You want to turn in your Bibles
to Genesis chapter 5. I want to bring a message today
on Enoch. You probably know that name,
Enoch, one of those unusual people in Scripture. You probably remember
that Enoch walked with God and he didn't die, God took him,
he was translated. But before we get into this,
I want to refer back to a verse in chapter four, and we'll do
that as soon as we pray, but the verse we're gonna look at
there is verses 12 and 13, because these things go together, at
least they do, in helping us to understand what it means to
walk with God. Let's pray. Our gracious Father, we thank
you for your word. Thank you that you've given us
warrant as sinners to come to you by the blood of Jesus. Lord,
we pray that you would help us even now in our hearts so to
come. Help us never trust in anything
that we are, anything we've done, anything we might do someday,
but only look to Christ and so delight and find peace and rest
and joy in coming to you We pray, Lord, you'd minister to us from
your word today. Bless those who hear it. For
Jesus' sake, we pray, bring your people to yourself, build them
up also, and give us the blessings that you've purchased for us
in Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
In chapter four of Genesis, it says these words, Verse 12, "'When
thou tillest the ground,' the Lord told Cain, "'it shall not
henceforth yield unto thee her strength. "'A fugitive and a
vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.' "'And Cain said unto
the Lord, "'My punishment is greater than I can bear.'" When
God pronounced sentence on Cain for murdering his brother Abel,
Cain replied, "'My punishment is greater than I can bear.'"
Now, the word used here for bear is used in Psalm 32, and it's
translated there, forgiven. Because when we're forgiven,
our sin is lifted off of us and placed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
But Cain did not know God. As the Pharisee in Luke chapter
18, remember, he came to God, presenting himself, presenting
his own goodness, presenting his works and his labors in all
of his religious service, expecting God would accept him for what
he brought and what he thought of himself. That's what the Pharisee
did. Remember, he prayed, he said,
God, I thank Thee I'm not like other men. I fast twice in a
week, I give tithes of all that I have. He names all the things he does,
and he points to the publican, and he says, I'm not even like
this publican. I'm not an extortioner, not an adulterer, not all these
things. He trusted in himself that he
was righteous, and he brought what he was to God, and expected
God to accept him for that. That's what Cain did, remember?
He brought what he could. He brought from himself, he brought
from his labors, and he came to God and he presented what
he could do to God that he might be accepted. But this is the
error of all of us, naturally. You and I included. It's the
fatal error, also, that all who eternally perish in hell make.
We will perish in our sins. But it is not for our sins. It's
not our sins that keep us from Christ. It's not our sins that keep us
from Christ. It's our self-righteousness. All who fail to come to the Lord
Jesus Christ as a sinner because they have low thoughts of God
and of Christ and therefore low thoughts of their sin. All who
do not come as a sinner to Christ to be saved from their sins will
be commanded by the Lord Jesus to depart from Him forever. Cain first rejected God's command
to come by the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember? He presented himself
and his works for God to accept. In his pride he did not see God's
holiness. He did not see holiness in Christ's
sacrifice. He did not see beauty and greatness
in Christ who offered himself. He saw no sin that needed a substitute. Someone to stand for him and
answer all to God for him. So he didn't come that way. He
thought that bringing an offering of himself and his good work,
that God would count that offering, his religious work, as his righteousness. And he boasted in what he did,
in his inherent goodness, in his works. He was not an atheist. He practiced religion. But he
was ignorant of God's righteousness. He refused to submit to Christ's
righteousness as his only righteousness before God. He envied and hated
Abel. because God accepted Abel for
Christ's sake. It wasn't that Abel, in himself,
was better than Cain. He was a sinner too. Abel believed
himself to be a great sinner. That's why he brought a sacrifice
of blood. But there's none righteous. There's
none that doeth good. Cain hated Abel because God accepted
him for Christ's sake alone, apart from Abel's works in any
way. but only on the ground of Christ's obedience, out of God's
pure and sovereign, free grace, that provided Christ and worked
out all in Christ and accepted all that Christ did for sinners.
But Cain compared himself to his brother Abel. He should have
compared himself to the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. He should have flown himself
at the feet of his Creator and Judge to find his Maker and Judge
to be the only Savior of sinners. Cain did not know God. He did
not know God's grace or His salvation. He did not know the righteousness
of God. He refused to submit to God's
righteousness. And so, the fruit of his ungodly
heart and the fruit of his own unrighteousness came out and
he murdered his brother. And we see here Cain's ignorance
of God's goodness after he murdered him, his brother Abel. Because
in response to God's sentence, Cain said, my punishment is greater
then I can bear." He did not stop to think of God in mercy.
He did not understand that God's wisdom is infinite. His glory
is to forgive sin. His grace is unspeakably great,
and His love for His people passes knowledge. His faithfulness is
great, and His mercy is new every morning. No, all Cain could think
of from first to last is what he could do and what he could
bear. He could not think outside of himself. He said, my punishment
is greater than I can bear. Cain was ignorant of the great
sin bearer. So when he stood face to face
with God's sentence of condemnation, the thought of God's grace being
so great that he could find another to bear his sin and punishment
never occurred to Cain. He could not only He not only... I'm sorry, he not could... I
didn't spell that right. He could not only think... He
could only think of himself and his goodness and his ability
to make things right with God. He therefore did not come to
God by the blood of Jesus Christ. He did not cast himself at the
feet of his judge. He did not ask his righteous
judge for mercy and grace to look upon Christ. the great propitiation
for the sins of his people. He did not ask God to find satisfaction
in Christ for the crimes of his heart and his wickedness in his
motives and his words and deeds. He could not confess his sin.
He could not look to Christ. His self-righteous mind limited
all such thoughts. God had given him warrant to
look. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" But Cain
could only think of his own sinful abilities. And Cain not only
brought himself and his works, but he limited the Holy One of
Israel. He did not flee for refuge to
Christ, because he did not know God. He did not know God in Christ. He was blind to God's way of
salvation. He was blind to God's glory.
He was blind that God is a just God and a Savior. He therefore
did not pray as King David when David committed adultery and
murder, when he said, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to
Thy lovingkindness, according to the multitude of Thy tender
mercies. Blot out my transgressions. Wash
me thoroughly from mine iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge
my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me against Thee,
only, thee and thee only have I sinned, and done this evil
in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,
and clear when thou judgest. He did not pray as Jeremiah,
who said, Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed. Save me, and
I shall be saved, for thou art my praise. He did not pray as
Daniel, O Lord, according to all thy righteousness I beseech
thee. Let thine anger and fury be turned
away from us. He did not come like the publican,
God, be merciful to me, the sinner. He did not call from the waves
as Peter did, Lord, save me. He did not cry as Bartimaeus,
Jesus, son of David, have mercy upon me. In short, he did not
call upon the name of the Lord, upon Jesus Christ, whose name
is the name, the only name under heaven. given to men whereby
we must be saved. He withdrew inwardly into the
great darkness of his soul and confessed that he could not find
in himself the ability to bear his punishment for his own sin.
His words were true. Neither Cain nor any sinner is
able to bear the punishment of his sins. But God revealed his
unspeakable grace and almighty power and infinite wisdom and
his holy justice that he has devised and provided a Savior,
one who is mighty, almighty to bear all and mighty to save to
the uttermost all who come to God by him. This is the good
news of the gospel. But in Cain, we see that good
news cannot penetrate the adamant heart of man unless God opens
our heart. Samuel had to have God speak
to him. And when he did, he said, Lord,
speak, for thy servant heareth. Now I say all this by way of
introduction because the scripture says here in Genesis chapter
5, if you read this with me, in verse 21, Enoch lived 65 years
and begat Methuselah. And Enoch walked with God after
he begat Methuselah 300 years and begat sons and daughters.
And all the days of Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch walked with
God. And he was not, for God took
him. And Methuselah lived 187 years
and beget Lamech and so on. We won't read further than that.
Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11. I want to read that scripture
there that helps us understand Genesis. Hold your finger and
Genesis will refer back to that. Hebrews chapter 11. And we'll
read from verse 4 through 6 there. Here we have the account of Enoch
explained. He says in Hebrews 11, verse
4, By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death.
He was walking in this world, walking on this earth, living
the life that God had given him. And in the next moment, he had
gone over the chasm of death without going through death,
and was translated from this world to heaven itself, without
passing through death. It says, by faith Enoch was translated
that he should not see death, and he was not found, because
God had translated him. For before his translation he
had this testimony, that he pleased God. 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." Now I want you to consider those verses
and we want to try to answer this question from these two
places in scripture. Beginning at these two places,
what does it mean to walk with God. Cain clearly did not walk
with God. He is the picture of every man
who doesn't walk with God. He didn't know God. In everything
that he did, in his attempt at worship, in bearing his own sin,
in everything that he said, he himself departed from the presence
of the Lord. He didn't walk with God because
in his heart he could not believe that his sin was bad enough to
need a Savior and that Christ could answer for his sins. He
couldn't believe that. So he didn't come that way. And
when his sin was bearing down on him and God's sentence was
upon him, he had nowhere to look except to himself. And he says,
I can't bear my punishment. And so he departed from God.
That's what we do unless God, by His grace, brings us to Himself. Now, throughout scripture, the
answer to this question, what does it mean to walk with God,
is clearly answered. But I want to tell you what it
doesn't mean. It does not mean that God comes to where we are
and walks in our ways. We don't walk with God by God
coming to live with us in our ways. God is holy and sovereign. He doesn't bow to sinners. He
converts them to His way. To walk with God does not mean
that God changes Himself to be agreeable to us. Nor does walking
with God mean that we make up for the offense our sins cause
God. We don't compensate God for our
sins. That's what Cain tried to do.
And it does not mean that we reform our lives to align ourselves
with God. You can reform your life and
be independent of all truth. You can attend the meetings,
you can go to churches where they preach false gospels, and
you can look good on the outside. That is not walking with God.
In fact, that leaves you further from God than ever. The Ethiopian
can't change his skin, and the leopard can't change his spots,
because when we're accustomed to doing evil, we cannot do good.
And that's what we are by nature. God has to do something. But
Enoch walked with God. When we compare Hebrews 11 to
Genesis chapter 5, in Genesis 5, verse 24, it says, Enoch walked
with God, and he was not, for God took him. And in Hebrews
11 it says, by faith, that's how he walked, he was translated
that he should not see death. God took him. And he was not
found, for God translated him. Before his translation, he had
this testimony. What was it that was said in
Genesis? He walked with God. But in Hebrews,
he says he had this testimony that he pleased God. In other
words, in Genesis, he walked with God. In Hebrews, it says
he pleased God. The two things are synonymous.
God is telling us what it means to walk with God. It means to
be pleasing to Him. But in Hebrews it explains that
by faith Enoch did these things. He goes on in Hebrews and he
says it's impossible to please God without faith. Therefore,
to walk with God is to walk by faith in Christ. There is no
other way. We cannot walk with God. Now,
in the Old Testament, the kings are given to us as examples.
How many times have you read in the Old Testament, and that
king walked in the ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel
to sin? Or something like that. In other
words, there were many more kings that walked in the ways of the
nations around them and served idols than there were kings that
didn't. But those kings who did that
were said they did not walk with God. They walked in the ways
of Jeroboam, or the nations around them, and they served other gods. In doing so, they made Israel
to sin. So the opposite of walking with
God is to walk like Cain did. an idolater, someone who worshipped
his own works, who considered himself in his own self-conceit
as something God could accept, his own goodness, like the Pharisee
in Luke 18. God, I thank Thee. I'm not like
other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as
this publican, I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all
that I have. He just goes on and on, boasting in his goodness,
never glorying in Christ. So those kings who walked in
idolatry did not walk with God. They walked in opposition to
God. But there were other kings, in
Judah mainly, who did walk with God. And it says of one of them,
for example, Hezekiah, but many of them, they all have their
own story, those that walked with God, that they trusted in the
Lord. 2 Kings 18, you can read about
Hezekiah. He trusted in the Lord. And all
those kings who walked in this way, they built up, they established
the worship of God as God gave to Moses to bring an offering
to the tabernacle, to the priest, in order to be accepted by God.
In other words, they didn't try to serve God as idols. They served
God in the way He designated. looking to Christ and doing those
things that pointed to Christ by faith. Just like Abel. By
faith, Abel received that testimony that he was righteous. So you
can see the contrast between these two things. These men who
didn't walk with God were idolaters. Those who did walk with God looked
to Christ. Those are the opposite ends of
the spectrum. Cain was an idolater. Abel looked to Christ. the only
true and living God. And so, if we understand that,
we'll see something about what it means to walk with God. There's
three things, really, that are highlighted when we talk about
walking with God. I want to cover these three things
with you just briefly here. The first one is to walk with
God, we have to walk according to His reconciliation. So, reconciliation. Remember
that. That's the first way. The second way is to live our
lives by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the third way is
to look for Him from Heaven. Now, let's go through the Bible
and look at some of these things. Look at Romans chapter 5 with
me. Amos chapter 3 verse 3, this
is a verse you probably have heard quoted many times, but
in Amos 3.3 it says, how can two walk together except they
be agreed? You don't expect to see people
who are politically opposite ends of the spectrum sitting
down and talking and having a good time together, do you? Especially
not when they're on TV or the radio. They're arguing all the
time. They can't agree on anything. They have nothing to do with
it. They hate one another. You can't walk with somebody
like that. You can't live with them. You could never live with
someone that you completely had opposite views of life. And so
the Lord asked that question. How can two walk together except
they be agreed? And so here in Romans 5 we find
out, we were the ones, by our sin, who offended God. And we
had no interest in reconciliation. We were alienated from the life
of God in us. Ephesians chapter 2 says, We
walked according to the course of this world, according to the
Spirit, the power of the air, according to the Spirit that
now works in the children of disobedience. We lived like the
people of this world, serving ourselves and living according
to the devil's ways. That's not walking with God.
That was our lifestyle. Our sin was an offense against
God. There was no interest in us in reconciliation. Romans
8, 7 says the carnal mind is enmity against God. Not friendship
with God, enmity. James said the man who loves
the world is an enemy of God. So that's the way we lived and
that's the way we walked and we were just like Cain. We were
ignorant in our self-righteousness, proud. Unbowed. Uninterested in religion. Or
if we were, we were interested in it insofar as what we could
do. So we took some pride in what we did in our religion.
We've done some things. We've accomplished some things.
We're better than most people. Maybe not the best, but we're
good enough. But Romans 5 explains to us what God did when we were
in that condition. God himself took the initiative.
God himself, who was offended, who is holy, who doesn't change,
found a way to reconcile sinners to himself, to bring them to
himself. Romans 5 verse 10. When we, if
when we were enemies, That's not reconciled. That's not walking
with God. If when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God. That means someone who was a
former friend and became an enemy, now is reconciled. We were reconciled
to God. How? How did God do this? He took the initiative. It was
His doing. We offended Him, but He took
the steps toward fixing it. He did it by the death of His
Son. Reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Let those words
reverberate in your ears and in your mind and in your heart.
When I was an enemy, reconciled to God by the death of His Son.
Let them sink deep, deep into your heart. Reconciled to God
by the death of His Son. How could that be? How could
God be so infinitely wise as to find a way to be unchanging
in all of his holiness and just in himself, and righteously bring
a sinner to himself." Look at 1st Peter chapter 3. 1st Peter
in chapter 3. This is God. This is reconciliation. In order to walk with God, we
first have to walk with Him in the way of reconciliation. 1st
Peter chapter 3 verse 18. For Christ also has once suffered
for sins, the just. for the unjust, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened
by the Spirit." Christ brought us to God. He reconciled us to
God. How? He suffered in the flesh
by His life and His death. Look at Colossians chapter 1.
Colossians 1 verse 20, he says about us, verse 20 says, "...and
having made peace through the blood of His cross..." That's
removing the cause of enmity. Removing the offense that we
caused in God because of our sins. He says in verse 20, "...having
made peace through the blood of His cross..." By Him, Christ,
to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind and by wicked works, you
didn't only think it, you did it. Yet now hath He reconciled,
how? In the body of His flesh through
death. And what was the result of that
reconciliation? To present you holy and unblameable
and unreprovable in His sight. If you continue in the faith,
grounded and settled. You see, God reconciled us to
Himself by the death of His Son. Christ brought us to Himself,
the just for the unjust, by His death. In His own blood, He made
peace through the blood of His cross. And look at another verse
in 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, he says
this, in verse 18, All things are of God, who hath reconciled
us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry
of reconciliation, to it that God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and
hath committed to us the word of reconciliation, Now then,
we are ambassadors for Christ. We are messengers for the King,
carrying the message of the King to those designated by the King.
We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you
by us. We pray you in Christ's stead.
Be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him." That's reconciliation. God made His Son sin for His
people. And by doing so, made them the
righteousness of God in Him. And now that word of reconciliation
is pronounced and declared to sinners. And that declaration
of the gospel to sinners is, be ye reconciled to God. Walk
with Him in the truth of this. Let this be the whole truth about
the way things are between you and God. That's to be reconciled. So the first thing we see about
walking with God is, God did something. He brought us to Himself
by the death of His Son. He removed the offense we caused
to His law. The justice that cried out for
our curse, He took that curse and bore it in Himself. And then
he declared, he not only did all that of his own initiative,
and at his own cost, paying the price of our redemption, but
then he declares the good news of this to us, and says, Be ye
reconciled to God. Look to Christ. God made him
sin, and in him made his people the righteousness of God in him.
He did not impute their sins to them. That's the world he
sent his son to die for. And so the second thing we see
here is now we are commanded to be reconciled to God. Look
at Ephesians chapter 2. I quoted this just a minute ago,
but I want to read this with you. The first ten verses of
Ephesians chapter 2. In you, he says. And the next
three words are in italics. We skip those because they come
later. He says, in you who were dead
in sin. Dead in trespasses and sin. Dead.
Dead. Had no spiritual life whatsoever.
Could not respond to God. You could not do anything when
you were so dead in sins. Wherein in time past you walked
according to the course of this world. Not walking with God,
but walked according to the course of this world. According to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in
the children of disobedience, among whom we also had our conversation,
our manner of life in time past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others. When we were so in that
position, God took it upon Himself to appease His own wrath against
us. And having done that, it says,
But God, who was rich in mercy, something Cain did not know,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, having done nothing to come to God, nothing, dead
in sins, no profit, you hath he quickened. He says,
even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, by grace you are saved, and hath raised us up together
and made us sit together. That's reconciliation, isn't
it? Sitting together with Christ in heavenly places, that in the
ages to come He might show the exceeding riches, not of our
work or our inclination, Not even of our faith, but the exceeding
riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace you are saved, through faith, and that, that faith,
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest
any man should boast. How could words be more plain?
But look at verse 10, for we are His workmanship. We didn't
create ourselves in Christ. He did it! We are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus on two good works, which God hath before
ordained, that we should walk in them. When we're reconciled
to God, we understand what God has done. We understand our offense. We understand how God removed
that. We understand something of the justice of God. We understand
something of the righteousness of Christ. and the penalty that
he bore, the sin that he had to bear, in order to remove that
offense in God. God did this. He brought us to
God by His death. And having done that, He declared
it to us. And in declaring it to us, He
not only spoke the Word, as He did in creation, but He spoke
it by the power of His Spirit, so that we were raised from the
dead, made to believe, given faith, all by grace. And we were
created by God in Christ. This is God's work. And having
been created in Christ, we look to Him. We look to Him like Abel. We come to Him. We worship Him.
We walk in the ways of the Lord. We come to God by Christ. We
live by faith. That's what it means to walk
with God. Enoch. Before his translation,
he had this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith. And not just faith in things.
I believe the sky is blue. I believe 2 plus 2 is 4. That's
not faith. Not saving faith. It's faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. As our sin bearer. As our Lord. We confess that He's Lord and
that He's all of our salvation. Those two things. But the second
way we walk with God is to walk with Him in life. in life. Having received Christ
Jesus the Lord by faith, how do we walk? The same way we received
Him. Colossians 2.6 says, As you have
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. And so we walk in Him by this
faith. Look at Galatians chapter 2.
Galatians chapter 2 verse 20. Paul, the apostle, says, I'm
crucified with Christ Crucified with Christ. So identified, so
in union with Him, that when He was crucified, I was crucified
with Him. Why is that significant? Because
my sins were there. The old man, the body of sins,
was with Him on the cross. He bore our sins in His own body
on the tree. I am crucified with Christ. You'd
think, well then you're dead. No, He says, nevertheless I live.
Oh, well then how did you come back alive? Yet not I. I live, but not I. Christ liveth
in me, because he was raised from the dead. And I was raised
with him, because my sins were buried when he was buried. And
him having been raised from the dead, I live together. I was
quickened together with him. Christ liveth in me. The Lord
Jesus Christ, the God of glory, lives in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, this sinful flesh, how do I live? I live by the
faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Isn't that enough to understand
our reconciliation to God? And our walk with Him? We understand
how we were reconciled. We believe it. We're persuaded
of it. We embrace it. We hold to it. And here, he says,
and this is the way we live. We go on living this way, looking
to Christ. Look at Titus. Chapter... Actually... Yeah,
let's look at Titus, chapter 3. These are not verses you've
never seen before, no doubt. Titus. The T's in the New Testament
are in alphabetical order. Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus.
Titus, chapter 3. I didn't learn that until I was
much older in life. Titus, chapter 3, verse 3. We ourselves also
were what? Sometimes foolish. or all the
times, in my case, disobedient, deceived, serving divers' lusts
and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hateful by
God and hateful by others, and hating one another, but After
that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Ghost." There we were, irreconciled,
alienated, separated, going our own way, living our own lives,
ignorant of God, not knowing Christ. And God reached down in His mercy
and saved us, washed us. He washed us. He gave us this
faith to see that we're cleansed in the blood of Christ by the
Holy Ghost, the power of God. In verse 6, which He shed on
us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, who is sitting in
glory because He obtained the salvation for us, therefore it's
shed out abundantly upon us. that being justified by His grace,
made righteous and declared to be righteous and perfect in the
presence of God with great joy by God's grace on the basis of
what Christ did in His atoning death, being justified freely
by His grace, that we should be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life. That's how we live. We remember
this. We're not ignorant of it. We
see God's work. We stand still. We say, did you
see what he did? Did you see what he did in Christ?
Did you see how he reached down in this town, in this family
I lived in, in this state, in this country, where the gospel
was not even understood in my area, and he preached the gospel
of Christ crucified to me? And I was persuaded of it. This
is all my salvation. And I actually took delight in
it. And it became my life. I've lived by faith on the Son
of God ever since. I haven't found any hope anywhere
else but Him. And by God's grace, He's pointed
me to Christ. And He's kept me with Christ.
That's how we live. We live by faith on Him. We walk
in Him. Look at another place. Not only
do we live by faith depending upon Him, but in every trial,
1 Peter 1, we endure in the patience of faith. Because
this grace that God has given to us reveals to us that not
only did God reconcile us to Himself, not only did He give
us His Spirit to know what He did in Christ, but He also has
arranged and predestinated every detail of our lives in order
to show forth the exceeding riches of His grace in the ages to come,
so that every detail of our life is already planned out, purposed
by God in order to give Himself glory, to illuminate His kindness
toward us and His grace toward us. So in 1 Peter 1, we read
these words, 1 Peter 1, Verse 3, We just read about that
in all these verses we've been talking about. But now look in
verse 4. "...to an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven
for you." That's where our hope is. It's in heaven, isn't it?
It's in Christ. It's in who He is, what He's
done. All that He is. Verse 5, "...who are kept by
the power of God..." How? "...through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time." We don't see it now, do
we? But it will be revealed. But
were kept through faith now unto that salvation wherein you greatly
rejoice, though now for season, if need be, you are in heaviness
through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith,
your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,
though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and
honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. whom having
not seen, you love, in whom though now you see him not, yet believing,
you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." What
is this walk of faith? It's living our lives utterly
dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ for all of our standing before
God, but also in every circumstance of our life, giving glory to
God that He is accomplishing His will in us in order to reveal
His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus, to conform us into the
image of Christ. Sin shall not have dominion over
you. You're not under the law, you're
under grace. God's grace works in us, in our
lives, and orders all things. All things are working together
for our good to them who are the called of Jesus Christ. Called according to His purpose.
It's all working to conform us to His image. And so we walk
in this patient Believing that God is accomplishing in us what
we can't accomplish. We're totally helpless. So when
trouble comes, like Job, he said, naked I came from my mother's
womb and naked will I return. God has taken it away. He gave
it. He took it away. It's his. And
all things in between, those two points. are just Him working
out His purpose. And we look to Christ. Lord,
do for me what I can't do. Work in me to desire and to... How does it say in Philippians
2, verse 12 and 13? It's God who works in you both
to will and to do of His good pleasure. That's walking by faith.
God's working in us. He created and ordained us to
good works, to walk in them. And so we do. We walk, we overcome
by faith, we overcome this world, we overcome Satan, we overcome
all things, looking to Christ by the blood of the Lamb. And
the third thing that this walking means, walking by faith means,
walking with God, not only do we worship God in Christ, recognizing
that we're reconciled by His death, and that we live by His
life now, we'll be utterly and completely saved by Him. But
we look for Him. We look for Him. While we are
here in 1 Peter, look at 1 Peter chapter 1 and
verse 13. Wherefore, considering all these
things, how we are looking for that salvation that will be revealed
in the last time. He says, wherefore, gird up the
loins of your mind. In other words, pull up your
big boy pants. Be sober and hope to the end
for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus
Christ. Prepare yourself for battle.
Prepare yourself for trouble. Prepare yourself in your heart
that God is accomplishing His will. And when trouble comes,
thank Him that He has all things ordered according to His purpose.
And everything is working for your good. Don't complain, like
I do. Don't complain. And don't look
for the next thing. I've got to get through this
so I can get to the next best thing. In everything give thanks,
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5, 24. God's going to do it. Or 22,
I can't remember which verse. He says, gird up the loins of
your mind, be sober, hope to the end for the grace that is
to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. What
are we doing? Walking. We're looking and we're
waiting. We're looking and waiting for
Christ. The revelation of this salvation is going to be, it's
coming, it's coming. It's either going to come in
our life when the Lord returns from heaven and will be translated
then, as Enoch was, or it'll come in our death and will be
translated, we won't go We will not die in our soul. We will
be translated. We will be brought to the Lord.
To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 1. We walk in the reconciliation
God has. We walk living by faith on Christ,
crucified. 1 Thessalonians 1. He says in verse 5, actually
in verse 4, "'Knowing, brethren, your beloved.'" Brethren, beloved,
that means you're loved of God. Your election of God. What good
would it say to say to everybody, you're loved of God? If everyone's
loved of God, then why would he bother saying, "'Knowing,
brethren, beloved, your election of God.'" He puts those together,
doesn't he? Those who are loved are elected of God. And how does
he know that? For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were
among you for your sake. For you became followers of us
and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction,
with joy of the Holy Ghost, so that you were in samples to all
that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded
out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad,
so that we need not to speak anything. For they themselves
show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how you
turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. That's
what I mentioned before about the kings. They turned to God
from idols to serve the living and true God. And to do what? As you're living this life by
faith, serving the true and the living God, He says, "...and
to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead,
even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." Reconciled,
living by faith, looking for Christ to come. That's the way
we walk. It's all by faith, isn't it?
One more verse. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter
15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Enoch
was translated that he should not see death. And he was not
found for God, it translated him. In 1 Corinthians chapter
15, he says in verse 51. Behold, I show you a mystery. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 51. Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep. Our bodies, not all of us, are
going to actually die in our bodies. We shall not all sleep. But we shall all be changed.
Even those who are in the grave. But us who are living when the
Lord returns. He says in the next verse. In
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, For
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and you shall be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death? sin. And the strength of sin
is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We walk by faith
on that. Jesus said, whoever believes
on me has already passed from death to life. He shall not come
into condemnation. He has already passed from death
to life. Enoch was translated that he
should not see death, and he walked with God in this faith.
God's reconciling work in Christ, applied to him by the Spirit
of God, so that what he walked in before was turned, so that
he now walked with God, looking to Christ, waiting for his Son
from heaven. Let's pray.