, such as Enoch, and warned generations of people about the coming judgment. Remember Enoch lived 365 years and was no more. But he left behind a son named Methuselah who lived 969 years. All the days of his life Methuselah preached about the Day of Judgment, for even his name, Methuselah, means, “When he dies, it will come,” and indeed when he died the Flood waters hit the planet earth.
The point of the message is that the people of Noah's day were warned about things not yet seen. Yet, by faith, Noah believed the message of judgment and salvation, and he practically acted upon it.
The same is true in our generation. People in this 21st Century, Christians and non-Christians, believers and non-believers, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, are all put on notice of God's warnings about things not yet seen! Of all the warnings, the warning about the Day of Judgment is supreme – and this judgment is not by water but fire. At this moment, let us open the Bible and read Luke 17:20-30, responsively.
This passage clearly tells us that there is a Day of Judgment coming. And it will happen when Jesus, the Son of Man, comes again. But the problem is that not all people believe in it. Some who think about it do not think about the import of it. One may think about it every once in a while but not consider seriously how to make provisions for himself against that Day.
King Solomon warns about people like this when he says in Proverbs 22:3, "A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it." Interestingly, in Proverbs 27:12 we see the same message repeating: "The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it." Why this repetition? The answer is this: God knows that people do not take God's warnings seriously and so had to repeat the message in hopes that people would take his warnings seriously.
But statistics indicates that not all people take the warnings seriously. In the day of Noah the absolute majority of people did not believe. They must have laughed about the message of judgment. But Noah did not.
In Luke 17:20-30 we see Jesus' warning about the warning. He warned that people would not believe in the warning on the things that will take place on the day of His coming. The Bible is the book of promise. One Bible scholar counted all the promises contained in the Bible, and found them to be more than 5,000. But all of these promises are reducible to two: the promise of Jesus' first coming and the promise of Jesus' second coming. According to another Bible scholar, in the Bible the promise of Jesus’ second coming is repeated 8 times more than the promise of his first coming.
When he comes what will happen to those who believe? We already know the answer for Hebrews 9:27-28 read, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."
Just as Noah believed in the warnings about things not yet seen, acted upon the warnings, and thereby stayed above the waters, so also should we take God's warnings about things not yet seen seriously and act upon the warnings, particularly, about the message of his second coming.
Third, in holy fear Noah built an ark to save his family.
This is the picture of Noah’s ark. Noah's Ark was huge! It was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high! It had three stories. Its total deck area was equivalent to the area of 20 standard college basketball courts. Its length was six times its width and 10 times its height. It was designed to make the boat stable on the ocean. It was made more for floating than sailing. The Ark was made to withstand a turbulent ocean voyage.
But the point of the message is that Noah acted upon the promise of salvation, as much as he believed that God meant business in judging the world with the Flood.
The same truth applies to people living in this 21st Century, for just as there is a message of judgment there is a message of salvation. And the ark we are called to build is a solid, working relationship with Jesus Christ, the ark of salvation. And we must do it in holy fear of the Lord.
Luckily for us we do not have to make a physical ark like the one Noah made, for God already sent Jesus Christ, the way of salvation. All we need to do then is believe in him, live in him and walk with him.
One might question saying, “Well, what does it mean to build a working relationship with Jesus Christ?” Noah’s example answers the question. In Noah’s case, he built the ark according to the specs given by God. This practically means that the ark must be built according to the way God instructed. Noah’s Ark was designed to serve a specific purpose, that is, to save his family! It was made to stay above the waters, so that even when the floor waters hit the boat, the boat and people inside would remain stable, sound, secure, and safe from all harms. The same is true with Jesus Christ. Just as Noah’s ark was built to save lives, so also Jesus was built and is given to save all who believe in him and live “in” him. Jesus is safe to keep those who get into him stable, solid, sound, secure, and safe from all harms. The whole world may go upside down, but as long as one remains inside of Jesus one is safe and secure from harmful elements! But there is a condition attached to the promise of protection and provision: faith in Jesus’ Christ. Speaking of this promise Jesus said to a woman named Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said, “Sort of.” Then to convince her of his promise, Jesus commanded the dead Lazarus, “Lazarus, come out!” And Lazarus came out of the grave.
Fourth, by his faith Noah condemned the world and became the heir of righteousness that comes by faith.
Now let us think about the fruit of faith further. Verse 7b says, “By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” Here “his” faith refers to Noah’s personal faith. He himself believed in God who is so good as to provide him with the grace of salvation. Likewise each of us must make a personal decision to personally count on who Jesus is and what he can do for each of us.
Who then is Jesus and what can he do for you and for me? According to verse 7b, we learn that Jesus is the one who can save men from being condemned for all of our sins. Those who do not believe in Jesus will remain condemned for all of their sins. But for those who believe in Jesus, there is no more condemnation. Instead, God blesses that person’s faith and bestows upon him or her God’s righteousness. Here, righteousness refers to a right relationship with God. As one gets into a right relationship with God, one can enjoy all the privileges accorded to the children of God. The membership to God’s kingdom is free, that is, for it is given to you upon the demonstration of your faith in Jesus Christ. This faith works like a spiritual credit card. With this card, you can swipe and get into the Spiritual Super Club run by the God of Creation. In this Spiritual Super Store, you can get all the good stuff necessary for life, such as forgiveness of sins, the outpouring of the Spirit of love and power, the Spirit of revelation and understanding, the Spirit of joy and peace, and much more. It is this faith that saves a person and his family despite the corruption of this generation.
In conclusion, let us read verse 7 again. “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” Thank God for blessing us with spiritual fellowship with the spiritual giants recorded in the Hall of Faith. May the Lord bless all of us to live by faith in Jesus Christ, the ark of salvation!
One word: the faith of Noah