Currently, I am preaching through Genesis 1–11 at Perryville Second Baptist Church. In our 33rd week through the series (no, I am not recommending everyone go that slow!) we came upon the curious case of Enoch in Genesis 5:22–24. This series of posts (see part 1 here) fleshes out some thoughts on Enoch’s walk with God and how we too may walk with Him.
Here is the text under consideration:
Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
So far, we have seen that to walk with the Lord involves faith and fear (Part 2) and fellowship and following (Part 3). In today’s conclusion, we will look at two more things it means to walk with God.
Fruit
There is another New Testament passage that talks about Enoch besides Hebrews 11. Jude 1:14–15 says:
“It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes 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.’”
Enoch was a preacher of righteousness in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. To walk with God is to bear lasting fruit. Christ is the vine. To commune with Christ will result in lasting fruit.
In a world of ungodliness, Enoch’s life stood out. What about you? Do you stand out against the darkness of this world? Are you one who has wandered from God or one walking with God? Walking with God will inevitably produce fruit. The fruit of holiness. The fruit of seeing others come to Christ.
I understand we can become so enamored with fruit in our lives that we can tip the scales so to speak and be constant fretting fruit checkers. But it is also a biblical understanding of Christianity that those who have no fruit in their lives are not true followers of Christ.
If a Christian doesn’t bear fruit, that would make God a liar. And for the glory and honor of His name, He will not let that happen. All Christians are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10).
To walk with the Lord involves faith, fear, fellowship, following, fruit, and lastly a,
Future
Enoch walked with God for 300 years. Isn’t that amazing? But there was something better for him than just walking with God on this earth, but to be with Him outside the corrupted world.
I mean, what a day that was! “Hey, have y’all seen Enoch?” “No. He’s probably praying.” “Enoch? Enoch!?” “Where are you?” He could not be found, for God took him out of this world. But there’s something even better for Christians than what Enoch got. The Hebrews 11:39-40 says this:
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Not dying is better than dying. But even better than not dying is Christ because in Christ to live is Christ and to die is gain. Genesis 5 has this constant refrain of living and dying but then you have Enoch standing out. It is to remind the Old Testament saints that in God there is a future beyond the grave.
There is something beyond the curse of death. God Himself will defeat death. There is a future with the Lord for those who trust Him and walk with Him now. But the culmination of this hope and future is Christ. Christ came to save His people from their sins. Christ won the victory in His life, death, and resurrection.
It’s not just that God is going to do away with the sin in this world but also that one day fully and finally do away with all sin and the effects of sin remaining in Christians. Our best life isn’t now. It’s when Christ comes to call His own to Himself and reign with them for all eternity as His Bride joyfully worships before His holy throne.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve read all four of these posts on walking with God. And I want to conclude this series by exhorting you to follow Jesus in faith! Are there any readers who need to repent of wandering from God, focusing upon self, and giving your affections to carnality?
Oh the joys of walking with the Lord! Are you walking with Him today? If not, will you come rest yourself in the finished work of Jesus? Will you repent and believe the gospel?
If you are walking with God will you consider how to assist others in their walk? And how you might strengthen your walk with Him based? How might you grow closer to Him even this day as we prepare for the day He returns to call us home with Him?