Mensa Otabil - Walk In Truth
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1 John 1: 6. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
The early Christians had similar problems to those we do. They faced a problem called nominalism. Nominalism occurs when people accept something, profess it, but do not practice it. There are many Christians who are Christians in name only. They've gone through a church ritual, probably been baptized, or they go to church and are members of the church, but do not live the Christian life.
That was what John was addressing in the early church and is still addressing now. When we invite Jesus Christ to come into our lives, we receive God's light. This is the first step to the Christian life: receiving the light of God into our beings, into our spirits. After doing that, we must walk in the light. We must live in the light. The light doesn't just dwell in us; we must dwell in it. The Christian life must be lived out. John is saying that if we don't do that, we are deceiving ourselves. We are lying. Our Christian life becomes a lie.
I trust that none of us wants to reach a point where we are living out a lie. So what happens when we receive Christ but do not live for Him? That is what we want to address today: how do we practice the truth?
In order to practice the truth we have received, first, we must know the truth. We must know the truth. The truth is not just information; the truth is a person. His name is Jesus. We know Jesus through the Word of God, by encountering the Word of God. We also know Jesus through the Holy Spirit. To know the truth, which is Christ Jesus himself from the Word of God, we must go beyond memorizing scripture, quoting scripture, and knowing verses of the Bible. We must rightly divide the Word of truth, meaning we must be able to properly interpret scripture. Not just know verses, but interpret them well. One basic way to interpret scripture well is to read all of the Bible in the light of Jesus Christ. When you read something in the Old Testament, you have to see how it aligns with Jesus Christ because He is the center of the Christian faith. We must know God's truth.
Secondly, we must receive God's truth. After knowing it, we must receive it. The Christian life is different from all other lives. Jesus Christ says it is a life that is on the narrow road, while the rest of the world is on the broad road. Many times, what Jesus tells us to do is the opposite of what our culture, society, or our desires tell us to do. Upon discovering the truth of God, we must receive it. We must allow it to form our foundation for life.
Thirdly, after we have known the truth and received the truth, we must apply the truth. That is where it gets hard: how to truly apply it to our day-to-day lives- in the way we speak, in the way we make friends, in the places we go, and in the way we think. All of it must be shaped by the truth we have come to know. It is not always achievable every day, but that is the endeavor of the Christian. That is what we strive toward: to know the truth, receive the truth, and apply the truth. Until we do that, our lives will be a lie. We will claim something and not live it, and that is called hypocrisy. God, help us not to be hypocritical Christians. We must know His truth, receive His truth, and apply His truth.
Let's share a word of prayer together. Say with me, "Heavenly Father, help me to be true to You. I desire to live the life You have given to me to Your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen."