Mensa Otabil - Walking In The Light (10/02/2025)
First John, chapter 1, verse 7: "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin." There are questions we ask ourselves all the time: What does God want me to do? What life does God want me to live? Every Christian asks themselves these questions because, as Christians, we want to do the will of God. But how do we live the Christian life?
Many times, we find that although we're living for Christ, we do things that are not Christ-like. We sin, and Christians do sin. But when we sin, it doesn't mean we've lost our salvation and need to be saved all over again. It simply means that we have fallen short of the walk that God wants us to have, and we need to get back on track and make peace with God by confessing our sins. A Christian's sin does not disturb their relationship with God but disturbs their fellowship with God. The relationship, as that of a father and his son or daughter, is kept even though we might have sinned.
So we walk in the light, and this is what the passage is telling us: We walk in the light. How do we do that, and what happens when we walk in the light? Three things. First, when we walk in the light, it enriches our relationship with Christ Jesus, our Lord. The Bible says we have fellowship with one another, and that "one another" is not just between believers; first, it is one another between the believer and Jesus Christ. When we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another. We have fellowship with Christ. Christ has fellowship with us. He enriches our lives; He touches our lives because we are in tune with Him. The closer our walk with the Lord is, the more we experience the sufficiency of His grace. His grace is available, but its sufficiency and effectiveness are realized when we have a better relationship with the Lord. So walking in the light enriches our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Secondly, walking in the light deepens our fellowship with other believers. Other believers who are walking in the light can walk together and fellowship together. Sometimes, Christians can be in a group, but because they are walking selfishly, they are not really living out the Christian life. We don't trust one another, and we're not able to do much with one another. Most times, there are people who are just church members; we can't do business with them. Even when Christians marry, sometimes it doesn't go well simply because we are not all walking in the light. But when we walk in the light, our relationships are deepened—whether in our marriages, business transactions, or friendships—because we are all walking in the light.
So it enriches our relationship with God, it deepens our fellowship with one another, and thirdly, and this is profound, it says that when we walk in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us. Walking in the light avails us the continuous cleansing of the blood of Jesus. This means that even without confessing your sin, as you walk in the light and in the Word of God, God is constantly cleansing you. He's making you presentable before Him because your life is in tune with Him. The people who truly walk in the light, who walk in the Word of God and apply the Word of God, are walking in a state of constant forgiveness for sins, even those of which they are not aware. God is constantly cleansing them; the blood of Jesus is cleansing them because they are walking in the light.
So you see, it's a great benefit for us to walk in the light of God's Word, to accept God's Word as truth, to submit to the Word of God, and to apply it. It enriches our relationship with God, deepens our fellowship with other believers, and avails us to the constant cleansing of the blood of Jesus. I think it's a good place for us to walk and to live our Christian lives. Don't you think so? I think so.
Let's pray. Say with me: "Heavenly Father, You are the light. Help me to walk in the fullness of Your light. In Jesus' name, Amen." Well, I'll be with you again tomorrow. I'm Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom—peace and life to you.