Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
We noted yesterday that the LORD declared that the wickedness of man on the earth was great. The wickedness was permeating society to the place where only one man was declared as finding grace in the eyes of the LORD, and only his family would be spared the needed judgment upon the earth. When we look at our world today, we can see that the wickedness of man is great upon the earth. We have mentioned before that it is difficult to find any politician at any level of government that has a genuine concern for the moral decay of this country. Personally I do not know of one. The leader of the opposition was kicked out of Parliament yesterday for a statement that the P.M. did not like and the liberal house speaker did not like. Parliament has long been a shameful institution that would save this country millions of dollars if they would just shut it down. Of course, that will not happen and we will continue to waste hard earned dollars promoting the use of deadly drugs and the perverted lifestyle of those who reject the true God. Our courts are also a cesspool of double standards. For years it has been stated that it is not what you know but who you know that matters. That is very evident in our courts today. Our medical profession has also been corrupted for years due to the science falsely so called that man is a product of evolution and he evolved from the monkey. There are some good things that doctors and nurses are able to do in spite of their faulty training. The mercy of God is certainly evident. As we look at the rampant corruption that defines not just the secular world, but much of the religious world as well, it is quite sobering to realize that when the true saints are removed from this earth, and the antichrist is given his place, the earth will be a dreadful place to live. Those who enter the Tribulation time, have no idea what they are walking into, due to wilful ignorance. Interestingly, in Genesis 6, the wicked had no idea what they were walking into, also due to wilful ignorance. They had been warned previously by Enoch, and now Noah was going to give them an object lesson, but they rejected the truth. They were not interested in seeing things as they truly were. That is also certainly true of our world today. I remember years ago seeking to have a discussion with a professing Christian leader, over the dangerous slide that was taking place in Christianity. He listened to my concerns, but his response was, at the time surprising and sad. He did not see my concerns as legitimate. He instead counselled me to seek to work under a group like the Sommerfelders or some other ungodly religious group. He was a man in a position where he should have had a better understanding of groups like the Sommerfeld and Rhineland Mennonites. He saw “Christianity” as a broad tent with many diverse views but all heading in the same basic direction. Some were more conservative, but all were going to end up in the same place, which he believed to be heaven. Sadly, that is still the view of many professing Christians today. They do not see the absolute contradictions that make up New Evangelicalism. They look down their noses at anyone who seeks to take the Bible in a literal manner. They might tolerate them, but they really do not want to associate with anyone who gets too serious with the Word of God. God shows us in Genesis 6 that He was quite concerned with the wickedness that had taken over the majority of society. We know from Genesis 4 that people were still religious. Cain was religious. He just wanted his own brand of religion. God shows us that He rejected that ungodly religion. As we see in Genesis 6-8, God rejected the religion of the majority of society at that time. We are currently studying the book of Ezekiel in our Wednesday evening Bible Study. Ezekiel was told that he was going to be dealing with a rebellious house — the nation of Israel. He was told to expose their wickedness. He was told to warn them over and over again, even though the people did not want to hear. The Bible has many, many warnings against ungodliness. Jesus warned that many are on the broad way. God does not want anyone to remain on that broad way. He does not widen the narrow way, to allow the views of the broad way to infiltrate it. He warns that there are few that find the narrow way. In our text, God gave us more information on Noah. He was a just man and perfect in his generations. Noah was a man of integrity. He walked in truth. He did that when all of society was engulfed in wickedness. He did not allow peer pressure to pervert him. He was a rare commodity then and now. We read that Noah walked with God. Years ago, our daughter was concerned that she was the only one who was being raised as we were raising her. I know we had much different standards in our home than was the norm. My wife and I encouraged her to look at God’s Word for her direction, and not to her peers. When people are in their younger years, peer pressure can be quite powerful. In fact we are seeing that even for older people who should certainly know better, peer pressure is still quite powerful. God reminded us as well that Noah had three sons. They are named here. Those sons would have seen quite a vast difference between what was happening all around them and what was happening in their father’s house. God chose to spare them the judgment that was coming. They must have seen the value of following the path their father was on. We are not told anything about Noah’s wife. We are again reminded that the Bible teaches a patriarchal way of leadership. God does not despise women. He created Eve. He brought her to Adam. He told Adam that a man is to leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. Being a godly woman does not rob the woman of anything of value. The majority of women, who choose to be worldly, are robbing themselves of the blessings of God. They are struggling to find fulfilment in ways that will never work. Marriages are being destroyed and homes are being destroyed because both men and women are choosing to reject God’s perfect way of living and are choosing to pursue a godless way of living. That way has never worked, and yet the devil is still able to convince most people that his way is better than God’s way. The few that listen to the Holy Spirit and get saved, can see they were lied to prior to salvation. They can see the blessing of knowing the truth and walking in it. They are not without sin. They do not sit on their pedestals and look down upon humanity. They are like Noah. They are just people who are perfect and walk with God. Paul wrote:
II Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
That is still the fact today. Those few who embrace the Word of God will be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. Those who are saved are the blessed. The day is coming when the saved will be removed from this earth. The antichrist will convince the lost to follow him. God will send the people strong delusion so that they will believe the lie. They will believe the lie because they rejected the truth when they had the opportunity to receive it. Even in our time, God knows when to shut the door of opportunity on a person. We do not know that time. We would be wasting our time to think we can figure that out. The fact is that there is a very real danger facing the lost. The day of salvation is today, not tomorrow and not next week. Delay is a very bad choice. Obedience is a very wise choice. Pastor Bartel