Hebrews 11:5-6 – Faith Pleasing God
5 By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death, and he was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation 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 diligent seek Him. [NKJ]
Opening Thot
1. Hebrews Chapter 11 is one of the most known passages found in the Bible.
2. Because it addresses the faith of many of God’s saints, it is often referred to as:
. God’s Great Hall of Faith
. The Faith Chapter
. The Great Chapter of Faith
. The Catalog of the Heroes of Faith
J. Vernon McGee – writes concerning this chapter | … [Chapter 11] from the viewpoint of faith – [represents] what faith has done in the lives of men and women in all ages, under all circumstances, from the very gate of the Garden of Eden down to the present moment. This chapter illustrates … these people are witnesses who encourage us to live by faith. [Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee: 1 Corinthians through Revelation, vol. v, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983), 579 (adapted - emphasis mine)].
Faith Defined
1. Greek: PivstiV [pistis - (root)] – Strong 4102 – is a noun normally translated as: faith – means: trust, belief, confidence, faith, conviction or firm persuasion | Rom. 1:17, 10:17; Eph. 2:8; 1 Pt. 1:8-9. [Mounce’s Dict., 232; UBS Greek Dict., 142; and Vine’s Exp. Dict., 222]. | e.g.
. Romans 1:17 | For in it [gospel of Christ – v. 16] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith [Hab. 2:4].
. Romans 10:17 | So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
. Ephesians 2:8 | For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
. 1 Peter 1:8-9 | Though you have not seen [Christ], you love him. Though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
2. Scripture: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen | Hb. 11:1.
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible – comments concerning this verse | What does faith mean? This is the only time the Bible ever defines faith. Time and time again, the Bible discusses faith and the great importance of faith. The Bible tells us that we must have faith – we must believe God – and it tells us the great things that happen to those who do believe God. … But nowhere does the Bible define faith except here. [Hebrews/James, vol. 11, 126]
NOTE: So What is Biblical Faith: it is trust or dependence on God based on the fact that we take Him at His word and believe what He said [Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1241]. It is absolute and complete confidence in God concerning one’s salvation and one’s daily walk throughout one’s life no matter the consequence or aspect one will or may face – whether good or bad. Faith is simply trusting God!
. Hebrews 11:13-16 | These [cloud of witnesses] all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland … they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Enoch – The Man
1. Name – Dedicated
2. History –
. A Man – just like us | Genesis 5:18, 21-24.
Genesis 5:18, 21-24 | v. 18 – son of Jared | v. 21 – at age 65 he fathered Methuselah (the oldest living human – 969 years) | v.22-23 – walked with God after fathering Methuselah for 300 years (during which he had other sons and daughters), thus all of Enoch’s days were 365 years | v. 24 – Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
. The Genealogy – part of Christ’s lineage | Luke 3:23-38.
Luke 3:23-38 | Found in Christ (through Mary) | Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph [the husband of Mary of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ (Matt. 1:16)], the son of Heli, … the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared … the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
. The Prophet – Enoch, the seventh from Adam prophesied | Jude 14-15.
Jude 14-15 | Enoch, the seventh from Adam prophesied: Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Textual Approach
1. Context: Hebrews Ch. 11 – the Great Chapter of Faith | Thus the main subject matter of this context is faith as demonstrated by the various individuals of God’s people.
2. Application: Top-Down – Enoch’s story of faith is from the top-down not from the bottom-up.
For it starts with the final result of Enoch’s faith and then descends downward from there like a staircase one step at a time to the bottom – bringing us to the beginning of Enoch’s relationship w/God.
. By faith | Enoch is found with God – He had an everlasting faith.
. By faith | Enoch pleased God – He had a rewarding faith.
. By faith | Enoch walked with God – He had a living faith.
. By faith | Enoch came to God – He had a saving faith.
Text
Hebrews 11:5-6
5 By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death, and he was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation 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 diligent seek Him. [NKJ]
I. Enoch had an everlasting faith – v. 5a
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. …
1. Active – By Faith Enoch …
. Enoch was actively engaged in trusting God | Psalm 118:24 – This is the day …
. Age 65 – Understood God’s message | Genesis 3:15 – first mention of the gospel.
. Next 300 years trusted in and depended on God | Genesis 5:22.
a. So too are we to be actively engaged –
1 Peter 5:6-7 | Humble yourselves … under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. – cf: Ps. 40:17.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-10 | We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. … For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. …
NOTE:
Enoch did not just have a momentary faith.
He had an active faith that trusted God.
He trusted in God’s message.
He put his entire eternality into God’s hands w/o hesitating a moment to do His desire.
. Subsequently Enoch by faith – actively walked with God and consequently Enoch was found w/God continuously.
2. Passive – Was translated [raptured] by God
a. Was taken up | Gk. – means: literally - causing a change from one place to another.
.. Greek - metetevqh – metetethe – Strong 3346 – [1st aorist passive indicative verb] – root) means: literally – causing a change from one place to another.
. Aorist means: was taken, was transferred. [Friberg. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, (2000), 261. – William Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek, (1993), 144-150, 207-214.]
. Passive means: the subject was not the causing effect of the action but was only a recipient of the action) of changing from one place to another – this action was because God took (translated) him.
John MacArthur | … after three hundred years of believing and walking and preaching, [Enoch] went to be with the Lord – in a marvelous unique way, God just took him up without his experiencing death. He pleased God so much that God just reached down and lifted him up to heaven. One moment he was there, and the next moment he was not, for God took him. By faith Enoch was translated. He walked so closely with God for so long that he just walked into heaven, as it were [The MacArthur Commentary: Hebrews, 314].
b. Not [to] see death | Gk. – clause means: not to see death.
Greek – tou me idein thanaton. – clause means: not to see death.
. [idein – Strong 3708 – aorist active infinitive verb]
. [thanaton – Strong 2288 – accusative singular masculine noun]
NOTE: Enoch like everyone (except Christ – 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pt. 1:19) deserved and deserves to die – Rom. 5:12, 6:23; Heb. 9:27. But being found in Christ he did not die for instead he was granted eternal life – Rom. 5:21; John 3:16 with the result – God took him. – cf. 1 Cor. 15:49-57 | … Death is swallowed up in victory. O, death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? [KJV].
c. He was not found, because God took him | Gk. – means: literally from one place to another.
Greek – eupisketo … metetheken. – clause means: was not found [after thoroughly searching] and literally the act of taking from one place to another [the subject is passive] through the cause of someone else [in this case: God].
. [eupisketo – Strong 2147 – imperfect indicative passive verb] - describes a continuous action normally occurring in the past and being passive with the subject not the cause.
. [metetheken – Strong 3346 – aorist indicative active verb] describes an undefined action that has occurred in the past and being active it is still continuing.
J. Vernon McGee | This is the first rapture of a man recorded in the Bible. He was removed from this earth’s scene and was taken away. [Thru the Bible, vol. v, 585].
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 | … we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep … For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
NOTE: Enoch trusted God so much that he went wherever God directed his path in all things (Ps. 23:1-6).
II. Enoch had a rewarding faith – v. 5b
Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God | 1 Cor. 3:8; 9:24-25; Mt. 25:21.
Matthew Henry | [Enoch] had the evidence of [pleasing faith] in his own conscience, and the Spirit of God witnessed to his spirit. Those who by faith walk with God in a sinful world are pleasing to him, and he will give them marks of his favor, and put honor upon them | A Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 6, 940-941].
1 Corinthians 3:8 | Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward.
1 Corinthians 9:24-25 | Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
Matthew 25:21 | Parables of the Talents
His master said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.
NOTE: By faith | Enoch pleased God – He had a rewarding faith.
III. Enoch had a living faith – v. 6a
And without faith it is impossible to please him …
1. Without faith … impossible to please | Gk. – means: utterly impossible to please | 2 Tim. 2:10 (Demas); Acts 5:1-11 (Ananias and Sapphira).
2. With faith … Enoch … pleased God | Matthew 22:37; Rom. 14:22-23; Col. 2:6-7.
Matthew 22:37-40 | … You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. …And … you shall love your neighbor as yourself. …
Romans 14:22-23 | The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned … For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
Colossians 2:6-7 | Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Matthew Henry | [Enoch] walked with God … he was … eminently, actively, progressively, and perseveringly … in conformity to God, [and in] communion with God …| [940].
NOTE: By faith | Enoch walked with God – He had a living faith.
IV. Enoch had a saving faith – v. 6b
For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exits and that he rewards those who seek Him.
1. Must believe | Gk. means: compulsion, necessity, absolutely essential to do (i.e., believe).
Greek – two verbs: (dei – a present active indicative verb – Strong 1163) and
(pisteusai – an aorist active indicative verb – Strong 4100)
. Present Active verb – defines: an action occurring in the present (e.g. I believe).
. Aorist Active verb – indicates: that an undefined action has taken place in the past and the results are evident (e.g. I believed).
. Translated: must believe – means: [it is] expressing compulsion, in an event it is necessary, i.e. one must, one has to | thus it is absolutely necessary and essential to believe that God is.
A. Born Again – One must believe in God – that God is – that God exists
. At age 65 - Methuselah was born – Enoch changed (Gen. 5:21-24) / He apparently realized that he needed to seek out a personal relationship with God | John 3:3, 5-6; Eph. 2:1-6.
NOTE: 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God – they are foolish to him and he just does not and cannot understand spiritual matters. That is because of man’s fallen nature. Man in his fallen state is completely unable, i.e. totally depravity to come to God on his own. Because of that he must be born again or have regeneration take place in his heart. Apparently this is what happened in Enoch’s life when Methuselah was born.
John 3:3, 5-6 | Jesus answered … Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. … Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Ephesians 2:1-6 | … you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
John Phillips | Faith begins by grasping … one great, basic, essential fact: there is a true and living God. … Having grasped this fundamental fact, faith goes on to believe God is a beneficial, gracious, loving, rewarding God, who reaches out … to … those who seek Him.| [Exploring Hebrews, 154].
B. Walked in Faith – One must believe that God rewards those who diligently seek Him | 1 Cor. 9:25; 2 Tim. 4:6-8.
Buell H. Kazee wrote a book (1951) called, Faith is the Victory. The whole premise of the book was to show and teach that for believers in the Lord Jesus to have true victory throughout their pilgrimage on this earth was not to only have faith in Christ as one’s Savior, but also to have faith in Him as Lord for one’s daily walk. [Dallas: Crescendo Book Pub.]
Matthew Henry | Those who would find God … must seek him diligently; they must seek early, earnestly, and perseveringly. … with all their heart; and once they have found him, as their reconciled God, they will never repent the pains they have spent in seeking him. [941]
1 Corinthians 9:25 | … everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 | For I am already being poured out as a drink offering … I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
NOTE: To walk by faith means Christians are to have a living, active faith, a faith that knows, follows, communes, and fellowships with God. [POSB, Hebrews/James, 132 (adapted)]
Closing Thot
1. Enoch’s faith sustained him for the majority of his earthy walk – 300 years of his 365 years of life on this earth he was found faithfully serving God and because of his faithfulness in pleasing God he was translated from this earth to heaven – one moment here | the next in the presence of God’s dwelling place.
2. Faith pleasing God – that is the kind of faith I desire to have in our Lord – a faith that is:
. Everlasting.
. Rewarding.
. Living.
. Saving.
NOTE: A faith that begins by trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ and a faith that is perfected because of the finished work of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ | Hebrews 12:1-2.
3. I hope that you too desire the same concerning your faith in God.
Come Worship The Lord
Our Invitation is open to all
. Come to Christ
. Come if you need to pray
. Come be a part of us
. Come share with us what the Lord would have you to do
Bruce Allen - Tibet Baptist Church | Guest Speaker | October 17, 2010, AM
bea0210@hotmail.come | http://www.pilgrimskeyboard.wordpress.com
