Assurance from the Flood

Only a sovereign God could use historical events to depict spiritual truth. His judgment on sin and evil is shown by the battles in the Old Testament between His people and the pagan nations. His salvation is illustrated in the story of Noah, the flood and the ark. The apostle Peter writes about it.

There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 3:21)

In the days of Noah, a worldwide flood destroyed all but a few because God was judging them. In the final days, the judgment of God will also be upon everyone who are not in His ark of safety, that ark being Jesus Christ. Being in Him is like being in the ark that took Noah safely through the storm of judgment.

Baptism literally means “immersed” or “put into.” Taken in that way, the baptism Peter is talking about is not water baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh), but that “being put into” that gives a person a good conscience toward God. This can only be that baptism whereby God puts people into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In our union with Him, we participate in His death, burial and resurrection, and all believers are said to be “in Christ.”

Think of Noah’s ark as a tomb. The eight people in this big boat died to their world when they entered it. Then when the left the ark, they entered a new world. Peter says this experience is analogous to my experience. God put me in Christ and I died to the world I came from. He also gave me new life in the spiritual realm and the assurance that one day my body will be resurrected and live in another world.

How is this information practical for me today? The verse speaks of a good conscience toward God. Those without it have no idea of the freedom that brings. Because I am “in Christ” I know I can stand before God without condemnation. I am a sinner, but Christ paid the full penalty for my sin. I am free of the guilt that would otherwise be my condemnation and bring me into eternal judgment. I walk lightly because this is true.

Also, because Jesus died and rose again, both will be my experience. Death isn’t all that exciting — my to-do list is too long :-) — but I know that death is not the end. I will rise to eternal life and be with Christ forever. This too brings great freedom. The fear of dying is no threat and I know that this life is not all there is. Christ has taken care of all the important questions and issues.

I’m reminded of Romans 8:31-32 which asks these rhetorical questions, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

In Christ my enemies are not a threat and God offers me all that I need, both for this life and the next. God’s man Noah sent out a dove to make sure it was safe to venture forth, but I don’t need to do that. My assurance is in the promises of God and the saving power of Jesus Christ.

The ark illustrates salvation

The government in the province where I live is being mocked because someone picked a photograph of a beach in England as the background for a poster promoting Alberta. Not only is Alberta landlocked, but we have jaw-dropping scenery of our own. We shake our heads and wonder what they were thinking?

Today I’m reading about Noah, a man who faced far more ridicule for his actions. In his day, no one had seen a deluge of rain nor a floating box called an ark. Not only that, Noah worked on this project for one hundred and twenty years, even though his neighbors mocked him and laughed at what seemed like total foolishness.

God didn’t laugh. 1 Peter 3:20 says that He “waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”

This Bible account is sometimes called a myth because other cultures have “flood” stories, but those retellings actually support the account, as do the layers of sea shells found in mountain ranges and other places where there has never been an ocean. The flood happened and it is an illustration of God’s judgment on sin and God’s power to save those who believe what He says.

God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. (Genesis 6:13-19)

Besides the spiritual implications of this historical event, this account has some interesting twists. One is that someone reading it realized that “pitch” had to signify oil, and because of that, oil exploration began in the middle east.

Note also the size of the boat. People have laughed that no boat could hold every species, but this craft was the size of a modern ocean liner. Further, someone did the math and discovered that this boat not only had room for all the animals and those eight people, but also the food and fresh water they would need for their time in it. (Click here for photo!)

More importantly though, Noah provides an example of what it means to trust God. Faith is never passive. It is demonstrated by a believer’s life, just as it was demonstrated by the life of Noah. He totally trusted God, so he did everything that God commanded him. Hebrews 11:7 says that, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

God may never ask me to do something as grand as building a boat in my landlocked province, but every day brings challenges to my faith. I’m encouraged by a man who lived several thousand years ago. No matter the opposition or the difficulties that confronted him, Noah lived by faith and because of it was a condemnation to the sin around him. He also received the righteousness that God gives to those who trust Him. The bottom line is that Noah actually was saved by faith, not just a large, wooden ark.