As in the Days of Noah (Part 2) https://bbiblenotes.runboard.com/t200 Runboard| As in the Days of Noah (Part 2) en-us Thu, 28 Mar 2024 22:48:48 +0000 Thu, 28 Mar 2024 22:48:48 +0000 https://www.runboard.com/ rssfeeds_managingeditor@runboard.com (Runboard.com RSS feeds managing editor) rssfeeds_webmaster@runboard.com (Runboard.com RSS feeds webmaster) akBBS 60 As in the Days of Noah (Part 2)https://bbiblenotes.runboard.com/p279,from=rss#post279https://bbiblenotes.runboard.com/p279,from=rss#post279As in the Days of Noah quote:And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. (Genesis 7:1) And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. (Luke 17:26) I. A Devilish Reversion from Righteousness II. The Divine Rejection of an Unrighteous Race For treatment of the above first two points, please see As in the Days of Noah (Part 1). Now, we continue with the third point. III. The Determined Remnant of the Righteous But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God ... thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. (Genesis 6:8, 9; 7:1b) By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (Hebrews 11: 7) God, Who sees all things, saw Noah as he really was. Noah really was righteous before God, Who being righteous, holy, and just will not lie about the condition of anyone standing before Him. Not only was Noah truly righteous, but he was righteous in "this generation" -- in this awfully wicked age as above described. As a new convert and an immature teenager I used to think, "If I can just get away from my wicked surroundings, then I can really be spiritual." I thought I could be continuously victorious once we moved out into the country (away from the wicked city of Detroit, MI). But, when I went out to the barn to pray, the Devil was there too! Then I thought I could truly be all God wanted me to be once I left home for Bible college (Bible Missionary Institute); but, the Devil followed me there, and I also found that not everyone at Bible college was truly willing to make Heaven and godliness their first priority. I finally came to the conclusion that I can be righteous before God no matter where His will leads me. Following are some of the reasons why Noah was seen by God as righteous:  A. He Had Confidence in God He became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (Hebrews 11: 7) Noah was not depending upon his own self-righteousness, but he trusted in God and through His supernatural grace received and incorporated God's righteousness into his heart and life -- by faith. This is true for us today, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8). I am so glad that I (and whosoever will) can be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: (Philippians 3:9) B. He Communed with God Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9) Walking with God is a biblical idea which conveys an ongoing relationship of communion and companionship. This is what God desires to have with every human being. This relationship is two-way. Noah talked to God, God talked to Noah; Noah listened to God, and God listened to Noah. You and I can also walk with God today. By prayer and Bible reading and study we can have continual communion with God. C. The Commandments of God He Kept Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. (Genesis 6:22 & 7:5) I become weary with the weak arguments of people who declare that we cannot keep God's commandments. If Noah in his wicked day could actually keep God's commandments in such a manner as to pass the scrutiny of God Himself, so can you and I today, when we have been given a better covenant, better promises, and the mighty purifying, empowering presence of the blessed Holy Spirit! If Noah could be righteous in his generation, you and I can be righteous in our generation. Francis Ridley Havergal essentially said this (I paraphrase): Be assured of this: what God commands us to do He really expects us to do, and what God commands us to do we are able to do, because all of God's biddings are enablings -- or God gives with his commandments the grace and strength we need to obey them. D. He Brought Condemnation upon the World Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, (Hebrews 11: 7) Noah acted like he really believed what God told him. By preparing to escape the judgment that God forewarned He would send, Noah's activity put the wicked people around him under conviction. They probably felt condemned, but indeed they were condemned already, because they were not repentant and would not follow his example that they might also escape the wrath to come. I have seen it again and again in the work place and in daily living: the people who are not right with God feel "uncomfortable" around the saints who act so certain about eternity (Heaven and Hell) and who live in such a righteous manner. Even the down-and-out sinners, who have no profession of religious experience, have a tendency to compare themselves with one another and to make themselves think that they are alright. But, when they see a true saint in action, they usually begin to see themselves more the way the really are -- lost in sin, without God, and heading for judgment and wrath. E. He Communicated Righteousness Noah ... a preacher of righteousness (II Peter 2:5) Can you imagine that Noah would have kept his mouth shut for the 120 years while he was building the ark? While it is great error and does great damage to God's cause for people to preach one way and then live in contradiction to what they preach, this in no way removes the responsibility and privilege of spreading the truth of God by word of mouth. In fact, there are a great number of people who would do well to spend their time spreading the gospel -- the good news -- of Jesus Christ instead of spreading the bad news (though it be true) and the surmises (things that may not be true) of their fellow imperfect neighbors and Christian brethren. If we truly live right as Noah did before the Flood came, we will talk right too. The righteousness that is in our heart will most definitely come out at our mouth, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. (Matthew 12:34). And, what could be more right than to warn others of the wrath to come and to let them know that there is a way of escape in Jesus Christ the Savior of the world!? See the following topic for the conclusion of this series: As in the Days of Noah (Conclusion) Yours in Christ, Please share this Bible Note with others who may be interested or helped by it. Bible Notes Archives (2002 through 2008): http://freegroups.net/legacygroups/bible_notes/ Note: these archived Bible Notes are being added to this message board, but it takes time to format the text here.nondisclosed_email@example.com (BibleNote Writer)Tue, 11 Aug 2015 15:24:17 +0000