This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say 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. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 1:5-2:2).
Taken from the sermon “You Are Forgiven” by Mark Vroegop. Read article 1 of the series.
In this section of 1 John, John turns our attention from the essence of who God is toward a careful look at how we walk. His message is this: There is a critical connection between our relationship with God and one another in light of our actions. In other words, what you do matters.
Watch How You Walk
In verses 6 and 7, John uses the word “walk” to describe the manner of a person’s life. Throughout the Bible, this term is used this way. We do this as well. You can tell a lot about a person by their walk. The way a person carries himself or herself reflects something more than the physical act of walking. It’s the same here.
This word captures the totality of a person’s existence. To walk is to live. John highlights a distinct contrast between “walking in darkness” and “walking in the light.”
In verse 6 his words are blunt and to the point. There is a major problem if we say that we have fellowship with God (the light-giving, no-darkness God), but we walk in darkness. A person cannot “walk in darkness” and claim to have fellowship with God. In fact, John is so bold as to say that if we do that “we lie and do not practice the truth.”
A person cannot verbally profess to have fellowship with God while perpetually living in darkness. There must be a consistency between what they know to be true about God and their lives. You cannot claim to be united to God while living in a manner that doesn’t fit with who he is or with the purpose of redemption. What percentage of professing believers in the church today are not genuinely converted? Sometimes people struggle with assurance because their lives are consistently incongruent with the gospel that they believe. Frankly, these people should struggle with assurance. They should wonder if they are genuine. According to John, they are lying!
Walk in the Light
Verse 7 offers us a hopeful contrast. There is another way to live, and that is by walking in light as God is in the light. In other words, we are to live in a manner that fits with the righteousness, or the light, of God. John is arguing for a consistency between what God is like and what we are like. It’s the same thing we hear in 1 Peter 1:16, “Be holy, for I am holy.” The beauty of the gospel is that it offers to us the life of God.
This kind of life affects our relationships with one another. We not only have fellowship with God, but we also have fellowship with other believers. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing people have fellowship with one another because of their common relationship with God.
However, this is only possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus which cleanses us from all sin. The wording in the original text suggests something that is continually applied or effective. It is the application of the liberating power of the death and resurrection of Jesus to our actual lives. The blood of Jesus creates a new way for us to live.
John’s point here is that there must be a connection between the application of the sacrifice of Jesus and how we live. Walking in darkness, while claiming to be in the light, means you are lying. This is one of the reasons Christians should practice church discipline. We are obligated to warn each other that you cannot have a blatantly inconsistent life and be a member of a church. Walking in darkness doesn’t fit with what true forgiveness is all about.
Let me encourage you—even exhort you—with this. It is extremely important for you, by God’s grace, to live a life of consistent Christianity. I’m not saying you have to be perfect, but I am saying that consistent inconsistency between what you sing about and say “amen” to with your life is dangerous. It is dangerous for your own soul and the souls of those who are watching your life and following your example. John reminds us that the Christian life involves a basic commitment to consistently live what we believe.
Listen to the full sermon “You Are Forgiven” from the series Be Sure.
