 |
| From the free stock photos of pixabay.com |
Key verses: Gen. 5:21-24, Heb. 11:5-6, Jude 14-15
Our ultimate model of godly living is Jesus Christ himself. The Father predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of His son (Rom. 8:29). Yet the Bible also encourages us to learn from the life of the faithful and imitate them (Heb. 13:7).
We have a long line of heroes worthy of emulation.
Among the dead,
Among the living,
- We have notable Old Testament saints
- We have New Testament standouts
- We have luminaries from church history
- We have contemporary inspirations
- We have ordinary Christians inside and outside of the local church whose lives spur us toward love and good deeds (Heb.10:24).
Out of that long and rich roster, I have chosen Enoch for today's blog post. One may ask: "Why Enoch? What's so remarkable about him?" There are two reasons for this:
First, the Genesis account of Enoch's life is one of the earliest hints of death's defeat, perhaps second only to the protoevangelium (Genesis 3:15). The most telling effect of man's fall in Eden is the penalty of death (Gen.3:19; Rev.21:8). The protoevangelium is the first announcement of the gospel. It says that in the future, one of Eve's offspring will give the serpent a fatal blow to the head thereby destroying Satan and his works. That is the first hint of death's defeat.
For the next hint of death's defeat, we have to go to the genealogy in Genesis 5. There's a clause that repetitively appears at the end of each person's life account: "then he died". Adam died (v.5); Seth died (v.8); Enosh died (v.11); Kenan died (v.14)... We could go on and on with the genealogy, and we can find this clause again and again: "then he died". It continues to our very own ancestry; that's why your great grand father and your great grand mother are no longer around. They lived, then they died because of the penalty of sin imposed at Eden.
The hint of death's defeat is found in Genesis 5:21-24. The refrain "then he died" is not found here:
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.It is further made clear in Hebrews 1:5,
"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."
The other remarkable thing in the life of Enoch is how he was commended by the Holy Scriptures. Hebrews 11:5c says, "For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God."
This saying is almost an axiom, "You cannot please everybody." Some will find delight in you. Yet some will also be unimpressed with you, or worse, some will be hostile to you. Enoch identified whom he cannot afford to displease, and that is God. So should we. We can afford to offend everybody as long as we know that the One who sits on the throne is pleased.
Because we believe pleasing God is the only thing that matters, we go to Mr. Enoch and ask him: "Mr. Enoch, how to be you po?"
From the limited biblical data we have, here I present this list on how to be like Enoch.
FIRST, to be like Enoch, you have to be consistent in your walk of godliness.
The key fact here is that he walked with God 300 years.
The ideal path of spiritual growth is an ever increasing progress in sanctification. But because of carelessness in playing with sin, our growth is derailed by our inconsistencies in many areas of Christian life. We fall, we rise again, only to be entangled again and fall by the same sin or another.
Enoch's life is an evidence that a consistent Christian walk in a period of 300 years is achievable. It may be tough and difficult, but it is doable. We should also take into account that our lives are much shorter. We will not even live half of 300 years. If Enoch could sustain a life of holiness for 300 years, then you could consistently pursue righteousness till 70 or 80 depending on the length of your earthly life.
One may say, "it is much easier to live a holy life in Enoch's day. For the modern generation, there is just so much evil influence around that it makes it difficult." But it is wrong to think Enoch was living in some golden age of holiness and morality on earth. We could cite two pieces of evidence:
1st, the Bible's description of the The Pre-Flood inhabitants of the world is this: "The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." (Gen.6:5)
2nd, when Enoch prophesied (Jude 14-15), the content of his message was mainly judgment against wicked acts and wicked words indicating that the people around him are evil in their words and deeds. It was the message Enoch received from God because it was the need of the day.
So what can we conclude then? We conclude that even if we are living in an age of rampant evil, a consistent walk in godliness is doable.
SECOND, to be like Enoch, you have to find delight in fellowship with God.
The phrase "walked with God" indicates friendship and intimacy. If walking with someone is not a delightful experience, would it last 300 years? No way! Relationships are broken when at least one party no longer find delight in it. The same is true with our relationship with God. We will not walk with God if we find no delight in his friendship and intimacy.
Do you enjoy spending time with God? Do you find delight in feasting on his word? Do you find pleasure in prayer? Is there joy in your heart when you worship him? Without delight in God's presence, you will never be like Enoch.
THIRD, to be like Enoch, you should submit your will to God in which way to go.
For two people to continue walking together, there should be an agreement on which way to go (Amos 3:3). They cannot walk together if they insist going to opposite directions. They will just quarrel so we could not count them as two less lonely people in world 😞
In walking with God, it will not be the Almighty who will adjust to your wills and desires. He is Lord; you are not. You submit to Him! Find delight in submitting to him knowing he is the all-wise God. He knows the best destination for your journey with him.
FOURTH, to be like Enoch, you have to be a man of faith.
When the author of Hebrews understood the fact that Enoch pleased God, his conclusion was faith must be present in Enoch. For in the theology of the author, it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). His logic goes like this:
- It is impossible to please God without faith
- Enoch pleased God.
- Therefore, Enoch was a man of faith.
Enoch's faith consists of two components (verse 6):
- Belief in God's existence.
- Belief that he rewards those who seek him.
The world lives for power and gold. If you don't possess power and gold, the world will brand you as a loser. They will think you're living a miserable life. But if you are a man of faith, you are fully convinced that as long as you are seeking God, you will never be left empty-handed. He rewards men of faith.
FIFTH, to be like Enoch, you have to be a bearer and herald of truth (Jude 14-15).
The revelation Enoch received was scarce. He didn't have a copy of the New Testament. He didn't even have a copy of the Pentateuch. We have a fuller and richer deposit of truth. We have more protection against sin (Psalm 119:9,11). We have a fuller and richer message to share (Hebrews 1:1). We have all the tools that were unavailable in Enoch's day. If Enoch was faithful bearer and herald of truth with the little amount of revelation he received, then you should be a more faithful bearer and herald of the full revelation we possess.
