Fearless Faith: A Shield of Faith

You and I know that we live in a world dominated by sin. We may not be present in those “corrupt” circles, but we read the newspaper, watch the news, and hear about horrible atrocities in our world via the Internet. Jesus also told us that Satan is the “prince of this world” (John 12:31). We would probably agree that the 21st century is far more depraved than previous centuries combined.

 

            Therefore, it’s hard to imagine that at another time, centuries ago, the world could be so evil-filled that God wanted to do away with man. But it’s true! All the way back in Genesis, the Bible tells us of such a day. In fact, our text identifies Noah as the only one who was found righteous, blameless. Noah is certainly an example of how you and I can stay on God’s pathway even if all those around us are veering off. And because Noah stayed faithful to God, He would choose to save him—protect him—from the impending wrath. His family too!

 

                As the writer of Hebrews began to jot down names of Biblical patriarchs who exemplified a life of faith, God wouldn’t let him overlook Noah. Hebrews 11:7 says, “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood.” The ark was a mammoth structure and it took him 120 years to build. Day after day, year after year, while the land was dry and the people walked in rebellion to their God, Noah trusted God. It was inconceivable that such monstrous water could ever fill up the land. I imagine that the people laughed and mocked him. His family may have doubted too. Yet our text clearly points out that “by his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Hebrews 11:7). Hence, not only did Noah’s faith bring God’s favor upon him as he was found righteous, but it also served as a shield to protect him from death.

            Noah’s story certainly shows us an important feature of our faith: that it acts as a shield. Satan is our enemy and he is always throwing spears, arrows, and fiery darts at us as well. He is a good shot, too, and never misses his target. He aims directly at our most precious organs: the heart and the mind. Those darts are in the form of lies, hateful thoughts, doubts, temptation, deception, etc. I believe that each of us has at one time or another felt the invasion of Satan’s sharp daggers and the devastating repercussions—the damage they have wreaked upon us. But God tells us specifically how you and I can extinguish those darts—even the fiery ones: by taking up the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16).

            To understand how we can do this, we need to go back to the original subject of today’s lesson: Noah. We learn that he trusted God. He believed what God said and he obeyed, even if it was an unbelievable request. Let me remind you what Genesis 6:9 said about Noah: “[He] was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” We learned in our previous lesson two ways to pass God’s tests: 1) Trust Him in each circumstance, and 2) Obey Him at all costs. If we could sum up these two things in one phrase, we might say that we need to walk with God. Just like Noah did.