Lesson 7 — Walking in the Light | What It Means to Follow Jesus
Updated: 5 days ago
Key truth:
Walking in the Light does not mean pretending we never sin. It means following Jesus, bringing sin into the truth rather than hiding it, and trusting the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us.
Taking the Hard Questions to Jesus
— One Lesson at a Time
In Lesson 6, we asked:
What is truth?
Jesus answered:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life…”— John 14:6 KJV
Truth has a name:
Jesus Christ.
Jesus also said that if we continue in His Word, we will know the Truth, and the Truth will make us free.
Now we come to the next question:
What does it mean to walk in the Light?
What happens when Christ begins giving us eyes to see
—and we stop running from the Light and begin walking with Him in it?
Come sit with me awhile,
and let’s keep learning from Christ and the Word of God together.
Jesus Is the Light
Jesus said:
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.”— John 8:12 KJV
Jesus did not merely say that He could show us some light.
He said:
“I am the light of the world.”
And then He told us how not to walk in darkness:
Follow Him.
Walking in the Light is not merely learning more information.
It is following Jesus.
It is hearing His Word, believing Him, and taking the next step of obedience with Him.
We may not see the whole road.
We may not understand everything God is doing.
But His Word gives us enough light for the step before us:
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
— Psalm 119:105 KJV
God does not always show us the entire path at once.
He teaches us to walk with Him
—one lesson at a time, one day at a time, and one step at a time.
God Is Light
John writes:
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, t
hat God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”— 1 John 1:5 KJV
God does not deceive.
He does not hide evil beneath religious words.
He does not call darkness light
or sin righteousness.
There is no darkness in Him.
John continues:
“If we say that we have fellowship with him,
and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”— 1 John 1:6 KJV
Notice the difference between
what we say and how we walk.
We can say that we know God.
We can use Christian words.
We can attend church, read Scripture, or speak about Jesus.
But Scripture asks us to look at our walk.
Am I following Jesus?
Am I continuing in His Word?
Am I coming into agreement with the Truth?
Or am I claiming fellowship with Him
while choosing to remain hidden in something His Word calls darkness?
Walking Is Continuing
Walking describes movement.
It is not one emotional moment.
It is not one correct decision
followed by a lifetime of standing still.
Walking with Jesus is continual.
We hear Him.
We follow.
We stumble.
We confess.
We receive correction.
We get back up.
And we keep following Him.
Walking in the Light does not mean we already understand everything.
It means we are willing to let Christ show us the next step.
We do not have to have everything figured out before we follow.
We keep walking with Jesus and trust that He is leading us in truth.
Not striving,
but trusting.
Not rushing,
but following.
Fellowship and Cleansing
John gives us a beautiful promise:
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
— 1 John 1:7 KJV
Walking in the Light brings fellowship.
Sin separates, isolates, and divides.
Lies damage trust.
Hiding makes true fellowship difficult because people can only relate to the version of ourselves that we allow them to see.
But truth opens the way for real fellowship
—with God and with one another.
And notice what Scripture does not say.
It does not say:
If we walk in the Light, we will never need cleansing again.
It says:
“The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin.”
Walking in the Light is not trusting in our own perfection.
It is trusting in Jesus Christ.
Walking in the Light Is Not Pretending to Be Sinless
John continues:
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
— 1 John 1:8 KJV
Pretending that we have no sin is not walking in the Light.
It is self-deception.
Walking in the Light does not mean saying:
I never struggle.
I never fail.
I am always right.
I have nothing left to learn.
Walking in the Light means we stop trying to hide what God reveals.
When He shows us that we are wrong, we agree with Him.
When we sin, we confess.
When He corrects us, we receive His correction.
When we fall, we turn back toward Jesus rather than running farther into darkness.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”— 1 John 1:9 KJV
Confession is
not where shame wins.
Confession is where hiding ends
and grace meets us in the truth.
God, You Are Right
Confession means coming into agreement with God.
It is saying:
God, You are right.
I was wrong.
I do not want to rename this.
I do not want to defend it.
I do not want to blame someone else.
I bring it into Your Light.
Confession is not merely about admitting that something happened.
It is about restored fellowship with God.
We do not confess so that God will discover what we did.
He already knows.
We confess because we are no longer choosing to hide from Him.
God convicts.
We confess.
God forgives and cleanses.
That is not condemnation.
That is grace working in truth.
Children of Light
Paul writes:
“For ye were sometimes darkness,
but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.”— Ephesians 5:8 KJV
Notice where our light is found:
“In the Lord.”
We are not the source.
Jesus is.
We do not create spiritual light through our own wisdom or goodness.
We receive life from Christ and learn to walk in what He gives.
Paul continues:
“(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
“Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.”
— Ephesians 5:9–10 KJV
Walking in the Light produces a visible difference.
Goodness.
Righteousness.
Truth.
And a growing desire to understand what is acceptable to the Lord.
The question begins to change from:
What can I get away with?
to:
Lord, what is pleasing to You?
No Fellowship with Darkness
Scripture also tells us:
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them.”— Ephesians 5:11 KJV
Walking in love
does not mean participating in darkness.
It does not mean excusing evil.
It does not mean remaining silent while someone is being harmed.
And it does not mean calling deception, manipulation, cruelty, or abuse acceptable.
But refusing fellowship with darkness does not give us permission
to become self-righteous or cruel toward people.
Jesus came to save sinners.
We are people who need His grace too.
We can refuse to participate in darkness
while still praying for people.
We can maintain necessary boundaries
while still walking in love.
We can speak the truth
without gossiping or taking pleasure in someone’s exposure.
To reprove darkness is not to use someone else’s sin to promote ourselves.
We remain under the Light too.
Lord, Is It I?
Before I expose darkness in somebody else, I must ask:
“Lord, is it I?”— Matthew 26:22 KJV
Lord, am I walking in the Light
—or merely talking about it?
Is there something I am still hiding?
Am I claiming fellowship with You while protecting something Your Word calls darkness?
When You correct me, do I confess
—or immediately defend myself?
Do I want truth only when it exposes someone else?
Am I refusing the works of darkness
while still loving and praying for people?
Am I allowing Your Light to shine into the dark places of my own heart?
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
“And see if there be any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”— Psalm 139:23–24 KJV
Let His Light Shine Through Us
Jesus said:
“Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
— Matthew 5:16 KJV
The purpose of the light is not to draw attention to us.
It is to glorify our Father in Heaven.
We do not shine by presenting ourselves as perfect.
We shine by following Jesus.
By telling the truth.
By confessing when we are wrong.
By forgiving.
By loving.
By refusing to participate in darkness.
By obeying Christ
when it is difficult.
By allowing His life
to be seen through ours.
The glory belongs to God.
The Seventh Foundation
Walking in the Light does not mean that we never stumble.
It means we no longer choose darkness as our hiding place.
We follow Jesus.
We continue in His Word.
We allow His Light to reveal what is true.
We confess rather than cover.
We receive forgiveness and cleansing.
We refuse fellowship with the works of darkness.
We walk in fellowship with God and with one another.
And when we do not know the whole road, we take the next step with Jesus.
He is the Light of the world.
“He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.”— John 8:12 KJV
And that brings us to another difficult question:
Lesson 8 — What About Suffering?
Does walking with Jesus mean that suffering will no longer come?
Does knowing Christ protect us from sickness, grief, cruelty, persecution, aging, or physical death?
What did Jesus actually promise?
And where is our hope when suffering still comes?
We will take those questions to Jesus and the Word of God next.
Christ is the Teacher; I am a fellow learner.
Thank you for sitting with me awhile.
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