First, he obeys in "holy fear," which is probably better translated as "holy reverence," because fear does not fit Noah or the context in Genesis. Noah obeys, not because he dreads the consequences of disobedience, but because of the sweet reverence he has for God. If there is any "fear" here, it is that of holy regard and devotional awe. Noah's obedience is built on a warm heart for God -- not a servile fear, but a loving fear like that of a child who does not want to displease his father. Noah's reverent obedience tells us that at the very heart of a life of obedience, there must be, and there always is, a holy reverence for God. We need to beware of obedience that is unemotional, that leaves our hearts beating at the same rate as before we believed. A reverent heart is a holy point of light in a dark world, for it is an obedient heart.
Understanding that faith's obedience is fueled by a reverent heart, we must next understand that obedience must always be practical. Noah got right down to doing what God had told him and "built an ark to save his family." The Genesis account adds, "Noah did everything just as God commanded him" [6:22, 7:5]. He followed the blueprints implicitly. As Noah finished the incredible 450-foot keel and began to install some of the ark's ribs, we can imagine the abuse he took! How many "Noah jokes" and clever jibes do you think people could come up with in 120 years? Imagine the insults, taunts and amusement that came at the expense of Noah and his family. Nevertheless, Noah maintained his practical obedience, doing exactly what God had said for 25 then 50 then 75 then 100 and finally 120 years -- until the ark lay like a huge coffin on the land. Faith always obeys! It obeys with a heart that is both reverential and practical. And true faith always acts. So to make this story real for us ... there was no way that Noah could truly believe that THE FLOOD was coming without doing what God told him to do to save his family. Similarly, we must ask ourselves if we truly believe God's Word -- that He is coming in judgment -- if we do nothing to warn those around us and point them toward His salvation.
There is a beautiful sequence that emanates from true faith: faith involves a certainty of belief, which produces obedience, which in turn produces witness. And this is precisely what Noah's faith did because his witness condemned the world -- "By his faith he condemned the world," through the witness of both his word and his life. The Apostle Peter tells us that Noah was a "preacher of righteousness" [2 Peter 2:5]. This means that for 120 years while he labored to construct the ark, he preached to all who would listen. Perhaps sometimes he preached from the construction scaffolding to the curious and the mockers who came out to gawk. Other times, no doubt, he went preaching missions throughout the countryside. His message was a call to faith in God, repentance and righteous living. For twelve decades this went on and on -- talk about a long pastorate! Moreover, along with this was the very witness of his life. His continual preparation of the ark was a constant visual witness that judgment was coming. And on top of that, there was also the powerful witness of the way he lived his life, because Noah was a profoundly righteous man.
Some people were probably reproved by both Noah's word and his walk. Some may even have begun to long for righteousness. But, sadly, not one person responded in a century-plus of such consistent witness. In fact, the world became progressively darker. No doubt his contemporaries saw him as the first "boy who cried wolf." The abiding lesson? True faith witnesses by both word and by deed. But the results, as always, must be left to God. We do not have the power to bring conviction in nor generate faith in the heart of any man. That has always been the work of the Spirit of God.
Lastly, a faith like Noah's makes one heir to a grand inheritance, as our text reminds us in its closing line: "By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." This is the author of Hebrews' one and only use of "righteousness" in the objective, Pauline sense of righteousness that comes by God through faith. This is what many consider to be an alien righteousness because 'alien' stresses the fact that it does not come from man, but is an objective gift from God. The great Pauline texts often repeat the phrase "righteousness from God." Examples include: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith'" [Romans 1:16, 17]. "But now a righteousness from God, apart from the Law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe" [Romans 3:21, 22]. Similarly, in Philippians 3:9 [my life verse] Paul expresses a desire that he/I might be found in Him, not having a righteousness of his/my own that comes from the Law or from works, but that which is through faith in Christ -- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
The glorious result of receiving this 'alien' righteousness is that we become the righteousness of God, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 -- "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." The point being that this righteousness from God is necessary for salvation. Self-generated righteousness is never enough. Moreover, we can never earn salvation, for it only comes by faith, as the preceding passages of Scripture emphasize. The only way we can obtain this righteousness is through faith in Christ [belief that He died for our sins, plus trust in him alone for our salvation]. This is the gospel!
Noah was saved by faith -- his faith led to his salvation. There finally came the day when the rain began -- and it continued for forty days uninterrupted -- and the pre-diluvians suddenly began to realize that perhaps Noah was not so crazy after all. Noah and his family got into the ark, and the jokes stopped for good as the water rose first to their knees, then finally over their now stilled lips. Just as God came to the pre-diluvians through Noah, he comes today to us post-diluvians through the words of His Son who said: "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man" [Matthew 24:37-39].
Yet today in this dark world, there is still light wherever there is faith. To him who has ears to hear, let him hear.
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