In the book of Genesis, chapter
5, verse 24, it says, And Enoch walked with
God. And Enoch walked with God. In the next chapter, chapter
6, verse 9, the last line says, And Noah walked with God. We're not talking about a physical
stroll here. I hear preachers so often talking
about God came down in the garden in the cool of the day and walked
with Adam. This is not a physical stroll through a garden. We're
talking about, you know what we're talking about here? We're
talking about fellowship and communion with the living God.
That's what we're talking about. That's what John's writing about
in the first epistle, chapter 1, that I read a moment ago.
Turn back there. This is what John's writing about.
He's writing about walking with God. Walking with God. He's talking about fellowship
and communion with God in Christ. Look at verse 3. That which we
have seen and heard declare we unto you that you also may have
fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship, our communion,
is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. He's talking
about the same thing that Enoch did, walking with God. Same thing
that Noah did, walking with God. Fellowship with God, communion
with God, walking together. Look, if you will, at verse 6.
Now, if we say we walk with God, If we say we have fellowship
with God and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth.
There are some who say they walk with God, but there are some
who walk with God. And then look, if you will, at verse 7. If we
walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another. Now that's talking about not
my fellowship with you. That's talking about fellowship
with the Father, with the Son, with the Holy Spirit, walking
with God. Now, brethren, the apostle is not speaking of a
simple profession of religious faith here. Although a man who
walks with God will profess his faith, Christ said, if you confess
me, I'll confess you. Christ will not confess us if
we do not confess him. He will deny us if we deny him.
But he's talking here, and a man who has a walk with God will
profess faith in Christ. But a man can have a profession
of faith and religious persuasion and not walk with God. And not
walk with God. So he's not talking here about
making a profession of faith publicly, although a man who
believes will. But he's talking about real,
intimate, personal fellowship with God. That's what our Lord
said is eternal life, to know God. To know God, not profess
to know God, not claim to know God, but to know God. I know
God. And then he's not talking here
about doctrinal orthodoxy. A lot of folks think if you read
the old Puritans and you read the systematic books in theology,
And you get to be an orthodox Calvinist that you automatically
know God. That's not true. Now a man who
knows God will know something about the Word of God. How can
we trust an unrevealed Savior? How can we call on Him of whom
we've not heard? Salvation is an experience, but
it's an experience in truth. You shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free. But a man can be religiously
orthodox. He can be doctrinally orthodox. He can believe baptisms by immersion,
and he can believe in the virgin birth, and he can believe in
the crucifixion and resurrection. And he can even believe salvations
of the Lord. He can be doctrinally orthodox.
And our Lord rebuked the Pharisee, not so much for his doctrine
as his spirit. He said, you tithe men, anise,
cumin, and so forth. These things you ought to have
done, but you have omitted the weightier matters of the law.
Your problem is in spirit, attitude, not in doctrine. He searched
the scriptures, he said. They were diligent students of
the scriptures. For in them you think you have
eternal life. He didn't rebuke their studies
of the scriptures. But he said, you do err not knowing
the power of God and not knowing the scriptures consequently because
you don't know the power of God. So we're not talking here, we're
talking about fellowship with God, communion with God, walking
with God. We're not talking about religious
orthodoxy. That's the reason I don't waste
my time reading books, how I became a Baptist. Or how I was changed
from Jehovah Witness to Baptist. Or how I became a Baptist instead
of a Catholic. I wouldn't say you're much better
off if you didn't know the Lord. You might as well be something
else. It doesn't matter. You might as well be in a cult
as in a denomination if you don't know Christ. And you can certainly
have religious orthodoxy and not know the Savior, not walk
with God. We're talking about a personal
living union and communion with the King. I walk with the King. John says we know Him. We've
seen Him. Our hands have touched Him. He's
real. And then we're not talking here
about a covenant with death and an agreement with hell and a
right to be excused on the day of judgment. Or I'm saved, I'm
not going to hell. You might. You might. These people over in Isaiah 28
said, we have an agreement with hell. We have a covenant with
death. When the overflowing scourge shall pass through and judgment
shall strike the sons of men, it won't come to us. I've made
my peace with God. Well, a man who walks with God
does have some assurance. He does have some assurance.
He has a hope. It's a good hope. It's based
on expectation. He does have a good hope, but
we're talking here not about a presumption, a confidence of
contentment in eternity. We're talking about a personal
present day walk with God. A personal present day walk with
God. The king and I walked down life's
road together. Some walked with God. Enoch walked
with God. Abraham walked with God. Noah
walked with God. Why can't I walk with God? He's
the same. I'm the same. Men are the same. Elijah was a man of like passions.
He prayed and it didn't rain for three years and six months.
Walking with God is fellowship with God. Now, the Bible offers
no hope to the man who just says he walks with God. That's not
it. That won't get it. Look at verse 6. If we say we
have fellowship with Him, that's not what I want. I don't want
to say I walk with God. Those who say they walk with
God and yet walk in the darkness of tradition and custom and ceremony
and indifference, they say they walk with God. They say they
have fellowship with God. Well, he says we are lying. And
we don't know the truth if we just say we walk with God. Do
you have evidence you walk with God? Or do you just say you walk
with God? The Bible offers no hope of walking
with God, of fellowship with God to the man who just says
he does. He just says he does. And then
secondly, the Bible offers no hope of fellowship with God unless
we walk in the light as He is in the light. What is that light?
It's the light of His revealed Word. These things are written
that you might believe on the Son of God, and believing you
might have life through His name. Look at verse 3 and 4. John says,
That which we've seen and heard we declare unto you, that you
also may have fellowship with us. That's how you have fellowship
with God, walking in the light of the revealed Word. John said,
that's why I wrote, why I've written these things. I've written
these things that you also may have fellowship in our fellowship
with the Father. Look at verse 4, "...and these
things rightly unto you, that your joy may be full." There's no way that you're going
to walk with God and not walk in the light of the revealed
Word. How much have you made of this
book this week? We walk with God in the light
of his word, in the light of his glory, in the light of his
grace, in the light of his mercy. But we don't walk with God unless
we walk in the things in which God walks, in the direction which
God walks, in the same light in which God
walks. in the same circles in which
God walked. We don't walk in darkness. You
don't walk with God on Sunday morning from 9.30 to 12. You
walk with God every day or you don't walk with God at all. That's
so. I was talking to someone last
week about something I read a good while ago. They asked some old
fellow, What was his profession? He said,
my profession is Christ. They said, I mean, what do you
do for a living? He says, I follow Christ for a living. He is my
life. They said, well, what we want
to know, he said, I know what you want to know. You want to
know how I meet expenses. Well, he said, I work at a plant
to meet expenses, to pay my bills, to buy food and clothing. But
he said, my life is Christ. I walk with Christ. My fellowship's
Christ. I do this to meet expenses. This
is a sideline, really. My main bent of will and tenor
of life is Christ. And the dangerous thing in this
day is that the sideline is this right here. This is the sideline. That's the main course. The Bible
offers no hope of fellowship with God, of walking with God,
except to those who walk in the light, as He is in the light. And then the Bible offers no
hope of walking with God, of fellowship with God, except as
we're reconciled to God by His Son. Look at verse 7. This is
my text. If we walk in the light, as He
is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Without Christ is to be without
God, but to be in Christ, to be redeemed by His blood, to
be walking in the light of Christ is to walk with God. In whom
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our
sins. We who were strangers without hope and without God are made
nigh by the blood of Christ. Let me give you four things in
closing, and these are the four points that I want you to think
about And to leave with you in this message, first, the blessing.
The blessing. Secondly, the extent of the blessing.
And thirdly, the source or cause of the blessing. And fourthly,
those who are thus blessed. Well, first of all, the blessing.
He says in verse 7, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth
us. Cleanseth. How can I walk with
God? It's all right for Enoch to talk
about walking with God. It's all right for Noah to talk
about walking with God. It's all right with Abraham to
talk about walking with God. But you, you preacher, who are
you to talk about walking with God? I'm the same. I had the same daddy, Abraham
and Noah and Enoch had. I was born of the flesh just
like they were. I walk with God the same way they did, because
I am cleansed in the blood of Christ. I am justified by the
blood of Christ. I am sanctified by the blood
of Christ. Those go together. What does
1 Corinthians 1.30 say? Of him are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. If a man is justified, he's sanctified,
he's cleansed. He's purified. That's right.
If He's sanctified, He is redeemed. If He's redeemed, He has righteousness. I have it all in Christ. I can
walk with God, being reconciled to God by the death of His Son,
by being cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Let me show
you that. Turn to 1 Corinthians 6, 11. Now look at this. 1 Corinthians
6, 11. You hear people say, well, I'm
saved, but I'm no saint. You know what they're saying?
They're saying they're justified, but they're not sanctified. And
that can't be. That can't be. Those two graces
go together. What they're wanting you to believe
is this, that they have a profession of religion that guarantees them
heaven, but has no influence on their present conduct and
attitude. And there ain't no such animal.
Look at 1 Corinthians 6, 11, and such were some of you, but
you are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of God. You're all three or you're
nothing. You're washed, you're sanctified, and you're justified.
They go together. I can walk with God because the
blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed me. It's cleansed me. It's sanctified me. It's washed
me. It's justified me. All is in
Christ. Now there are three things about
sin that I consider and that never leave my mind in regard
to sin. Number one is the fact of sin.
Number two is the guilt of sin. Number three is the punishment
of sin. That covers the whole spectrum. The fact of sin. You can't change what is. You just can't change it. What's
done is done. It can't be undone. My sins are ever before me. Christ
didn't come to make my sins appear less sinful. Christ didn't come
to make the law less holy. The fact of sin is there. David
said, my sins are ever before me. The fact of it is there.
Foolish is the man who denies the fact of sin. That's what
he says in verse 8. We say we have no sin, we're
deceived. And a deceived man is a foolish
man. The fact of sin. Face it. Confess it. Admit it. It's there. You can't change
it. What's done, done. It can't be undone. Sin is there. Alright. Secondly, the guilt
of sin. Sin is a transgression of God's law. I've transgressed
God's law, then I'm guilty. What the law sayeth, it sayeth
to them that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world become guilty before God. I'm part of the world,
I'm guilty before God. No denying it. Guilty. Don't
be afraid of the word guilty. Don't be afraid of the word sin.
Confess your sins. If you confess your sins, He'll
forgive you. If you hide your sins, you perish. That's what Scripture says. If
we judge ourselves, we'll not be judged. If we confess our
sins, we shall be forgiven. It's normal for a child of God
to feel the guilt of sin, but warn to the man or woman who
tries to appear to be pious before God. Play religion somewhere
else besides the throne of grace. Don't play religion before God.
Don't plead your piety and your holiness before God. He knows
you. How stupid that is. Look at verse 10 of 1 John 1.
If we say we've not sinned, we make God a liar. We're bringing
God into our deception. We're deceiving. We're trying
to make God a liar. It's bad enough to be deceived
without making God a liar. The fact of sin is there. The
guilt of sin is real. Face it. Confess it. Quit playing
at church and playing at worship and playing at religion and playing
at piety. You're not pious. You're not
holy. You're a sinner. Alright, what about the punishment
of sin? God must punish sin. God will punish sin. God always
has punished sin. So my only hope to escape the
punishment of sin is somebody to take the fact of sin upon
himself and be numbered with me in my guilt, to take the guilt
of my sin upon himself in his body, and to bear the punishment."
And that's what Christ did. He was numbered with the transgressors,
He bared the sin of many, and He paid the ransom and the debt. Christ took my sins, the fact
of them, Christ endured the wrath, the guilt of it, Christ paid
the debt, the punishment. So I've passed from death unto
life in my Lord. He's cleansed me. I can walk
with God because He's cleansed me. He's washed me. He's justified me. He's sanctified
me. With His spotless garments on,
I'm as holy as God's Son. All right, the extent of the
blessing. Look at this. He said, the blood of Jesus Christ
God's Son cleanseth. Cleanseth. And notice that's
not past tense. I'm not an English student, but
that means it's going on all the time. It cleanseth. It cleanseth. It cleanseth. It has cleansed. It does cleanse. It will cleanse. It cleanseth us from how many
sins? All sins. That shows how perfect
is our redemption in Christ. That shows how full, how complete. You know, if Christ only cleanses
us from some sins, then we'd have no hope. If He only took
my past sins, say Christ only, somebody says, well, Christ paid
for your sins before you made a confession of faith, before
you were saved. Your future sins, He didn't take
care of. Now, wait a minute. When Christ
died 2,000 years ago, how many of my sins were future? They
were all future. Now, wait a minute. Who cleansed
me from sin? Christ did. How? By His blood.
When did He shed His blood? Well, one thing the Bible says,
He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world in
the mind and purpose of God. And then he was the lamb slain
in every typical symbolic sacrifice. And then he was the lamb who
died on Golgotha's hill 2,000 years ago. And here I am in the
year of 1979. My sins were all future. He paid for all my sins. That's
what it says. Turn to Psalm 103, verse 3. All my sins are gone. Not some
of them, not some. What's 1979 to God? God knows no time. God's eternal. With God, a day is a thousand
years, a thousand years is a day. There's no time with God. You're
a creature of time. God is eternal. In Psalm 103, Bless the Lord,
O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Verse
2, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgiveth? What is that word
there? Who forgiveth, say it, would
you? All thine iniquities. Not some
of them. Not the worst ones. Not the least
ones. God doesn't forgive one sin and
leave another. All thine iniquities. Who healeth
all thy diseases. All of them. That's your soul
diseases. You'll still have the headache,
and the backache, and the stomachache, and the heartache, because this
body's flesh. And it's not your spirit that's
hurting, it's your body that's hurting. It's got to die. It's
made of the dust. But He heals all your iniquities.
All my sins. Let me read you. Don't turn to
this one, because it takes you a little while to find it. But
Micah 7, verse 18 says this. Listen. Who is a God like unto thee,
that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression
of the rendement of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger, because
he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have
compassion upon us, he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt
cast all their sins in the depths of the sea, all of them. He has
cleansed us of all our sins. Look at the cause of the blessing.
Look back at 1 John. We walk with God because He cleansed
us. Because He cleansed us, John,
of every impurity. All of it. We are pure in God's
sight. We are sanctified. All are iniquitous. And how do you do it? Alright,
look. The blood of Christ. That's what he said. The blood
of His Son. Let me read you some scriptures.
I love to preach on the blood of Christ. Feed the church of
God which he purchased with his own blood. Acts 20, 28, Romans
5, much more being justified by his blood. Ephesians 1, 7,
in whom we have redemption through his blood. Ephesians 2, 13, we
who were far off are made now by his blood. Colossians 1.20,
having made peace through the blood of his cross. Hebrews 9.12,
neither by the blood of goats and bulls, but by his own blood
he entered in once into the holy place and obtained eternal redemption
for us. And Peter said, for as much as
you know, you're not redeemed with corruptible things, but
with the precious blood of Christ. Now the blood of Christ should
be considered by the believer in three ways. considered as
shed, considered as pleaded, considered as sprinkled. Now
his blood has been shed, not typically like the lamb of old,
not symbolically, Like the high priest in the Holy of Holies,
but in reality, he has shed his blood. On the ground of this
earth, he shed his blood. He died. He literally, actually,
in reality, died. He shed his blood. Alright? Pleaded. His blood is pleaded.
He's not gone into the Holy of Holies with the blood of others,
but with his own precious blood, he entered in once into the holy
place. The Lord Jesus Christ presented
his blood as the full price of redemption and ransom for sinners
on the mercy seat of glory in the presence of God. All right,
sprinkled. Turn to Hebrews 12. I want you
to read this. Hebrews 12, 24. Watch this. Hebrews 12, 24. Now, we can consider
the blood of Christ in three ways. Number one, he shed his
blood in reality. He pleads his blood. Christ has
a sacrifice to plead, wounds to plead, and his blood is sprinkled. In Hebrews 12, 24, and to Jesus,
the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling
that speaketh better things than that of Abel. What are you saying,
Brother May, and I'm saying this, that the blood of Christ is shed,
it's pleaded, it must be And I don't like this word, but for
lack of a better one, appropriated. It must be believed. Like in
the Old Testament, when the Passover lamb was slain, blood had to
be put on the door, sprinkled on the doorpost and on the lintel. It had to be sprinkled. And they
did that by faith. They did that by faith. We're
redeemed by faith in His blood. And you must receive Christ,
you must believe Christ. It's not your faith that saves,
it's Christ that saves. But no man will be saved by Christ
who has no faith in Christ. God said, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you, but when I see the blood on the doorpost,
not out yonder in the yard. It's not when God sees the blood
on Golgotha's hill, it's when God sees the blood on your heart.
Now, you put that in a little black book and look it over once
in a while. I'm a sovereign gracer, as much
as anybody else, I reckon. But I do know this, that they
didn't shed that lamb's blood down there in the marketplace
and leave it there. They brought it out, Charlie, and put it on
the door. They put it on the door. They put there by faith. And
God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Not when
I see the blood down there on the altar, when I see it on your
door, I'll pass over you. And that's the blood sprinkle.
Well, how does the blood of Christ have this kind of power? Two
reasons. Number one, from the will and
purpose of God, it pleased God that in Him should this power
be vested. It pleased God that in Christ
should all fullness dwell. is the dignity and deity of His
person. The reason the blood of Christ
can cleanse, purify, sanctify, make holy all the sins of so
many people is who He is. You notice He says here, in the
blood of Jesus Christ, His Son. His Son. You see, if the person,
now listen to this, you forget everything else, listen to this,
if the person satisfying be an infinite person, then his satisfaction
is infinite. You see that? Why do people go
to hell and stay eternally? Because they can never satisfy
the justice of God. The justice of God is infinite. The holiness of God is infinite.
The requirements of God are infinite. And we can never in any way fully
pay an infinite debt. It's like Some of you men here
might owe a million dollars and someday erase that debt. I'd never erase the debt of a
million dollars. There ain't no way. Mike, if
we owed a million dollars, we'd just have to commit suicide,
wouldn't we? Or take out a big insurance policy. But we'd never
pay it. And therefore, a man who tries to satisfy the infinite
debt of sin, there's no way. Eternity itself will not, because
he that's filthy, let him be filthy still, his debt keeps
piling up. That's my problem. If it was all applied on one
debt, all right, but I'm still making others while I'm paying
this one, you know. But Christ, being an infinite
Lord, His Son, He can satisfy the infinite debt, because He
is infinite. There's no limit to His love.
There's no limit to His holiness. There's no limit to His power.
There's no limit to His grace. There's no limit to the efficacy
of His blood. It's without limit. That's the
reason I don't talk about a limited atonement. I don't like the word. I don't
mean to run contrary to such great men as Luther and Calvin
and Gill and some of the rest of them, I've got a right to
think too, you know. They were just men too, that's
all. Human beings, subject to error. There's no limit to Christ's
efficacy of His atonement. It's a particular redemption.
His blood is for His elect. His blood is for the believer.
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses those who walk in the light.
If we walk in the light as He is in the light, the blood of
Jesus Christ God's Son cleanses us from all sin. But as far as
the efficacy and power and infinite worth of His blood, there's no
limit to it. There's no limit to it. For whom is this designed? Look at verse 7 again. If we
walk in the light, The light of his revealed word, the light
of his revealed grace, the light of his revealed mercy, the light
of his dear son, the light of his gospel, as he is in that
light. We're in a special company. And
we have fellowship with God. And the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. He doesn't say the blood of Christ,
God's Son, cleanseth those that walk in darkness, those who have
no fellowship with God. If they were cleansed, they could
have fellowship with God. When our Lord washed the disciples'
feet, they were all sitting around there in a circle, and he came
to Peter and he said, Peter said, Lord, do you wash my feet? Yes,
he said, if I don't wash you, you don't have any part with
me. You've got to be washed, or you
don't have any part with me. You can't walk with me if you're
not washed, sanctified and clean. Well, Lord washed me all over,
not just my feet, but my head and my hands and everything.
He said, I've already washed you. You're already clean. You're
already clean, but not all of you. For he knew who would betray
him, therefore he said, not all of you are clean. We're clean. Don't try to make yourself righteous
and holy in God's sight by doing good works and going to church
on Sunday and reading your daily Bible readings and giving your
offerings. One dear lady, bless her heart,
she recently said, well, I didn't get to go to church last Sunday,
but I took some food to some sick people, and I did good after
all. Isn't that great? We're cleansed
by Christ's blood. That's the only way. That's the
only way. But being cleansed, we're cleansed
from all sin, and we walk with God. And God walks with honest
people. those who walk in the light,
the light of His majesty, the light of the truth about themselves,
the light of the truth. I find such satisfaction, Don,
such comfort from talking with God because He knows me. A friend
is one with whom you don't have to weigh either words or actions.
He loves you anyway, just like God. You don't have to weigh
your words. You ever been around people you
had to just weigh your words and watch what you say and try
to impress them, you know? Fully on that. They're not friends,
they're acquaintances. You don't have to weigh your
words with God. You don't have to weigh your actions. You just
be yourself. He knows you better than you
do. He could tell you some things you don't know, and he will someday.
And it'll shock you. It'll shock you. But he'll wait
till you're ready for it. That's what he said to his disciples.
I got some things to say to you, but you're not ready to bear
them yet. But I'll give them to you in time. I'll show you
some things you haven't seen yet. Walk with God. What a joy. What
a treasure. Gets sweeter every day. Our Father
in heaven, thank you for the promise the precious promises
of Thy Word. We thank You for the efficacious
atonement, the cleansing blood, how pure we feel, how pure we
are in the blood of Christ, washed and cleansed and sanctified and
justified and made holy. Yet we know the motions of sin
that are within us. We know the things that we're
capable of. We know the potential. Thou knowest
our hearts. We dare not say we have no sin
or we have not sinned, but Lord, we confess our sins. They're
ever before us. We feel the guilt of them. And
we know the punishment that they deserve, but we know that it's
all been taken care of in Christ. He's put our sins away from us
as far as the east is from the west to remember them no more.
And we are sanctified. Thank God for your mercy through
Christ our Lord. In his name we pray. Amen.