God uses everything to accomplish his will. He planted seeds in the Old Testament so the New Covenant would be easier to understand.

As Christians, we pursue the threads in Scripture to gain a deeper understanding of God’s plan and the doctrines that pertain to us.

In Genesis 6, we find rampant sin upon the earth. The minds and hearts of men were consumed with evil (Genesis 6:5). Accordingly, God decided to wipe out all life except what he put into the ark (Genesis 7:1-12).

Noah preached the Word of God while he constructed the ark (2 Peter 2:5). In more than one hundred years, no one was converted except for his family. Then they entered the ark and were the only humans to survive.

The dividing line was righteousness (Genesis 6:5-12).  Those who were with God were saved, everyone else was lost. It didn’t matter how kind, loving or generous they were. All that mattered was whether they were faithful to God.

Man despises cause and effect, but there have always been consequences for sin (Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:10- 18,23; Ezekiel 18:3-9,19-23).

God works by his own standards. Fickle human standards are completely immaterial to the Lord. When we judge God by fleshly criterion, we are insulting the Father.

When the humans and animals exited the ark, the ship passed out of service (Genesis 8:13-21). Yet, it was not finished.

The imagery of the ark was a precursor for the Church.  God built the Church and expects us to do exactly as he commanded (Genesis 6:22; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 4:6).

Righteousness is the only standard for being saved from sin today, just like the ark. When we submit to Jesus, we are immersed into Christ (Acts 2:38,42,47; Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:27; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

All who were in the ark were saved. All who are in Christ will likewise be saved (Romans 8:1). Being in Christ was just like being in the ark. We are there by God’s standards and he allows us to remain there because we walk by faith (Hebrews 11:6).

Everyone outside of the ark died. The same will happen to all those who are outside of Christ. Human standards will have nothing to do with that criterion.

The concept of the ark is then found on judgment day.  Righteousness will once again be the criterion for salvation. Everyone in Christ will enter heaven, and everyone else will be lost (Revelation 20:11-15).

We may believe there are the lost, the saved, and the good people, but the Lord only sees the lost and the saved. No one outside of Christ will be saved even if they are in religious groups that are sincere and committed to the Lord (Matthew 7:21-22).

Man does not want our eternal destines to be this clearly delineated but has God never made decisions based on what we wanted. And he never will.

Righteousness is our only hope (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:1).

So, come to Christ today!

–by Richard Mansel