Saved Like Noah

By: Shawn Daniels

In the first book of Peter chapter 3 and verses 20-21, we read, “When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” We see from theses verses that Peter makes the connection of the salvation of Noah to the salvation of Christians. In verses 21 he makes the statement, “The like figure…” which means that baptism is the antitype of Noah’s salvation. Noah’s salvation was the type, and Christian salvation is the antitype. A type is something that foreshadows something to come, and an antitype is a person, thing, or idea represented in the New Testament by some earlier symbol of the Old Testament. The salvation of Noah and of Christians is alike in figure. In order to understand one, we must understand the other.

We remember the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and how that they had one commandment from God, and that was not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and Evil. Notwithstanding the commandment, Eve being deceived by the serpent took the fruit and gave it to Adam and they ate. Now, we know that how their eyes where open and they knew that they were naked and they became ashamed of their current predicament when God came walking in the midst of the Garden. They were forced out of the Garden and God placed before the garden a flaming sword that turned everyway to keep those unworthy out. In front of the gate was a cherub which was symbol of God’s grace. Even at the beginning, God had a plan of reconciliation, a plan of redemption.

Then we see mankind growing and there became to major family lines, one was the line of Seth, and the other was the line of Cain. Then we can read in Genesis 6:1, “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” Many think that this scripture is speaking of Heavenly angels falling to earth and marrying human women, and having children, but this is not the case. The “sons of God” were those of the line of Seth. They were classified “sons of God” simply because they were worshipers of God. Just as today Christians are called the “children of God”.

Angels are not human. Neither are they in the same category of the human species. Science itself can disprove the interspecies marriage of human and angels. We know for a fact that two animals of different species that mate cannot produce an offspring that can reproduce. Take for instance the horse and the donkey. When we mix those species the mule is sterile. So if angels and humans can reproduce, their offspring could not. That would be against nature itself. Not only does science disprove such a thing, so does the very words of Christ. Matthew chapter 22 verses 30 tell of how Jesus was asked who would be married to a certain widow that had seven husbands in Heaven. Jesus says, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” Christ said angels do not marry. Any more proof is unnecessary.

Genesis 6:1 is bringing us up to the great apostasy that caused God to repent mankind and vowed to destroy it in one hundred and twenty years. Before these marriages there were no apostasy, but after these marriages those that didn’t serve God started rubbing off on their counterparts. The end result was no one worshiped God except for one family.

Then we see the story of Noah, how that God revealed his plan to him. God told him to build an ark, and told him exactly what dimensions to build it. He told him to use gopher wood, and that the length would be 300 cubits, the width would be 50 cubits, and the height would be 30 cubits. He commanded Noah to gather up two of every animal and food for those animals and his family. Then we see that Noah did these things exactly to the plan that God gave him, and humanity was spared.

Now that we are up to Noah, let’s analyze his salvation. First we see that Noah was saved by the grace of God. In Genesis chapter 6 and verses 8 it reads, “He found favor in the sight of the Lord.” This is the characteristics of grace. He could have just very well destroyed all mankind, but this isn’t the characteristic of God. He found one that was righteous in his generation. (Gen 6:9) God decided to spare that man and his family and he revealed his plan to him. This is also a characteristic of grace. God’s grace is extended by his revelation.

Second, we see that Noah was saved by faith. In Hebrews chapter 11:7 we are told, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” True faith motivated Noah to move with fear to something that he had never seen. That’s why the writer of Hebrews says in chapter 11 verses 1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Noah never “saw” the flood before it came, but he knew that it was going to happen, insomuch that he “moved with fear.” The substance of things hoped for is that Noah knew that if he followed God’s word, his plan, then he and his house would be saved. The evidence of things not seen is the very fact that Noah didn’t see the flood, but it was in no way less real. He knew that the flood would come just as sure as we know our own names. He didn’t receive this faith by seeing. He received it by hearing. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 10 verses 17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the word of God.” The simplest way to say it is this; Noah had faith that the flood would come and if he built the ark that he and his family would be saved, because God revealed it, and he heard it from God.

Third, Noah was saved by his complete obedience. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 11 verses 7 said, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.” Notice first, that Noah was warned, he had faith, and it was a faith that motivated him to prepare an ark to the saving of his house. Now let’s just think for a moment of that faith. There are two types of faith, a dead faith, and a living faith. James tells us in the book of James chapter 2 verses 26, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” So we gather that faith without works or obedience is a dead faith. It has not motivating power. But, faith with obedience is alive, because it will cause you to be just like Noah and obey God. That’s exactly what Noah did. He heard the revelation, had faith, he moved with fear, he prepared, and he worked.

So we conclude that Noah was saved by three avenues that God uses for us today. Those avenues are grace, faith, and obedience, and we can see these three used in the Christian salvation.

First we see grace. Paul said in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 5, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved ;)” This is the extreme case of grace. We were still yet sinners, separated from our God, and yet he sent his son to die on the cross for our sins. God made Jesus the ultimate sacrifice to take away the sin of the world. That sin was the separation of man and God. The grace that we hear Jesus speak of in John chapter 3 verses 16 tells it all, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” So the grace of God extended to us in his Son.

Another instance of the grace of God is his revelation, for without it, we could not know the mind of God. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 25, “The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” This verse is declaring the superiority of God to man. Man could not even begin to fathom the mind of God; much less would we be able to please him except he would reveal his will to us. In the book of Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1-2 tells us, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” So in this “last days”, which is the gospel dispensation, we have the will of God given to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Many speak of saved by grace. One being saved by grace means that God has given the necessary provisions to be saved. That is, He has given his Son to take our place and reconcile us back to God, and He has given us his revelation so that we will know what we must do.

Second, we have faith as a means of salvation. Paul told the Ephesians in chapter 2 verse 8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Here we see that Paul said by grace through faith we are saved. God gave us the necessary provisions, but we must believe. We must have a living faith that will cause us to obey God.

Many, in order to prove the false doctrine of faith only, try to use this verse in order to prove their point. Paul said that salvation is a gift from God, and that it’s not of works, lest any man should boast. This verse in no way proves the stance that all we must do to receive eternal life is by having faith. There’s not even a hint of that doctrine in this verse. They reason that since we are not saved by works then repentance or baptism play no part in salvation. They assume that repentance or baptism is a work. The work that Paul is speaking of in Ephesians 2:8 is good works, and works of the law. The bottom line is this; we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) In sinning, we have all been separated from God. (Isaiah 59:2) There is no amount of “goodness” or good works that we can do to fix that. There’s no way that we can get rid of those sins on our own. The forgiveness that God sent us through his Son is the grace in which we’re saved. It surely is a gift from God. Now although that is a gift, God wants us to obey him. If not then this would be a universal salvation in which all would be saved no matter how evil. That would put the vilest and most violent criminals in the kingdom with us, because God died for all mankind. It stands to reason then that there are commands that we must obey to take part of that gift.

As we studied earlier, faith comes from hearing God’s word, his revelation. (Rom 10:17) So it stands that the only thing that we must have faith in is that which he revealed to us, nothing more and nothing less. We hear of religious leaders telling their followers to come forth and say this sinner’s prayer and you will be saved. And not only that, but they will say that we are saved by faith only. The “sinner’s prayer” is not found in the scriptures. Not one single ounce of evidence can back up the “sinner’s prayer” practice. Therefore, if you can’t read about it in the word of God, then how can you have faith in that practice? If it’s not of faith, then Paul said it was sin. Romans chapter 14 verse 23 says, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” That practice is a work that is not by faith, and it can not save.

Paul said in Romans chapter 3 verse 27, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of Faith. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Paul tells us that we are justified by the law of Faith, which is the Gospel of Christ. The deeds of the law that he speaks of is the works of the Law of Moses. He’s comparing the Law of Faith with the Law of Moses. The Law of Faith saves our souls. The Law of Moses condemns our souls, for it was a law without pardon. So we see that we receive our justification by the Gospel of Christ, and when we obey that gospel we are saved. (Hebrew 5:9) (Rom 1:17)

In the book of Titus chapter 3 verses 5 Paul writes, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Here’s another statement that shows us that we are not saved by works of righteousness, which would be some kind of good work. The main idea of this sentence is he saved us. How? By washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, and not by works of righteousness. As I said before, some try to claim that repentance, confession, and baptism are works, in which we can not be saved by, but we have here a statement were Paul said that baptism is not a work. The statement “washing of regeneration” is speaking of water baptism. Paul said He saved us not by works but by washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. So therefore baptism is not a work of righteousness no more than faith is a work of righteousness. Many think that since something that we are commanded to do require some kind of effort on our part that it’s a work of righteousness. Not so. Jesus Christ said that faith is a work. (John 6:28-29) No man would ever say we can be saved without faith. Why would they say you can be saved without repentance, confession, or baptism?

Third, we are saved by our obedience. This is evidence of living faith. We must have a faith that will motivate us to obey our God. Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 7 verses 21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Notice that those that do the will of my Father which is in heaven will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Just as God expected Noah to build the ark to his specifications, he expects us to obey his will, his revelation, and his plan.

That's why Peter said, "The like figure whereunto baptism doth also now save us." How Peter? "Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God." There's no inherit property to H2O that can clean sins from ones soul. It's not because it cleanses the filth of the flesh, but it's the answer of a good conscience toward God. The word conscience comes from the Greek word "suneideesis" meaning a moral understanding. It is a moral understanding of the revelation of God that we know repentance and baptism are for the remission of sins. (Acts 2:38) In other words it saves because it's commanded. (Matt 28:18) (Mark 16:16) How does baptism save? "By the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Water brought Noah to a new world, and water brings up to a newness of life. (Rom 6:3-4) Water cleansed the earth from apostasy and sin, and water washes the sins from our soul. Water brought Noah into a new sacrificial covenant with God, and water bring us into a new covenant with Jesus Christ.

We gather from the scriptures that there are things that we must do to be obedient to God. The bible tells us that we must have faith. (Heb 11:6) This faith is not a mere recognition of his existence. This is faith that will motivate us to obey him, and live for him. The bible teaches us that we must repent of our sins. (Luke 13:3) (Acts 2:38) This is not just a feeling sorrow for what we have done, but a complete change of heart. This is turning your life around, getting off of the road to destruction and turning to the road of life. The bible teaches us that we must confess that Jesus is the Son of God. (Matt 10:32-33) That is, we must confess him everywhere. We must not be ashamed of him. We have an example of this before the eunuch’s baptism in Acts 8:37. The bible teaches that we must be baptized for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38) (Mark 16:16) This is where we come in contact with the blood of Christ, which was shed in his death. (Rom 6:1-6) Baptism puts us into the body of Christ, which is his church (Acts 2:41) Baptism is how we put on Christ and become the seed of Abraham, and heirs according to the promise. (Gal 3:27-29)

In conclusion we see how the salvation of Noah and the Christian are alike in figure. Those great three avenues in which God deals with mankind; grace, faith, and obedience. God has sent his grace to us. Do you believe God? Do you believe that he has sent his Son? Do you believe his Son when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”? Do you believe Him when he said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned”?

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