Charles Spurgeon Commentary Hebrews 11:7

"By faith Noah, being warned [of God] concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." — Hebrews 11:7 (ASV)

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

There is an unholy fear which is cast out by perfect love, but there is a holy fear, a filial fear, which dwells most happily with faith; so was it with Noah, who, by faith,... moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear,

For there is a fear which comes from faith – a fear which is the strength of faith's arms, by which it moves us into action. It is not slavish fear. It is a fit, and proper, and reasonable fear, such as anyone must have who believes God's threats. Moved with fear.

Prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Every act of faith condemns the world. Some men who did not believe in God were made to feel condemned, and others were condemned (even if they did not feel it), when they saw this holy man building a great ship on dry land—a ship he would never launch, but to which God would bring the sea, so that he would float over the deep waters, absolutely secure, while others perished.

If you want to judge the wickedness of men, you do not need to set out to do it in the first place. Live a holy life, and you will judge the ungodly.

I have heard it said that if there is a crooked stick, and you want to show how crooked it is, you do not need to waste words in description. Place a straight one beside it, and the contrast is immediately apparent.

Noah condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

So you see that faith has a condemning power towards an ungodly world. You do not need to be constantly telling worldly people that they are doing wrong; let them see clearly the evidence of your faith, for that will bear the strongest conceivable witness against their unbelief and sin, even as Noah, by his faith, condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Faith can outlive a deluge which drowns the whole world. She has an Ark even when God's wrath sweeps all the rest away. Next we learn the obedience of faith.

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Noah was the second great father of humanity, as Adam was the first.

In the flood, all died except Noah and his family. Faith made him build the great ship on dry land, into which he went, with his wife and family and all kinds of living creatures; and when the rest of humankind were destroyed, they outlived the flood.

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

See how faith within a man masters all his emotions. Noah, in preparing the ark, was "moved with fear;" but that fear, instead of hampering him, was yoked with his faith, and so was put to practical use. Oh, for an overcoming faith, which shall hold our entire nature in check, or which shall employ every part of our being for its own high and noble purposes!

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house;

You see, faith and fear can live in the same heart; and they can work together to build the same ark. Faith and fear are very sweet companions, when the fear is filial fear, a holy dread of disobeying God. When we are moved with that fear, our faith becomes practical.

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Fear and faith may sometimes dwell together. There is a holy, humble fear that perfect love never casts out, but entertains and cherishes; and this is the kind of fear that Noah possessed: Being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, he prepared an ark. Noah was a practical life-saver,– an ark-builder; and so he became the second father of the human race,– a sort of new Adam,– and that simply by his faith. Oh! what is there that is impossible to the man who believes in God? All things are possible to him that believeth.