The True Christian Faith: Noah’s Faith

The holy Scriptures testify concerning Noah, the son of Lamech, that he found grace before the Lord, because he was a righteous man, unwavering and perfect in his generation. Peter calls him a preacher of righteousness. High and glorious is the testimony which the Scriptures give concerning this man.

All the world was depraved before God, and the face of all the earth was full of wickedness. The sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair, and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose, and would not allow themselves to be reproved by the Spirit of God. Then the Lord spoke: I will yet give them respite for a hundred and twenty years. He also gave Noah a command that he should make a ship, or ark, by which he and his house might be saved from the coming flood, for God the Lord was about to destroy the whole world with water. Noah believed the word of the Lord with all his heart, and kept it in his mind as if he saw it before him with his eyes. He began building as he had been commanded, for he believed with his whole heart that the threatened punishment would come. And when the appointed year was completed, and the disobedient, wicked world did not repent, the word of the Lord had to be accomplished. Noah went into the ark with all clean and unclean creatures, as the Lord commanded him. The same day that he entered the ark, the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened, and it rained forty days and forty nights, until all the high mountains upon the face of the whole earth were covered; fifteen cubits upward the waters prevailed. And all creatures upon the earth that had in them the breath of life, such as men, birds, beasts and worms, were destroyed. Noah and his family, together with the animals which were with him in the ark, were preserved in the ark by the power and grace of Almighty God, in whom Noah trusted with all his heart.

Through faith, says Paul, Noah honored God and prepared the ark for the salvation of his house, according to the divine command concerning things not yet seen; through this he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Oh, lovely example! O glorious pattern of a sure and firm faith! For as he believed his God, so he was upright and unwavering. He believed the threatened punishment firmly, as if he saw it before his eyes, and therefore he labored so many years, and through the eternal Spirit of Christ he warned the unbelieving, disobedient spirits, or men led captive by sin, to repent and reform. He feared the word of the Lord, and did not doubt that it would happen as the Lord had spoken. He knew well that the word of the Lord was powerful, as the prophet said, “O Lord, you spoke from the beginning of the creation, and said thus, Let heaven and earth be made; and your word was a perfect work,” Second Esdras 6, verse 38.

And when he had preached and built for forty, eighty or a hundred years (the Scriptures do not say how long he built and taught), he did not become weak in faith through the long delay. For he knew well that the punishment of God would come upon the unconverted, because God had told him so beforehand, and that he and his would be preserved through the mercy and grace of him who promised, for he is the God of truth, and no lie is found in him.

The Lord God warned the pious Noah and said, “The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth,” Genesis 6, verse 13. In the same way he has, through his own blessed Son, through his holy prophets and apostles, with his holy word, truthfully warned us and said: If you do not repent, are not born of God, do not believe in Christ, do not walk in his commandments, do not reform your wicked lives, but serve strange gods, are haughty, proud, ambitious, lustful, bloodthirsty, malicious, unjust, idle, earthly, fleshly and devilish, then you will die in your sins and shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven; you shall be condemned, shall be cast into the fiery pool, must inherit eternal woe and pain with all the accursed and with devils, and have no part nor communion in the kingdom of Christ, to all eternity.

My readers, take heed. Suppose that we, with the upright and godly Noah, observed the faithful warnings of Christ and his Holy Spirit, and believed with the whole heart; believed the word of God to be true and unchangeable, that the threatened punishment will come in its time, even if it should be delayed a thousand years. (Yet I advise everyone to watch, for all who die in their sins receive their punishment, for the time of grace has then expired.) Then we would undoubtedly fear and tremble to the inmost of our souls at the wrath and punishment which the Scriptures threaten to all the impenitent, and which will be eternal in its duration. We would pray to God for grace, would clothe ourselves in sackcloth and mourning garments, would truly repent, reform our wicked lives, follow after righteousness, and with our new and spiritual Noah, Christ Jesus, enter into the new and spiritual ark, which is his church. We would always be careful and fearful that the flood of the coming wrath of God not overtake us unexpectedly, with all the unbelieving and impenitent, who acknowledge neither God nor Christ, neither Spirit nor word, as it overtook the corrupt world before the flood, as mentioned. Indeed, we would sincerely watch for the coming of the Lord, give heed to the time of grace, keep our wedding garment, and have oil in our lamps, so that our house is not broken into at an unexpected hour, and we are not cast out with the guest who did not have on a wedding garment, from the Lord’s wedding into outer darkness, to remain outside eternally.

Because, alas, we do not believe the threats, punishments, wrath and judgments of the Lord, and have little regard for the examples of Scripture, we say with the mockers, Beloved, where is the promise of his coming? All things remain as they were from the beginning, since the fathers fell asleep. It will, I fear, happen to us as it did to the unbelievers and disobedient who were overtaken with sudden destruction in the time of Noah and Lot, as one may plainly see and read concerning the coming of the Lord, Matthew, chapter 24; Luke, chapter 17. Because we do not believe the threats, judgments and wrath of the Lord, but disregard them, we lead such a reckless, unbridled life, follow the lusts of the flesh, eat, drink, build, sow, reap and marry without any fear or care, greedily hoard up gold, silver and possessions, and haughtily say in our hearts, There is peace and liberty, until swift destruction overtakes us.

Again, let everyone look well and watch. The messenger with his final summons is already at the door, who will say, Give an account; you may be steward no longer. But if we, with the unwavering and pious Noah, could firmly believe the coming eternal wrath and punishment, and also the promises through Christ to all true children of God, we would undoubtedly not be found so inattentive, drowsy and indifferent. With full earnestness and without delay we would rise from our abominable sin, separate ourselves from our grievous errors, and shun wickedness as we would a hungry, roaring lion or a bloodthirsty enemy. We would also watch with open eyes all our days, lest the Master of the house overtake us while we sleep, and does not regard us. Let us not strike our fellow servants, nor eat and drink with gluttons, so that he may not give us our portion and lot with the hypocrites. Concerning this watching, read Matthew, chapter 24; Mark 13, verse 37.

Abraham, the highly renowned patriarch, who had no equal in honor, as Sirach writes, believed God and trusted in his word with his whole heart, and so showed obedience and power as the result of his faith. The Lord commanded him and said, “Go out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you; and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you; and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed,” Genesis 12, verses 1 to 3. When he heard the command, he believed his God and did not consult the ease of his body nor his natural reason, but renounced both. He did not strive nor dispute with God, in whom he trusted and at whose command he went forth; he did not desire to know beforehand into what land he should go. He believed his God with his whole heart; he was obedient and went forth at that hour, together with Sarai his wife, not knowing where he should go. He rested firmly and surely upon the promise of God, who would not deceive nor betray him, for he knew well that he was a God who was true and firm in all his words, and that he would bring him into such a country as he had promised him.

See how upright and perfect, how plain, obedient and full of confidence true Christian faith is, as may be seen in this patriarch. Compare your faith and its fruits with Abraham’s faith and its fruits, and I presume you will find that you have never yet become his faithful seed and children. For it is plain that you are stubborn and unbelieving, so fleshly and earthly minded that you would not give up a clay house, a poor bed, a cow or a horse, nor endure a hard word, for the sake of the word of the Lord and his testimony. And I doubt whether you would forsake father or mother, or the land of your birth, for the sake of your faith, and like Abraham travel with wife and children to an unknown land. Cursed unbelief keeps the whole world away from the truth; for many of you say, We know well that you have the truth, but what good does it do? We are poor and full of years, we can no longer labor or earn; we have a house full of children and cannot earn our bread in other lands; we fear, too, that the Lord may not take such care of us as he did of Abraham. Others say, We have much wealth, we are young in years and may live long, yet father and mother hinder us. The wife says, My husband opposes me; the husband says, My wife is against me; and similar unbelieving, fleshly excuses and cares. They never take to heart nor understand that Christ has richly promised you that if you abide by his word, you shall receive all the necessities of the earth, such as food, clothing and shelter. “I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread,” Psalm 37, verse 25.

Faithful readers, observe: if we had a firm faith and a sure confidence like this godly man, and dared to trust from the heart in the living God, O how little we would trouble ourselves with such heathenish cares about dwelling, eating, drinking and clothing! For we know well that Christ, God’s own Son, has promised that if we seek the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness, and turn our hearts to some honest labor, he will not forsake us to all eternity, but will supply all our needs, for he cares for us.

Secondly, observe his faith. When a message came to Abraham that Lot, his brother’s son, had been taken to Sodom by Chedorlaomar, the king of Elam, and his allied kings, Abraham rose up with three hundred and eighteen of his servants and pursued the aforementioned kings. He overtook them in the night, struck them down, and took back all their goods, together with Lot, the prisoners and their wives, Genesis 14, verse 16.

Here the faithful patriarch showed his love, the fruit of faith, and did not fear the power of the four kings. He trusted in the living God; he did not seek his own safety, nor the safety of his servants, but willingly risked everything in order to rescue his oppressed kinsman from the hands of his enemies. This is an example for all the spiritual children of Abraham, that they should so love their brothers who are born of the incorruptible seed of the holy, divine word, that they not only assist them with money and goods, but also, in an evangelical manner, risk and give their lives for them in time of need. I say in an evangelical manner, for the aid of the sword is forbidden to all true Christians. According to the New Testament, all true believers should meekly suffer, and not fight and battle with swords and firearms. But if we wish to save or gain our neighbor’s soul by the help of the Spirit and word of our Lord, or if we see our brothers in need or peril, and persecuted for the sake of the word of the Lord, then we should not close our doors to them, but receive them into our houses, share our food with them, and aid, comfort and assist them in their tribulations, and so on. In such cases we should risk our lives for our brothers, even if we knew beforehand that it would cost us our lives. We have this example in Christ, who for our sakes did not spare himself, but willingly gave up his life, so that we might live through him.

In the third place, observe that to Abraham the promise was given that his seed would be as numerous as the stars of heaven; that they would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and that they would be oppressed and forced to serve four hundred years, and so on. When this promise was made, he believed; he believed it, and his belief was counted to him for righteousness. He waited with patience, and it was fulfilled in its time. He did not murmur, nor dispute with God because his seed would suffer so greatly for so many years. This is an admonition to all true Christians that they should cleave to the word of the Lord with all their heart, and hold firmly to his promise; for God cannot forget or break his word. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but his word shall stand and remain forever. All who trust in it will have it counted to them as righteousness, as it was to Abraham. Through faith he saw the promise from afar; he saw it, and comforted himself with it. In the same way, the promise of the future, eternal life is given to us through Christ, and we are told that for his name’s sake we must suffer much from this perverse and wicked generation. This promise is seen from afar, and all who sincerely believe it and comfort themselves with it will without doubt receive it in due time, however hard and long they may be persecuted and tormented by the evil Egyptian race. For although the children of Abraham were grieved with much sorrow and pain for some hundreds of years, yet the Lord, according to his promise, led them forth victoriously and gave them the land of promise. And so it will be with us, if we do not doubt the promises, but receive them with a firm faith, as Abraham did, and through faith walk in all the commandments of God, possess our souls in patience and honor, and fear, love, thank and serve the Lord. However lamentably we are persecuted here, oppressed, struck, robbed and murdered by the hellish Pharaoh and his fierce, unmerciful servants, or burned at the stake, or drowned in the water, yet the day of our salvation shall arrive. All our tears shall be wiped from our eyes, and we shall be arrayed in the white silken robes of righteousness, and with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob follow the Lamb, sit down in the kingdom of God, and possess the precious, pleasant land of eternal peace. Praise God, you who suffer for Christ’s sake, and lift up your heads, for the time is near when you shall hear, Come, you blessed; and you shall rejoice with him forever.

In the fourth place, observe that Abraham received a command from God that he, and also his male children eight days old, should be circumcised, with all his servants, both those born in his house and those who were bought, and that this should be a sign of the covenant between God and him. He was not disobedient to God, nor displeased with him; he did not complain nor murmur against him on account of the great pain and smarting he would suffer in his old age by performing such a dishonorable and ridiculous ceremony, by which he could neither praise God nor help or serve his neighbor. But he heard and believed the word of the Lord, and humbly and submissively followed it without delay. He knew well that unless he believed the word of God, he could obtain no grace, no blessing, no promise, for only the obedient obtain the promise.

Here again the simple, plain submission and willing obedience of Abraham’s faith are made plain by its fruits. For if he had followed flesh and blood and reasoned with himself, he undoubtedly would not have obeyed, but would have entered into argument with God and said, No, Lord, it shall not be so, for this sign will profit me nothing; you are not praised by it, nor is my neighbor served. All the heathen who do not know your great name will mock at it as foolishness, from the very nature of the ceremony. O no! He did not speak against the Lord, but he believed and acted, and it was counted to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.

This is for the encouragement of all the pious, that they should believe and submissively follow the word of the Lord, however heretical and ridiculous it may appear to them, not murmuring against the Lord about why he commanded it so; it is enough for them to know that he has commanded it, and in what manner he has commanded it.

Again, it shames all haughty despisers and unbelieving mockers who so presumptuously open their blasphemous, wicked mouths against Christ and say, What can baptism profit us, or why does God demand so much water? It is enough if we are inwardly pious men, regard the commands of love, and lead a pious, virtuous life; and other such hypocritical words. For these poor, miserable hypocrites do not know that when the inward man of which they boast has become upright through faith and pious in God, through the grace, word and Spirit of the Lord, he does not dare depart one hair’s breadth from the word and ways of the Lord, but willingly does all things whatever the Lord has commanded him, let it be what it will.

It is very plain that Christ Jesus has commanded water baptism upon the confession of our faith, and that he received it himself, Matthew 3, verse 16. The holy apostles did not teach nor practice otherwise; its meaning and effect were not otherwise; and so many glorious promises depend on it, as may plainly be seen and read, Mark 16, verse 15 (understand me rightly), not by virtue of the performed sign itself, but because we receive Christ, in whom the Father gave the promise, through faith, and are ready to live according to his word. Tell me, beloved, how shall anyone obtain the accompanying promise if he does not do what is commanded? But what good does it do all those who do not believe the Lord’s word, who would rather have money, goods, body and life than Christ? They are earthly and fleshly minded; they strive against Christ, disobey the Scriptures, dispute and say, What good can water do us? But if they believed the word of the Lord from the heart, as Abraham did, and were new and changed men in Christ Jesus through the power of that same faith, they would love their enemies, do good for evil, pray for those who persecute them, and be ready to forsake their possessions and all that they have and are, for the glory of the Lord and for the necessary service of their neighbor. They would not reject the cross of the Lord, but flesh and blood would be put to death; they would fear God and his judgments, and love him for his kindness. They would undoubtedly not murmur and dispute, but stand prepared, like Abraham, to seal their faith by its fruits; they would receive the commanded baptism, surrender themselves to all obedience, and, according to their weakness, walk as the Lord commands, teaches and enjoins upon all true Christians.

Since they do not believe Christ and his word, they neither fear nor love him; therefore they reject, upbraid and blaspheme his holy doctrine, Spirit, commandments, prohibitions, ordinances and usages as deceiving heresy, and obedience to him as an open abomination. O reader, beware! God the Lord is a God who holds to his word. He brought calamity upon Adam and Eve and their descendants on account of the forbidden fruit. For a small transgression Uzzah was punished with death, Second Samuel 6, verse 7. On account of one transgression the faithful Moses was not permitted to enter the promised land. Whoever did not receive the bloody sign of circumcision was to be cut off from among the people. Therefore it must be plainly understood that his word and will must be obeyed, otherwise we cannot be saved; for he is the God who made heaven and earth and the fullness of it, the almighty, terrible God, who lives forever in his majesty and glory, the Lord and Ruler over all. Woe to him who speaks against him and despises his word and will. The works of such a one testify that he does not believe in Christ; and whoever does not believe, as Christ himself declares, is condemned already. Therefore it is all in vain to excuse ourselves or seek evasions. How anyone who is so unbelieving and rebellious that he refuses God a handful of water can bring himself to love his enemies, put to death the flesh for the service of his neighbor, and take up the cross of Christ, I will leave the serious reader to reflect upon, in the fear of God.

I know for certain that all their disputing, pretensions and evasions are nothing but fig leaves, and their lives nothing but hypocrisy.

In the fifth place, observe: when the Lord had spoken to Abraham, saying that at the end of the year he would return, and that Sarah his wife would have a son, whom he should call Isaac, and that he would make his eternal covenant with him and his seed after him, then, though he was nearly a hundred years old and Sarah ninety, he nevertheless did not doubt. He did not think about or regard his own frailty and the barrenness of Sarah, but firm and strong in faith, he trusted in the promise of his God and praised him for his grace; for he knew that God was able to perform what he had promised. Therefore, from this same Abraham, because he believed the word of the Lord, descended as many as the sand on the seashore or the stars of heaven, Genesis 22, verse 17.

See, most beloved, how an upright, unfeigned, Christian faith regards God as almighty and true. It knows that he can and will do all that he has promised, and therefore Abraham did not look upon the frailty and age of himself and Sarah. He did not doubt the promised words, but believed without wavering. For he knew well that the same God who created heaven and earth and the fullness of them through his word, who stretched out the heavens, and set a fixed bound for the stormy, raging sea, whose word sustains the earth in the midst of the water, who rules all things with the word of his strength and gives life to the dead, could undoubtedly, when he chose, make fruitful what before was barren.

Since such a promise was given to him by God, he did not doubt, but hoped for what by nature could not be expected. Through faith in God he received what was promised to him, namely his son Isaac, through the aged and barren Sarah. So it is spiritually with us in the same way. If we believe with the whole heart the promised word of grace, which is the gospel of peace, by which the redemption from our sins through the blood of the Lord is made known, then our dead conscience will also flourish and live; we shall receive the spiritual Isaac, Christ Jesus, with the eternal blessing, and bring forth fruit. Christ said, My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word and will of God and do it; but whoever does not believe this Isaac does not receive Christ, but the wrath of God remains upon him.

In the sixth place, observe how severely the Lord tried the faith of Abraham when he said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of,” Genesis 22, verse 2. Abraham heard the word of the Lord and was obedient. He took his son with him and went to the place which the Lord had commanded him; and when he came there, Isaac said, Father, behold, here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb that shall be offered? Abraham answered his son and said, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.”

O my most beloved, reflect! Observe the conduct and behavior of Abraham and his son Isaac. I suppose reason will teach you how full of trouble and grief the father’s mind was on account of his beloved son, for Abraham was flesh and blood as we are. That son, who was born to him in his old age through the promise and gift of God, his only son born of a free woman, the desire, the joy and the peace of his heart, the staff of his old age, through whom he received the comforting promise, had to be slain and burned with fire.

However hard and sorely he was tried, he did not oppose God with a single word, nor contend and say, Why have you given me a son, since he must die? Nor did he reproach the Lord by saying that he had broken his promise, for it was through Isaac that the promise was made; but he trusted in his God with his whole heart. He laid aside all reasoning and wisdom, and did not follow sense nor flesh. He did not spare his beloved son for the Lord’s sake. He loved his God far above his child, and therefore he did not refuse to offer him willingly as a burnt offering to him from whom he had received him. He bound him and lifted him upon the wood, and raised his hand and knife to slay him; he believed that God could raise him again from the dead. He was about to obey the command which he had received when an angel spoke from heaven, saying, “Do not lay your hand upon the lad, nor do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me,” Genesis 22, verse 12. And so the obedient, faithful Abraham received his son back as a type of the resurrection. The word of James is true: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God,” James 2, verse 23.

Beloved children, we must always stand ashamed before God when we compare our little, weak faith and its fruit with the faith of Abraham. He did not refuse to travel into an unknown country as soon as he was commanded. He was a man full of peace, and did not seek his own interest. He released Lot out of the hands of his enemies. He believed the promise concerning the promised land and seed. He did not murmur on account of the long time, nor of the oppression of his seed. He allowed himself to be circumcised in advanced age. He believed the Lord’s promise concerning Isaac, and taught all his servants and children that they should follow the way of the Lord and do what was right. He was willing to offer Isaac as the Lord had commanded him. This may truly be called faith.

So entirely was this pious man dead to himself that he denied all his lusts, his will and mind, and loved his God alone. He trusted, feared, loved and honored his God with all his soul and heart, and walked according to his commandments, as his fruits show, and as may be observed and understood from many passages of Scripture. But what kind of faith our false, boasting Christians have, who let themselves think that they are the seed of Abraham, I will let their fruits judge. For they covet and hoard, curse and swear, lie and cheat; they are haughty and proud, eat and drink intemperately, commit fornication and adultery, fight, rob, steal, take usury, and are full of idolatry and wickedness. Those who have a little light refuse to move from one village to another, or from one city to another, for the word and truth of the Lord. They seek their own interests and think lightly of brotherly love; they are earthly minded and flee from the cross of Christ; they do not regard the promise and goodness of the Lord; they do not fear his coming judgment and punishment; they love the creature more than the Creator, whose name be blessed forever, Amen.

In short, I do not know of anything in which they do not serve themselves and act contrary to the command of God. Yet they boast that they are the children of Abraham and have his promise. Ah no, my friends! Your prophets have led you astray, and your false hopes deceive you. As truly as the Lord lives, if you do not believe his word from the whole heart, and through the power of that same faith walk in his ways, bring forth the Christian fruits of righteousness, and follow the footsteps of this pious patriarch, then you are not his seed and children, nor do you have his faith or his promise. But all who receive Christ into their hearts through faith, and hold strictly to his word and obey it, are the spiritual children of Abraham and fellow heirs of his promise, for they are counted as his seed.