Genesis to Esther Series – LESSON 11

The Family Of Noah

1. Genesis 6:1-13 Describes The Times Of Noah

Genesis 6: 1-13

This describes the times of Noah.

(1) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

(2) That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

(3) And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

(4) There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

(5) And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

(6) And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

(7) And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

(8) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

(9) These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

(10) And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

(11) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

(12) And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

(13) And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

These Chapters Are Very Important For The Days In Which We Live.

AS IT WAS – SO SHALL IT BE.

Matthew 24: 37-39

(37) But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

(38) For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

(39) And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away: so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

What were the days of Noah like? So that we can understand the connection between our days and those days, let’s go back to Genesis. It seems to me, that every debatable subject in the Bible is found in the book of Genesis.

Genesis 6: 1-4

(1) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

Don’t miss that word “multiply.” I wonder if that means that they had twins, and triplets, and quads. I wouldn’t be at all surprised.

“And daughters were born unto them.” –

When I read that verse, there is nothing wrong.

But now we read verse two.

(2) That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

I suggest to you that if it were to be normal, here is the way it should read:

“The sons of MEN saw the daughters of men.”

Will you notice, it doesn’t say that.

Let’s go back and read it again. I want to read these verses very carefully, because I am going to suggest something here, that many people just won’t listen to.

Genesis 6: 1-4 Again

(1) It came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

There is nothing wrong there.

But I say again, to be normal, verse two should read:

“that the sons of MEN saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.”

But it doesn’t say “sons of men,” it says “sons of God.”

(3) And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with men, for that he ALSO is flesh:

“Also”-- that word is significant. He also is flesh.

yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

(4) There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God (not of MEN) came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

Let me mention this fact: There are five Scriptures, where the term “sons of God” is found in the Old Testament -- and only five. Did you hear that?

1. Genesis 6: 2

(2) That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair;

2. Genesis 6: 4

(4) There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that,

when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men,

3. Job 1: 6

(6) Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves

before the Lord, and (interestingly) Satan came also among them.

(sons of God -- and Satan came also among them.)

4. Job 2: 1

(1) Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present

Themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present

himself before the Lord.

5. Job 38: 7

At Creation

(7) When the morning stars sand together, and all the sons of God

Shouted for joy.

I repeat – there are only five references to the “sons of God,” and we read them all. These are NOT MEN! Who are they?

A Quick Review Of Genesis Chapters 1-5

We stated that in Genesis, we have the story of three families.

Chapters 1-5 Basically the family of Adam.

Chapters 6-11 The family of Noah.

Chapters 12-50 The family of Abraham.

So, if you can remember those three names: (Adam, Noah, and Abraham,) you can start to outline the material in Genesis.

In considering the first five chapters, we were considering the family of Adam. First, we talked about the Creation – the creation of the human family. Adam was first formed. He was made in the image of God. He was created with a spirit, soul, and body.

We want to insert something in here that we need to look at in more detail.

Genesis 5: 1

(1) This is the book of the generations of Adam.

You have the generation of Jesus Christ in the New Testament,

and the generation of Adam here in Genesis, in the Old Testament.

(1) This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

(2) Male and female created he them; and blessed them,

I am going to read it the way it ISN’T, so you will see it the way it IS.

and called their name ADAM AND EVE, in the day when they were created.

No – it doesn’t say that!

In the day that Adam was created, God called, not HIS name Adam, but THEIR name Adam. The reason for that is: Eve was really created IN Adam. And then later on, she is taken OUT of Adam.

I want to apply this wonderful picture that there is in Genesis – to the Church of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1: 22-23

(22) And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

(23) Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

This speaks of the Church (the Body of Christ) -- and the Church being the fullness of Christ.

Now, going back to what we have in Genesis. God put Adam to sleep, and He took a rib out of Adam. And with that rib, he made the first woman – Eve.

And so, in a very real sense -- from that time on -- without Eve, Adam wasn’t all there. That’s the way men act when they haven’t got their wives around!

Adam wasn’t all there without Eve. Really, what she was, was his fullness. Eve was Adam’s fullness. Let me repeat that: Without that rib, Adam was lacking a part of himself.

And here I read in the New Testament, that as the Church of Jesus Christ, we are the fullness of Christ. As Eve was the fullness of Adam, so we have become the fullness of Christ.

Adam was always lacking, when he was separated from Eve, so I reverently say it: I have to get home to Heaven, and you have to get home to Heaven, because Heaven will not be complete without us – because we are the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.

We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. And through the death of Christ, we were brought into separate existence. As Eve was brought into separate existence through Adam being put to sleep, so we have been brought into separate existence through the death of Jesus Christ.

The next section of our study had to do with the FALL of the human race.

When I went back to the city of Yorkton in 1939 – one of the teachers in the high school said: “The only fall that man ever had, was out of the trees and on to the ground.” You know what is behind that – making fun of what you have in the Bible!

Well, when we come to Genesis, (chapters four and five) we notice that, since the fall, the human race has been divided. And it has been divided all down through the years.

Genesis 5: 1

(1) This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

When Adam was created, he was created in innocence. He was created in the likeness of God without sin. He did not know sin. But if you skip down to verse three:

Genesis 5: 3

(3) And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in HIS own likeness, after HIS image (Adam’s image)

Do you see the difference? Adam was made in the LIKENESS OF GOD, but the sons of Adam were made in the LIKENESS OF FALLEN HUMANITY. And every human being, from Cain, right down to where we are, has been born – not in the image of God, but in the FALLEN image of his parents. That is why the Bible says of all of us – we have all been born in sin, and shapen in iniquity. I am a sinner because my father was a sinner. My father was a sinner because my grandfather was a sinner – and all the way down. That has been passed down to each of us.

Genesis, chapter four, begins with the story of the first two sons of Adam and Eve – Cain, (the man without faith.) – and Abel, (the man with faith).

Cain

When Cain offered his sacrifice, he believed his works should be acceptable to God. He was the man who would not believe that it was necessary for a sinner to approach God by the shedding of blood or a sacrifice. He would not believe that without the shedding of blood, there was no remission of sins. He would fit into the category of those described in Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 1: 18

(18) they who believed that the preaching of the cross is foolishness.

I did not touch on the age-old question – “Where did Cain get his wife?” I have a chart that tabulates, (according to the length of time that people lived) if Cain lived the average life of his lifetime, to be nine-hundred years old, he could have seen a world population of well over 136 million. Before Cain died, there would have been 136 million people on earth. He didn’t have very much difficulty finding a wife! However, it is still true that somebody had to marry their sister.

In Genesis, chapter four, it gives a list of names of those who came out of Cain. Like their father, they seemed to have lived and died without faith. Some impressed the world by what they did, but it seems as though they didn’t impress God.

Abel

Cain’s brother was Abel, and he was on the other side – the side of faith. He believed that it was necessary to offer a sacrifice to approach God. And the story is well-outlined.

In chapter five, we have a list of names of those who came out of Seth, the one who took the place of Abel, whom God raised up. And in chapter five, we have the record of many who lived, and walked by faith on the earth. Then we have that great story of Enoch, who walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. And the major purpose, down to this point of the genealogy in Genesis five, is stated in the last verse.

Genesis 5: 32

(32) And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

And so, the last part of chapter five finishes with the story of the family of Adam, and it begins the story of Noah.

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Now getting back to our regular study in Genesis, chapter six.

Genesis 6: 1

(1) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth,

I believe that that word “multiply,” means that they had twins, and triplets and quads etc. I have a tabulation in an article that states: by the time of the flood, there were 11 billion people on the earth. People lived a long time. You see, there are four or five billion now – only about half that population. I don’t think that any of us have really thought that out.

When the flood came, there were almost three times as many people on the earth as there are at the present time. I can’t prove that, but you take a tabulation and start figuring out. Notice that word men began to “multiply” on the earth and they begat sons and daughters (for almost one-thousand years.) What families they must have had!

Matthew 24: 37-39

(37) But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

What can you learn from that? In the days of Noah, before the flood, there was a population, the like of which can only be compared to what is going to happen in the world’s population in the next few years. You take 8 and double it, and you have 16. Take 16 and double it, you have 32. But when you take 4 billion and double it, it takes the same amount of time to double 4 billion to 8 billion. The world is headed for a population explosion as it was in the days of Noah. That’s the first thing. Let’s go on. Back to Genesis six.

Genesis 6: 1- 5

(1) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

I said last time, and I want to say again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with anything in that verse. It is absolutely normal. When people multiply, daughters are born. But when you get to the next verse, it says:

(2) That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

And I say again, if verse two is normal, then it should read:

The sons of MEN saw the daughters of men.

But it doesn’t say that. In verse two, it says:

the sons of GOD saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives.

Somebody says What’s wrong with that? Read the next verse.

(3) And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

(4) There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that,

Don’t miss that. There were giants before the flood, and there were giants after the flood. In the days of David – David went out to fight a giant whose name was Goliath. And so there were giants before the flood, and there were giants in the earth after the flood.

(4) There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

(5) And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,

Why did God see such wickedness in the earth? What has that to do with these giants? What has that to do with these sons of God, who married the daughters of men?

Pay attention to verse two – SONS OF GOD. Then in verse four – SONS OF GOD. There are three other references in Job. Let me remind you, there are only five Scriptures in the Old Testament where sons of God are named. Two in Genesis chapter six, and three in the book of Job.

Job 1: 6

(6) Now there was a day when the sons of God

This is the same expression – the identical word to that of Genesis 6: 2,4. So this is occasion number 3.

There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

Job 2: 1

(1) Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

Job 38: 6-7

(6) Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof;

(7) When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Those five references are the only time in the Old Testament you will find the expression “SONS OF GOD” – identical in the Hebrew. Looking at the last verse,

I think it is very plain and positive. The sons of God of Job 38:7 cannot be men.

Do you remember me pointing that out? They cannot be men, because they were already created before the foundation of the earth. They are singing at the foundation of the earth. Men, as we know men, were made from the dust of the ground. Adam was made after God created the earth. These sons of God, are in existence before the creation of earth, therefore, THEY CANNOT BE MEN.

This is a subject that is certainly debated and debatable. You take a great man like McGee that I quoted a couple of lessons ago: he doesn’t accept what I am going to talk about. And yet a man like Donald Grey Barnhouse, to name another great scholar, accepts it. Dr. Schofield, in his Bible, rejects it. But you go down the line, and it is about a 50/50 stand on this. There are those who cannot accept that these sons of God do not belong to the human creation. But I believe, that as you look at it, and begin with Job 38:7 where they are definitely not men, then it follows through.

I am going to go to two New Testament references. Before we do, I want to look at that word “GIANT.” I said, and I repeat -- and I think it is so very important – that if verse two were normal, it should be The sons of MEN saw the daughters of men.

How does Dr. Schofield handle this? – He says the sons of God were the line out of Abel and Seth. And the daughters of men were on the other side. And so he divides it with those with faith and those without faith.

Look at verse four again.

Genesis 6: 4

(4) There were giants in the earth in those days;

If you want to, you can read about what Dr. Schofield says about it. He says these giants were intellectual giants – they were spiritual giants.

I have already pointed out to you, there were giants in the earth before the flood, and there were giants in the earth after the flood. We are not told too much about the giants before the flood, but we have a little record about the giants after the flood.

There are some people who do not have an explanation for this. I usually keep it until I get to the book of Joshua, but I’m going to mention it now, because it bears mentioning more than once.

When God brought Israel into the land of Canaan, He told the Israelites to utterly destroy the Canaanites --“Don’t let one live!” There were seven nations in Canaan, and they were all greater in number than Israel. In round figures, if the Israeli population, at that time, would be 3 million people – (7 x 3 = 21 million people). Twenty-one million people lived in the land of Canaan when Joshua came in.

That is roughly the population of Canada. Can you imagine God demanding that every Canadian die! Can you imagine God bringing in a nation, and saying, “Wipe out Canada”? That’s what you have in the Old Testament. God told Israel to go in and wipe the Canaanites off of the map. Why?

Unbelief always has a problem. Back up. Did God not destroy the human race by a flood, and wipe it all out except eight souls? You have to have faith to believe what is in the Bible. If you are going to believe the Bible, that is what happened in the days of Noah. A population of the whole world is wiped out, except eight. Why? – God saw wickedness that needed to be cut out of the earth.

The Canaanites are, apparently, repeating what had happened in the days of the flood. And God sends in the Israelites to utterly destroy the Canaanites. What was in the land of Canaan?

Deuteronomy 2: 20-21

(20) (That also was accounted a land of giants: (same word as Genesis 6) dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummins;

(21) A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them;

Notice the word “tall.” I don’t know how you describe a man’s brain as being “tall.” And if you still have a problem (I am not trying to make light of Dr. Schofield, I’m simply making a fact that his answer doesn’t satisfy me.) – when you talk about giants, you don’t talk about intellectual giants.

Deuteronomy 3: 11

(11) For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.

In plain English, that’s 14 feet by 6 feet. A bed 14 feet long, and 6 feet wide. Your bed is just a little over 6 feet long. If he needed a 14 foot bed, he must have been about fourteen feet tall. That is not an intellectual giant. If it is, some intellect, some brain, that man must have had! Some head, to make him fourteen feet tall! I’m simply trying to show you, that when it talks about giants, they are physical giants.

1 Samuel 17: 4

It talks about Goliath, and it gives his height.

(4) And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath,, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

According to the shortest measurement, a cubit being 18 inches, that means Goliath was 9 feet, 9 inches tall, just a shade under ten feet. And little David went out to meet that giant!

2 Samuel 21: 16

Talking about Goliath’s brothers

(16) And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight

According to Unger’s dictionary, that would be 93 pounds. That’s what he carried for his spear. I have difficulty packing 100 pounds of sugar, but he carried that around like you would a spoon!

(20) And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.

I think, without reading more, that is sufficient evidence to point out from the Bible, that when the Bible talks about giants, they are not intellectual giants – they are physical giants.

Back before the flood, there were giants in the earth, when the sons of God married the daughters of men. I sometimes say, I wish God had told us more about it, but afterwards, I get rebuked in my spirit, because God has told me all I need to know. If He had wanted me to know more, He would have told me more. He has told me enough at least to wet my appetite, and make me wonder what all could be involved in this.

Jude 6,7

(6) And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation

(abiding place).

Will you keep in mind, that these are fallen angels. There are people who tell me that they can’t believe that these sons of God have anything to do with angels. They forget that they are fallen angels. I ask you a question – Will a fallen man do what an unfallen man would not do? Are you reading the newspapers these days, about some of the awful conditions between fathers and their children? There are things that fallen men are doing, that you begin to wonder what kind of beasts they are!

I am talking here, about fallen angels, not Holy angels. And as men that fall will do things that even an animal wouldn’t do, so fallen angels can do things you wouldn’t expect.

Jude 6

(6) And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Here is where I wish I could read a Greek Bible, and I could be positive here. There are translations that read this:

These angels are chained FOR the judgment of the great day.

I won’t turn to it, but in the book of Revelation, it talks about four angels that are going to be loosed, when God lets out His final judgment. I wish I could prove that is what it reads. I’ll read it the way it is: They are reserved unto judgment.

Jude 7

(7) Even as Sodom and Gomorrha,

What is it talking about? It is talking about what angels did. Angels in verse six. And in verse 7 – even as Sodom and Gomorrha. Did you hear of Sodom and Gomorrha before? Do you know what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrha? Something was going on in Sodom and Gomorrha in the area of sexual perversion, that was so bad that God had to send fire from Heaven to destroy it.

Just as God did with the Sodomites, He did with the anti-Diluvians, and with the Canaanites. God said there was wickedness.

Jude 7

(7) Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner,

The angels are doing something in like manner to the Sodomites.

Giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

The angels are suffering the vengeance of fire. What did they do? – they sinned. How did they sin? They sinned like the Sodomites. What was their sin? – fornication, and going after strange flesh. Isn’t it there?

2 Peter 2: 4

(4) For if God spared not the angels that sinned,

I think it is so significant here in the context.

God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell

(“Hell”– This word is not the normal word for Hell. The word here is only used once in the Bible. It is translated “Hell,” but it is the word “Tartarus.” They were cast, not into Hell where men go, but Tartarus.

and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

(5) And spared not the old world, but saved Noah

Right in the context of the days of Noah, you have a Scripture that talks about the sins of the angels. What am I suggesting to you? I am suggesting to you, that the sons of God in Genesis, chapter six, and the book of Job, are not human beings, but they are fallen angelic beings.

These fallen angelic beings came down and contaminated the human race. Why would that be? It was diabolical. Why was it diabolical? God had promised that through the seed of the woman, Messiah would come. And what is the devil out to do? He is out to spoil every woman on the planet, so that no woman will be fit to bring Messiah.

But God spared Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. And out from that union, came the seed of the Virgin Mary. And Mary, two-thousand years later, brings Christ on the scene. But here the devil is behind this diabolical act of sending fallen angels.

I know some of the questions, and I will mention these.

Are angels not sexless? Is that not the way they are presented in the Bible? NO.

Well, doesn’t it say that in Heaven people do not marry because they are like the angels? My answer to that is: Don’t forget, that is in Heaven. It is not talking about fallen angels, it’s talking about Holy angels. Holy angels do not.

Hebrews 13: 1-2

(1) Let brotherly love continue.

(2) Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

They entertained angels and didn’t know it. You must remember that is in the Bible. What does that say? The difference between a man and an angel isn’t very much. An angel could come, and you won’t know it. Angels, in the Bible, are always spoken of in the masculine gender – always.

What do we have? We have fallen angels, who come and co-habit with women. And what is the result? – giants in the earth. And God calls it wickedness that needs to be destroyed. The word is very sobering!

We started out – Why should we be interested in the days of Noah? -- “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man.

We talked about the population -- as it was – so shall it be. Is there going to be a repeat of this? Does this mean a repetition – a return of these sons of God? Perhaps our permissive society is being prepared for such. You are reading about things today, and you know about things; I can talk to young people today in lines like this, and I don’t have the opposition I had twenty years ago.

You have all heard about the film: “Rosemary’s Baby.” This girl has a relationship, and has a baby from a spirit being. There was a woman in a city of Canada, who claimed, after she had been saved, that she had had physical relations with a spirit being. She made that claim.

There are things in this realm today that are coming to the fore. And are you noticing the breakout of the breakdown of every moral in the sexual realm? Men are preparing themselves. They are not satisfied with what is normal relationships; they are looking for something in the spiritual realm.

The fallen angels that are in chains in Tartarus are not demons. The demons are not chained, they are loose. It looks to me, as though God is going to let these fallen angels loose again, on the generation that is going to fill up the cup of iniquity. And it is going to bring the judgments of God on this generation, as the flood did on Noah’s generation.

Genesis 6: 5

(5) And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Not only were their imaginations evil, but every thought was evil continually.

That is the description of the generation in which we are now living!

There are three words that I want to bring to your attention. The word “wickedness” – We are going to follow through on what the Bible reveals regarding it. And then in the eleventh verse:

(11) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

I suggest that the word today that would best describe it, is the word “polluted.” The earth was polluted. Do you hear anything about pollution today? The fact is, that if God had not washed the earth with water, and cleansed it, man could not have gone on living.

As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be.

There will be wickedness, connected with the spirit world. There will be pollution, corruption.

And then one other thing: the earth was filled with violence –

There will be violence as it was in the days of Noah.

I don’t wonder that there are people today, who don’t want to read the newspaper. You try and keep abreast of what is happening; but the kind of violence that is being described, is hard to read about. It seems to me as though we are reading and hearing about things now, that my mother never thought would happen, I’m sure! The kind of violence is unbelievable! As it was, so shall it be – wickedness, corruption, and violence.

Illustration

I went to Bible School back in 1940, and I do remember one or two things, which should be an encouragement. My teacher illustrated this way: This goes back to the thirties, where we had dirt cellars.

You put your vegetables in the cellar. You have one box in which there are carrots, and in another box, you have potatoes, and in another you have apples.

If the one apple goes bad, that’s like “wickedness.” If you leave one apple in the box long enough, do you know what is going to happen to the rest of the box? – they are going to become “corrupt.” The whole box is going to go bad. So from wickedness to corruption!

If it were possible for the apples to get so bad that they were not content to stay with the apples, but they wanted to spoil the carrots, and spoil the potatoes; and they jumped out of the apple box into the carrots and potatoes – that is “violence!”

We have come to that state in our society. People are not satisfied to be wicked themselves, but they want to spoil others. All you have to do is go to some of our schools to find that out! One or two bad eggs get on the campus, and they are not satisfied until they pull everybody down with them. And that is the way it was in the days of Noah.

2. God Saw Wickedness

Let’s get back to this word “wickedness.” We are going to read some things that are rather sickening, I suppose, but I don’t know how else to bring it out.

Genesis 6: 5

(5) And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Man saw that man was getting along well in the earth, but God saw wickedness. Men may have called it “progress.” God called it “wickedness.”

Genesis 13: 13

(13) But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

This is not an exaggeration of words. They were exceedingly wicked before the Lord.

Genesis 19: 1-11

We have a description of Sodom.

(1) And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom:

We are told elsewhere that these angels are men. They are angelic beings, and they appear as men.

And Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

(2) And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

(3) And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

(4) But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

Cities are always divided into quarters. You have the right side of the tracks and the wrong side of the tracks. And you have the ‘down-and-outers’ on one side, and the ‘up-and-outers’ on the other side. Sodom was no exception. “From every quarter” – did you get that?

The educated,

the uneducated,

the rich,

the poor, -

From every quarter, they were taken with this. And then it goes back and says: the old and young. I find the order very arresting. It doesn’t say the young and the old. It says the old and the young. Who was it that led in the wickedness in Sodom? – not the young people.

We talk today so much about the young people. But I am hard on my generation and the next generation, because the young people would not be nearly as bad today as they are, if it were not for the training they get from their parents. I could take current illustrations of what is happening today, regarding parents leading their children in wickedness. And the thing that is arresting here – the old men were leading the way in this wickedness –leading the young people in it. So the young people are in it, because the old people are in it.

(5) And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night?

You will notice, in verse one, they are angels. And these Sodomites are interested in these visitors. Don’t miss that. And they call them men.

bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

Anyone that reads his English Bible, knows what it is talking about. They wanted sexual relationships with these angelic beings. That’s what they desired at Sodom. And so, when you study Genesis, you get a little more light as you read here.

(6) And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

(7) And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

Did you get that word? Genesis 6:5 – what is going on before the flood is wickedness. What is going on in Sodom? What does God call it? – wickedness. I want to go on and read a little more, for you to see the degradation and the perversion.

(8) Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man;

When I read some of these things in the Bible, I have to confess: men were degradated as they are now. Imagine a father willing to sacrifice his daughters – but Lot was!

I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

(9) And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them.

I want you to notice the undercurrent of this. These men were not interested in women. They were not interested in that which is natural. They are sex perverts. You can see that! They want relationships, not with women, and not merely with a man, but with angels.

And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

(10) But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

This proves in verse ten, they are more than men – they are angels. They pull Lot into the house and they shut the door.

(11) And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

They are angelic beings, and they have powers that men do not have. And they smote the men with blindness, both small and great. Now, if you can just put yourself into this situation. Can you imagine? We are not told how many are involved. They are certainly men. And there are more than one or two. Let’s suggest there are six men. Six men have come to the door of Lot, and they are about to break down the door, and they are going to take Lot out. Suddenly, all six go blind.

Let’s suppose that someone spoke a word of judgment in this room, and everybody went blind. Wouldn’t you think that would be enough to arrest attention, that this was judgment! If one person went blind, that’s one thing, but for everybody to go blind, you’ve got to know that something unusual has happened. I want you to see what it says: they wearied themselves to find the door.

There is a principle here. They wearied themselves to find the door. Homosexuality takes away the ability to think properly. These men came under the real spell of a miracle, and they didn’t recognize it. They were so blinded by their sin, so bound by their sin, that they were blind even to a miracle that took place in front of them!

Some people say “If I could see a miracle, I would believe.” This doesn’t prove so! These men saw a miracle, but they would not believe, nor would they turn from their wickedness. There is a state of immorality that becomes so horrible, that when men get bound in it, they cannot deliver themselves from it.

These men of Sodom were bound in this wickedness. They lost, not only their ability to love in the natural sense, but they had lost the ability to reason properly. And as homosexuality increases, violence is going to increase. These men became violent because of their unnatural affection.

Genesis 39: 9

This has to do with Joseph in Egypt. Egypt is not known for it’s great moral standings either. This wife of the Egyptian talks to Joseph day by day. She presses him, casts her eyes upon him, and says “Come lie with me.”

(9) There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

I am trying to establish something here. You have wickedness in Genesis six. You know in Genesis 19 that it is sexual immorality. Now we are back to it again – sexual immorality. Joseph called it wickedness, in the sight of God. Men think it is smart, but God calls it wickedness. You cannot break the laws of God and get away with it. If God said it was wicked then, God thinks it is wicked now.

Genesis 34: 7

This has to do with another immoral story. When God tells a story, He tells it as it is. Dinah had gone out to see the daughters of the land, and it says in verse 7:

(7) And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it:

(when they heard that their sister Dinah had been defiled)

and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done.

And then here is God’s commentary on that which has to do with the normal relationship between a man and a woman outside of wedlock. And God says:

“This thing ought not to have been done.”

The word “wickedness” is not here, but God is commenting on relationship between human beings, and God is making that statement. Between human beings, where there is not a marriage relationship, it ought not to be done!

Leviticus 18: 22

(22) Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind

(What does God say about it?) it is abomination.

Somebody will come along and say: “That’s Old Testament.” God has not changed in His attributes. What was sin then, is sin now. It’s abomination.

Leviticus 19: 29

(29) Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.

Leviticus 20: 13, 14, 17, 23

(13) If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

(14) And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.

(17) And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness, it is a wicked thing;

(23) And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.

This is the way Gentiles live, but it is not the way God wants His people to live. I talked earlier about God slaying the Canaanites. The reason He slew them, was because their manners were like the anti-Diluvians.

Romans 1: 26, 27, 32

(26) For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

(27) And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

(32) Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

There are some things that God calls “vile.” Don’t miss that last verse. God says that this is worthy of death. And history proves it! God is no more pleased with homosexuality and lesbianism today than He was then. He hasn’t changed His mind at all!

Titus 1: 15

(15) They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

All of God’s judgments are not in eternity. Some are here now. And one judgment is that if people are going to live in wickedness as God spells “wickedness” out, they are going to lose the ability to think right. That is part of the judgment of God. You cannot live that way without it affecting your mind. It is going to violate the principles of true humanity.

Verse 32, God says that there are things that people do that they should be shot for. He doesn’t say it will happen. He just says we are worthy of that kind of punishment. Doesn’t that just make you love Him for taking the punishment!

The kind of wickedness that was before the flood was all the kinds of sexual immorality of every sort. And God said “I am not going to let this thing go.” He destroyed Sodom because of homosexuality. And He sent the flood because of homosexuality.

One can see from these Scriptures that sexual immorality, (including homosexuality) is involved in the word “wickedness.” Can you all see that? I think we have read enough Scripture to prove it. It has to do with sexual immorality. A sign of the times is the ever-increasing desire to make the so-called “gay life” an acceptable life style.

Even preachers are saying “We really don’t know whether homosexuality is right or wrong.” That is a quote from Christianity Today December 9, 1977. Preachers! – “we don’t know if it is right or wrong.” How can anybody who has ever read the Bible make that statement?

Early in the Seventies, David Wilkerson filmed a homosexual parade in New York city that included more than forty-thousand, flaunting their homosexuality. He called it “The greatest gathering of homosexuals since Sodom.” They marched down the streets of New York, singing:

“Glory, glory Hallelujah”

And “We shall overcome”

And then a song of their own making –

“Our God is gay because He made us this way.”

Blasphemy!

Wilkerson reported homosexual services where men married to men, and women married to women sing at the altar:

“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,”

and “There is power in the Blood.”

They are totally convinced that the Lord has blessed them, and that they are filled with the Spirit. There are some things that are happening today, that I cannot explain. One day God will manifest the full folly of it.

Jude 17-19

(17) Beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is time to get back, and remember what is in the Bible.

(18) How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.

(19) These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having NOT the Spirit.

Why would Jude write that? Why would he write that, if they didn’t claim to have the Spirit? They must have been claiming to have the Spirit. But He said, they are sensual, having NOT the Spirit.

I had an experience, that if you had told me ten years ago it would happen to me, I would not have believed it! I was called to a television program in Bellingham, Washington. Maybe you have seen the program “Anchor.” I haven’t seen it for a long time, but it used to be aired every Sunday morning at nine o’clock.

I sat at the one end of the table, and the Moderator sat at the front of the table. The Moderator is a Lutheran pastor from Bellingham. Beside me sat a Psychiatrist. And between the Moderator and the Psychiatrist, sat a Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in Seattle. This is a church for homosexuals.

When those lights were put on me, some of the things that man said, so disturbed me, I couldn’t think! That man (who had been an Anglican priest, gone through the priesthood, then became the pastor of this homosexual church) – stated in my presence, and in the presence of the cameras, that eighty percent of his congregation were practicing homosexuals. That is only 150 miles from here, in the city of Seattle. He said, they speak in tongues, and they have Pentecostal meetings, and they sing our choruses.

This really floored me: He said: “Do you men not know that David had a beautiful homosexual relationship with Jonathan? You read the story – a beautiful love story between David and Jonathan?” That’s what he said!

You know, your hindsight is always better than foresight. Why didn’t I have presence of mind to say: “Now I know why the Bible tells me about David’s weakness with women.” David had a weakness. It was women. David was no homosexual, and yet, they are trying to support it from the Bible.

I did say to this man: “I suppose you belong to those who believe that Jesus was a homosexual.” I don’t know if you have heard that or not, but there are those who are teaching that today. He had twelve men, did He not? Did twelve men not follow Him and live with Him? What better evidence that He was a homosexual! This man said: “I know that there are pastors who believe that, but I’m not one of them.”

I sat beside that fellow for thirty minutes, while he publicly displayed his homosexuality, claiming to be born again, and claiming to be full of the Holy Ghost. And I had to come home and write something. Here is what I wrote then, and I have been quoting it ever since:

My Comment

1. It is true all believers sin. If you ever find a believer who says he doesn’t sin, you take your Bible and turn to 1 John 1: 10.

1 John 1: 10

(10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2. Now the next. Everybody isn’t really prepared for this one: Believers are capable of committing any sin of the flesh.

Galatians 5: 19-21

(19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

(20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

(21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

My flesh, your flesh, is capable! Whenever I see someone drop back from this statement, I say: “Do you believe David is saved? Have you read the Old Testament story of David? Was David guilty of committing adultery? Was David guilty of murder? Yes he was!”

We think of that great man who is in Heaven. But listen, it is recorded what he did. Men sin, believers sin. All believers are capable of sin. The seed of every evil is in my heart and yours. If it hasn’t come out – thank God for the restraint of His Grace!

3. When believers sin, they are convicted of their sin. I want to read this wonderful statement that reveals why God called David “a man

after His own heart.” It tells you what David has done.

2 Samuel 24: 10

(10) David’s heart smote him (when he had sinned) after that he had numbered the people.

Let me say this to anybody listening to me: If you had never had the experience, when your heart has smitten you because of your sin, I beg of you, you better get saved. For anyone who does not know what it is to be smitten when he sins, has not been regenerated of the Holy Ghost. Galatians 5: 17, talks about this very subject.

Galatians 5: 17

(17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

You know all about it. Unsaved man doesn’t know anything about it. But when you are saved, you know about that conflict.

And these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

I used to think that that meant you couldn’t do the good. But that is not what it is. After you are saved, there are things that you did before you were saved that didn’t bother you. You got away with them. Now when you do them, you don’t get away with it. God squeezes you all the more, and you know that the hand of God is upon you. David knew that the hand of God was upon him when he sinned, and it smote him in his heart.

If a man is living in homosexuality and it doesn’t bother him, I say there is something wrong. There has to be something wrong!

4. Believers are therefore never proud of their sin. When I read about these so called Christians, parading in New York – parading their

homosexuality, and singing about it, I have reason to believe, they know not my Lord; because a believer does not want to parade his sin.

Every believer is capable of any sin, including homosexuality. But here is where the line is drawn: -- a believer is never proud of his sin. A believer never parades his sin. If you can sin and be proud of it, I think we better have an altar call right now and invite you to come and get saved. When you have been “born again” by the Spirit of God, you can’t do what you used to do and get away with it in your mind or conscience!

There is something wrong with homosexuals parading their sin. If you are concerned about your sin, that is an evidence of your Salvation. If you can sin and not get smitten in your heart, you better get revived.

Praise God, when you come under conviction for sin. -- because that is part of the package deal of Salvation. When you get saved, the Spirit of God starts revealing things to your heart.

Job 42: 5, 6

(5) I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:

That means Job was saved. Faith cometh by hearing. Job heard by the hearing

of the ear. But now mine eye seeth thee.

(6) Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

I think you should mark that well. Job was saved, but when he got to know the Lord, by seeing the Lord – he saw himself. And when he saw himself, he knew he wasn’t so good, and he was more aware. Listen, the closer you get to God, the more aware you are of your sin. The closer you get to God, the more vile sin appears to you.

Illustration

I was in Yorkton in 1939. And while I was there, a brother took me to a little old flour mill. The miller took down some vials of flour back in his office, and he said to me “Put out your hands.” So I put out my right hand and he poured some flour into it. I looked at it and said “Isn’t that nice flour!” It looked like white flour to me. He said “Just wait a minute.” Then he took my other hand, and poured some flour from another vial, and he brought my hands close to each other.

He said: Now look at it. I couldn’t see how brown this flour was until I got the white flour beside it. When I got the white flour beside the brown flour, it was the white flour that revealed the darkness of the brown flour.

And so it is with the whiteness of the presence of the Lord. The more you are in the Lord’s presence, the viler you are going to appear. Sin will become exceedingly sinful. The more you know Him and His Spirit, the more you are going to know of the awfulness of sin, and you are going to feel your sin. Anybody who doesn’t feel his sin, doesn’t know much about the Lord. I am persuaded of that.

5. Believers therefore do not parade their sin. Believers are not proud of their sin. May I just give you a word here? I could illustrate perhaps, a

little more in detail, but I’ll simply say this -- regarding confession of sins: May I remind you, unless your sin has injured some individual,

there are certain sins you only confess to the Lord. You don’t have to make them known to people. If a husband has sinned against his wife, he

should go to his wife. But if he sinned against his own body, he confesses that to the Lord, and you can expect the Lord to forgive you.

Don’t parade it. Nobody is edified. Our testimonies should be to edification.

Believers Do Not Parade Their Sin

Moving on from the early 70’s, to 1977 -- 100,000 to 125,000 “gays” paraded in San Francisco. Do you notice, inside of five years, it went from 40,000 to 125,000?And what did they sing while parading down the street?

“Two-Four-Six-Eight – Being gay beats being straight.”

That was their language as they walked down the street. The increased prominence brought out theological debate. This is becoming so prominent. What are we going to do about it?

Said a preacher: (and I have all of this)

“A homosexual should not face any more moral condemnation than someone who is left-handed. If you are left-handed, you can’t help that. If you have a club foot, you can’t help that. There is nothing more wrong with being a homosexual, than having a left hand!”

A preacher said that!

Others said: “Morality of various sexual acts, including homosexuality, depends on the circumstances and on personal conscience and intention.”

That is where situational ethics come in.

And in one of the books I have, a Bishop of the Anglican Church of England states: (and I have it in print)

“Adultery can be right sometimes. Fornication can be right sometimes.”

And he illustrates.

“A sailor whose home is London, goes out to sea, and he comes to Vancouver. He gets to Vancouver, and he hasn’t been with his wife for three months, so he finds a prostitute. In that circumstance, for him, it is right.”

Now, that is what you call “situational ethics.”

The Glide Church in San Francisco -- we quote the pastor’s words in part. It rather makes me sick even to read it.

“In every service we embrace each other.”

I am warning Pentecostal churches today, because there is an unhealthy trend that is going on in our world.

“We kiss each other”

They have Scripture: Greet one-another with a Holy kiss. The emphasis is on Holy. Don’t ever forget that!

“We smell each other.”

Can you imagine a preacher saying that! I hope they use deodorants!

“We feel each other.”

“People become stimulated in our church happenings.”

(He is talking about sexual stimulation in church.)

“If a woman is sexually desirable we tell her so.”

No wonder he added:

“I have not married a couple in Glide who were not already living together.”

I am not surprised – are you? If that kind of conduct is condoned and promoted in church, how can you expect anything but that kind of a situation!

James 3: 15

(15) This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

There is a wisdom that God says is earthly, and it moves from being merely earthly to being sensual, and from sensuality, it moves into being devilish. I expect that churches who promote this kind of thing, will end up in demon, devil worship. Mark my words! It’s going to move to devilry.

I had trouble with my back in the early 50’s, and my doctor sent me to a physiotherapist in a place called Rosetown, Saskatchewan. I was put on a piece of plywood for ten days with traction. After three days the physiotherapist came in and said to me:

“Do you know what is wrong with you? --you are too religious. Do you know what you should do – go out to a place where nobody knows you, and go on a binge and get drunk and loosen up.”

That is the advice I got from the educated of this world. That kind of thing, people are getting today! You are uptight – go out and have an affair. It’s earthly, sensual, devilish!

Romans 13: 14

(14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

He was not saying that to the unsaved. He is saying that to the saved.

Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

I believe that involves in church, as well as out of church. I do not believe in making provision for the flesh. And I think it is time we paid a little attention to this. There are some men that are so diabolical, that they go to some of our churches because they have opportunity to merely hug and handle women. Don’t forget that! That’s an absolute fact. I don’t want another man handling my wife. I’ll do that myself. And I don’t want my wife to handle some other man. There are certain things that are sacred to man and wife, and I think we better remember it in these so-called permissive days in which we are living. Days like the days of Noah, that are going to bring the judgment of God.

1979, marked “Gay-Week’s 10^th Year.” Now it was 200,000 homosexuals that marched the streets of San Francisco.

In 1981 that annual parade in San Francisco was led by 50 Lesbian motor-cyclists. Up to 250,000 homosexuals staged their biggest ever annual gay freedom parade yet. That same year it was announced “Homosexuals have a church of their own in Vancouver.”

In recent years, churches have been among the foremost to excuse or even embrace this “new morality.” A minister said: “I say loudly, and I say clearly – there are advantages to adultery.”

Homosexuality is condemned as an abomination unto God in both the Old and New Testaments. Homosexuality is unnatural affection.

Romans 1: 26-27

(26) For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

(27) And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

Homosexuality’s increase, is a sign of the last days.

2 Timothy 3: 1-3

(1) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

(2) For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

(3) Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

Homosexuality is sinful

1 Corinthians 6: 9-10

(9) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

(10) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

At some point in life the homosexual chooses to do what God forbids.

God has ordained marriage.

Hebrews 13: 4)

(4) Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

The desire to break down marriage and true home life (for they go together) is rebellion against God.

Homosexuality should be restrained by law.

1 Timothy 1: 9-10

(9) Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

(10) For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

Homosexuals are worthy of death.

Romans 1: 32

(32) Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

However, God Loves Sinful Men

God loves sinful men. That includes the homosexual. The homosexual can be saved – but when he or she is like a prostitute, that one is to “go and sin no more.”

John 8: 10-11

(10) When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?

(11) She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more.

3. The World Also Was Corrupt

Genesis 6: 5, 11

(5) And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

(11) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

God saw wickedness. What we are seeing today is what God saw before the flood. God had to send the flood. The earth became so filthy that the flood was absolutely necessary. Man could not have gone on living, he polluted everything!

The Word Today Is – “Pollution”

The earth became so filthy that the cleansing flood was essential in the day of Noah. Look at us today – can you not see that mankind has come to that point again! Jesus, when speaking of the end times said: “As it was – so shall it be.” We have constant reminders that we are in the last days. We have the alarm over the future of land and sea. We have the promise of a “global water crises.” And we have the problem of “global warming.” All of these things remind us that we are nearing the time of which Jesus spoke.

4. The Earth Was Filled With Violence

We go over some of the same Scriptures again, with the emphasis on the earth being filled with violence.

Genesis 6: 11

(11) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

Thus, we are beginning to understand.

2 Timothy 3: 1-3 we read it again,

(1) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

(2) For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

(3) Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good.

There is a penalty. If you live like this, you are going to lose the ability to love.

Matthew 24: 12

(12) And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

This verse is not talking about spiritual things. It is talking about natural love here. People will lose their ability to love, even naturally. God wants every man to have the ability to love his wife like nobody else. And God wants every woman to have the ability to love her husband like nobody else.

People think they can live any way they like. They can’t! God has made the rules. If you break the rules, you bring in corruption. If you bring in corruption, then you bring in violence. It is not a very pretty subject, but it is a very important subject.

Hosea 4: 1-3

(1) Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

(2)By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

(3) Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

Romans 5: 20

(20) Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

Praise His Holy Name! Jesus came to redeem mankind and the land.

Notice the order of immorality stated in Romans:

Romans 1: 21-28

(21) Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

(22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Watch the progression here. They knew God, but they were not thankful to Him for anything. They became vain. Oh, they could quote the Scriptures word for word, but it was all head knowledge. They did not worship Him for who He was. They didn’t recognize all that He had done for them, or was doing for them. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Darkness filled their mind. The light of truth slowly left.

(23) And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

This is speaking of idolatry. They made images and worshiped them. Today, the idols may not be made of gold or wood or clay, but they can be: professions, things, television, hobbies, sports, - all things that waste our time and energy, rather than putting God first in our life. It starts with not recognizing all that God is and has done – being unthankful. From there it goes to our idols – all the things that fill up our time, instead of God. Being unthankful, leads to discontent, coveting, envious, and all that comes with it.

(24) Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

The introduction of sexual sins. They become discontent and unthankful. And when the money that can buy every toy and entertainment imaginable, is no longer a thrill, they turn to sexual experiment and perversion.

(25) Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

(26) For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.

Speaking of Lesbians, perversion.

(27) And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

Speaking of homosexuals – the last stage before judgment. When man starts experimenting, there comes a time when he does not have the choice to leave it. Notice, they burned with lust.

(28) And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

The final stage – a reprobate mind – no longer knowing right from wrong. And immorality will always produce violence. If young men are going to live like Tom Cats, they are going to lose the ability to love a woman. And people only live that way because they are self-centered.

2 Samuel 13: 1-15

I encourage you to read the whole passage. I will only read verse 15 here.

(15) Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.

The law of retribution. He lost natural affection. Where he had the ability to love – now he had to hate. And the rules have not changed. You cannot break the laws of God and not follow through with the consequences of God.

5. Noah Found Grace

1. “Noah” Means “Quiet” Or “Rest”

The name “Noah” means “quiet or rest.” In the midst of all this wickedness and iniquity and corruption – in the midst of all this violence, there was a man in the state of quiet and rest.

John 14: 27

(27) Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Noah lived in terrible days, just like we are living in. but Noah was at peace and Noah had quietness in the midst of turmoil. If Noah can have peace, so can I have peace in my heart, because the Prince of Peace is there. The world can be in turmoil and we can be at peace. The darker the night, the brighter shines the light. If you live at peace – people will notice. Live at peace and you will be a testimony.

2. Finding Grace – Noah Was No Better Than Others.

Genesis 6: 8-9

(8) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah found grace. Who needs grace? – sinners.

(9) These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

“Perfect” means “rounded out in his experiences.”

James 5: 17

(17) Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months

Elijah wasn’t any greater than you are. He was of the same make-up. Noah was the same. If you think Noah was saved because he was better, then you are saying you were saved because you were better.

In the sight of God, we are all wretched. We are all sinners, but we are saved by Grace.

Psalm 1: 3-4

(3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

(4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

The righteous are referred to as “wheat,” the unsaved are “chaff.” God made wheat so that it grows on a head in a shell called “chaff.” It is absolutely necessary to have the chaff for the growth of the wheat. God says He uses the wicked as He uses the chaff to produce wheat.

So, back to Noah. He was no better than anyone else. He was a sinner saved by Grace. You are no better than anyone else. You will never fully appreciate God’s Grace until you get this point in your soul. You are saved by Grace through faith, though not of ourselves, but it is a gift from God.

Look around where you live, and find out how many people aren’t saved, then praise God for His Grace toward you.

3. Noah Had Saving Faith

Ephesians 2: 8

(8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

1 Corinthians 1: 26-29

(26) For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

(27) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

(28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

(29) That no flesh should glory in his presence.

You can’t glory that you are saved because of something you did. The Lord uses you because of your weakness. You haven’t surprised the Lord once yet!

Hebrews 11: 7

(7) By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Grace and faith go together. Grace is a gift, and faith is a gift.

4. Noah Was A Preacher Of Righteousness

2 Peter 2: 5

(5) And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

Noah was a preacher of righteousness. So Noah wasn’t likely very popular. John the Baptist wasn’t very popular, he got his head cut off. When people start preaching about righteousness – people get mad. Jesus lost the crowds too, when he told people how to live.

When you preach righteousness, you tell people what is right and what is not right. Not too many people will accept it. They will rebel. But they aren’t rebelling against the preacher, they are really rebelling against God. It is God’s Word they are preaching, and it is God who is directing them. So the rebellion is directed toward God. Well, Noah was a preacher of righteousness.

5. Noah Begat Three Sons

Genesis 5: 32

(32) And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Noah had three sons – Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 10: 1

(1) Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

Since the flood, the lines go back to Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 10: 32

(32) These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

6. Noah’s Son Shem Is Always Named First

Genesis 5: 32

(32) And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 10: 21

(21) Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

Notice, that even though Japheth was the oldest, Shem was named first. Shem is named first because, out of Shem came the promised seed.

Genesis 9: 26

(26) And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Genesis 11: 10-32 gives us the generations of Shem. I have chosen a few important verses. The generations of Shem is important because our Lord Jesus came from this line.

(10) These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

(11) And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

(26) And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

(29) And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

(30) But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

(31) And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

7. Noah’s Son Ham

Genesis 9: 20-26

(20) And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

(21) And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent

First mention of drunkenness in the Bible. And along with the drunkenness, immorality is suggested. The first man who got drunk was also immoral. That is what is behind the story. And don’t think the rules have changed. Drunkenness and immorality still go together. All you have to do is live a while and you will find that out.

(22) And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

Ham saw his father drunk and thought it was funny. He went out and said “Come see what Dad is doing.” God took this as serious business, and so did the other brothers.

Proverbs 14: 9

(9) Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.

You should never laugh at sin. Sin is not funny. Sin is a serious thing.

Genesis 9: 23

(23) And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

Proverbs says “love covers a multitude of sins.” Ham did not respect his father. But, Shem and Japheth loved their father, -- and love covered his sin.

Genesis 9: 24

(24) And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

(25) And he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

(26) And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Because of what Ham did, his children were brought under bondage.

Japheth is the elder, the oldest of Noah’s sons.

Ham is the younger, not the youngest.

Shem is the youngest.

Note the order here. Do you know why? God always blesses the youngest.

Who was the older?

Cain, or Abel?- Cain.

Jacob or Esau? – Esau.

Ephriam or Manasseh?

The younger got the blessing. What is God teaching us here? Did you get your old nature second, or did you get it first?

You are born the first time a sinner, the second time righteous. What does God bless – the old man or the new man? God has chosen to bless the second and he sets aside the first. Do you see the picture? I am not blessed because I was born Lorne Pritchard. I am blessed because I am Born Again.

So He blesses the youngest. Shem gets blessed. He is born last, but he comes first. Canaan was the grandson – the son of Ham. The curse did not fall upon the father, it fell upon the father’s son.

In the Bible there are two things. God has made it so He visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children – sometimes as far as the fourth generation. My life bears on the generations to come.

Psalm 78: 5-6

(5) For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

(6) That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

Do you see three generations there? My life touches my children and my grandchildren and my great grandchildren. That principle is in the Bible.

Ham did something that brought the displeasure of God. God brought a curse upon his grandson because of what Ham did. Someone says “That is not fair.” Let me ask you – are you given to be more and more Spiritual, or do you have the tendency to backslide? I think if each one of us were honest – God has to keep working on us to keep us hot Spiritually. Our tendency is to cool off. Right?

Let’s look beyond ourselves. Have Christians backslidden before? The reason why God visits the third and fourth generation is because He can also bestow blessings as well.

Some of you, your parents aren’t saved – but maybe your Great Grandma was, or aunt etc. – and God has blessed you, saved you for their sake.

God balances it out. God can visit in iniquity, because He also visits in Grace. And the visitation in Grace is far greater than the visitation of iniquity. If you walk with God today, God can bless your grandchildren some day. That should encourage us.

But if you continuously rebel against God – Beware! You are going to sow either blessing or cursing on future generations. You can’t live and not affect someone else. My life touches my children and my grandchildren.

Genesis 10: 6-10

(6) And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

(7) And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

(8) And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

(9) He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.

(10) And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

So from Ham came Nimrod, and from that came Babylon.

And from that came idolatry and “religion.”

Psalm 105: 23

(23) Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

The Israelites came out of Shem

The Egyptians came out of Ham.

A true Egyptian is very, very dark. The word “Ham” means “black.” The Egyptians came from that boy.

Acts 21: 37-38

(37) And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?

(38) Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?

This is about Paul. Paul was black. Even though he was a Jew, he looked like an Egyptian.

8. Noah’s Son Japheth

Genesis 10: 21

(21) Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

Japheth was the elder, or oldest.

Genesis 9: 24

(24) And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

Ham was younger, therefore, Shem was youngest.

Genesis 9: 27

(27) God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

God is going to enlarge Japheth. Most of us came out of Japheth. He and we are strangely blessed.

Jews came from Shem. Shem was the father of Israel. Today we are enjoying blessings that really belong to the Jewish people. Salvation is of the Jews. If you dwell in someone else’s tent, you owe him rent. How many of you are interested in Jewish evangelism? You are dwelling in the tents of Shem.

We got our Bible from the Jewish people. We got our Jesus from Israel. How many blessings do you have today because of the Jews?

6. Genesis, Chapters 7 & 8

These chapters have to do with the ark and the flood. Chapter seven is a continuation of chapter six.

1. God Predicted The Flood

It was God who predicted the flood.

Genesis 6: 13

(13) And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

It was God who planned the Ark.

Genesis 6: 14

(14) Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

It was God (not the devil) who produced the flood.

Genesis 6: 17

(17) And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

It was God who preserved His creation, including man and beast.

Genesis 6: 19

(19) And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

Genesis 7: 16

(16) And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.

7. Genesis, Chapter Nine

1. God’s Blessings After The Flood

This next verse indicates it was a world-wide flood. Evidence of such certainly remains.

Genesis 9: 1, 8-17

(1) And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

(8) And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

(9) And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

(10) And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

(11) And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

(12) And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

(13) I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

(14) And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

(15) And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

(16) And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

(17) And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

a. The Blessing Is Based On The Sacrifice

Genesis 8: 20-22

(20) And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

(21) And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

(22) While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Ephesians 1: 3-14

(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

(4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

(5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

(6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

(7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

(8) Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

(9) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

(10) That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

(11) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

(12) That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

(13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,

(14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Genesis 9: 1

(1) And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

The blessing of God was based on the sacrifice. Noah built an altar and God blessed it. Every altar built by faith in the Old Testament on which a sacrifice was offered, pointed to Calvary. That altar proved Noah’s faith.

There is only one basis on which God can bless you. The only basis that God has provided for blessing, is the sacrifice. You are never blessed simply because you are you. You are never blessed simply because you are good. You are blessed because of Christ’s sacrifice.

Illustration

You’ve had a great Sunday, spiritually, and you say to yourself – “I’m really going to have a victorious week this week.”

Monday comes and you hit the bottom. Tuesday you are lower still. Wednesday and Friday, you are down so low you can’t get your nose up on the curb.

So you go to church. You almost stayed home because you are so down in your spirit. The moment you step into the church, the first hymn touches a chord. You have felt backslidden, and maybe you were backslidden. But you get in the house of God, and you are touched, and pretty soon you are praising God, and right back up there again.

The next week it has been a victorious Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. You go to church on Sunday, and you are all fired up. The first thing that happens when you step in the church is that someone steps on your spiritual corns. You lose the victory! The hymns are off tune for you. And the preacher is no good for you. And you just go home unblessed.

The week that you were so victorious – you did not get blessed and the week that you were so backslidden you did get blessed. Do you know why? God is teaching you, that you don’t get blessed because of you. You get blessed because of Christ. It is Calvary that brings the blessing of God – not our behavior.

Ephesians 1: 3

(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

You have been blessed.

Don’t ask Him for a blessing –

Thank Him for the promise of blessing.

b. Blessing Is To Be Followed By

Fruitfulness And Faithfulness.

Genesis 9: 7

(7) And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

God blesses us so that we might be fruitful. The blessing is followed by fruitfulness. And you can’t be fruitful without the blessing of God.

Colossians 1: 9-10

(9) For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

(10) That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

God’s Will is that you walk. If you walk in the Will of God, you won’t have to worry about the fruit. You will be fruitful in every good work. Why? Simply because you are walking with God. So that is the key. Don’t worry about the fruit – worry about the walk with God. When you walk with God, it is going to be automatic.

Have you ever heard a grandma pat a little grandchild on the head and say “Gramma is going away for three months, and while I am gone, will you try to grow!” You don’t grow by trying! Growth comes by following some laws. If that little one eats and sleeps, it will grow. And it is not going to be laboring to grow. Growth is a result of a life from within that is fed.

What about your Spiritual growth? “I am trying so hard to grow!” Walk with God and you will grow. And you will be fruitful. And the fruit will not be that which gives you life – the fruit will be the result of the life you have.

c. Blessing Is To Be Followed By Responsibility

Noah was blessed that he might become fruitful, that in turn, he might become responsible. And how many people don’t like that word “responsible?”

What is basically wrong with Canada? There are people who want privileges without responsibility. I’m glad I am a Canadian. But I must never forget that not only is it a privilege to be a Canadian – but it is a responsibility. And if everybody takes the privilege without the responsibility, we are going to go under.

Some of us have the idea that driving a car is our right. Driving a car is not a right – it is a privilege. And if you are going to drive a car on the basis of privilege – along with it comes responsibility. And you better drive on the right side of the street. “I’ve got my rights! I can drive where I like!” No I can’t. With the privilege comes the responsibility.

In the area of relationships between men and women – there are people, by the score today, who want the privileges that go with marriage, but they don’t want the responsibility.

So now to our Spirituality: I count it a privilege to be a Christian. It is not my right to be a Christian – it is the highest privilege. God could have sent me to Hell – and He could have had His rights, and I could have had mine. I thank God I am a Christian, and I count it the highest privilege I can have this side of Heaven. Even if this life was all, without Heaven, I still thank God I am a Christian. It is a privilege to be a Christian, but don’t ever forget that it is equally a responsibility that God has put upon you.

Ephesians 4: 1

(1) I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Can you see the responsibility?

The first three chapters of Ephesians tell us what we have in Christ.

Romans 12: 1

(1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service

The first twelve chapters of Romans tell you about the mercies of God. Your responsibility comes because you are who you are.

2. Man’s Responsibility

a. To Rule The Animal Creation (not to be ruled by the animals)

Genesis 9: 2

(2) And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

Man is to rule the animal creation. God gave us the animal creation to enjoy. You won’t enjoy it if it rules you.

b. Not Only Responsible, He Was Given Authority To Eat Meat.

Genesis 9: 3

(3) Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

God gave man authority to eat meat. Prior to this, all were vegetarian. But after the flood, God gave man authority to eat meat. You see, you won’t face life and all the complications you meet later on, until you see the basis of things as given in Genesis. It was God who gave authority to eat meat.

Genesis 1: 29-30

(29) And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

(30) And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Before the flood, all animals and man were vegetarians. That explains how Noah could take lions into the ark and have no problem. Lions did not eat flesh before the flood, they ate straw. Bears ate straw. And they are going to do it again according to the prophet Isaiah. There is going to be a restoration of the Creation.

Isaiah 11: 6-7

(6) The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

(7) And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

1 Timothy 4: 1-4

(1) Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

(2) Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

(3) Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

(4) For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

2 Timothy 4: 2-4

(2) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

(3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

(4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Sound doctrine is the Word. Is it serious business to turn from truth? If you turn – the judgment is – you will be turned. You won’t have any choice in it. You will turn from it, and you will be turned to fables.

Now, back to 1 Timothy 4: 2 There are doctrines of demons. The Bible teaches marriage is honorable in all. If you get into any religious order that forbids you to marry – you better watch it!

Only eat fish on Friday? Where did you get that doctrine? It is a doctrine of devils. If you get into a religious order that tells you what to eat – watch it! Especially if it keeps you from meat.

There are some things that I would find very hard to eat, but as far as God is concerned, we can eat anything. There are no regulations when it comes to the New Testament.

c. He Is Forbidden To Eat Blood

Genesis 9: 4

(4) But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

God says the life of the flesh is in the blood. Why did God forbid eating of blood?

Why did He forbid it in Genesis?

Why did He forbid it under Law?

Why did he forbid it under Grace?

We are never to forget that, in God’s sight, blood is precious. And that means life is precious.

Leviticus 17: 10-14 Under the Law

(10) And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

(11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

(12) Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.

(13) And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.

(14) For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore, I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.

Acts 15: 14-29

Under Grace --- I will only quote verses 20, 28, & 29; but it would be good if you read the whole passage.

(20) But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

(28) For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

(29) That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

d. Man Is Given Responsibility To Govern And Execute Capital Punishment.

Genesis 9: 5-6

(5) And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.

(6) Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

This leads us into Capital Punishment. That is where we will pick up in our next lesson.