Verse of the day: Genesis 7:16 So those that entered, male and female of all
flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.
What a beautiful picture of our salvation,
and Christian life, we see in this verse. We know of Noah, already, that he was
a man of faith who obediently built the ark that God had instructed him to
build. While he built the ark, he also preached righteousness and the coming
judgment. He was a man who was morally upright and lived for God without
compromising his faith (Gen 6:9; Heb 11:7). God has now invited him into the
ark. I say “invited him”, because verse 1 of this chapter reads, ‘Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your
household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this
generation.”’ Although Noah had built the ark, it was upon God’s invitation
that those who were going to be saved were asked to enter in. Although Noah was
righteous, and was obedient, he did not have the power to save his family or
the creatures God had instructed him to bring with him. It is no different for
us today. It matters none if we have our own form of righteousness and good
works if we have not faith. If our works do not come out of, and as a result
of, our faith, then it is all for not, and in the end we are still condemned.
Salvation can only come from God, and it can only come in the way the He
prescribes. It was not Noah’s idea to build the ark. God called him to build it
and told him the exact measurements, and what materials to use, to build it. The
salvation that Noah and his family would partake of was God’s plan of
salvation, not Noah’s. Today, God tells us that the only Way of salvation is
Jesus (John 14:6). There is no other way. To neglect that plan, and those
instructions, is to set ourselves up for eternal condemnation (John 3:18). Once
we have obediently accepted God’s way of salvation, by faith, then it is up to
us to live our life in righteousness (Philippians 2:12), faithfully share the
gospel (Mark 16:15), and do good works that are the result of our faith (James
2:18). God promised that He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2),
and will complete the work He has begun in us (Philippians 1:6). Note that it
was God who shut Noah, his family, and all God’s creatures, into the ark; it is
God who seals us with the Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:13). When
the time of tribulation and judgment comes, as prophesied in God’s Word, we who
are truly born again will be saved from that condemnation (Romans 8:1). When we
close our eyes in physical death, we will not suffer eternal condemnation in
Hell or the Lake of Fire, because we have been sealed and given God’s salvation
in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:1-10). Interestingly, we see two of God’s Names used
in this verse, first God, or Elohim “Creator”, and the second LORD, or Jehovah “Covenanting
God”. Noah went into the ark at the invitation of his Creator, who is the same
God who makes a covenant with Him. In the end, Noah’s obedience to God, by
faith, did not go without reward, although he did not see that reward right
away. God kept him safe in the midst of all the violence and mockery, while he faithfully
preached the coming judgment, and he and his family were secure when
destruction came to mankind and all living creatures. Beloved, for those of us
who trust our Creator’s plan of salvations, and call upon Jesus, by faith, we
too will not go without reward; and even though we may have to wait until we
are face to face with Him, it is already secure in Christ. He will protect us
here on earth as we spread the gospel; and if He chooses that we be His martyr,
there is no greater reward or privilege. In the end, when the coming judgment
becomes reality, we will be kept safe because of the covenant of grace that has
been given to us in Christ Jesus (Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20).
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