As I study Genesis (in preparation for my Bible study with my dd) on this pretty Labor Day afternoon, the significance of the relationship between grace and righteousness hits home. Once more.

Did you know that God's grace was evident even in the Old Testament?

Go to Genesis. Read Genesis 6:1-8.

That was what the world was like after the fall of Adam.

Genesis 6:8 marks the end of that description by stating that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

Now look at Genesis 6:9.

“This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”

Read these two verses again.

Now try to recall what you have probably heard or taught in Sunday School. Or read in Bible story books. Hmm...something like this?

Everyone in the world was wicked. They were haters of God. They did dreadful things. They displeased God. But out of the whole world, one man stood out. That was Noah. He loved God. He obeyed God. He was righteous and blameless. So He found favor in God's eye. No wonder God wanted to save him.

Now why is that erroneous?

1. Which came first? Genesis 6:8 or Genesis 6:9? We tend to mix up “the chronological and literary order of the passages”. Genesis 6:8 is the last verse of the book of Adam and Genesis 6:9 is the first verse of the book of Noah. Don't ignore the book divisions that Moses has given us. To say that God favored Noah because of his righteousness is hence to ignore the chapter division as well as the flow of logic of the verses.

2. It is important to recognize that “there is no indication that God's grace relationship with Noah was caused by anything in Noah.” Isn't that just like God's grace? It is extended to those who do not deserve it. While grace can make you and me righteous ( Romans 5:20-21), our righteousness cannot make God give us grace. To start with, we cannot be righteous apart from God's grace. There is no way we can initiate righteousness in order to buy grace. To procure grace. How can we? We were all born in sin! Noah too was born in sin. All the wonderful works he had performed was useless and did nothing to accord God's favor.

God chose Noah. (Genesis 6:8). And Noah's response was obedience. Look at verse 22. “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him so he did.”

There is this wonderful relationship between grace and righteousness here.

What you see here too are the elements of a covenant relationship – sin, judgment, grace, blessings, commands, obedience. Where there is blessing, there is also responsibility.

The Covenant of Grace *involves God's initiative in salvation. That does not mean there is no responsibility on our part. There is both the grace of God and human responsibility involved in this relationship.

And as I end my little study here, I'm just so thankful that God extended His grace to me in the first place. I don't deserve His grace and mercy. I don't deserve His love. But He wooed me and drew me to Him. How I love Him! My responsibility now is to daily obey Him.

*If you want to read more about The Covenant of Grace, go to this link. I don't belong to this church, but I think this article explains the principle of the Covenant of Grace very well.

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Posted by KS

Amen, sister!
Oh, His grace is so wonderful!!!
Thank you so much for sharing.

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Posted by MiikoGibson

Glad you are reading my blog, Kyoko :) I must add that "Covenant of grace" is also a human term, not something found in Scripture...but it sure reflects a good and sound principle! Miiko

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Posted by onecrazymom

This is excellent Miiko! Thanks so much for sharing - God's grace is such an extraordinary gift!

Blessings,
Mandi

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