Enoch's case is an isolated one, but nonetheless it is a principle and standard for every believer. There are three things that we need to note here. First, Enoch was translated, and this word "translated" means "to transfer to another place." Enoch was translated or removed to heaven without ever seeing death. He wasn't holier than Noah. He wasn't holier than Abraham. These two both saw physical death. Enoch, however, was chosen by God to be translated. Keep in mind that God puts forth metaphors or allegories in the Old Testament, which is spiritual truth that will be fulfilled in the New Testament Era. Enoch's faith in God alone took him from this earth into heaven. Genesis 5:24 tells us that "... Enoch walked with God: and he <was> not; for God took him." The phrase "walked with God" is not reserved for Enoch alone. This very same phrase is given to Noah and a similar phrase to Abraham as well as others. First we note that Enoch was translated or taken into Heaven without ever seeing death. Secondly, we read that it was solely by faith that Enoch was translated. And thirdly, we see from Hebrews chapter eleven that before Enoch's translation, he held a testimony: that he pleased God.

We may conclude that true Godly faith will sooner or later result in the believer's translation because of a testimony that is pleasing to God. Remember Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please God..."

Christ says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into heaven. These are slim odds, but because Christ's faith is imputed to believers, rich men can indeed enter into heaven. Without the faith of Christ we haven't even the slim odds of a camel going through the eye of a needle. It is totally impossible to please God without faith. God doesn't tell us that it is easier to go through the eye of a needle than to enter into Heaven without faith - because it isn't. Many today are deceived into substituting knowledge for faith. Faith is much more than knowledge. One cannot be translated to Heaven without faith, because without faith God cannot be pleased. When God is not pleased, it may mean that your testimony is lacking, or you do not possess a true testimony. "For before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God," (Hebrews 11:5).

All who ever went on before us to be with God, of whom the Bible records, have held a testimony that by faith they pleased God. This is not a works gospel. True faith comes only by Christ. When we are about to cross over from this life into eternity, the one and only thing that will matter is our faith. How did we receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ? When we totter on the brink of death, the condition of our faith in Christ will be the deciding factor as to our eternal destiny. And on the Last Day the faith of every person who ever lived will be weighed; some pleasing to God, but many displeasing to God. For the Christian, it will be our testimony that we pleased God. We don't have to perform outlandish acts in order to please God. We don't have to be super human or even super holy, although we are commanded by God to be holy. The bottom line is faith. True faith will make us perfect in God's eyes. We will be made like unto Christ, but never will we equal God in perfection. We are and always will be God’s creatures.

At Judgment Day believers will be made perfect, and that will be whatever God declares perfect to be for us in eternity. The Old Testament saints will not be made perfect without us, Hebrews tells us. They, through faith, looked forward to the Cross of Christ. We, through faith, look back at the completed work of Christ on the cross. They, having obtained a good report, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect, Hebrews chapter eleven tells us. By faith we will be made perfect at the last day along with the Old Testament believers. In Romans chapter one we read about faith: "The just shall live by faith." And who are the just? Those who have been justified by the blood of Christ. Those who are eternally saved. Romans chapter three says "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." We do not have to comply with the works of the Old Testament Law.

Romans chapter four: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteous-ness." Again, to him that worketh not: in other words ... forget about working your way into heaven. True saving faith, with a broken and a contrite heart is what God requires.

Romans chapter five: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"

FAITH COUPLED WITH LOVE

Therefore, with Godly faith comes love. It is impossible to have true saving faith without having true Christian love. The two are inseparable. 1 Corinthians 13:2 states: "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, [that's love] I am nothing."

Love and faith is the commandment for the New Testament believer. Jesus gives us the New Testament commandment, which, if obeyed, fulfills all of the Old Testament commandments, which pointed us to Christ. The New Testament commandment is two-fold:

"Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." [This is faith because it takes faith to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind.] Christ goes on to say: "This is the first and great commandment. The second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," (Matthew 22:37-40).

This is charity, of which 1 Corinthians 13 spoke of. Without charity or love, we are nothing - even though one may have a vast knowledge of Scripture and much faith, but without love it is not true Godly faith. 1 John chapter three states: "And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, [again, that's faith] and love one another, as he gave us commandment [and that's charity or love]." If love and faith is Christ's commandment for us, then of course our own works are worthless. What a blessing it is that man cannot earn his own salvation.

                     FAITH VS. WORKS

Now we come to the reverse side of this message. The flip side because many believe there is another side to the Great Commandment. We read in James that faith without works is dead. God is telling us that true faith must include Godly works, or it is not true saving faith. Some will confuse this greatly and even become legalistic in their attempt at keeping Christ's commandments. They will wonder, is there yet another side to this New Testament Commandment? They will go through life always being unsure as to whether their works play some part in their salvation. They will go through life always carrying in the back of their minds the nagging thought that "in some way I still have to do something to make God pleased with me". Some are tormented with the possibility of thinking they have to be as holy as Noah was. But don't forget Scripture records these men of God as being human and sinful. Noah is seen as being drunk and passed out in his tent in Genesis 9:21. Others think they are required to be as holy as Jacob was. Jacob lied and tried to deceive his own father Isaac in order to receive a blessing that was meant for his brother. Shall we be as holy as David was, who was an Old Testament "type" or figure of Christ? David fell into adultery. Or how about Jonah? He disobeyed God and literally ran from Him! We're not excusing sin by pointing to the sins of the Old Testament saints. However, don't hold your expectations high on how holy one can live while in this earthly flesh. We will fall short every hour. The false hope or assumption of thinking that God expects us to keep His commandments to a near perfect degree will torment a believer for his entire lifetime if he does not harmonize this with all of Scripture. Not only will it torment him, it will stunt his spiritual growth and will take away from his fellowship and union with Christ. The Word of God was written first and foremost to present Christ the Messiah as our personal saviour. Secondly, God shows us in both Old and New Testaments how rotten and sinful man really is. That is what we must come to grips with. We need to realize in the depths of our hearts that we are indeed lost and in need of a spiritual saviour.

FULL AGE

We're speaking of the need to be perfect. Yes, we are commanded to be perfect. In Matthew 5:48 Christ commands us: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." We know that no man can be perfect like God, not in this life nor in eternity to come. The word "perfect" is also translated in Hebrews 5:14 as "full age" "But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age [or perfect]..." This verse confirms to us that the Christian is able to reach a certain perfection, but we must be very careful. It isn’t telling us that strong meat belongs to those who are perfect or who are of full age. The term "perfect" or "full age" means "with a view of Godliness."

Once we begin to live out our lives through faith in Christ with a view of Godliness in everything we do, we are on our way to being of full age. But don't forget this is an on-going task. Our best effort at being holy is still nothing but rotten sin and filthy rags to God if its done outside of Christ. The Greek word "perfect" that Christ used in Matthew 5:48 is again used in 1 Corinthians 14:20 where Paul declares: "Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, ... but in understanding be men." "Men" is the same Greek word that Christ used in Matthew 5:48 that is translated "perfect." Of course we cannot be perfect like our Father in Heaven. But we are commanded to be "of full age" or to be "men" in our understanding of Scripture.

ONLY CHRIST CAN FULLY KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS

The true Christian must understand exactly what God desires of him. Many confessing Christians make one of the following mistakes:

1. They give up and sin willfully because they assume they should be perfect, and yet they know they cannot be perfect. Therefore they take on a defeated attitude, giving up the spiritual battle, and taking advantage of the grace of God by sinning willfully.

 2. They live out their lives doubting their salvation because they know they fall woefully short of keeping God's commandments. Both of these attitudes are against the will of God.

For a true Christian to doubt his own salvation is a terrible thing. It will ruin their walk, testimony and fellowship with God. They look as passages such as 1 John 2:3 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." They somehow feel they are violating this verse if they sin. Every Christian, however, sins every hour of his life! This verse cannot be telling us to be sinless. It indeed is telling us to keep God's commandment, but when we harmonize this with the rest of Scripture we realize that no man can keep God's commandments. This verse alone should show us our desperate need for a Saviour, just as the Old Testament Law shows us how incapable we are at keeping God's commandments. It points us to our desperate need of Christ.

We keep God's commandments if we love God first, and secondly love our neighbor as ourselves. When we struggle and fall daily, many professing Christians figure they are not keeping Christ's commandments. Therefore they enter into a state of "defeat," thinking perhaps they really do not know Christ. As a result, they are kept in a state of spiritual despair. However, the question must be asked: "Was the thief on the cross saved because he overcame the sin of thievery?" Of course not! But Scripture clearly states that thieves will not inherit the kingdom of God. Why was the thief of the cross saved during the last minutes of his life? Did he promise Christ that he would never steal again? No! But he remarked to the other criminal on the cross:

"... but this man [pointing to Jesus] hath done nothing amiss."

And he said unto Jesus:

 "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom."

Jesus said unto him:

“Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:41-43)

This is a rare case, but nonetheless God put it in Scripture for a strong purpose. During the last moments of this thief's life he was translated, that he should not see eternal death, because before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. This is the principle and standard spoken of earlier. This sinner on the cross didn't build an ark. He didn't lead Israel through the wilderness. He was a thief, which was only one of his many sins. Many are just as sinful in other ways, perhaps even worse. And yet we have God's own eternal promise to him: "... today shalt thou be with me in paradise." This thief believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

CHRIST: OUR FAITH

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," Hebrews 11:1. God gave this thief saving faith in the last moments of his life. Don't think you're going to sin all your life and be saved during the last moments. This is an isolated case, showing forth the grace and mercy of God in its abundance.

Romans chapter seven is a beautiful Scriptural truth of just how wicked and wretched man really is. Is there any hope for man? Who shall deliver me from this body of death, Paul asks. When the Christian desires to do good works for God, evil is always present. For the good that we desire to do, many times we cannot perform it. But the evil that we desire not to do, it is always present and many times we do it. The evil which I would not, that I do, Paul says. In the last verse of Romans seven, Paul gives thanks to God that our answer is found in Jesus Christ. As a born-again Christian Paul admits "...with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." Paul knew he was far from perfect. He knew that he would never be pleasing to God were it not for the faith of Christ in him. Romans chapter seven is not to be used as an excuse to sin, but it is the grace of God explained to us, in that Christ came to save sinners. We are in constant need of forgiveness. Romans chapter seven includes a close-up view (a front roll seat) of an age-old spiritual warfare between man and God.

OUR WARFARE IS ENDED!

Centuries before the virgin Mary gave birth in Bethlehem to the Prince of Peace, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, and pointed to this child, declaring to all who would ever trust in Him:

"Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned..."

Our warfare with God is finished, if we are pleasing to God. And that can only be done - not through knowledge of Christ - but that can only be done through faith in Christ. Our iniquity is pardoned, if we are pleasing to God. Again, only through faith in Christ. This is why the prophet Isaiah declares to us that we are to speak comfortably to Jerusalem. And why Jerusalem? Because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is eternal comfort. We are to comfort Jerusalem (the eternal Jerusalem), which is the eternal true Church, the Body and Bride of Christ .... by declaring that our warfare with God is accomplished - IT IS FINISHED - and our sins are pardoned - THEY ARE FORGIVEN. We can't add one iota to our salvation by being holy. However, the faith of Christ instills in every believer the need to live as perfectly as we can.