Noah is described in the bible as being righteous and blameless among the people of his time in Genesis 6:9. What does the bible mean by this statement?
Noah was tzaddik, according to scripture a righteous man, but not a tzaddik gamur, a perfectly righteous and sinless person. After all, the bible informs us that there is none righteous, no not one. That is one without sin, because we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
So what does the bible mean that Noah was righteous and blameless? For the answer we must go to the book of Hebrews where Noah is mentioned by name.
By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Hebrews 11:7)
You see the bible informs us that the just shall live by faith. It is faith in action that on the one hand saves us while on the other hand condemns the world. This active faith not only saves us, but also brings salvation to our loved ones.
When we believe God so much that it changes our behavior that is a faith that means something, it means we are living according to God’s ways because He is our God and we are His people and He has authority in our lives.
Noah believed God so much that he built an ark even though he had never seen rain or a flood before. That is faith enough to save the world.
How much do we believe what the Lord has said? Do we believe Him enough to repent of our sin and obey Him even when everyone tells us that doing so is crazy or stupid? Is your faith strong enough to change you?
Is your faith strong enough to not only save you and your loved ones but to condemn others for their lack of faith? Because next time the world will not be judged with water but with fire.
