IT TAKES FAITH (Part three) Hebrews 11:5-6
As we move forward in our series on Hebrews 11, we come to the account of Enoch. We'll see that Enoch was quite a fellow who experienced something pretty extraordinary. In part three of our series on what it takes faith to do we will see that it takes faith to please God.
1) Enoch walked with God.
Heb. 11:5, "By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God."
Here we learn a little bit about this guy named Enoch. We learn that he didn't die; which is amazing in and of itself. There's only one other person who experienced this kind of departure and that was Elijah. I'll touch on that later on. We see that Enoch was commended as one who pleased God.
We find out more about Enoch from Gen. 5:18-24, "When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died. When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away."
In this genealogy (which starts in vs. 1 with Adam) you see how it says, "so-and-so lived 'x' amount of years and then he died". But with Enoch it says something different. It replaces "lived" with "walked with God". And instead of "then he died" it says, "and then he was no more because God took him away".
Obviously there was something different about Enoch. He didn't just live, he walked with God. I'm not saying none of the other people in this list were godly but there was something more to the life of Enoch than there was for the others in this list. The text doesn't make this statement for no reason.
If you read on in the genealogy, you'll find Noah. And you will see that Noah was Enoch's great-grandson. We already know that Enoch walked with God but did you know that Noah is the only other person in the bible that this phrase is attached to (Gen. 6:9). Even though Noah was born after Enoch's departure I'd like to think there was some pretty special lessons and stories handed down by his father and grandfather regarding the character and example of great-grandpa Enoch.
It's interesting that while Hebrews 11:5 says that Enoch pleased God, Genesis 5:24 says that he walked with God. So which is it? It's both. The Septuagint (a Greek translation of the OT from the 2nd-3rd century B.C.) translates the Hebrew for "walked with God," as, "pleased God". So the two phrases are one and the same; it's just that the one in Genesis was written in Hebrew and the one in Hebrews was written in Greek. I know, it sounds a little confusing but at least the mystery is resolved.
But what does it mean that Enoch walked with/pleased God? Let's see.
2) To walk with God is to be in agreement with God.
Amos 3:3, "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"
Family Bible Notes commentary states, "He [Enoch] had confidence in him, lived in communion with him, opened his heart to him, and consulted him as his bosom-friend."
Enoch had faith so he had confidence in God. Confidence in his ability, his wisdom, his love. Since Enoch walked with God he shared communion with him. If he walked with God I'm sure he also talked with God. Probably not in the literal sense, just a spiritual sense since the fall pretty much removed that possibility.
But this is what Enoch was doing in walking with God. Enoch wouldn't have been walking with God if he wasn't in agreement with God; the two go hand-in-hand. I might be able to be obedient without agreeing to that which I'm obeying but I doubt I would be able to maintain it for very long. However, it is so much easier and successful to obey when I understand and am in agreement with the command I'm obeying.
And it's not just agreeing to his commands it's also being in agreement with his will. When God allows things to happen in our life we may not understand and we may even think certain things aren't fair but we accept that God's ways are higher than ours and that we don't know all that is going on. We believe that God still loves us and wants us to be close to him.
When I agree that God is good all the time and that he is right all the time I will walk closely with God and I will experience the blessings of that. But when I become angry with God and separate from him and disagree with his way of doing things I will find myself suffering from that decision.
God will still love me and try to reach me but if I maintain a distance from him I'll lose the joy and peace I once had. When I lose the desire to please God my faith suffers. My heart will harden and my love will grow cold. I will pull myself away from God's guidance and protection and when left to my own ways and my own direction I won't do very well. Walking with God means being in agreement with him.
3) To walk with God is to be in step with God.
Gal. 5:16-25, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
It's understood that Enoch lived in some pretty unholy times. Remember, Noah came along not long after Enoch. And we read in the next chapter of Genesis in verse 5 that man's wickedness had become so great that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. That's pretty bad; that's what ushered in the flood.
With that said we know that despite the world becoming more and more evil to the point of God wiping everyone out save for eight people, Enoch maintained his integrity and morality. He chose to live by the Spirit. And he chose to be a voice for God to those around him.
Jude 1:14-15, "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Albert Barnes' commentary, "The age in which he lived was undoubtedly one of great wickedness. Enoch is selected as the only one of that generation signalized by eminent piety, and he appears to have spent his life in publicly reproving a sinful generation, and in warning them of the approaching judgment, The wickedness which ultimately led to the universal deluge seems already to have commenced in the earth, and Enoch, like Noah, his great-grandson, was raised up as a preacher of righteousness to reprove a sinful generation."
Enoch was a prophet. He was someone chosen by God to divulge a message to those in his generation and every generation henceforth. We might not be a prophet, but we are a voice. One of the ways we please God is to speak his truth to those who don't know it or aren't living it. Enoch chose to keep in step with God instead of stepping with the flesh. He pleased God because he bore the fruit of God. Since Enoch lived in the Spirit he kept in step with the Spirit.
One way we walk with God is when we keep in step with the Spirit. We don't run ahead or lag behind, we keep pace with the Spirit. When we keep in step with the Spirit we are closer to the Spirit. When we fall back or run ahead we create distance with the Spirit and his voice and his influence become less impactful.
If I'm keeping in step with the Spirit I'm not trying to get ahead of God when I'm impatient or too eager nor am I procrastinating when there's something I know I should be doing.
Keeping in step with the Spirit is a faith issue. Running ahead or lagging behind shows a lack of faith that God knows what he's doing. If I'm going to walk with God and please God I need to keep in step with him.
4) Then he was no more because God took him away (Gen. 5:24).
The ending of Enoch's life is pretty amazing-he didn't die-he was simply taken by God. There's only one other occurrence of this happening and that's with Elijah. You can read about that in 2nd Kings 2 but what happened is pretty dramatic.
Elijah and his successor Elisha were traveling together and Elijah had already known he was going to be taken up and he was preparing Elisha for his departure. And then it happened.
2nd Kings 2:11, "As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind."
Seeing something like this happen would be mind-blowing. We're not given any details with how it happened with Enoch but it must've been a sight to see nonetheless. But perhaps no one saw it.
We see that God does things differently even in unique situations. Enoch's departure didn't come with as much dramatics as Elijah's did. But that doesn't mean God saw these two any differently.
Think of Abel that we looked at last week. Abel died a violent death at the hands of his brother while Enoch never died; but both were faithful.
God has a different plan for each one who trusts Him. Just because the ending was different for Enoch it doesn't mean he had greater faith than Abel. It didn't necessarily mean Enoch pleased God more than Abel did. We can't judge how a person's life ends to be an indicator of their faith or how pleased God was with them.
Consider this: when you consider the genealogy of Genesis 5 it's easy to see that people lived quite a long life in these days. It's interesting that the two men who lived the longest on the earth were Enoch's father Jared and his son Methuselah. And you see Enoch himself lived only 365 years. It seems absurd to say he lived only 365 years but when you put it in perspective of Jared's 962 and Methuselah's 969 you realize that Enoch was pretty young when the Lord took him.
One would wonder why? If he was walking with God and if he was pleasing to God why did God take him so soon? The only answer is his work was finished.
Obviously this brings to mind someone else we know who walked with God and pleased God and was taken too soon. But the same answer applies-his work was done and so God called him home.
There are some things we are just not going to figure out. However, by faith, we don't allow the lack of understanding to change how we feel about God or how we operate in our daily walk with him.
We walk by faith not by sight.
5) Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Heb. 11:6, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Enoch's faith enabled him to want to please God. And his pleasing God was what preceded God taking him. We cannot please God unless we have and exhibit faith. Remember James talked about the two kinds of faith. Dead faith, faith that is inactive, does not please God. Saving faith, active faith, is what does please God. Enoch had saving faith; he had active faith. His works, prompted by faith, was what pleased God.
And I guarantee that it wasn't just his faith that pleased God, but it was his love for God as well. Regarding the Thessalonians, Paul said, 1st Thess. 1:3, "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."
The right faith produces the right works and these will be prompted by our love; love for God and love for people. Paul said in Gal. 5:6 that what counts is faith expressing itself through love. That's what is needed to please God.
Do we have faith? Do we believe in God; do we believe that he will reward me if I earnestly seek after him? Seek after his wisdom; seek after his ways. Seek after the things of the Spirit; not half-heartedly but sincerely. The right faith produces works which will be a labor of love.
And faith produces endurance because faith produces hope. And our faith tells us that our hope will not disappoint us (Rom. 5:5). This is one of the rewards. God rewards our earnestness by filling us with his assurance. God assures us that he loves and accepts us. It's a great and wonderful reward when you are able to find rest in these things. When we have the blessed hope of our future inheritance we can walk in peace and joy.
In the KJV for Heb. 11:5 instead of "commended as one who pleased God" it says, "he had this testimony, that he pleased God." Testimony from whom? It could be others, as he would've received commendation when they saw his way of life. But John Wesley and other commentators suggest that the testimony came from God himself as a confirmation. Enoch knew he pleased God because God told him so.
This goes with Romans 8:16, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children."
These are the confirmations we need as we walk through life. We come under attack, things happen and Satan wants us to wonder if God is real or if he really cares. He wants us to think we are not saved, we are not pleasing to God. So we cry out to God to give us a confirmation that he is real, our faith is real, our hope is real. Satan wants to mess with our rewards. He wants to steal our joy, peace, hope and faith. He doesn't want us to live in that blessed assurance.
Now, with that said, we have some people on the opposite end of the spectrum; they are not okay with God but they think they are. They think they are pleasing God but they're not. They're not living the way God wants them to live but they think God is still pleased with them. They're not reading his word or going to church but they're still tight with God.
Sometimes they are going to church and they are reading the word and they think by that alone God is pleased with them. Meanwhile, they live the rest of their lives according to their own selfish desires. Their faith is in a god of their own design; a god that suits their comforts. They're not earnestly seeking him because they don't want to see him for who he really is because then they would have to conclude that they are not living as God would want them to. And they would be expected to conform to live his way instead of their own.
Romans 8:5-8, "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
It is impossible to please God when I'm living by my rules. But when I'm acting in accordance with my faith, when I'm laboring in love, when I'm keeping in step with the Spirit I will be pleasing to God. It takes faith.
