Salvation Revealed

Q: What does the Bible say about grace in salvation?

The Bible asserts that salvation is solely by grace, as seen in Genesis 6:8, where Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Grace is foundational to the message of salvation in Scripture. In Genesis 6:8, it is emphasized that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord before any mention of the ark or salvation plans. This establishes that grace is the fountain from which all acts of divine redemption flow. Throughout the entirety of salvation history, grace is at the forefront, indicating that no one can contribute to their salvation. As Paul explains in Ephesians 2:8-9, 'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.' Thus, grace prevails as the unmerited favor of God that alone allows for justification and sanctification of sinners.

Q: How do we know Christ is our ark of salvation?

Christ is depicted as our ark of salvation, as illustrated through Noah's instruction to build the ark, which served as a means of protection during the flood. The ark, as commanded by God, serves as a profound typological representation of Christ in the Bible. Just as Noah was instructed to build the ark for salvation from the flood, believers find refuge in Christ who protects from God's wrath. In Genesis 6, God specifies how the ark must be constructed, denoting that salvation can only be found through the parameters established by God. This correlates with John 10:9, where Jesus declares, 'I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved.' Hence, all who enter this 'ark'—Jesus Christ—will find safety and salvation from the impending judgment.

Q: Why is the blood of Christ essential for salvation?

The blood of Christ is essential because it alone satisfies God's justice and provides atonement for sin, as reflected in Genesis 6's pitch inside and out. The pitch mentioned in Genesis 6 is a significant symbol of atonement, representing the blood of Christ that shields us from God’s wrath. Just like the pitch covered the ark preventing the waters of judgment from breaching it, the blood of Jesus covers believers from divine condemnation. Hebrews 9:22 states, 'Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins,' confirming that it is the blood that reconciles sinners to God. Our righteousness cannot be grounded in our own efforts or repentance; it rests solely on Christ's sacrificial blood that provides comprehensive atonement and sanctification. Thus, it underscores that salvation is entirely dependent on Christ and His work alone, ensuring that all who believe are justified.

Q: What is the significance of God's covenant with Noah?

God's covenant with Noah highlights the assurance of salvation and grace extended to Noah and his family amidst judgment. In Genesis 6:18, God's covenant with Noah is foundational as it emphasizes His commitment to save Noah and his household from destruction. This covenant of grace signifies that salvation is not based on Noah’s merits but solely on God's initiative and promises. The assurance of this covenant reflects God's unchanging character and reliability in His dealings with humanity. Throughout the Scriptures, God's covenants demonstrate His purposeful design in redemptive history, culminating in the new covenant through Christ. As Christians, we find immense comfort in knowing that God's promises are everlasting and that we are included in His plans for salvation, just as Noah was promised preservation through the ark.

Q: How does Noah's story explain the concept of total depravity?

Noah's story illustrates total depravity, as God declared that 'all flesh has corrupted itself' prior to the provision for salvation. The doctrine of total depravity is vividly illustrated in Noah's narrative, particularly in Genesis 6:11-12, where God states that 'all flesh has corrupted itself upon the earth.' This declaration reinforces the Reformed understanding that every individual is born in sin and incapable of achieving righteousness on their own. The revelation of God's judgment highlights that outside of divine intervention, humanity is wholly corrupt. Yet, God's grace towards Noah serves as evidence of His sovereign choice to save amidst widespread corruption. The implication is that without the grace of God, none would seek Him or devise a means to escape judgment, thereby relying solely on His mercy for salvation.

Turn back to Genesis chapter
6. Genesis chapter 6. Title of the
message is Salvation Revealed. Salvation Revealed. God revealed
to Noah that he would destroy this world, that he would destroy
All flesh, human and animal, every creeping thing, that he
was going to wipe it out. That it had corrupted itself.
He said all flesh has corrupted itself. And after revealing this
to Noah, he revealed to him how he was going to save Noah. He
revealed salvation to Noah. This is Noah. This is how I'm
going to save you and your family and all those animals that were
taken in the ark. He revealed this to Noah. But
let me point something out here that hit me today as I was studying
and writing these notes. Before salvation was revealed
to Noah, the ark, the grace of God to Noah is first mentioned. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Before the ark is revealed, before
any salvation is revealed from this flood, grace is mentioned. Grace of God is revealed. Grace
is at the head of all that God has done and will do for us.
Grace is at the head of it. Everyone whom God saves will
know that it's all of grace first. Grace is the fountain of it.
The giving of Christ as our Savior is all of grace. It's not something
he had to do, it's something he did because of his grace to
us in Christ. Putting us in Christ, of him
are you in Christ Jesus, who of God has made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Putting us in
him, before the foundation of the world is all of grace. Keeping
us in Christ as we go through this world is all of grace. And bringing us home safe when it's over is all of grace. It's all grace. At no time do
we contribute to our salvation. Before Noah's justification is
mentioned, it says he was a just man. Before his sanctification
is mentioned, it says he was perfect, he was upright. And
before it is mentioned that he walked with God, the root of
it is mentioned, grace. Before any of that's ever mentioned,
it's made known and evident and without question, Noah was saved
by the grace of God, just as everyone whom God saves is saved
by grace. In verses 11 through 13, the
corruption of all flesh is revealed. He said, flesh, all flesh has
corrupted itself upon the earth. None good, no, not one. I know
one may ask, all flesh? There's none good? Absolutely
none good? No, not one? I know some good
people by our standards. We're not being judged by our
standards. God judges by His standards. His standards of good
is perfection. He says there's none good, no,
not one. All flesh has corrupted itself. And if God says all flesh
is corrupt, then it's so. It's so. Take God's Word on it,
it's so. But one man, it's amazing. Grace is amazing, isn't it? If it ever ceases to be amazing,
it ceases to be grace. But one man found grace in the
eyes of the Lord and salvation, his salvation was revealed to
him. And it's this ark, this ark. And he says here in verse 14,
God reveals how he's going to save Noah. And he says to him,
make thee an ark of gopher woods. This ark here is a very strong
picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and how sinners are saved in
Christ. And he gives a description of
this ark here that he tells Noah to build. He says in verse 14,
Make thee an ark of gopher wood. Runes shalt thou make in the
ark, and shalt pitch it within and without. Make it with runes. Places of rest. Places of rest. Christ is our rest. He is our rest. And there's plenty
of room in Him for all to come and rest. We can say to any sinner,
come. Come. Come to Christ and you'll
find rest. He said, you come to me and you'll
find rest to your souls. Come. And rooms, these rooms
held different animals. They had all these rooms in the
ark. And I'm sure that the lions and tigers and all were kept
in rooms and the elephants in these rooms and different ones
kept in all these rooms. And I thought about this today.
I thought we have all these different local churches. We have this
place, we have one in Wheatlesburg, we have in Mexico, Mexicans. You have them in Russia, made
up of Russians. All of them, but I'll tell you
this, they're all in Christ. These different animals were
put into these different rooms, but they were all in the ark.
Every last one of them was in the ark. And even though the
body of Christ may be scattered across this world, it's still
all of us are in the ark. We're all saved in Him. all one
in Christ. Then the next description is
this. Pitch it within and without. Here, this is important. Without
this, it's going to fail. This boat won't float without
this. And this word is translated atonement. It's translated atonement. throughout
the Scriptures, several places in the Old Testament, and this
pitch means this. It means to cover or to take
away. It means to cover or take away.
This pitch now, listen, this pitch and this is a huge boat. I mean, this is big, but this
thing is covered now from top to bottom, inside and out. With
this pitch. Not us, not us. Not a spot on
it is left without this pitch. It's covered within and without. And this pitch is what kept the
wrath of God. This was just an exciting thought
to me today as I was studying this. This is what kept the wrath
of God from entering that ark. This is what kept the water out.
Noah's craftsmanship is not what kept the water out, it's the
pitch. It's the pitch. That which keeps the wrath of
God from us is the blood of Christ. What can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood. Nothing but Him. The only thing
that kept them from drowning was that pitch. It is the blood that makes atonement
for the soul. Not repentance. Not faith. It's
the blood. It's the blood of the Lamb of
God. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of
sin, no forgiveness, not without this covering, not without this. Take away the pitch and Noah
dies. He dies. Take away the blood
of Christ and all sinners, all sinners perish under God's wrath. We take away the blood, we perish.
It's the blood. It is the blood that satisfies
God's justice. And what we have here, it was
pitched within and without. We have redemption accomplished
and we have redemption applied. Within and without. The blood shed justifies us before
God. The bloodshed justifies us before
God, and the blood applied sanctifies us before God. It's the blood. Pitch in the bucket does not
save. It does not save. Pitch applied kept all in the
boat safe. It's the bloodshed and the blood
applied that saves, that makes atonement. We can talk about
the blood all day long. We can talk about it every service,
but unless it's applied, it'll not save. That person will not
be saved unless it's applied within and without. Covered.
Covered with the blood. Covered. You know, there's three
arcs mentioned in the Old Testament. You have the arc here mentioned.
You have the arc that was mentioned at Moses. was put in, when he
was put in the river, it was pitched within and without. Then
you have the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with a sprinkling
of the blood, the atonement. You take that away and there
is no salvation. It's the blood. The Ark would
be nothing but a death trap. It would be nothing but another
Titanic without this pitch. Without it, it would be nothing.
No salvation. Christ crucified is our hope. Christ crucified is our message. We never leave that. If we leave
it, we drown. We perish. Look what Paul said
over here in 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Frank's
going to be coming up on this real soon. Paul says here, and our brethren,
When I came to you, I came not with excellency of speech or
of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God, that is,
man's wisdom. He came with God's wisdom, but
not man's wisdom. For I determined not to know
anything among you save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." Without
this, there is no salvation. Without this, there is no way
to honor God, not love. Christ crucified is our hope.
Now Noah was told how and what size to make the ark. Noah was
not at liberty, now listen, Noah was not at liberty at all to
add or take away from the ark. God did not say Noah build an
ark and then leave it to Noah to build the ark. He gave Noah
specific instructions on how to build that ark and the size
he wanted that ark to be. And everything about that ark,
God gave it to Noah. You build it just like I have
given to you. And Mrs. Noah, Mrs. Noah was not at liberty to put
her womanly touches to it. No, you build the ark just like
I gave it to you, just like I reveal it to you. Just like, because
this ark represents my son. This ark represents salvation.
This ark is a picture, it is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ
and his salvation and of his people. So you make it just like
I reveal it to you. We are not at liberty to change
the gospel. We are not at liberty to add
or take away. We are not at liberty to do that.
We are to preach Christ just as God has revealed him in the
scriptures. Not add to it or take away from
it. It doesn't matter if it offends everybody. We preach it. The sheep will love it. The sheep
will love it. But you make that ark just like
I revealed it to you, because it represents my Son. It represents
Him. And then he tells him, after
telling him to make rooms in it, he says, now make a window. Make a window. Now, I saw, somebody
sent me an email, of an arc that somebody made, I don't know if
it was in Australia or one of these other countries. Somebody
made a full size scale arc and there was windows all the way
down the side of it. They was going to put a restaurant
and stuff in it. Wouldn't you figure that, turn
it into a business. But there was one window. You
see, we're not on a sightseeing trip here. And there's one window
and that window was not for sightseeing. That window was to let light
in. It was to let the light shine
in. And all that were in that ark could see by that one light. That's what it was for. And this
window, I have no doubt, represents the Holy Spirit who illuminates
us in Christ. He takes the things of Christ
and shows them to us. He enlightens us. And we see Christ. And we see
all that we have in Christ. He'll take the things of mine
and show them to you. I have no doubt this window represents
Him. And then there's one door in
the ark. There's only one door by which
we enter the true church. Christ says that over in John
chapter 10. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.
I am the door. He said, I'm the door. By me,
if any man enter in. He's the door. And He's the door
by which we enter heaven. by which we enter God's presence.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me." I'm the only door. I'm the only access that you
can have to the Father is through me. The only access is Christ. He's the only way. The door was
to be located in the side of the ark. I think that represents,
first of all, easy access. Christ said, Come to me. He didn't
run sinners off. Those self-righteous Pharisees,
he left them alone. He said, leave them alone. But
sinners who needed him found him easy to approach. Easy to approach. And I'll tell
you something else here. It's in the side of that ark.
And this is the Old and the New Testament saints enter in at
the same point into that ark. the Lord Jesus Christ, that door.
It's not in the rear of the ark. It's not in the front of the
ark. We meet right here in the center, right in Christ. Right
there where it's easy access. Both sides, those on both sides,
the Old and New Testament, go through the same door. We enter
the ark through the same door. And there's three stories or
three levels that were to be made in this ark. First thought that hit me was
no wasted space. There's nothing wasted. Everything
of God has a purpose. Everything has a purpose. But
I thought of this on these levels. There are babes in Christ. There
are young men in Christ. and their fathers in Christ. Three levels. Three levels of
experience. And then he mentions to Noah,
over here in verse 18, after he reveals to him the ark, his
salvation, how it's to be made, the size of it, everything about
it is revealed to Noah. Then he reveals to him this covenant. this covenant. But with thee,
thee personally, will I establish my covenant. And thou shalt come
into the ark, thou and thy sons and thy wife and thy sons' wives
with thee. And of every living thing of
all flesh, two of every sort, shalt thou bring into the ark,
to keep them alive with thee. They shall be male and female."
God made a covenant with Noah. He made a covenant, a covenant
of grace. Covenant of salvation. He made this covenant with Noah
concerning his salvation from the wrath to come. He said, Noah,
I'll make a covenant with you. Build this ark. I'm going to
save you, your sons and their wives, and a multitude of animals. I promise. You've got a covenant
on that. God is a covenant God. Everything
God does with us is through a covenant. It's through a covenant. You
can count on it. God has made a covenant with
his Son before this world began and with us in his Son. With
us in his Son, whatever covenant he made with his Son is made
with us. And he promised, he made a covenant with him that
he was going to give him a people to save, to redeem, and they
would be saved. And they would be brought home,
and they would be safe. And we have that covenant in
Christ, that covenant of grace, that covenant of salvation, that
covenant of safety. We have it in Christ. It's made
with us in Christ. And Christ is that covenant.
I have given thee as a covenant to the people. God has promised. He promised
Noah. I'm going to save you in this
ark. You're not going to perish. You and your family, you're not
going to perish. I'm going to save you. Do you
think that was humbling? Of all flesh. You know, Noah
had to look at all those people, all those other animals, knowing,
knowing God's going to drown them, going to destroy them.
But he said, I've made a covenant with thee. And if God makes a
covenant, he'll keep it. He'll keep it. And this covenant is ordered
in all things, insure, because God made it. God made it. It wasn't, Noah, you do this
and I'll do this. No, he said, no, I'll make a
covenant with thee. And this is what's going to happen.
This is how I'm going to save you and you're going to be saved. And then here in verse 19-22,
all types of animals were gathered into the ark. All types. Listen, clean and unclean. Clean and unclean. All types. Christ saves all types of sinners. There are those who have been
openly vile, Wretched sinners that have done just about everything
there is to do. Some of those God saves. And
then there are some who raised up under the gospel. They've
been protected. They've had parents who protected
them. Their parents have believed the gospel. They've been raised
up. And they haven't gone out and
openly done all these things. Clean and unclean. I know by
nature we're all sinners. We're all wretches by nature.
I know that. There are some who are just openly
vile. God lets them go. He lets them
go that way before he saves them. John Newton. He was a rascal. He was a slave trader. And there
are some, like I said, who've been brought up and they haven't
really done anything outwardly. Outwardly, they've not really
done much. He saves sinners of all types. Sinners of all types. Some raised in the streets and
some raised under the gospel. Some of all types. But I know this, in that ark,
in that ark is where God saves sinners. It doesn't matter if
you've been raised under the gospel or if you've been raised
on the streets. We all come to the same place. We all come to
the same Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then last of all, all provisions were made. Look
at this, in verse 21, after telling him to take all these different
types of, he doesn't go out and get them, but they came in, Frank
mentioned that, they all came in. And I'm going to talk about
that next week on the call, in chapter 7. But all these different types
of animals came. came to that ark. I was telling
Frank, I said, here's what's amazing. Here's the providence
of God. All these different types of
animals scattered over the face of this whole world, migrating
toward that ark. Not knowing why they're migrating
toward that ark. And that's the providence of
God in every one of His sheep's life. Migrating toward Christ
and don't even realize it until you meet Him. God reveals it. Your whole life has been migrating
toward Him. And those animals come from the east, the west,
north and the south to one place, that ark. God moving them. God working. God controlling. How in the world is Noah going
to do this? Noah is not going to do this.
God's going to do this. God's going to save the animal
kingdom, and He's not going to save every animal. But He is
going to save the animal kingdom. 21 And take thou unto thee all food
that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee, and it shall
be food for thee and for them. Thus did Noah, according to all
that God commanded him, so did he. Take thou unto thee all food. There was not one snake. There was not one insect. There
was not one giraffe, elephant, lion. There was not one that
went hungry. And they didn't bring it either.
They didn't bring their own food into the ark. When they got to
that ark, it was all provided. All provided. Come and dine.
Come and dine. And it was provided for about
a year. They were in that ark for about a year. I think they
were here for a year. And they never went hungry. All
provided for. God has provided for us, in Christ,
all we need. If Christ is not enough, you've
got a serious problem. He's the bread of life and He's
the water of life. If He's not enough, there's a
serious problem. All in the ark have plenty to eat. and everyone
ate what they liked. Our food is Christ and we like
what we eat. In Christ we have all we need. No one in the ark lacked any
good thing. God provided abundantly. In Christ the scripture says
we are complete. Christ our ark is all sufficient. It'll stand the flood of God's
wrath. Christ stood under the flood of God's wrath and took
it. Just like that ark took the flood of God's wrath back then,
and everyone in that ark was safe. Well, the ark was taking
a pounding, but no one in that ark was taking a pounding safe.
Safe. Christ is all-sufficient. Christ
is a safe refuge. He is a safe refuge. Christ is
burnt ground. Where the fire is burned once,
it will not burn again. He's burnt ground. You can rest
in Him. Rooms. Rooms. You can rest. In my Father's
house are many dwelling places. Many places to rest. Christ is
our ark. He's our ark of safety. He's
a sufficient Savior. He's a safe Savior. He's God's
Savior given to us.

Salvation Revealed

What does the Bible say about grace in salvation?

How do we know Christ is our ark of salvation?

Why is the blood of Christ essential for salvation?

What is the significance of God's covenant with Noah?

How does Noah's story explain the concept of total depravity?

Sermon Transcript

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Salvation Revealed

What does the Bible say about grace in salvation?

How do we know Christ is our ark of salvation?

Why is the blood of Christ essential for salvation?

What is the significance of God's covenant with Noah?

How does Noah's story explain the concept of total depravity?

Sermon Transcript

About John Chapman

Comments

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