March 1, 2022 | Blameless
Way back in the time of Genesis, God gave this command to Abram, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” (Genesis 17:1-2). I wonder what Abram was thinking when he heard this. It says he immediately fell to his knees. I wonder if it was because of the weight of being before God or the weight of being asked to do the seemingly impossible.
Its quite a request to be asked to be blameless, especially under the curse of sin, in fact, no one has ever done it. So, what is God really asking Abram if He knows that he cannot truly be blameless? Scripture gives us some clues.
First we go to Psalm 119:1, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!” Here we see that being blameless has something to do with the law but, since the fall of man, no one has been able to do this because we so easily fall into sin by thought, word and deed. Even the most pious fall victim to the lure of their sinful nature.
This is what Martin Luther had to overcome. Try as he might, he could never shed his sins. Hours of confession gave him no peace, flogging himself as a form of punishment brought him no joy. No matter how hard he tried, sin was always at his doorstep waiting to be let in because he found he could not follow the law of God perfectly.
Even in the New Testament, we are asked to be blameless, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” (Philippians 2:14-15). Here we get our next clue. Being blameless has something to do with our attitude and our example.
Being blameless must be more than an inward thing, it has to be shown in who you are under Christ. We are to “shine as lights in the world,” as testament to the faith we hold, beacons of hope in this crooked and twisted generation. To be blameless requires one to give testimony of their dedication to God, not as a window dressing but as an honest expression of the confidence we have as children of God.
Clue number 3 takes us to 2 Peter, “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation,” (2 Peter 3:13-15).
To be blameless requires patience, in fact it requires the patience of Christ. Peter says we must always be diligent so that we will be found by God to be “without spot or blemish, and at peace.”
As Martin Luther experienced, this is much harder done than said. He found that this kind of perfection was impossible. He had tried to purge himself of his sin, but he could not. So, like us, he turned to Scripture and there he found his answers.
Romans 1:17, “For in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Martin Luther found great comfort in the fact that it wasn’t perfection in keeping the law that saved you, but faith. God knows that we could never achieve blamelessness on our own, so He gave us His Son to take the blame on our behalf. “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift” (Ephesians 2:8).
Jesus Christ is God’s gift. By His grace he allowed all believers to be seen through the prism of His perfect, blameless Son. By His death and resurrection, we have been taken from death to life. By His unselfish sacrifice we are now seen as blameless because Christ was blameless, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” (1 Peter 3:18).
If you have not yet accepted Christ into your life. Invite Him in. Take on His blamelessness in faith and set your focus on better things to come. Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Your Son to take on our sins so that we might be seen as blameless. Help us to be steadfast in this faith so that we might enjoy with you a new heaven and a new earth. Amen.
