Faithful on Fridays Blog

Blameless

“Don’t blame me!” How often have you said that to someone? We constantly want to deflect guilt away from ourselves; especially when we’re innocent and sometimes when we’re not. Either way, we desire to be without blame.

As we continue through Eph. 1:3-14 we come to the phrase ‘holy and blameless’. Let’s discuss what it means to be blameless. The Greek word means to be without fault or guilt. You can probably see where Paul was going. He was reminding himself that God desires us to be found not guilty in any charges the devil may try to bring against us. And never forget, when you are down, Satan will not give you merciful thoughts, he’ll kick you in the groin with accusations.

Paul isn’t referring to our justification or righteousness in these verses. He’s sending out an encouragement to pull down from heaven that spiritual blessing or benefit from the heavenly places that allows us to be above God’s disapproval. It’s a gift of the Holy Spirit to be able to walk blamelessly, not sin-free but forgiven. It isn’t gained through our own willpower or strength but by His power and strength. When we try to do what’s right in our own power we fail, however, when we ask for His help, we succeed with unimaginable strength.

Now, we can easily put ourselves in situations that tempt us. That’s not smart and makes it very difficult to walk blameless or innocent in His sight. It’s much smarter to stay away from temptation and the ways of the world that would draw us into sin. Sometimes we simply have to fight the good fight of faith in our minds and actions so that we don’t disappoint the One Who gave His life as a ransom for us. 

Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Philippians 2:15 NLT

Sin brings shame, disgrace, and guilt but the Holy Spirit is in you and He will help you stay in opposition to it. You know in your heart what sin easily trips you up; stay away from it! 

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Galatians 5:17 ESV

Leading a morally blameless life takes strong desire, however, God hasn’t left us alone to try to walk in His ways; we have His Spirit. Interestingly, many of the verses that mention ‘blameless’ also mention The Day of the Lord; let’s remember that,

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 NLT