FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
1 John
1:6 If we say that we have
fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as
he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Yahushua
Messiah his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Last week’s post ended
with this comment:
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I have said numerous times in this blog that the contemporary Christian
gospel message encourages the believer to feel secure in a blissful eternity with
IAUE while allowing him/her to continue living life according to their own
will. This is the core reason why
genuine discipleship is an alien concept in modern Christianity. It is why
believers can declare that they have been bought with a price and yet do not
understand that they actually do belong to the one who bought them; that they
no longer have the luxury of living life according to their own will.
Believing is something that happens in a moment of time. Discipleship is a process that does not end. Messiah did not command his apostles to make believers. He commanded them to make disciples, teaching
peoples in all nations to obey his commands (Matthew 28:19-20). Today, we are going to discuss another concept of
discipleship that is alien to Christendom: “Walking in the Light.”
1 John
1:6 If we say that we have
fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
Walking
in darkness carries for most believers the idea of turning away from the faith,
or of becoming committed to an overt life of sin. In our thinking, the term “darkness” is
connected with “the prince of darkness;” and that suggests collaboration with
the devil. Surely, such a life would not
have fellowship with IAUE. This however is not what this verse means. In order
to recognize our accountability for walking in darkness we must not think
incorrectly about it.
7 But if we walk in the light, as
he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Yahushua
Messiah his Son cleanses us from all sin.
For
most, walking in the light means to comply with the Christian culture, to
behave in a manner consistent with and expected by the pack, to be a good
Christian. This expected behavior, however, varies from denomination to
denomination and even from church to church; so it is obvious this fluctuating
measure cannot be the standard by which we understand “walking in the light.” Also,
as long as we present this expected kind of life to our fellow believers, we
rationalize that we may do pretty much anything we want to do in our “private”
life; and we do; and we keep it secret---”in the dark.” This verse, however, says
that we are to “walk in the light as He is in the light.” Well, how is He in the light?
1 John 1:5 This then is the message which
we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that IAUE is light, and in him is
no darkness at all.
IAUE is “in the light” because He IS light. Because He IS light, there is
no darkness in Him. There is nothing hidden
in Him. There is nothing within Him upon
which His light does not shine. Because
He IS light, it is impossible for him to have flawed character, or compromised
integrity. IAUE is pure, through and
through; and this purity, this absence of compromise is how He is “in the
light.”
Darkness is the nature of anything that is not exposed by the
light. If it isn’t
in the light, it is in the dark.
With this idea in mind, consider the things in your life that you do not
want others to know. Consider the
thoughts, the attitudes, the actions, the secret sins, the lies, the
deceptions, the scheming, the dishonesty, the disobedience. Contemplate
anything related to your life that you feel you cannot tell others, not even your
spouse, parent, child or best friend. In the life of the believer, these things
do not matter, because in his mind he is going to heaven when he dies no matter
what characterizes his life, now. It
does not matter that the apostle John declared that having such darkness in our
life makes fellowship with IAUE impossible.
Believers expect that they can live a life that dishonors IAUE,
disgraces His Son, and resists His grace (a life the Scriptures says makes us
an enemy of IAUE) not desiring His fellowship, now; and yet look forward to a
glorious reward. Not desiring fellowship with IAUE in this life, they think
that in the life that is to come they will desire His fellowship.
To the disciple, by contrast, this passage of scripture provides a sense
of relief; for the whole purpose of the disciple’s life is to live in a manner
pleasing to IAUE, enjoying His fellowship; and yet knowing he/she occasionally
makes mistakes that interfere with that objective. Unlike the believer whose concept of reward
is heaven; the disciple’s reward is the ability to be in relationship and
fellowship with IAUE, now; and he wants to do whatever is necessary to protect
that.
John is not the only one who alerts the disciple to the danger of
darkness thwarting fellowship with IAUE.
Hebrews 3:12 Take heed,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing
from the living Elohim.
13 But exhort one another
daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers
of Messiah, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
Accountability like this does not work among believers; because they have
no motivation to be honest. Their pride
interferes with such intrusive questioning regarding how they are living their
life day by day. The reward of fellowship
with IAUE is not a value held dear enough to allow a fellow brother or sister
to obtain an honest accounting of their life. It is more important to protect
their image than to root out any sin that might be entrenching itself in their
life. A disciple, however, welcomes such accountability as a way to help insure
they are walking in the light, pleasing to IAUE.
Can you see the difference in these two perspectives? One is concerned about insuring freedom to
the flesh, to self-centered living; the other is concerned about pleasing IAUE
and doing His will.
It is important that we seriously consider what it means to walk in the
light versus walking in darkness. We
should be conscious throughout our waking hours of any thoughts or contemplated
actions that we feel like we would need to keep secret from anyone else. This is the litmus test to identify both present
darkness and potential darkness.
Anything we feel like we need to hide or would want to hide is something
we should avoid. Anything we would not
want to admit to another is not something that can be done in the light.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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