The Ark of Salvation

0:00Good morning again. Let's jump right into it. Hey, come on in. Come on in, man. There he is. We won't clap for you, but we're just about to preach, man. Just about to preach. Yeah, man. Yeah. Sit on that side over there. We're going to just jump right into it. We have a large section to cover this morning. So you can open your Bibles to the book of Genesis. We're going to begin in verse 9 of chapter 6. And we're going to cover the entire flood narrative, which takes us through verse 17 of chapter 9. So, yes, we cover like three chapters this morning. We're not going to read that whole section, I promise. But we could have, though, you know. Anyway, we won't, though. You may have noticed that there is a couple of things that we're skipping over. Uh given that last week we stopped at chapter, the end of chapter four, and now we're skipping all the way to verse nine of chapter six. And the first of those things that we've skipped is this genealogy from Adam to Noah in chapter 5, which is all of chapter 5. It lists out the genealogy from Adam to Noah. I'm not skipping that because I think that it's unimportant, but because I think the summary of chapter 5 is very clear and very simple. And that is that there is a clear line of distinction from Adam to Noah, which represents this provision of God and his faithfulness to maintain his people and ultimately fulfill his promise through Christ, which is the seed of the woman, which was foretold in chapter 2. As we said last week, this demonstrates that these are actual people that we're talking about as we move through Genesis, and that the seed of the woman represents a known geological genealogical line, not geological, a genealogical line from Adam directly to Christ. The second thing you may have noticed that we skipped over is Genesis 6, verses 1 through 8. And you know, I don't mind going toe-to-toe on difficult topics, but I don't take delight in being controversial. The origins and the true identity of the Nephilim that are mentioned in those verses is certainly controversial. The last thing I want to do from the pulpit is get get caught in speculation or the writing of fiction, especially when there are so many ways I can point you to Christ, and I hope, God willing, that I do that this morning, that don't involve rushing headlong into conversations on giants. You can ask me about that later, and I will uh gladly and happily uh pontificate. Uh, and that is the correct word. Okay. Uh controversially summarize that. Um that being said, I am going to speculate about something. Uh I find it a bit of a stretch to say that God felt he needed to flood the earth and completely wipe everyone out but Noah and his family simply because there was a lot of bad people on the world. Uh whoever these Nephilim were that sparked the global flood and this massive judgment of God, the likes of which we have never seen before, uh, and we'll never see again, these Nephilim and the people of the earth must have been corrupt beyond anything we can imagine. Uh, one might go so far as to say that they were a giant problem. Pun intended. That's all I'm gonna say about it, though. Talk to me about it later if you're curious. What we can say is that God's plan for salvation was never really being threatened. Okay? It was never being threatened because despite the massive judgment he is bringing to earth, in his mercy, he provided an ark of salvation for his people. That is the important thing. So, stand with me. Let's read uh from our text this morning. This is six. I'm gonna start in verse 11, and I'm gonna skip around. I'm not gonna read a ton, and I will try to read through this as best I can. Chapter six, starting in verse 11. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence, and God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on earth. 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. Skip down to uh chapter seven and verse six. Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of the waters came upon the earth, and Noah and his sons and his wife's sons and his wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood, of the clean animals and of the animals that are not clean, and of birds and of everything that creeps on along the ground, two by two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth. Skip to verse seventeen. The flood continued forty days on the earth, the waters increased and bore up on the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters, and the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep, and all the flesh died that moved on the on the earth, birds, livestocks, beasts, and all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. CHAPTER eight and verse one. But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him on the ark, and God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters receded from earth continually. At the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters had abated. And in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ariat. Skip to uh chapter nine and verse eight. Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark, it is for every beast of the earth. I will establish my covenant with you that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds of the earth, and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the water shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it, and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray once more. Lord, thank you again for this word, and I pray and ask now that you would speak for Christ's sake, and it is in his name that I pray. Amen. Thank you. I know these these readings are long, but again, it could have been longer. Uh if you follow the news of the world and current events, there's a lot of talk about this idea of a great reset or the great reset. Have we heard this? Maybe you have. Such a reset is usually attributed to nefarious forces who wish to lay waste to world economics so they can seize control of world governments and world currencies, right? This idea of this great reset. And whether or not such a plot is actually in the works is no concern, I guess, for us for the next 30 minutes. Because I want to talk about another great reset, one that actually happened. And I'm going to spend a few minutes here establishing a connection between creation and Noah. To illustrate that through Noah, God recreated the world, or reset the world. But for our purposes, we're going to say he recreated the world. There was a great reset. Let me also give you a hint to the reality that there is something much bigger at play here, and spoiler, points to Christ. And we'll get there. Remember the creation account from Genesis 1. When God pronounced that his creation was good, what always preceded that was this declaration, God saw, right? God saw this, and it was good. Or very good in the case of man. And even though God has no feet to step with, right? He steps back, he observes his creation, and he says, Yes, this is good. What I have done is good. In our text this morning, though, God took that same observation, but this time the findings were much different, right? Verse 12 of chapter 5 says, And God saw the earth. No, not chapter 5, chapter 6, sorry. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt. Not good. For all flesh had corrupted their way on earth. The assessment of what had become of God's creation was not good as it had been, but corrupt. Not good, God says. Something must be done about this. Something must be done about the reality which God now observes. This is a spoiled creation. Or a spoiled reality. Hear the words of God to the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 18. He says, The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words. So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hands. And he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me, O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like a clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. And the word of God to Jeremiah according concerning Israel, this word that came to Jeremiah, to Israel, obviously that came much later than the story here we read in Genesis, but the character and intention of God is still the same. And first, that God has no intention to leave things spoiled and corrupt. He has no intention to leave things spoiled and corrupt. And second, as the potter works with the clay, does God not have the right to dash such a spoiled creation to pieces? Doesn't he have that right? To wash his hands clean of such a marred work as creation had become at that point. Doesn't he have the right to abandon a creation that has become grotesque or a grotesque version of the original? Of course he does. But thanks be to God that in his tender mercy, instead of breaking us utterly to pieces, he started again. Our God is a God of creation. And he is a God of recreation. He started again. We know this is true because all of the language that is used to tie Noah to the original creation, it's all throughout this narrative here. Our text says that Noah walked with God. Same language as Adam walking with God. Adam has three sons mentioned in Scripture, right? Cain, Abel, and Seth. Cain was cursed because of his sin, while Seth was blessed to continue the line to Christ. Noah has three sons mentioned in Scripture: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham and his son Canaan were cursed because of their sin while Shem was blessed to continue the line to Christ, right? There is a clear connection between creation and Noah. There is the tie there. So that the reader with eyes to see and ears to hear will discern that what God is doing in Noah is remaking that which he made first in Adam. Why is that an important connection to establish? Because through this we learn the true character of God. Our God is a just God, first, who doesn't leave things bad. He is a God who judges sin with the weight of a thousand oceans, but is simultaneously a God of compassion who extends a hand of mercy. Our God will rain fire and brimstone down on the sinner. He will crush them with justice. And he will also get on his knees and wash the feet of a sinner. And this kind of juxtaposition plays out through the whole of Scripture. The question is not whether God is a consuming fire or the fountain of life. There's no debate as to the fact that he is both the lion and the lamb. The question is which one will you meet? Will you be a vessel of destruction dashed to pieces at the potter's wheel? Or will you be remade into the image of your Creator? Will you be left outside of the ark as the drowning waters rise or shaking your fist at God? Or will you come into the ark and rise above the judgment? My plea to us all this morning is that we flee to the ark. We read in our text that fleeing to the ark is exactly what Noah and his family did, right? They heard and listened to the word of God, and they fled for safety from the judgment of God through this ark of mercy that was provided to them. What I need us all to see is that through this story, is that though the story should be taken literally, in a sense that we believe that this event, Noah and the flood, actually happened in real history, the Bible also teaches that there is much more to this flood than just history, right? There's much more to fleeing the ark than just escaping a flood, a physical flood. Here are the words of the Apostle Peter. This is 1 Peter 3, 18 through 22. For Christ also suffered once for sin, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. Being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you. Not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. So the Bible, and more specifically, Peter assumes that our baptism points back to the salvation given to Noah by the mercy of God in the form of an ark. And that the story of Noah looks forward to the salvation given to us all by the mercy of God in the form of the person of Christ, the ark of our salvation. And we Baptists are really good at being careful not to make baptism a work, right? By saying that baptism is only an outward sign of an inward change. We do this, we say this. And I do appreciate that care. That is taken not to make baptism a work and not to add it, right, to salvation. I wish, though, we were just as careful about not making baptism just a meaningless ritual. It was most certainly through faith that Noah built the ark, right? This is Hebrews as well, right? It was through faith that Noah built the ark, and ultimately it was Noah's faith that saved him. But he still built the ark. He still got on it, right? As the waters were covering the mountains all over the earth, as we read, Noah didn't think that the ark and the flood were simply an outward expression of an inward change, right? Have you seen the waters out there? I need an ark, right? So running to the waters of baptism while the act itself is not washing clean of sin. That's what we read in 1 Peter. It is making appeal to God to save you in Christ. It's an admission that you are a spoiled pot in the hands of the potter, and a plea to be shown mercy. It's a confession that you are a part of the creation that when God steps back and observes, he sees corruption, not goodness, and a plea to be remade again in Christ. And in that way, baptism truly saves us. And the reality is that the judgment of God is coming. Well, he's not going to flood the earth again. We'll talk about that in a little bit. He never said he isn't going to judge the whole world ever again. Judgment is coming. And just like in the days of Noah, there will be many left outside when the metaphorical waters of judgment come. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. This is also the words of Peter. The other thing to note about fleeing the ark is who closes the door. This is verse 15. They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh, in which there was the breath of life, and those that entered the ark, male and female of all flesh, went in as God has commanded him, and the Lord shut him in. It was and is the Lord who shuts the door. It is the Lord who separates the wheat from the chaff, right? It is our Lord who separates the sheep from the goats. It is our Lord who welcomes and excludes. And possibly Paul had this idea in view when he said this in the letter to Romans. This is 838. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. If it is the Lord who opens and shuts the door, then we can be assured that the door will never close until all have made it safely on the ark. If it is the Lord who opens and shuts the door, we can be assured that all will make it safely on the ark. None will be left out in the rain. And our theological position can often be misunderstood that when the judgment of God comes, there's going to be a huge group of people who really wanted to get in, but Christ closed the door before they had the chance. That is a straw man of the Reformed Baptist position and not what we confess or believe. All who are Christ's who flee to him in salvation, that is, all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And the door will not close until every child of God is on board. Amen. So do not fear, Christian. None will be lost. As we said last week, the door to the ark is closed. Currently open wide. There's plenty of room for passengers. Flee to the ark. If you haven't yet, what are you waiting for? Don't you know that the flood of judgment is coming? Don't you know how great your sin is? But thanks be to God that the ark is big enough. Yes, even for you. If you have fled to the Ark, thanks be to God. For Christ, the Ark of your salvation. And the last main point before we look at a conclusion is this concept of covenant. Right? This concept and idea of covenant. And perhaps Brother Stephen could speak more on this as he's been studying a lot of covenants of God in great detail. But the point I want to make is this. In Noah, God renewed his covenant promise of salvation and redemption. He renewed that covenant promise in a broad sense. The Noahic covenant assures us that God will never destroy the earth again by a flood. And as a result, all of humanity, right? This is every single person, every single creature, those in Christ and those not in Christ, can be at peace that our God will tarry his wrath. He will not destroy us. And this, of course, is a tremendous grace, isn't it? And when we see the bow in the sky, we can thank our God for his compassion towards all of humanity. And his general benevolence toward the whole of his creation, every single creature. As we talked about a little bit in Sunday school this morning, theologically we say this is common grace through general revelation. We can also say that the broad application of the Noaiic covenant is unconditional, right? The broad application of this Noaiic covenant is unconditional. God requires nothing of man to be brought under that covenant. Man can curse God, and they do. Man can disobey him, can reject him, can spit on him, can run from him. Man can even kill God. And he will not break his promise to withhold his wrath in judgment until the end. He promised Christ to Adam, didn't he? And through Adam. He promised Christ to Noah by saving him from the flood. Clearly, Peter thought that as well. He promised Christ to Abraham. And to bring forth a people for his own possession from the offspring of Abraham, which he has done. He made good on that promise when he purchased a people with his blood, and he further promises that he will cover his people with his blood, and that he will seek and save all who are lost until the very last one is found. So as one of his children, who I hope and pray that we all are, look up to the bow in the sky and thank him not only because he has promised not to crush you, because that is only half of the gospel, thank him also that he has promised to save you. For the child of God, the bow represents the salvation of God in Christ, our blessed ark. It speaks to us that God always has a plan. And we can live knowing that if our God has promised to deliver us, he surely will do what he promises. He surely will do what he promises. And so to begin this morning, we talked about this great reset. Not one that you hear on the alternative news headlines, but one that we read about through the pages of Scripture. This great reset has several parts, and I kind of want to summarize what I think the four main parts that are worth mentioning as we close. An act one, I guess, of this great reset was what we read today. This is the reset of creation, the recreation. The observation of God that his work has been spoiled by wicked people, and rather than smash it all to pieces, which is what we deserved, and to wash his hands of everything, he begins the work of rebuilding with a remnant of people. This is what we see through Noah. Acts 2 was fulfilled in Christ. We could call this the reset of relationship. In Christ, we see the breaking down of the dividing line of hostility, this tearing of the veil, the curtain that separates us, our access to God. Our relationship with God the Father moves from a conditional one based upon our obedience to a conditional one based upon Christ's obedience. And through him, Christ, we are called sons and daughters. Having been purchased by the blood of Christ, we experience a reset of our relationship with God. Okay, Act 3, this is still ongoing, and this is a reset of status. A reset of status. Slowly and methodically, Christ is restoring the status of his people. From alienated sinner to loving child. He is burying our old identity with him on the cross, and by the covering of his blood, he is raising us again to new life, giving us a new name, it says. Our status and our standing with him is undergoing a gracious reset, a transformation, a sanctification. And finally, we look forward and long for Act 4. And this is the last new beginning, the reset of all things. When the prayer will finally and fully be answered on earth as it is in heaven. When heaven will come to earth, right? And Eden will be restored. When there will be no need for the sun to light the earth, because we will all be illuminated for all eternity by the glory of our Savior. Revelation says that on that day the sea will be no more. Does that mean there'll be no water in heaven or the new earth? I think based on our text this morning, we understand the sea to mean judgment. It's a sign of judgment. With this final reset, right? Redemption is complete. There will be no more judgment because there will be no more sin. So in that respect, the sea will be no more. Judgment will be no more. Every promise will be complete. Every covenant will be fulfilled. And there will be only one covenant that will remain. And here are the words again of our Lord to Jeremiah. Behold, I will gather them from all the countries in which I drove them in my anchor and my wrath and great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me, and I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness with all my heart and all my soul. For thus says the Lord, just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. So when you remember Noah and the flood, may you look to Christ, the ark of our salvation. May you be found in him. And may you long all the more for the day when our God brings upon us all, all of the good that he has promised us. Amen. Let's pray. We thank you again, and as always, Lord, for your word. We thank you for the truth that you have shown us, or in the picture that you have painted for us through this narrative of Noah, Lord. I pray and ask, Lord, that you would help us to see Christ in this story, Lord. That we would flee to Christ, the Ark of our salvation. We thank you, Lord, that you have shown us mercy in giving us an ark of salvation, Lord. I confess that I deserved to be dashed to pieces, Lord. But you have saved me, and I thank you for that, Lord. I pray all who hear would make that same confession, Lord. And we proclaim that confession now as we take this supper, Lord. We proclaim and confess to you our sinfulness, Lord. Ask for your forgiveness, Lord, and we receive that forgiveness now through the shed blood and the broken body of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It's in his name that I pray. Amen.