Walking in the light of Christ brings fellowship with one another in a process of purification.

1 John 1:5-10

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

• God is light and no darkness is in Him.
• Walking with God through Jesus Christ is not to walk in darkness.
• Walking in the light of Christ brings fellowship with one another in a process of purification.
• Proclaiming ourselves to be sinless is to live without the truth.
• God is faithful to cleanse us from sin and unrighteousness.
• We make God a liar if we say that we have not sinned.

God is light and no darkness is in Him.
“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

Jesus Christ revealed to His Apostles the message given to Him from God, and the Apostles, in turn, shared with us the message they received from Him. “Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19 The Apostles have relayed to us that God is light, and in Him, there is absolutely no darkness, as said about Jesus Christ. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:4-5

The Life within Christ is the light given to all people, which means His light leads to life and Salvation. There is no darkness in Him at all because darkness leads to destruction and death. “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” Luke 9:56

Walking with God through Jesus Christ is not to walk in darkness. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” 1 John 1:6

As followers of Jesus Christ, our fellowship with God is through the Holy Spirit. If we say that we live for Jesus Christ then darkness must not exist in our actions and words, which is a path that shuns destruction and refuses to cater to death. To walk in darkness causes mental, emotional, or physical harm upon others, undermines faith in God, diminishes the significance of the forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ, and opposes the presence of the Holy Spirit in one’s life. Those who walk in darkness bring death knocking on your door. Claiming to honor God while walking a dark path is to live untruthfully and is not living a life that practices the truth.

Those who mention God from their lips but live for the entity that gives them what to think, feel, say, and do are walking in darkness and are not practicing the truth. This atheistic entity replaces the spirit and conscience to build a wall against fellowship with Christ as it enlivens the image of the beast to live and speak through people. Today’s culture is groomed to the mark of the beast by what they are given to say and do. Darkness, destruction, and death runs rampant in cities around the world. “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” John 3:19-20

Walking in the light of Christ brings fellowship with one another in a process of purification. “But 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

If God were to leave even a single sin unforgiven, Salvation would be unattainable. However, upon accepting Jesus Christ, we are forgiven for all our sins. In God’s eyes, seeing Jesus within us means we are deemed free from all sin. This plan of Salvation marks the beginning of the process of sanctification by the Holy Spirit. Salvation can be likened to a parent viewing a newborn baby as perfect and flawless in their eyes, with the molding of the child being a lifelong journey. Similarly, when we come to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of our sins, we are akin to a rough piece of coal unearthed from the soil. God declares us “Perfect!” because He sees the precious jewel or diamond we will transform into as we follow Him through Jesus Christ.

The above verse helps us to understand the distinction between fellowship in the light of Jesus Christ and fellowship within the culture of humanism. Just the mere act of human beings in fellowship does not ensure a wholesome conscience, a life lived by faith in the Spirit, and love for one another, as quoted, “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” John 5:44

Fellowship in the light of Jesus Christ fosters life and goodwill for one another in the presence of the Holy Spirit, honoring God from person-to-person. This fellowship leads to the purification of both spirit and soul, as the presence of Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice on the Cross purifies us from all sin, is in the midst of all believers. This is a mirror of what our Lord Jesus said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

In contrast, the fellowship of humanism is unrelated to the light of Christ, fellowship in the Holy Spirit, or the cleansing from sin. Humanism is the fig leaf worn by the atheistic entity that replaces the conscience and spirit to give individuals what to think, feel, say, and do. They live in spiritual darkness, are destructive to belief in Jesus Christ, and bring death to the desire to live in the Holy Spirit. Their fellowship offers no means to cleanse the mind, spirit, and soul. In fact, their fellowship is all about being groomed to the mark of the beast by what they are expected to say and do. “These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots…” Jude 12

Proclaiming ourselves to be sinless is to live without the truth. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1John 1:8

Claiming to be human beings without sin means we will never recognize or feel a need for forgiveness. Such denial hardens our conscience, erases remorse, nullifies shame, removes regret, and leads us to blame others for any wrongdoings, “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?” Matthew 7:3-4 Asserting human sinlessness also erases humility, as it elevates our self-righteousness above others. Failing to acknowledge that sin is inherent in human nature deceives us and causes the process of sanctification to be hindered. Foremost, claiming to be without sin bars the truth from living in our hearts—the truth that we need Christ in every moment of our lives, not merely until we deem ourselves sufficiently virtuous to forsake Him.

The sanctification of our spirit and soul is an ongoing process on earth, as our Lord Jesus continues His work within us each day until His return, “…always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; Philippians 1:4-6

Claiming we are without sin is a deceit that harms us and denies the truth from residing in our spirit and soul. John informs us that some sins do not lead to death, while others do, yet all unrighteousness is sin. Those of us who follow Jesus Christ will inevitably commit sins that do not lead to death. However, the sin that does lead to death is the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. 1 John 5:16-17

The sin leading to death, known as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, is evident by adopting atheism, turning away from the living God, and rejecting Jesus Christ, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” Matthew 12:31-32 At some point in our lives, we may have all spoken against Jesus Christ, yet it was the Holy Spirit that guided us into a correct relationship with Him. To shut out the Holy Spirit is to close ourselves off from Jesus and God the Father.

Believing in our hearts that Jesus is alive today and confessing Him as Lord leads to forgiveness of sin and the born-again experience. As believers, we grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like babes learning to walk, we will stumble into unrighteous actions and words, but these are not sins leading to death. They are the shortcomings of our sinful nature, providing experience and wisdom as the Holy Spirit works out His sanctification within us, “…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18 “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” Romans 6:14-15

God is faithful to cleanse us from sin and unrighteousness. “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

Confessing sins and receiving forgiveness is a lot different from the previous practice of sacrificing an animal to atone for sins, a ritual that needed to be performed by an earthly priest. The Apostle John tells us, his readers, that now, all that is required is to confess our sins, and God, in His faithfulness, will forgive us in the name of Jesus Christ—our High Priest. The altar has transformed from a place of animal sacrifice to a sacred space within our souls, where we dedicate our lives to God through Jesus Christ. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession…Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14, 16

Before Jesus Christ, various offerings were practiced: the burnt offering for general atonement of sins, the grain offering as a sign of devotion to God, the peace offering to celebrate fellowship with peace, the sin offering for unintentional sins, and the guilt offering for obligations owed to others. Now, Jesus Christ has made these practices obsolete, as belief in one’s heart that He is alive and confession of Him as Lord are all that is required. “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:8-10

We make God a liar if we say that we have not sinned. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” 1 John 1:10

Before we gave our life to live for God through Jesus Christ, we were living with unforgiven sin inherited within human nature. This unforgiven sin leads to spiritual death and eternal hell. After coming to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, we are not perfect, but our unrighteous imperfections are not sins that lead to death. We will always be sinners, either sinners saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ or unrepentant sinners who will face His judgment beyond the grave. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

The following verses reveal that Christians do commit sins that do not lead to death, but there is also a sin that does lead to death. “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. 1 John 5:16-17 The sin leading to death, known as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, is evident by adopting atheism, turning away from the living God, and rejecting Jesus Christ, Matthew 12:31-32. At some point in our lives, we may have all spoken against Jesus Christ, yet it was the Holy Spirit that guided us into a correct relationship with Him. To shut out the Holy Spirit is to close ourselves off from Jesus and God the Father.

We live in a world where today’s culture refuses to acknowledge human beings as sinners, choosing instead to flatter human esteem, dignity, and self-respect. They hold the view that addressing human needs is the key to the salvation of humanity and the planet. They are those who say they have no sin and make God a liar as they serve the creation over the Creator. “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” John 5:44

Humanism is the fig leaf worn by the entity with power over physiology to influence what people think, say, feel, and do. This atheistic entity enlivens the image of the beast to live and speak through people so of course they do not acknowledge sin but intend to make God a liar. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a part of who they are. Today’s culture is groomed to the mark of the beast by what they are given to say and do. Humanism is “…an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems…”

Today’s culture is driven to ban hateful words, penalize hostilities, eliminating smoking, stigmatizing alcohol use, doing away with gun ownership, promoting social harmony, cleaning up the environment, preventing climate change, bringing world peace etc. However, these are not the things that cleanses the spirit and soul to bring a change of heart, mind, and soul through the Holy Spirit. The Pharisees were very much like the culture of today, and Jesus said this about them, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:27-28

The Kingdom of God is within us and is not a place on this earth, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21 The Holy Spirit in us is our guarantee of the inheritance of eternal life in the New Jerusalem of the new heaven and earth, “…having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance…” Ephesians 1:13-14

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11