In May of 2023, Karen and I had the opportunity to travel to the area of Williamstown, Kentucky, to visit the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter (both of which are operated by Ken Hamm’s ministry, “Answers in Genesis”). At the end of our tour of the ark, we came to a walled mural centered upon the theme of “the door.” This mural depicts the ways in which the Bible portrays Jesus Christ as the door of salvation from sin to both Jew and Gentile alike, and focuses upon five specific passages of Scripture:
Exodus 12:13— refers to the blood of a lamb on the doorpost of the Hebrew homes just prior to their exodus from the land of Egypt.
Hebrews 10:4— both chapters 9 and 10 allude to Jesus as our Great High Priest, who entered into the Holy of Holies “once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (cf. 9:12).
John 10:7 – 10— here Jesus gives one of His “I Am” statements, declaring, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved…” (v.9).
Matthew 7:13 – 14— Jesus’ teaching at this point in His “Sermon on the Mount” indicates something of the intentionality and demands of the way of salvation.
Revelation 3:20— in the closing segment of His letter to the church in Laodicea, Jesus declared, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
This past Sunday (September 22nd), we began a series of messages focused upon God’s offer of salvation to all of humanity through His Son, Jesus Christ. This study is entitled, “COME TO THE DOOR.” We will examine together two other passages of Scripture through this study: the first being that of Genesis 7:1 – 24, and the final one will be from John 14:6. We will begin this study from the Genesis 7 passage. This chapter depicts not only the occurrence of the universal flood which took place during the days of Noah, but also God’s last invitation that was extended to Noah’s generation. This opening message is entitled, “Come Into the Ark: God’s Shelter of Salvation.”
Most of us likely tend to favor the thought that the Almighty Lord of hosts is the “God of the second chance.” We favor being able to declare, and hold to, the perspective that our God is a loving God, a forgiving God, an accepting God. Each of those attributes are true in accordance to His nature, and He does, indeed, extend to us those very attributes by His grace. But, let us remember that our God is first and foremost a God of holiness and righteousness.
Many people live their lives as if they will live forever, without hardly any thought of what may lie beyond this life. Each day, many people choose to live life “just doing their thing;” “looking out for number one;” and as Judges 21:25 so aptly puts it, so many people today choose to live life doing what is right in their own eyes. Yet, the Bible teaches us that apart from the divine intervention of the rapture of the church, there is one final event of this life which no one will escape— that of death. And still, many people are choosing to live this life with the attitude that, for now, they just want to enjoy life on their terms. Then, as the years of life begin to stretch out, perhaps that is when such people think they will “get things right with God.” Because, after all, “God understands.” Then, too, there are others who blindly approach death with no consideration for God whatsoever due to their unbelief.
May you and I understand a sobering biblical truth today— God’s saving grace shall not be extended and offered indefinitely to mankind. We may seemingly have countless opportunities within our grasp to ask for, to embrace, and to be changed by God’s amazing, redeeming grace. However, God Himself is keeping an eternal record of every one of those opportunities extended to every human heart. And one day, He will offer and extend to you His final opportunity to…seek after Him with all of your heart; to be saved by His grace and mercy through faith in His Son, Jesus; to surrender your life before Him in devoted faith and love. One day— perhaps even today— God will extend to you and me, to all of mankind, the last invitation of His wondrous salvation of grace. Let us consider for just a little while that this service may very well be that time.
So, what is the life truth we can take away from our study of Genesis 7 today? Even when the seas of sin abound and thrash all around us, there is a safe, secure shelter in God’s ark of salvation— Jesus Christ.
Before we move into our text of Genesis 7, I think we need to briefly review the events described for us in Genesis 6:
Ø 6:5, 11 – 12: Verse 5 indicates that man lived life in such a manner as to have no heart whatsoever to seek God, know God, worship God, serve God. Consider as well the meanings of the terms, “corrupt,” and “violence.” The term, “corrupt,” means to be utterly ruined, destroyed, wasted morally and spiritually. It indicates a sense of having “cast off” the boundaries of God’s moral absolutes. It depicts man choosing to live life with no restraints as he chooses to indulge in the pleasures of sin.
The word for “violence” refers to a recognition of increasing measures of blatant, unrestrained, rampant violence as expressed by means of physical assault and murder. It is associated with acts of cruelty, injustice, oppression, and unrighteousness against one’s fellow man. Are we reading about Noah’s generation, or our own generation?!
Ø 6:13: God, in accordance to His holy character, set in motion an unprecedented event which would call all of these things into account— the Great Flood.
Ø 6:14 – 16: God told Noah to build an ark, and in what manner. A “cubit” is generally accepted to be about 18 inches in length. In ancient times, the length of a cubit was measured from the point of one’s elbow to his \ her middle finger. We can conclude on the basis of this measurement that this vessel would have been at least 450’ in length x 75’ in width x 45’ in height.
Ø 6:17 – 21: God declared to Noah that He was going to destroy every living thing on earth by means of this great flood. However, God also affirmed that He would establish His covenant with Noah, and save he and his family from the judgment that would fall upon the earth.
So, now we are ready to begin our study of Genesis 7. This week we are going to focus only on verse one, which reads, Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.” Let us take note of God’s invitation to Noah and his family to “come into the ark.” This is symbolic— a typology— of the Lord’s invitation to us even today to embrace through repentant faith in Christ the redemption He offers from our sin.
There are three major truths we will glean from Genesis 7. The first one is rooted in verse one, where we recognize God’s declaration to man for redemption. I now want to demonstrate the principles related to God’s declaration, and invitation, to even us today concerning His salvation from sin.
First, we need to understand the spiritual nature of such an invitation (v.1a). Focus upon the opening part of God’s invitation to Noah. He said to Noah, “Come into the ark.” God is still issuing this invitation to mankind today; to come into the ark of His salvation through His Son, Jesus. Take a few moments to read and meditate upon the following passages of Scripture in order to grasp the reality of the spiritual nature of God’s redemption and His invitation to us: John 3:3, 5 – 7 \ 1 Timothy 2:4 – 6 \ Romans 10:8 – 13 \ Colossians 1:12 – 14 & 2:13 – 14 \ Matthew 11:28 – 30 \ John 14:1, 6. Oh, yes, we “must be born again” in order to experience the redeeming grace and mercies of the Lord, and become a part of the family of God.
Second, we must also consider the personal nature of this invitation (v.1b). Pay particular attention to the personal emphasis that God makes concerning Noah when He used the pronoun, “you.” God’s declaration and invitation to us regarding His gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus, is always personal! For example, in John 1:39 Jesus said to Andrew and John, “Come and see.” In John 1:43 Jesus found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” And in Matthew 9:9 & Luke 5:27 Jesus saw Matthew and said to him, “Follow Me.”
Have you ever experienced the convicting power and truth of the Holy Spirit within your own heart and mind to follow Jesus as your Savior, your Lord, your life? The choice to follow Jesus is always personal, because to follow Him wholeheartedly is a conscious, deliberate, intentional conviction.
Then, third, let us also acknowledge the immeasurable nature of such an invitation (v.1c). The Lord did not extend His invitation only to Noah; He also said, “and all your household.” Listen, you and I cannot fully measure the ways nor the extent to which God can use us to influence others to Him. Noah’s life is a clear example of this truth.
In his book, Be Basic, Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Noah wasn’t a minor character in the story of redemption; he’s mentioned fifty (50) times in nine different books of the Bible” (p.93). Genesis 7:1 and 6:9 both describe something noteworthy of the character of Noah. He was recognized as a man who was “righteous” and “just.” These terms refer to Noah’s standing before God; how God spiritually saw Noah. Noah was a man of good works, to be sure. However, this righteousness which the Lord saw in Noah was rooted in a personal faith and trust the man had declared to have in God Himself.
Then, too, let us note the phrase in 6:9, “perfect in his generations.” This phrase refers to Noah’s known conduct before other people. The description here does not mean that Noah was “sinless” throughout his life. However, it does mean that Noah was a man who lived his life before his family and others with integrity, with honesty, with sincerity. No one could justify finding any fault with the way Noah lived his life. Noah was a man who could be trusted to do the right things in life for the right reasons and in the right way. Noah walked with God. Can that be said of your life, and mine, today?
From whom did Noah learn to live such a life? How did he learn to walk with God? Well, consider what we can learn from the end of Genesis 5. Enoch was a man who “walked with God,” and he was Noah’s great-grandfather. Enoch modeled this life to his own son, Methuselah, who became Noah’s grandfather. Methuselah, in turn, undoubtedly modeled such a life to his son, Lamech, who was Noah’s father. The influence of these three men’s lives and testimonies for God in the life of Noah and upon his own family was, without question, immeasurable.
Wiersbe provided some good insight into understanding what it means to “walk with God.” He wrote that this life of faith and obedience is compared to a “walk” because this life begins with one step; trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This step of faith leads to a daily walk, a step at a time, as the Lord directs us. He commands us to “walk in love” (cf. Ephesians 5:2), “walk as children of light” (cf. Ephesians 5:8), “walk in the Spirit” (cf. Galatians 5:16, 25), and “walk circumspectly” [carefully, intentionally, deliberately] (cf. Ephesians 5:15). A step at a time, a day at a time, we walk with the Lord (Be Basic, p.94).
Let me ask you something. Do you know what it means to “walk with the Lord?” Ponder that for a moment.
We receive many kinds of invitations in life, don’t we? For example, I remember as a kid what a thrill it was to receive an invitation to go spend a Friday night at my grandmother’s house with a couple of my cousins. It was always a great time together, and I cherish those memories to this day. There are certainly other types of invitations which may be extended to us as we grow older in life. Some may involve a measure of friendship and hospitality, such as being invited to have dinner at the home of a friend and his \ her family. Another may relate to work and career opportunities, such as being extended an employment opportunity that could potentially impact your family for good for many years. Another type of invitation can be recognized in the form of a marriage proposal, which, if the answer is “yes,” will certainly prove to be life-changing for both husband and wife!
Imagine what it might be like to receive an invitation from the governor of the state in which you live to come to the Governor’s mansion and have lunch with him \ her? To take such a scenario a step further, what if you received an invitation from the President of the U. S. (whomever that might be) to come meet with him in the Oval Office? Or, what if you had the opportunity to meet one of your “heroes” in life and spend some time with that individual? Those would be some impressive invitations to have extended to you, right?
But, the truth of the matter is this: the greatest of all invitations you could ever receive during your lifetime is the one which God Himself is extending to you even now. His invitation to you today is to come into the ark of His salvation through repentant faith in His Son, Jesus. In Christ you will find grace and mercy by which you can be forgiven and cleansed from the chains of sin and set free from your past. In Christ you can experience the rest and peace for which your soul desperately yearns and needs. In Christ you can exchange your old life for the fulness of His life, because He is the source of life eternal. There is no other God, and no other Savior, for there is none like Him. And Jesus is inviting you to come into His ark of salvation, into the shelter of His redeeming grace and mercy, right now. Will you embrace and receive in believing, repentant faith this wondrous invitation from Him?
Anchored to His Faithfulness,
Pastor Allen