Theologicus Joseph Louthan

Opponents to Christianity will often categorize us with the Jewish and Muslim faiths as Abrahamic. There are some similarities between our religions. But what distinguishes Christianity from those religion is a person--it is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Despite modern thinking, the gospel is the only thing that can fix mankind. And you and I know that gospel of Jesus Christ is both fully divine and fully supernatual. In other words, to save anyone is completely outside of you and me, and completely depends on whatever God does and does not do.

So let’s suppose that we find ourselves in the same shoes as Paul. We see our sin and we even try to wrestle it and overcome it and try to choke the life out of it but we all know that our strength is neither perfect nor mighty. It wanes day to day and even moment to moment. We are not as strong as the Almighty Savior who counted it as all joy to ascend to the cross and hand over his life as a ransom for many. What shall we do? Do we give up hope? Do we scream out “Forget this! This is too much for me to handle. I will never succeed! Why even try?”

Genealogies are important. But not in the way you might think. It might help to know where we came from, who are our ancestors, or what's in our DNA But our lineage ain't worth anything if we are not saved by God. Let us examine the passage and get into it.

God is the only one with all power. His judgment is right and just and falls on the wicked, depravity, evilness, sin and treasonous on this land. But Christ calls and commands you and me to give over the only thing you have, your sin, so that he can give you his seal, his mark, his righteousness, his love, his Spirit, and his Father.

We are here at the end of the story of Noah. We are completing his life here in Genesis. We have seen him be spared and saved by the grace of God alone, declared righteous, blameless, and one who walked with God. We have seen him and his family walk through the greatest catastrophe on the earth that displayed the righteousness, holiness, wrath and judgment of the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God of the Universe. After that, we see God being with Noah and declaring an unbreakable promise that his wrath will not pour out like this any again. Noah's response was correct: worship our great God.