Tag: Noah

WILLIAM KILLIAN

The Christian life is filled with new beginnings. From the moment a person turns to Christ, life itself is made new. God, in His mercy, brings change through renewal by giving spiritual birth through His Spirit. In John 3 we see Jesus explaining to Nicodemus that entering God’s kingdom requires being “born again.” This new birth changes the heart, leading a person to turn from sin and trust in Christ.

The Bible often speaks of this newness. Paul wrote that anyone in Christ becomes a new creation, the old life is gone, and everything is made new. He also taught that believers must set aside their old ways and live as people renewed in spirit and truth. This renewal is not a one-time event; it continues throughout a believer’s life. God gives His people many fresh starts. Every new beginning is another chance to trust Him again.

The story of Noah offers a clear example of this truth. After the flood, when the waters finally receded, Noah and his family stepped onto a changed earth. Everything familiar was gone. Their home, neighbours, and community had vanished under the judgment of God. The first thing Noah did was not rebuild or plant crops. He built an altar and worshipped. His first act after surviving such destruction was to give thanks.

Noah’s worship showed deep gratitude. He recognized that he was alive only because of God’s mercy. While others perished, God preserved him and his family. Out of thankfulness, Noah offered clean animals as sacrifices. This was not a small gesture because it cost him something valuable. The animals he offered could have helped repopulate the earth or fed his family. Yet Noah gave them to God as a symbol of gratitude and dependence. True worship often requires giving up something precious.

Noah’s offering also showed his understanding of sin and forgiveness. Burnt offerings in the Old Testament represented atonement and complete dedication to God. The sacrifice was fully burned, symbolizing the worshipper’s total surrender. From the earliest days, these sacrifices pointed ahead to the perfect atonement that would come through Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. The blood of animals could not remove sin forever, they only pointed toward the cross, where Christ would give His life for humanity.

Jesus is the final and perfect sacrifice. His death fully paid for sin and brought forgiveness to all who believe. Through faith in Him, we receive the same mercy that saved Noah, not from a flood of water, but from the judgment our sins deserve.

Noah’s worship also demonstrated consecration. He devoted himself completely to God, acknowledging his dependence and desire to live in obedience. Christians today are called to do the same. Paul urges believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices, lives set apart for God’s purpose, holy and pleasing to Him. Living this way means submitting our will to God, allowing His word to shape how we think and act.

Finally, Noah’s faith was expressed through trust. After his sacrifice, God promised never again to destroy the world by flood. Even though human hearts remained sinful, God declared that the natural order, seedtime and harvest, day and night, would continue as long as the earth remains. This was a promise of mercy, despite humanity’s continued weakness.

Noah did not hear God’s promise immediately. The Scripture says God spoke these words “in His heart.” Yet Noah still believed. His faith was shown through his obedience and worship. In the same way, believers today are called to live by faith, trusting God’s word even when His promises are not yet seen.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

2 Corinthians 5:17