By faith...Noah

Saint Peter called Noah "a preacher of righteousness." I've heard the story of Noah's Ark repeated many times since first hearing it as a youngster in Sunday School and Children's Church. The story was told, as I recall, about Noah laboring for years simultaneously building the ark and preaching repentance to all his neighbors. The part that always impressed me was how, in the story, the neighbors jeered and mocked until the floods started coming up and then they would beat on the door of the ark and beg to be let in...

Actually, the Bible doesn't relate the story in that way. Genesis 6:7 states "So the Lord said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth...' " with one exception, vs 8 "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." The writer Hebrews states that "By faith Noah...built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world..."

How was the world condemned? By Noah building the ark to save his family. Why did Noah build the ark? Because of his "holy fear" concerning the warning "about things not yet seen."

Back in the Genesis account (6:9) it says, "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." Noah walked with God - he did things right! Noah walked with God - he was blameless among the people of his time! Is there a pattern? Is there a correlation between walking with God, doing things right, and being seen as blameless among the people of his time? Is this what Peter meant by calling Noah "a preacher of righteousness?"

How is it the old saying goes? "Your actions speak so loud I can't hear what you are saying." Let your deeds do your talking! Jesus said, (Matt.5:16) "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." The way you live your life is your only valid statement of evangelism. The difference between our philosophies and what we truly believe is spelled out in our daily actions and responses to stress and duress.