We're continuing our series in Genesis this morning and we have come to Genesis chapter 6 verse 9 and we are going to read all the way through the end of chapter 7.
So some of you all were worried that we'd never make any progress in Genesis. Well, here we are. We're going to read a larger section of Genesis this morning.
If you're physically able, when you found that in God's Word, would you stand in order of the reading of God's Word? Genesis 6 verse 9 through the end of chapter 7.
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
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.
Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it.
The length of the ark, 300 cubits. Its breadth, 50 cubits. And its height, 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark and finish it to a cubit above and set the door of the ark in its side.
Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven.
Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.
And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sword into the ark to keep them alive with you.
They shall be male and female, of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds,
and of every creeping thing on the ground according to its kind. Two of every sword shall come into you to keep them alive.
Also, take with you every sort of food that is eaten and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.
Noah did this. He did all that God commanded him.
Then the Lord said to Noah, Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate,
and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth.
For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights,
and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.
And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth,
and Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
Of clean animals and of animals that are not clean,
and of birds and of everything that creeps on the ground,
two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah.
And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
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 heaven were opened,
and rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
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,
They and every beast according to his 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.
They went into the ark with Noah,
two and two of all flesh,
in which there was the breath of life.
And those that entered, male and female of all flesh,
went in as God had commanded him,
and the Lord shut him in.
The flood continued forty days on the earth.
The waters increased and bore up the ark,
and it rose high above the earth.
The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth,
and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth
that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.
The waters prevailed above the mountains,
covering them fifteen cubits deep,
and all flesh died that moved on the earth.
Birds, livestock, beasts,
all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth,
and all mankind.
Everything on the dry land,
and whose nostrils was the breath of life,
died.
He blotted out every living thing
that was on the face of the ground.
Man and animals and creeping things
and birds of the heavens,
they were blotted out from the earth.
Only Noah was left,
and those who were with him in the ark.
And the waters prevailed on the earth
one hundred fifty days.
Grass withers, flower fades,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Father, we thank you for this word.
We pray that by it we would be both warned of judgment to come
and driven to our knees in faith in the Messiah
that you've provided for salvation.
We love you.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Several years ago,
I was asked to give devotions
at a local preschool in Myrtle Beach
where we used to live,
and so I asked the leadership,
well, what text or what topic
would you like me to talk about?
And they said,
we want you to talk to the children
about Noah and the ark.
And I said, okay, that'd be perfect.
I'd be glad to do that,
but I could already tell
just in those initial conversations
that we had different versions
of that story in our mind.
Somehow, as you probably are aware,
Noah and the ark
has become sort of a light
and fun and colorful children's story.
There's animals,
there's rainbows,
there's a boat,
there's water,
it's all nice and fun,
but as we just read,
I hope you heard the language
from Scripture.
This actual story of Noah and the ark
is not quite so lighthearted,
is it?
Before I got up to talk,
first about the bad news of sin
and God's judgment against sin,
and then ultimately the good news
of God's grace,
and God's grace provided in Christ,
well, they sang a song
that confirmed all my suspicions.
He might know it.
The Lord said to Noah,
there's going to be a flood,
floody.
The Lord said to Noah,
there's going to be a flood,
floody.
Get those children out of the muddy,
muddy children of the Lord.
I don't know what that means.
I didn't read about any children
getting in the boat here.
The animals,
the animals,
they came in by twosies,
twosies,
animals,
came in by twosies,
twosies,
elephants,
and kangaroosies,
roosies,
children of the Lord.
You get the idea.
For whatever reason,
and forgive my pun,
there is a tendency
to water down
the story of the flood.
We aren't comfortable
talking about it
as it really is.
We have a hard time
wrapping our minds
around the truth
of what's happening here,
but we have to try
and understand it
as it is
and not as we want it to be.
This is a story
of God's wrath
against sin.
It is not a pretty picture.
This is a story
of God's judgment
on the wicked,
but also,
also,
it's a story
of God's preservation
of the faithful.
Yes,
on one side,
it's a terrifying picture
of God's wrath
against sin,
but it's also
at the very same time
a glorious story
of God's grace
and mercy
towards sinners like us.
So let's look
at the text this morning
and we'll see it
in two parts this morning.
First,
this is our outline
if you're taking notes.
First,
we'll see God judges
the wicked,
but second,
the Lord preserves
the faithful.
God judges
the wicked,
but preserves
the faithful.
That's the big idea here.
And if that's true,
then the question
that needs to be
on all of our mind
this morning is,
how do I make certain
that I'm counted
among the faithful?
How do I make
absolutely certain
that I get
on the boat?
So let's look at it
this morning.
First,
the Lord judges
the wicked.
You remember last week,
the reason for the flood.
You remember what we saw
last week?
All the earth
has become corrupted
by this dreadful disease
called sin.
And you can look back up
to the verse,
verse 5 of chapter 6
and see that the Lord
saw the wickedness
of man was great
in the earth.
Every intention
of every thought
of every heart
of every man
was only evil
all the time.
That was last week.
Now this is not
a pretty picture,
is it?
Verse 11,
chapter 6,
says the earth
was corrupt
in God's sight
and the earth
was filled
with violence.
Verse 12 says,
all flesh
has corrupted
their way
on the earth.
This isn't just
an isolated,
small,
minor issue,
is it?
This corruption
of sin
has spread
and spread
and spread.
It has gotten worse
and worse
and so now
God has determined
that He is going
to undo
His work
of creation.
Whereas in the beginning
God created
all things
and He saw
and He declared
that it was good
and now what happens?
He sees
and He declares
that it is wicked.
Whereas in the beginning
God brought order
out of chaos
through the power
of His word,
now temporarily
He's bringing
all things back
into a state
of chaos
by the power
of His word.
He is undoing
His work
of creation.
He's scrubbing
it absolutely clean.
You know,
when we first moved
to the area
a few years ago
we had temporary housing
for a few months
and we didn't want
to pay for storage.
That's just kind
of how we roll
and so we threw
everything in the basement,
in the garage
of this house
that we were staying in
and we didn't think
anything of it
until a few months
went by
and it was time
to load up
and move into our home
and we started noticing
these little black spots.
Black spots
on the couch.
Black spots
on the beds.
Black spots
on the picture frames.
There was mold
absolutely everywhere
and the more you saw it
the more you saw
how much it had spread
all over everything
and what do you think
we did when we saw
that mold all over
the stuff that we
wanted to preserve?
What do you think we did?
We began
to scrub it
clean.
The more we scrubbed
the more we saw
that it needed scrubbing.
It was everywhere.
God
here
is seeing
the widespread
black mold
of sin
that has come
and completely
corrupted all
of his creation
and so what does he do?
He is preparing
to scrub it
completely
clean.
Look there
to chapter 6
verse 13.
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
and how will he do it?
Verse 17
he says
behold I will bring
a flood
of waters
upon the earth
to destroy
all flesh
in which is the
breath of life
under heaven.
Everything
that is on
the earth
shall die.
This isn't just
a slap on the wrist
is it?
This isn't just
a minor punishment
he says in chapter 7
verse 4
he says
I'm sending rain
on the earth
and every living
thing that I have made
I will blot
out
from the face
of the ground.
And we see
the impact
of the storm
in chapter 7
verse 21
it says
all flesh
died
that moved
on the earth.
Birds
livestock
beasts
all swarming
creatures
that swarm
on the earth
all mankind
everything
that is on
the dry land
and whose nostrils
was the breath
of life
died.
Just think
about that image
for a minute.
And don't
water it
down.
This is
complete
and total
destruction
of the wicked.
It's the death
penalty
for every
living thing.
We can hardly
imagine that.
And the closest
comparison that
we have
is probably
some of the
natural disasters
that we've seen
in our lifetime.
You can think
of some of the
hurricanes that
we've lived
through and seen
and just to be
clear I'm not
saying any of
these are
necessarily
God's judgment.
We can't
say that.
But just
consider the
power of
what we've
seen.
I remember
Hurricane Katrina
coming through
New Orleans.
Just ravaging
the devastation
that that
hurricane brought.
1,833
people died
from that
storm.
It brought
about $108
billion in
damages to
the area.
It's just
terrible.
Or you might
think of many
of you were
here during
Hurricane Hugo.
Came and
made landfall
right here
in Allendor.
Hugo would
just devastate.
You saw
firsthand the
destruction that
Hugo brought.
Or more
recently you
could think
of the
waters that
ravaged through
the upstate
in the mountains
just less than
a year ago.
Hurricane Helene
came through
and nobody
was ready
and some
areas up there
got over
30 inches
of water
in just
three days
time.
It is
absolutely
devastating
to that
area.
These storms
were terrible.
We've seen
the power of
what these
waters can
do,
haven't we?
But none
of these
storms was
even a
fraction
of the
devastation
of this
flood.
This isn't
just 30
inches of
water.
We're told
in chapter
7,
the fountains
of the
great deep
burst forth,
the windows
of the
heavens
were open,
the rain
fell,
the ark
is floating
up above
the highest
mountains,
all of it
is just
covered up
with water,
not just
for two
or three
days,
but 40
days and
40 nights.
It's not
just one
little area
of the
world,
just a
couple
states,
a couple
countries
on the
coast.
This is
the whole
world undone
by the
waters.
And it's
not just
1,800
people dead,
as awful
as that
is.
It says
he blotted
out every
living thing
that was on
the face
of the
ground,
everything
that is
except
for eight.
we cannot
begin to
fathom the
destruction
of this
flood,
can we?
It is
absolutely
horrible to
imagine,
but listen
to this,
we need
to understand
this,
just like
these hurricanes
that we've
seen are
just a
fraction of
the power
and the
devastation
of the
flood,
so this
destructive
global flood
is just
a small
image of
the greater
judgment
to come
at the
return of
Christ.
the
New
Testament
looks
back on
this
flood
and
sees
it
as
a
warning.
We took
us to
2 Peter
last week,
I want to
read this
again this
morning,
2 Peter
tells us
this,
it says
the earth
was formed
out of
water and
through
water by
the word
of God
and by
means of
these the
world that
then existed
was deluged
with water
and perished,
that's the
flood,
listen to
this,
but by
the same
word,
the heavens
and earth
that now
exist are
stored up
for fire,
being kept
until the
day of
judgment
and the
destruction
of the
ungodly.
You can't
read this
familiar story
and miss
the message.
This passage
is a warning
to the
wicked,
not just
the wicked
of yesterday
but the
wicked
of right
now.
There is
even
greater
destruction
and judgment
yet to
come on
the wicked,
greater even
than this
global
destructive
flood that
wrecked
everything but
eight people
out of all
the world.
You know,
as we think
about this
judgment
and the flood
and then we
think about the
coming judgment
and the return
of Christ,
this devastation,
you might
ask at this
point,
what kind
of God
would do
something like
this?
Have you ever
asked something
like that?
That's about
the most natural
question that you
could ask at
this point.
Atheists and
non-believers,
if you get into
conversation with
them, they might
ask you something
like this,
you actually
believe in a
God, you
trust in a
God, you
worship a
God that
just completely
destroyed the
world that he
made?
what kind
of God
would do
that?
What kind
of good
God would
completely wipe
out all
humanity?
What we need
to see is
that at the
root of that
objection is
a minimization
of the
seriousness of
sin.
One of the
worst effects
of sin is
that it
blinds us
to the
severity of
sin.
And it
blinds us
to just how
sinful we
are.
we're
deceived into
thinking that
we're mostly
good, good
natured people.
Sin isn't
that bad,
it's not that
bad, God
doesn't need to
react that
way.
We're just
trying our
best, we're
wounded by
sin but we're
not dead in
sin, we're
all just good
people, right?
That's not how
God sees it.
Sin, even
the slightest
drop of
sin poisons
the whole
well.
And if
we're shocked
by the
judgment of
God against
sin, that
God would
judge a
sinful world
is probably
because we
have too
small a
vision of
our sin.
But not
only that,
it's probably
because we
also have
too small a
vision of
God.
Think about
it like
this, a
small sin,
if there even
was such a
thing, a
small sin
against an
infinitely
glorious God
is of
eternal
consequence.
even the
smallest sin
against the
highest being
carries with
it eternal
consequence.
Think about
it, if you
whack your
brother on
the head,
and that
doesn't happen
in our
house, okay,
this is just
hypothetically
speaking,
all right,
out of
nowhere,
making this
up, if
you whack
your brother
on the
head, you
deserve time
out, right?
If you
whack your
mother on
the head,
oh, that
punishment just
got turned up
a little bit,
didn't it?
Why?
Because you
have just
sinned against
an authority.
You have
sinned against
somebody who's
deserving and
who expects and
demands your
utmost love and
respect and
honor and
care.
If you think
you're going to
go whack the
president of the
United States on
the head with no
consequence, guess
what?
You're a dead
man.
Why?
Because our
punishment
increases in
direct proportion
with our
sinfulness as
well as who
we have sinned
against.
What we've
seen, our
sinfulness is
total.
We are totally
corrupt.
All the earth
is totally
corrupt and
we have sinned
against a
good and
glorious,
eternally
worthy God
who is worthy
of all honor
and praise
and glory and
we have spat
in his face.
This is what
sin is.
So I ask you
again, what
kind of God
would do
something like
this?
And the
answer, if we
understand it,
is a holy
God.
One who's
grieved by
our sin.
And a just
God.
One who will
allow no sin
to go unpunished.
And a glorious
God.
One who's
worthy of all
honor and
praise and
glory forever
and ever.
Amen.
Those who
see their
sin rightly
don't look at
this flood and
say, why would
God do that?
They look at
God's patience.
120 years of
delay and they
say, why in the
world would God
do that?
They look at
God's preservation
of Noah and
his family and
say, why would
God do something
like that?
See, when you
see your sin
rightly and you
see God's
glory rightly,
you will be
more amazed by
God's grace
than God's
wrath.
You will be
more amazed by
his patience
than with his
judgment.
Now you won't
wonder why would
God ever be
against me.
You would
wonder why in
the world
would ever God
be for me.
You won't
wonder why God
judges anybody.
You'll be
wondering why
God might
preserve anybody.
God's
That's exactly
what he
does.
Yes, the
Lord judges
the wicked,
but look here,
God preserves
the faithful.
So let's look
second and we
see this amazing
truth.
The Lord
preserves the
faithful.
That was the
bad news.
But the good
news, there's
good news here.
Noah is
preserved.
God shows mercy here to Noah and to his family.
So I want to just look back and see.
I want you to notice a few things about Noah here.
Because Noah we're told is a model of faithfulness.
What does it look like to be faithful to the Lord?
What does it look like to be preserved from the wrath that we deserve?
Noah shows us here.
For one thing we're told that Noah out of all the people on the earth.
Noah was uniquely righteous.
Blameless it says.
Chapter 6 verse 9 it tells us Noah was a righteous man.
He's blameless in his generation.
Of course that doesn't mean that he's sinless.
We can look ahead a couple weeks in chapter 9.
And we see very clearly that Noah is not perfect.
He's not sinless.
He's sinful just like you and I are sinful.
But he is uniquely righteous.
In a way that's distinct.
It's unusual in a world of wickedness.
Where wickedness is the defining characteristic of the world.
Noah he says is blameless.
Not only is he blameless.
But verse 9 tells us Noah walked with God.
Noah walked with the Lord.
That's echoes of Enoch isn't it?
And we saw the story of Enoch last week.
Enoch walked with God.
And he was not.
He walked with God.
And he escaped the curse of death.
That's echoes of Enoch.
It's echoes of the Garden of Eden isn't it?
Adam and Eve walking with the Lord.
And this close fellowship with God.
This close personal intimate communion with the Lord.
Where they walk with Him.
And they speak with Him.
And familial relationship with God.
He is set apart here.
Because he knows God.
And we have to stop and ask don't we?
Do you know the Lord?
Do you walk with Him?
And do you speak with Him?
Do you have a close relationship with the Lord?
Noah did.
And not only this.
But think about this.
Noah, out of all the people of the world.
Noah received the word of the Lord.
God spoke to Noah.
Noah.
Chapter 6 verse 13.
It says God said to Noah.
He spoke to Noah.
I have determined to make an end of all flesh.
He warned him by His word.
God spoke to Noah by His word.
That same word that gave life to the universe.
And that same word.
That law giving word that gave instruction to Adam and Eve.
On what they must do in order to live.
That same word comes and instructs Noah.
On what he must do in order to live.
He didn't leave anything up to guesswork either, did he?
You see there in chapter 6 verses 14 through 21.
He lists out every measurement for the ark.
Every instruction.
Every little detail.
All the animals that come in by twosies and twosies.
All the necessary requirements for food.
And sacrifice.
All the things needed for repopulation of the new earth.
Even down to the type of wood that Noah is supposed to use.
Every little thing.
Every detail is laid out here in God's word.
You know, we don't have time to chase this trail.
I wish we did.
There's clear parallels here in this chapter.
With the construction of the tabernacle later on.
And you think about just how specific those instructions are.
God by his word communicates to us everything that's needed for life and godliness.
It's always been the case.
Everything is laid out here clearly.
No guesswork.
Everything's given to Noah by the word of the Lord.
Everything needed to escape the judgment of God.
It's found here in the word of the Lord.
What a unique gift of God's grace.
That his word was given to Noah.
And we might think, well, if only we had something like that.
If only God would just speak to me and communicate to me exactly what I need to avoid judgment.
If only God would lay out clearly instructions for how to be preserved from this wicked generation.
If only God would give me his word.
Then I would be fine, wouldn't I?
If only.
Church, we have it in our laps.
The Lord has spoken to each and every one of us by his word.
What a privilege of God's grace it is to have this day in and day out.
To open it in the morning.
To open it and read it with our families.
To come into here in this place and have the word preached.
We have heard the word of the Lord.
And with it its warnings.
With it its provisions for salvation.
We have each heard the word of the Lord.
Are we listening?
You may not love what you hear from the word.
You may not love what you've heard this morning about sin and judgment.
Those aren't popular terms.
This is heavy.
I realize that.
But church, consider yourself privileged to be warned.
And then consider yourself sent and commissioned to go and warn others by the word of the Lord.
The word came to Noah.
But he didn't just hear it.
He didn't just receive it.
What did he do?
Noah doesn't just hear it and continue on life as usual.
What does Noah do?
Noah obeys the word of the Lord.
We see it in chapter 6 verse 22.
And again in chapter 7 verse 5.
It says Noah did all that God commanded him to do.
All of it.
Total obedience to the word of the Lord.
We just studied in James in the Grow Class Hour.
We just wrapped up a study in James.
What does James say?
Faith without what?
Works is what?
Any good?
It's dead.
The reformers had a little phrase that they would say.
They'd say, yes we're saved by faith alone.
But the faith that saves is never alone.
In other words, saving faith, genuine faith is always accompanied by good works.
True, genuine faith is always partnered with obedience to the word of the Lord.
Noah here obeys all that God commanded.
And not just for one minute.
Look here.
We see here that Noah persists in obedience.
Now you've got to do a little bit of math here.
And fill in some of the white space just a little bit.
But based on the ages that were given for Noah.
And when he had his three sons.
And then when the flood waters eventually began.
And the length of time.
The warning that God gives before the floods began.
We can assume that Noah took something like 100 to 120 years to build the ark.
There is something like 100 to 120 years between the end of chapter 6 and the beginning of chapter 7.
That is a century of persistent obedience to the word of the Lord.
That is a century of looking foolish in the eyes of the world.
That is a century of trusting and obeying the word of the Lord.
That's a lifetime for most people now, isn't it?
What in the world can sustain that sort of long term obedience to the word of God?
The author of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 7.
By faith.
Noah being warned by God.
Concerning events as yet unseen.
In reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.
By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Noah was faithful to obey the word of the Lord because he had faith in the Lord.
Faith in the Lord is the root of all faithfulness to the Lord.
This is faith that persisted in faithfulness.
Church, if you want to know what it looks like to be faithful in the midst of this wicked generation.
Evidence that you are on the boat.
Here's what it might look like.
Ask yourself this.
Are you walking in persistent, obedient, grace empowered, word centered faithfulness to the Lord?
Are you blameless?
Are you distinct in righteousness?
Not perfect.
But striving for holiness?
Are you seeking to honor him with your life?
Does your heart genuinely desire to live for him?
Are you trusting and obeying the word of the Lord?
Are you living by it?
Are you clinging to it?
Are you believing it?
Are you holding on to it as your only hope?
Are you persisting in faith?
Genuine faith is often battle tested.
It's proven.
Are we prepared to persist by faith in the word of the Lord?
I'll ask it again.
Are you walking in persistent, obedient, grace empowered, word centered faithfulness to the Lord?
These are good questions for us to ask.
Good evaluating questions for us, aren't they?
But listen to me here because I want to be clear.
If we base our assurance only on our answers to these questions, we will never know where we stand.
You want to know why?
Because not a single one of us does any of those things perfectly.
Our performance, our effort, our obedience.
We will never sleep easy knowing that judgment is coming upon the wicked if we look inward at ourselves, at our performance.
Which is why we must ultimately look to Christ Jesus in faith.
Jesus Christ is the only one who can answer all of these questions with 100% yes.
Only Christ Jesus is totally, truly righteous.
Only Christ Jesus is totally blameless.
Only Christ Jesus fully obeyed the word of the Lord.
Only Christ himself is the very word of God.
Christ himself is the object of our faith.
Here the world is judged for their wickedness and God brings Noah by his grace into the ark and he's saved.
And now we're warned again.
Judgment is coming against the wicked.
But now, church, the invitation is cast out to all who will listen.
Come to Christ and live.
Come to Christ and be saved from the wrath to come.
The only way you can be certain that you're counted among the faithful is not by looking at yourself and what you've done.
It's only by coming to Christ in faith.
Don't miss the lesson here.
Remember, this isn't just a fun, colorful children's story.
There is life and death held out for us this morning.
Jesus himself, as we read earlier, tells us that just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.
This is the warning.
But the gospel invitation is cast wide.
Whoever believes in Christ shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Will you come to Christ?
Will you come to Christ and escape the judgment that we're owed for our sin?
Will you come to Christ in faith and cling to him as our only hope?
The unbelievable good news of the gospel is that in Christ, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
Which means there's no more wrath of God against the sin of those who are in Christ.
There is no judgment against those who are in Christ.
There is no hell for those who are in Christ.
There is no guilt in life, no fear in death.
For those who are in Christ.
How wise was Noah to get in the boat?
Would you make certain that you're in Christ?
Are you in him by faith?
If not, I know any member of this church would love to talk to you more about what that means.
To be in Christ by faith.
And if you are in him by faith in church, praise God for the grace he's shown sinners like us.
If you're in Christ by faith, we can read this account and rejoice in this flood of God's wrath against sin.
Because we see here, Jesus Christ has washed away all of our sin.
God is serious about ridding sin.
God will wash away every stain of sin.
He will preserve us by his grace.
He will bring us safely home.
We can be assured of our salvation now and the future.
If we are in Christ, the day of his return, we no longer fear.
We rejoice.
Because by his grace for you, it's no longer a day of wrath, but of deliverance.
Marvel at this truth, church.
What kind of God would destroy the world with a flood?
The same God who would crush his own son in the place of sinners.
What kind of God would pour out his wrath on an innocent substitute in our place?
What kind of God would step down into our mess, into our brokenness to seek and to save the lost?
What kind of God would go down into the pit of death and rise up triumphant in order to save the wicked?
Our God.
A good God.
A holy God.
A gracious, loving, glorious God.
Let's pray.
Father, we thank you, Lord, for the gospel.
The bad news that all of us are deserving of judgment, but the good news that Christ has come to save sinners like us.
We pray that we would rejoice in that provision of salvation, simply to be received by grace through faith.
We love you.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Thank you.