If the YouTube video above is not available, here are two other ways to view:

BAR-2012-03

120902AM

I would like to introduce the great Biblical doctrine of God’s grace this morning. To do so, we need to look and see the context in God’s Word for the very first time God uses the word “grace” in the entire Bible. Do you know when God first explains His grace to us? It is in the very darkest days of the history of this world.

As we open to Genesis 6, we are opening to the evilest time of human history, from God’s perspective. God who sees all things, and who can never lie, said that in the times of Genesis 6: every intent and every thought of humanity was only evil constantly.

The chapter before us describes the time when it was the hardest time to seek, follow, or obey God. So, we are opening to the very darkest moment in Earth’s history until the final, demon-induced darkness of the great tribulation at the end of days. But, even in this dark chapter of the Bible, we always find that:

Grace Shines Brightest In the Darkest Times

In the Flood promised in Genesis 6, God decided to scour the filth of humanity from the face of the Earth. This is not a pretty picture; nor a nice topic to consider. But, after all that hopeless multiplication of sin, in v.8, God introduces us to the word “grace”, perhaps the most beautiful word in the whole Bible.

Please stand and follow along as we read God’s Divine, inspired, a flawless record of the darkest days of humanity, Genesis 6:1-8.

Genesis 6:1-8 (NKJV) Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of god saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. 3 And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

In the first seven verses of Genesis 6, God says that humanity had descended to such depths of sin and evil that He had to destroy them. In only nine generations from Creation mankind had become too evil for God to even allow them to go on. But:

Noah Found Grace in The Eyes of the Lord

In Genesis 6:8 we find God revealing what happens when He sees the depths of evil that our fallen, sinful lives get trapped by: He offers His grace. If you want to note something monumental in your Bibles, a circle that word “grace” (KJV, NKJV) or “favor” (ESV, NAS, NIV). This is the Old Testament word for God’s unmerited favor, the word we love to hold dear in the New Testament. (In the ESV, NAS this same word is translated as “grace” in Zech. 12:10.)

Slides


Check Out All The Sermons In The Series

You can find all the sermons and short clips from this series, Camp Barakel 2012 here

Looking To Study The Bible Like Dr. Barnett?

Dr. Barnett has curated an Amazon page with a large collection of resources he uses in his study of God’s Word. You can check it out here.