Faithfulness in an Age of Evil

Can a Christian be faithful when surrounded by all the evil, and while living in a society which not only denies God, but expects everyone to fall into line with its way of living and thinking? Looking at the lives of many faithful servants of the Lord, both past and present, we can confidently say: "Yes, Christians are able to live for their Lord, despite the anti-Christ forces which they face day by day."

ENOCH AND THE CULTURE OF HIS DAY

When we look at the story of Enoch in the Bible, we find much needed guidance and encouragement to persevere in our Christian walk, to honour and glorify Christ in all that we do day by day. Enoch lived in a culture similar to ours, a culture characterized by death, evil, and destruction. 

In the midst of this, he showed a remarkable faith-response to God's call to "radical obedience", a call to obey God and stand boldly against an evil culture. Why was Enoch able to live this way?  Because he -

  • believed that God existed even in an evil world;
  • trusted in God for his salvation;
  • believed that God rewards those who seek Him;
  • obeyed God's commands even when His promises were hard to believe; and -
  • obeyed God's commands even when the rest of the world did not. 

ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD

Genesis 5:21-24 implies that Enoch may not always have walked with God. Although this passage may be translated otherwise, the birth of his son Methuselah appears to have changed the direction of Enoch's life. And how did this event change Enoch's lifestyle? 

The name Methuselah means "when he dies it will come". The "it" here refers to God's judgment. Enoch took this warning seriously. Jude shows Enoch as a preacher of righteousness and judgment who admonished the ungodly to turn from evil (Jude 10-15). 

But like today, Enoch's preaching fell on deaf ears, and the people of his day continued to practise such evil that God's heart was actually grieved and filled with pain (Genesis 6:6). While the Bible gives no indication, we can be sure that Enoch endured mental and verbal abuse for his faith, if not at times physical suffering as well. 

This could well have been one of the reasons that God mercifully and supernaturally removed Enoch from the world before the destruction came: "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away" (Gen 5:24; Hebrews 11:5). Like Elijah, Enoch did not experience death but was escorted directly into heaven. 

ENOCH - A REMINDER OF THE FINAL VICTORY

The other reason (and perhaps the more important one) for his being taken up into heaven in this way, is the reminder that this final victory over death points us to Christ, for while Jesus would endure the shame and indignity of death, He ultimately overcame death by His resurrection into the glorious presence of His Father. Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, thus fulfils everything Enoch's godly life symbolizes for us. 

For even though all of us, except those still living the day Christ returns (1 Thess 4:13-18), must undergo death, Enoch's experience of bypassing death shows us what ultimately awaits each and every believer. Surely, the most marvellous moment in our faith journey will be that moment we step from the physical world into heaven.

Indeed, God's Word confirms that He will "redeem my soul from the grave; he will surely take me to Himself" and that He will "guide me with [His] counsel, and afterward...take me into glory" (Psalm 49:15; 73:24). 

Enoch's example encourages us as it encouraged the Hebrew Christians. We know that Jesus will give us the strength to be faithful in an ungodly world, to faithfully proclaim His love and judgment. Enoch reminds us that, although we face hardships, difficulties and even persecution in a world which has largely rejected Christ and His free gift of salvation, ultimate evil cannot harm us. 

THE CHALLENGE FOR CHRISTIANS

While all of us will face death, and for some it could be death from persecution, death is but an open door into eternal glory. Christ will at the last day, bring us into that place "not made with hands, but eternal in the heaven" and where "all things have been made new, and there shall no longer be any death, mourning or crying or pain" (2 Cor 5:1; Rev 21:4-5). 

The details of Enoch's life are sketchy, perhaps intentionally so. He was a preacher, husband, and father, whose daily life was characterized by an intense love for God. He was an ordinary man, made extraordinary by the presence of God in his life. Enoch pleased God because he believed God. 

As we place our faith in our sovereign Lord, as we walk with Him, believing that He is able to “save forever those who draw near to God through Christ" (Heb 7:25), and that there is now "nothing which is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:39), we too will be able to remain faithful in an ungodly world, we can obeyGod and stand boldly against an evil culture and at last be taken up into everlasting glory. In the strength of the Holy Spirit, Christian are able to walk with God, and can be faithful when surrounded by all the evil in a society which rejects God, His Son Jesus and His Word.

 

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