DWDP - Gen 7:1 Righteousness by Faith

The word that changes everything isn’t go—it’s come. We open Genesis 7:1 and step into Noah’s world of long silence, steady hammer blows, and an outrageous promise that demanded decades of obedience before a single drop fell. As the animals gather and the sky darkens with a first taste of lightning, we follow the thread of how faith becomes action, how action becomes righteousness credited by God, and how an invitation reshapes a family’s future.

We wrestle honestly with a question many of us carry: where does my choice meet God’s choice? Scripture speaks with both voices—election and responsibility—and we hold those parallel truths without flinching. Along the way we trace the pattern of household salvation through Cornelius, Lydia, and the Philippian jailer, unpacking the weight and privilege of spiritual leadership at home. Influence matters, but compulsion has no place; each person must decide to walk through the open door. Noah’s sons didn’t inherit faith by proximity—they demonstrated it by stepping into the ark.

If you’re facing a long season of quiet, this conversation offers a way to live: build before the storm, trust when the sky is clear, and be ready to move when God’s invitation arrives. We share practical ways to lead your home with Scripture, prayer, repentance, and courage, while urging a posture of humility in mysteries we cannot solve. More than anything, we end with gratitude—grace that finds us, calls us, and keeps us when our understanding runs thin. If this encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so others can find these conversations too.

Chapters

• 0:02 Welcome And Scripture Focus
• 0:42 God’s Call To Noah
• 2:39 Mockery, Waiting, And Obedient Faith
• 3:20 Come Into The Ark: The Invitation
• 5:21 Faith Credited As Righteousness
• 7:19 Household Salvation And Personal Choice
• 9:05 The Mystery Of Choice And Election
• 12:29 Parallel Truths We Hold By Faith
• 14:52 Be Thankful For Grace And Closing Exhortation

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:02

Welcome to More Than Medic, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr. Robert Jackson.

SPEAKER_02: 0:16

Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go get your brother and your sisters, and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotion from Dr. Papa. Gather round, grab your Bibles, and let us look into the written word which reveals to us the living word, who is our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we're at Genesis chapter seven and verse one. Then the Lord said to Noah, Enter the Ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before me in this time. Well, when Noah was five hundred years old, God spoke to him with instructions for the ark and warning about the impending flood. In obedience, Noah and his sons began constructing the ark. There's no mention of any further correspondence from God for a hundred and twenty years until Noah is six hundred and twenty years old. Noah has preached righteousness for a hundred and twenty more years. He has called a wicked, corrupt and violent generation to repent without any converts except for his three sons. And he had constructed a monstrous eyesore in his backyard. And the entire homeowners association and all their members complained bitterly. Then on top of that, Noah had chickens and goats in his backyard that really set the entire neighborhood off. When the elephants and the giraffes showed up, well they called the mayor and animal control. But by then thousands of animals were coming in a long train. And on top of that dark clouds were forming, which the folks had never seen before, and on top of that there was lightning. Lightning? Who had ever seen lightning? The people were now terrified and they were holding a county council meeting about the changes in the weather patterns. Forget about Noah, he's bat crazy. But then after a century of silence, God speaks to Noah once again. In faith and obedience, Noah had prepared an ark, as Hebrews eleven says, to the saving of his household. And then in verse seven and verse one, let me read it to you again, chapter seven and verse one. Then the Lord said to Noah, Enter the Ark, you and all your household. Now the King James Version says, Come into the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before me in this time. This is one of seven recorded instances where the Bible tells us that God spoke to Noah. Each of the instances it was to bring fellowship with Noah and a blessing on him and his family. Three different times the Bible tells us that Noah did all that God commanded him to do. Spiritually Noah was a giant in the earth in his day, and very few have been like him since then. Like Enoch, the Bible tells us that Noah walked with God and was obedient to God in faith. Then we come to verse one of chapter seven, where God tells Noah it's time. Time for him and his family to enter the ark. As I mentioned, the King James Version says, Come thou and all thy family into the ark. It's interesting that God didn't say go into the ark, he said come. Just like Jesus says to you and me, Come all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It's an invitation to come into the ark. It's an invitation to come into a relationship with the Heavenly Father, an invitation to come into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. There was no compulsion, it was an invitation. We use we see the end result of faith and obedience to God's commands being rewarded in Noah's life as God credits his faith to his spiritual account as righteousness. The verse tells us plainly that God says to him, For you alone I have found to be righteous before me in this time or in this generation. Does it mean that Noah was sinless? Well of course not. Was Abraham sinless? We know Abraham was not, yet God credited Abraham's faith to him as righteousness. In fact, Job was a man of faith. God said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job a man who is blameless and askews evil? Now was Job sinless? No, of course not. But later Job said to his friends, Though God slay me, yet will I trust him? You see, that kind of faith is credited to his account as blamelessness. It's account is credited to his account as righteousness. Noah was righteous in the sight of God. Why? Because he was sinless? No. Because he was a man of deep faith and his faith translated into what? Obedience. You will remember from last week we talked about the hymn trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. It's imperative for your and my faith to manifest itself in obedience. But it goes farther than that. Noah's faith and the righteousness credited to his account saved both himself and his household. This is God's gracious provision and his promise to the heads, to the leaders, to the head of the house. You remember in Acts chapter six and verse thirty one, the Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved and your house. Multiple times in the book of Acts, when the head of the house believed in Jesus Christ, the entire household followed suit. When Peter shared the gospel with Cornelius, the Roman centurion, he believed and his entire household was saved. Lydia and her entire household believed and was baptized. The Philippian jailer believed, and his entire household was saved. This is the grace and provision of God on display. But here is the mystery. Pay close attention. Here's the mystery. The mystery of God. You see, God said to Noah and his family, come into the Ark, not go into the Ark, but come. He issued an invitation. Each member of Noah's household had to personally choose to enter the Ark. No one was compelled to enter the Ark. They had to individually exercise saving faith. No doubt, having lived six hundred plus years, Noah was a man of abundant financial resources. He had to be to finance the building of the Ark. His sons had probably accumulated significant possessions in a hundred and twenty years. Entering the Ark and believing that a worldwide catastrophic flood was coming, they must have realized that they were leaving behind all of their earthly possessions. They all had to renounce the world to follow God and believe his prediction and his provision. But here's the mystery. The balance between man's free will and God's sovereign election, God's sovereign choosing, that's the mystery. Obviously God chose Noah and his sons, but at the same time they all had to choose to obey. They had to choose to build the ark, and they had to choose finally to enter into the dark confines of the ark, along with thousands of animals. Can you imagine the sounds and the smells in that ark? How creepy is that? The dividing line between man's freedom of choice and God's electing grace is beyond the comprehension of our finite and fallible minds. Theologians have debated this dividing line for centuries. The truth is that man's free will and God's sovereign choosing run parallel to one another throughout the pages of Scripture, like the rails of a train track that eventually merge together in the far distance. It's a matter of perspective. Close up they seem to be two separate and distinct concepts, but far away, when I get to heaven, I'm sure God will explain to me how the two are really one. But for now, to my little pea brain, it's a mystery. You see, God promised to save Noah's family a hundred twenty years prior in chapter six and verse eighteen, when he initially gave instructions for building the Ark, long before they volunteered to enter the Ark a century later in chapter seven and verse seven. But when the time arrived, they each had to choose. Now here's where the mystery of faith affects you and me. The Bible plainly teaches that you and I were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. That's in Ephesians chapter one and verse four. God chose you and me in Christ before the foundation of the world. And yet Paul exhorted the Philippian jailer to call upon the name of the Lord, and you shall be saved, indicating that he personally had to choose. He had to make a choice. This was the same choice that you and I had to make when we decided to follow Jesus. So which is it? Did God choose me or did I choose to follow him? The answer is yes. Yes, both are true. But how can that be? It is true in the same way that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. It is true in the same way that God is one and yet God is three. He is three and one. It is true in the same way that the Bible is God's word and yet written by men, in fact forty different men. Still it's the word of God. There are spiritual concepts, doctrinal concepts that are way beyond our finite understanding, that are plainly taught in Holy Scripture. We have to accept the plain teaching of God's Word and trust that He will explain to us on the other side. I've seen grown men, Christian men disputing over these concepts until they are red in the face and hot under the collar. It's a useless dispute. Because when we get to heaven we will all find that we were wrong about some part of our theology that we were sure fire about. Be thankful that God chose you and that he allowed you to choose him. More than anything, be thankful for grace. Grace grace God's grace Grace that is greater than all our sin. Above everything, brothers and sisters, be thankful for grace, the grace of God that is greater than all of our sin. Well, you're listening to devotions with Dr. Papa. And until next week, I hope you'll remember that Jesus loves you and your doctor loves you. And I know that we're coming up on the Christmas season, and I know that you're busy, and there's a lot of hubbub in your life. But I want to encourage you to take time during this season to bend your knee, bow your head, humble your heart, and worship the true King.

SPEAKER_00: 15:33

Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, Instagram, or webpage at Jackson Family Medistry dot com.