Whoever Follows Jesus Christ

John 8:12 ESV

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

When we think of light in contrast to darkness, what do we envision? Most of us don’t see well in the dark, do we? We might run into things, trip over things, step on poisonous spiders, fall down stairs, walk in the wrong room, and go in the wrong direction, etc. And depending on where we are, we might get totally lost and may never find our way back home.

So, what does the light help us to do? It helps us to see so that, hopefully, we don’t face any of those catastrophes or uncomfortable and/or painful situations. The light helps us to see where we are going so that we don’t fall, and so that we don’t go in the wrong direction, and so that we don’t trip, and so that we don’t step on poisonous spiders, hopefully. 

And I am speaking metaphorically here. And who or what else did Jesus say he was? He said that he was The Way, The Truth, and The Life. And he said that no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). So the light is truth, and the light in the only way to God and to heaven, and the light is the life that God gives us and that only comes from him.

And the darkness is often used in Scripture to describe sin, wickedness, evil, hatred, violence, moral filth, disobedience, lying, cheating and stealing, etc. And the light is opposite of the darkness, right? So the light is all that is morally pure, upright, godly, righteous, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his word. And the darkness opposes the light.

So, if we follow the light, we will not walk in darkness. And to follow Jesus is to walk the same road as him, to conform to his example, and to do what he says to do, i.e. to obey him. So this means that we will forsake our sins, leave them behind us, and now live morally pure, upright, honest, and faithful lives, in his power and strength, and as a matter of daily practice.

And if that is how we are living, by his grace, and in his power, then we are not going to walk in the darkness. We are not going to do deliberately and habitually and premeditatedly what we know is wrong, and is evil, and is hateful, and what we know is harmful to others, according to the word of God. And if sin is what we practice, it ends in death, not life eternal.

But if we walk (in conduct, in practice) in that light, in truth and godliness and righteousness and in moral purity and honesty, etc., in obedience to our Lord, in his power, by his grace, and in following him in the way that he leads us, then we have eternal life in him. We will not walk in sin. Sin will no longer be our practice. And so we will not perish in our sins. 

But this doesn’t make us perfect people, for not one of us will be perfect until Jesus returns and he takes his bride to be with him for eternity, which is when our salvation will be complete, and providing that we are walking in the light and not in the darkness. For lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for deliberate and habitual sin against God and against our fellow humans. We must live holy lives in obedience to our Lord.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

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