(Hebrews 11:5-6) 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.
He pleased God. Can this testimony be said of us? When this is all said and done, will the Lord say unto us, (Matthew 25:21) Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things… In Luke, Jesus says (Luke 19:17) Thou hast been faithful in a very little… God, truly expects few things from us; very little is required of him.
When the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast the devil out of that man’s son, he said (Matthew 17:20) Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. What God requires of us is not impossible. What seems like us to be a mountain of difficulty, we need only faith to overcome.
We want to please God and do the work of God. We need only faith to please him. The disciples inquired of Jesus, (John 6:28-29) What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
The bible says that Abraham (Romans 4:20) Staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; Every time I heard that, I got this mental picture of Abraham praising God, saying “Glory to God!” But I realize now that is not right. No doubt he did that. However, it was his faith that glorified God. And his strong faith was demonstrated and exercised through his obedience. When God said (Genesis 12:1-2) Get thee out of thy country… And I will make of thee a great nation… Abraham believed God and got out! Why? Because he was strong in faith. And that pleased God. Faith pleases God.
I believe we see that same formula in Enoch. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death… because God had translated him. Why did God translate him? Was it because he had this testimony, that he pleased God? God was pleased by Enoch’s faith. There is coming a day that, in the twinkling of an eye, we also shall be translated. The trump of God shall sound. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) The dead in Christ shall rise… Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Praise the Lord. But is this because we please God in the same respect that Enoch pleased God?
Nay, I’ll tell you why; because (Romans 6:17) Ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you; because (Ephesians 1:13) After that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, And the Holy Spirit is the earnest that God has given us; a promise that he will one day come and possess that which he has bought with his own blood. (Ephesians 1:14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession… Now, God is pleased in that respect.
But I’m going to venture to say that the pleasure of God in our salvation is primarily about his Son, not us. (Isaiah 53:10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him… It goes on to say, when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed… and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. The pleasure of the LORD is in the hand of Christ, not ours. (Isaiah 53:11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied… I know that many of us had gone through travail of soul before getting saved, but it was not our travail that satisfied God, but it was His travail that pleased Him.
Enoch pleased God in another respect. (Genesis 5:22) And Enoch walked with God… I’ll say this: If Enoch didn’t get translated then, he would would have eventually been translated. He would just have had to rise first. His early translation is what his faith had wrought. His walk of faith was so pleasing to God that he took him home earlier. His early translation was a reward for his faith. If you have put your faith in Christ, you will be translated one way or another. The faith you demonstrated when you got saved secures your translation. You will be translated whether you live a life pleasing to God or if you don’t live a life pleasing to God.
But what does it mean to walk with God? What does it mean to please God, beyond salvation as Enoch? What does it mean to live by faith? What reward is there for us? Our text states He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. That word cometh means come and keep on coming. We must believe that he is a rewarder. If we truly believe that he is a rewarder, then we must needs be seekers. (Matthew 7:8) He that seeketh findeth… Finders keepers. Losers weepers.