Character Studies - ElectronicGospel

3. it is not that some earn God's favor, for the first sin that anyone commits makes itforever impossible that he can be inherently perfect before God and worthy anything better than eternaldeath on his own4. it is the walk with God, in heart and conversation, that sets apart the saved from thelostC. Walking With God1. having a hungry heart (cf. Matthew 5:6)2. seeking out God's will (Ephesians 5:8-10)3. doing it, no matter what (Colossians 3:17)4. practicing pure and undefiled religion which keeps one unspotted from the world (cf. James1:27) by living holy (cf. First Peter 1:16) and purifying oneself through constant repentance (cf. First John1:9, 3:3)5. appealing for a good conscience (First Peter 3:18-22)II. Wisdom In Doing All By God's Word (Genesis 6:13-15a, 22)A. Submissiveness1. the Hebrew writer inducts Noah into the hall of faith with these words upon his plaque (faith,godly fear and heir of righteousness2. Noah certainly had no interest in nullifying God's grace and the submissive exercise of his faithcertainly did not threaten God's unmerited favor upon him as the clouds gathered above the ancient worlda. moved with godly fear and a timely forewarning, Noah constructed the ark exactly as Goddrew it up in the blueprintsb. was there any temptation to do some things differently?1. we shall never know for certain, but Noah's character gives us no reason for suspicion2. a man who walks with God and who covets his favor is an unlikely candidate foramending the word of God3. we are sometimes misled that law and love are incompatible and that the Old Testament is aheartless code while the New Testament is a simple love lettera. both understandings are false, for God never accepted insincere, ritualistic worship underthe Old Testament and he does not accept zeal without knowledge, spirit without truth under the Neweitherb. Paul tells us that love is the fulfillment of the law–wisdom mandates that if we obey all ofGod's will, we cannot help but show perfect love to God and our fellow man4. Harry Rice used to write the word "Obey" on the black board with the implication that thismessage settled every argument and controversy over how elastic God's word could be madea. walking with God requires you to let him lead (Matthew 7:21-27)b. we must be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves, for faith withoutworks is dead, and whatever is not of faith is sinB. Authority1. the Bible says that all authority has been vested in Christ in this kingdom age, that his body, thechurch, must be directed by its head, its sole lawgiver (cf. James 4:12)2. was Noah being legalistic or ritualistic or self-righteous when he did all according to God'sblueprint?a. no, we count him blessed who obeyed, an example to Christians and their shepherds todaywho must make decisions about the work of the church in a changing world, in which the religions ofmen are wholly given over to the social gospel and self-help psychobabble humanismb. Noah found divine authority for his project in three ways (the direct command to build a300 cubit long boat, the necessary inference that using gopher wood allowed him to chop down gopherwood trees and the approved example regarding what food he could take on the craft with him to eatc. likewise will we discover divine authority today by seeking from our New Testamentsdirect commands, approved examples and necessary inferences3. walking with God means respecting his authority, speaking only as his oracles and not goingbeyond that which is written, for his word endures forever (cf. First Peter 4:11, Second John 9 and FirstPeter 1:25)58! Jeff S. Smith