Blessed are the Blameless
I hope you've read Psalm 84 a number of times this week and really let those words speak to your soul. I want to end with verse 11, which isn't a beatitude - he doesn't say "blessed" in this verse - but nonetheless, there is a blessing there if you look for it.
The psalmist writes: "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour. No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless." (Psalm 84:11) Blameless. Maybe you're thinking that that's a high standard to live up to.
What Does It Mean to Be Blameless?
The Bible actually uses the word fairly often in the Old Testament. The Proverbs tell us again and again to be blameless. "The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse, but He delights in those whose ways are blameless." (Proverbs 11:20) "You must be blameless before the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 18:13) Job was called blameless many times in that book. Noah as well was known to be blameless (Genesis 6:9). Even David, who at one point sinned very badly yet was forgiven, wrote this: "I have been blameless before Him and have kept myself from sin." (2 Samuel 22:24)
If David, who sinned so greatly at one point in his life, can later say that, then how about you and I?
Blamelessness Through the Holy Spirit
The New Testament is also full of calls to be blameless. "He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:8) "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight." (Ephesians 1:4) "So that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.'" (Philippians 2:15)
I want to say to you, friends, that I always believed that my life would just be a succession of sin, more sin, more sin - and with that, God's grace flowing, forgiving me time and time again. And that has always been true.
But I've come to believe that since I've surrendered my life to the power of the Holy Spirit, and believed in His power over sin - not just His forgiveness of sin, but His power over sin in the life of believers - I've found a new freedom from sin that I didn't know was possible.
Living a Life Fully Surrendered
That doesn't mean I have no growth to do - not at all. It doesn't mean I'm better than anybody else, or more spiritually advanced. But I've found that it's true that God makes us holy - sanctifies us, to use a theological term - when we have the fullness of the Spirit in our hearts.
I believe the same can be true for you, friends. If there are sins that keep tripping you up, by faith in God's powerful Holy Spirit, you can also be blameless and pure with His help. It's not your own holiness - none of us can claim it as our own. It is simply the work of the Holy Spirit within you.
Our prayer today is that you will give yourself to God entirely, holding nothing back, dedicating your life to Him completely, so that as it says:
"Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him." (2 Peter 3:14)
Go well, my friends, and have a blessed weekend.
Phoebe Palmer's life of service, hospitality, and teaching helped birth the holiness movement - proof that one ordinary woman's faithfulness to God's call can change history. Give thanks today for those who went before you, and ask God how He is calling you to do the same.