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1 Noah s Example of Faith (Heb a) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella November 23, 2014 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:1-7 ESV) Introduction Today we are going to consider the New Testament perspective on Noah that comes from Hebrews Notably, if you read the Genesis account of Noah carefully noting what is not said of him, you will find two interesting things. First, as far as the record goes, Noah is a man of action. Throughout the Flood narrative, not a single word that he spoke is recorded (his only words reported are prophetic, given after the Flood). Second, there is not a single text in Genesis that mentions his faith. But the writer of Hebrews says, By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith (11.7). Whatever else you find in the text, you should not miss this basic emphasis: by faith Noah constructed an ark, and by faith he became an heir of righteousness. It is unmistakable; he is clearly an example of faith. So, our task is to reflect on Noah s example of faith that is specifically stated in 11.7 within the general context of , particularly in terms set down by The outline has two main points: a theological explanation of faith, and a practical example of faith. I. Theological explanation of faith This is given in 11.1 where faith is presented in relationship to things promised and to things invisible. A. On faith in relation to things promised Note how the ESV and the KJV translations match exactly except for the KJV use of substance versus assurance in 11.1a and evidence versus conviction in 11.1b. ESV: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. KJV: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The important thing to note is that the ESV has a subjective (internal, inward) accent: about having assurance and conviction in the heart; whereas, the KJV has an objective (external, outward) accent: the faith that is something external to one s inner perspective (additional to it). Regarding the context, it should be obvious to us all that the subjective dimension of faith is not what the author emphasizes. We can say this because all of the references to faith in this famous faith chapter speak of faith in action. Most of the time, these references speak of the obedient acts of faith that characterized the lives of the faithful, the faith filled OT saints. For example, by faith Noah was active building the ark (v. 7). Of course, he did his work because he had an inner confidence; that is presupposed, but the accent is on an outward aspect of faith. Therefore, we should follow the KJV that uses the more cumbersome and less intuitive word substance (or essence): Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. We have to think objectively

2 2 about this opening verse that sets the stage for the entire chapter. The question that immediately surfaces is this: how can faith be one in substance or essence with God s promises regarding the future? How can faith be the substance/essence of things hoped for? What does this mean? Here is a straightforward answer: it means that faith is also a promise; it is also something hoped for, expected, and anticipated. This leads to two important implications. 1) One implication is that faith is God s gift Since faith is one in essence with what is promised, it does not just embrace the promises; it is itself something promised to us in the future. This text has us look ahead and understand that faith is something we have because of God s faithfulness to His promise. By that we must understand that faith is ours by His gift. That is what He is telling us: this is my gift to you by my promise. So, as we venture into the future we not only know that we are to embrace the promises by faith (that faith is a duty), but we also know that we are also to fix it in our hearts that our faith is the gift of His promise to which He is faithful. This is radically important in Hebrews. 2) Another implication: faith is the means of access to all of God s gifts There is another sense in which faith is one in essence with the things hoped for. It is one with all of the things that God promises as the means by which we receive them. That fact is also an emphasis throughout this chapter. Faith is not only obedient, but it is also the way to access God s blessing. Some examples are: by faith Sarah conceived in her old age (v. 11), by faith Abraham received Isaac back from being as good as dead (v. 19), by faith Rahab did not perish (v. 31), and by faith the saints of old conquered kingdoms (v. 33). A good illustration of the interplay between gift and means is a house with a door. The house represents the gift of salvation by faith. The door of the house is faith. Thus, faith is both part of the gift of salvation, and it is the door to all the blessings of the salvation God gives. In this way, the writer to the Hebrews gives the huge encouragement that faith is both God s gift and it is the doorway of access into the holy of holies. Genuine believers have an active faith that enters boldly into the presence of God through Christ. The thrust of all this emphasis on the objective nature of faith is the encouragement that it gives to strengthen our confidence and assurance and to prompt us forward to the active faith that God intends for us. B. Now consider faith in relation to things invisible We have a bit more information about the objective nature of faith in 11.1b that speaks of faith as the proof or evidence of things not seen. Because faith is part of what is promised (11.1a), then possessing it now begins the realization of all the promises. Therefore, faith is a guarantee of the certainty of what is yet to come. Having one of the promises now guarantees the realization of the rest of the promises. Faith is like a seal that God gives us that certifies His intention to bless us in the future. Therefore it is proof. (It is not prove it to me so I will have faith ; having faith is proof; not seek understanding so you can believe but faith seeks understanding). Thus, by having faith in our hearts, a faith that works and obeys, we venture forward with evidence. By knowing that a working faith is promised to us as an abiding faith across the journey to a glorious future, we have the proof that God not only exists but that He exists with immutable faithfulness to His promises. This brings us to a summary definition of faith (which seems quite theological for Hebrews): it is one in essence with all of God s promises that make up our hope. So, it is God s gift and possessing it is proof of the reality of things unseen, as God Himself and future events. II. Practical example of faith

3 To make his point, the writer cites many examples from the OT, one is Noah (11.7). Regarding Noah, he immediately does something that Moses did not do. He explicitly gives us some insight into the faith that drove Noah in his obedient work: By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household (Heb.11.7a). Moses never mentioned his faith, which leads us to ask, how does the patriarch exemplify faith as defined in 11.1? Put another way, how is Noah s faith proof of the certainty of the coming Flood and its attending events of salvation yet unseen? We know that by faith he works on the ark for 120 years. How can this active obedience for all these years be proof of his salvation from destructive waters? How is his faith evidence of the sure salvation from a Flood that had never been seen before. It does so as the gift of God s grace spoken of in Genesis 6.8. Hebrews informs us that when Noah found grace in the eyes of the covenant Lord, he was given faith by which he became a righteous man in a world of radical evil. The blessing of Noah with faith by sovereign grace was proof of God s faithfulness to His promise to Eve of a human family of image bearers, a promise that embraced Noah and the future of the human race beyond the judgment waters. Noah s faith and faithful obedience in building the ark was covenant fulfillment that guaranteed all God s promises for the future; that guaranteed the salvation of Noah s household from the Flood; and that guaranteed (as part for the whole) the salvation of the world. Some concluding applications You stand like Noah waiting for the promises, waiting for deliverance from the coming judgment and beyond it for the hope of glory. Your faith is also the gift of sovereign grace and the means of laying hold of the gifts of grace. As the outworking of God s covenant in redemptive history, your faith is proof that all His promises will be fulfilled. Your faith is evidence of the reality of the Day of Judgment and of the certainty of your salvation from it. This truth about your faith in conjunction with knowledge about Noah s obedient faith is encouragement and prompting to follow his example of faith. Hebrews 11 expands the exhortation at the end of chapter 10 to live by faith while you wait for the coming of Christ: do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls (35-39). From Noah s example, the encouragement is threefold. 1) Trust God s word In his walk with God by faith, Noah had his feet planted firmly on what God said, even regarding things not yet seen, such as the judgment of the world by a flood. Scripture gives us insight into the future. It tells us about promises of good things to come like the promise of Noah s salvation, and it tells us about threats of sober things to come like the threat of eternal judgment. Because we do not know the day or hour of the Lord s coming to judge the world, Jesus exhorts us to stay awake (be alert; remain alert; be watchful): As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man ( ). Jesus compares His coming to the flood that came in the days of Noah. He draws a parallel between the conduct of the people of Noah s day and the conduct of people at the time of His return. At the time of the flood, people went about their business as usual: by God s common grace, they ate and drank; they married and gave their children away in marriage. They did so 3

4 4 right up to the point in time when Noah entered the ark. Of course, there is nothing wrong with food, drink, and marriage. The wrong was the mindset, the outlook, and the attitude of Noah s contemporaries regarding the word of God that announced the impending judgment. The wrong was the preoccupation of these people with their daily lives in total disregard of God s word preached by Noah. Therefore, you should give much thought to both promises and threats as you make your way on the path of the present. As you place one foot in front of another, you need to lift your eyes from the earthly pathway often, to meditate on, and absorb, the things that God has revealed regarding the future. The realities of the future, of things yet unseen, ought to be absorbed into your hearts so they guide the movement of your feet. You may look foolish in the eyes of the world because you see things yet unseen and you may have to stand alone at times. Right there, this example encourages faith. Noah, with his family characterized by weakness, stood alone (at least practically speaking) in a context of unbelievers characterized by sinfulness. To stay balanced, you should note that this does not mean that you become reclusive and show no love to unbelievers. It simply means that you march to an entirely different drum beat, and you know it. Your walk has a negative and a positive according to Psalm 1. Note the negative side of the walk of the blessed man: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers (v. 1). There is also a positive side: 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night (v. 2). The promise is fruitfulness under the loving care of the Lord: 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (vs.3-6). Knowing the way of the righteous speaks of love. It means that the Lord extends His loving-care to those who walk with Him by a faith that delights in His word. So, knowing the faithfulness of your covenant keeping Lord, be encouraged and trust His word. 2) Fear God s judgment God warned Noah about events in the future, events as yet unseen. They were not only future and unique having never occurred before, they were events that included the entire world, and they involved a profound judgment that left only eight persons alive to repopulate the earth. In the end, God destroyed the world and every living thing in it except those in the ark (He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark (Gen. 7.23). Thus, Hebrews tells us of Noah s fear: being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. The fear he expressed is called reverent fear. The obedient faith of Noah was such that in pious and devoted fear of the Lord and of His holy judgment, he constructed this unusual ark for the saving of his household. He heard God s word and acted on it with a holy fear. This is not a servile fear, a cowing down of a slave before a cruel master; it is reverential awe. Thus, obedient faith looks to God s word about the future as a ground of action and it acts in obedience with a sense of awe before His Majesty (this obedient fear-filled faith was the means of the salvation of his family). His example is an encouragement to do your work in life, do your construction work, and fulfill your calling to walk worthy in your work with fear. That is, walk with God in reverent fear. This is faith s fear that works for God in pious devotion because the reality of the holy judgment of God weighs on you as the monumental reality that hangs over the human family. You know Him, His holiness, His justice, and truthfulness. Therefore, you know that His

5 warnings ring with truth. He is angry with the wicked every day and soon His patience with sinners will end in a storm of His wrath. This is encouragement to stand strong in walking through this world. By faith you, like Noah, can lay hold of the reality the final Day of Judgment that is coming. Noah s example is an encouragement to gain perspective on life and history against the sober realities that hang over you in your existence on this earth. The fear here is faith-filled fear. 3) Pursue God s commands This is the focus of obedient faith. Like Noah, take up all that God commands. You know that His commandments are your protection; they are solid rocks on which to cross the raging river of life. So, do not let the high standard of His holiness hinder your pursuit. Aim at the obedience of faith; strive after God s holiness. Pursue righteous living in the light of the loving words of our Lord in Matthew ( 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light). Do not let the high and holy standard of His yoke deflect you away from the fact of your sinfulness (as sin-laden), but similarly, do not let the fact of your sinfulness block you from seeing the reality of your forgiveness by Jesus as your sin-bearing priest. Jesus tells you to learn the yoke of His law, while always clinging to Him for forgiving grace because He is gentle and humble giving Himself to death on the cross to deliver you from the overwhelming flood of God s judgment. In this light, strive after the obedience of faith in loving commitment to the risen Lord Jesus as your prophet, priest, and king. Pursue all that God commands knowing the gentleness of Christ. Therefore, follow Noah s example of obedient faith, which means being a person of action and not just of words. Present yourself, your very body, to God as a living sacrifice (Rom ); engage in obedient actions without question and without delay; present the members of your body as instruments for righteousness unto holiness (Rom ). Pursue all that God commands. That is the obedience of faith that trusts God s word about things yet unseen, that fears God s judgment with reverential carefulness about future consequences, and that pursues obedience to all that God commands. To the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ be all glory, honor, and praise; may the Holy Spirit teach us how to reflect His glory in what we think and how we live by faith, amen. 5