The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.-Genesis 6:5-9
It is easy to misread this passage and come to the conclusion that Noah was a good guy who earned God's favor through his good works. Tragically, today I was reading to a child in the nursery and the story went like this: "In the days of Noah, all the people were wicked except for Noah, a righteous man who earned God's favor. Therefore, God saved him from judgment in the flood." This false teaching about Noah goes against the rest of Scripture and simply not what Genesis 6:5-9 says.
First, Genesis 6:5-7 depicts the total depravity of everyone on earth with one of the most negative declarations about human sin in all of Scripture. We are told that God saw that every person was only evil all the time. God was grieved that he had made mankind because they filled his heart with pain. This statement does include Noah.
Second, Genesis 6:8 does not say that Noah worked hard to merit God's favor. Noah did not begin as a righteous man. Rather he began as a sinner among sinners. His status with God was God's gracious gift, not a result of Noah's religious works. It is beautiful that the word "favor" in this passage is the Hebrew word for grace, which appears here for the first time in the Bible and is echoed repeatedly throughout the Bible in the teaching that salvation is by grace through faith alone. Throughout Scripture people are saved through the undeserving work of God. Because everyone was a sinner in Noah's day-just like everyone is a sinner in our day-no one earned God's favor. God's favor is a free gift. So God worked, as he always has, by saving an ill-deserved sinner by grace alone, through faith alone, thereby enabling him to live a righteous life. Genesis 6:9 then explains the effects of God's grace to Noah: "These generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God."
Indeed, Noah was a blameless and righteous man who, like Enoch, walked with God. But Noah was only this sort of man because God saved him by grace and empowered him to live a new life of obedience to God by that same grace.
For more info. check out Mark Driscoll's book, "Doctrine."
Indeed, Noah was a blameless and righteous man who, like Enoch, walked with God. But Noah was only this sort of man because God saved him by grace and empowered him to live a new life of obedience to God by that same grace.
For more info. check out Mark Driscoll's book, "Doctrine."
So Noah was the only man that by faith saw that salvation is by grace from GOD. So Noah demonstrated faith in God; for since the fall of Adam no man has been free from sin except Jesus Christ. But as living by faith he was just and perfect—that is, sincere in his desire to do God’s will.
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