Open up your Bibles again to Genesis chapter 6.
The Christian life can often feel like a tug of war, can't it?
!
That the gospel is going out, there are real encouragements, ministries grow, the kingdom advances, but then we feel a pushback.
That church gets an email saying they can't meet at their venue anymore because of what they believe.
The building application gets rejected.
The government implements laws to make Christian parenting even harder.
Whatever it may be, life in God's kingdom, it feels like a tug of war.
A back and forth with this world.
You go one way, you get pulled back the other.
And if you've been following along in Genesis, these early chapters east of Eden, it feels like that too.
There's been this constant tug of war of progress and setback with God's plan of salvation.
We know God has promised salvation.
It's going to come through a family of believers.
God is creating an immortal bloodline to belong to himself.
And we know from that immortal bloodline, there's going to come a son to crush Satan's head, to end evil, to save the world.
But there's been this tug of war in these chapters.
The promise makes progress, but then there's this pullback.
Adam has a son, but it's Cain.
Then Adam has Abel, but Cain murders Abel.
But then Seth is born, but Seth's line is dying.
But Seth's line is escaping death.
God is creating an immortal bloodline.
There's been this tug of war, this back and forth over the past two chapters.
The promise has been working.
Sons have been coming, but not smoothly.
It's been a tug of war, just like the Christian life.
But there's a reason behind all of this.
A reason why there is a tug of war east of Eden, even today.
Don't forget what God promised.
What did God promise in Genesis 3.15?
Yes, there will be a godly family, an immortal bloodline.
But that bloodline will have enmity with Satan.
Satan and his unbelieving family, unbelievers,
they're going to be in conflict with the godly family.
Two bloodlines, belief and unbelief, will be at war.
The reason this tug of war exists in Genesis,
and in our own lives, and the church,
is because Satan is at war with belief.
That's the promise.
Satan doesn't want the immortal bloodline to keep going.
He doesn't want the son to arrive.
And so with chapter 5, last week, we make progress in the war.
The promise is working, that the godly family grows,
the immortal bloodline is created,
and already a son, Noah, has come to bring rest.
But don't forget Satan.
Don't forget the war.
If grace is pulling the rope one way,
Satan is going to pull back the other.
And so as we enter chapter 6 now,
we need to wonder,
well, how is Satan pulling back?
What is his next step going to be in this war?
And we find there is a threat to the immortal bloodline on the horizon.
Because if salvation is coming through the immortal bloodline,
Satan wants to blur the bloodlines.
That's my first point today.
Satan wants to blur the bloodlines.
Now, this chapter, it contains heavy things.
And it contains lots of unusual things.
There are sons and daughters,
children and Nephilim, mighty men of old.
And I can't address every question in this passage,
but the big thing I want us to see that's going on here
is that all of this is still related to the genealogy in chapter 5.
It's not a coincidence that we get the genealogy of the immortal bloodline
and then we get this.
Because what's going on here
is the immortal bloodline,
the godly offspring,
is disappearing
by being merged with the ungodly bloodline.
And this is Satan's tug in the war.
So do you see that there are two families mentioned here in verse 1?
When man began to multiply on the face of the land
and daughters were born to them,
the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive
and they took as their wives any they chose.
So do you see that there are the sons of God
and the daughters of man?
So two families, two bloodlines,
and they began to marry.
Now the question is, who are these bloodlines?
Well some say that the sons of God are fallen angels,
demons essentially.
Sons of God, it's the name given to fallen angels in the book of Job.
And according to this approach,
those angels fell from heaven,
came to earth,
started to breed with humans,
that they married human daughters.
And that's what's going on here.
Now I know that sounds pretty out there,
but I think that is a possible option,
that that could be the case.
But the better option,
I think,
is that
these are the two families mentioned in Genesis 3.
The sons of God are the godly family of Seth,
the immortal bloodline,
and the daughters of man
are the daughters outside of that bloodline,
not friends with God,
but basically Cain's unbelieving bloodline.
That's what I think is more likely the case here.
And just an aside,
the Nephilim,
I can't get into this,
but the Nephilim aren't the product of these marriages,
they're not the children of these marriages,
it's just saying that
these marriages happened
whilst a group of people called the Nephilim
were on the earth.
And the Nephilim,
they also appear in Numbers 13 as well,
they're just a group of big warrior people.
And so this passage,
it sounds unusual,
but really what it's saying
is the sons of God,
the believing bloodline,
married the daughters of man,
the unbelieving bloodline.
And so as these two bloodlines
began to multiply on the earth,
something happened,
they started to marry each other,
to blur.
And you might think,
so what?
Why is this such a big deal?
Well, because God sees it as a big deal.
Because look how God responds.
He looks upon the earth,
sees these marriages,
and he pronounces judgment,
verse three.
Then the Lord said,
my spirit shall not abide in man forever,
for he is flesh.
His days shall be 120 years.
It's like God sees these marriages
and says,
I can't have this happen.
I can't encourage this.
This needs to stop.
And so I'm going to remove
my spirit of life from humanity.
And I'm going to drop their lifespan even more.
It was going down already because of sin,
but now I'm dropping it way down to 120 years.
That's the maximum.
God did something to our genetics.
Now why?
Why is Seth's bloodline,
marrying Cain's bloodline,
such an issue?
Why such a severe judgment from God?
Well, the problem,
it's more sinister than you think.
Look at how the sons of God
were choosing their wives,
verse two.
They took as their wives
any they chose.
They weren't thinking about God
when they chose a wife.
They weren't thinking about the promise.
They weren't thinking about the promised son,
but they weren't thinking about the promised family.
Salvation just left their minds,
and they thought,
I'm just going to marry whoever I want.
And so the bloodline of believers,
it starts to blur
with the bloodline of unbelievers.
Which means,
what's going to happen to the godly family?
It starts to get diluted
and phased out.
It's like,
you know when you make squash?
You know, orange squash,
blackcurrant squash.
And you have the concentrator squash,
and it's bright purple,
and then you add water,
and then it gets diluted, doesn't it?
It gets less purple.
And then if you add more and more water,
it gets less and less purple, doesn't it?
And what happens if you keep doing that,
keep adding water and water and water,
soon,
it's not purple at all.
It's gone.
Well, that's what's going on here.
If Seth's line
is like the concentrated purple,
that's where the promise is,
that's where the belief is,
that's the immortal bloodline
where the Saviour Son is coming from.
But the unbelieving bloodline,
it's like the water.
No promise there.
And as the two bloodlines
start marrying and mixing,
the promise starts to dilute.
But belief
and friendship with God
starts to disappear.
And so what will happen to the Son?
How will the serpent crusher appear?
Well, if there's no family,
there's no Son.
These marriages are salvation
getting diluted out of existence.
And this is what Satan wants.
This is his side of the tug of war.
Just think about it.
If you were Satan,
and you knew the serpent crusher
is coming to kill you,
and you know he's coming
from the immortal bloodline,
and you've tried killing
that bloodline, Abel,
but that didn't work
because God just brought
another son, Seth,
then what is your next option?
Well, if I can't kill the bloodline,
then I'll dilute it.
I'll breed the Son out of existence.
This is Satan trying to stop
Christ being born.
This is Satan's pull
in the tug of war.
Satan wants to blur
the bloodlines.
And this is why God
is so severe about this.
His people
are forgetting about their God,
abandoning the promise,
abandoning Christ.
And so God shortens
their lifespan even more.
You walk away from God,
there's only death.
The immortal bloodline
was doing so well.
But now it's like
the promised people
have fallen again.
And you can even see that
in the language of verse 2.
Did you notice,
it sounds just like the fall.
The sons of God
saw that the daughters of man
were attractive.
attractive.
In Hebrew,
that's literally good.
They saw that they were good.
And they took
as their wives,
as any they chose.
Saw,
good,
took.
It's just like Eve.
She saw the fruit
was good
and she took it
and ate.
It's the fall 2.0.
Godliness is disappearing
off the face of the earth.
And this is such a threat
because this works.
Satan isn't stupid
with this tactic
because we know
God's people
have always been prone
to abandon his promise
because of relationships.
We see this warning
throughout the Bible.
As Israel enters Canaan,
God says,
do not marry the Canaanites
because you're going
to end up serving their gods.
Solomon married
many unbelieving women
and what happened to him?
His heart turned away
from God.
In Malachi,
Israelite men
started divorcing
their wives
and marrying unbelievers
and God condemns it
because the Lord says
he's seeking
godly offspring.
God knows
if our hearts
go after
an ungodly spouse,
it affects
the heart
of the whole home.
And so it starts
to affect our children.
Who we marry
matters for our godliness
and for the godliness
down the line.
And sadly,
we see Satan's tactic
work in Genesis,
in Solomon's life,
and even today.
I'm sure
almost every adult here
can think of
at least one person
who has walked away
from the faith
because of a relationship.
I'm sure
you can think
of one right now.
I can think
of at least five.
And they started
texting that guy
from work.
They started
pursuing that girl
at uni.
They thought
it would be fine.
They said
don't worry about it.
And then a year later,
no church,
no interest,
no faith.
And it's not
a coincidence
they end in disaster.
It's the same
tug of war
as in Genesis 6.
and it works.
Satan is trying
to phase out
God's grace,
dilute it out,
and he couldn't
do it with Christ.
He couldn't
dilute out Christ
and so Satan
goes for the church
instead.
And so if you're
not married
here today,
we need to be
very careful
with who we marry
as Christians.
We can be tempted
to just go
for whoever we want.
Someone that simply
looks good to the eyes
and we take.
And we do so
without thinking
about God,
without thinking
about the promise,
without thinking
about the bloodline.
But we need
to take Genesis 6
very seriously here.
Don't be like
these sons of God.
Always have God
in mind
when you're seeking
a spouse.
Our hearts
are too prone
to wonder
that this is
how Satan
loves to
pull at your heart.
And so
just let me be
very direct
with you,
especially the
young people here.
Christian,
do not date
a non-Christian.
Just do not
do it.
Or if you're
dating one now,
end it.
Or if you're
like Eve
and you have
someone in mind
and you're texting
and you see
and you're close
to taking,
end it now.
Don't let this
be your fall.
And I know
it's easy.
I know you
could get a
boyfriend like that.
I know you
want to be married.
I know you
could download
an app
and the loneliness
would be over.
And I know
that this is
particularly hard
for Christian girls
because there
are just more
Christian girls
than guys out there.
The numbers
make it so difficult.
And it feels
like a constant
tug of war
in your heart.
I know the
temptation is there
but please
think about
the bloodline.
Think about
the promise.
Just think
about God.
Now it needs
to be said
if this is
already you,
if you're
already married
to an unbeliever,
you must never
ever think
you're hopeless.
In fact,
the New Testament
acknowledges that
there will be
Christians in the
church married
to unbelievers.
It does not
exclude you
from grace.
Never,
never ever
think that.
In fact,
there is
extraordinary
grace for you.
The fact
that you are
here shows
God's grace
in your life.
It shows
Satan does
not win
this tug
of war.
The fact
that you are
still holding
on to Christ
is God's
grace in your
life.
And even
more so,
God is so
gracious.
This grace
is for your
children.
God calls
your children
holy,
that they're
special to
him.
And so the
promise has
not disappeared
in your life.
No,
God's grace
is for you
and for your
children.
Satan has
not won.
And that's
because even
Satan's plans
aren't enough
to dilute
God's grace.
Because look
how this passage
ends.
Satan tries to
blur the bloodlines,
he's trying to
dilute it out,
but verse
8,
but Noah
still comes
from these
bloodlines.
But Christ
still comes.
Satan
cannot wash
out God's
grace.
Whatever
your past
relationships,
whatever that
tug of war
you feel,
God's grace
cannot be
washed out
of your
life.
But at the
same time,
the point
mustn't be
lost about
going into
marriage.
The Lord
is seeking
godly
offspring.
The real
blessing in
this world,
it's not
going after
whoever you
want,
no.
It's not
just seeing,
liking,
and taking,
the real
blessing,
it's with
God.
It's a
life holding
onto his
promise,
waiting,
a life waiting
for Christ
to come.
And so
this is the
tug of war.
And you
might expect
for God to
pull back,
and he
does,
but not
before we
see what
happens when
godliness is
diluted out
of this
world.
And we
see when
the blood
lines get
blurred,
sin comes
into focus.
It's my
second and
final point
today,
sin comes
into focus.
So without
the godly
bloodline,
look what the
world becomes,
verse 5,
the Lord
saw that
the wickedness
of man
was great
in the
earth.
God
is
like all
the
concentrated
purple
has gone
from the
world,
and everything
becomes
transparent.
Humanity
is shown
for what
we really
are,
and God
looks and
sees,
and there's
just wickedness.
It's like
God's grace
and godliness,
we're containing
the monster
of sin,
reigning it
in,
but now
with no
godliness,
the monster
is just
let loose.
Like the
tug of war
is being
launched to
Satan's
side.
And with
grace removed,
God looks
not only
at the
face of
the earth,
but he
looks into
the human
heart.
He opens
us up
and looks
deep within
to see
what we
really are
deep inside,
what humanity
is really
like east
of Eden,
and what
does God
see?
Every
intention
of the
thoughts
of his
heart
was only
evil
continually.
I remember
in English
lit class
in year
11
GCSE,
our teacher
asked us
all,
put your
hand up
if you
think we
are born
naturally
good.
And about
half the
class put
their hand
up.
I wonder
if you
would put
your hand
up.
To my
shame,
I did
put my
hand
up.
But how
does God
answer that
question?
Well,
it's verse
five.
this is
how we're
born.
And God
doesn't pull
his punches
with this
description.
It's like
God
heaps up
these
phrases
to describe
us.
So just
look again.
What is
the human
heart like?
God saw
that his
heart was
evil.
But not
just that,
the thoughts
of his
heart were
evil.
And not
just that,
but the
intention
of the
thoughts
of his
heart
was evil.
evil.
And not
just one
intention,
but every
intention of
the thoughts
of his
heart
was evil.
And not
just that,
every intention
of the
thoughts of
his heart
was only
evil.
And this
isn't just
now and
again,
but every
intention
of the
thoughts
of his
heart
was only
evil
continually.
This is
every heart
of every
human,
of every
second,
of every
day.
This is
what happens
when godliness
is diluted
out.
This is
what remains.
This side
of Eden,
no one
can put
their hand
up in
that
glass.
Yes,
the image
of god
continues,
but the
image has
shattered.
There is
no place
in the
human heart
where sin
hasn't
touched.
And so
this says
something that
we must not
forget about
the human
heart.
The heart
cannot be
trusted.
God
is
a man
recently.
He
recently
left his
wife for
another
woman.
And this
man,
he was a
church-going
man.
And when
he was
confronted
about it,
he said,
but when
I'm with
this other
woman,
I feel
true to
my heart.
That's a
church-going
man saying
that.
we have
drunk too
much of
the lie
that our
hearts can
be trusted.
That just
because a
feeling is
natural,
it must
be followed.
No.
Look what
comes naturally
from the
heart.
And so
the moral
decline of
the world
right now,
it can be
explained here.
It is
because godliness
is being
abandoned and
the heart
is being
trusted.
This is
why such
outrageous
immorality
is celebrated.
This is
why such
crazy things
are being
believed.
God is
getting pushed
aside,
godliness
is getting
diluted out,
and the
heart is
just being
let loose.
And this
is why we
feel that
tug of war
in ourselves.
It's because
our heart is
like this.
The tug of
war pulls
in that
direction.
And when we
follow our
hearts, we
can think,
so what?
So what?
I'm not
hurting anybody.
So what?
I'm being
true to
myself.
Well, this
passage shows
us, so
what?
Verse 7.
So what?
So the
Lord said,
I will
blot out
man whom
I have
created from
the face
of the
land,
for I am
sorry that
I have
made them.
So what?
So judgment.
God sees
the state of
his once good
creation,
his precious
image,
now this,
and it
grieves
him.
He hates
it.
And when we
see the word
regret and
the sorry
describing God
here, it's not
saying that God
made a mistake.
It's not saying
that God
messed up his
plan, whoops.
No, it's human
language describing
God's divine
judgment.
It's human
terms describing
God's response
to sin.
He hates
what man
has become.
And so he
says, I must
blot out
man.
It's like when
someone drags
dirt into your
house, you
see it, and
you have to
wipe it away,
don't you?
Well, God
sees the dirt
of our hearts
in his house,
and he must
blot it out.
And that is
why the flood
comes next.
But for now,
it feels like
Satan is winning
this tug of
war, doesn't
it?
He's winning
it in this
world with
the moral
decline.
He's winning
it in our
hearts as we
give in to
evil again and
again.
It's like
East of Eden,
all the colour
of godliness is
getting diluted
out.
But not
completely.
Because look
how this passage
ends.
But Noah
found favour
in the eyes
of the Lord.
It's like
God has
preserved this
one flash of
colour in the
world.
And it's
found in a
man, a
man who
finds favour
with God,
a son who
walks with
God.
And that is
where we can
find colour
in this
world.
Because if
Satan is
diluting
godliness out
of this
world, if
evil is
continually
there in
the
heart, what
do we
need?
What do
we need?
We need
righteousness.
And when
Christ came
and walked
amongst the
wickedness of
this world,
he was like
the most
intense,
saturated,
flash of
colour in
this washed
out world.
A colour
that Satan
can never
dilute.
The son
who walked
with God
perfectly,
the man
who found
complete favour
with God.
And if
you looked
into his
heart,
looked deep
down and
stared into
that colour,
what do you
find in
Jesus'
heart?
Every
intention of
the thoughts
of his
heart was
never evil
continually.
Every
intention of
the thoughts
of his
heart was
only holy
and pure
and good
and God
honouring
all the
time.
Satan
tries to
dilute out
godliness
but nothing,
nothing can
wash out
the righteousness
of Christ.
And this
is what we
need right
now.
If you're
not trusting
in Jesus
today,
but you
see this
washed out
world,
you see
the state
of your
heart and
you wonder,
is there
any hope?
Is there
any answer
to all of
this?
Well,
there is.
There is a
way to be
right with
God,
to find
favour with
him,
and it's
found in
a man.
It's
found in
Christ.
And when
you trust
him,
something
remarkable
happens.
All the
colour of
his
righteousness
he gives
to you,
all his
righteousness
he puts
to your
name,
he is
the only
relief in
this washed
out world.
And that
is what
has already
happened to
you,
Christian.
This
passage is
heavy,
it can
weigh on
us,
can't
it?
We
might look
back at
how our
hearts were
pulled in
all those
directions,
how we
gave into
that tug
of war
too many
times.
We may
look at
our hearts
now and
it's like
we see
no colour
at all,
and our
sin just
weighs on
us.
take
comfort
Christian,
in
Christ,
God does
not see
that
anymore.
All the
righteousness
of Christ
belongs to
you,
all that
colour
is now
yours.
In
Christ,
you really
have found
favour with
God.
This life
may feel
like a tug
of war,
but praise
God,
there is
relief,
there is
the
righteousness
of Christ,
and in
him,
you will
never lose
this war.
Nothing
can drown
him out,
nothing
can wash
out that
colour
from your
life.
Let's
pray.