I John 1:6-7
“If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness of sin, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we really walk in the Light, that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God, as He Himself is in the Light, we have true and unbroken fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Our “walk” implies how we conduct our lives. I John is a letter written to a church congregation, and he is instructing church members that fellowship hinges on walking in the light. This is how we are to have fellowship with one another.
Protestantism focuses heavily on the initial forgiveness of sin that takes place upon belief at the beginning of salvation. A great deal of emphasis is put on the initial repentance and forgiveness of sin. However, I John 1:6-7, in its context, states that, “If we walk in the light. . . .” In the purest sense, this type of “walking” occurs after conversion. He continues, “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship. . . .” The fellowship depends on what we do after the initial repentance. Amos writes, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3). It cannot be done. We do not have a deep fellowship with people that we do not do not a sense of agreement. Agreement is shown by the way that we conduct our lives—by the way that we behave under our belief system.
“. . . and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all unrighteousness.” This phrase, in context, is the game-breaker. The apostle John is teaching that further cleansing, further forgiveness, hinges on our obedience to God, after we have committed to a life of agreement with God; for “walking in the light” is synonymous to being obedient or living righteously. Forgiveness after our committed agreement to God works exactly the same way as the forgiveness we were given before we were converted. It hinged on whether we had repented and had begun obeying God.
Clearly, salvation is a process! Forgiveness, cleansing, and even fellowship is not a once-for-all act; but they are a process, just as growing in the grace and knowledge is a process, even as the writing of God’s law on our heart is a process. Cleansing is a process. The quality of our fellowship with the Family of God and one another, depends upon all of these things.
