Hebrews 11:7
Saving faith is not the only commendable faith. The writer of Hebrews says Noah had commendable faith. When warned about a coming flood, Noah had the option of believing or disbelieving what God had told him. At this time in human history, nobody had yet experienced a flood or even rain, so it would have been hard for Noah to comprehend God’s warning. Once he comprehended it, how much harder it must have been for him to believe it. His family and his friends must have thought he was crazy. In spite of what others thought, Noah was obedient and he built an ark. Faith that results in obedience to God is always commendable.

Such faith was rare in the days of Noah. He was living without a savior and without the active presence of the Holy Spirit in his life. The need for obedient faith is not a rarity in the life of today’s Christians. Our Christian walk starts with the experience of saving faith. We hear the gospel, respond with repentance and are reconciled to God. We are now walking in righteousness. When we walk with the Lord for even a short time, He will ask us do things that are outside our comfort zone. He may not ask us to build an ark, but he will ask us to do something. God asks Christians to help build his kingdom on earth. There is constant conflict between the world and its values and the values of God’s kingdom. Quite often when a Christian response to God’s call to action with faithful obedience, the world will ridicule and fail to understand. They question, “Why would anyone leave a good job to work in the inner city, enter the ministry, or visit people in jail?” They do not see the purpose of working with the homeless or volunteering at a soup kitchen. They think giving money to Christian missions is foolish. They do not understand, but we do. We obey because we trust God, and we know God will use our obedience to make a difference.