The Bible sometimes speaks of people’s conduct or manner of life as their ‘way’ or ‘walk’. The two expressions are closely connected: people move along a way by walking (Leviticus 26:23-24; 1 Kings 6:12; 2 Kings 20:3; Proverbs 8:20; Proverbs 20:7; Acts 9:31; Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 5:2; 1 John 2:11).
Frequently, the Bible uses the word ‘walk’ when contrasting people’s way of life before they were Christians with their new life in Christ (Romans 6:4; Ephesians 2:1-2; Ephesians 5:8; Colossians 3:7-8). Their new way of life is controlled by the Spirit, not by the flesh (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16; Galatians 5:25). It is characterized by love, not by selfishness (Romans 14:15; Romans 14:19), and is influenced by the person in whom they believe, not by the things they see in the world around them (John 12:35; 2 Corinthians 5:7). It is lived in fellowship with God rather than in obedience to sin (1 John 1:6-7), and is patterned on the life of Christ rather than on the life of their fellows (1 John 2:6; 1 John 2:11; 2 John 1:6). (See also WAY.)