Noah was
“warned of God of things not seen as yet” (Gen. 6:1-3, 7).
Noah’s faith was the response of his heart to God’s Word. God told Noah that
his Holy Spirit would not always strive with man, that his longsuffering is for
an appointed time, and that after the appointed days of mercy were ended, he
would destroy man from off the face of the earth.
The Lord God has warned you of
these things. Has he not? Your days on this earth are numbered. “Today is the day of salvation.” Salvation belongs to all who trust Christ.
But if you will not trust Christ, you must be forever damned!
You have a Bible. What mercy! God has given you His Word in
Book form to warn you of wrath, impending wrath, eternal wrath, inexpressibly
horrible, infinite wrath (Rom. 3:23; 6:23; 1:18). Read the Book. It is written,
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek.
18:20). Noah’s generation, Sodom, Korah and his followers, all stand as beacons
to warn sinners of divine judgment. “Except
ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:5).
You have been
warned, some of you, hundreds of times by the faithful preaching of the gospel.
It is the responsibility of God’s servant to receive the Word at God’s mouth
and faithfully warn you of wrath to come:—The Certainty Of It.—The Justice Of
It.—The Imminence Of It.—The Eternality Of It.—The Horror Of It.—The Escape
From It. Hell is the portion of every rebel. Eternal hell! The only way of
escape from the wrath of God, the only refuge for your soul is Christ. Escape
for your life! Flee to Christ! There is no other Savior.
How often God has warned you
of his wrath upon you, by his acts of providence. You have seen immortal souls
cut down, without warning, and swept away into eternity to meet an angry God,
without Christ, without hope. They are forever damned; but you are left! For
now, you are spared! Be warned.
God speaks to you by your conscience, too, warning
you of impending hell. You know that you are
lost. You know that you are a guilty sinner. You know that the wrath of God is
upon you. Do not stop your ears and run madly into hell!
Noah, being warned of God, was “moved with fear.” He was not moved by
fear for himself. He believed God. He was moved by fear for his family, his
neighbors, those who were yet rebels to God. He feared for the souls of men.
Had
Noah been like most, he would have said, “God is merciful, he will not really
send men to hell.” – or – “There will be time enough to repent later.” – or –
“I am not bad enough for God to send me to hell.” But Noah was not so foolish
and senseless. He was “moved with fear.”
Perhaps you are thinking, “Why do you frighten us? You know
that fear will not save a sinner.” That is true. It is the goodness of God that
leads you to repentance. Only the love of God in Christ can melt the sinner’s
heart, draw us to Christ, and constrain us to believe; but you will never be
drawn to Christ by the cords of love until you are driven from your carnal
security by the fear of God’s impending wrath. You must be driven from your
carnal security by fear, so that you may be drawn to Christ by his grace. You
have only two options: repent or perish. Which will it be?