As an introduction to this study, please read Sitting in the Dark. It talks about the ever-present light of Christ in our lives.
What a wonderful truth: "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).
Throughout Scripture we see God associated with light. I
love the passage below that opens the book of John. It tells us so many
things about the character of Christ. These five verses explain that
Christ is God and a member of the Trinity, He existed from the beginning, He is
the Word--the Message of God, and He gives life and light. The light of
Christ cannot be put out even by all the darkness of evil. Nothing can
even make the light of Christ flicker.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:1-5
Many today claim that once we've professed faith in Christ, it doesn't matter how we live because we're forgiven. As we study the light of Christ in Scripture, we realize that such a casual view of sin is a sign that a person has not come fully into the light.
1. We must follow the Light.
♥John 8:12: "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
We need to follow His path, not our own.
2. We must hold onto the lamp of God's Word.
♥Psalm 119:105: "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."
What wonderful imagery. Imagine
being on a dark trail and having a lamp to light your way. That's what God's Word does as we venture through the dark trials and
trails of life.
Holding tightly to God's Word keeps our path lit.
3. We must get rid of personal dark spots in our lives.
♥1 John 1:7: "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."
We must faithfully repent, seek accountability, and reject the sins so prevalent in our world.
4. We must understand that the unsaved world is in darkness.
♥John 3:19: "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil."
Without the truths in God's Word, we're
left to our own dark sin nature to decide what is right and wrong.
Sadly, that's exactly what the world does. And those in the ex-vangelical movement are doing it as well. They are spreading darkness but claiming it is light.
See Wilderness Wanderers.
5. We must understand that darkness is growing.
♥John 12:35,36,46: "Then Jesus told them, 'You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.' When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them ... 46 [later Jesus said,] 'I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.'"
Many times in history, Christians faced what we are facing today. Darkness is becoming more powerful, denying not only Bible truth but science and logic. We're told that genders are fluid, all forms of sex are healthy, killing babies is compassionate, and biblical family roles are simply the lies of white chauvinists.
We are entering times of censorship and persecution.
So how do we remain in the light and refuse to let the darkness overtake us? We follow the glowing light of Christ, letting His Word be our guide and repenting of the darkness in our hearts. And we reject the dark values of false teachers.
copyright, Gail Purath, 2013, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com, edited and updated in 2021
Bite Size Bible Study
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