“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
— Genesis 6:8 (CSB)
Long before the first raindrop fell or the first plank was cut, grace had already been spoken. The story of Noah is not just about judgment; it’s about mercy. God’s initiative came first. Noah’s obedience came second.
Grace Before Obedience in Noah’s Story
The world of Noah’s day had become morally bankrupt. Genesis 6 describes a planet gone mad with wickedness: every thought, every imagination of the human heart was continually evil. Violence filled the earth. Creation groaned under the weight of human corruption. If ever there was a time when humanity deserved judgment, this was it.
But then, in one breathtaking sentence, everything shifts:
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:8)
That small conjunction, but, may be one of the most hope-filled words in the Bible. It marks the moment when divine mercy interrupts human ruin. Before there was a boat, before a command was given, before a single tree was felled, grace had already spoken. The text itself makes that order unmistakable: it places God’s action of bestowing favor before it ever describes Noah’s character and conduct.
The Favor (Grace): “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” The literal Hebrew means “the Lord looked favorably upon Noah.” This idiom points to God’s initiative, not Noah’s merit.
The Righteousness (Conduct): Only afterward does the text say, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.”
The sequence is theology. God’s decision to show favor comes before the description of Noah’s character. If Noah’s righteousness had caused God’s favor, the story would begin with his conduct and end with divine reward.1 Instead, it starts with unmerited grace: the foundation on which righteousness is built.
Some have it backwards:
“Whereas other men grieved God’s heart because of their ethical unrighteousness, Noah found acceptance with God because he was a man who was righteous and blameless (6:9).”2
That interpretation flips the order. It assumes righteous deeds produced grace. But even if we granted that argument, Noah’s righteousness alone could not have saved him from judgment. His uprightness distinguished him from his corrupt generation, yes — but it provided no means of deliverance.
Without God’s favor providing the instrument of salvation, the ark, Noah would have drowned with everyone else. The ark was the tangible expression of God’s gracious plan to save. Noah’s righteousness defined his walk with God, but grace provided the way of rescue.
Noah didn’t earn God’s favor through moral performance. What set him apart wasn’t merit; it was mercy. He found favor; he didn’t achieve it. That’s the same pattern seen at Sinai and throughout Scripture: God acts first, and grace awakens our response.
Even the structure of Genesis 6 preaches this truth:
Grace → Righteousness → Fellowship.
Noah’s character didn’t produce grace; grace produced Noah’s character. His obedience was the fruit of favor, not its foundation.
From that moment on, Noah’s life became a testimony to this truth. God revealed His plan to destroy the earth and instructed him to build an ark, a seemingly impossible task that would take years of endurance and faith. Yet Noah obeyed because grace had already won his heart.
Faith That Builds
When God told Noah to build an ark, it must have sounded absurd. There was no coastline nearby, no rainstorm on the horizon, and no human precedent for what God was describing. Yet Noah’s response flowed naturally from the grace he had already received. His life became the living embodiment of what it means to trust God’s promise before seeing the outcome.
Now, consider Hebrews 11:7:
“By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Noah’s obedience wasn’t the attempt of a man trying to impress God; it was the expression of a man who already walked with Him. His hammering was not a desperate effort to earn salvation, but the grateful lifestyle of one who believed that grace had already made rescue possible.
Each plank of gopher wood testified to unseen mercy.
Each swing of the hammer echoed the word of a faithful God.
Every day of labor proclaimed, “I believe what He has said.”
That’s how faith works. It takes the grace God has given and turns it into motion. Faith doesn’t sit still when grace calls it to act. It builds, moves, and obeys, not to gain favor, but to demonstrate trust in the One who has already bestowed it.
The ark wasn’t Noah’s attempt to save himself. It was the tangible outward evidence that he trusted the salvation God had already promised. Grace laid the foundation. Faith picked up the tools. Obedience became the structure that grace had begun. And so, when the floods came, Noah wasn’t preserved because of his own self-produced righteousness; he was preserved because he believed the God who had already looked on him with favor.
The Ark of Mercy
Even in the story's details, grace saturates the scene. God provided the blueprint, the materials, and the rescue plan. Noah simply followed it. Salvation was God’s design from beginning to end. And just as the ark carried Noah and his family safely through the waters of judgment, the New Testament tells us that baptism, an act of faith in response to grace, now saves us through the resurrection of Christ (1 Peter 3:20-21).
The ark wasn’t Noah’s idea.
It was God’s gracious provision.
Noah’s faith-filled obedience allowed him to receive what grace had already made possible.
The story is not about human achievement; it’s about divine initiative. The same God who extended favor to Noah has extended it to us and invites us into the safety of His covenant promise. The door of grace still stands open.
The Pattern Repeats
From Eden to Sinai, from Noah to the cross, the pattern never changes:
God acts first.
Humanity responds in faith.
Obedience becomes the fruit of grace.
Noah stands in that long line of God’s people who trusted His word before they saw the outcome. Noah’s story reminds us that faith isn’t about earning God’s approval but trusting His promise.
And every time we walk in obedience today, forgiving when it’s hard, serving when no one notices, standing firm when the world mocks, we’re building our own small “arks” of faith, trusting that the grace which began the work will finish it.
A Modern Reflection
Many people today see obedience as the price of salvation. But the gospel flips that logic: obedience is the proof of salvation. Noah’s faith didn’t make God gracious; it made grace visible.
And it’s the same with us. When we obey God, we’re not climbing up to earn His favor. We’re walking on dry ground that grace has already cleared.
What step of obedience is God calling you to take — not to earn His favor, but to express your trust in it?
Grace builds the ark.
Faith picks up the hammer.
And obedience walks through the open door.3
I am thankful for Clay Gentry’s excellent writing on this part of this post. Last week, he sent me a copy of an article he is planning on publishing, and as I put these thoughts together this morning, his writing came to mind.
Willis, Truth Commentary: Genesis p. 309.
12/6/25: See my response to Mike Willis’ December Truth Magazine article in the comments below.
Earlier today, Jeff Asher on His Bibletalk Facebook post wrote this:
Matt Allen continues to spew his twisted error: “Many people today see obedience as the price of salvation. But the gospel flips that logic: obedience is the proof of salvation. Noah’s faith didn’t make God gracious; it made grace visible.”
No one sees obedience as the price of salvation. I’d like for Matt to produce the quotation (his reference to Willis is a poor reading of what Mike said at best and a mistepresentation at worst). Yes, obedience is essential to the faith that saves, but no one believes that we are saved by anything other than the blood of Jesus.
Matt separates faith from obedience. The statement above buts salvation after faith and before obedience. He has Noah saved before he ever drives a nail. But, Noah did mot walk on dry until AFTER the ark was built, entered, and sailed. Similarly, we are not SAVED manifest the obedience of faith.
____________________________________
My response:
First, I have never taught—nor even implied—that salvation occurs before obedience. Noah was not finally saved until he built the ark, entered it, and the Lord shut him in. What I write above explicitly says that the ark, not Noah’s merit, was the God-provided instrument of deliverance. What I pointed out, following the sequence of Genesis 6:8–9 and Hebrews 11:7, is that God’s favor appears in the text before Noah’s obedience does. That is not a theological invention; it is the order Moses recorded.
Second, you claimed that “no one sees obedience as the price of salvation.” Respectfully, this simply isn’t accurate. Many Christians—inside and outside our fellowship—struggle with a performance-based view of God where His favor is seen as something earned, triggered, or activated only when they have “done enough.” My statement was describing a mindset, not accusing any specific brother of a formal doctrine. The reality is that countless Christians live with fear-driven obedience instead of grace-driven confidence, and the text in Genesis speaks directly to that.
Third, you said I separate faith from obedience. I do not. In Scripture, obedience is the expression of faith, not a separate category from it. Hebrews 11:7 literally says that Noah built the ark “by faith.” James 2 teaches that genuine faith is seen through obedient action. My language—“obedience is the proof of salvation”—is simply another way of saying what James said: “I will show you my faith by my works.”
Fourth, your criticism conflates two distinct ideas: favor and final salvation. The text says Noah “found favor” before his righteous character is described and before any command is given. That favor is not final salvation; it is the relational beginning point. Noah’s obedience came next, and his deliverance through the flood came last. Grace → faith → obedience → salvation. That is the sequence Genesis and Hebrews present.
Finally, your closing statement—“we are not saved until we manifest the obedience of faith”—is exactly right, and I affirm it wholeheartedly. But Romans 1:5 and 16:26 call this “the obedience of faith,” meaning obedience that comes from faith, not obedience that precedes it. My entire point was simply to highlight the order Scripture presents: God moves first, faith responds, obedience manifests that faith, and God saves the obedient believer. There is nothing radical or new in that.
My goal has been to show a biblical pattern repeated from Genesis to the cross: God initiates, and we respond. That emphasis does not minimize obedience; it explains the heart behind it.
If we disagree on terminology or emphasis, that’s fine. But my article stayed within the bounds of Scripture, and nothing in it undermines the necessity of obedient faith, including baptism, repentance, confession, or discipleship.
I’m always open to conversation—but it must begin with an accurate representation of what was said - something of which you seem to have a hard time doing.
This article was the subject of an article by Mike Wills in the December issue of Truth Magazine.
I appreciate Mike taking the time to read my article and respond in such detail. I appreciate his desire to defend what he believes Scripture teaches. I also want to say this plainly: I do not question his sincerity, and I do not doubt his commitment to the gospel. We simply differ in our reading of the Noah text, and that’s what I am addressing. I have known Mike personally for over 20 years and respect his work in the gospel.
First, a point of clarification. He repeatedly asserts that I teach unconditional election, unconditional forgiveness, or a form of “once in grace, always in grace.” That is not my belief, nor have I ever taught such. In fact, in multiple published writings, I have explicitly rejected Calvinistic election, inherited depravity, irresistible grace, and the notion that obedience is unnecessary. Anyone who reads my work—whether on Romans, Titus, or 1 John—knows this. And in this post, I never argue that Noah was saved without obedience, nor that righteousness doesn’t matter. The entire article ends by emphasizing obedience as the visible fruit of grace—not a replacement for it.
Second, his critique frames my point as if I were suggesting that Noah was saved before faith or that God accepted him “without regard to his character.” That is not what I wrote. What I argued is exactly what the text itself highlights: before God ever gave Noah a command, before a boat existed, before the first board was cut, God initiated the relationship. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8). Grace begins the story. Noah’s righteousness, faith, obedience, and perseverance follow. This does not teach unconditional election; it teaches what the rest of Scripture consistently affirms—that God moves first in mercy, and human response follows.
Third, he raises a technical argument about Hebrew word order. While I appreciate his concern, my point does not rest on an English paraphrase, nor does it depend on reversing subjects and objects. The narrative emphasis remains unchanged: v.8 signals divine favor; v.9–12 unpacks Noah’s character and God’s assessment of the world. I’m not arguing Hebrew grammar—I’m pointing to the theological intent. He may disagree with that reading, but it is not a “Calvinist” reading. It is the same grace-first pattern embedded throughout Scripture—whether in Israel’s deliverance (Ex. 19:4), in Jesus' calling disciples before they understood Him, or in Paul’s affirmation that God “demonstrates His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Fourth, he suggests that my view implies Noah’s later sin was automatically forgiven or that repentance is unnecessary. Again, this misrepresents what I believe and what I teach. I affirm exactly what Scripture does: sin separates; repentance matters; forgiveness is conditional. Nothing I wrote denies that.
Fifth, he expresses concern that my emphasis on grace “leads to” broader doctrinal errors. I understand that fear. But I would ask readers to judge my teaching by what I have actually written over the years—not by assumptions about where they think it might lead. I’ve spent three decades preaching repentance, baptism, holiness, and faithful obedience. I stand exactly where I have always stood: salvation is by grace, through faith, expressed in obedient trust. God initiates; we respond. That is not Calvinism—that is the Bible.
Finally,
Since he accused me of plagiarism with Clay Gentry's article, let me clarify what actually happened. Clay Gentry shared his article with me several days before I wrote mine. I appreciated his reflections. Then, over the weekend of November 7–9, I came across a sentence in a Rubel Shelly book—“deliverance comes before discipleship.” That line sent me into deeper reflection on how often Scripture follows that pattern: the Exodus, David’s covenant, Jesus calling the disciples, and more. I decided to write a series of articles on this.
As those examples began forming in my mind, I remembered Clay’s article. His piece helped spark my thinking, but the article I eventually published grew out of my own study and conclusions. And importantly, I did cite Clay directly and even linked his article in my post. That is the opposite of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is copying someone’s work or ideas without attribution. In this case, the attribution was explicit. My article stands on my own reasoning and wording, shaped—as all writing is—by the work of others I openly acknowledge.
I appreciate the dialogue. My hope is simply that our conversations remain rooted in Scripture, marked by fairness, and carried out in love.
—Matthew Allen