The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. The words of God are the true source of divine light; the holy scriptures give the sin-darkened soul illumination, so the natural man can understand his sinfulness, danger, and inability to save himself. Indifference, the love of sin, and self-conceit lead men to reject the light that God tries to give them through His words, through a Christian's witness, and through the rebukes of his conscience. Only light from the Holy Ghost can dispel the darkness of unbelief and the love of sin. The eyes of your understanding must be enlightened. The words of God illuminate the darkened mind of a lost sinner, he senses his guilt, and sees the way of free salvation in the substitution and atoning finished work of God manifest in the flesh - Christ Jesus the Lord.
Light reveals the filth of sin; a man's life seems quite acceptable to himself, until God's divine light exposes the iniquity in his thoughts, words, and deeds. Divine light exposes the falseness and deceitfulness of your heart, and causes you to loathe yourself. If someone is doing evil things in a pitch black room, and someone comes in and flips a light on; the light is not the problem. Human nature tries to make it seem like the light is the problem. Human nature wants you to just turn the light off (The Ten Commandments, Gospel spreading, witnessing), so it can go back to enjoying its sin and darkness. It is not how fast you walk that matters, it is how consistently you walk.
Light reveals disorder and the need for repair. Light reveals danger and direction. Bible Light shines into the trembling, seeking and teachable heart. The inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding. The Bible lights the sinner's heart first, and then the Bible lights the sinner's path to Calvary where the Lamb of God paid for his sins with His precious blood. Bible Light must first bring you to the end of yourself, that is, your ideas, cleverness, ability, efforts, and self-will. Bible Light will cause you to see your own folly, frailty, and futility.
To be in darkness spiritually, is to be in your natural status of unregeneracy, having no sight of yourself, your sinfulness and misery, no true knowledge of divine things, of God in Christ, of free salvation from Jesus, and the workings of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. In Jesus' marvelous light, we see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the insufficiency of our own righteousness, the preciousness of His Blood, our need of His mercy, the amazing love and grace of God in the Cross.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
God's eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Jesus.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Jesus.
Light is essential to natural life and spiritual life. If the Holy Ghost doesn't move, nothing will ever happen that is truly effectual, spiritual and eternal in the heart of a man. God must command the light of His Gospel to shine, or lost men will never understand their sins, and then lead them to desire to come to Christ Jesus for cleansing and forgiveness of sins. Only the Holy Ghost through the Scriptures can provide true spiritual light to a lost soul. Only when the Spirit's divine light comes into a man's heart can he begin to see himself as he really is in the sight of God (sinful, terribly lost and undone), and to see the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world as He really is (God manifest in the flesh bleeding and dying to atone for human sin).
If you think your sinful heart can help save you, you do not know yourself yet. You need more Light. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. God's Spirit + God's Son + God's words = Light. It is good for a man to understand his danger, the evil of his sins, his emptiness and wretchedness, so he will fear sin, avoid sin, repent of sin, hate sin, and then flee to Jesus for mercy. Simplify your life - come on to Jesus, and let Him take away your sins. Sin always complicates life. This is the way, walk ye in it. Believe in God - His mercy and promises; believe in the Lord Jesus Christ - His blood and righteousness; believe in the Holy Spirit - His moving and working. Then Jesus opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.
O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me. The Holy Spirit's light and illumination discovers your sins with God's Law. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life. The light of God must first begin to work on the understanding, the will, the thought life, and the heart. All human power must die, and all human righteousness must be abhorred and forsaken. All vital spiritual light must come from above, man's natural heart is nothing but void, chaotic, and pitch black darkness. Your most urgent need is for the Spirit of God to enlighten your understanding, illuminate your mind, and quicken your spirit.
You are undone by your sins, and must be restored by Christ's Righteousness and Blood alone. Your spirit must come in direct contact with the Holy Spirit, or you will remain in darkness all the days of your earthly life. You must deal with the person of the living Redeemer - the Lord Jesus Christ. Until that happens, you are in your natural state and condemned. When you begin to realize your lost estate and that you cannot help save yourself from it; this is when true light is beginning to shine in your heart. *John 1:9; I John 2:8* If you continue to walk in darkness, and die in the darkness of your sins, you will be cast into outer darkness at the White Throne Judgment.
Excuses, denials, alibis, ceremonies, baptism or good behavior cannot help take away your sins from your soul. Religion will help disguise your sin, but it cannot remove it. Lost men want to think there may be life on other planets, but real Life is only found at the Cross. The Cross is Light. Blind sinners look for aliens to come to Earth, and think nothing of the Lord Jesus Christ's imminent return. Men are interested in life extension here on earth, but they are thoughtless concerning eternal life in Eternity.
All I have to save my soul from the wrath to come is Jesus Himself. Only the Precious Blood of God Incarnate can cleanse you from all your sins. If you have never been freely forgiven by Jesus Christ Himself, you are lost right now. Bring your sins out into the Light of Bible truth, seek more Light, the light of Christians. In the light of truth, you will see the error of your ways, and then yield to the correction of the Holy Spirit. Abhor your inward evil (envy, lust, pride, greed), and abstain from fleshly lusts which war against your soul. Ask the Holy Ghost to enlighten you, and beget His faith in your heart. You'd be very wise to flee for cover under Jesus' blood from the wrath to come.
Obedience does not help save us, but obedience is the fruit of salvation. You can only overcome your sins by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ - trust wholly to His precious blood, the great sin-killer. Only His stripes and wounds can mortify your lusts and evil desires. Divine light shines in the Savior; He is the Light of the world; divine light shines in the word of God, it is a light unto my path; divine light shines in the Christian, we are to shine as lights in this world. Do you want all the light you can get? When a log is turned over, all of the bugs under it start running for cover.
Walk in the Light, take the first step, look to Jesus, renounce your sins, keep on walking in the Light, get rid of more and more of your bad habits, selfishness, and self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is deadly. Drop the bad language, gossip, boasting, slander, worldly companions, break off the evil habits, the waste of time and money; be a good testimony in front of lost people, and a good example for other believers.
Evil is not just in the world, evil is within you. Some sins are entrenched in men and die hard. A long-loved habit lingers at the door even after the heart has given it a divorce. Just like an unwanted dog, which is taken a long way from a house, but somehow returns again, likewise does an evil habit return again, even to the soul that hates it. Forsake your unbelief, keep on walking in the Light that God gives you daily. Stay in the Bible, ask for more light from the Holy Ghost, seek the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in prayer. Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that is true Light, take the water of life freely, receive Jesus into your inmost being by Faith; that is Bible Light.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. *Proverbs 15:21*
Take the step, come out of your darkness, into Christ's Light; out of self, into Jesus; walk away from Satan, come to Jesus; from the curse to the Cross; from guilt to pardon; from bondage to redemption. Stop persisting in your sins, forsake your own righteousness, trust what Christ Jesus did for you on the Cross, take and receive Him. Keep on walking in the Light; from Salvation to Sanctification to Service to Sacrifice. *Proverbs 4:18*
Walk in the Light, as Jesus is in the Light. Your "walk" in the Bible is your daily behavior, conduct, routine, conversation, and habits, both private and public. Your "walk" should be in the light of the Savior's will, ways, words, and Spirit. Obedience, purity, honesty, humility, love to God, godly sincerity, Bible-doing, spreading the Gospel, meekness, concern for souls, willingness, wisdom, submission, lowliness, and simplicity are true tokens that you are walking in the light of Jesus. Loss of money, ease and honor, ridicule, persecution, and mockery is what you will face in the paths of light.
You need a Power outside of yourself to come to your aid - the Holy Ghost has to move in your life, or nothing will be accomplished. Faith is our weakness taking hold of and clinging to God's strength, and then doing for the glory of God. Faith is the divine strength from above to do the right no matter what the consequences may be. *Jeremiah 42:6* Faith, the gift from God, leads us to desire to lay hold on the Spirit's divine strength, and only by His strength can we obey and truly please God. Behave yourself wisely for Jesus' sake. The winds and current of this world are dead set against you; the only way you can follow God's course is through His strength.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Doth not God see my ways, and count all my steps? Teach me Thy way, O Lord; I will walk in Thy truth: unite my heart to fear Thy name. They also do no iniquity: they walk in His ways. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Let us walk in the light of the Lord. Jesus said, I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide Himself from them.
Even so we also should walk in newness of life. Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. And this is love, that we walk after His commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
He that walketh uprightly walketh surely. He that walketh with wise men shall be wise. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. For we walk by faith, not by sight. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.
Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Ye ought to walk and to please God. He that saith he abideth in Jesus ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.
Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously: who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
