"The sin of Noah sheds light on the human plight, At one time or another, most people become disgusted with what is going on in the world -- the intractable problems among people: hatred, prejudice, and greed that lead to cruelty and war. The problems are insoluble because hatred and prejudice are burdens of our depraved nature and our history. Because we cannot change or forget, our nature and memory looms us. In response, the idealistic one among us ask: 'What if we started over? What if we expunged history and wiped the slate clean?' The account of Noah puts the lie to that solution." [An Old Testament Theology, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007]
This is profound in a pastoral sense and very helpful. We have all heard the modern proverb: "If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got." [1] When people mismanage their finances, paying off their debts and giving them a "fresh start" will not solve the problem. So too with all sin. God's saving grace doesn't merely forgive past debts and give people a new beginning. God's justifying mercy forgives all sins: past, present and future. He adds to the slate of the believer the righteous perfection of Jesus Christ. He gives to the Christian a new heart that is bent on loving and obeying Him. And He gives to this child of the King His Holy Spirit to grant him or her the will and the ability to live in a way that pleases Him.
Wiping the slate clean never solved anything. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV).
“I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.” (Jeremiah 32:39–40, NIV)
That's better than a new start. It's the promise of a secure future.
God not only gives the Christian a new beginning; but He also ensures a certain ending. That's better than a fresh start.
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1. W.L. Bateman, http://www.quoteworld.org/quotes/1051#ixzz3AJ4v4fix
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