Why Walk in the Light?

God is described in many different ways throughout the scriptures. We are told in Psalm 99 that God is holy. In Deuteronomy 4 we are reminded that God is a merciful God. In 1 John 5, the apostle tells us that God is truth. A bit earlier in 1 John 4 we are told that God is love. So, there is much that we can learn about who God is based on the scriptures.

But in today’s passage, John introduces God as light. This aligns with what Jesus says about Himself in John 8:12: I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” We should remember that because Jesus is described as light, this attribute also transfers to God as well.

What is interesting is that the image of light plays two roles in scriptures. First, light is seen as an image of truth. In Matthew 6, Jesus talks about light entering the body through the eye: The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” In Psalm 119 comes the truth that God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. This passage does not shy away from the idea of the truth at all.

Second, light is seen as moral uprightness. Among other places, we see this in 1 John 2:8, which we will cover in the future: At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.” The comparison to darkness is clearly the opposite of righteousness, sin.

With this context, stand with me if you would for the reading of God’s Word from 1 John 1:5-7.

Before we get to the main points of the passage, I want to point out the authority with which John is writing these things. These are not his own words. Instead, this is a message from the lord that is being proclaimed to the recipients of the letter. We must be reminded when we open the Bible that it is not just the words of the author but it is what has been passed along by way of the Holy Spirit.

Our focus is on the statement that God is light. You’ll notice that there is no article. God is light not God is a light. This helps us to see the absolute nature of the point that is being made. This is common in scripture: God is spirit, God is love, God is consuming fire. The statement that God is light is where we will focus.

This passage causes us ask the question, “Why walk in the light?”

First,

It reveals sin in our lives

The nature of light means that darkness is done away with. When light is strongest, the shadows are the strongest! Because God is light, when He is near all sin is exposed for what it is. To walk in darkness is to habitually live with unconfessed sin in our lives. The point that is being made here is there is a lack of moral uprightness in a person when a person has unrepented sin in their life. It is not possible for that person to be in fellowship with God and remain in the darkness at the same time. To remain in fellowship with God means that we will feel conviction when there is sin in our lives.

Sin is the exact thing that separated man from God in the Garden of Eden. It is what broke fellowship but by His grace, He sent Jesus so that the fellowship might be restored.

I want to make an important point regarding remaining in the darkness. If a person is in a completely dark room for long enough, their eyes will soon become accustomed to the darkness and they will be able to see a bit. The same thing happens when we remain in sin. We become used to it and begin to be able to justify the sin. Truth becomes less important to us and we will be convinced that there is some good in us when that is not the reality.

This leads to the next reason we ought to walk in the light.

We walk in truth

If we look at this statement from John and reverse it, we can understand it better. If we say we have fellowship with Him, we will not walk in darkness and practice truth. This practice of truth is a direct result of remaining in the light. Not only does this mean that we will be aware of the truth but it also means that our lives will be led in honesty.

It is no accident to walk in the darkness. When we sin, we do so with intention, knowing what is right and what is wrong. To do this and insist that we are able to remain with God is to live a lie. Is it not the desire of all people to practice truth? This is why we must walk in the light.

Next, we must walk in light because

It cultivates fellowship

It has already been pointed out in verse six that walking in the light produces fellowship with God. However, it should also be noted that to walk in light, living moral and truthful lives, will join us with one another. Unity with Christ produces unity with one another. I noted last week that fellowship means to have something in common. When our lives are free of sin, fellowship becomes far easier. Often when a person who has been saved has unrepentant sin, they tend to draw away from other believers for fear of being found out. This is a dangerous place to be in and honestly would allow us to continue to remain in the darkness rather than our sin being revealed, repented of, and forgiven.

The fellowship of believers is important. We are able to join together for the sake of the gospel. Our voices unite as we read scriptures and sing hymns. We are able to share the most difficult prayer requests in confidence, knowing that they will be taken before the Lord. We gather around the communion table because of our fellowship. But when a person fails to remain in the light, there is a fracture in that relationship.

Finally, we walk in the light because

It provides proof of atonement and mortification

John makes mention here of what believers have in common: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is those who have been washed by His blood who experience the cleansing of His salvation. Because we walk in the light, we ought to be reminded, along with those who observe our lives, that our sins have been atoned for.

But we should also look beyond what is in the past. Verse 7 is in the present tense which means that as we are walking in the light, there will still be cleansing to be done. When we walk in the light, our sin continues to be removed. We progressively become more and more like our Savior, Jesus, who lived a perfect life. It is the revealing of sin that highlights what needs to be changed and moved in our lives.

There are certainly other reasons why a person ought to walk with the Lord. The reasons found in this passage are just the start of what has been made possible because of the blood that was shed on Calvary.

Pray

Are you walking in the light? Is there sin present in your own life that is preventing