To be righteous is to be right with man before God, and to be godly is to express God before man.

[jidong xiao]

在彼后二章五节彼得说，“神也没有宽容上古的世界，曾叫洪水临到那不敬虔的世界，却保守了传扬义的挪亚一家八口。”八口，直译，第八个人。说挪亚是第八个人，意即他是八人中的一人。（彼前三20。）这里彼得说，挪亚是传扬义的。是义的、敬虔的，或是不义的、不敬虔的，在神行政的审判里是非常重要的。（彼后二5～9。）义的，就是在神面前与人是对的；敬虔的，就是在人面前是彰显神的。这是挪亚和罗得所过的生活，这使他们免去神照祂的义所施行的行政审判。

挪亚不是传扬福音，乃是针对那世代的败坏传扬神的义。如我们所指出的，彼得说到义，因为他强调神的行政。挪亚传扬义，与神的行政有关。神告诉挪亚，祂要除灭世界，挪亚该向他的世代传扬义。神使洪水临到不敬虔的世界，藉此对那败坏的世代施行祂的审判。

In verse 5 Peter says, "And did not spare the ancient world, but guarded Noah, the eighth, a herald of righteousness, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly." To say that Noah was the eighth means that he was one of the eight (1 Pet. 3:20). Here Peter says that Noah was a herald of righteousness. To be righteous and godly or unrighteous and ungodly is crucial with respect to God's governmental judgment (2 Pet. 2:5-9). To be righteous is to be right with man before God, and to be godly is to express God before man. This was the manner of life Noah and Lot lived, which spared them from God's governmental judgment according to His righteousness. 

Noah did not preach the gospel, but he preached God's righteousness over against the corruption of his generation. As we have pointed out, Peter speaks of righteousness because his emphasis is on God's government. Noah's preaching of righteousness was related to God's government. God told Noah that He would wipe out the world and that Noah should preach righteousness to his generation. God exercised His judgment upon that corrupted generation by bringing a flood upon the world of the ungodly.