How can I live a holy life?

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“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 1:7).

Our 1 John 1:7 passage is a good example of how the biblical books, though addressed to different audiences, present a unified message. Having told us that “God is light,” John tells us that one way we can be assured of following the Lord is that we walk in the light. As 1 John 1:6–7 tells us, if we walk in darkness we are liars, not practicing the truth. But if we walk in the light, we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus and have fellowship one with another. This is just another way of reiterating the need for Christians to live the holy lives we read about in James 2:14–26, 1 Peter 1:14–16, and 2 Peter 1:3–7.

John emphasizes the need to walk in the light because of false teachers who claimed otherwise. These teachers likely were influenced by Gnostic ideas claiming what we do in the body is unimportant as long as we have a higher “spiritual” knowledge of the truth. Such a view is completely foreign to Scripture, which views truth not only as an intellectual exercise but also as that which affects our actions. This of course finds its fullest expression in Jesus who is Himself truth (John 14:6).

Truth is not only that which we believe intellectually, it is also that which we believe practically. That is to say, we are to act truthfully. We do not believe God is light if we do not walk in the light of His holiness. But when we endeavor to live holy lives we are assured that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Our efforts do not merit this cleansing; rather, they assure us that this cleansing has already taken place and that we belong to the One whose blood cleanses us from all sin.

Rather, as John Calvin explains, “he who in sincerity of heart spends his life, yea, every part of it, in the fear and service of God, and faithfully worships him, walks in the light, for he keeps the right way, though he may in many things offend and sigh under the burden of the flesh.” Ask the Lord to make you walk in the light and then practice holiness where you have not done so before.
(2005). Tabletalk Magazine, September 2005: Redemption Accomplished, 25.

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