Ironworks

But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah”  Genesis 6:8 The fact of the worldwide flood is instrumental to our understanding of God’s desire to save man. We learn this story from our parents, we discuss it in our Bible classes, and occasionally we hear a sermon mentioning it. Have you considered that this is but one example of how grace, faith, and obedient works are critical in salvation?  Grace  When we look at Genesis 6:8, we see that Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah. The Hebrew word ḥên is translated here as favor but is accurately translated as grace as well. God made an observation that the wickedness of men had caused every thought they had to be evil continually. It was so bad that the Lord changed His mind (repented) that He had made man, and it grieved Him. This is a far cry from the description of the creation being described as good. The choice of sin by each individual disfigures the goodness in which we are all created.  We fully employ ourse...

         For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all . James 2:10 A recent headline said that the baseball team awaiting the results of an investigation is possibly not as guilty as the other team that was already found guilty. Not as guilty ; what does that even mean?   Not as guilty still implies that there is guilt. For if there was no guilt, then that would be innocence. That would mean complete exoneration. This would certainly be my preference for anyone accused falsely and never to be deemed "not as guilty." When James wrote to the early church, some were trying to bind parts of the Old Covenant on Christians. Several Judaizers in the early church wanted to bind parts of the Law of Moses on new converts of the Gentile persuasion. Paul wrote,  “ Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage...