1 Peter 1:25 ... the word of the
Lord endureth for ever...
Aurelius Baptist Church 4419 W. Barnes Rd.
(517) 628-2085 Mason, MI 48854
Grace Extended
Bible Study.... Noah, the
"Saved by Grace" Saint
God’s love reaches out to you and when God’s love touches your need, we call it Grace.
"For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God ... "
(Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
Noah was a good man in bad times.
And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (Gen 6:3, 6-8 [KJV]; Gen. 6:9, 22; 7:1).
What was the generation like when the God sent the destroying flood?
Man had no standard of moral behavior, each person did what was right in his own eyes; violence was rampant. There was no righteousness or sense of personal accountability for sin. Men had abandoned God and they were completely out of line with His holy nature.
(Ro. 1:17-25; 2:5-11)
While the rest of the world was corrupt and wicked, Noah honored God. Those that would find grace in the eyes of the Lord must be as Noah was and do as Noah did—trust God and choose to follow Him.
(1 Cor 15:10. Heb 11:7; Psa. 20:6)
"No matter how ungodly the environment you may be in, God will always find you and walk with you. Noah lived in perhaps the most wicked age in history. No one worshiped God. All the people worshiped idols and pursued their own sinful pleasures. Noah’s neighbors were evil; every person he associated with in the marketplace, or along the street, or in public gatherings, ridiculed the very thought of being faithful to God. Every temptation imaginable was abundantly available to Noah.... Nevertheless, Noah was not lost to God in the crowd of sinners. God noticed every act of Noah’s righteousness. Noah had chosen to live uprightly before God despite what everyone around him was doing....
As the world tries to persuade people to follow its standard, your life should stand in stark contrast as an example of a righteous person. Your life should convince those around you of the wisdom of following God. Do not underestimate the positive effect that your obedience will have upon those close to you." ("Experiencing God Day-By-Day," Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, pp. 166, 167; 1955.)
For those 120 years, Satan and his demonic followers completely influenced the minds and actions of everyone except a "perfect" (though not sinless) man–Noah. And "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."(Gal. 1:6-10)
Why did Noah find grace in the eyes of the Lord?
Noah was pure in heart (ritually clean; free of sin) and in conduct (morally upright); he was obedient to all God demanded of him. By extending grace to Noah and his family, God signified that mercy and grace are found in knowing God personally. Personal knowledge and fellowship with God through Jesus Christ expresses itself in worship, prayer, trust, and obedience.
This one man, of all the countless multitudes then on the earth, was fit to receive God's gift of grace. The word grace means "unmerited favor" or "acceptance." And when "God’s love reaches out to you and when God’s love touches your need, we call it Grace." Grace is God’s love and mercy in action. God told Noah to build an ark of safety and within that ark he would find grace—salvation and deliverance. (John 1:17)
Salvation: God, Himself, would save Noah and his household from judgment. Deliverance: God, Himself, would be his personal ark of safety.
God's extended grace to Noah also signified that it is possible to escape the penalty of sin before the rains of Divine judgment are poured out on the ungodly and unbelieving world.
(2 Pe. 2:4, 5)
It could not have been easy for Noah to preach the message of repentance to an unbelieving world. It could not have been easy to devote every working hour to build a boat on dry land in a world which had never seen rain. It could not have been easy to fight public opinion, ridicule and potential harm in a world without love and compassion. Only a man who loved God with all his heart and who believed God could do the impossible could have endured such a testing of faith.
By faith, in obedience, Noah displayed a spirit, an attitude and character worthy of a man who walks with God. For his obedience and love, God extended grace and mercy in his hour of need.
(Mic 6:8; Mal 2:6; James 4:6)
One Sunday morning, years ago, a pastor laid the body of his small child to rest in the church graveyard. The child had died unexpectedly during a family outing. He returned home heavy of heart to prepare for the sermon he was to deliver that morning. In all honesty, he felt abandoned by God. Kneeling down he asked God to let His grace be sufficient for the day. Opening his eyes he looked across the room at a framed text on the wall which had been placed there by his mother during his absence. The words which met his gaze were "My grace is sufficient for thee." The "is" was stitched in bright green and the "thee" in another color.
The truth of "My grace IS sufficient" flooded his spirit with the realization that God cannot make grace any more sufficient than it is! He has given grace freely and fully.
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercies,
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
—Annie Johnson Flint
God deals with our failures by extending grace (forgiveness) for the cleansing of the sinner’s heart, thereby justifying (to acquit; to set free) all who come to Him by faith.. Since all have sinned, our only hope for eternal life is God’s all sufficient grace. (Psa. 5:5; Ro. 3:21-24; 5:17-21; Ro. 6:23; Heb 11:7)
Just as Noah found safety in the ark, today our place of safety is faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus gave His life that "whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." God is holy and just and must punish sin. Jesus died on the cross and took our punishment that we might be reconciled (restored spiritually) to God. His sacrifice frees God to declare us guiltless. This is "imputed righteousness"—a legal position in which God declares the sinner not guilty on the basis of Jesus’ death for sin on the cross. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God".
(2 Cor. 5:21; 8:9)
We come to Christ by faith. It is written, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation".
(Romans 10:9-10; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-9; 2 Pe. 3:18).
God extends to us eternal life. (John 3:16; 1 John 5:12, 13; John 5:24);
God completes His work of salvation in us (Philippians 1:6);
Jesus protects our salvation (John 10:27-30 );
The Holy Spirit seals our salvation (Romans 8:13-14).
We are justified by grace, we are not justified before God by any work we do for the church or for humanity. Paul, the apostle, wrote "it is of faith, that it might be by grace" (Rom 4:16) . There is a golden thread running through the whole of Christian history—grace! There is no place in the Word of God that says a man can be saved by his own initiative. Salvation by grace rules out all human effort. "By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph 2:8). (Ro. 5:20; 1 John 3:1, 2)
We have heard that history repeats itself. That is true from a biblical standpoint. God will once again judge the world for its sin. The time is coming when He will extend the last call of grace through faith to a sinful generation. When the Lord speaks to your heart, will you respond as the Philippian jailer and ask, "...what must I do to be saved?" The answer is simply, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16).
When you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and accept Him as personal Savior, you are saved immediately and eternally. Like Noah, you are a "saved by grace" saint. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord because he walked with God by faith. We, too, come to God by faith, not by sight. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36).
You can commit your life to Jesus any time and any where. Here is a simple prayer to help you become a Christian.
Prayer of Commitment:
Dear Lord Jesus:
I know that I am a sinner. I believe You are the Son of God and that You died to bring forgiveness to me for my sins. Right now, I ask You to forgive me . . . . I turn from my sins and I receive you as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. . . . In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.
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