Gayle Oler
The example of Noah and the ark is set forth in the New Testament as a true likeness of salvation today (1 Pet. 3:20-21). In that example is enough to settle the question of what one must do to be saved, if only a reasonable and candid thought be given to it.
The Following Facts About Noah Are Evident
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God saved Noah. ”For if God spared not… the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness…” (2 Pet. 2:4-5).
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Noah’s faith saved him. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became the heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Heb. 11:7).
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Noah was saved in the ark. “…wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved…” (1 Pet. 3:20).
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Noah was saved by water. “…when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water” (1 Pet. 3:20-21).
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Noah saved himself under God’s grace and providence. “…being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house…” (Heb. 11:7). Noah went about the work “when once the longsuffering of God waited.” God’s grace, man’s work—that’s the complete story.
The Following Facts About Us Are Evident
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God saves us. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men…” (Titus 2:11).
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Our faith saves us. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).
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We are likewise saved by baptism. “The like figure whereunto baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 3:21).
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So like Noah, individuals today, under the providence of God and by his grace which is in Jesus Christ, “saves himself from this crooked generation” (Acts 2:40) by obeying all the commands of God. It is the same story as of old—God’s grace coupled with man’s work. “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (Jas. 2:24).
When Noah came forth from the ark, one thing had separated him from the world of condemned men—water. That was the dividing point. When a Christian comes from the water he looks upon a new world, and by the blood of Christ reached in baptism he is divided from the old life. Through faith in Christ and by the mercy of God, a man is baptized for the remission of sins. (Acts 2:38). He is then saved, for “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).
