Hall of Faith Inductee #2: Enoch- Hebrews 11:5-6

There is a country song that I’ve heard many times on 94.9 that happens to be one of my father-in-law’s favorites called “Something to be Proud of” by Montgomery Gentry. This song closes with these lyrics:

That's something to be proud of
That's a life you can hang your hat on
You don't need to make a million
Just be thankful to be workin'
If you're doing what you're able
And putting food there on the table
And providing for the family that you love
That's something to be proud of

And if all you ever really do is the best you can
Well, you did it man

That's something to be proud of
That's a life you can hang your hat on
That's a chin held high as the tears fall down
A gut sucked in, a chest stuck out
Like a small town flag a-flyin'
Or a newborn baby cryin'
In the arms of the woman that you love
That's something to be proud of

 Although I’m not particularly fond of most country music, this song always puts a smile on my face and a warm feeling in my heart as I reflect on the simple and yet profound things of life. In so many ways, it is not the flashy or fantastic that instills one’s life with value; it is the simple things that you can hang your hat on at the end of the day.

We are going to come to learn the same about the Christian life this morning as we continue our tour through the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. However, we are going to learn about the kind of life that God is proud of as we examine a humble example of faith that is sandwiched in between more popular and dramatic figures. Let us take a close look at two statements made in just two verses (Hebrews 11:5-6) that will both encourage and convict us as we strive to life a life of faithfulness that is pleasing to God—a life that we can gladly hang our hat on—a life that God would be proud of.

I. An Inspiring Story-11:5

As we continue our journey in the Hall of Faith the next inductee we pass is a little known character in the Old Testament named Enoch. You may not know too much about this man’s life because the account of his earthly experience is not preserved in the context of a dramatic story, but in the kind of passage that many people gloss over to get to more fascinating things. Let us read everything that the original account it has to say about Enoch in Genesis 5:18-23.

Genesis 5:18-23-“Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch. Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died. Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.”

At first glance, it does not appear that there is much to report about the life of Enoch from the Old Testament. However, if we read one verse further we witness something extraordinary.

Genesis 5:24-“Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

This final detail seems to be what strikes the preacher of Hebrews most when he offers his retelling of Enoch’s life in Hebrews 11:5—“ By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up.” The idea of being “taken up” means to be transported from one place to another very different place.

For Enoch, he was transported from earth to heaven itself! Now that is a pretty amazing way to go, something that lends a bit more credence to his induction into the hall of faith.

However, as incredible as it is for Enoch to be taken up to heaven, escaping death and immediately enjoying a blissful relationship with his Creator, the noteworthy thing about Enoch’s life, the real reason for his induction into this Hall of Faith, is iterated in the second part of verse 5, “for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up, he was pleasing to God.” This account of Enoch’s life seems celebrate what is mentioned in the first part of Genesis 5:24—that Enoch “walked with God.” His life was a life of fellowship with God—fellowship so sweet, that God desired Enoch’s presence in a special way and brought him to heaven before he body died.

Enoch’s life was a life of simple and yet consistent faith. This is the inverse of what the preacher in Hebrews and the prophet Habakkuk were trying to discourage among God’s people when they said, “For yet in a very little while,

He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him” (see Hab. 2:3-4; Heb. 10:37-38). In contrast to fickle faith, Enoch was consistently committed to His God. His humble adherence to God was awarded with a gloriously spectacular ending.

II. A Reflective Aside-11:6

This installment in the Hall of Faith (though it is short and simple) arrests the attention of the preacher so much so that he breaks the chain of stories in order to provide an important aside to everyone following him on this tour. This aside is found in verse 6 when he beings by saying, “and without faith, it is impossible to please Him…”. Who is “Him?” “Him” is God! God’s great pleasure in Enoch’s life is an excellent opportunity for the preacher to encourage simple and consistent faith among his readership. Though it may not seem like it, persevering faith, more than flashy accomplishments and accolades that the world deems significant, is pleasing to God—just ask Enoch! Faith, more than anything else arrests God special attention and motivates His special work. Why is this? Because faith pleases God! Faith is God’s love language!

The idea of faith pleasing God is applied at the end of verse 6 to the life of the believer, “for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek him…” (11:6). In this short grouping of words there are three components that are identified by the preacher as pertaining especially to a life of faith that begins in the context of salvation. First, a life of faith, and therefore a life that pleases God, involves a life of coming to God and seeking Him earnestly. In fact, this idea is a reiteration of what the preacher has already said earlier in the book.

Hebrews 4:16-“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 10:22-“let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

In these verses, coming to God is portrayed as something that believers are able to do with confidence to receive mercy and grace because of their full assurance of salvation made possible by the blood of Jesus. Because God has made access to Himself available, because He has gone to great lengths (sending His Son to die) to bestow grace and mercy, believers insult Him by not coming to Him as they are able. Nothing pleases God more than seeing His children enjoy what He has provided—access to Him through Faith.

Enoch’s life was a life that enjoyed coming to God, for, the account of his life mentions that he walked with God on a regular and consistent basis. This profound verse first instructs the church to which this preacher is writing that God’s people are called to live lives of “radical openness to and in conversation with God” (Guthrie, 376) and this by coming to Him.

Second, a life of faith (a life that pleases God), involves believing that God exists in the first place. This is perhaps the introductory step taken toward a life of faith prior to salvation. One cannot be saved, nor come to God in prayer, nor enjoy sweet communion with God, without first believing in His existence. People must first believe in God before this belief can inform a faithful life. Therefore, in this spirit, here are four arguments for the existence of God that I believe are compelling both individually and collectively.

Cosmological Argument:

(1) Everything that exists has a cause of its existence.
(2) The universe exists.
                                                Therefore:
(3) The universe has a cause of its existence.
(4) If the universe has a cause of its existence, then that cause is God.
                                                Therefore:
(5) God exists.

But wait? Does God have a cause? No, everything caused is contingent on something else—i.e. owes its existence to something else. This is not so for God who is an uncaused cause and therefore is not contingent on anything for His existence.

Teleological Argument: If the universe contains design (the anatomy of an eye, bacteria flagellum, positioning of the planets, etc.) then there must be some intelligent agent that designed it. Although a few dispute this, speaking of nature, or evolution, as our designers, this appears to be a simple linguistic truth. Just as if something is carried then there must be a carrier, so if there is design there must be a designer.

Ontological Argument: The argument in its earliest form rests on the identification of God as “that than which no greater can be conceived.” Once it is understood that God is that than which no greater can be conceived, Anselm suggests, it becomes evident that God must exist. More modern permutations of this state Very roughly, that perfection is a part of the concept of God, and that perfection entails existence, and so that the concept of God entails God’s existence. (This is a hard one to wrap one’s brain around).

Moral Argument: The formal moral argument is as follows: Morality is prescriptive, it tells us what to do; this, the moral argument suggests, entails that it is prescribed by someone. Morality is also ultimately authoritative, its authority is greater than any human institution; this, the argument suggests, entails that it was not prescribed by any human institution, but must rather have a supernatural source. Though there are other forms of this argument, generally speaking moral arguments take either the existence of morality or some specific feature of morality to imply the existence of God. It is only if God exists, the moral argument suggests, that the moral facts could be as they are, or even that there could be any moral facts at all. 

Do you believe in God yet? I HOPE SO, because it is impossible to please this God and come to Him for all He has to offer you (grace, mercy, etc.) without belief in Him! It is obvious by Enoch’s life that he believed in God’s existence. In fact, in Jude 14, it is said of Enoch that he prophesized about the Lord’s coming! This rendered his life especially pleasing to the Lord and introduces the third element involved in a life of faith.

Those who live a life of faith are those who come to God regularly in radical openness and conversation, believe that He exists, and finally, these are those who have the confident expectation that God will reward those who live this way, “that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (11:6). The greatest reward of faith/belief is salvation (see Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 16:31). However, the sweet benefits of salvation do not stop at forgiveness, there is an eternal heaven of wondrous bliss and perfection, all within the domain of God’s enduring presence, that await those who have this kind of faith. There is a lasting relationship with the Creator and Savior of the universe that results from this kind of life! Oh how satisfied Enoch must have been to receive his reward, earlier than expected and in a most unusual way.

So What?

I have rarely been more encouraged AND convicted than when I prepared for this message from Hebrews 11:5-6. On the encouraging side, we ought to take much delight in knowing that more than flashy accomplishments and accolades that the world deems significant, God is pleased with simple and consistent faith. Just ask Enoch! The best thing that was said of his life is found in Genesis 5:24—that he simply “walked with God.” I would wager to say that this is one of the best things that can be said of any believer’s life today—not that they accomplished this or that, that they saw this or that, or that they built this or that, but that they “walked with God.” We must again allow consistent faithfulness to God to impress us and take its rightful place of the greatest of all achievements in this life.

However, though this is an encouragement to me, that simple faithfulness to God really in and of itself is pleasing to the Lord, I am immediately convicted when I read verse 6. While I know that “without faith, it is impossible to please God,” I find myself second guessing, hesitating, and failing to exercise faith in any number of situations, decisions, and circumstances. Though I know God is always there to infuse His grace and mercy into anything I face, I am interrupted by the things of this world and kept so often from coming to Him the way I should in prayer and in His Word. While I know that God exists, so often I worry as if He doesn’t. Not only that, but while I celebrate the reward I can expect when I’m teaching Revelation or listening to a song about heaven, so often I forget to live with the end in mind.

Whenever I or any of us give in to these tendencies, we are not living the life of faith in which God takes pleasure—we are not walking with God as Enoch did. Therefore, allow this passage to encourage you and convict you by the same thing. Simple faith is, in fact, what God is impressed by, and this is something that we must give ourselves to as we consistently seek the Lord who will one day reward us. A life of faith is something we can hang our hat on at the end of the day—it is something God Himself is proud of.