Preserving The Line Of Promise

Please take your Bibles and let's open them up this morning to Genesis chapter 5.

Genesis 5 · chapter mention

! If you are just joining us for the first time, we've been preaching through the book of Genesis.

We started chapter 1 verse 1 and we've made our way all the way to chapter 5.

And one of the benefits of preaching the way that we do, working through books of the Bible,

is that I feel like it really gives us a good understanding of the book as a whole.

And it teaches us to read our Bible and understand passages in context.

One of the challenges is I can't skip over difficult passages.

And that's good and bad.

So this morning, we get to preach a passage, I get to preach a passage,

that if I were just picking a text on my own, I probably never would wind up here in Genesis chapter 5.

Genesis 5 · chapter mention

But I hope what we'll see as we dive in together is that all Scripture is God-breathed.

and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking.

That the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This Scripture is good for you.

The Lord has good in it for us to see this morning.

So if you would, let's turn to Genesis chapter 5.

Genesis 5 · chapter mention

And I will read from chapter 5 through chapter 6 verse 8.

A little bit of a longer passage this morning.

If you're physically able, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning.

This is the book of the generations of Adam.

When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.

Male and female, he created them.

And he blessed them and named them man when they were created.

When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness.

After his image, he named him Seth.

The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh.

Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years, and he had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan.

Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years, and he had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel.

Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years, and he had other sons and daughters.

Thus the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared.

Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years, and had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch.

Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years, and had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.

Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years, and had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.

Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech.

Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years, and had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah,

saying,

Out of the ground that the Lord had cursed,

this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.

Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years, and had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

When man began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,

the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive,

and they took as their wives any they chose.

Then the Lord said,

My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh.

His days shall be 120 years.

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward,

when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man, and they bore children to them.

These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,

and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth,

and it grieved him to his heart.

So the Lord said,

I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land,

man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens,

for I am sorry that I have made them.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

The grass withers and the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Father, we praise you for your word.

We praise you, Father, for your spirit.

And we pray now as we receive this word,

would you speak to us through the preaching of your word?

Would you empower it by your spirit so that we might see Christ in it?

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Well, you may have heard the phrase,

big problems require big solutions.

Or maybe you've heard it like this,

band-aids don't fix bullet holes.

Now, the bigger the problem is,

oftentimes the more drastic the solution needs to be.

And parents realize this as we raise our kids.

Sometimes a small infraction just requires a little bit of discipline.

But as problems start to mount,

instincts ought to kick in.

And you ought to realize something drastic has to happen here.

Big changes need to be made.

You see it in businesses.

Every now and then a business will run into issues.

They'll start to flounder and fail.

And when that happens,

sometimes the only hope is that somebody recognizes it before it's too late

and steps in and starts to make some drastic changes.

We see it happening in our government right now.

Whatever side of the political aisle you may find yourself on,

we can all agree our current regime recognizes,

believes that there are serious issues,

and they're taking some pretty drastic measures to correct it.

Well, here in our passage this morning,

we are seeing with more and more and more increasing clarity

that we have a big problem on our hands.

Now, we're backing all the way up again,

all the way back to Adam,

and we're seeing this terrible reign of sin,

starting with Adam and continuing on down the line

in every single individual born of the line of Adam.

Things are not getting better here.

Things are getting worse,

and we see that a band-aid solution is not going to fix the problem.

And the big idea here as we look at our text is that God will judge sin.

God will address the problem of sin.

And the only hope for sinful people is that God Himself will provide a solution to our sin.

That God Himself will be gracious to sinners like us.

So let's look at our text,

and I want to look first at this genealogy in chapter 5.

We touched on it last time.

We were in Genesis two weeks ago.

And what I want to do here is let's just make a few observations here,

and then we'll spend the bulk of our time in the first eight verses of chapter 6.

So let's look at this genealogy here.

And I have three observations for us.

For one, I want you to remember here,

and this is important,

This genealogy is tracing promise.

You remember this from last time.

The genealogy is a long list of names.

It's not just tracing history,

although it is history.

It's tracing promise.

We now know,

Genesis 3 verse 15,

Genesis 3:15

God has promised us that a sin-defeating,

curse-destroying,

snake-crushing Messiah

is going to come.

God promised us this in Genesis 3 verse 15.

Genesis 3:15

There is hope now that things won't always be this way.

What's been broken will one day be restored.

There's hope that on this side of the fall,

things are going to get better,

even if at the moment it looks impossible.

God's promised it.

And what we've seen is that this promised offspring

will come through the line of Seth,

which is why, if we look here again in chapter 5,

we're going backwards all the way to Adam,

and then he goes from Adam,

not to Cain,

and not to Abel,

but from Adam to Seth.

He's tracing this line of promise

now through the line of Seth.

And from Seth on down the line,

ultimately now to Noah.

And did you notice just the tone of Lamech

as he talked about his son Noah?

Did you hear what he said?

Look at his words there in verse 29 of chapter 5.

He said,

This one will bring us relief.

This one will bring us rest from our painful toil,

relief from the thorns and thistles

that have come because of sin.

He's longing for the rest and the relief

that ultimately only the promised seed of the woman

is going to come and to give.

So, the line is tracing promise.

Another observation here,

number two,

notice the presence of death.

Notice the reign of death

over all that are born from Adam.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick.

Every offspring of the woman

here in the line of Adam,

here in the line of Seth,

came with this expectation

that maybe this will be the one,

but tragically what we see

is death reigns over all of them.

It's interesting, you know,

as we read this,

you know what stands out to us?

It's those long spans of life, isn't it?

And that's what stands out most to us.

We got 930 years of life.

These guys are waiting

until they're like 500 years

before they get married and have kids.

930 years, 807 years, 912 years.

That's what stands out to us,

but we should remember where we are.

We are inches away from the Garden of Eden.

We are just steps away from the tree of life

and this promise of eternal life.

Death is the stranger here.

Death is the disruption here.

Death is not normal.

Death is not a normal part of life.

Death is a enemy.

And yet we see it reigning here over all.

All that is except for one.

So third observation here,

we notice the presence of hope.

Verse 24, chapter 5.

The strange story of Enoch.

Enoch walked with God

and he was not.

For God took him.

We have this constant refrain.

Generation after generation after generation.

He was born.

He fathered children.

And he died.

And he died.

And he died.

And he died.

And now Enoch,

he was not.

For God took him.

Now again,

I don't know exactly what this looked like,

but all I can say is this.

Enoch here gives us hope

that even on this side of the fall,

it is possible,

by the grace of God,

for sinners like you and me,

by the grace of God,

to walk with the Lord

and escape the curse of sin and death.

There is hope here

with the story of Enoch.

But of course,

what we see here is that

Enoch is the exception.

Sin and death are reigning over all humanity.

And as we look now to chapter 6,

we get to see just how big of a problem this is

and exactly what God is going to do about it.

So look there with me to chapter 6.

And I have three questions here

about chapter 6, verses 1 through 8.

And as you read these verses,

you probably have a lot more questions than that.

All right,

but I got three for us

and I'll do my best.

So we see the effect of sin here in chapter 5.

But now we're getting kind of a zoomed in picture,

an in-depth look at exactly what's going on here.

And I'll just go ahead and tell you,

all right,

this is my disclaimer to you.

These verses are hard, okay?

And these are some verses

that Christians sometimes back and forth

and they don't always agree

on the particulars of what's going on.

We agree big picture, right?

Sin is bad.

God is good.

God is going to judge sin.

We agree big picture.

But as we dive in,

in the particulars of interpretation here,

there are different camps, okay?

So let's read it again

and then I'm going to give you my best shot, all right?

Look there again to chapter 6, verse 1.

And I want to ask this question.

What's the problem?

Question number one is,

what's the big issue here?

What's going on?

What's the big problem?

When man began to multiply on the face of the land

and daughters were born to them,

the sons of God saw that the daughters of man

were attractive

and they took as their wives any they chose.

Then the Lord said,

My spirit shall not abide in man forever,

for he is flesh.

His days shall be 120 years.

And the Nephilim were on the earth in those days

and also afterward

when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man

and they bore children to them.

These were the mighty men who were of old,

the men of renown.

The problem, we can agree clearly,

is that the sons of God married the daughters of man.

What's not so immediately clear is who these two groups of people are.

Who are the sons of God and who are the daughters of man

and why is this a problem?

So I'll tell you one popular way to understand this,

one popular interpretation,

and then I'll tell you why I don't think that this is the best way to understand it.

Okay?

The one popular belief

is that the sons of God

are fallen angels

and the daughters of man

are human women.

And so in this view,

in this interpretation,

these fallen angels,

they see that the human daughters are attractive,

they marry them,

and then the product of that relationship,

verse 4,

is the Nephilim,

which in this view is this hybrid race

of like half angel,

half human,

giant warrior people.

Okay?

That's one interpretation.

And so verse 3,

in response to this,

God saw this as wicked

and he brings judgment on the earth for this sin.

Now again,

just so I'm clear,

there are many who hold this view.

Many who are much smarter than me.

Okay?

And that's not saying much,

but many who are more intelligent than me

hold this view.

People I respect,

people that have studied into this

probably deeper and harder than I have.

If you hold this view,

we can still be members of the same church,

that we can still be friends,

we can still get along.

Okay?

But let me tell you why I don't think

this is the best way to understand it.

For one,

Jesus tells us angels don't get married.

Matthew 22,

Matthew 22:30

verse 30,

Jesus tells us that

in the resurrection,

people are like angels.

How are they like angels,

Jesus?

They are like angels

in the sense that

they don't marry

or are given in marriage.

That's one.

Another reason.

Verse 4

clearly tells us

that the Nephilim,

whoever they are,

whatever they are,

they are not the result

of this relationship.

Read it again.

Verse 4.

He tells us the Nephilim

were on the earth

in those days.

What days?

in the days

when all of this happened.

When the sons of God

bore children

with the daughters of man

and also afterward.

So the Nephilim,

are you tracking with me?

The Nephilim can't be

the result of this relationship

because he tells us

they're already there.

Both before and after.

They're these mighty warrior men,

this warrior race

of violent people

that the Israelites

would have been well familiar with.

One more objection here.

And to me,

this is the biggest issue

for me here.

If this is the problem,

if the problem is

that angels are coming down

and marrying human wives,

then why is God's judgment

not directed towards the angels?

We know what's coming,

don't we?

We know what's coming next.

Everything that follows

is that God is going to wipe away

the entire population

of the earth.

All mankind

will be destroyed

with a flood

of God's judgment

with the exception

of Noah and his family.

Clearly,

this judgment

isn't directed

towards angels

and their wickedness.

It is directed

against humans

and our wickedness.

Why?

Because,

verse 5,

the Lord saw

that the wickedness

of man

was great in the earth

and that every intention

of the thoughts

of his heart

was only evil.

Continually,

we'll come back to that.

So,

if that's not

what's happening here,

then what's the problem?

What's going on here?

And this is,

again,

this is why context

is so important.

Church.

The Bible

is not just

a bunch of loosely

connected,

mishmash,

just assembly

of random stories.

The Bible

is not like

a greatest hits album

that's just composed

of singles

and put together

in one CD here.

The book

holds together.

And if you ever

wonder what a passage

means,

what a difficult passage

means,

question number one

for you ought to be,

well,

what would context

lead me to believe?

The problem

in my understanding here,

the problem

is that the one

supposedly

godly line,

the line of Seth,

the line of promise

that was supposed

to be a glimmer of hope

in the midst

of a dark

and fallen world,

this line of promise

is now intermarrying

with non-believers.

They are proving

themselves

to be just like

everyone else.

In my understanding,

the sons of God

here aren't fallen angels,

the sons of God

who,

as we saw last time

from chapter 4,

these are those

who began to call

upon the name

of the Lord.

The sons of God

are the chosen

line of Seth.

They are the faithful,

at least they're

supposed to be.

And the daughters

of man

are those who are

faithless,

the ungodly,

and the wicked.

The problem here

is that there is

no distinction

between the righteous

and the wicked.

They've all become wicked.

All of them

are polluted

with sin.

Now you see

how this is a big problem.

I mean,

just think about

going forward

throughout the rest

of Scripture,

how the Lord

makes it abundantly clear

there must be

a distinction

between the righteous

and the wicked.

Between my people

and between

all the rest.

He says,

purge the evil

from among you,

he says in Deuteronomy.

As we go to

the New Testament,

2 Corinthians,

Paul tells us,

do not be

unequally yoked

with unbelievers.

A Christian

ought not

marry

a non-Christian,

Paul says.

Why not?

He says,

for what partnership

has righteousness

with lawlessness?

These things

don't go together.

What fellowship

has light

with darkness?

There's a difference.

There's a distinction.

What accord

has Christ

with Belial?

What portion

does a believer

share with an unbeliever?

What agreement

has the temple

of God

with idols?

For we,

church,

are the temple

of the living God.

As God said,

I will make

my dwelling

among them

and walk

among them

and I will be

their God

and they shall

be my people.

Therefore,

go out

from their midst

and be separate

from them,

says the Lord,

and touch

no unclean

thing.

Then I will

welcome you

and I will be

a father to you

and you shall be

sons and daughters

to me,

says the Lord

God Almighty.

Do you hear

the distinction

the Lord's making?

There is to be

a dividing line,

a clear

and obvious

distinction

between the

righteous

and the

wicked.

In fact,

this is what

was happening

here in the

local church.

This is what

church membership

does.

It's an affirmation

that you belong

to the Lord.

You are marked

off from the

unbelieving world.

The church

are those who

have been brought

out of darkness

and into his

marvelous light

through faith

in the Messiah.

God.

The problem

here, I believe,

is that this

faithful, this

line of promise

is now intermarrying

with non-believers.

They are not

marrying within

the believing

community, those

who call upon

the name of the

Lord.

They are going

outside of those

who worship

Yahweh and

picking for

themselves wives,

whatever wives

that they want.

They aren't

seeking mates

primarily based

on spiritual

priorities, but

rather based

on external

appearance.

And you

recognize this

is the same

sin of the

garden repeated,

isn't it?

Just as Eve

saw that the

fruit was to be

desired, saw

that it was

good and she

took it, so

now the sons

of God see

the forbidden

women, they

see that they

look good and

they take for

themselves wives

as they choose.

You see the

issue.

all are

wicked.

All are

ruled by

sin.

There is no

distinction

whatsoever.

So now

question number

two.

What is the

Lord's response?

What is the

Lord's response?

Look there with

me to verse

five, chapter

six.

The Lord saw

that the

wickedness of

man was great

in the earth

and that

every intention

of the thoughts

of his heart

was only evil

continually.

Can we just

stop there?

Let us let that

sink in.

How bad has it

gotten?

Every intention

of every thought,

of every heart,

of every man

is only evil

all the time.

That's the problem.

the problem

here is that

all men

and women

and children

have within

them this

dreadful

sickness

of sin.

And friend,

apart from the

grace of God,

that is our

problem.

the second

London

Baptist

confession

says it like

this,

says our

first parents,

Adam and Eve,

by this sin

fell from their

original righteousness

and communion

with God

and we

in them,

we

in

them,

whereby

death came

upon

all.

You want to

know why we

die?

This is why.

All becoming

dead in

sin,

not just

physical death,

spiritual death,

and wholly

defiled in

all the

faculties and

parts of

soul and

body.

Every intention

of every

thought,

of every

heart,

of every

man,

only evil

all the

time.

Our own

statement of

faith says

something similar,

says this,

here's what we

confess to

believe,

as a result

of the

disobedience

of our

first parents,

Adam and

Eve,

all humanity

are now

sinners,

not by

constraint,

but by

choice,

being by

nature,

utterly

devoid of

the holiness

required by

God,

and completely

inclined to

evil.

Every

intention,

of every

heart,

of every

man,

is only

evil all

the time.

Do you

see that

for what

it is?

Do you

believe that

to be true

about you,

apart from

the grace

of God?

Do you

believe that

to be

true about

you naturally,

by nature

and by

choice,

apart from

God's

grace?

This isn't

just a

them

problem,

this is

us,

apart from

the grace

of God,

by nature.

Every

intention,

of every

thought,

of your

heart,

and my

heart,

is only

evil all

the time,

apart from

the grace

of God.

Do you

believe

that?

sin is

not like

what Thomas

Aquinas

and the

Catholics

said.

They said

that sin

just wounds

us.

It's a

wound,

a wound

that can

be patched

up and

covered up

and cleaned

up.

It's a

wound that

can be

bandaged.

We prefer

to think

about it

like that,

don't we?

Because we

want something

that we

can just

improve

upon and

make better

and just

dust off

and try

harder tomorrow

and everything

will be

okay.

The

biblical

understanding

of sin

is not

that

optimistic.

The

Bible

tells us

sin has

not just

wounded

us,

sin has

killed

us.

By

nature,

we are

dead

in our

trespasses

and sins.

We are

not just

in need

of a

bandage.

We need

to be

born

again

by the

grace

of

God.

We have

to understand

the depth

of this

condition

that runs

through each

and every

one of us

because apart

from this,

we will

never

understand

the Lord's

response

to our

sin.

Look there

to verse

six.

It says,

the Lord

regretted

that he

had made

man on

the earth

and it

grieved

him

to his

heart.

Now,

you all

know I

like to

be

theologically

precise

and theological

precision

requires

here that

I say

something like

God is

totally

sovereign

and a

sovereign

eternal

God has

no regrets.

God is

infinitely

satisfied,

infinitely

happy.

He is

happy

within

himself,

within

the

Godhead

for all

of

eternity

and an

infinitely

happy

God

feels

no grief

like we

do.

That's

correct.

But don't

miss the

point that

he's making

here.

What he's

doing is

he's using

as the

Bible often

does in

an attempt

to explain

to finite

creatures

with limited

understanding.

The Bible

often

condescends

to our

level of

understanding

in order

to describe

to us

an infinite

and incomprehensible

God.

He's using

human

experience,

human

language

and human

emotion

to communicate

a truth

to us

that we

don't need

to miss.

Our sin

grieves

the Lord

who made

us.

God is

grieved

by our

sin.

He is

opposed

to our

sin.

He's

offended

by our

sin.

He sees

it and

it grieves

him.

He's against

us in

our sin.

Clearly

this is a

big problem

and that

big problem

requires a

big solution.

So here

the Lord

says,

I will

blot

out man

whom I

have

created

from the

face of

the land.

Man

and animals

and creeping

things and

birds of the

heavens for

I am

sorry

that I

have

made

them.

Verse

3,

My spirit

shall not

abide in

man forever

for he

is flesh.

His days

shall be

120 years.

In other

words,

the time

is set.

Problem

won't go

on forever.

The Lord

has set

a day.

The Lord

has set

a time.

The rebellion

will not

last forever.

The sin

will not

endure

forever.

God

will address

it in

120

years.

The clock

goes off

and judgment

will come

upon the

world.

By a

flood of

judgment,

he will

wipe

mankind

from the

face of

the planet.

I wonder,

does that

sound severe

to you?

In the

coming weeks,

Lord willing,

we'll get a

sense of just

how devastating

this was,

this worldwide

flood.

All but

eight people.

But you

can imagine

it now.

The whole

world.

This is an

undoing of

creation.

He is just

wiping the

slate clean.

He told

them that

the day

they ate

of the

fruit of

the tree,

they would

surely die.

And now,

he says,

within 120

years,

that bill

is going

to come

due.

Whatever

your sense

of how

devastating

and terrible

that was,

know two

things.

For one,

that judgment

was 100%

just.

Our sin

deserves

judgment.

And two,

this flood,

as horrible,

as devastating

as it was,

is just a

small,

small picture

of a greater

judgment to

come at the

return of the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Let me read

to you this

passage from

2 Peter.

We read part

of it this

morning already.

He's referencing

the flood.

He says this,

scoffers will

come in the

last days

with scoffing,

following their

own sinful

desires.

And they

will say,

where is the

promise of

his coming?

Where is

Jesus?

You said

Jesus was

coming back.

Where is

he?

For ever

since the

fathers fell

asleep,

all things

are continuing

as they were

from the

beginning of

creation.

They deliberately

overlook this

fact that the

heavens existed

long ago,

and the

earth was

formed out

of water

and through

water by

the word

of God,

and that by

means of

these the

world that

then existed

was deluged

with water

and perished.

Listen to

this.

But by the

same word,

the heavens

and earth

that now

exist are

stored up

for fire,

being kept

until the

day of

judgment and

destruction of

the ungodly.

In other

words,

there is a

greater day

of judgment

yet to

come.

There is a

more horrible

moment of

God's wrath

yet to

come.

There is a

greater

destruction of

the ungodly

and the

wicked yet

to come.

When we

look back

at this

and we're

in horror

of a

global flood

that wipes

out all

but eight,

we ought to

look forward

to this day

of God's

wrath and

tremble.

There's a

day of

judgment

yet to

come.

we should

look at

this wickedness

and realize

by nature

this is

our

wickedness.

Every

intention

of every

thought,

of every

heart,

of every

man,

always evil

all the

time.

That is

us.

We should

look at

God's

posture

towards

this sin,

towards our

sin and

realize by

nature,

God is

opposed to

us.

We should

look at

this promise

of coming

judgment and

realize there

is a

greater judgment

yet to

come.

And if

we are

wicked,

friend,

it is

coming for

us.

This

problem is

our problem.

And if

that is

true,

then we

have to

ask,

is there

any hope

at all

for the

wicked?

Is there

any hope

at all

for sinners

like us?

All of

us have

sinned and

fallen short

of the

glory of

God.

Every

single one

of us

is guilty.

Is there

any hope

at all

for a

sinner?

And we

know,

those who

know the

gospel say,

praise God,

the answer

is a

resounding

yes.

So question

number three,

what is

our hope?

Friend,

our only

hope is

the grace

of God

towards

sinners

like us.

The only

hope for

a sinner

like me

is that

God would

be gracious

to me,

a sinner.

That God

would show

mercy to

me.

In the

midst here

of this

universal

wickedness

and coming

judgment,

there is a

single ray

of hope

here in

verse 8.

Look there

with me.

You see

what it

says?

Judgment

is coming,

but Noah

found favor

in the eyes

of the

Lord.

just like

Enoch,

Noah

here gives

us hope

that even

on this

side of

the fall,

even here

outside of

the garden,

even here

with sin

running rampant

through us

and everybody

else,

there is

the possibility

that God

might show

favor to

sinners like

me.

We'll see

soon enough

that Noah

is a sinner

too.

Noah has

the same

problem

that we

do.

He has

the same

sin running

through his

veins that

we do.

He is

just as

deserving

of the

wrath of

God as

I am

and everybody

else,

but Noah

by the

mercy and

the grace

of God,

a sinner

found favor

in the eyes

of the

Lord.

God.

This is

the glorious

grace of

God on

display and

this is our

only hope.

This but

Noah, it

can be phrased

in a different

way and I

want you to

think about it

like this because

the emphasis

isn't so much

on Noah.

The point is

the astounding

grace of God

toward a sinner

like Noah.

Read it like

this and you

tell me if it

sounds familiar

to you.

Noah was

as good as

dead because

of sin,

but God

showed favor

to Noah.

Noah is a

sinner deserving

judgment,

but God

showed him

unmerited,

undeserved

favor.

Noah had

earned himself

death, he

was guilty,

but God

gave him

life.

If you're a

Christian, that

ought to sound

real familiar

to you because

that's your

story.

Your story,

Christian.

is what we

sang just a

few moments

ago.

I once was

lost in

darkest night.

I thought I

knew the way,

the sin that

promised joy

and life led

me to the

grave.

I had no

hope that you

would own a

rebel to your

will and if you

had not loved

me first, I

would refuse you

still.

But as I ran

my hellbound

race, indifferent

to the cost,

you looked upon

my helpless

state and

you led me

to the cross.

You did it.

And I beheld

God's love

displayed.

You suffered

in my place.

You bore the

wrath reserved

for me.

Now all I

know is

grace.

Hallelujah.

All I have

is Christ.

Hallelujah.

What's the

response?

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Jesus is my

life.

That is the

anthem of the

Christian soul.

I was dead.

I deserve

judgment.

I'm guilty.

I am wicked

to the core.

But God

has been

gracious and

has shown

mercy to me

a sinner.

Paul says

something similar

in Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

You were dead

not wounded.

Dead in the

trespasses and

sins in which

you once

walked.

Not sick.

Not wounded.

Not hurt.

Not able to

brush yourself

off.

Not in need

of a band-aid.

Not able to

turn over a

new leaf.

You were

dead.

Following the

course of this

world.

Following the

prince of the

power of the

air.

The spirit

that is now

at work in

the sons of

disobedience.

Among whom

we all once

lived in the

passions of

our flesh.

Carrying out

the desires of

the body and

the mind and

were by nature

children of

wrath like the

rest of

mankind.

But God

being rich in

mercy because

of the great

love with which

he loved us

even when we

were dead in

our trespasses

made us alive

together with

Christ.

By grace you

have been

saved.

Raised us

up with

him and

seated us

with him in

the heavenly

places in

Christ Jesus

so that in

the coming

ages he

might show

the immeasurable

riches of

his grace in

kindness toward

us in

Christ Jesus.

Is that your

story friend?

Do you see

here your

wickedness?

Do you see

here your

sin and

your depravity?

Do you see

your guilt and

God's response

to your sin?

Do you see it?

Do you see

your need for

grace?

If so

call out to

the Lord and

ask him

Lord would you

would you show

mercy on a

sinner like me?

Would you be

gracious to a

sinner like me?

Would you

would you lead

me to trust in

the only provision

for my sin which

is the Savior

Jesus Christ?

Big problems

require big

solutions.

God's

solution for

the problem of

sin ultimately

as we'll see

over the next

several weeks is

not a flood.

This flood

as terrible as

it is is a

band-aid on

the bullet hole

of our sin.

The problem of

sin it needs a

much bigger

solution than

that to crush

the head of

the serpent.

God will

crush his own

son in our

place.

To peel back

the curse of

sin Christ

Jesus himself

will become a

curse for us.

On the cross

for our sake

for sinners

sake he made

him who knew

no sin to

become sin for

us so that in

him by faith

in him sinners

like us might

become the

righteousness of

God.

God's

solution for

the problem of

sin is the

gospel of Jesus

Christ.

The perfect

life, the

sacrificial death,

the victorious

resurrection of

the promised seed

of the woman so

that by grace

undeserving sinners

like us by

faith in him

can now walk

with God and

escape the curse

of sin and

death.

Amen.

Father we

praise you for

the gospel.

There's no hope

for sinners like

us apart from

your grace.

There's no hope

for us apart

from the

sacrifice, from

the life, from

the resurrection

of Jesus.

So we thank you

and we praise you

Lord for this

fulfilled promise,

the seed of the

woman who has

conquered sin and

conquered the

grave and

defeated our

enemy.

And we pray

Lord if there

are any who

don't know you

Lord who are

still wicked in

your sight God

would you by

your grace call

them to put their

faith in Christ

even this moment.

We pray all

this in Jesus

name.

Amen.

Amen.