What Saved Noah? – 2/18/2018

WARNING PREACHY…

Read these two short scripture passages.

Genesis 6:12-22

¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. ¹³ So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. ¹⁴ So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. ¹⁵ This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. ¹⁶ Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubits high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. ¹⁷ I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹ You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
²² Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

1 Peter 3:18-22

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. ¹⁹ After being made alive,  he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— ²⁰ to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

There’s a baptism theme going on here and it’s in response to the proclamation of judgment.  The first baptism, as symbolized by Noah, was at the flood.  The water of the flood was the destructive judgment of God coming upon a corrupt humanity: the water’s intention was the destruction of humanity.  But God offered Noah a way out, he had to build an ark and through the ark he and his family were saved.  Peter says that the waters of baptism, as symbolized by the Noah event, is what saves humanity, but when we read a little farther we learn that it isn’t the water of baptism that saves us, it’s “the pledge of a clear conscience toward God” which saves us in response to the “resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Even in Noah’s day, it wasn’t the water that saved Noah, on the contrary, the flood waters were the judgment of God upon a corrupted humanity.  Was it the ark then?  The ark was literally what carried Noah to safety through the deadly flood-waters, but it wasn’t even the ark that saved Him.  The decisive moment that saved Noah is found in Genesis 6:22, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

The waters of the flood are the judgment of God upon humanity while the announcement of the flood and the instructions of building the ark are the gospel message (Genesis 6:13-14).  It was the response of Noah, he believed God and did what he was instructed as his acceptance of God’s salvation to him.

In modern times we too have a judgment;

Revelation 20:11-15

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

An instruction for salvation (gospel message);

Acts 2:36-39

³⁶ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

and a way to respond for a clear conscience.

Acts 16:29-33

²⁹ The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” ³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. ³³ At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 

Acts 2:31-33

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Now, it’s our turn?  How do we respond to the knowledge that God’s judgment is coming?  Will we believe God and build the ark or will we scoff at the idea and ignore the warnings?  It’s unfortunate that it’s much easier to sit back and scoff at the Christians than it is to make the decision to believe in salvation through Jesus Christ; because Jesus is the ark that will carry us all safely through the coming destruction.