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“The Lines Commingle”The sixth chapter of the Book of Genesis has spawned a lot of speculation and doubt among non-believers and immature Christians. Most often, this speculation comes from defining the Nephilim and the so-called “sons of God” as angelic beings who begat super-humans or giants. This same speculation has led many to count Genesis as nothing more than mere mythology because other ancient religions have stories of demigods. Of course, Scripture is no ordinary story and certainly no mere mythology. The principles to properly interpret this passage will be used everywhere in Scripture. The first is to consider the cross-references, then—though more importantly—we must consider the context. Doing just that reveals an important truth and provides a logical and cohesive reason for the Flood. (May 22, 2022)
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“A Covenant of Life”Returning to the Book of Genesis, we reviewed the first six chapters of Israel’s primeval history. The first chapter tells us about the attributes of God, the second chapter tells us of His desires for mankind, the third chapter tells us where man falls short through sin. In the fourth chapter we see the attributes of sin present in the line of Cain, and in the fifth chapter we see the attributes of grace present in the line of Seth. The first half of the sixth chapter shows to us the results of commingling between these two lines. It is this commingling that leads to unrighteousness around the globe and violence done by all against the holiness of God.
This brings us to the point of the Noahic Covenant. |
God promises to redeem a righteous remnant solely by His grace alone. He gives instructions to Noah on how this will happen. The ark then becomes a prefigure or representation of Christ and Noah and his family represent the Church. Saint Augustine makes reference to the details he sees as parallels, Christians are free to take or leave them, but the general premise is shared not only by that early church father. We see clearly from Scripture that God holds life as sacred and valuable and is willing to redeem fallen man.
This redemption is provided through the covenant of grace, which God instituted after Adam failed to uphold the covenant of works. This is the story of the Old Testament, how God provides redemption for His righteous remnant. This good news is the kernel presented in Genesis 3:15 and continues to take root and grow throughout Bible history into the beautiful, blossoming tree that is the New Covenant in Christ Jesus.
This covenant isn’t only one-sided. It is monergistic with regards to justification, but there is work that man is expected to do. That work is simply trusting and obeying in God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Yet, far too often, Christians relegate Christ, God, and the Bible to lesser positions. Noah gave God his all, why don’t we? (September 18, 2022)
This redemption is provided through the covenant of grace, which God instituted after Adam failed to uphold the covenant of works. This is the story of the Old Testament, how God provides redemption for His righteous remnant. This good news is the kernel presented in Genesis 3:15 and continues to take root and grow throughout Bible history into the beautiful, blossoming tree that is the New Covenant in Christ Jesus.
This covenant isn’t only one-sided. It is monergistic with regards to justification, but there is work that man is expected to do. That work is simply trusting and obeying in God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Yet, far too often, Christians relegate Christ, God, and the Bible to lesser positions. Noah gave God his all, why don’t we? (September 18, 2022)