How to Keep Yourself BLAMELESS (While Not Being SINLESS)
The apostle Paul prayed that the Philippian believers would be blameless and encouraged it:
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
Philippians 2:14-16
David is hailed in Scripture as “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) and he put an emphasis on keeping himself blameless before the LORD:
22All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
23 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
Psalm 18:23
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
Psalm 19:13
Obviously being blameless is linked to keeping oneself from sin, and specifically “willful sins,” but how exactly can we keep ourselves blameless when other passages clearly show that even the best of us will miss it now and then? Here are three examples:
Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.
Ecclesiastes 7:20
“…for there is no one who does not sin…”
1 Kings 8:46
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8
These passages show that we’re all going to miss it here and there, even those of us who are spiritually mature and walk in the spirit on a day-to-day basis (although of course spiritual leaders should be freed-up from the bigger sins, as observed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7). That’s why 1 John 1:8 goes on to say:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
This is the key to keeping yourself blameless before the LORD. When you inevitably miss it, be honest about it and ’fess up to your Creator. And God will be faithful & just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, which means you’ll once again be righteous in the Lord’s sight and even “free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22). This is what the Bible calls “keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8 & Luke 3:8). It’s crucial to keep yourself blameless before your Maker in this manner.
Interestingly, only humble people can do this because it takes humility to honestly admit that you’ve missed it and confess accordingly. Proud people, by contrast, have a very difficult time admitting that they’ve made a mistake, how much more so disclose that they’ve sinned? This explains something that Scripture emphasizes repeatedly: “God opposes the proud but shows favor [grace] to the humble” (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5 & Proverbs 3:34).
Put simply, arrogance repels God while humility attracts God (Isaiah 66:2).
You could say that the LORD is only close to the humble and this explains why only humble people are greatly used of God, like Moses (Numbers 12:3) and David (1 Samuel 18:23). While humility is meekness, it’s not weakness.
If you know someone who’s involved in ministry that 1. constantly boasts, 2. regularly puts people down (to elevate himself/herself) and 3. refuses to ever admit making a mistake, you can be sure that he/she is not close to God regardless of the airs they put on.
Understanding “Willful Sins” and Keeping Yourself Blameless
As noted above, David prayed:
Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
Psalm 19:13
You cannot be blameless before the Lord if you’re walking in “willful sins,” which David equals to “great transgression.” You see, there’s a difference between a person struggling with a certain sin, yet humbly keeping with repentance, and a person who regularly engages in willful sin. The word ‘willful’ in the Hebrew is zed (ZAYD), which means arrogant, proud, presumptuous or insolent. In other words, people who commit a willful sin know it’s a sin but still do it and aren’t sorry about practicing it. This is “great transgression” in God’s eyes and will eventually incur judgment if the individual continues to walk in it with no care of repentance.
Let me stress that the LORD is greatly merciful and compassionate (Psalm 145:8, 103:8 & Jonah 4:2). In other words, God sympathetically understands the human struggle with the flesh — relapsing — and wants to set people free. If you’re struggling with a certain sin, rejoice, there is deliverance, which you can read about here. Yet Scripture also says:
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:7-8
The LORD knows the difference between someone struggling with a sin, missing it, and getting back up with a penitent heart (Proverbs 24:16) as opposed to someone brazenly walking in willful sin. The former person keeps the flow of God’s grace pouring into their lives while the latter individual will eventually reap divine judgment in the form of some manner of destruction.
You see, God treats us according to the light we have (John 9:39-41, John 15:22 & John 15:24). He expects us to live up to our level of knowledge and understanding. If you’re a pint, live up to being a pint; if you’re a gallon, live up to being a gallon. The Pharisees & other Judaic leaders were very learned in the Holy Scriptures that existed up to that point (John 5:39) and so the LORD expected them to live up to the great knowledge and understanding they had, which explains why Christ openly rebuked them on appropriate occasions, calling them “hypocrites” (fakes), “blind fools,” “snakes” and “brood of vipers” (Matthew 23:13-33). Someone who’s steadily growing spiritually, even while missing it here or there and honestly keeping with repentance, is a different story.
Walking in willful sins and not keeping oneself blameless before the Lord explains Paul’s statement to the believers at Corinth, some of whom were partaking of the Lord’s Supper while engaging in willful sins, which brought judgment in the form of physical ailments and even premature death:
Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
1 Corinthians 11:28-32
You’ll rarely hear passages like this taught at church services for obvious reasons, but it ties into keeping oneself blameless before God.
Earlier we saw how Paul linked walking blameless before God to doing “everything without grumbling or arguing” (Philippians 2:14-16). Grumbling means “to mutter, whisper or murmur with smoldering discontent.” Here’s what the apostle said about grumblers when writing to believers at Corinth (believers, not unbelievers):
10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.
1 Corinthians 10:10-11
Those “killed by the destroying angel” refers to Numbers 16 where Korah, Dathan & Abiram and their 250 followers grumbled against the LORD and his chosen leaders (verse 11). It also includes the thousands of Israelites who grumbled the day after these rebels were slain by the LORD, which brought about the death of 14,700 more Israelites. These complaining rebels “were killed by the destroying angel” and Paul said that these examples were chronicled “as warnings to us.” Obviously, if a believer wants to be blameless before God he/she can’t be a constant grumbler, which does not mean ignoring legitimate issues that should be brought up and corrected when appropriate (Proverbs 9:7-9 & 27:5-6).
Paul linked blamelessness to not being a contentious person as well (Philippians 2:14-16). A contentious person is someone who likes to quarrel about anything and everything on a regular basis. These are angry, miserable people who lack godly peace and constantly try to drag others into the darkness of unprofitable arguments (1 Timothy 6:4, 2 Timothy 2:14, Proverbs 20:3 & 27:3).
Also consider the issue of gossip/slander. At some point in spiritual growth, God expects us to remove this sin from our walk. It’s a matter of keeping oneself blameless. If a believer knows the truth yet continues to arrogantly engage in gossip & slander you can be sure s/he will reap judgment. Paul says “This is why many among you are weak and sick.” Why? Because they were engaging in willful sins with no concern of penitence; thus they reaped judgment. These people no doubt prayed for healing concerning their weakness/sickness, but their faith didn’t ‘work.’
This explains why Paul encourages believers to “examine themselves” in the above passage (1 Corinthians 11:28) and elsewhere (2 Corinthians 13:5). When a curse comes upon you (Deuteronomy 28), the first thing you should ask is if you brought it upon yourself through a willful sin. If so, then honestly ’fess up and God will forgive you, then fight the good fight of faith and receive your healing or deliverance (1 Timothy 6:12).
If this is new to you I encourage you to study up on spiritual warfare and then put what you understand into practice.
Let me close with how David — “a man after God’s own heart” — was diligent to keep himself blameless before the Lord:
Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
Psalm 19:13
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.Psalm 51:9-12
Related Topics:
How God Sees YOU (video)
God Deals with People According to the Light they Have
Spiritual Growth is Like Climbing a Mountain
Understanding the Fear of the LORD
Spiritual Warfare — Do You know What You’re Fighting For?
Handing an Unrepentant Believer Over to Satan (?)
The Seven Keys to SPIRITUAL GROWTH
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