Can I be sure – I’ve left it so late?
Brian had just been told he had secondary cancer in his liver, causing him to become jaundiced. He and his wife realised that the outlook was not good. I was his surgeon and after talking about possible treatment options, I asked Brian,
‘Do you have a faith that helps you at a time like this, or aren’t you sure about such things?’
He turned to his wife and asked, ‘Do we, dear?’
As there didn’t appear to be much interest in spiritual things I simply said, ‘For me, knowing that there is a God who loves us and cares for us is the only thing that makes sense of problems like this,’ and changed the subject.
The following week, however, I met Brian as he sat in the waiting room for a blood test. He said,
‘You know what you said last week – it is strange but my next-door neighbour, who is a Christian, asked us if we would like to go to church. What do you think?’
‘I think that is lovely, but honestly, Brian, I wonder if sitting through some hymns, prayers and a sermon is what you most need at the moment. I would guess what you most need to know is ‘How can I get right with God?’
There was a two-second pause before Brian looked up and asked, ‘How do I get right with God?’ We arranged to meet up the following morning at his home and there we went over the basics of the Christian faith. One thing really bothered him – how could God accept him when he had spent most of his life without any interest in God whatsoever?
We looked at several key verses again, noting how the emphasis in them is ‘to all’ or to ‘whoever’. There is no age limit or discussion about past mistakes! We looked at,
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
The offer to be adopted as children of God is open to everyone who turns to Christ for forgiveness.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
This willingness of God to accept anybody who genuinely turns to God keeps being repeated,
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in God’s one and only |Son.” John 3:18
It is clear that the natural status of us all is that we stand outside of God’s kingdom but that whoever turns to Christ is accepted by God. Jesus keeps repeating this vital message:
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed from death to life.” John 5:24
We then turned to the parable Jesus told that again answers this natural concern, “Can a person really be accepted by God if they turn to him so late in life?’ In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells a parable, ‘The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard’ which is about a landowner who hired people to work in his vineyard. Some were hired in the early morning, at 6 am, others at 9 am, others at 12 midday and finally some at the ‘eleventh hour’. Jesus is specifically telling us that his kingdom will contain some who have spent all their lives working for him, whereas some will be accepted at the last hour. Yet all receive the same full day’s pay. Jesus countered the allegation that this was unfair by putting his own message into the mouth of the landowner,
“Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am so generous.?” Matthew 20:15
We also looked at the story of the repentant thief on the cross. A man couldn’t leave it much later than he did to acknowledge his personal faith that Jesus is the Saviour of the world,
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:42
Jesus gave him the most reassuring answer anyone could want to hear in such a desperate situation,
“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
Brian said that he wanted to spend some time thinking all this through but that he would like to come to our church the following Sunday. The sermon that Sunday just happened to be on the same ‘Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard’ from Matthew 20! After the service I went to talk with Brian and his wife, Barbara, as they sat in the pew. His opening words were thrilling,
“I’ve some good news to share with you – my wife has become a Christian too!”
Brian survived, remarkably, for another six months, and both he and Barbara came to really love their Saviour and became fully involved in the life of God’s people for the rest of their lives.
BVP
The Holy Spirit and Assurance
When a person first turns to Christ as their Saviour and Lord they are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s Spirit in us that gives us a sense of belonging to God and his family. Paul wrote,
“ . . . but you have received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our Spirit that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:15
It is a personal commitment to Christ that admits us to God’s family and at this time God’s Spirit is given to each of us. The evidence that we have the Holy Spirit is the effect he has on us. Jesus had said,
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow out from within him. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.” John 7:38-39
How does the Spirit overflow in our lives? Paul answers this:
“That if you confess with your mouths that ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10
The presence of the Spirit of God enables us to say ‘Jesus is my Lord, I want to live in a way that pleases him.’ There are very few people who get engaged who are able to keep quiet about it. When we have been saved and put right with God we will want others to understand who Jesus is.
BVP
Should Christians know that they are saved?
Assurance of salvation is defined as, ‘a God-given confidence, for every true believer in Christ, of their present approval and future acceptance by their Father.’
Augustine of Hippo also understood the security that those who have responded to Christ’s call and have truly turned to him should have. In his commentary on Psalm 150 he affirmed that our salvation must be a work of God, all Christians were selected by God.
“Our predestination is not wrought in ourselves, but in secret with Him, in His foreknowledge. But we are called by the preaching of repentance. We are justified in the calling of mercy and fear of judgment. He fears not judgment, who hath previously attained salvation. Being called, we renounce the devil by repentance, that we may not continue under his yoke: being justified, we are healed by mercy, that we may not fear judgment: being glorified, we pass into everlasting life, where we praise God without end.… The verse wherewith this Psalm concludes is the voice of life everlasting.”
John Calvin, in contrast to the teaching of the Roman Catholic church up till that time, considered a sense of confidence that a person is saved to be a very important aspect of faith. He went as far as teaching that a sense of belonging to Christ was essential for salvation and that the change in lifestyle was a secondary evidence.
“We only know that we are God’s children by His sealing His free adoption on our hearts by His Spirit and by our receiving by faith the sure pledge of it offered in Christ. Therefore, love is an accessory or inferior aid, a prop to our faith, not the foundation on which it rests.”
Roman Catholicism responded to the Reformers’ statements about gospel assurance by emphatically declaring at the Council of Trent (held between 1545 and 1563) that,
“No one can know with a certitude of faith which cannot be subject to error, that he has obtained God’s grace.”
The Biblical promise of assurance of salvation is unique among world religions. Unfortunately the confidence given in Scripture is not always found in every Christian tradition. In some cases, it is actually forbidden. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621), an able theologian of the counter-Reformation movement and opponent of Galileo, wrote: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is assurance.”
This became, and still remains a major difference between Roman Catholic and Protestant teaching. The Roman church teaches that the only saints are those canonised by the church and for this people have to be exceptional. They teach it is the church who choses who will be called saints and to be selected takes a prolonged period after they have died. In contrast the Bible teaches that all Christians have been made saints by Christ from the time of their conversion.
Imputed Righteousness
John Bunyan, the writer of Pilgrim's Progress, struggled terribly before he came to a settled faith in Christ. Here's what he wrote:
“One day as I was passing into the field . . . this sentence fell upon my soul. Thy righteousness is in heaven. And methought, withal, I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he wants [lacks] my righteousness, for that was just before [in front of] him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, "The same yesterday, today and, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed. I was loosed from my afflictions and irons; my temptations also fled away; so that from that time those dreadful scriptures of God left off to trouble me; now went I also home rejoicing for the grace and love of God.”
When we are dying and going through all that emotional and physical turmoil it is wonderful to be reminded of the most comforting words in all the world,
"Remember, Christ is your righteousness. Christ is your righteousness. Your righteousness is in heaven. It's the same yesterday today and forever. It doesn't get better when your faith is strong. It doesn't get worse when your faith is weak. It is perfect. It is Christ. Look away from yourself. Rest in him. Lean on him."
We also can rejoice with the saints of the past in the salvation The Lord Jesus Christ has won for us. We are meant to have this confidence. The author of Hebrews urges us,
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart with full assurance of faith” Hebrews 10:22
The reason we can be confident is because Jesus Christ is our High Priest who has already paid the price for our sin. He didn’t die in vain! We cannot cleanse ourselves but we have been cleansed. The writer continues,
“. . . with full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22
Christ has become the sacrifice for our sins once-for-all time, and he has been raised from the dead as our representative priest. By faith in Him, we are as righteous before the throne of God as He is righteous. For we are justified, made right with God, in His righteousness! If we are in Christ, we are committed to living with and for him, and we can rest secure on the promises of God. We can no more lose this justification than He can fall from heaven. Thus our justification cannot be added to or made more secure because it is complete in Christ!
With this in view, the author says,
“. . . by one offering He has perfected for all time those who come to God by him.” Hebrews 10:14
After a carol service in St. Helens Church, Bishopsgate, the rector, William Taylor, was talking with a young Hindu man who asked him,
“Why do you Christians have such a confidence about your being accepted by God?
The rector drew on a piece of paper a ladder spiralling upwards. He then explained,
“Human religion relies on me trying to work my way up the ladder, whether by religious rituals, my behaviour or the badge of religion I carry. These are portrayed in the eight fold path of Buddhism. Karma is essentially my effort. In contrast, in Christ God came down to us and died to pay the price for our sin. Because we are now in Christ, heaven is now our home.”
There was a pause in the conversation as the young man looked at the diagram. He then said,
“What you are saying is that what we spend our lives striving for, you Christians have got already.”
A Buddhist, when he first understood the gospel said something similar,
“What we long for you have already been given.”
The story is told that on his deathbed someone asked Ghandi, “Babki, you have spent your whole life searching for God. Have you found him yet?” To which the revered man of peace said, “No, not yet.” What humility on the part of Ghandi, but how sad is that statement? Particularly sad since the Triune God of the Universe has willingly and readily revealed Himself to humankind. But that revelation can only be found, can only be apprehended, understood as God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who came from the Father, to reveal Him perfectly to us so that we can enter into a relationship with God.
The reason we can stand before God in full assurance is because of what Christ has done for us. We can therefore now experience our -
“ . . . hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and … bodies washed with pure water” Hebrews 10:22
Martin Luther had tried his utmost to live a godly life as an Augustinian monk. But then he realised that his righteousness could only be ‘filthy rags’ in God’s eyes compared to the righteousness that the Lord Jesus has offered as a free gift to his people. He wrote,
“There are two kinds of Christian righteousness . . . The first is alien righteousness, that is the righteousness of another, instilled from without. This is the righteousness of Christ by which he justifies though faith, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 1:30: “ . . . whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” In John 11:25-26, Christ himself states: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me.....shall never die.” Later he adds in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” This righteousness, then, is given to men in baptism and whenever they are truly repentant. Therefore a man can with confidence boast in Christ and say: “Mine are Christ’s living, doing, and speaking, his suffering and dying, mine as much as if I had lived, done, spoken, suffered, and died as he did.” Just as a bridegroom possesses all that is his bride’s and she all that is his—for the two have all things in common because they are one flesh [Genesis 2:24]—so Christ and the church are one spirit [Ephesians 5:29-32]. Thus the blessed God and Father of mercies has, according to Peter, granted to us very great and precious gifts in Christ [2 Peter 1:4]. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:3; “Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”
Through faith in Christ, therefore, Christ’s righteousness becomes our righteousness and all that he has becomes ours; rather, he himself becomes ours. Therefore the Apostle calls it “the righteousness of God” in Rom. 1:17; For in the gospel “the righteousness of God is revealed...; as it is written, “The righteous shall live by his faith.” Finally, in the same epistle, chapter 3:28, such a faith is called “the righteousness of God”: “We hold that a man is justified by faith.” This is an infinite righteousness, and one that swallows up all sins in a moment, for it is impossible that sin should exist in Christ. On the contrary, he who trusts in Christ exists in Christ; he is one with Christ, having the same righteousness as he. It is therefore impossible that sin should remain in him. This righteousness is primary; it is the basis, the cause, the source of all our own actual righteousness. For this is the righteousness given in place of the original righteousness lost in Adam.”
The whole of the Bible emphasises that the righteousness that saves us is this ‘imputed righteousness.’ it is not our own, it is the gift of Jesus Christ. King David understood that this imputed or gift of righteousness was the only way to be right with God.
“In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.” Psalm 31:1
It is God’s own righteousness that is imputed to those who belong to his Son, the Lord Jesus. Compared to Christ’s righteousness our attempts to be righteous, worthy as they may be, are inadequate. The prophet Isaiah, writing 700 years before Jesus understood this.
“How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6
The gospel of Jesus Christ answers this mystery,
“God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious mystery of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27
Merielle was a patient of mine who had just become a Christian. She had advanced cancer and was moved to the local hospice where I visited her. She was still holding onto her Saviour even though she was sleepier from the drugs. We looked at Romans chapter 8 which is another great chapter on assurance,
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
To make this clearer I wrote her name on a piece of paper and placed it inside the Bible and explained,
“Let this Bible represent the Lord Jesus. You have now committed your life to him. You are therefore utterly secure. When God looks at you, he does not see your sin but the righteousness of Jesus. Furthermore because Jesus has now returned to heaven and is living with his Father and because you are now in him, you are guaranteed to be with him in heaven.”
The Bible keeps reassuring those who are personally committed to following Christ that they are safe. This word ‘safe’ has the same origin as the word ‘saved’. Paul confidently wrote,
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:16
Some can have a false sense of assurance. Being baptised and confirmed and being active in a church does not mean a person belongs to the Lord Jesus. The proof of our salvation is our desire to obey what he has taught us in Scripture and nothing less (see John 14:15, 21, 23).
Is a sense of assurance essential for salvation?
The Roman Catholic church has taught that professing believers can never be certain of their salvation. For this reason, believers needed to be careful to perform all the duties and sacraments required by the church to merit final justification. But even the most dedicated believers could still not know for sure if they would be saved.
In the 16th century William Perkins, an Anglican minister and great Biblical theologian, argued strongly against the Roman Catholic view that people cannot be certain about their salvation. His Reformed doctrine of assurance was later set out by the Westminster Assembly at Chapter XVIII of its Confession:
"...such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love Him in sincerity, endeavouring to walk in all good conscience before Him, may, in this life, be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed."
Rome however, holds that man, without special revelation, may at best only attain a conjectural and probable persuasion of salvation. It is upon this perpetual uncertainty and doubt that the Roman church has profited or, in other words “... built the most gainful parts of their traffic.” (Robert Shaw). Its people seek to remove doubt in part through repeated prayers of the Church, absolutions by Priests, Masses for the dead (which often have to be paid for), and the merits and prayers of the Saints and Martyrs. The sale of Indulgences rested on fear. This subject is therefore most important.
Although both Martin Luther and John Calvin seemed to think that a sense of security was essential for salvation, other theologians realised that our emotions do not always reflect our status before God. I remember treating a lovely elderly missionary bishop who was dying. He had lost his sense of security, doubtless because of his illness, but did that mean he was not saved?
The Westminster Divines wrote pastorally about this problem in the section on assurance. They acknowledged that while the assurance of those devoted to Jesus is infallible, the experience of it is not the same for all believers at all times. Assurance can take a long time to have and, therefore, is not so essential to the faith that a person must have to be saved. Assurance can also be weakened or damaged by neglect, sin, temptation, and even by a sense of “God's withdrawing the light of His countenance.”
Paul
The Bible is clear that each of us who have become followers of Jesus have been chosen by God for a purpose. In Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonian church he is confident that they are truly saved for two reasons. These are just as relevant to us today.
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers, loved of the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13
The embers of this church were loved by the Lord and the evidence is firstly that they had a ‘belief in the truth.’ A little earlier Paul has stressed that to reject God’s truth is to reject salvation.
“They perish because they have refused to love the truth and so be saved.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10
Where is this truth to be found? Paul continues,
“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15
The second evidence that we are safe in Christ is that His Spirit is changing us to become more like Jesus, with his standards and his ambitions, this is ‘the sanctifying work of the Spirit’ (v. 13).
Consequently we don't have to wonder if we've done enough to be saved. We don't have to live in fear that God will reject us at the judgment day. Our eternal salvation has been accomplished. Paul was able to write to the new Philippian Christians,
“ . . . being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
John
John wrote three letters to the early church to remind them of their standing in Christ and the changes they will see happening to themselves as God’s Spirit changes them. At the end of the first letter he summarises why he has written the letter:
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” I John 5:11-12
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God . . .” 1 John 5:13
Again it is clear that we are meant to have confidence in our eternal future if we belong to Jesus Christ. The decision is ours.
In his gospel John repeatedly reminds his readers that the gospel is the good news that those who are committed to Jesus Christ are secure, safe or, in another word, saved.
“Yet to all who received him (Jesus), he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36
“Jesus gave them this answer, ‘I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has passed from death to life.” John 5:24
“Jesus said to her,’I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ ‘Yes Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world.’” John 11:25-27
What confidence all these promises of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, are. We can know now that we ‘have passed from death to life’ because we are committed to Jesus, God’s Messiah.
What if my experience is uncertain?
What if I don’t feel that different after opening my life to Jesus?
Many years ago, a short man called Mr Falconer was working as a missionary to the sailors at Port Chalmers in New Zealand. He had just finished a short service for the seamen, which was held in a large loft used to store the ship’s sails. A young sailor, Frank Bullen, stayed behind to talk. Frank explained that he did believe and had prayed a prayer of commitment to Jesus as his Saviour and Lord, but no obvious change had occurred. He felt no assurance that he had been accepted by God. Mr Falconer read him one of the important sayings of Jesus:
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24
‘Ah, I see how it is,’ exclaimed Mr Falconer, ’you are waiting for the witness of your feelings to the truth of him who is himself the Truth. You dare not take him at his word unless your feelings, which are subject to a thousand changes a day, corroborate it. You must believe him in spite of your feelings and act accordingly.’
Many years later Frank Bullen wrote:
‘In a moment the hidden mystery was made clear to me, and I said quietly, “I see, sir; it is the credibility of God against the witness of my feelings. Then I believe God!”
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria came to know this confidence concerning her eternal salvation. One day she had attended a service in St. Paul's Cathedral in London and the sermon had gripped her.
Afterwards she asked her chaplain, "Can one be absolutely sure in this life of eternal safety?"
The poor clergyman replied that he didn’t think anyone could be sure of eternal life.
This incident was published in the Court News and so the story came to the notice of a minister named John Townsend. After reading of Queen Victoria's question and the answer she received, he prayed and then sent the following note to the Queen:
“To Her Gracious Majesty, our beloved Queen Victoria, from one of her most humble subjects: With trembling hands, but heart-filled love, and because I know that we can be absolutely sure now for our eternal life in the home that Jesus went to prepare, may I ask Your Most Gracious Majesty to read the following passages of Scripture: John 3:16; Romans 10:9–10. I sign myself, your servant for Jesus' sake, John Townsend”
John Townsend was not alone in praying about his letter to the Queen - many people prayed for her.
About two weeks later he received the following letter, signed using her maiden name:
“To John Townsend: I have carefully and prayerfully read the portions of Scripture referred to. I believe in the finished work of Christ for me, and trust by God's grace to meet you in that home of which he said, "I go to prepare a place for you." (Signed) Victoria Guelph”
After Queen Victoria's discovery of Christian assurance, she used to carry a small booklet to give away to people she met. It's title was ‘Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment.’
She found this confidence firstly in the promises of God but as she lived with and for her Saviour, Jesus Christ, the relationship with him grew. So may it be with all of us.
BVP
Am I a Christian?
Jim was talking with his minister. He had become a Christian from a rough background and had joined a Bible teaching church. However he was troubled because he felt his lifestyle did not match what he saw in others in the church and he wondered if he would go to heaven. They looked together at the book of 1 John.
1 John was written because the Christians in Ephesus were being troubled by some teachers who were suggesting that having a simple belief in Jesus was alright as a start but then people need to progress in their knowledge and become more advanced Christians. John, the apostle felt that this was a deadly heresy and wrote this short letter to reassure the Christians that in Christ they have everything they need but that they must grasp what this means. It is the message that God wants all people to understand - if they are ‘in Christ’ then all is well. The purpose of the book is summarised later on. Please note the tenses – we have been given eternal life, it is never earned, it is a gift because we belong to Jesus Christ
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:11-13
There can be no doubt that all Christians are meant to know for certain that they have eternal life. However back at the beginning of John’s letter this is qualified by five ‘ifs’. John wants people to know that our security is not in experiences or knowledge that the false teachers were delivering but in Jesus Christ himself.
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out 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, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1:5-10
This paragraph begins with the character of God, ‘God is light; in him is no darkness at all’. What does this mean? A clue is given in verse 7, ‘purifies us from all sin.’ In the following 10 verses ‘sin’ is mentioned ten times. God is sinless and cannot tolerate any sin.
“Then how can I hope to go to heaven, seeing all the wrong things I have done. I am far from sinless,”
This is the real worry of many people. We must understand what ‘walking in the light’ means. It cannot mean becoming as sinless as God is, in view of the verse that follows,
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 5:8
To walk in the light is to be seen and open. It is the opposite of walking in the dark, which means to keep things hidden. Just as the main secret of a happy marriage is to be open with your husband or wife and keep no secrets, so it is with God. So ‘to walk in the light’ must mean to live in close harmony with God, the thrill of knowing that he has accepted me in spite of what I am. This relationship will inevitably result in us becoming more like our heavenly partner. We will never be perfect in this life because we still have that ‘old person’ still in us who keeps dragging us away from our walking in the presence of God.
‘Walking in the light’ will have other significant effects on us. We will increasingly realize how ungodly we really are. Yet it is in that close relationship that forgiveness is found.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Effect of Bible Teaching in the Old Testament
When Nehemiah was re-establishing the city of Jerusalem after many Jews returned from the Babylonian exile he first built the walls of the city. Then he addressed the blatant social inequalities that were dividing the people of God. His next phase was to encourage God’s people to get to know the Word of God. He arranged for the High Priest Ezra to read through all the Scriptures they had and to all the people who, in spite of the long sessions listened attentively to what they heard.
“So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.” Nehemiah 8:2-3
Then the Levites,
“. . . instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.” Nehemiah 8:7-9
The priority for the leaders of God’s people has always been to make what God teaches in his Word widely known. For God’s people to ‘walk in the light’ meant for them to want to live closely with God. The first effect of the combination of wanting to live closely with God and hearing His Word is a feeling of failure, the realization that we fall far short of the standards of God. The Children of Israel wept and mourned. The use of the word ‘mourned’ is significant as it is usually associated with death. They realized, perhaps for the first time that they were ‘spiritually dead’. However there was good news to come.
“Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.”Nehemiah 8:7-9
So often people think that the Bible is just about hell and damnation and they don’t want to hear about that! However they forget that it goes on to give the ‘Good News’ or ‘Gospel’ about how God loves his people in spite of all their rejection of him and wants to restore the relationship so people can ‘walk in his light’.
“Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ The Levites calmed all the people, saying, ‘Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.’ Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.” Nehemiah 8:10-12
The effect of hearing and understanding the Word of God had two effects. They became intensely aware of how sinful they still were. Sackcloth and ashes was another sign of mourning. God’s people today sometimes like to wear their best clothes to demonstrate their special status but rarely do we publicly demonstrate our realisation that we are at heart still sinful people who are dependent on God’s grace for us to be accepted.
“On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshipping the Lord their God. Nehemiah 9:1-3
This creates a great tension. How can an imperfect people ever hope to be right with God. Their sin had to be transferred to another. God had told them that they needed to regularly sacrifice animals as their sin substitutes and they transferred their sin symbolically to the sheep or goat before it was sacrificed. The climax of the return of God’s people to live with him was the public transmission of their guilt to these sacrificial animals. This had great meaning to God’s people and filled them with joy.
“And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy.” Nehemiah 12:43
This story demonstrates the gospel. We hear God’s word taught, we realize how far short we have fallen in rebelling against God but then understand the forgiveness that has been won for us by the ‘Lamb of God’ who sacrificed himself to be our substitute, to take away our sin. Paul later summarised this succinctly,
“For all have sinned and fall short of the kingdom of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23-24
The effect of Bible Teaching today
The essential gospel has never changed. We hear God’s word, realize our need and then seek forgiveness. This forgiveness is now only found in the sacrifice of God’s one and only Son. There is no other way to become right with God. The Bible is adamant about this. Jesus said,
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Peter and John were arrested by the orders of the ruling Jews because they were teaching that Jesus Christ was God’s only Son and that he was the ultimate sacrifice for sin. In their defence they said,
“Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Paul, wrote to Timothy and emphasised the uniqueness of Jesus and the necessity of believing in him.
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” 1 Timothy 2:5
For us to ‘walk in the light’ is not to live by what we consider to be God’s rules. That is religion. God wants us to life in a relationship with him based on the fact that he has acted to save us and admit us into his family. When the significance of this dawns on us we will want to life in a way that pleases him, doing anything that enhances the relationship. We will want to know his Word, talk with him about what he wants us to do and share the difficulties we face in doing this. He wants us to be encouraged by meeting up with other Christians regularly.
Christians have all entered into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The ‘light’ of this relationship will increasingly make us aware of our failings and this is why we need to keep returning o remember the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2
If we refuse to listen to God, fail to recognize how we have failed to walk in his light and have rejected the death of God’s Son as our Saviour, the Bible is clear about what will happen to us eventually.
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36
What a joy it is to know that if we are in Christ we are secure for eternity, but that being in Christ means ‘walking in his light’, leaning to love and obey what he wants. After all, we Christians are the ‘bride of Christ’ and should act accordingly.
BVP