Saved By Grace

Saved by Grace

The world had gone wrong. “The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil” (Genesis 6:5). However, there’s a “but” in this bleak picture. “But Noah found favor with the LORD” (6:8). In other words, though Noah was wicked, God gave him the gift of his grace so that Noah could become “a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, [who] walked in close fellowship with God” (6:9).

We might think that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord because he was righteous and blameless. But it’s the other way around. Noah was righteous and blameless because he was a recipient of God’s grace. He didn’t earn favor in the eyes of God by his own goodness. He, too, was wicked. He owed everything to the fact that for some reason that is hidden from us, God determined to set his favor upon him.

Peter’s words in Acts help us see the source and essence of the grace Noah was given, although Noah could not have identified it in this way. “We are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11). And Paul helps us see that the grace given to Noah that led to his salvation is the same grace given to us that leads to our salvation. “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

We know what happened later in the life of Noah—how he lay naked in a drunken stupor and his sons had to spread a blanket over him to hide his shame. But this slip did not surprise God nor nullify his favor. Because of God’s grace, this failure of Noah’s was neither the defining moment nor the damning failure in his life. The Bible mentions it only in passing. The defining experience and saving grace of Noah’s life was that he “found favor” with the Lord.

Gracious One, I know I never could have been good enough on my own to catch your eye and win your favor. Instead, when I was lost in my wickedness, you granted me your favor and grace. You began your work in me, empowering me to walk blamelessly before you.