The Faith of Enoch.

Opening:

It is a beautiful thing to open the Word of God on the Lord’s Day.

Introduction of the Passage:

This morning we will be covering two passages again. We will be in Hebrews 11:5-6, and Genesis 5:21-24. I would encourage you to open to those. Keep your finger in the Genesis passage and we will read from Hebrews first. We will be covering the faith of Enoch this morning. A fascinating biblical character. I pray God would edify us through His Word.

Once you have located those passages, I would encourage you to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Passage:

Hebrews 11:5-6 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Now, turn over with me to:

Genesis 5:21–24 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we commit this time in Your Word to You this morning. May You use it to edify us and conform us every more into the image of Your Son. May we live lives of faith, like Enoch. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

Introduction:

This morning we are covering the fascinating life of Enoch. Last week we covered the faith of Abel. And Abel did not have much recorded about him. But Enoch has even less. Yet somehow, Enoch’s account is even more interesting. And there is much to be learned here.

Enoch is only mentioned a handful of times in the Bible. But how he is mentioned is fascinating. Jude calls him a prophet. Enoch prophesied about God’s coming judgement. Through faith, he did not die, but instead God took him. Enoch lived in the time before the global flood of Noah’s day called the antediluvian world. A fascinating period of history where there were demonic giants and great mysteries. He is the great grandfather of Noah. There are even three Apocryphal books named after him. Suffice it to say that the man Enoch has inspired much speculation and interest.

And there is a good and a bad kind of speculation. So we must be careful. There is a kind of speculation that is fine. It encourages, uplifts, and even strengthens our biblical commitment. But there is also a sinful kind of speculation. And when dealing with someone like Enoch, we must be careful not to fall into the wrong and sinful kind of speculation. So how do we guard against this? Well, we must root ourselves in the fact of God’s Word. We must establish first what God says clearly in His Word. We must always begin and be founded on God’s Word.

Need:

And there is much to be learned from Enoch. From Enoch we see a great picture of what it means that the righteous shall live by faith.

Text Idea:

The Scripture records that Enoch by faith pleased God and was spared death, being bodily taken up to heaven by God.

Sermon Idea:

This morning we will see the example of and need for living by faith.

Transition:

So let’s begin. And let’s begin where we should always begin, with the facts. Who was Enoch?

Who Was Enoch?

Well, we see the answer to this in our Genesis Account.

Genesis 5:21-24 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Explanation:

So let’s establish the facts. This passage is from the Genealogy in the opening of Genesis. This genealogy details humanity’s descent from Adam. Specifically this is tracking Seth’s line. Seth was Adam’s righteous third son. And Jude verse 14 tells us that Enoch was seventh from Adam. This is backed up in 1 Chronicles 1:1–4“1 Adam, Seth, Enosh; 2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared; 3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech; 4 Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” From Adam, that makes 7. Why do I bring this up? Because the first thing we must establish is that Enoch is a real historical figure. Enoch actually existed.

Enoch Actually Existed.

I mentioned this when dealing with the creation account, but the reality is in our day many of the ivory tower theologians have compromised on the authority of Scripture. We see this clearly in how many churches and leaders have abandoned God’s commands regarding men and women and marriage. This sin is on full display in the acceptance of all manner of sexual sins within many churches and church leaders. But it did not begin there. It began slowly. The foundation of Scriptural authority was removed one small pebble at a time.

And the faithful took little notice. Those who did notice were called all manner of derogatory names. They lost the invites to the big conferences. They were mocked and laughed into silence. But the result was the complete abandonment of the authority of Scripture. The foundation was destroyed. And as Psalm 11:3 says, 3 If the foundations are destroyed,

What can the righteous do?

What were these foundations? Many of them were destruction of the biblical narrative found in Genesis 1-6. Contemporary scientists deny the flood account. Therefore, in an effort to fit in, theologians begin to deny the flood. Well, atheistic historians believe the Genealogies in Genesis five cannot be accurate. Therefore those are thrown out in an effort to please the world. And Enoch was left as being a mere legend. A myth. A myth of a man who loved God. According to many modern scholarly men, Enoch is not a historical figure. He is merely an archetype of what a person would have been like had they pleased God. We can hypothetically draw out principles like, “Enoch wasn’t really taken by God, but a person who walks with God can be so close to Him that it feels like you are in heaven.”

But here is the problem. That is not what the Bible says! Scripture makes absolutely clear that Enoch actually existed. Moses, the author of the Chronicles, Paul, and Jude all address Enoch as a real historical man. A real man who really walked with God, who really pleased God, who really was translated supernaturally from earth to heaven. And I will never apologize for Scripture. A pastor I love dearly always says, “We must determine to have no problem passages.” No problem passages. God speaks and we don’t get to argue. We must never commit Idolatry in believing we are wiser than God.

You see, when we begin to pull stones out of the foundation of Scripture, we inevitably end up in the place where we have no foundation left to stand on. If the Bible lied about Enoch, or Noah, or Adam, then maybe it lied about sexuality, or the virgin birth, or the resurrection. But God does not lie. The Bible consistently speaks of Enoch as a real historical character. We are all descended from Enoch. He really lived. And the account we are studying is true.

So what do we learn from this true account of this real man? Genesis tells us that Enoch walked with God after becoming a father.

Enoch Walked With God.

Genesis 5:22 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

Enoch is said to have walked with God. This is a very interesting phrase. One of the puritans really described this well. He says, “That he walked with God, that is, that he was really, eminently, actively, progressively, and perseveringly religious in his conformity to God, communion with God, and complacency in God.” This phrase, “he walked with God” speaks of true and deep intimacy with God.

Enoch was man who’s life is defined as being close to God. Enoch was a righteous man. Interestingly, the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament which Jesus and the apostles quoted, translates this as “Enoch pleased God.” This is what the Apostle quotes in Hebrews. This stands out because we know Enoch lived in a very depraved time. We don’t know exactly how quickly man fell into the utter depravity described in Noah’s days, but it is safe to say that man was very wicked even during Enoch’s days. We know from Jude that he was a prophet who prophesied the judgement of God on the wicked. But Enoch stood apart as a man who walked with and pleased God.

And it is interesting to note that Scripture records that he walked with God, he pleased God after he became a father. Listen again to the wording of this. “22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years.” Now I do not know for certain what Enoch was like before becoming a father. I am not going to stand here and authoritatively say that he was a horribly wicked man and then when he became a father he repented. We don’t know all the details. But Scripture records that he pleased God after becoming a father.

I can only speculate on the exact reasoning. But God’s revelation in nature makes it clear that becoming a father is a huge change for a man. Holding that child in your arms fundamentally alters you. I could stand here and spend the rest of the day talking about how much becoming a father changed me. But the main point is that seeing your little child is a fundamentally changing experience. It changed me. It deepened my walk with God in ways I cannot even express. And this seems to be what happened to Enoch as well.

But now we get into our next question. What happened to Enoch? He was taken by God.

Enoch Was Taken By God.

Genesis 5:24 says “24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

Hebrews clarifies the wording of this saying that Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death. Enoch is one of only two men who never tasted death. He pleased God, he walked so closely with God that one day, the Lord took him. This means that bodily he was brought into the presence of the Lord. In common terms we would say that he was taken to heaven without dying. The only other man to experience this was Elijah. Elijah was taken to heaven by a flaming chariot. Elisha, his student, was right there to witness it. The technical term for this is translated. It means to be taken from one place to another. We translate language from one to another. Enoch and Elijah were translated from earth to heaven.

But the translation of Enoch perhaps causes many questions. How did it happen? What does this teach us about heaven? Doesn’t Hebrews 9:27 teach us that all men must die? Well, lets cover one at a time.

First, how did it happen? Well, Scripture does not tell us exactly how it happened, but it is not a stretch to imagine that it was the same process as when Elijah was taken. God very well could have taken him in a flaming chariot. We don’t ultimately know, but it certainly would be consistent. God could have done it anyway He wanted. But it is certainly not wrong to speculate that God took both these men the exact same way.

Second, what does this teach us about heaven? This question is not likely one we jump to immediately. But think of the implications of this. We often think of heaven as being a purely spiritual place. It sits in our minds as a sort of floaty image of clouds. The throne room of God is sometimes so spiritualized that we are in danger of thinking of it as some place that is not real. But this account proves this is not true. Think of it. Enoch was taken physically. His physical body did not cease to exist. It was taken to be directly with God. And this means that God’s presence, heaven, is real. The ascension of Christ teaches us the same thing. Jesus is right now, currently in His physical body, on a real throne. Now, Heaven is a spiritual place, but it is also a place where Christ, Enoch, and Elijah can dwell physically. It is also a place where Christ is seated ruling over all the universe.

Third, and finally, does not Hebrews 9:27 teach us that all men are to die? This verse says “27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” Now it is here that I want to teach us about the bad kind of speculation. I have lost track of how many times I heard preachers say that Enoch and Elijah simply must be the two witnesses of John’s Revelation because they never died. These preachers justify this by saying Scripture teaches all men HAVE to experience death. So they must be those two witnesses.

What is so wrong about this is that it is ripping one verse way out of context and applying it completely wrong. It is not just speculation, it is often abuse of Scripture. That verse in Hebrews is a general statement. It is not a universal constant. And the emphasis of that verse is that all men will face God’s judgement. And that judgement takes place after you die. It is teaching us that our sins will be judged by God. We must repent, for we will be judged. Either in Christ or outside of Christ. Listen to the further context. “27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” You see, that verse is not establishing a holy rule that every human being will die. We know on the final day, when Christ returns there will be many who will not die. Any Christian alive on that day will not die. They will see Christ return, and will never actually taste death. When we speculate or dig deep to answer our curiosity, we must never violate what Scripture is actually saying. We are not permitted to twist Scripture in our speculation. We should never twist or manipulate Scripture to answer our questions about confusing passages.

Transition:

But we must continue. Enoch walked with God. Enoch pleased God. Enoch was taken by God. But how did Enoch live by faith?

How Did Enoch Live By Faith?

Here is where we really dive into the meat of our passage in Hebrews. Listen to this again.

Hebrews 11:5-6 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Explanation:

Often if we are not careful we can get the idea in our heads that pleasing God means working really hard. It is struggling to always do the right thing. Now certainly we are called to do good works. We are called to obey God. But that obedience is not what saves us. We are saved by faith alone. Enoch did not please God because he was merely a better man than anyone else. Enoch pleased God by faith. He was a good man because he was saved by faith alone.

And the first thing the Apostle tells us is that by his faith Enoch did not die.

By Faith Enoch Did Not Die.

We saw the fact that Enoch was taken away, that he was translated. But when we examine the why, the Apostle leaves no room for speculation. Enoch was not translated because he worked really hard. He was a sinner, just like everyone else. But what set Enoch apart was his faith. His faith was what spared him death.

This is why we can say with absolute confidence that Enoch was saved. He was justified. He was saved. But he was not saved by his works. He was saved by his faith. And this saving faith is not only explicitly said by Paul here but also it is evidenced by the fact Enoch was taken. Being spared death by God literally coming and taking you to heaven is a pretty good evidence of you being justified before God.

But we must emphasize the faith. Faith was what made Enoch right with God. And this is made even more clear in Paul’s next point.

By Faith Enoch Pleased God.

Why did God take Enoch, because Enoch had pleased God. How? By faith. Enoch trusted God. He worshipped God. He believed God. We can echo the same words given about Abraham here about Enoch. “He believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

And the Apostle gives two followup statements that we can apply to Enoch here. Enoch believed in God. And he believed God rewarded those who seek Him. We do not know much about the days before the flood, but we know there were spiritual beings vying for mankind. There was idolatry and sexual immorality in abundance. But Enoch believed in God. He believed that God is. This means he believed in the one true God. His faith was in almighty God. He was not swayed by idolatry. And Enoch believed that God blessed faithfulness. In short, this means Enoch believed the promises of God. God saves those who repent and trust in Him. This was true then, and it is true now.

So how did Enoch live by faith?

Enoch lived by faith, by believing in and trusting God.

Transition:

But now we come to the time where the rubber meets the road. This list is given as examples for us. It is not enough for us to simply know that Enoch was faithful. Enoch’s example ought to spur us on in faithfulness. We should hear this account of our great forefather and seek to emulate his faith. So let us ask the question:

How Can We Live By Faith Like Enoch?

Here is where I really want to hone in on verse 6 of our Hebrews passage. You see, this really is the summary of how Enoch, and how all the faithful please God.

Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Explanation:

Enoch pleased God. How? This is what the Apostle tells us. And it is here where we can directly, one to one, apply this to our lives. The first thing is to believe in God.

1. Believe in God.

“He who comes to God must believe that He is.” This may seem like a bit of a redundant statement. We may be tempted to say, “well duh Paul! Of course I have to believe in God in order to come to Him!” But that would be a very foolish thing to say. Really think of what this means. We must believe that God is.

Now let me ask you this, if I just vaguely believe there is a higher power, is that pleasing to God? If I pray to Allah, or Vishnu, or some other demonic pagan god, is that what the Apostle is here saying is pleasing to God? No! Of course not. In order to come to God, we must humble ourselves and believe in the One True God, the maker of heaven and earth. We must believe in the God who has revealed Himself in His Word.

You see, one of the perennial temptations of mankind is to make God in our image. We attempt to worship the god we like. We reject who God has said He is and then worship a god of our own making. God, in His Word teaches that He is sovereign. He is Lord over all. He is even over our own free will. We don’t like this. So, in sin, we reject it. We, in our hearts create this image of God who is not actually sovereign.

We don’t like the fact that God judges sinners and damns them to hell. So we prop up a god of our own imagination who would never do that. We don’t like that God who requires repentance. So we prop up a false god who is all love without any judgement. We don’t like that God calls us to abandon our sins. So we prop up a false god who isn’t our Lord but is more like an effeminate boyfriend who fawns over us and never demands anything. You see, the temptation to do this is EVERYWHERE, but chiefly in our own hearts. This is why Calvin famously said, “Our hearts are perpetual idol factories.”

The reality of this statement from the Apostle is this:

We Must Believe in the One True God Who Revealed Himself in His Word.

Beloved, we must humbly approach God. Me must come to Him and allow Him to speak. How does God speak? He speaks through His Word. God’s Word is, according to 2 Timothy 3:16, the very breathe of God. It is the exact same as if God ripped the roof off and shouted at us from Heaven. And in His Word, God has told us who He is. The only question is, will we humbly believe His Word? Or will we prop up a false image in our own heart.

This really is all about humility. Are we humble enough to let God tell us who He is in His Word? Are we humble enough to accept what God has said about Himself?

You see, to please God, you must believe in Him by faith. He has told us who He is. Enoch believed God. Do you? Do you believe God is who He says He is? Or when you are reading Scripture, do you find yourself attempting to change who God is to fit your own desires? If you do this, I beg you, repent. Come in faith to the one true God. Believe He is who He says He is.

Transition:

We must first believe in God. Second:

2. Believe God Rewards Those Who Seek Him.

Many have attempted to twist this verse. Many have attempted make this say that we must have faith that God will give us every physical blessing we want. This is what is commonly called the prosperity gospel. These teachers claim that this verse means that if we only have enough faith, we would never suffer. We would never have a bill that we cannot pay. We would all have luxury cars and mansions. Interestingly, these wolves always seem to want you to send them more money than you can afford so that they can by luxury cars and mansions.

No, the Apostle is not here saying that through faith no problems will ever come your way. Paul is not saying that if only you have enough faith you will never get sick or die. None of us have the promise that if we have enough faith, God will take us like Enoch. What is being said here is that God rewards the faithful.

And what is the primary blessing all those justified by faith have? If you have faith in Christ, what are you? Saved. Saved from the wrath of God. Saved from the punishment of sin and hell. Saved unto eternal life with Christ. Saved unto the future bodily resurrection.

Indeed, through faith, all those who seek God are rewarded. You see, what is in mind here is trusting God. Trusting God is who He says He is and that God will do what He says He will do.

Remember back to a couple weeks ago when we defined faith. Remember how Paul defined faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Remember how in our study we examined those words. Substance or assurance holds the idea of a title deed. Faith is the title deed to the promises of God. Promises of salvation, sanctification, and ultimately glorification. Faith is the convincing evidence that God is who He says He is and does what He says He does, even when we do not see it.

You see, we are to live by faith like Enoch. And if we want to know how to do that, we can sum it up like this:

Believe in the One True God and Trust Him.

That is how we live by faith. We believe in Him. Our faith is in Him. And we trust Him to do what He says. So when we come across the promises of God in Scripture, we trust God. When the Word assures us that our sins are forgiven, we trust Him. When the Word assures us that He blesses those who repent of their sins and walk in faithfulness, we trust Him. When God tells us in His Word that He will give us the strength to endure the incredibly difficult seasons of life, we trust Him. We trust Him all the way down.

Transition:

And this leads me to just a few closing questions.

Do You Believe in the One True God?

As you seek to apply this to your life, I ask you, do you believe in Him? Do you believe that Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, is God? Do you believe that He lived the perfect life, never sinning. Do you believe He died on the cross to pay for the sins of all who would trust in Him? Do you believe?

If you are unsure, I encourage you to speak to me after. I would love to tell you more about how you can be forgiven of your sins.

But to those who answered yes, I ask this. Are you guilty of idolatry? Are you guilty of proudly trying to change God to be what you want? Are you humble before the Word of God? Do you accept what God has revealed about Himself in His Word? If you are guilty of this, I bet you, repent. Repent and worship the One True God who has revealed Himself in His Word.

Second I ask:

Do You Trust God?

Many struggle with assurance. Many faithful Christians wrestle with many questions. And most of these questions boil down to “can I really trust God?” Beloved, I tell you the truth. God is faithful. God is True. He is trustworthy. Believe what He has said. Believe the promises of God. He is worth your trust. He never lies. When we see the promises of God, we can trust God is telling the truth. Let your heart be at peace.

Transition:

May we be faithful like Enoch. May it be said of us, that by faith we walked with God.

And this morning we are blessed to see the application of this displayed in front of us. This morning we are blessed to have students making their profession of faith. This morning they will be publicly declaring before their church that they believe in God and that they trust Him. How beautiful it is that God, in His Sovereignty allows us to witness students do exactly what we have seen the Word of God call us to do this morning.

Profession of Faith in Christ.

Closing Prayer:

Offering:

Offertory Prayer:

Benediction:

Romans 10:9-11 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”