“DITCHING A DOUBLE LIFE” 

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

1 John 1:6

In today’s verse, the writer points out that not every professing believer is a true convert. As early as the first century, there were people in the church who lived in stark contrast to their professions.

In fact, the Apostle Paul had to deal with an incestuous man in the Corinthian church and laid down a list of sins that warranted church discipline:

“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.”

1 Corinthians 5:9-11

A person who claims to be a Christian but is repeatedly guilty of the sins listed above does not deserve to have fellowship with the church because he is living a lie and is not in the truth.

The expected result of true repentance and faith is a changed life. While committing to Christ does not automatically guarantee an intimate relationship with God, we are to proactively avoid sinful practices. If our faith is real, our actions will prove our confession. A transformed life is evidence of saving faith.

Having said that, I do not mean that Christians have lost the capacity to sin; we still do. My point is that we no longer maintain a pattern of sinning—there’s a difference. Falling into sin doesn’t take away one’s salvation, but it does affect his fellowship with God and the church.

Therefore, our goal should be to maintain a healthy, intimate relationship with God and fellow believers. We can achieve this by turning from the darkness (disobedience) and walking in the light (obedience).

How do you maintain a life that is consistent with Christian beliefs?

Pursue the Savior today!