“Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.” Genesis 7:1
Noah having prepared the ark was now invited in by God. Noah’s boarding pass was righteousness. It wasn’t written on a ticket or stamped on a passport. Righteousness was imprinted on his heart, evidenced by his faith and character, and confirmed by God. 2 Peter 2:5 tells us he was a righteous preacher. The interesting thing is that when Noah and his family boarded the ark and the flood came, he was 600 years old. Surely his life wasn’t perfect in all those years. Ridiculed for preaching righteousness, the time spent in preparing the ark, enclosed in the ark for a little over a year with his family and with those smelly animals would be enough to make any man slip-up a time or two. Yet God saw Noah’s righteousness and invited him into the ark. Our righteousness comes from belief in Jesus. Any slip-up we may commit is called sin. But when we turn from sin and trust Christ with our souls, God invites us into His presence, righteous. We are not perfect in this world, but perfected in our relationship with Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.