Life in the Beloved

J.A. Matteson

"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." Genesis 6:8

The following verse (vs. 9) describes Noah as a righteous man, blameless in his time, a fellow who walked with God. An important theological aspect to the narrative is discerning the basis by which he was found righteous and blameless. The Mosaic Law had yet to be given, yet Noah was still a transgressor of it, for the eternal Law and decrees of God preceded commandments written on stone tablets.

Like the rest Noah inherited the Adamic sin nature and was by disposition a child of wrath, for like his contemporaries he too was a sinner falling short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:3); for as sin entered the world through one man—Adam—therefore all sinned (Rom. 5:12), and the just recompense for treason against the Creator is death (Rom. 6:23). It is important to consider the life of Noah against his contemporaries and to note that he walked with God because he had first found favor with God; that is, grace was extended to him as one born again, the Lord’s redemptive work was operative in his heart as His elect.

As a new creation with a regenerated spirit his heart was inclined towards obedience, to do those things pleasing to the Lord. No where in the immediate text or in the whole of Scripture is there any indication that a man is found righteous and blameless apart from divine grace, “… because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight….” (Rom. 3:20). Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, recorded the divine basis by which a man is found righteous and thus walking with God. Note that favor (grace) precedes imputed righteousness.

The order of verses 8 and 9 is theologically significant, change the order of them and a man centered religion of works emerges. Noah did not find favor with God because he was first righteous, blameless, a fellow walking with God; to the contrary, Noah was first the passive recipient of God’s favor (grace) and as a result he walked with God by faith, and it was on that basis he was found righteousness, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom. 3:28), and “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH’ (Rom. 1:17), and that faith is a gift of God as a result of unmerited favor (grace), “and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed”, and “For to you it has been granted…to believe in Him….” (Phil. 1:29), and “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). So then there is no place for boasting by Noah according to the flesh, for the flesh profits nothing, it is the Spirit that gives spiritual life (Jn. 6:63).

Dear pilgrim, there is no place for boasting by you if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. That you believe is a divine miracle for the grace of God has been extended to you, quickening your heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh. Your spiritual blind eyes, deaf ears, and unresponsive spirit were enabled, made alive in Christ, and as Lazarus was dead four days in the tomb beyond hope, and yet raised to new life by the initiative, will, and pleasure of Almighty God, so too the resurrection power of God on high raised your lifeless spirit to new life in the Beloved, “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh…and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ….” (Eph. 2:3-6).

To these marvelous truths John Newton penned the lyrics to his memorable hymn Amazing Grace, “Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear, and Grace my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear the hour I first believed”, for apart from the grace of God the heart of man does not believe in Him, fear Him or revere Him, nor does it comprehend the hellish danger his lost soul faces. Pilgrims should meditate upon the grace of God continually, giving thanks to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the spiritual life He bestowed, considering the frightful condition of their fellow man with great sorrow and anguish of heart, and like the Apostle interceding for and pleading with all men to be reconciled to God through the cross of Christ, and as faithful ambassadors proclaiming His Gospel of salvation knowing that faith comes through hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ.

Copyright (c) 2009 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8)