p. 3 | Preaching Righteousness

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 2, 1908

Preaching Righteousness

In the Sabbath-school lesson for April 11 the first great reform movement is considered under the title “The Flood and the Preaching of Noah.” In connection with it we present the following thoughts:—

Let us note first three things: Noah was a righteous man before the flood (Gen. 6: 9, R. V.); Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2: 5); Noah built an ark by faith, and through this ark “he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Heb. 11: 7.

Several conclusions will follow at once from these facts: Noah did not make himself righteous by building the ark, as he was declared to be righteous before the instructions were given him concerning building the ark; Noah was a preacher of righteousness to a world threatened with destruction, and the building of the ark was a part of his proclamation of righteousness; it was through the ark (the antecedent of “which” is “ark”) that Noah condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. It would, therefore, have been impossible for Noah to be a preacher of righteousness to the people of his time without building an ark, and it was equally impossible that he should himself be an heir of righteousness otherwise than by building an ark. His work of faith was an essential part of his preaching of faith, and it was through his work of faith that God bestowed upon him the reward of righteousness.

Noah is set down as one of the heroes of faith. He believed God, and his faith was counted unto him for righteousness, and the genuineness of his faith was manifested in implicit obedience to the command of God. When he was warned of God concerning things which as yet had never been seen, namely, a flood, and a way of salvation from the impending calamity was made known to him, he accepted the warning as absolutely reliable, he acted upon the warning as far as his own household was concerned, and then he invited others to share with him the ark of safety. Thus he became a preacher of righteousness.

To preach righteousness by faith in Noah’s time involved something more than a study of righteousness by faith in the abstract. It took hold upon the conduct. It meant a course of conduct which was in itself a condemnation of the lovers of pleasure, of those who did not believe in a personal God who was in control of nature, and of those who placed reason above revelation. The framework of the ark was the concrete outline of Noah’s sermon on righteousness by faith, the ark itself was the real body of his discourse, and he emphasized and punctuated with hammer and saw. He would have saved himself much ridicule if he had discussed righteousness and free grace without antagonizing the scientists of his time by actively preparing for an event which was contrary to all human experience, and which involved in ruin every one who did not believe his preaching. A singular man, that Noah, who claimed to have a message for the world concerning impending destruction, and who by his work of faith condemned to destruction all who did not join his movement.

There was a crisis in Noah’s time. “The wickedness of man was great in the earth,” and “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” A limit was set to the

time during which the Spirit of the Lord would strive with men, after which destruction was decreed upon all those who were not found in the ark. But a proclamation of a warning of the coming flood and of the divine way of salvation from the overwhelming disaster was sent to the world,—a message of salvation by believing-doing, and yet a salvation which was wholly by the power of God, for it was not the natural strength and storm-enduring qualities of the ark which preserved those within it, but rather the direct power of God exercised through ministering angels. Their faith accepted God’s gift of salvation to them, and under divine direction prepared the channel through which the salvation was revealed. The world scoffed at the message, rejected the way of salvation by believing,—and perished miserably in the flood. Scientific religion was at a premium until the windows of heaven were actually opened and the fountains of the great deep broken up, and then the consequences could not be avoided.

There is a striking parallel between Noah’s time and ours. “As it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” And the details of the parallel are being filled out before our own eyes. Violence prevails to an extent truly alarming, and threats of violence are driving peace of mind from many who are designated for death unless they comply with harsh demands. The struggle of class against class grows more bitter, and must result in outbreaks of further violence. At the same time God is being shut out from his place as the personal Ruler of the universe, and a scientific god is being proclaimed, an Infinite Force which works according to established laws; and such a calamity as the destruction of the world by fire, according to the prophecy, is discounted and discredited. God’s judgments already in the earth, both general and special, are explained away as the result of natural causes, and thus the expectation of the day of judgment is dulled. The great cities are reproductions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the wrath of God is invited upon them.

But now, as in Noah’s day, there is a message of righteousness by faith and a divine way of salvation. Then, the world was facing destruction by water; now, it is by fire. Then the righteous rode upon the flood of water in the ark prepared by Noah and his helpers; now, the righteous will ride upon the billows of fire in the New Jerusalem prepared for them by the Son of man. Then from the flood there came forth another world; now, ‘according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.’ And the hope of salvation, now as then, rests wholly upon the acceptance of the message of righteousness by faith, proclaimed in the divine setting God has given to it, and revealed in obedience to his commandments of God. This is the third angel’s message—the hope of the world.