Favor with God
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Relationships require work to survive. Jerry Seinfeld was once asked what his favorite episode of his hit television show Seinfeld is. He said, “Comedy is kind of a survival industry. Comedians are very much into just surviving. It’s like if I were to ask you, ‘What is your favor breath of air that you’ve ever taken?’ You would say, ‘Whichever one I’m taking that gets me to the next one.’ That’s kind of the mindset.” This mindset is important for us in our relationships. Just as you won’t appreciate the breath you took an hour ago unless you’re still breathing now, and a great meal a month ago won’t help you now if you haven’t eaten since. So also our relationships that are based on memories of past success cannot survive. If you deem your marriage a success because you went on a nice date two Valentines Days ago, your marriage might be in trouble. Similarly, if you deem your relationship with God a success because you read your Bible a few days ago, or weeks ago, or months ago, your relationship with God might be in trouble. This is because relationships require work to survive.
introduces key concepts for our theological groundwork. It introduces God in His creative sovereignty and power, humanity made in God’s image, marriage between one man and one woman, sin and rebellion, inherited depravity, sin’s progressive growth, and the reality of God’s judgment, and through it all we see God’s mercy and grace at work. God mercy is evident in His withholding the judgment that sin deserves. And His grace is evident in the believing remnant all the way from Adam to Noah and God’s revelation of Himself through that remnant. indicates that Enoch was a prophet.
One relationship that I have seen break down over the years through a lack of maintenance is marriage. One of my uncles was a truck driver so he spent many days away from home. Eventually because he wasn’t around to maintain his relationship, his wife left him for another man. In particularly busy times we all are susceptible to having our marriages and all of our relationships fall apart because we are unwilling to put in the work that is necessary to maintain them. Your relationship with God requires the same kind of work.
I have an uncle who was a truck driver so he spent many days away from home. Eventually because he wasn’t around to maintain his relationship, his wife left him for another man. In particularly busy times we all are susceptible to having our marriages and all of our relationships fall apart because we are unwilling to put in the work that is necessary to maintain them. Your relationship with God requires the same kind of work.
One relationship that I have seen break down over the years through a lack of maintenance is marriage. One of my uncles was a truck driver so he spent many days away from home. Eventually because he wasn’t around to maintain his relationship, his wife left him for another man. In particularly busy times we all are susceptible to having our marriages and all of our relationships fall apart because we are unwilling to put in the work that is necessary to maintain them. Your relationship with God requires the same kind of work.
introduces key concepts of our theological groundwork for our worldview. It introduces God in His creative sovereignty and power, humanity made in God’s image, marriage between one man and one woman, sin and rebellion, inherited depravity, sin’s progressive growth, and the reality of God’s judgment on sin. In the midst of all of this we see God’s mercy and grace at work. God continues to show His mercy by withholding the judgment that humanity deserves for their sin (even earlier in this chapter, God gives humanity another 120 years to repent before He will destroy them). God’s grace is evident in the believing remnant all the way from Adam to Noah who according to proclaimed God’s revelation in some capacity.
14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
Although God’s grace is evident in these early chapters of Genesis, the only time it’s mentioned specifically is in
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
That word favor is grace; it is defined as “an action from a superior to an inferior who has no real claim for gracious treatment” (Edwin Yamauchi, TWOT). In other words grace is God kindness to undeserving sinners. Noah had no claim to God’s favor, because he had inherited the sinfulness of Adam just like everyone else, but God in His grace gave Noah parents and grandparents who loved and followed God. God’s grace also declared Noah righteous in response to His faith, and gave him the instructions for the ark.
“an action from a superior to an inferior who has no real claim for gracious treatment.”
In response to God’s grace, Noah didn’t become arrogant, thinking he deserved it, nor did he take it for granted and ignore it. Instead he responded to God’s grace by trusting God and pursuing a relationship with Him. This is the right response to God’s grace. Think of all the grace you’ve received: Even if you’re not a believer you’ve received grace because God gives you mercy and you’re still alive. Also, you are hearing God’s Word proclaimed. But if you are a believe you can recognize even more grace in your life: God has opened your eyes to your need of Him and called you to faith; His Spirit is helping you live a godly life; you have a new identity in Christ; and His Word teaches you His will.
(Edwin Yamauchi, TWOT)
The question then is: How do you respond to God’s grace? Are you proud, thinking you deserve it, or do you take it for granted and ignore it? v9 describes Noah’s response to God’s grace:
9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.
Noah’s response to God’s grace in his life was to walk with God. The phrase blameless in his time means that he was “wholehearted in his commitment to the person and requirements of God” (J. Barton Payne, TWOT). That phrase together with the statement that Noah walked with God reveals that Noah was pursuing a relationship of constant fellowship with God. He saw God’s grace, recognized it as grace, and let it guide Him to God. So in light of Noah’s example take this truth home today: In response to God’s grace in our lives, we must walk with God as Noah did.
says that Enoch preached
wholehearted in his commitment to the person and requirements of God.
J. Barton Payne, “2522 תָּמַם,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 974. To walk with God is to pursue a relationship with Him, fellowshipping with Him. This is the truth that I want you to take home with you today: In response to God’s grace in our lives, we must walk with God as Noah did.
In response to God’s grace in our lives, we must walk with God as Noah did.
In response to God’s grace in our lives, we must walk with God as Noah did.
How do we walk with God?
Noah’s example provides us with three aspects of walking with God.
Walking with God requires righteousness from God (v9)
Walking with God requires righteousness from God (v9)
This seen in v9
9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.
What does it mean that “Noah was a righteous man”? Well, it doesn’t mean that Noah was sinless; we’ll see in ch9 that Noah still sinned. Whenever we see the idea of someone being called righteous in the Old Testament we must remember two facts: 1) all people are sinners— makes it pretty clear that we have all inherited sin and are therefore not righteous in and of ourselves; 2) God declares people righteous. says that Abraham believed God’s promises and God counted his faith as righteousness.
6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
This is the same message that the Psalm we sang this morning emphasizes:
1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!
ps 32:
So what’s the point? In order to walk with God you have to be a believer, made right with God through His declaration of righteousness, but that raise the question: How does God do this? All of us have enough of a sense of justice to know that God cannot just ignore sin and declare someone righteous. Sin demands punishment; we recognize it when we grow incensed at the thought of some guilty criminal going free through a legal loophole. So in order for God to be just, which He is, and declare us righteous, which He can, sin must be punished, but how can the sin be punished and the sinner walk away free?
The only way that God can declare anyone righteous is for a righteous person to exist first. Who is righteous? God is righteous, so we start with God as the standard of righteousness as the only righteous One. Then because it is the sins of humanity that are the injustice against God’s righteousness, we need a righteous man. Where do we find a righteous man? Since God is the only righteous One, this righteous man must be a God-man, one who is at the same time God and humanity. Then God must put our sin on this God-man so that when He dies in His innocence, He is vicariously dying for human sin.
Jesus Christ is this God-man; in Paul summarizes how it all works.
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
God’s righteousness is shown in that even though all have sinned God offers justification (a declaration of righteousness) by grace through Jesus Christ. Because Jesus took God’s wrath on sin on Himself in order to redeem us; therefore, God is just and yet can be the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
You can be righteous before God today; start your walk with God by trusting the sacrifice of Christ to pay the penalty for your sin and trust God to declare you righteous. This is a first requirement for you to walk with God, you must be righteous before God, but also walking with God requires separation from the world.
Walking with God requires separation from the world (v11-12)
Walking with God requires separation from the world (v11-12)
We see this in v11-12
11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
These verses don’t specifically teach separation from the world, but the implication is there considering the explicit contrast between Noah and his society. We start in v1-7 and God’s disapproval of the relationships between the sons of God and daughters of men along with the behavior of the Nephilim. Then here in v11-12 we have two references to society’s corruption and violence. That presents a quite a contrast with the description of Noah in v9. Noah is righteous; society is corrupt. Noah is blameless; society is filled with violence. Noah walked with God; society corrupted their way.
Separation from the world is a theme throughout God’s Word. When we speak of separation from the world, we are speaking of holiness, being set apart from the world’s system of thinking and its rebellion against God. God chose Israel to model His holiness by living separate from the idolatry of their surrounding nations.
5 “But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. 6 “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
6 “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
1 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, 2 and when the Lord your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. 3 “Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4 “For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. 5 “But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. 6 “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Just as God called His people Israel to separate from the corrupt idolatrous world, so also He has called His people the church to separate from the corruptions of society. Paul called the Philippians to this kind of holiness in :
15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
Peter
Peter also, compares the church to Israel by drawing an analogy using
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;
I trust you can see that the necessity of living separate from the world. But it’s not my job to tell you what that holiness looks like. I can tell you how I apply these principles in my own life, but you need to read the Scriptures, depend on the Spirit, and develop your own convictions about the our society and your own holiness. Peter says not to live in a way that corresponds to the lusts you had before you believed the gospel, but to be set apart in all your behavior. What does that look like for you? Maybe it means giving up some of your movies, television, music, or video games preferences. Maybe it means changing your wardrobe or considering how you take care of your body. Perhaps it means changing your view of retirement or money in general. Or it may mean giving up your control over the weekend.
Let me also encourage you to avoid imposing your own interpretation of the God’s standards of holiness on anyone else. You must be convinced in your own heart through the Scripture and the Spirit that what you are doing or not doing is what God demands.
If you are a believer, God’s Spirit is writing a new law in your heart. He does that by teaching you God’s Word, helping you understand how it should change you, and strengthening you to conform to Him instead of the world’s system. This frees you from having to keep a bunch of rules to be holy and motivates you based on the Spirit’s conviction and what His Word teaches.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
In a sense then, walking with God and separation from the world are mutually dependent on each other. You must walk with God to know what His Spirit demands and to separate from the world, but if you don’t separate yourself from the world, you will have no walk with God. So I call you to know God Word and submit to His Spirit who is leading you to holiness so that you might prove the relationship you claim to have with Him.
We must walk with God which requires both righteousness from God and separation from the world, but pease also see that walking with God requires obedience to God.
Walking with God requires obedience to God (v13-22)
Walking with God requires obedience to God (v13-22)
This is seen in the rest of the chapter:
13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 “This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 “You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 “Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18 “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 “Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 “As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.” 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.
Did you ever wonder why Moses recorded so many details about the ark? Look at those verses again: the kind of wood is defined, the inside, the waterproofing, the length, the width, the height, the location of a window, the location of the door, the number of decks, the number of animals, and the food provisions. What difference does that make for us? Other than Ken Ham, no one else is ever going to build one of these humongous boats. Before I answer that question, look at the middle verses of God’s statement (v17-18)
17 “Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18 “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
God declares His intention to destroy all flesh with a flood, but He also promises to save Noah and his family which consisted of his wife, three sons, and their wives. These verses are why God commanded Noah to build the ark; He was saying, “I want you to build this vessel because of the flood and because I want to save your family from it.” How did Noah respond to this?
7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Heb
Noah’s faith and obedience concerning things he had not yet seen condemned the world because they didn’t believe God nor did they obey. Therefore, it is in this that we understand why Moses recorded these seemingly unnecessary details. It emphasizes that no matter how unbelievable God’s revelation or commands were, Noah was going to obey. Look at v22.
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.
Moses writes three different ways that Noah did everything God commanded him. Every detail was obeyed; not a thing was missed.
This is the positive side of our separation from the world. We must say, “No!” to the world, but we must also say, “Yes!” to God. When you read or hear God’s Word, how do you respond? Do you do everything that God commands you or are you satisfied with doing some it? To walk with God requires that we obey Him, for if we fail to obey, we lose fellowship with Him.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
John contrasts walking with God (having fellowship with Him) with walking in darkness. In other words, to fail to obey God’s commands, is to fail to walk with God. This is important: I don’t want to deny God’s grace to you or His Spirit’s strengthening you to obey; however, John uses strong language here for a reason. It is similar to Paul’s thoughts on the matter in Romans 6.
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
The purpose of these texts is to emphasize the danger of not taking sin seriously. We ought not take sin lightly; rather, we are to strive after obedience in all things that God has commanded us. Stop living like your sin doesn’t matter, and consider what your lifestyle says about your walk with God.
The example of every godly individual in the Scriptures should motivate us to imitate their walk with God.
The example of every godly individual in the Scriptures should motivate us to imitate their walk with God.
When I was a pastor in Wisconsin, one of our missionaries fell into some pretty serious immorality. Because I had a very close relationship with this man, he called me after he returned to the states. He mentioned that his busy ministry lifestyle took his attention away from God’s Word and prayer. This neglect turned into immorality which was finally exposed and cost him his ministry. He offered me words of warning that day, never to neglect my walk with God. His words of exhortation still stick with me.
If you are here this morning and are more like Noah’s society than Noah, one of two things must be true. Either you have no walk with God because you have not yet been declared righteous as Noah was, or you are neglecting separation from the world and obedience to God.
If you have not yet trusting Christ for salvation from your sin, why not make today the day when you determine to let God declare you righteous. You are not righteous, no matter how good you think you are. Turn to God in faith and trust God to apply the righteousness of Christ to your account.
Brothers and sisters, if you are neglecting separation from the world and/or obedience to God, you are playing with fire. Relationships demand work. Your relationship with God can’t be based solely on some decision you made some years ago. You can’t say you have fellowship with God while doing your own thing. Being a Christian and loving the world are incompatible. Return to God in repentance and start walking with God again instead of away from God. His Spirit and His Word are calling you to return to Him.
May we all recommit to respond to the grace of God in our lives in holiness and obedience to all of what God commands.