Preacher of Righteousness - Creation Moments

2 Peter 2:5

“And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;”

Peter writes in his second epistle that God “didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly.” We know that Noah’s selection to be preserved was not a random accident. On the contrary – in Genesis 6:8, we read that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” The grace that Noah found sounds similar to the New Testament Gospel, and Peter described Noah as a “preacher of righteousness”. This makes Noah the first recorded evangelist. He was preaching about God to a world that had become totally unrighteous. So was his message simply a moralistic message? Was it a message that said “stop being wicked, and start to become good”? It could not have been so because, as we saw, Noah was not himself saved by being righteous, but by grace. And in the letter to the Hebrews, Noah is described as having the righteousness which comes by faith. Noah was saved by grace, through faith – just as we are today.

When the door to the Ark was shut, there was room for many more people. All they had to do was repent and turn to God. In the same way, salvation is available to “whoever calls on the name of the Lord.” Salvation was available, but, as we know, only eight people had that saving faith in God.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful means of salvation. Keep us eager to be preachers of that righteousness that comes by faith, as was Noah. Amen.

Author: Paul Taylor

Ref: Taylor, P.F. (2007), Noah the Evangelist, < https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/noah/the-evangelist/ >, accessed 3/30/2019. Image: Adobe Stock Images, licensed to author.