Blameless

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,”   Jude 24 

Blameless – The English translation comes from a combined Greek word (amomous) meaning without spot or blemish.  There are connections between this word and non-Christian sacrificial rituals, but in the Christian context, the word is a metaphor for the absence of any internal imperfection.  In the New Testament, it is used to describe the sacrifice of Christ as the Lamb of God.  It is also found in the legal context implying that the one who is blameless is legally not guilty. 

In this verse, the word is applied to God’s children, believers and followers of Christ.  It is important to note that this verse places the power and agency in God’s hands.  In other words, we who believe are not blameless because we earned that status by believing.  We are blameless because God takes an active role in sustaining our right standing before Him. 

Everyone who has experienced the life changing power of Christ knows the truth of this verse.  Blame is a word that describes how we felt over and over while the sin ruled our lives.  Blameless describes a condition that is a gift to us.   But it is not my doing.  If I think that once I accept Christ I get an injection of more will power to put my on the straight and narrow, I will soon discover failure again.  If Christ is to be our antibiotic for sin, we will have to take the dosage daily, hourly, even moment by moment.  We do not maintain our Christian walk because we take control of our sinful behavior.  That is the pathway to relapse and destruction.  How many times I thought that all I needed was another church service, another prayer or another commitment.  Now I see that I was still trying to tell God how He should fix my life.  I had not given Him the right to control my life even in the middle of my religious will power. 

We are kept purified because we have allowed God’s grace to keep us from stumbling.  We have surrendered to His will and it is by His will that we can stand forgiven and free.  Submission and surrender mean that I stop telling God how to fix me.  I just let Him do what He wants.