Genesis 6:8-12 - Cameron Jungels - 3-16-2014 PM

“Grace and Righteousness” - Genesis 6:8-12 – (Eastside Baptist Sun PM, March 16, 2014) 

⁵ The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.  ⁶ The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.  ⁷ So the LORD said, "I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created-- and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground-- for I regret that I have made them."  ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.  ⁹ This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.  ¹⁰ Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.  ¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.  ¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. (Genesis 6:5-12, NIV)

 

And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11:6, NIV) 

1. The saving grace of God comes before righteousness. 

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:8, NIV) 

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:6–8, NIV) 

2. The saving grace of God always produces righteousness in his people. 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8–10, NIV)

 

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? (James 2:14, NIV) In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. (James 2:17–18, NIV)

 

This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. (Genesis 6:9, NIV)

 

Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. (Ecclesiastes 7:20, NIV)

 

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23, NIV) 

3. The saving grace of God produces a righteousness in his people that can withstand the wickedness that surrounds them. 

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. (Genesis 6:11–12, NIV)

 

Main Idea: The saving grace of God produces a righteousness in his people that can withstand the wickedness that surrounds them.