Blameless

Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; Psalm 15:1-3 (New International Version, NIV) emphasis mine

I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart. Psalm 101:2 (New International Version, NIV) emphasis mine

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Psalm 84:11 (New International Version, NIV) emphasis mine

The Psalms speak at length of having a blameless life or a blameless heart. Keep in mind, everything in the Psalms is under the Old Testament, or the Old Covenant. Being blameless, or being without fault, meant that you had to keep the entirety of the Law, which no man could actually do on his own. The only way to remain blameless before the Lord under the Old Covenant was to offer sin offerings regularly to God to maintain a right standing with Him. It was not an easy way to go. It required dedication and commitment.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I Thessalonians 5:23 (New International Version, NIV)

Today, we are counted blameless through the sacrifice of Jesus rather than through animal sacrifices. It was a sacrifice that only had to be made one time, and it is good for our entire lives, as long as we continue to follow Christ. Of course, God does want us to live right as much as we are able to as humans, but He will do the rest for us. According to I Thessalonians 5:23, God Himself sanctifies us and keeps us blameless through the shed blood of Jesus until Christ comes.

We must do what we can to live right in order to prevent the devil from accessing our lives. However, we can’t be perfect and without fault on our own, any more than the Old Testament people could. Praise God we can rely on the one-time sacrifice of Jesus to take care of it. Because we are now counted as blameless before the Lord, we can access His presence and receive all He has for us. We can boldly and without fear come before our God and receive every good thing He wants to give us. Yes, dear brother or sister in Christ, you and I are washed clean and are totally blameless.