Bible Verse of the Day Tuesday December 20th, 2022

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

There is a great message in this verse of scripture. First, the word “walk” infers to be in motion; the Christian life is not to stay on the sidelines but to be in constant Christian activity and action. Verse 5 of this chapter tells us that God is the light. Jesus spoke of this during His earthly ministry when He proclaimed, “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12).

For us to walk “in the light,” we must walk in a life of obedience to God, shedding any evil that might encumber our walk with Jesus, and be open and sensitive to the convictions of the Holy Spirit. If we were to move about in a lighted room, we might say that we are walking in the presence of the light. Since God is the “light” (1 John 1:5), we must live in God’s presence, allowing what He has revealed about Himself to affect and shape our lives. This spiritual growth can only come about through a strong prayer life, deep study, and understanding of God’s Holy Word. We are either “walking in the light” or “walking in the darkness” (1 John 1:6).

Walking in the darkness would be an attempt to hide from God, rejecting what He has revealed about Himself through nature and His Word. Second, John speaks of fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. It might seem more likely that John would have said to have fellowship with God. It would be exceedingly difficult to have proper harmony with our brothers and sisters in Christ if we were not in the right relationship with God, that is, walking in His light. But on the other hand, John is saying that if we are truly walking in God’s light, we will have a good relationship with Him which will lead to a good relationship with others. 

Christians require a constant purification from sin since we are in continuous sin (Romans 3:23; 3:10). The blood sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the Cross justified our sins, past, present, and future. All we need for salvation is to accept that sacrifice; we gain salvation through His grace and our faith in Him, plus nothing else. In Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatians, we see Paul speaking out about people that wanted to add something to God‘s Grace for salvation. In Paul’s time, it was the Mosaic Law or certain parts of it. Today it is such things as baptism, speaking in tongues, being part of a particular denomination, following certain traditions, and the list goes on and on. (Ephesians 2:8-9)