Noah and the Flood: The Gospel in the Old Testament.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss from the Series Noah and the Flood: The Gospel in the Old Testament.

This story, it prefigures the cross of Christ. It tells the story of man’s sinfulness, and then it gives us a vivid illustration of the judgment and the wrath of God. It tells us what God thinks about sin, God’s perspective on sin.

Then it’s a wonderful, marvelous story about the incredible grace of God, the God who makes a covenant with His people, and the God who can be counted on to keep His covenant; the God who delivers some from wrath and judgment. We’ll see all of that and more in the story of Noah.

I think there’s a two-fold message in the story of Noah. A two-fold purpose; a two-fold response. The story first is for those who are sinners who have never repented. The message is to warn them that judgment is coming. The invitation, the call is to repent and to believe the gospel. And then there’s a message of hope and a message of encouragement for those who believe God, for those who walk with God, for those who have entered into the ark by faith.

What is our response once we see that grace and mercy of God? We’ll do the same thing Noah did. It’s a response of gratitude, worship, sacrifice. You’d give your life for that kind of God if you realized and stopped to think about what it is that He has done in saving us from the incredible wrath of God that is to come.

Now, as in all of history, there are three main characters in the story. The first are the ungodly. They face certain destruction. And again, the call to those sinners is to believe the gospel and repent of their sin.

The second category of people is those who are righteous. These are the ones who believe God. They are made righteous by faith, and they are under God’s grace. They are under His mercy. Their future end is to be delivered, not destruction but deliverance from the wrath of God. They are called to worship God and to obey Him.

And then, who’s the third character? In every story in history, it’s God. He is the central character. We see here a God who is in charge, a God of judgment and wrath, but a God of incredible mercy and grace.

So through this series we’re going to look at the world in which Noah lived, which has a lot of similarities to the world in which we live. We’ll look at Noah himself and get some insights into how we can walk with God in a wicked world. It’s not easy, but it is possible. We’ll get some insights into God’s sovereign purposes, His great redemptive plan for this world, and what all that has to say to us.

Sometimes on Revive Our Hearts we do programs on subjects like intimacy in marriage, child-rearing tips, and we always get a lot of response to those kinds of very practical how-to programs. As I have been preparing this series, part of me has said, “The story of Noah isn’t quite as practical as some of those other topics we address from time to time.” Well, I’ll tell you what I’ve come to realize is that it’s foundational that we understand the heart of God, the character of God, the ways of God.