This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 

                                                                                                                       1 John 1:5-7 

If there is one thing that the world needs from the church today, it is loving, faithful, consistent Christian living. In today’s passage, John demonstrates the importance of consistently living for Jesus. I believe that there are three aspects of this passage that need to be considered in order for us to correctly assess these instructions.

First, we need to understand the word “walk.” John says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him (God) and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” This word is a description of someone’s lifestyle. It is the way in which we live our lives in the most general sense. It can be defined as “making progress” and “making the most of our opportunities.” It can accurately be thought of as a summation of someone’s life. It is not a snapshot of us on our best day or our worst. It is how others would describe us in identifying the general direction of our life and recognizing what is important to us.

King David is an excellent example of this concept. Hand picked by God to be the King of Israel, David was truly a remarkable man. He was a man of faith, facing an opponent that none of the Israelite army was willing to face (1 Samuel 17). While being pursued and having his life threatened, he demonstrated integrity by resisting the temptation to kill King Saul when given the opportunity (1 Samuel 24). David is often referred to as “a man after God’s own heart.” But in spite of all of this, David was human. In one particular season of his life, he was guilty of committing adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11-12). Yet, while preaching, Paul describes David as a man “who served the purpose of God in his own generation” (Acts 13:36).

Light and darkness are metaphors used in describing the kingdom of God versus that of the enemy and the ways of the natural world. John tells us that if we walk in darkness, “we lie and do not practice the truth.” In other words, if our general life course is moving in the direction of the world and the things opposed to God, we can be assured that we do not have fellowship with God because “God is Light.” This doesn’t mean that if we have an impure thought that we are no longer Christians. It doesn’t mean that if we get angry and speak a harsh word to someone that we are completely outside of the body of Christ. We will all have moments of failure and regret, but walking in darkness means that we are living a life contrary to God and His purposes for our lives.

Secondly, we need to understand the word “practice.” John says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him (God) and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” To practice is to act rightly. It can be defined as “doing well.” Practicing means that we are carrying out or executing something in our lives. In this case, to live a life that is opposed to God would mean that we are not accurately and correctly executing the Christian life. If our actions are those opposed to God then we would be unable to say that we are “doing well.”

This is what the world expects from believers and, honestly, it should be what we expect from ourselves. However, as we interpret this passage, it is important to compare it to everything else that John has spoken in this letter as well as fold it into the words of Christ and the greater context of scripture. We can approach this passage with a “you better conform or else” mentality or we can understand that walking in the Light and practicing the truth are both a matter of our position in Christ and are accomplished according to the power that He provides us through His Spirit. In other words, we can live consistently for Jesus because of our salvation, not in an attempt to secure it. The tremendous promise for those of us who, in our imperfection, are living a lifestyle that is honoring to God and others, is that we will enjoy fellowship (koinonia) with other believers and we can take pleasure in a spiritually freeing, cleansed life, all made possible by the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross.

Lastly, while discussing walking in darkness, John mentions no specific sin with one very big exception. In order to see this, we will need to fast forward into the next chapter of this letter. In this passage, John uses the same two metaphors of Light and darkness in contrasting godly and Christ-like behavior from that of worldly, ungodly activities. Consider his words:

The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

                                                                                                                   1 John 2:9-11 

Darkness can be defined as “ignorance of Divine things and the wickedness that accompanies it.” When we consider the words of John and this definition of darkness, we begin to see what consistent, Christian living is supposed to look like. The word “brother” includes, but is not limited to, that of other believers. It is an affection and concern for others. It is a desire to see goodness and mercy flow into the life of someone else (even those who do not deserve it). John says that an absence of love for others is the indication that an individual is in the darkness, that he walks in the darkness, and that he has been blinded by the darkness.

We see this all throughout the gospels. The Pharisees, the keepers of the Law and purveyors of all things involving righteousness, demonstrated their darkness time and time again by being completely void of love for others. Jesus reserved some of His harshest remarks for these “religious” men. He referred to them as “blind guides,” referencing their walking in darkness (Matthew 15:14). John’s admonishment for us to walk in the Light and to practice the truth is consistent with Jesus’ command, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). It explains what Paul meant when he said, “ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). And it is entirely consistent with John’s declaration that those who do not love do not know God because God is love (1 John 4:7-8).

As Christians, we are to rid ourselves of anything that would be considered contrary to God’s purpose for our lives. We should be living consistent, loving, and honorable lives before a watching world. Then and only then do we validate the very message that we preach!