Letting your Faith do the Walking Part 2
Believing God out of fear and Reverence
Hebrews 11:7
Introduction
This verse begins the list of believers included in God’s great hall of faith. The first two mentioned last week were Abel and Enoch, they were discussed in the overall description of Faith. They illustrate for us the spiritual power of faith.
Each of these believers listed in this passage will show us a certain kind of faith. Tonight we well see that Noah had a fearful and reverent faith. Each of these will stand as great examples for us, and stirring us to the challenge to believe God in the midst of a corrupt, godless, and dying world.
Tonight as we look at Noah, by way of introduction I will go back to the book of Genesis and read the original account of Noah and God’s call on his life to take that step of faith and believe Him and His promises. (Read Genesis 6:1-22)
Noah stands as a great example in believing God and in believing God’s warning of coming judgment. His faith was unique in that it was a fearful and reverent faith. Tonight let’s see what we can learn from the life of Noah and His faith that was counted towards Him as righteousness.
Read Scriptures: Hebrews 11:7
I. Noah worshiped and honored God despite of the culture around him.
Vs. 7a “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.”
There was a time back in world history when the earth had become so wicked that it was filled with corruption and violence. It was so corrupt that Genesis told us that “every imagination of man’s heart was corrupt and evil”. Man had reached the point of no return; they would never repent and return to God. God was left with no choice: the earth had to be destroyed.
However, there was one man who stood out in God’s eyes, one man who “found favor” with God, one man who was Godly in the way that he lived his life, that man was Noah. Noah worshiped and honored God with his life despite the culture around him that was doing the opposite; you could say that Noah lived out Plan A in a world set on living out Plan B.
Noah received the warning from God in “holy fear”. The word fear means “Godly fear”. It has the idea of reverence, standing in awe of God and His warning, diligently taking God at His Word. Noah believed God’s warning of coming judgment and he began to build the ark with a Godly fear and reverence, knowing that what God said would come true. Noah believed it and he knew it by faith.
God is going to judge the earth a second time—the whole earth, every man and woman. God has warned the earth. His judgment on ungodly men and women is going to fall on the earth. We must fear God, fear Him with a godly fear and reverence, by standing in awe of Him and His warning, by diligently taking Him at His word.
Noah stood out from the rest of the world because he continued to worship and honor God despite of the culture around him.
II. Noah took a stand in his faith despite the mockery of the world.
Vs. 7a “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.”
You must remember that Noah lived far, far inland from the ocean; he was nowhere close to the sea or the ship yards of the world. Yet, there he was building a ship as large as an Ocean Liner. Imagine the laughs, mockery, the scorn, and abuse Noah suffered. Imagine how often he was called a fool and thought to be insane or senile. But Noah was faithful.
He preached righteousness and coming judgment of God. In the eyes of the world he was nothing more than a fool preacher, but the mockery and the abuse did not deter him. He remained faithful; he continued to build the ark—continued to work at saving himself and his own family. Noah continued on and on, walking in Godly fear, believing the sheer Word of God about coming judgment.
III. Noah was rewarded for his faith.
Vs. 7b “By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Noah’s reward for his faith was tree-fold.
a. Noah’s family was saved. Noah believed God—he believed the warning of God about coming judgment. Therefore God saved him and his family. Everyone else around Noah died—to be separated from God forever. Why? Because they did not believe God.
b. Noah’s faith was vindicated. The world mocked and ridiculed Noah’s faith and belief in God’s warning of judgment. But God vindicated Noah’s faith; God judged the world. And the world saw that Noah had been right all the time.
c. Noah was counted righteous. Noah believed God and God counted his faith as righteousness. He “became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
As Matthew Henry says, Noah had faith in the promised seed, the Savior whom God was someday going to send to the earth. There is nothing else on the earth that can cause God to count a person righteous but faith—faith in the promised seed, the Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
This passage began with the words, “By faith Noah”. How would your life be defined, if someone were writing your story, would those two words come before your name.
Are believing God in your life.
