One Life To Live

Posted on July 22, 2007

 

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Genesis 4:25-5:32

ONE GREAT TRUTH: Death is a guarantee, an inevitable certainty that leaves us with a simple question in life… since our time is finite and limited, what will we make of this one life we have?

            Only one life, twill soon be past,

            Only what’s done for Christ will last!

I.          The Inevitability of Death.

Chapter five should never be skipped in a reading of the Bible for one simple reason – it’s a reminder of the inevitability of death for every person. Still, there is the one exception of Enoch. However, aside from Enoch and Elijah, every other person in the Bible died. Read it repetitively and note the words “and he died.”

Hebrews 9:27

II.         The Possibility of a Life that Matters.

Out of the sinful pack of humanity, here was one man who chose to live his life in such a way that God spared him from the curse of physical death. Some have speculated that he will reappear in the end times so that he might suffer the universal curse of sin and die. But we need to note that there will be an entire generation of believers who do not suffer death, but rather are translated into spiritual bodies – they will be raptured.

            A.         We need to have the right walk.

The word “walk” is used throughout Scripture to note the kind of life someone lives or is supposed to live. We are to “walk worthy of our calling,…” “walk circumspectly,…” “walk in wisdom toward them that are without…”

Our walk is how our life is described. What is your “walk” today? What are the habits of your life that define you?

            B.         We need to have the right witness.

Jude 13-14 is a quotation from 1 Enoch 1:9, a non-canonical (non-biblical) book written by several different authors, probably around 150-80 b.c. It’s a fascinating book, but not inspired. Many critics have pounced on this information and have decided that Jude doesn’t belong in the Bible, or that it is not inspired either.

Personally, it doesn’t bother me that this is quoted from an apocryphal source for several reasons. One, many biblical authors quoted non-biblical material in their inspired writings. Two, Jude seems simply to be making the point that judgment will come, and Enoch’s supposed words simply illustrate that. Three, the Holy Spirit inspired and preserved Jude’s writings for us today, regardless of the nature of 1 Enoch. I take them to be true even if they are the only true words in 1 Enoch. Just because the book is non-biblical, does not mean that it does not contain some of the truth of God.

Therefore, we have Enoch’s message. Not only do we have his life, but we have his words, and like Abel, “he being dead, yet speaketh.” His words were those of warning. Note the three warnings in his message:

1.         Jesus is coming with His saints.

2.         He will execute judgment and vengeance against ungodly sinners.

3.         He will reprove them and convict them of their ungodly words and actions.

What is the message of your life? the content of your words? What do people know about you by what you say?

All die, but some matter! Does your life matter? It does if you’re spending it for the Jesus Christ who died for your sins and rose again.