The story of Noah is one that we have been taught all our lives. We even have Noah's ark toys and movies. Noah and his ark has become somewhat of a legend. Unfortunately, with all the commercialization of Noah and his ark, many people have lost the reality of what happened. You see, Noah's ark is not just a story, it is an historical account. There really was a world-wide flood and there really was a man named Noah who obeyed God by building a big boat for him and his family so that they could survive the flood. Dealing with the proof of the flood is not part of our subject here though it is something that I highly recommend that you study. For the purpose of our study on the faith life, we can learn from the life of Noah how that we must have faith for salvation. We need saving faith. Notice what the text says in Hebrews 11:7, "By faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his whole house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." There are three things that we can learn from the account of Noah that I want us to see here.
First of all, notice, The Great Problem. When you read the account of the flood as recorded in Genesis chapters six through eight, we see that man had a huge problem. The problem that man had in Noah's day is the same problem that we have today, the problem of sin. This is a problem that has plagued mankind for centuries. There are several things we need to understand about sin. First of all, where sin came from. Sin obviously began with Satan's rebellion against God, but when it comes to the sin of man, it all began on a beautiful day in paradise, a place called the Garden of Eden. It was in this garden that God placed the first man and the first women. These first human beings were totally sinless and perfect in every way. They enjoyed walking and talking with God in the cool of the day. Adam and Eve lived in the ultimate paradise. However, the darkest day in all the history of man began as any other day. Adam and Eve were working in the garden and enjoying the beauty of another glorious day. They enjoyed an early morning walk with God just as they did every other day. But then, it happened. A serpent, who was Satan, hissed his way into the ears of Eve. He tempted her with the fruit that God forbade. He caused Eve to question God and she took of the fruit and ate it. She then gave the fruit to Adam and he also ate of the fruit. At that precise moment, sin entered into man. It was indeed a sad day as Adam and Eve was banished from the beautiful Garden of Eden and carried with them the curse of sin. Secondly, we need to understand the inheritance of sin. From the moment that Adam sinned, sin entered into the world. You see, sin is in the seed of man. Every person that is ever conceived inherits a sin nature. You and I were born sinners. Think about it. You do not have to teach a child how to do wrong. Sin is natural to them. Why? Because they have a sin nature. You and I live within the curse of sin. We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. The Bible teaches us that there is no one that is righteous, there is no one that does good. We are all sinners. A final thing for us to understand about sin is the result of sin. The Bible teaches us that it is because of sin that death has entered into the world. We all face death because of the existence of sin. Sin has not only resulted in death, but sin has resulted in pain and suffering and trouble. I don't know about you, but I get tired of people trying to blame God for all the wrong that is in the world. Often times, people refuse to believe in God because they think that God somehow caused this world to be in the mess that it is in. Let me tell you something, the suffering and pain and heartache that is in the world has nothing to do with God. It is not God's fault, it is the fault of sin. Pain and suffering and death were not in existence until man fell. As human beings, we have put it on ourselves. It is our fault, not God's. Stop blaming God for everything and look deep into your life and realize that it is because of our sin that the world is in the mess that it is in. Just as in the days of Noah, we have a great problem and that problem is sin.
A second thing that we can learn from the account of Noah is The Great Judgment. You see, God is a holy and righteous God. He cannot have anything to do with sin, and He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. There is a price for sin. That price is death. Sin must be dealt with. Sin must be judged. No doubt, during the many years that Noah was building the ark, he warned the people of the coming judgment. Multiple opportunities were given to the people of Noah's day to repent and get right with God. However, only Noah and his family obeyed God. Because of the sin that was in the world, the sin had to be deal with. God sent a flood to destroy all living things. God's wrath and judgment must fall on sin, or else He would not be God. Sin, however, has an even more terrible price than that of the flood of Noah's day. You see, the ultimate price of sin is eternal separation from God in hell. You may say, Pastor, I am not sure that I believe in hell. You better believe in hell. Hell is a real place. The Bible speaks a lot about hell. If there is no hell then there is no heaven. All those who continue in their sin by refusing to trust in Jesus will find themselves in the torments of hell and will be there throughout all of eternity. Read Luke 16:19-31. In Luke, we find an account of a man who went to hell and a man who went to heaven. The man who ended up in hell suffered immensely. There are several things to notice about the suffering that takes place in hell. First of all, notice, the knowledge of hell. This man who went to hell knew where he was. He was conscious of the situation. Imagine the feeling if you wake up in hell realizing where you are and knowing that you will never be able to get out. When in hell, you will be conscious of everything that is around you and you will be conscious of the fact there is no escape. A second thing we see about hell is the flames of hell. Hell is a place of eternal fervent heat. Have you ever experienced a burn, such as touching a hot stove? Do you remember how painful that was? Now, imagine being in a lake of fire. Imagine your entire body floating in flames. Imagine being in a place like that where it never ends. You will never completely die even though you will want to. Imagine being in a place like that. The there is the memory of hell. In hell, you will remember every opportunity that you had to get right with God. You will remember every conversation you had concerning God and salvation. You will remember every time that you heard the warning of hell and the message of God's great love for you. Imagine the torture. Imagine the tears, the agony of knowing you had a chance but you failed to take advantage of the opportunity to be saved. Finally, there is the burden of hell. In hell, you will have a huge burden for those you left behind. You will pray for their salvation. You can only hope that they will not end up in hell. You may say, Pastor, how can this be? How can a loving God send people to hell? Let me tell you something my friend, God does not send anyone to hell. If you end up in hell it's your own fault. The people in Noah's day, destroyed by the flood, was not God's fault. The reason they were destroyed was because they would not repent. They deserved it. The same is true for you and me. We are sinners and as sinners we deserve to be in hell at this very moment. It is only by the grace of God that we are here today. Don't you think for one second that God sends people to hell, we send ourselves to hell when we refuse to repent of our sin. O, the judgment of God is a terrible thing. But, it is a righteous and just thing. Praise God, it does not end here, there is good news.
A final thing that we learn from the life of Noah is The Great Salvation. Because Noah was a man who sought after God, he was given a way of escape. God instructed Noah to build an ark for he and his family and all the various 'kinds' of animals. You see with the judgment of God, there is always a way of escape. Because Noah was obedient to God by going into the ark, Noah and his family was saved. You see, God has given us an ark today. He has given us a way of salvation. He has given us hope. That ark, that way of salvation, is none other than the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus, God in the flesh, came down to this earth and laid His life down for you and me. He paid the price of sin for us. He paid the debt that we could not pay. After that debt was paid, three days later, He arose from the grave. Now, because He is alive today, we have hope. We can have the penalty of sin removed from our lives, we can be pardoned. Just as Noah was obedient to go into the ark, you and I must be obedient to go to the cross. The cross of Jesus is the only way. It does not matter how good you are. It does not matter how bad you are. We are all saved the same way. We can all escape the tortures of hell the same way. It is through the cross of Jesus. Notice what Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast." You see, it is only by the grace of God. You cannot save yourself. It is when we have faith (confident expectation in the reality of God's Word) in the grace of God, then and only then can we be saved. I ask you, have you ever placed your faith in Jesus? Has there been a point and time in your life in which you trusted in Christ for salvation. O, my friend, learn a lesson from the life of Noah, obey God, trust in Him, so that you may be saved. If you have never trusted in Jesus, why not today? If you would like to learn more about the grace of God and the way of salvation, I'd love to talk with you. You may call me any time: 207-596-0196. Do not hesitate, trust in Jesus far salvation right now!