“My quest is to have confidence in my relationship with God…The
requirement for having fellowship with the Father is to be walking in
the light. What constitutes ‘walking in the light’? How would one do
this on a daily basis?”
This is a great question and one that many Christians probably wonder in their own minds. All sincere Christians want to be faithful and to walk in the light. But, what exactly does that mean? What does that entail? How can we be assured that we are truly “in the light”?
First of all, we must affirm that faithfulness is required of God’s people. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). “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” (1 John 1:7). Now, consider some specific ways in which God expects faithfulness to be expressed through daily living.
A faithful Christian loves the truth and obeys the truth (2 Thess. 2:10; Matt. 5:6). Jesus said, “He who does the truth comes to the light…” (John 3:21). If a child of God loves the Lord, he will honor and obey what the Lord says to do (John 14:15; Matt. 7:21; Luke 6:46).
A faithful Christian expresses, through word and deed, love for brethren in Christ (1 John 3:16-18). “He who loves his brother abides in the light” (1 John 2:10), “and by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him” (1 John 3:19).
A faithful Christian increases and builds up his faith (Jude 20). Strong diligence toward this end is emphasized in 2 Peter 1:5-11 and 2 Timothy 2:15. The child of God who desires to be “approved to God” must study diligently and handle “aright the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
A faithful Christian worships and prays regularly (Acts 2:42). The special connection between every Christian and His Lord is intensified when the child of God makes assembling with the saints to worship a priority every week (Heb. 10:25), and when he gives himself to fervent and frequent prayers in his day-to-day life (James 5:16; 1 Thess. 5:17).
A faithful Christian works his heart out for the Lord (Eph. 2:10; James 2:14-26). The expression, “always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58), pretty much sums it up. Remembering that we are “workers together with Him” (2 Cor. 6:1; 1 Cor. 3:9) and that the “growth of the body” comes from “the effective working” of each member (Eph. 4:16), how can a child of God do any less than to “work out [his] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12)? As a part of that work, a faithful Christian:
- Takes the gospel to every creature in need of its saving power (Mark 16:15-16).
- Lives a godly life before others, representing Christ in all he does (Matt. 5:16).
- Does good unto all, especially the household of faith (Gal. 6:10).
- Tests all things: clings to the good, abstains from all forms of evil (1 Thess. 5:21-22).
- Lives soberly, righteously and godly in this perverse world (Titus 2:12; Phil. 2:15).
A faithful Christian experiences godly sorrow when he sins, confesses his sins to God and seeks forgiveness (Matt. 5:4; Acts 8:22). Even the most faithful Christian will fall short and miss the mark in serving God (Rom. 3:23; 1 John 1:6-10). The measure of a Christian’s faithfulness is how he responds to his sin. If, with a tender and contrite heart (Isa. 66:2), a Christian who has sinned acknowledges his short coming to God and penitently asks for forgiveness (1 John 1:9), not only will that Christian be washed clean from his sins, but he will also be found faithful before God and in fellowship with Him (1 John 1:3-2:6).
There is much that could be added to this study, but hopefully this is sufficient to represent the kind of daily and regular endurance that God is seeking in His faithful children. If one concentrates on these items, the remainder of God’s expectations for us will be a natural outflow of our hearts.
This is a great question and one that many Christians probably wonder in their own minds. All sincere Christians want to be faithful and to walk in the light. But, what exactly does that mean? What does that entail? How can we be assured that we are truly “in the light”?
First of all, we must affirm that faithfulness is required of God’s people. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). “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” (1 John 1:7). Now, consider some specific ways in which God expects faithfulness to be expressed through daily living.
A faithful Christian loves the truth and obeys the truth (2 Thess. 2:10; Matt. 5:6). Jesus said, “He who does the truth comes to the light…” (John 3:21). If a child of God loves the Lord, he will honor and obey what the Lord says to do (John 14:15; Matt. 7:21; Luke 6:46).
A faithful Christian expresses, through word and deed, love for brethren in Christ (1 John 3:16-18). “He who loves his brother abides in the light” (1 John 2:10), “and by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him” (1 John 3:19).
A faithful Christian increases and builds up his faith (Jude 20). Strong diligence toward this end is emphasized in 2 Peter 1:5-11 and 2 Timothy 2:15. The child of God who desires to be “approved to God” must study diligently and handle “aright the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
A faithful Christian worships and prays regularly (Acts 2:42). The special connection between every Christian and His Lord is intensified when the child of God makes assembling with the saints to worship a priority every week (Heb. 10:25), and when he gives himself to fervent and frequent prayers in his day-to-day life (James 5:16; 1 Thess. 5:17).
A faithful Christian works his heart out for the Lord (Eph. 2:10; James 2:14-26). The expression, “always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58), pretty much sums it up. Remembering that we are “workers together with Him” (2 Cor. 6:1; 1 Cor. 3:9) and that the “growth of the body” comes from “the effective working” of each member (Eph. 4:16), how can a child of God do any less than to “work out [his] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12)? As a part of that work, a faithful Christian:
- Takes the gospel to every creature in need of its saving power (Mark 16:15-16).
- Lives a godly life before others, representing Christ in all he does (Matt. 5:16).
- Does good unto all, especially the household of faith (Gal. 6:10).
- Tests all things: clings to the good, abstains from all forms of evil (1 Thess. 5:21-22).
- Lives soberly, righteously and godly in this perverse world (Titus 2:12; Phil. 2:15).
A faithful Christian experiences godly sorrow when he sins, confesses his sins to God and seeks forgiveness (Matt. 5:4; Acts 8:22). Even the most faithful Christian will fall short and miss the mark in serving God (Rom. 3:23; 1 John 1:6-10). The measure of a Christian’s faithfulness is how he responds to his sin. If, with a tender and contrite heart (Isa. 66:2), a Christian who has sinned acknowledges his short coming to God and penitently asks for forgiveness (1 John 1:9), not only will that Christian be washed clean from his sins, but he will also be found faithful before God and in fellowship with Him (1 John 1:3-2:6).
There is much that could be added to this study, but hopefully this is sufficient to represent the kind of daily and regular endurance that God is seeking in His faithful children. If one concentrates on these items, the remainder of God’s expectations for us will be a natural outflow of our hearts.
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