Mighty Lord and everlasting one, we come before you ready to look at your word and ask that you would aid the preaching and hearing of the word, that your spirit would minister to us during this time, that you would be gracious to allow the unction of the spirit to be present and to allow the most profitable hearing to be present. We ask that you administer the Lord Jesus Christ to us as we consider what it means to walk with you. We ask that you would bless this time by the power of the Holy Spirit who makes us to differ one from another. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. So we look at Genesis chapter 5, verses 1 through 32. Follow as I read this most interesting passage. This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them and called them mankind in the day they were created. And Adam lived 130 years and begot a son in his own likeness after his image and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were 800 years and he had sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years and he died. Seth lived 105 years and begot Enosh. After he begot Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Seth were 912 years and he died. Enosh lived 90 years and begot Canaan. After he begot Canaan, Enosh lived 815 years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enosh were 905 years and he died. Canaan lived 70 years and begot Mehalilo. And after he begot Mehalilo, Canaan lived 840 years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Canaan were 910 years and he died. Mehalilo lived 65 years and begot Jared. After he begot Jared, Mehalilo lived 830 years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Mehalilo were 895 years and he died. Jared lived 162 years and begot Enoch. And after he begot Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were 962 years and he died. Enoch lived 65 years and begot Methuselah. after he begot Methuselah Enoch walked with God 300 years and had sons and daughters so all the days of Enoch were 365 years and Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him Methuselah lived 187 years and begot Lamech and after he begot Lamech Methuselah lived 782 years and had sons and daughters So all the days of Methuselah were 969 years and he died. Lamech lived 182 years and had a son and called his name Noah, saying, This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord has cursed. After he begot Noah, Lamech lived 595 years and had sons and daughters. so all the days of Lamech were 777 years and he died and Noah was 500 years old and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth may the Lord bless the reading of his word there are ten sections in this particular aspect of scripture with three divisions The ten sections show ten generations, from Adam to Noah. And the prominent theme in these ten sections is what? That they all died. Death is reigning, instead of a desire towards God. Why? Because Genesis 2.17 is exactly true. In the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. They all died after a time, Methuselah being the most old of them all, 969 years old, but he died. In contrast to dying, though, there is walking with God further than simply living life. Ten sections with three divisions. Now, the three divisions are these, man is still in the image of God though that image is fallen for each of them die as God stated which we find in verses one through three they're made in that particular image Enoch walked with God and then was taken up by God that's in verse 24 that's the second division the third Noah is to bring relief in verse 28. So we have those three divisions. Let's look at them. Division number one. The image and likeness of God in men corrupted but still required to be holy. In Genesis 1.26 the order is image likeness. Then God said let us make men in our image according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. In 5.1, it is first likeness as a summation of what's going on. Genesis 5.1, this is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. And in 5.3, the words are reverse. It's likeness, then image. And Adam lived 130 years and begot a son in his own likeness after his image and named him Seth. and this image or likeness was given from Adam to Seth and so on. Now just because the curse came, God did not recant his requirement for man to be holy. Man was still to rule in a righteous and in a holy manner before God, but he didn't. We find death reigning. In the second division, Enoch we find as the first one who walks with God, or at least in the line of Seth, because this is the line that we have here from Adam, remember, and Seth who replaced Abel. We find, though, Enoch in this righteous line, walking with God, was taken up by God, and thus we see that there is, even in the midst of death, hope. Amidst the curse there is still hope. In all the other sections it states that man lived and he died. In this section it stated that Enoch lived and then further along he walked with God and it says that twice in verse 22 and verse 24. He had a relationship with God in such a way as to never taste death ever. Now this does not mean that he was a sinner, and it doesn't mean that he wasn't a partaker of the curse. He was. But in contrast to the other genealogical cycles, Enoch did not live simply. Instead, in contrast, he walked with God. Enoch did not die like the others. He walked with God, and God took him. And that walk lasted for 300 years. Fellowship with the Lord in this way is quite a step up from merely living life. And then we find in Division 3 there is hope in Noah to be relieved from the curse and Lamech states that Noah would bring relief from the evils of man. We find that there needs to be relief because of sin. Now, this is not the same Lamech of Cain's line. We're dealing with the line of the woman, the line of Seth in this genealogy. Lamech makes a mistake, like Eve, though, in thinking that Noah himself would personally bring relief. But his inclination was right. Noah is going to bring a kind of relief. The relief, though, that we find in Noah's day is the utter destruction of all wickedness all men, except for those that God saves on the ark." We see that temporary relief is brought on by the flood. Ultimately, relief is still waiting for God's Messiah to come. The genealogy ends with a reference and tie-in to Ham, Shem, and Japheth. It's the last verse. and they are Noah's descendants, and the ones who will be rescued by God when the flood comes, and that line will ultimately bring the Messiah. And so we have the three divisions. Death, made in the image of the death bearers, those who walk with God, and the relief that's going to ultimately come. Now, in this chapter, I want to touch on five progressive ideas. Five ideas that progress on one another. The first, God never changes simply because man sins. We often believe that because Adam sinned, God somehow had to change his plan. He had to do something to compensate. We cannot ever say that God changed His plan, nor can we say that Adam ever deviated from God's plan. That would entail that the fall of man took God by surprise, which we know it did not. We know even from the last book of the Bible that Jesus is, quote, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, Revelation 13, 8. So before a star was ever placed in the heavens, before the universe was ever created, Before there was a single tree sprouting up, before creation of any kind was made, the death of Christ was planned. And Jesus died because of sin. So the covenant of redemption was set in eternity past, that God's plan would take place, that ultimately, through the work of the Messiah, men would be redeemed from the curse that God was planning. His plan stands. Adam sins. His requirement for Adam does not change. Adam is still to be holy. He's still to live perfectly before God. Adam and all men are required to live perfectly before God. Leviticus 19.2 Be holy for I the Lord am holy. That's the epitome of God's people. That is what they are to be. But Secondly, we find that God's promises are faithful in that if men transgress, He will curse them. Even though He requires them to be holy, if they do something that is not holy, God will bring retribution on them because they are not reflecting His character. The curse is true. And Adam died. Seth died. Enosh died, and Canaan died, and Mehalielah died, and Methuselah died, and he died, and he died. Death is reoccurring. The curse at no time in any way quits. There is a real curse. Lamech even says that Noah is going to bring relief as a result of the curse that God cursed the ground. And they are feeling the effects of it. We're only talking about a short genealogical time. They lived a long time, but there is a real curse and they're feeling the effects of that real curse. It's not just a theological idea or a fancifully made up story to give us intrigue and suspense in some secular novel. If you don't believe that there is a curse, One need only to look as far of the mirror to see that it's true. When we read the newspaper, when we watch the evening news, we find murder and rape and arson and wars and famine and pestilence and disease and earthquakes and the list doesn't end. That's what the news is about. I don't like the news. I don't like the news because it reminds me of the effects of death. That's what God's promise was. Man is fallen. and a wicked and depraved as a result. And the image in him is corrupted. But God still wants him to perform things as if he is standing up straight, as if he is righteous. And that doesn't make God unfair, it simply shows that man is corrupt. God is not going to change simply because man changed. He makes provision for fallen men, as we will see, because there is hope but God still requires in everything that they do that they walk righteously and perfectly before him. Thirdly, there is hope in the midst of the curse if people walk with God. If men walk with God, there is hope amidst the curse. The men of the Lord must necessarily differ from wicked men by forsaking the entire course of this world and walking according to the world to come. They must mimic being citizens of heaven, mimic who God is. They are men of the divine commands and the divine duties and statutes and requirements that the Lord places upon his people to be like him. And we can call this a theology of walking. because the Bible is filled with the command to walk accordingly, to walk mimicking what God has so said. I'm just going to give you a few of them. Genesis 3, 8. This is how it began. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Remember in the beginning, Adam would walk with God, close, personal fellowship with God. That's how it began. Genesis 5.22, after he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years. Genesis 5.24, Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him. Genesis 6.9, Noah walked with God. Genesis 17.1, when Abraham was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to him, I am the Almighty God, what do I want you to do? Walk? before me and be blameless. Genesis 24 40 but he said to me the Lord before whom I walk will send his angel with you and prosper your way. Exodus 16 4 whether they will walk in my law or not. Leviticus 26 3 if you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and perform them In verse 12, I will walk among you and be your God and you shall be my people. 2 Chronicles 7.17, as for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked. Psalm 1.1, blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, walks in the way of God. Romans 13.13, let us walk properly. 1 Corinthians 7.17, but as God has distributed to each one as the Lord God has called each one, so let him walk. 2 Corinthians 5.7, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Galatians 5.25, if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Ephesians 5.8, walk as children of light. 2 John 1.6, he is love. that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. There is a theology of walking all through the Bible. It's the manner in which we carry ourselves before God. Robert Bolton, in a very famous work that he wrote, called A Comfortable Walking with God, said that walking with God is the crown of the Christian's character. Enoch's walking with God was sanctifying up to his translation into glory. It's the way that he walked. And walking with God comfortably is not necessarily easy. Roads that reach destinations may be long and arduous, but the arrival is often worth the journey. To hold the proper theology of walking is to hold a continually reforming outlook on sanctification with God every moment every minute, which brings us progressively to point number four. Not just living before God, because Adam lived, and Seth lived, and the Thucydides lived, they all lived, but comfortably walking with God. Not just that we walk with him, but that Christians comfortably walk with him. Enoch had such a special relationship with God Our text tells us that he lived and walked with God, and then God took him. Special relationships receive special treatment. He who has, Jesus says, will be given more, amazingly enough. And those who don't have, that which they even have will be taken from them and given to those who have. The wicked do not receive special treatment. They receive general judgment in this life, and then specific judgment in the life to come. But the qualifier is the word, if. If you abided by word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. In John 8. If you walk comfortably with God. If men walk with God, there is hope in the midst of the curse. If they do. Even though Christians are corrupted, even though Christians sin, even though Christians die, there's hope for the saved in the midst of the curse. For the same God who gave the curse also gives Christians life. So there has to be really a managing of the comfort of walking, walking rightly, in our life before God. There are three things that we should do to comfortably walk before God. Number one, live a life that is epitomized by faith in Christ in all things. Galatians 2.20, the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Faith is the spark of assurance of salvation. It's believing the promises of God, which means knowing and following His Word. If people do not know, and follow, and believe, and perform His Word, they don't know His Word, they can't walk, they can't even walk comfortably, much less walk at all. Faith is the spring of sanctification. Anything that we're going to mortify, anything that we're going to vivify, will never occur without a lively exercise of faith in Christ. Because we know that all good works come from the Spirit of Christ, which by faith we must believe. And faith preserves the Christian through every path. From prosperity, to be humble, to want, to be dependent, faith will always preserve the Christian, regardless of whatever place he is. So live a life of faith. Second, guard against the spots of the world. Desire arises out of the world. That word constitutes its essence, and it perishes with it. What perishes is not the object of desire, not the pleasure which it gives, but desire itself. He who constantly desires cannot participate in eternity with God, as Titus 2.12 tells us. All such objects of desire must in the end prove unsatisfactory, because They have a transitory character. The things of the world come, the things of the world go. Permanent values, things of eternity, attaches only to such things as correspond to God's plan for the world and men. Just to those. To none other. And this is the point that New Testament exhortation and explanation of the Old Testament in contrast between the Christian values and structure and the world's structure and values. It's the New Testament commentary on what God is trying to tell everyone in the Old Testament. They're opposed to one another completely. One must desire the things of God and one must throw off the world. They must live in God's kingdom, not the world's kingdom. And thus, thirdly, we must meticulously manage every sphere of life. Meticulously. manage every sphere of our life. If Christians are doing all to the glory of God, then all of life is managed for Christ. Paul specifically chooses in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 the point of doing something very menial, eating and drinking. You do that many times during the day and you do it to live so that you don't die. This is a menial almost meaningless kind of action that must be done generally for all things if they're going to survive, yet Paul says that they must do it all to the glory of God. So if just simply eating and drinking is supposed to be for the glory of God, then every area of life must be meticulously managed in that the Christian would have a comfortable walking with doing the things that God so desires to glorify him in everything. Christians are stewards of God's temple, and that temple is their own body. That means that no stone is left unturned. Every part of their life, in every way, must be meticulously managed. Every sphere of life. And to do those things, to live by faith, to disassociate ourselves from the spots of the world, and to meticulously manage everything that we do. will help us to walk comfortably before God. Fifth, there is ultimate relief, because even though we walk comfortably with God now, there is ultimate relief from the curse in the plan of God through the Messiah. We have to tack on the qualifier, through the Messiah. There is ultimately relief from the curse, but It's through the Messiah. It's through the one that God would send. People, they can think that they believe in God. People think they can just believe in God and everything's going to be okay. Well, you can believe in God and be lost. Philosophers and policemen and intellectuals and Oprah do it. Believe in God, but they're lost. Only the work of the Messiah, who is Christ, can save man. As Jeremiah 8.22 says, Jesus is the balm of Gilead. Jeremiah mourns for the people. And he says, is there no balm from Gilead? And Gilead was known for its medicine. Well, there's only one relief from the curse. And it's not Noah. It comes through Noah. But this balm is Christ. And Jesus came and he walked in the midst of the curse. But in the midst, he brought relief. by demonstrating what the new heavens will be like, what the new earth will be like. He touches a withered man's hand and it's fixed. A woman touches his clothes and she's healed from her issue of blood. People are dead. Jesus comes over, grabs them by the hand, they come to life. The Messiah does these things and brings in that kind of kingdom. He brought relief a small portion of relief, which people saw during those miracles, that relief was in his hands, in his power, in his grasp. But not only that, not only that he was able to make the man get up off of his mat, but that he also had the power to forgive sins. And ultimately, by dealing with the core problem of the curse, and that it was appeasing the wrath of God, was why the Messiah came, not to simply do a few miracles. The miracles simply attested to the overall mission that the Messiah had. That is why the curse, God's wrath, it has a hellish flavor to it. Having a withered hand, or blindness, or muteness, or not being able to walk, those are things that come from the curse. But Jesus came, and he lived in the midst of the curse, and he upheld the law of God perfectly, and that he sacrificed himself, and that he was raised from the dead by his power, he ascended into heaven and he presently intercedes at the right hand, where he has all power. And in doing those things, he then takes people and he blesses them with the power of the new kingdom. And he does that by regenerating their heart through the power of the Spirit, imputing his righteousness to him, His active righteousness on upholding the law, that it is as if all those for whom he died have upheld the law, and he appeased the wrath of God, that God's wrath would not come upon those for whom he died. Through him we have relief. And though the Messiah may save someone in this life, Christians are still required to live out the rest of their days in the midst of the curse and they are to walk like Enoch did. And they walk with the eager expectation that relief is coming soon. And it will soon come. Now let's take those ideas and let's apply them. Relief from the curse only comes if a man or woman is walking with God in this life. It's the only way that the curse, in any way or in any shape or in any form, is relieved. If you're not walking with God, you will not receive relief. You will live all your days under the curse, not even knowing that you're under the curse, and always wondering why there's so much evil in the world. And then, like Adam, and Seth, and Methuselah, and Ahilel, All of these people, you'll die. You'll be judged. You'll be sent to hell. You'll suffer under his wrath where the worm doesn't die and the fire is not quenched. And there is no hope from that point always. People despise hell so much, and they should, that they make up new ideas about hell at particular points because they don't like the idea of people being underneath the wrath of God forever. They shouldn't. The reality of hell is that there's no hope in hell. People who don't walk with God are walking with the devil. And those people will share the same fate that the devil shares. Hell was made for the devil and for fallen men. Revelation 20 and verse 10, the devil was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. They will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So torment, hatred, wickedness, it's not enough that the wrath of God be upon them But they get to share hell, the demons, with the devil. But, if people walk with God, what does that mean? What does that mean for us? What does walking with God mean for you? It means you have a relationship with God, as Enoch did. And Enoch walked with God for 300 years. People often have a hard time walking for 3 hours or 3 days. He walked with God for 300 years. Leviticus 26, 3, walk in my statutes and my commandments and before them and what will God do? I will walk among you and be your God. Colossians 2, 6, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Revelation 3, 4, you have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy. You, like Enoch, need to be God's friend, going in the same direction as God is, in mimicking Him, walking with Him. That means you have to know what direction He goes in. That means you have to know what God desires, and that's why I gave you Leviticus 26.3. You should know it. If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and perform them, if you do, then God will walk with you. God's direction can be summed up in one word. Holiness, which is the entire theme of the book of Leviticus. The entire theme of his character. You can measure your walk by seeing if what you do and who you are reflect an attitude and an example of holiness. That is where you are the mirrored reflection of God and that is the goal. Enoch walked with God for 300 years. Just like Enoch, you have to have no desire for anything but the path that God has for you. Desire makes up the Christian life. Why do we want to go to church? Why do we want to be a Christian? Why do we want to read the Bible? Why do we want to pray? Why do you want to do those things? You have to ask yourself, and you have to answer that question. That brings us to the final point, which is, what does walking with God entail? It means forsaking everything and walking alongside of Christ. If you walk away from Christ, then you're walking with the devil. You only have two positions, two options. You either walk with Christ or you walk with the devil, one or the other. Christ must be in all of our thoughts. Captivated by Christ always. Did you know that Jesus said he will judge us for every idle thought we have? Every single idle thought that you ever had, you will be judged for it. Matthew 12, 36. But instead, Our mind should be overrun with thoughts of the Savior and what he has done for us in saving us from the curse. And those thoughts should permeate every area of our life regardless of what we're doing. Everything has a connection with Christ. Nothing we do should be done apart from Christ. We should not be able to go anywhere or do anything that is not in connection with some measure of Christ. Intimacy, restrooms, school, work, household duties. Psalm 1 and verse 2. And on His law, I meditate. Sometimes. No. Day and night. When we walk with God, it hurts us to fall into sin and we cannot rest until the relationship with Christ is put better again. It's what should happen. That's why Paul says in Romans 7, 24 and 25, O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to Christ Jesus our Lord. We willingly give ourselves to the Spirit as an open book for Him to examine us. We say, search me, O God, and know my heart. And that's a hard thing to say, as the psalmist said. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me. Try my mind and my heart, Psalm 26. We always are striving to conform to Christ's will in His way. Romans 12, 1-2. In view of God's mercy, let us offer our bodies as living sacrifices. If we're walking with God, The religious aspects of the Christian life are simply fruits, which always emerge and show themselves forth. You know, I didn't tell you to do outward things and just say, you know, go read your Bible and make sure you pray. All of those things are outward fruits of what's going on in the inward attitude that somebody has with Christ. That's why I didn't mention those things. It doesn't tell those things, but walking with God first is a heart issue. Let us meditate on the idea that Enoch walked with God for 300 years. And as a result of walking with God, for whatever reason, God decided to take him. He didn't taste death. And as a result, we long for the hope and the remedy of the curse to be lifted in the coming of the Messiah, ultimately, to redeem us from that, finally, and bring us to heaven where we will be clothed new, and we will walk with Christ in newness of life in a way that we will never sin again. But as we are here, as we walk in this world, we must walk, and not only walk, but walk comfortably with God, that we would serve Him and love Him all of our days. Let us pray and ask that the Lord would bless his word to our mind and heart. Mighty Lord, Enoch walked with you and he never died. In the midst of the curse there is hope. We hope in the Messiah. We hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. We hope in his power to save. We hope in his sending of the Spirit to aid us that we might live this life walking comfortably before you all of our days. Help us to have an inward desire in which we love you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. For without which we are not walking, but we are moving in a different direction away from you. Help us to walk toward you and with you and alongside of you that we might live a life of holiness, mimicking your character, as we await the day in which the sky will roll back as a scroll and Christ will return. We so await it, we pray for it, we desire it, We ask for your help in these things, in Jesus' name. containing thousands of classic and contemporary Puritan and Reformed books, tapes, and videos at great discounts is on the web at www.swrb.com. We can also be reached by email at swrb at swrb.com, by phone at 780-450-4255, 3730 by fax at 780-468-1096 or by mail at 4710-37A Avenue Edmonton that's E-D-M-O-N-T-O-N Alberta abbreviated capital A capital B Canada T-6-L-3-T-5 you may also request a free printed catalog and remember that John Kelvin in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart. From his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions, since he condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devise. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God, by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The Prophet's words, then, are very important, when he says that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind, as though he had said That men assume too much wisdom, When they devise what he never required, Nay, what he never knew.