Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

Romans 5:1 KJVS
[1] Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Romans 5 begins a new section of Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome. He has finished his argument, in chapters 1—4, that nobody can be made right with God by following the works of the law of Moses. This "justification" is impossible by works, because nobody follows the law well, let alone perfectly (Romans 3:10, 23).

Human beings can only be declared righteous and escape God's angry judgment on our sin by faith in what He has done for us through Jesus' death, meant to pay for our sin, and His resurrection, which secures our justification (Romans 4:24–25).

Now Paul turns a corner, to describe what we have gained in being justified by faith. It's true that we have escaped the wrath of God, but being righteous before God means so much more than just not being punished for our sin.

Before jumping into these benefits, it's important to remember that Paul is writing to Christians. That is the context of his comments in this section, which should not be misunderstood. Paul's use of the term "we" in this passage is not universal—it does not apply to all of the entire human race.

He is describing what is true for those who have trusted in Christ's work for our salvation. This is made explicitly clear by his explanation of faith and belief in the prior passages. Paul is not saying all people everywhere have peace with God, only those who, as he and his readers had done, have believed in the God who raised Jesus from the dead.

It's also helpful to notice that Paul describes this act of being justified by God, of becoming a believer, as something in the past. For those who are Christians, that transaction is complete. Our status before God will never again be in doubt. Paul does not describe a process, or a future event. Eternal salvation is accomplished once, and forever, when a person comes to faith in Christ.

Paul begins by showing that those who have been justified in God's eyes have peace with God. Paul does not mean by this that we feel peaceful, that we experience no anxiety. He means that we are right with God. We are at peace with God from now and through eternity.

This is possible only "through our Lord Jesus Christ." In Christ, God has made a permanent peace with us. And since He is the one who made it, it is peace that can never be lost.

Our topic today is:

Flesh Destruction And Ark Salvation Discussion

This passage points to a very specific day in the life of Noah for the beginning of the flood. Scholars have suggested many possible reasons this date might be significant.

The most obvious one may be that including a specific date for the beginning of the flood gives the report authenticity. In short, the flood is not a myth. It began on an actual day in the history of the world.

On that day, the Creator began to destroy much of what He had made and nearly all of the wickedness sinful humanity had made on the earth.

Now, in verse 12 we're told for the first time that it rained for 40 days and nights. The Bible credits Noah with obedience to God (Genesis 6:22; Genesis 7:5). That obedience is a key part of the story here, as the flood begins.

At the very beginning of this chapter, Noah is given the command by God to board the ark. Common sense says it would take time to finish loading the ark with all the animals and last-minute supplies.

According to verse 4, God had given Noah seven days' notice. This verse shows how Noah's obedience was, once again, critical to success. On the very day they finished boarding the ark, the flood waters arrived. Any delay would have been catastrophic.

On the day the flood started, apparently, the small company of humans and huge contingent of animals, birds, and insects entered the ark. Whether this meant every animal, or, more likely, the last of the animals which had been boarding, the text does not specifically say.

The human men are named here again: Noah and his three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Each man had a wife, who is not named. Together, these eight people would restart the human race in the new beginning God would establish after the flood.

It important to remember that Genesis claims a supernatural work of God in gathering and delivering these animals to the ark. God wanted to save a representative of every kind of beast, every kind of livestock, every kind of "creeping thing" (which would include insects), every kind of bird, and every kind of winged creature.

As some have noted, such a collection of predators and prey, of large animals and small, could never have occupied such a space together if God had not orchestrated it for the purpose of preserving animal life on the planet.

The repetition of this information is also part of the story. A theme of Genesis is God's ability to make good on His promises. Earlier parts of this story describe what God is predicting, later ones describe those events happening exactly as God said they would.

Rather than simply saying, "animals went on the ark," Scripture emphasizes the details. This highlights the idea that God's will, and His knowledge, are specific. Most of this information is not new, but the Bible often repeats details in order to make a point.

God's will, and His knowledge, are specific. When He says something will occur, it occurs exactly as He predicted. Verse 16 also makes a very specific, very important point about how the ark was sealed in preparation for the flood.

The closing of the ark is specifically credited to God Himself. This symbolism will become crucial in our understanding of God and salvation. This is important for two reasons.

First, this act emphasizes that it is God who is saving life from judgment. And, it serves as a reminder of God's promise to preserve those He has saved. Both to Noah, and to us, this is a symbol of God's ability to keep those He has saved.

Second, and of critical importance, is the fact that the door was not shut by Noah. When every life meant to be saved had boarded the ark, God shut Noah and all who were with him inside. Their security wasn't earned by something Noah had done.

Noah was not the one who decided when the door would be shut, or when the opportunity for salvation would be lost to those outside. All of these are exclusively God's prerogative.

Although the waters destroy everything on land, they do not prevail, over the ark. We were told in the previous verse that the boat floated high above its original place on the ground.

Now we're told that it floats on the surface of the water. The ark and its inhabitants were on the move. It's worth noting that the ark is actually not a "boat." There are no oars, sails, rudders, or other controls mentioned.

It has one purpose: to float above the destruction, and let God take care of the rest.