BIBLE LESSON

“This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.”

— Genesis 6:9 Looking back at the heroes of the faith in the Bible, Hebrews says, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith” (Hebrews 11:7).

Genesis also teaches that Noah was a righteous man. From the Bible’s teachings, we learn that faith comes first, followed by righteousness. Simply put, because Noah lived by faith, he believed God and obeyed God. He strived to always do the right thing in obedience to God; therefore, God warned him of a coming judgment on the people of the Earth who had corrupted their ways and become violent.

Duly warned, Noah did what God commanded him: He built an ark and saved his family and himself. God considered Noah righteous and blameless, but that did not mean Noah was sinless. Only Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life on Earth.

If Noah sinned, he did what was right: he repented of his sin, asked God to forgive him, made appropriate sacrifices, and returned to doing right. Noah was blameless because he strived to obey God, and if he disobeyed God, he immediately repented and returned to right living, to righteousness.

Noah did not claim this for himself, but like Enoch, the Bible says Noah walked with God and “did everything just as God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22). Therefore, Noah became a heroic believer, whose example all believers can follow.