Walking in the Light
By Dr. Tom Walker
McDowell County
1 John 1:6-7 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
In the two verses we have read, John draws a contrast between walking in darkness and walking in the light. Have you ever sought to go out on a dark night, with no flashlight, and try to find your way through the darkness and its dangers? It is so much better to do your outside movement when it is daylight. You can see so much better when there is light to help you move from place to place.
Just like in John’s day, some people say they are in fellowship with God but are walking in darkness. When you walk in darkness, you are living in such a way that you rarely think about God at all. And if you do think about Him, you do not think of Him as light in whom there is no darkness at all. When we claim to be a member of a church we are saying, “We have fellowship with God.” Some may try to present that picture when it is not true in their lives.
When we walk in darkness or sin, we are walking in the wrong atmosphere. The kingdom of darkness is one that has a king. The Scriptures tell us there are two kingdoms in this world. There is the kingdom of God and the kingdom of evil, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of holiness and the kingdom of sin.
When we are born into this world, we are brought under the kingdom of darkness.
That kingdom represents everything this is opposed to God, His holiness and perfection, plus, everything that is in opposition to His plan and His purpose.
The only way to get into the kingdom of light is to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Jesus said something in John 12:26 we dare not miss. In John 12:46
Jesus said, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”
It is your choice whether you will remain in darkness, or whether you will find a new way of life by knowing Christ as Lord and Savior. Sometimes in life, we make wrong choices, but when it comes to eternal life, you had better not make the wrong choice. It is of the utmost importance that you receive the Light of the World, the Lord Jesus Christ, so darkness can be dispelled from your life.
What does “walking in the light” involve?
The Consideration of a Person
When we think of walking in the light we think of Christ. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12). Maybe when Christ spoke these words, the sun may have been rising, so in light of that, He compared himself to the rising sun. To the Jew, the sun was a symbol of Jehovah’s God. I John 1:5 says, “God is light.”
No one can walk in the light unless they have established a personal relationship with the right person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the darkness-removing person. The way to cure the darkness of the soul without Christ is to let His light shine brightly into our lives.
Light reveals dirt and dust. Look at one of your windows when bright sunlight is making its way into the house and you will see the dust floating through the air, which you did not realize was present. When the light of Christ shines, the wickedness of man is revealed.
Christ is a darkness dispelling person. In describing the believer, the apostle Paul said, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light”(Eph.5:8). Our darkness is seen as something that is a past condition and not a present one. The entrance of the light of Christ drives the darkness away. According to the Scripture, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
Christ is a delightful person. There is no one exactly like Him in the whole universe. The Bible calls Him “above all” (John 3:31). There is not another person who has lived, who is living now, or who will live that could rightly say they are above Him. Christ is the highest of the high.
Christ is a dependable person. He is many times called “faithful” in the Word of God (I Cor.1:9; I Cor.10:13; I Thess. 5:21; 2 Thess.3:3; Heb.11:11; I Jn.1:9; Rev.1:5). A recognition of and a resignation to Jesus is essential to walking in the light.
The Co-operation with the Word
Remember the man by the name of Enoch in Genesis 5? According to Gen.5:24, he walked with the Lord; he was walking in the light.
When the Lord told Enoch He was going to take him from the earth, from his friends and loved ones, from his earthly responsibilities, there is no evidence he argued with the Lord about it. He could have said, “Now Lord, I would love to go and be with you in Heaven, but I just don’t want to leave my friends and loved ones on the earth. Don’t take me now. Just wait until a little bit later.” There is no evidence that is what had happened. He no doubt was willing to co-operate with the desires of the Lord for his life.
When one walks in the light, he or she is willing to and is cooperating with God’s plan. It suggests an adherence to the demands and commands of God’s word.
In the Psalms, the Bible says, “The entrance of thy words giveth light, it giveth understanding to the simple”(Psalm 119:130).
Know what it says. Some people claim they know what the Bible says but they cannot point you to a verse or passage, rightly divided, that proves their point. Darkness is a result of not being influenced enough with the light the Scriptures give.
A lady on one occasion said to the people who visited her in the home, “I know what the Bible says.”
She was asked, “Could you quote me a verse you have memorized?”
Her response was, “The verse I know best is the one that says every tub sits on its own bottom.” The problem with what she said is, those words are not found in the Bible.
Believe what it says. Hearing the word of God is to be mixed with faith. We will not act on what the Bible tells us to do unless we have faith in it as the inspired, inerrant, infallible, preserved Word of God. Faith leads to action.
Act on what it says. Those who walk in the light are those who do not just hear what the Bible has to say, but who put those truths to practice in their own lives. James 1:22-25 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” The person who acts on the truths the Bible says has an increasing degree of light in their lives. They radiate their relationship with the Lord Jesus.
The Confession of Sins
1 John 1:7-9 tells us, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
When it comes to sin, we are to keep a short account with the Lord. When we do sin, to keep from dimming the light in our lives, we need to deal with it immediately. Sin does not break our relationship with God, once we have been saved, but it does hinder our fellowship with God.
Agree with God. To “confess” comes from two Greek words that mean to “say the same thing about something.” When God points out our sin, there is no need to argue with Him, if we want to walk in the light as He is in the light.
Thirst after God. Those that have the most spiritual light inwardly, are those who have an intense thirst for God. Christ in the beatitudes said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matt.5:6).
Live to please God. Jesus said, “The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him “(John 8:29). If we live our lives to please Him, then we will experience all the light we need to make it through the darkness of this world.
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Dr. Tom Walker is President of Foothills Bible College and Pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church in Marion, NC. You can read more good Christian News from Dr. Walker HERE.
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