The genuine walk of faith always includes more spiritual success than failure.

When studying narrative or story portions of the Bible, we will not find as many direct commands from God. We draw out spiritual principles from stories, and these are just as authoritative as direct commands.

We have observed several virtues in Abram so far, his spiritual discipline and patient obedience. The next section of narrative show Abram succumbing to temptation. Genesis records God speaking to Abram 7 times, and 3 times of Abram being tempted away from God’s truth. Here is our first principle: A saved person will never be sinless, but in the process of progressive sanctification, they will succeed more than they fail.

God continues to reveal His glorious plan of salvation for the ages and uses an ordinary man to do so.

The end of Genesis 11 records the descendants of Shem and focuses in on a man named Terah. We see that godly people were still alive at the time of the Tower of Babel as a small remnant. God provides salvation to His people and grace to persevere regardless of how dark a culture is.

Genesis 12 begins the “Regeneration” section of Genesis and the Patriarchal period of Bible history. God had doled out judgment on those who didn’t steward His Word, and is about to give more revelation.

God’s sovereign mercy on nations provides eternal opportunity for the Lord’s people — Part 2.

The Bible is not a history book, but it contains history. We can learn much from what the Holy Spirit chose to record.

God’s sovereign mercy on nations provides eternal opportunity for the Lord’s people.

Genesis 10-11 are the last 2 chapters in the “Degeneration” section. We have seen the effects of sin on individuals and the family; now we see what sin does to nations. These 2 chapters are not written chronologically but part of a simultaneous narrative. They layer over one another.

God’s Prevailing Promise and Man’s Frailty and Perseverance.

After Noah and his family exit the ark, they are granted a new beginning and an opportunity similar to Adam and Eve’s. They step out into a new world and a new era of time. God reaffirms his instructions for humanity and reestablishes his covenant.

Righteousness elevates true faith to new opportunities in a new world.

Genesis 8 continues the story of Noah, showing us what righteous people do and what God does to protect them. The whole chapter displays God’s faithfulness to His righteous people.

Living with Eternal Purpose in the Midst of Societal Degeneration.

Some readers of Genesis 7 may ask, “Why a worldwide flood? Was that level of judgment really necessary?” Remember what we learned about the society in that day – it was “exceedingly corrupt,” to the point that “every intent of the thoughts of [anyone’s] heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). God’s judgment is always proportionate to the sin He is judging. We will see again this week that He is a fair and just God who continually offers mercy even at the eleventh hour.

Living with Eternal Purpose in the Midst of Societal Degeneration.

Anyone who’s ever felt like they’re trying to do right all alone needs to look no further than Noah for a faithful example. This one man and his family were the only ones among 3 billion people on Earth at the time who God could call righteous.

The Beginning of Family Struggle, but Hope for a Future from a Merciful God.

Genesis 3 showed the demise of man’s vertical relationship with God. Chapter 4 shows the decay of horizontal relationships between people, beginning with the home. God’s design was for the family to govern culture, but that which God loves the most becomes Satan’s first target. Despite the tragedy and sin that humanity begins to sink into, the light of divine purpose still shines, and the hope of promised grace is always present.

The Beginning of Sin and Redemption.

The Awesome Greatness and Profound Goodness of God.

Genesis contains the beginnings of everything except God. Evans says, “Genesis is the seedplot of the whole Bible, and the groundwork for the entire revelation as contained in the remaining 65 books that make up the Bible.” If Genesis were to be dethroned, the entire Bible would be undermined as a result. Despite efforts to do so for many years, not one word has been broken – because it is God’s Word, preserved forever.

Hamilton notes the striking shortness of the Creation account and the Fall of man into sin. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. What is most important to us is that God desires man to please Him and to know His Word & to learn to walk with him by faith.” In the grand scope of Genesis, to simply believe the basic facts of Creation and the Fall is not difficult. Most of the book shows us how to live well in a fallen world – this is our more difficult task.

The account of Creation in Genesis 1-2 reveals much to us about God and His purpose in creating.

The Beginning of Our Faith and All Things.

This year’s theme is “By Faith.” Hebrews 11 lists many of the faith-filled saints we will meet as we walk through the book of Genesis in 2014. The faith they exemplify is saving faith – faith that turns from sin and looks only to Christ for salvation. We can mirror their character in this dark world as they mirrored Jesus’ character for us. As they faced various afflictions, so we too will endure for the fame of His name.