Author: Gary Witcher

Christian Walk: Straightly

     As we have seen during the past several studies, the Christian walk is an important subject in the New Testament.  A Christian must walk by the Spirit.  This involves walking in the fruit of the Spirit, as recorded in Galatians 5:22-23.  It also means walking in the same Spirit as well as in the consolation of the Spirit.
     A child of God is required to walk with Christ or in Christ.  And, as we studied last time, he or she must walk in a manner worthy of God.  This demands walking not according to traditions of men, not according to the flesh, not according to the prince of this world, not in futility of mind, not in death and not in the ways of everyone else.  What is necessary is that we walk in a way that pleases God.
     "But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light," 1 John 1:7 promises, "we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."
     So, according to this passage, a Christian has to walk in the light.
     Why would we want to do this?  First of all, we notice from this verse that God and Jesus are in the light.  If we want to be where They are, we must be in the light.
     "Again therefore Jesus spoke to them," we read in John 8:12, "saying, 'I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.'"
     Not only is Jesus IN the light, but He also IS the light.  So as Christians we walk in the light in order to follow Christ and have light in our own lives.
     "Are there not twelve hours in the day?" Jesus asks in John 11:9-10.  "If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
     "But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."
     Christians walk in the light so they will not stumble.
     "For a little while longer the light is among you," Jesus teaches in John 12:35.  "Walk while you have the light, that darkness may not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes."
     We should want to walk in the light to not be overtaken by darkness, because we don't know where we are going when we wander around in the dark.
     A Christian, then, wants to walk in the light because God and Jesus are in the light, to follow Christ and have light in their lives, to not stumble and to not be overtaken by darkness.
     If we walk in the light, we will naturally become children of light.
     "For you were formerly darkness," Paul points out in Ephesians 5:8-11, "but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
     "And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them."
     As children of light, we will not participate in deeds of darkness.
     "And this do," Paul commands in Romans 13:11-14, "knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
     "The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand.  Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
     "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provisions for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”
     As children of light, we will behave properly.
     "And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you," 1 John 1:5-7 instructs, "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."
     As children of light, we are able to walk in fellowship with God.
     "On the other hand," 1 John 2:8-11 notes, "I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
     "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."
     As children of light we must walk without hatred.  On the other hand, we must walk in love.
     "Therefore be imitators of God," Paul instructs in Ephesians 5:1-2, "as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."
     The choice is ours.  We can walk in the light and be children of light, or we can walk in darkness and be children of darkness.
     "While you have the light," John 12:36 advises, "believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of light."

     Galatians 1:11-14 records an episode in which Paul reprimands Peter, also known as Cephas, for an inconsistency on the part of the latter and those who were with him.
     "But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel," verse 14 records, "I said to Cephas in the presence of all, 'If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
     Following the Christian pathway demands that we walk in a straightforward manner.  In other words, we are required to follow God's rules.
     In Acts 21:24, the leaders of the church in Jerusalem recommend to Paul that he do some things to demonstrate that he is walking in an orderly fashion, according to God's law.  2 Thessalonians 3:6 and 11 add that Christians are to conduct their personal lives in an orderly manner.
     "And those who will walk by this rule," Galatians 6:16 offers, "peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God."
     This passage says we must walk according to a rule.  By backing up to verse 14 we can begin to understand what this rule involves.
     "But may it never be that I should boast," verse 14 says, "except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
     This same rule is mentioned in chapter 2, verse 20, of the same epistle.
     "I have been crucified with Christ;" this passage states, "and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."
     Paul tells us in Philippians 3:16-18 that a Christian is expected to walk according to a certain standard.
     "However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained," the apostle writes.  "Brethren," he continues, "join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.
     "For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ."
     Christians walk according to the pattern set by Paul and the other New Testament writers.  All others are classified as enemies of the cross of Christ.
     "And this is love," according to 2 John verse 6, "that we walk according to His commandments.  This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it."
     In Luke 1:6 we find a statement about the mother and father of John the Baptist, who are obviously the kind of people we want to imitate.
     "And they were both righteous in the sight of God," the verse informs, "walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord."
     A Christian must walk in a straightforward manner.  This requires following the rules, the laws, the commandments, the pattern found in the New Testament.
     2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us one more thing that is expected of us as far as this discussion is concerned: we must walk by faith and not by sight.
     "And the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision," Romans 4:12 observes of Abraham, "but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised."
     We must walk according to the pattern we find in the New Testament.  We must walk according to the faith we learn about in the New Testament.
     We must walk according to the truth that will set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."