Passing Grace

Brother Gary Rowlette brought the message.

In chapters 5 through 10 of Genesis we find most of what is written in the Bible about Noah. Chapter 5 is his genealogy; chapter 6 he is commanded to build the ark; chapters 7-8 he enters the ark and exits; chapter 9 is the rainbow covenant; chapter 10 is his genealogy.

I can’t imagine not being able to come to the church house, but the age of grace will stop.

Genesis 6:5 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 tell us that we’re saved by grace; it’s a gift from God.  Titus 2:11 says “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” There is grace to be saved, grace to live by, and grace to die by.  Verse 8 tells us that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. In a time of wickedness, God looked down and saw a righteous man.

This scripture tells us a lot about the depravity of man. Without Christ there is no hope. It’s our nature. Jeremiah says the heart is desperately wicked. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can take that mean nature out of us. Matthew 24:37 says “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Here is the pattern that identifies time. The hearts of men were evil continually. There was always confusion. Sin is to blame. Paul said we’ve all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Luke tells of a man who owned a vineyard with a tree that did not bear fruit. At the order to cut it down, the keeper asked for one more year; if no fruit came the next season, it would be cut down.  We find ourselves here. God’s Spirit won’t always deal with us. We can’t say we’ll get saved later. We could be cut down and destroyed.

This also tells us that God will destroy the world. There are two ways to classify “world.”  One literally means the earth. When David said “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fullness thereof,” he uses “world” as the earth. When Jesus said “for God so loved the world” he referred to mankind.  Verses 5-6 reference both definitions of the word.  God was sorry he made man. It grieved his heart. Verse 9 says that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” He was justified, cleared. Calvary does that for us. We can walk free. Romans 5:1 says “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We can go to bed just as if we’d never sinned. While Noah found grace, others found destruction. God’s intent was to destroy everything and everyone one. We’ll see that time come again. The earth will again be destroyed.

We also find Noah building the ark just as God said. We can’t do this thing just anyway we want. God told Noah to use gopher wood. Why not other trees? We don’t know why. That’s just what he said. It’s the same with salvation. There’s one way. Acts 4:12 says “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” The ark was pitched inside and out. This represents the blood of the Lord. When applied to our heart, it will change the inside and make its way out.

There was no steering mechanism in the ark. God drove it. We turned the helm of our life over to God when we were saved. He directs us. We clearly see the dedication God had to make a way for Noah and for us. Just as the ark saved Noah and his family, the ark of salvation does the same for us.

We find there is a deadline. There is a passing grace. Eight believed God and escaped the flood. God’s deadline came; God called Noah and his family and the animals came 2 by 2. God shut the door. It’s the same as the New Testament story of the 5 foolish and 5 wise virgins. The door was shut on the foolish ones. The door of grace will close followed by the wrath of God. We may be all right, but what about our loved ones?  What about the community? Grace is still available.

There is a story of a little orphan boy that D L Moody found as he came into town for a revival. He was crying. When Dr. Moody asked him what was wrong, he told him that he couldn’t get into the church to hear Dr. Moody preach.  He was told to go back home; he was too dirty to attend. Telling him to hold on tight to his coat tail, Dr. Moody led the boy all the way to the front and gave him the best seat in the house. That’s what grace does for us. We were dirty sinners. God’s grace is leading us on.

The door is open now. As the door of the ark was shut by the Lord, it will shut again one day. The passing of grace will happen.

(The service concluded with a fellowship around the altar with our evangelist and his wife. God blessed us all with a great revival. Pastor Bob)