Grace (v. 8). The only way people can be saved from God’s wrath is through God’s grace (Eph. 2:8-9), but grace isn’t God’s reward for a good life: It’s God’s response to saving faith. “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household” (Heb. 11:7 nkjv). True faith involves the whole of the inner person: The mind understands God’s warning, the heart fears for what is coming, and the will acts in obedience to God’s Word.

To understand God’s truth but not act upon it is not biblical faith; it’s only intellectual assent to religious truth. To be emotionally aroused without comprehending God’s message isn’t faith, because true faith is based on an understanding of the truth (Matt. 13:18-23). To have the mind enlightened and the heart stirred but not act in obedience to the message is not faith, for “faith without works is dead” (James 2:14-26). The mind, heart, and will are all involved in true biblical faith.

Everybody who has ever been saved from sin has been saved “by grace, through faith,” and this includes the Old Testament worthies listed in Hebrews 11. Nobody was ever saved by bringing a sacrifice (Heb. 10:1-4; Ps. 51:16-17), by keeping the law (Gal. 2:16), or by doing good works (Rom. 4:5). Salvation is a gracious gift that can be rejected or received by faith. Like Noah, we must all find “grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8).

Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion

1. Which of the four special examples Wiersbe highlights–Seth, Enosh, Enoch, or Noah–encourages you the most? Why?
2. How is God’s sovereign plan fulfilled when people so often choose to not obey God?
3. What light does the story of the very first human family shed on the family problems in our society?
4. Why does it again and again come down to a remnant left for the Lord? Why only a remnant?
5. When have you felt alone or failing in the work of the Lord?
6. How has the arrival of children affected your motivation, or that of someone you know, toward the Lord? How does knowledge of the second coming affect your motivation?
7. Wiersbe says one of Satan’s most successful devices is compromise. In what areas of your life are you most vulnerable to compromise?
8. How can we tell the difference between those who are true mighty leaders and those who look mighty but are actually fallen?
9. Using the biblical data available, what do you imagine the world was like right before the flood?
10. In Old Testament times, what exactly did they need to believe to be saved?