The Ark of Salvation

2 Peter 2:4-10 uses several examples from biblical history to teach about the final judgment of mankind. One of those is the cataclysmic flood in the days of Noah. We can follow Peter’s lead and learn many lessons about salvation and judgment from this event.

1) God is willing to judge evil. God was not impotent or undisturbed in the face of the great evil in the ancient world. God saw their wickedness and the intention of their hearts (Gen. 6:5) and was grieved (v. 6). He determined to bring destruction against the earth on a broad and terrifying scale (v. 7). This was not merely a passing thought—He followed through and the flood came as He planned.

Peter tells us what lesson we should learn from this. If God reacted in this way to sin back then and followed through with His judgment, why should we expect that He is any different today? In fact, this is just one example of three that Peter used. If we intend to bet on God suddenly having a different personality and attitude toward sin, we are sorely mistaken. God tells us that there will be a global judgment (Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10) at a time that no one but the Father knows (Mark 13:32-37). Do you believe that judgment will come even though the promise of it was so many years ago? Even when God delays His judgment, it is only in the interest of patience and grace (2 Pet. 3:1-10).  

2) Salvation is designed by God. God saw the evil of the ancient world, but He also saw the righteousness of Noah (Gen. 6:8). It was not even just Noah that God determined to save. The judgment would be catastrophic and unyielding, but God wanted to give everyone an opportunity to escape it. Anyone who would listen to the warnings of judgment would be saved, but aside from Noah’s own family, every person continued living without any regard for the coming flood (Matt. 24:36-40).  

The ark of salvation was designed in a particular way by God. Noah was not left to build any vessel he wanted. It had particular dimensions, materials, and features (Gen. 6:14-22). Noah did not have the leeway to change that design no matter his rationale. Why did God want the ark to have three decks? Why was it made out of gopher wood? Why did it have 300x50x30 cubit dimensions? Efforts have been made to explain these choices, and we can come up with plausible answers for some of them. The ark needed to be big enough to accommodate Noah, his family, and the animals he brought on board. The proportions are fitting for a seaworthy vessel. We may be correct with those assessments, but others are harder for us to determine. We don’t even know what gopher wood was, so we have no idea why that was God’s wood of choice. Ultimately, the most important answer for all of these is that God found them suitable. He didn’t have to explain Himself to Noah and He doesn’t have to explain Himself to us, either.

Our modern ark of salvation is the church, designed and built by Jesus. It was made to the specifications that are pleasing to God. We can read the New Testament to learn about how it functions, worships, and is organized. Much like with the ark, we can come up with plausible reasons why God may have made some of these choices, while others elude us. The most important answer remains the same: it is pleasing to God.

3) There is one door to salvation. Noah’s ark had only one door (Gen. 6:16). Anyone who wanted to enter the ark had to come in through that door. Of course, with a boat, that is not controversial or hard to understand. Our salvation today functions in the same way, and some struggle to understand. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The only way to find safety in the Father is through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Even this is not as simple as some make it out to be. It is easy enough to have some nebulous belief in Jesus and to wear the name of Christian. Jesus demands more. In the same conversation, He says that we must keep our life-giving connection to Him, which includes keeping His words in our hearts and obeying His commands (14:15; 15:1-11). We must have sacrificial love for each other (15:12-14) and follow Jesus even when the world hates us (15:18-25). There is no other redeemer and no other plan for our salvation.                          

4) The ark had no rudder or sails. The design of the ark did not include any way to navigate it. For a typical boat to be useful, it needs a way to propel it forward and adjust its direction, along with a capable captain to pilot the ship. The ark did not have these features. Noah was not tasked with deciding where the ark would go or where it should eventually land. The ark was a place of safekeeping for them and God would take it where it needed to go. It eventually landed in the mountains of Ararat as the waters receded from the peaks (Gen. 8:1-5). This was not random even though Noah had no control over it.

The church also has no mechanism to be piloted by anyone but God. There are certainly shepherds who care for the members of a local congregation but even they are under the oversight of the chief Shepherd and are limited in authority (1 Pet. 5:1-5). Governments, corporations, and organizations of all kinds have the ability to change course as needed. Even though they were founded with certain ideals and goals, their founders could not anticipate how the world would change and future needs that would come up. So we have constitutional amendments, courts to affirm or overturn laws, business plans to pivot strategies, and reformations of charters and procedures. All of this is acceptable with the creations of men, but the church is fundamentally different. Jesus built a church with perfect purpose and design that does not become obsolete no matter how much time passes. Our instruction comes directly from Him but also through His inspired apostles who would receive the rest of the revelation from the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended back into heaven (John 16:12-15). We are obligated to follow these teachings and cannot chart a new course for the church. The only reform the church ever needs is a return to purity of heart and doctrine in accordance with the Scriptures.