Grace, for one man's sake.

 

"Who Am I" by Casting Crowns

Genesis 6:5-19, "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD . . . '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. 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. 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.'"


Identity of Noah in Scripture:

• Isaiah 54:9-10, “'For this is like the days of Noah to Me,
              When I swore that the waters of Noah
              Would not flood the earth again;
              So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
              Nor will I rebuke you. 
     'For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
            But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
            And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,'
            Says the LORD who has compassion on you."

• Noah: Portrayed as a historical man. Why would God swear to not flood the earth again in a similar manner to a flood that never happened?
• As surely as God has established a covenant of peace, so surely must He have also established a covenant to never again flood the whole earth (after just such an event).

• Ezekiel 14:12-16, "Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 'Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,' declares the Lord GOD. 'If I were to cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the beasts, though these three men were in its midst, as I live,' declares the Lord GOD, 'they could not deliver either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the country would be desolate.'"
• Noah: Portrayed as a historical man. How could imaginative individuals have the righteousness to deliver themselves from real judgment?
• It is needlessly confusing to say Noah's children were saved in the original imaginative story of Noah, whereas they would not be saved in the real context of the faithless nation of Israel.

• Hebrews 11:1-7, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible . . . By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 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."
• Noah: Portrayed as a historical man. Does God really warn imaginative individuals of future judgment?
• Just as real, New Testament Christians are approved by faith, so also must a real man Noah have set an example of being approved by faith.

• I Peter 3:18-20, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water."
• Noah: Portrayed as a historical man. How do you say that a real God was patient during an imaginative story?
• How could Christ have made a proclamation to spirits of men said to die in an imaginative story?
• Only eight people survived this flood in the time of Noah--indicating it was very large-scale.

• II Peter 2:4-10, "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter . . . then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority."
• Noah: Portrayed as a historical man. Just as fallen angels have been committed to judgment, so also all the ancient world, excepting only Noah and his seven family members, were judged by God.
• Believing that "the Lord knows how to rescue" Christians from temptation is said to be just as sure as saying that a real man Noah, and his family, were rescued from the ungodliness of the ancient world.