AS THE DAYS OF NOAH - PART 3

We have been exploring in Genesis the story of Noah, and finding many types and shadows that point to the ministry of our Lord.  Jesus made the connection when He said, "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."  (Matthew 24:37).

Noah and the flood present a picture of Christian baptism or baptism into Christ.  The water represents death.  When a new Christian is lowered into the baptismal waters, he is buried with Christ and becomes dead to self.  When he is lifted back out of the water, he is raised with Christ to new life.  Christ is the One that guarantees us life.  It is because we are in Him that we can pass through death and yet know life.  "Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.  For he that is dead is freed from sin."  (Romans 6:4-7).  Likewise, Noah and his family passed through the waters of death in safety because they were in the ark.  The ark preserved them alive as they passed through the waters of death.  When they emerged from the ark, it was to newness of life.  If we are baptized outside of Christ, we simply come up a wet sinner; but if we place our faith in the operation of God, and are baptized in Christ, we can know real deliverance from sin in our lives. 

When the inhabitants of the ark stepped off the boat, it was as if they were stepping into a whole new world.  All of the corruption and evil had been washed away by the flood.  Man was given a new opportunity to fill the world with righteousness.  What a perfect picture of the new birth.  Through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our lives are become brand new.  "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Our sins are now washed away and we have been given a new chance to live our lives in righteousness and truth.  One day in the future, this present wicked world will be destroyed again, but this time by fire.  God will create a new heaven and a new earth where only righteousness will dwell.  Today, He is purifying a people who are zealous of holiness and godliness, and only they will inhabit that blessed place.  Jesus said, "Not everyone that saith unto me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21).  It takes more than naming Christ as our Savior and Lord to go to heaven.  It takes a heart that is willing to follow the Lord and do what He teaches us.  "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"  (Luke 6:46). 

Just as Noah was a preacher in his day, we must now be preachers of righteousness to our generation, not necessarily from a pulpit, but one on one as opportunity arises.  We must redeem the time that we have been given, and be willing to share the good news of the gospel with the world.  They must know that there is an ark of safety where they will be safe from the impending judgment. 

We must also be sober and watching for the Lord's coming.  Just like a thief, the day of the Lord will sneak up on men.  They will not be expecting it because they will have been lulled to sleep by the world's pursuits.  Just as Lot lost his family to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and his wife was turned into a pillar of salt, there will be many who will be so entangled by the pleasures of sin that they won't be able to extricate themselves from its snares.  It is much more than just the blatant sins that we must avoid, though.  The apostle John gives us this stark warning, "Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world.  If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.  Because everything that belongs to the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle - is not from the Father, but is from the world.  And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever."  (1 John 15-17 HCSB).  Those who are walking in the light will be able to see in the darkness, however.  The Lord will grant them deliverance.  They will have separated themselves from the world and its pitfalls by the power of the Holy Spirit working inside of them.  They will be a people prepared to meet their Lord.

      

"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief."  (1 Thessalonians 5:1-4).