Man of Faith: Noah
Do you know anyone who comes to mind when you hear the phrase "a person of action"? A person who actually does what he wants to do, plans to do, or needs to do. For example, Nehemiah is one such person in the Bible. He completed the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in just 52 days while surrounded by enemies.
Today, I would like to focus on another person of action. That person is Noah, who is famous for Noah's Ark.
According to the instructions given to Noah by God, the size of the ark was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high (approximately 134×22×13 m or 440×72×43 ft). (Image)
He listened to what God told him and built such a large ark. It has a three-story structure. It took 120 years to hand-build such a large ark. It's amazing！
But it's not because Noah was a man of action that we pay attention to him. No, it's because he was a man of faith. He is an example of faith that we can learn from. He is an example that encourages us. He encourages us to experience God's wonderful plan, power, and promises. But the point is not to impress us by his faith, his ability to act, and how wonderful he was. Neither is it to recognize and be impressed with the difference between us and such a wonderful senior in faith. Noah's example of faith has been preserved to encourage us. The story of Noah's ark and the great flood is written in detail in Genesis, but his faith is also written in Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11 is called the Hall of Faith, and it concludes with the words, "Noah became an heir of the righteousness that is by faith." This means that he was justified by faith, just like us, not by his righteous way of living or by his obedience. It is through faith that they have been saved and experienced God.
Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
"When he was warned by God of things not seen yet."
How was he warned?
Let's look at the passage in Genesis where he received a warning from God.
Genesis chapter 6
And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
He was told to build an ark and get into it because a great flood would destroy all living creatures on earth. It is said that up until this time, there had probably been no experience of floods or storms like hurricanes. So Noah was warned that something he had never seen or heard of before was going to happen. But he accepted that warning with faith.
I think he was a man of incredible ability to act, and he was able to do so because he was a man of faith. But it was because of God's grace that he had faith and experienced salvation.
God's Grace: His faith was based on God's great grace.
Genesis 6:5-7
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. 6 And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 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.”
Thus the earth was filled with evil. So God brought judgment to the earth and tried to wipe out people. But look at the next verse.
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”
In Japanese, it is translated as "主の心にかなっていた" but it can also be translated as "he found grace in the eyes of the LORD." That's how it is translated in English. This is the first passage in the Bible where grace and favor appear. Grace is receiving something that you don't deserve. Noah was one of those sinful people. I think he was a righteous person compared to many people at that time. But in God's eyes he was also a sinner. So he should have been judged by God just like everyone else. But he received God's grace and was saved from the great flood.
We may sometimes think that we are good people compared to people who we see as bad and sinful in our own eyes. But what's important is how we look in the eyes of God. How we look in the eyes of God who sees into our hearts. Because He is the one who can save us and judge us. For we are not our own judges or our own savior.. The Bible makes it clear that we are all sinners in God's eyes. The Bible says that there is no one righteous, not even one. But by God's abundant grace, we can all be saved.
However, the next verse, 9, might leave you a little confused.
These are the generations of Noah. Noah, a righteous man, had been perfected among his family. Noah walked with God.
You might think that Noah was blessed by God because he was a righteous and perfect man. But that is not the case. So verse 8 says that Noah found grace in God's eyes. And he received his grace by faith. So he was counted as righteous. And he began to live with God. Just like us.
That is why it says in the Book of Hebrews that he became an heir of righteousness by faith. It was not because he was originally a righteous man.
Ephesians 2:4-5,
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even we being dead in deviations, He made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are being saved),
Look at this letter to the Ephesians. Here too, we are taught that before, that is, before we believed, we lived according to the desires of our flesh and were worthy of God's wrath. But we were saved by God's abundant mercy and love. This salvation is a blessing. And it has been the same since the time of the Old Testament. Noah was the same.
The Word: In this way, Noah's faith was based on God's abundant grace and love, but it began with hearing the Word.
We just read the warning and command that God gave to Noah in Genesis Chapter 6. The Lord told him to build an ark and get into it because He was going to destroy all living creatures. Noah also gained faith by hearing the Word of the Lord, His voice.
Romans 10:17
Then faith is of hearing, and hearing through the Word of God.
The Book of Romans reminds us of this truth: It is essential for us to constantly hear the Word of God. It is vital to listen to the voice of the Lord and treasure it in our hearts. Doing so builds and strengthens our faith. As I often say, the Word is the nourishment for our hearts—it is the spiritual food that sustains us. That’s why it’s so important to engage with God’s Word every day. Just as our bodies require food each day, our hearts and souls need spiritual sustenance. That food is the Word of the Lord. By reading the Word, our hearts are cleansed; it reveals the areas in our lives that need purification. It protects us from making wrong choices and helps guide us in doing what is right. The Word gives us inner strength when we face difficult situations and are tempted to give up. It brings comfort and encouragement, and it sets us free from the lies that keep us captive.
And as we can see from Noah's example, faith begins by hearing the Word of God. That is why it is important for us to share the Word of the Lord with others. It is not our thoughts or wisdom that have power, but the Word of God.
Faith: And Noah accepted it with a good heart.
Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
When Noah heard the Word, it says “reverence” which means deep respect for God. Or Respect & Fear. With that heart attitude he believed the Word.
This faith was what made him different from others at that time. He believed the Word he heard from God with reverence and awe. He accepted it. But others did not. Noah probably shared the words he heard from God with others while he was building the Ark for 120 years, but no one outside his family believed the words of God that he shared with them.
Works: And from his belief, his amazing works came as a result.
As Hebrews 11:7 says, because he accepted the Word of God by faith, he built an ark and saved himself and his family. There is no one who has faith but without works. These are the words of a famous religious reformer.
"We are saved by faith alone but the faith that saves is never alone."
People who have faith will see their works as a result. People who are saved by faith will see changes. That was the case with Noah. When he heard the warning of a great flood that he had never heard of or experienced before, he spent 120 years building an ark, not because he was a man of action, but because he was a man of faith. He believed, and it showed up in his works. But the others did not believe it, so they didn’t even want to board his ark.
James 2 repeatedly says that faith without works is dead.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
What does this mean? This does not mean that we are saved by faith and works. It means that if you believe, changes and actions will always follow. This is true not only of faith in the Lord Jesus, but of all beliefs. If you make an appointment with someone, why do you go there? It is because you believe that the other person will come. If you do not believe, you will not go. When you believe in the Word, there are actions and changes that accompany it. If there are no actions, it is because you do not believe. Noah also took action because he believed in God's Word. Furthermore, when we believe, we are born again. Because we receive new life, changes will also be visible on the outside. We become people of love. We become people who forgive, people of hope, people of joy. These are the fruits of believing.
When we read the Bible and God speaks to us, do we listen with an open heart like Noah's? Do we accept the Lord's words with a heart of reverence and fear? When we do, the Word of God works powerfully within us as believers.
The same goes for reading the Bible. God tells us that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. If we believe this Word, then naturally we will read it, meditate on it, and try to listen to what God is saying. But if we don't read it, if we don't try to listen, then somewhere in our hearts we don't fully believe that we cannot live without the Word of God.
The experience of moving from Portland to St. Louis to plant our church was similar. God spoke to me from the Bible passage about Abraham, and encouraged me to believe in the Lord, even though I didn't know anyone there. In faith, I moved to a place where I was a stranger, but I did so because I believed in God’s word and his promises. If I had relied on my own reasoning or common sense, I don't think I would have ever made that move. At the time, my father didn’t believe in God, and he was strongly opposed to our decision. He feared we were being scammed. But despite his concerns, we chose to trust in God's guidance, we prepared to move and traveled thousands of miles to come here. But it was not because we were proactive or adventurous. It was simply because we believed in the Lord's words and will. As a result of our faith, our actions of preparing and moving appeared. Because Noah believed God’s instructions, he built the ark and stepped onto it.
Summary
Today, we learned from Noah's faith --- a faith that believed and accepted God's grace. He was never saved by his own righteousness or righteous deeds. He was saved because he accepted the Lord's grace with faith. Let us remember that everything we do is rooted in God's grace and His great love for us. We too have been forgiven and made children of God not because of our own merit, but because the Lord Jesus bore all the punishment for our sins on the cross. It is because of God's abundant love and grace that He has drawn near to us.
Let us become familiar with His Word and listen to it. The Word gives strength to our hearts, makes us humble, and fills our hearts with hope. Noah's faith was also strengthened by listening to the Word.
Like Noah, let us receive God's Word with a right heart—open to His direction, even when it challenges our common sense or goes against our own plans. When we approach His Word with awe and reverence, we will bear much fruit. We will be able to experience the work and blessings that God has prepared for us. What is the Lord telling us right now? The Bible tells us, "Today when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
