ENOCH Gen. 5: 21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. Heb. 11: 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and 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 that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jude 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. There are two Enochs in the Bible. The first we meet in Gen. 4:17-18 where he is the son of Cain for whom Cain built a city and named the city. The second is a different man altogether, and he is the subject of our study this evening. Jude tells us he was the seventh from Adam (Jude 14; cf. Gen. 5) - Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch.) Very briefly, … there are a collection of various books that the Roman Catholic Church has drawn together, - they are known by different names (pseduepigrapha, deutero-canonical, Apocrypha). These consist of writings that we do not consider inspired and therefore are not present in our Scriptures. They include such books as the Maccabees, Esdras, Tobit, Sirach. They also include I and II Enoch and contain fanciful tales of Enoch entering Heaven. Interestingly enough, II Enoch divides time into seven one-thousand year periods. Last week we looked at Abel, and we saw how he taught the need for approaching the altar of the Lord with the best of sacrifices, - he laid the firstlings of his flock and of the fat on the altar before God. Then there was Seth and his son Enos, and it was during their time that (4:26) began men to call upon the name of the LORD. They brought the people to the place where they would assemble together to bring God worship. This is a beautiful little picture that shows us the heart must first believe in the great sacrifice with Abel, and then the mouth must confess the same with Seth. Rom. 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. D.G. 2 Enoch continued the early development, because we see how, - in his life, - he went beyond the offering-up and confession of the atonement, for he set before the people the great truth of communion with God. He showed the ultimate in man’s relationship with God and God’s relationship with man. If you like, through Abel the sacrifice was the way; through Seth calling upon the name of the LORD was the truth; and in Enoch we see the next step, the life with God, - And Enoch walked with God. … What does it truly mean to “walk with God”? HE PLEASED GOD ∗ Hebrews 11 helps us understand this phrase, Heb. 11: 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. ∗ That was Enoch’s witness, - we don’t really know too much about this man, but we know this, … that he pleased God. ∗ That’s how the writer of Hebrews saw it. He read the Old Testament and he saw that Genesis said Enoch walked with God and he recognised that God was pleased with Enoch, for he knew that the Lord does not walk with a man or a woman in whom He has no pleasure. - The Bible says, Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed? ∗ There had been a time in Enoch’s life when he was like the rest of us , - like us, he was born into sin. ∗ Yes, Enoch was a son of Adam and had fallen foul of the sins of Adam, and yet he sought the pardon from sin and was cleansed by the blood of the sacrifice on the altar. ∗ Enoch pleased God and what a testimony to record. ∗ Imagine! He didn’t have a gravestone, but yet his epitaph in the Bible reads, “He walked with God”. ∗ So, as he walked with God, he pleased God, … and what does that mean? ∗ It means … HE WAS JUSTIFIED BEFORE GOD ∗ How was Enoch justified before God? … surely that’s a New Testament word? … and why was he acceptable unto God? ∗ Well, he was acceptable unto God because he was justified, D.G. 3 ∗ And he walked with God because he was justified, ∗ And he had peace with God because he was justified. ∗ The Bible explains to us that he was justified by faith, But without faith it is impossible to please him (Enoch pleased God [v.5]), : for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. ∗ A transformation had happened in Enoch’s life long before he reached the age of 365 (when he left this world). ∗ He came before the altar, … as Abel came before the altar with the very best he could afford, ∗ It wasn’t an empty ceremony that had been handed down to him, - it was a personal meeting with God when the blood of the sacrifice would atone for his sins. ∗ At the altar he was justified before God, - that was how he began his walk with God. ∗ There was a time in his life when he did not walk with God, - when God and him were travelling in two opposite directions. ∗ One day God stopped him where he was, and turned him around, - that was the day when Enoch began to walk with God. ∗ So, you see, when the Bible says Enoch walked with God it means he pleased God and he was justified by God through the sacrifice on the altar. ∗ And what else does it mean … to walk with God? HE SHOWED BY EXAMPLE ∗ There at the altar he would have raised his voice in praise and worship as he led his family when men [began] to call upon the name of the LORD. ∗ The whole countryside would have heard him standing out in the open air and he would have shouted the victory of sins forgiven as he stood at that altar. ∗ His family all saw and heard him, - v. 22 tells us he had sons and daughters, - and they would all have been standing around him; … and not just the sons and daughters but the grandchildren, and the great grandchildren. ∗ He taught his generations to follow after the things of God. D.G. 4 ∗ His son was Methuselah, - another great man of God who lived for 969 years, - … and think of the influence that man had, having a father like Enoch! ∗ And Enoch’s walk with God was the manner by which he pleased God, for he was justified by God, and he showed by example how to worship God. So, … he showed by example as he walked with God. … How did he come to this point? … HE SIMPLY BELIEVED ∗ He would have been comfortable in life, - God would have blessed his faithfulness. ∗ But he didn’t believe because he offered up on the altar an excessive amount of ornate sacrifices, ∗ Neither was it because he was particularly gifted or talented in some extraordinary way, ∗ Nor because there was so much written about him, - like Abraham or Moses or David, - because there wasn’t! ∗ He pleased God through simple faith, - he demonstrated that the personal relationship with God is through simple faith. ∗ That’s the way it was, and that’s the way it is! Eph. 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. ∗ The object of our simple faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. ∗ We no longer come to an altar, as Enoch came to the altar, - Christ died once and for all and His death spelled the death of the Old Testament sacrifice. ∗ Jesus died on the cross for the sins of His people, and it is to the cross we come and seek forgiveness. ∗ At the cross our need is met by the Saviour, - we simply believe and, in accordance with the work of the Holy Spirit, - we begin our walk with God. ∗ Paul told the church in Colosse, 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him ∗ And what happens when you begin the walk with God? … HE KNEW THE CONTINUAL PRESENCE OF GOD. D.G. 5 ∗ He didn’t merely believe about God, merely as a matter of creed, like in a catechism, ∗ … but the truth had entered into his heart, and what he believed was altogether true to him, - it was relevant to his daily living.