Transformer - 03/28/2021

A Righteous Man in a Wicked World

Noah, the man who built an ark to save himself and his family from a flood, is a very popular character in the Bible. God said about him, “You alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time” (Genesis 7:1).

It is extremely remarkable how this man was righteous in a very wicked world full of corruption and violence (Genesis 6:11). In the days of Noah, the wickedness of man “was great on the earth and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (6:5). But with all this wickedness surrounding him, Noah “was a righteous man, blameless in his time” (6:9).

Noah’s world was so wicked God could not stand to see it any longer. God was “sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (6:6). However, God through Noah gave the world 120 years to prepare for this upcoming fatal event. During this time, Noah preached to the people about the forthcoming annihilation of man, animals, creeping things and birds of the sky (6:7).

The question to consider is how could Noah be righteous and blameless in such a wicked world? The answer is, he did “all that the Lord commanded him.” This implies that God informed Noah what he should do and Noah did what he was instructed.

With so much wickedness and evil surrounding a person, how do they have the courage to do what is right? The answer, they understand who God is and that He is the one they should be obeying.

At the age of 480 years, with no children and only a wife to encourage him, Noah was told by God of the impending destruction. What strength of character he exhibited by being righteous and blameless before God.

The wickedness in the days of Noah is no different than the wickedness in our day; corruption and violence are everywhere. People are doing things that are not pleasing to God.

Noah serves as a great example of a person who can live a righteous life in a wicked world. He was a man who listened to God and followed His commandments. He truly trusted God even though he had never seen such things which were going to take place.

Everyone today has been warned by God of the future extermination of everything in this world. The question is, “will we be like Noah?” Will we listen to God and “in reverence” make the necessary preparations to save our souls (Hebrews 11:7)?

Today we can be like Noah. In our very wicked world, we can be righteous simply by living God’s way. - cgm

Exploring the Bible

Which book of the Bible comes before Psalms?

How much time elapsed from when Joseph interpreted the dream for the prisoners, to when he was asked to interpret a dream of the Pharaoh (Reference Genesis 41:1)?

List the different ways David describes “the law of the Lord” (Reference Psalm 19:11).

How does God give wisdom to all men (Reference James 1:5)?

Thinking on the Word…

A Different, Distorted Gospel - Galatians 1:6, 7

After seeing the Galatians on his second missionary journey, Paul wrote to them about a situation he had encountered among them. They had changed from what Paul had originally preached. Even though Paul, in all likelihood had dealt with the subject extensively in person, he writes back in an effort to reinforce his verbal teachings.

There are four words, all beginning with the letter D. They give great insight into the situation among the churches of Galatians; they describe Paul’s conclusions.

The four words are: deserting, different, disturbing, and distorting. These words explain what was happening to the Galatians as well as the gospel.

False teachers were persuading the Galatians to desert the message Paul had preached and they had believed. They were encouraging these brethren to transfer from what Paul preached to what they were preaching. They wanted the brethren to abandon what they had received from Paul and accept what they were teaching.

The second word, different, implies a change to something of equal value. Paul says it is not.

The third word, disturbing, describes the effect this teaching was having upon the individuals as well as the churches. It was causing the congregation and the individual members to be upset.

The fourth word, distorting, has to do with giving a false meaning or causing the gospel to be twisted out of shape. The Judaizers were changing the gospel to something it was not.

The conclusion to be reached is that this “different gospel” was not really a new gospel but rather was a message which was transferring people away from the truth, causing division within the church and was false. The Galatians needed to return to what Paul had preached. It was the true gospel. It was the message they needed to believe! – cgm

Words of Wisdom

“The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.” - Proverbs 15:28

Responding to people, both the rude and polite, is part of everyday conversations. When answering those who are polite, it is easy. When answering the rude and unbecoming, if one is going to be righteous, they need to ponder what they will say.

Proverbs is always contrasting the behavior of the righteous and the wicked. Solomon is wanting his son to conduct himself in a righteous manner; a manner in harmony with God’s standards.

The words “ponder” and “pour out” are also words having opposite meanings. The word “ponder” conveys the idea of to think over, to meditate. An illustration, even though rather harsh, is that of a lion “pondering” over his prey. In some translations the word is translated to study, to think carefully. It is an action of the mind; thinking before answering.

The word “pour out” conveys the idea of boiling over; of gushing out. Some translate the word as overflowing, blurts out. The idea is that a wicked person will not think about his answer but rather will say the first thing that comes to his mind, regardless of how it may sound.

The righteous person will spend some time to consider how to respond, especially to a rude, hateful individual. In times past they may have considered how to respond and are now prepared to give a quick answer.

The desired result of this proverb is to help a person be righteous by teaching them to take the time to consider how they will respond to people in a godly manner. - cgm