Blameless (for paper) Dec 23
Blameless for paper Rev. Terry Goerz, Redeemer Lutheran Church
When the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, he wrote to a people who he said were blameless in their new found faith, “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1: 8. Strong, or we could also say blameless, now and on the last day when Christ returns. That’s the way God sees us too. God sees us blameless in Jesus Christ as we wait for Him.
God was never waiting for us to do something for him. He was always waiting to do something for us. When the fullness of time had come, God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to do something for us. He sent Jesus to redeem us and bring us into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. He lived perfectly without sin. He eagerly anticipated the day when he would offer up his holy and perfect life as a sacrifice for sin. When Jesus died on a cross in your place, God the Father saw him with all your sin. Jesus claimed all your sin as his very own so he would die under the judgment of God for you and your sin, past present and future.
When that happened on Good Friday, Jesus gave you incredible gifts. He gave you everything that matters most in life. He gave you the gifts of his holy and sinless life. On that day Christians became part of a most unfair exchange. Jesus Christ took up all of the sin for all Christians for all time and paid the full price for that sin on the cross, and Christians received the perfect righteousness of Christ earned by him by his sinless life. We claim that unfair exchange in baptism and because we continue to sin we renew that exchange each time we are absolved of our sin after confession, and again when we participate in Holy Communion. Via that exchange you receive mercy and forgiveness from God. You are eternally enriched with the gifts of eternal life and a resurrection to come on the Last Day, when Jesus Christ will be revealed.
Because of this exchange God does not see your faithlessness. He does not see the moments you stumbled in sin, the times you quarreled and fought, the times you schemed and plotted, the times you went along with the cultural but ungodly norms of the day when it comes to cohabitation and marriage and family. God sees you as perfect in every way. He calls you righteous and beloved. He sees you as faithful. God calls you his beloved son or daughter. God sees you as holy and in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. No matter who you are and no matter what you’ve done or not done, you are blameless in God’s eyes. God sees you blameless in Jesus Christ.
That changes how we approach the future. Like the Corinthians, we are waiting for Jesus to reappear visibly on the Last Day as King of kings and Lord of lords. We can look forward to that day and eagerly wait for it without fear because of who we are in Jesus Christ. On that day when Jesus publicly renders judgment, you will not have to fear that some secret sin will be revealed for everyone else to see. You will not have to fear that sins will be revealed for others to know about. Everyone will see you as perfect in every way, without sin. You will stand tall, because God will see you as blameless. He will declare that you are perfect in every way, without sin, as he ushers you into your eternal, heavenly inheritance.
Read the following verses that confirm the statement in our text “so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1; “and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:27; “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Colossians 1:22
That is what Jesus Christ has done for us!! Both now while we are still sinners waiting for Jesus to be revealed, God sees us as holy and blameless because of confession, absolution and communion, and he will see us without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless on the day Christ is revealed.