1 John 2:9-10 “He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. (10) He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.”
Before we discuss the consequences of sin, let me say that it would be unjust of God to allow any of these consequences to come upon us if we did not have the ability to walk free of sin. God is not unjust. And so it is completely possible for His saints to avoid all of these consequences, because as we have already seen, He has given us His ability to walk completely free from sin. And so as we will see in this section, when we commit sin there are numerous consequences we incur as a result of our sin. Unlike the chastening of the Lord however, which takes place only after a period of time as the Lord by His grace waits for us to repent, these consequences take place the moment we commit sin. The first consequence that we will discuss is the fact that we step out of the light and we step into darkness. The Holy Spirit in writing through the apostle John in the above quoted passage of scripture, is very clear about the fact that at any given moment we are either walking in the light or we are walking in darkness, for there is no middle ground or grey area in the Christian faith. John says that if a Christian is walking in hatred towards his brother that he is in darkness and if he is walking in love towards his brother he is walking in the light. John is not comparing believers with unbelievers in this passage of scripture, he is referring to Christians. And so we see that it is possible for Christians to walk in darkness. So does that mean that they are no longer saved because they are now walking in darkness? Not at all, for I refer you to the earlier section where we discussed the condition of the born-again spirit when we walk in sin, i.e. our spirit remains unaffected by our sin. And so we see that the believer that commits sin has not become darkness, they are still light in the Lord but rather they are now walking in darkness. One way we can describe their condition to illustrate the point, is that it is as if they have put a blindfold on and are thus unable to see with their spiritual eyes any longer. In this passage John gives us the sin of hatred as the example, but the same result would occur if the believer was walking in any other type of sin, i.e. he would also be walking in darkness. And so we see that the moment we sin we step out of the light into darkness.
Ephesians 5:8 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul tells us that before we were saved that we used to be darkness, but now that we are born-again we have become light. Paul then goes on to tell us to walk as children of light. In other words we are to walk in the light. And so if it were not possible for believers to walk in darkness then Paul would never have admonished us to walk in the light. And so we see that in God’s kingdom there is no middle ground or grey area. In other words one cannot be walking in the light in some areas but walking in darkness in other areas. We are either walking in the light or we are walking in darkness. In other words the blindfold is either on or it is off.
1 John 1:5 “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
In John’s letter to the church he tells us that the believer that is walking in hatred toward just one of his brethren, even though he may be walking in love towards everyone else, has stepped into darkness. So does this mean that he is only walking in a little darkness but mainly in the light? In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit tells us that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. In other words no darkness can come into the presence of God and have fellowship with Him, for He is light and light has no fellowship with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14). And so one who is walking in darkness (no matter how small the darkness may seem to that person) cannot come into God’s presence and enjoy fellowship with Him.
John 12:35 “Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.”
So what does it mean to be walking in darkness? In the passage of scripture quoted above our Lord Jesus tells us that those who walk in darkness do not know where they are going. Obviously the Lord is referring to our walk in the spirit when He says that those who walk in darkness do not know where they are going. In other words those who walk in darkness become blinded to the things of the Spirit and they start to look at the world around them in the natural once again, i.e. with carnal thinking. And so because they can only see their circumstances with their natural understanding, when fellow believers speak of spiritual things these sound more and more foolish to them.
1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the apostle Paul is referring to how an unbeliever views the things of the Spirit. Nevertheless believers who step out of the light into darkness begin to take on these same qualities, for they also can only look at the things that are seen in the natural. No longer are eternal things real to them, but rather the things of this life become far more real to them. Now circumstances around them dictate the path that they take and they no longer follow the leading of the Spirit of God, for they are no longer walking in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Circumstances also begin to overtake them and they find themselves reacting to the world around them rather than walking in God’s purpose for their lives. Even when they read God’s word this becomes more of a chore and not a joy, for they no longer see with their spiritual understanding the truths in God’s word. And so whereas before when they were walking in the light, it seemed as if God literally spoke to them through His word now it is just like reading any book.
1 John 2:10 “He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the apostle John also says that those who walk in darkness will stumble. When scripture refers to stumbling, it means that one who stumbles is one who commits sin. And so we see that one who is walking in darkness then becomes prone to committing more and more sin. The reason for this is plain for us to understand, because one who is in darkness can no longer see that his actions are sinful. Whereas before when he was walking in the light, he would never have contemplated doing some of the things he is now doing, because when he walked in the light he could clearly see that those actions would be sinful in the eyes of the Lord.
Michael E.B. Maher
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