Gen 5:22 with Heb 11:5
INTRO: Enoch was a man about whom we know so little. The little we do know whets our appetites for more information. But Biblically speaking, that more information is just not there. The writer of Genesis simply tells us that Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him (5:22). And in scripture there were others who walked with God ... or before God. But there still seems to be so much mystery about this man Enoch.
I. HE WALKED WITH GOD ...
A. Walk with certainly suggests companionship
1. companionship is such a pleasant thing
2. do we think, though, about our being in companionship with God?
3. do we reflect on the ramifications of such companionship?
4. Gen 3:8-10 companionship ... broken by sin
B. Walk with suggests agreement
1. so, Amos 3:3
2. we dont usually establish a walk with companionship without some agreement
3. disagreement makes this walk one of conflict ... and it cannot last long
4. Mic 6:8 walk humbly - basis for agreement
C. Walk with suggests progress, destination
1. note that Enoch walked with ... and was taken
2. walking with God must be constant, consistent
3. walking with God must have destination in mind
4. note Heb 11:13-16 ... Enoch and Noah walked with God ... all had an ultimate destination in view
D. This walk with is a faith walk!
1. so, Heb 11:6
2. coming immediately after v.5 and Enoch, v.6 tells me that Enochs was a faith walk, too
3. 1 Tim 1:17 and Heb 11:27 invisible
4. so, yes, we walk by faith ... trusting His word for His presence ... see Ps 39:12 with Thee!
II. HE PLEASED GOD
A. This is the living legacy of Enoch
1. yes, he walked with God ... but in agreement with God
2. day by day he pleased God by the manner of His life
B. Col 1:9,10 ... walk worthy ... unto all pleasing ...
1. note the filled with the knowledge of His will ...
2. we must have this knowledge, or we cannot please Him
3. it needs to be said plainly that we cannot please Him, walk with Him ... if we are not walking in His will! (1 Jno 3:22)
C. 1 Thes 4:1,2 What a wonderfully simple charge
1. walk in a way that pleases God
2. what were apostles teaching, writing? v.2 the commandments given them by the Lord
3. were folks to listen, read in a disconnected way? what were they to do with great lessons? ... they had everything to do with pleasing God!
CLOSE: Question. What will be the testimony of your life? Will it be what might have been? Will it be he pleased God? Enoch had to decide that. And so must you.
Cecil A. Hutson
02 June 2002
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “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.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)