Blameless

What does "blameless" mean in Philippians 3:6 and 1 Corinthians 1:8?

Many times words have more than one meaning, like this one, which has both a practical (what we do) and positional (who we are in Christ) meaning.

Regarding the practical meaning: In Philippians 3:6, when the Apostle Paul said of his former life as Saul that "as to the righteousness which is in the law" he was "found blameless," he didn't mean he never sinned, "for there is no man who does not sin" (1 Kings 8:46). He meant that every time he sinned, he brought a sacrifice. This was also true of Zacharias and Elizabeth (Lk 1:6), though they were saved, while men like Saul were not, "because they did not pursue it by faith" (Rom 9:31-32).

In 1 Corinthians 1:8, Paul promises that the Lord will "confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Here is the positional meaning: "Blameless" refers to our sinless position in Christ, as it does in I Thes 5:23. Notice that in both places, confirming our blameless position depends on God's faithfulness, not on our own (1 Cor 1:9; 1 Thes 5:24).

Of course, it is the challenge of the Christian life under grace to make our everyday practice match our eternal position, and so Paul challenges us to live godly lives "so that you will prove yourselves to* be blameless and innocent" (Phil 2:12-15). And, "if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast," the Lord will be able to "present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach" at the Judgment Seat of Christ as far as our service is concerned, and upon which our heavenly rewards are based.

So put on the new man and allow the Lord to "cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people...so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness" when He comes to the Judgment Seat "with all His saints" (1 Thes 3:12-13)!


*There is no "prove yourselves to" in the original Greek. Directly translated it says this: "... that you may be faultless and simple, children of God unblameable in [the] midst of a generation crooked and perverted ..."