After the first sin of Adam and Eve, the population of human beings rapidly increased, and mankind became more and more sinful. The people on the earth were very much like Cain in that they had no respect for the desire of God. They wanted what they wanted, when they wanted it. God had been very merciful in that He had not brought great judgement upon them as their wickedness increased. But Genesis 6 says:

Gen 6:3
3 And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." (NKJ)

God decided to destroy all of mankind accept for a man named Noah and his family. He instructed Noah to build a huge boat. When the boat was finished, God brought Noah and his family into the boat.

Gen 7:1
1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. (KJV)

The righteousness of Noah was not based on his own human perfection but was based on the grace of God.

Gen 6:8
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (KJV)

Grace is getting something that is not deserved. Therefore, Noah did not deserve to be saved from the flood, but Noah found grace because he was a man of faith. God told Noah that a great flood of water was coming which would destroy all the people on the face of the earth. Noah believed God and did what God told him to do. Noah told this same message to his neighbors but not one of them believed his warning.

The writer of the book of Hebrews made the following observation.

Heb 11:7
7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (KJV)

Even though Noah had never seen rain, he still believed that what God had said was true.

People could be accepted by God if they were sinlessly perfect. The problem is that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. God in His mercy decided to offer Jesus Christ as the full payment for all sin so that faith could be the determining factor in salvation.

The ark that Noah built was a picture of Jesus Christ. Those who were in the ark were saved from the judgement. When we accept Christ by faith and believe that He died for our sins, we are baptized or spiritually immersed into Christ. Those who enter into Christ by faith find salvation from the judgement to come. It is important to remember that people must accept Christ before they die. There will be no second chance in the after life.

Heb 9:27
27 . . . it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (KJV)

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

James III’s link:
http://www.jeditime.blogspot.com