We're not saved from judgment, but through it

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Noah walked with God. Why did Noah walk with God?, because God had mercy on Noah.

What I want you to see is how profound this mercy is.

We tend to think of mercy, we tend to think of forgiveness, we tend to think of grace as God kind of winking at our sin, sweeping it under the rug. That's not at all the picture that you have here of God's grace.

But this mercy, and this grace, this salvation comes through judgment. Noah wasn't saved from the flood, he was saved through the flood. He wasn't saved from the judgment, he was saved through the judgment.

Our salvation always comes, not apart from judgment, but through judgment. And in the midst of judgment God protects us. How does He do it? He does it with an ark, doesn't he? He does it with an ark, and as the judgment comes, the ark rises above the water.

"Ark" is an old English term that actually means "box". It's not an original Hebrew word, it's an Egyptian word. And what does this Egyptian word mean? It means "coffin". God says to Noah, I want you to build me a box, and I want you to get in that box and I'm going to seal you in there, the very symbol of death. And when the judgment comes, that death will rise above the other death. When the judgment comes you will rise above the judgment.

My friends, do you see who's in view here? This is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. What does it mean to be a christian? I means to be in the death of Jesus Christ. And then as the judgment comes on Jesus Christ ... what happened to Him on the cross?, He was judged by God for your sin and my sin, and we were in Him, just as Noah is in the ark. And when the judgment came, and it came down hard, where He cries out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." What happens? He rises from the dead.

What does it mean to be a christian? It means that you are in Him. My friend, if you are a christian, you are in the ark. And no matter what comes, it could be a judgment that takes down the entire world, you will rise above. Not because of yourself but because of the favor of God, the grace and mercy of God. Because of the ark, because of Jesus Christ, because of the cross, because of His resurrection.