Hebrews 11:7, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith”
The first evangelist ever in the OT I would say was Noah. Noah was a preacher of righteousness 2Peter 2:5, Genesis 6:5, says “…the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”. This is one of the strongest and clearest statements about man’s sinful nature, sin beginning in the thought-life. The people of Noah’s day were exceedingly wicked inside out, and right in the midst, we are told about Noah’s righteousness by faith Genesis 6:8, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord”
Because he was righteous, the Lord set His grace to preserve his life, family and those who would listen to his prophetic message. He was to build an ark in God’s way as a means of salvation. Noah was a mighty good ship builder, however his main occupation wasn’t ship building, it was preaching. If you read his account, you discover he was a terrible failure as a preacher by today’s standards. His wife and three children and their wives are all he had. 7 converts in 120 years of preaching, you wouldn’t call that particularly effective in our day as people think. Yet he is honored because of his obedience and faithfulness to complete a task that seamed foolish and untimely by faith. Genesis 6:22, “thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did”. It had not rained so why would anyone listen to him? He was ridiculed, made fun of but still for 120 years he preached faithfully never changing the message. Matthew 24:38, “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark”. The people in Noah’s day are the same we see today and we as the Noah’s of today must heed to the warning and warn others too.
What do we learn from Noah, a man of faith? We are to do God’s work God’s way. We are to preach the full counsel of God (sin, law, righteousness, holiness, judgment, repentance, hell and faith) faithfully to our loved ones and those we come in contact with even when it appears there are no signs because this is the means by which God saves souls. Noah’s faith influenced his practice; it moved him to prepare an ark. We are called to be co-laborers with God in reaching lost wicked souls destined to hell when His wrath is poured on them on judgment day. I know in our generation there are people even believers who don’t believe in God’s wrath that leads people to hell. They say if God is love, how can he send anyone to hell? God is love; He loves righteousness and must punish sin. A good judge must serve justice, if he turns a blind eye to a crime, he is corrupt himself and should be brought to justice.
The bad news of our depravity highlights the good news of the gospel the reason we ALL must preach the gospel. To quote one of my favorite preachers Paul Washer, “The cross is magnificent when it’s painted in the back drop of our depravity. When you refuse to teach on the radical depravity of men it is an impossibility that you bring glory to God, His Christ and His cross, because the cross of Jesus Christ and the glory thereof is most magnified when it is placed in front of the backdrop of our depravity. .., we are afraid to tell men of their wickedness and they can never love God because of it..”This is why we must do God’s work, God’s way (preach God’s whole counsel) if men are to make it safely to the ark of salvation. Noah never changed the message, neither should we if we want to see genuine salvation. Yes there will be rejection, but they are not rejecting us, they are rejecting God. If anything, the rejection should drive us more on our knees to pray for them. Also when we share the gospel, it’s a win win situation whether it’s received or not.
“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household”. Noah walked with the Lord and worked with and for the Lord. May we heed to the warning moved by godly fear and prepare the ark by prayer and evangelism for the saving of our households and many because we are destined to do God’s work, God’s way in obedience by faith. Blessings Ev
He Has Magnified His Word 