Romans 13:13

‘Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelling (disorderly behaviour) and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy,'

One consequence of putting on the armour of light is that we will walk becomingly as in the day, as men do walk when they are under scrutiny. It is to walk in godliness and purity and true love, eschewing excesses which take place when it is dark. It is to put on the LORD Jesus Christ. Such works of darkness which have to be eschewed include revelling and drunkenness as people let themselves go at parties, they include free unrestricted sexual behaviour, they include being at loggerheads with others, and what results from jealousy of others.

Christians therefore are to  ‘walk becomingly, as in the day.'  They have left behind the darkness of night and live in the light of the Day of the Messiah which has dawned. This picture of the Christian life as ‘walking in the light' is a common one in the New Testament. It was introduced by Jesus in John 8:12 when He said, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life'. There He is revealed as present as the light which is to guide those who follow Him in their walk. And His purpose was that all should come to His light. It was for any who would respond. As He repeated in John 12:46, ‘I am come a light into the world, that whoever believes on me may not abide in darkness'. Thus He called on believers to ‘Walk while you have the light --- while you have the light, believe on the light, that you might become the sons of light' (John 12:35). All this points to seeing Him as the light, in consequence of which, having received from Him the light of eternal life, we are to walk continually in His light and in the light of His teaching. In accordance with this we should therefore all be walking in His light, living our lives in the radiance of the light of His presence, and knowing that all things are open to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.

Paul also uses the same idea elsewhere. ‘You were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth' (Ephesians 5:8). And he adds, ‘You are all the children of the light, and the children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness' (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Note the paralleling of ‘the light' and ‘the day'. To walk in the day is to walk in His light. So those who walk as children of the day, as children of light, will produce the fruit of goodness and truth, because if their lives are being lived in His continual light, and in the light of His word, that light, like the sun, will shine on them and produce fruitfulness, and it will allow nothing of the darkness to survive.

John continues in similar vein. However, in his case he recognises, as Paul did in Romans 6-7, that in walking in that light there will be things revealed that need forgiveness, so he assures his readers, ‘If we walk in the light as He is in the light, (openly admitting our sin daily), we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son goes on cleansing us from all sin' (1 John 1:7).

Walking in the light is thus to be very much a part of the Christian life. But because of the cleansing of the blood of Jesus we do not need to be afraid of the light. Rather we should embrace it, and, as we come continually to Him day by day, ask that the searchlight of His presence might shine on us continually. Then it will lead the way before us so that all that is of darkness is put away. In that way we will be ready for that Day.