Walking in the Light

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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 cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. (1 John 2:1)

On another thread the topic came up about behavior, particularly the behavior of professing Christians.

From the passages above it seems to me that we are commanded to walk in the Light and that if we do not then we have no fellowship with God. We are also commanded not to sin, but if we do sin then we have an advocate in Christ who cleanses us from all sin.

I believe that the issue of “walking in the Light” and “not sinning” are two separate things. We are to walk in the light, but even here we may stumble and sin. Sin, however, is not the mark of our lives. Christians walk in the Light, may stumble, and IF they confess and repent (here I am also relying on 2 Peter3:9) then God will forgive our sins.

The contrast is, IMHO, walking in the Darkness (which is walking mastered by sin).

So how do we deal with people who claim to be Christian yet insult and malign other people?

I believe that we deal with those people as if they are lost. We hope and pray that they are saved, but we can only deal with people on the basis of their fruit.

 

What I mean by "stumbling" is the concession that John states "BUT if anyone does sin".

I personally lean to the idea that Christians do sin, but they repent and move from that sin. Christians do not "live in" that sin.

This was a recent conversation concerning some who repeatedly turn to sin (in the conversation, an alternate lifestyle) while claiming to be saved. It seems some people view repentance as confession but not necessarily a change.