Reaping Holiness

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

According to 1 John 1:5, God is light. Walking in the light is not about living a sinless life because we all have fallen short of God's perfection (Romans 3:23). If walking in the light meant living a sinless life, then there would be no need for Jesus to cleanse us from all sin, as I John 1:7 declares. 

Walking in the light is walking in God. 

All believers in Christ are "in" God. They are joined to Him spiritually (1 Corinthians 6:17) but don't instinctively walk in Him or live the way He desires. In Romans 8:5-9, Paul teaches about being in the Spirit and walking after the Spirit. He explains why only those who walk after the Spirit experience the righteousness of God fulfilled in their lives. 

Walking in the light or walking in God doesn't produce fellowship with God. However, fellowship with God produces the ability to walk in Him. This is a crucial difference and one that is often overlooked. Our actions reveal whether or not we have fellowship with the Lord. However, our actions do not cause us to have fellowship with the Lord.

Failure to understand that our actions do not establish a relationship with God has led many believers to attempt to earn fellowship with Him through their deeds. When we do this, we are trusting in our own holiness. We are coming to God without trusting in Christ and His righteousness. When we come to God on our own merits, we are defenseless against Satan's condemnation. God doesn't accept us based on what we do. He accepts us based on our faith in Jesus. If we have faith in Jesus and fellowship with Him, holiness will come as a fruit of that fellowship (Romans 6:22).

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit" (Romans 8:5).

Romans 8:5 provides a test to determine whether we are walking after the flesh or after the Spirit: we must examine our thoughts. If we consistently think about the things of the Spirit (John 6:63), then we are walking in the Spirit. If we are thinking about carnal things, then we are walking according to the flesh and are subject to our feelings instead of God's truth. We need to constantly remind ourselves—to be continually renewed in the Spirit of our minds (Ephesians 4:23) that to be carnally minded is death and to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6).

We are now new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and have a new identity, which is our spiritual man and not the flesh. But we will always be in the flesh until we put our faith in Christ alone. We have to put on the righteousness in which we have been reborn.

"And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24).

Ephesians 4:24 presents a word picture describing the way we should wear our new, born-again selves on the outside, through our actions, in a way that all can see. In the same way that people see our clothing instead of our nakedness, so should our new attitudes and actions be visible instead of our flesh. We have to put Jesus on.

We live God's holiness by faith in Christ, realizing that within ourselves, we are nothing. We can't earn the righteousness of God. It is His gift to us in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we believe this in our hearts and surrender to the righteousness born within us, holiness is the fruit of our relationship with God.

Jesus prayed this surrender in John 17:17: "Sanctify them by truth. Your Word is truth." 

The word "sanctify" means "to set apart for sacred use; consecrate" (American Heritage Dictionary). There are two aspects of sanctification described in the New Testament. 

First, there is a positional sanctification that is the possession of every New Testament believer who believes in the finished work of Jesus Christ through faith. They are sanctified in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2, Hebrews 10:10). We might refer to this positional sanctification as "justification."

Secondly, sanctification is also used in the New Testament to describe the separation of believers from evil things and ways. This sanctification is God's will for believers (1 Thessalonians 4:3) and His purpose in calling them by the gospel (1 Thessalonians 4:7). It must be learned from God (1 Thessalonians 4:4), as the Holy Spirit teaches it through His Word (John 17:17, 19), and it must be earnestly pursued by believers (2 Timothy 2:15, Hebrews 12:14). Holiness is not bestowed upon us; it is gradually built up through obedience to the Word of God and following Christ's example. As believers, we are already sanctified in Christ (Hebrews 10:10), and we continue to be sanctified daily as we surrender to God. Ultimately, we will be sanctified entirely when we see the Lord (1 John 3:1-2).

As believers, we sanctify ourselves to God by daily surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and pursuing Him. Holiness is the fruit of the daily relationship we cultivate with Jesus, a relationship that continues throughout our lives as we surrender to His work within us. 

"And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:10-11).

Holiness is not a byproduct of your actions; it is the fruit of your relationship with God in Christ. Jesus, who dwells within you, manifests life through your actions as you surrender to Him. The Word sanctifies your life as you embrace its truth, and fellowship with the Lord empowers you to walk in His presence.

"Walk in the Spirit," Paul wrote, "and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).

You reap holiness in your life as a result of your relationship with Jesus Christ.

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

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