FAULTLESS OR BLAMELESS

There has been some confusion as to the meaning of these two words in relation to our walk with the Lord. Some have taught that they mean the same thing, when indeed they mean something quite different. Even a casual look at two scriptures will give us a clear answer to this confusion. The first one is (1 Thess 5:23) Where it mentions being preserved “BLAMELESS". This word means simply without blame, or in other words if we do the very best we can do, even though it is not perfect, we are considered blameless.The other scripture is (Jude 24), where we read about being presented “FAULTLESS" before the presence of His glory. Here the word faultless clearly means without any flaws or blemishes, in other words this would imply a state of perfection. Now it’s easy to see that these two words do not have the same meaning, and should not be confused. Notice the word “faultless” is used only to describe a person when they stand before the Lord in glory. In other words we can be “blameless” in our walk here and now on planet earth, but only ”faultless" when we get to heaven.

In (1 John 1:7) we read “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” then in verse 9 of the same chapter John states that “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (plural) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. The “cleansing” in verse 7 is the same as the “forgiving” in verse 9; both of these words bear on a sinners “justification”. But the “cleansing” in verse 9 must mean something entirely different, or else why would John use them both in the same sentence? The cleansing in verse 7, and the forgiving in verse 9, has to do with the “guilt” of our past sin. Only the blood of Jesus is able to cleanse us from the sinful condition we inherited from Adam. The cleansing in verse 9 refers to Holiness of life, or in other words, being saved from sinning in this present life, not from the guilt of our past sinful condition, and can only be accomplished by “Jesus Himself" operating in our life by the power of His Holy Spirit.

Can you see how confusing the meaning of these two words has resulted in so much false teaching in the church? God has certainly made provision for us to be cleansed, or forgiven of all past sin or sins, resulting from our sinful old nature, inherited from Adam. This is accomplished at Salvation, or the new birth experience, when we repent of our sin and receive Jesus as our personal Savior. At this moment the Holy Spirit comes into our life to give us the assurance of sins forgiven. And henceforth we can truly say “I have been (past tense) saved. At some later date (It could be at the same time if we were properly instructed) we realize that we need supernatural power to live a life pleasing to God. At this point we need to come to Jesus and ask Him to baptize us in His Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-8). At this point The Holy Spirit who is already indwelling you since His entrance at the moment of salvation, now comes “upon you" to give you the power to live a life pleasing to God. From this point on we can say “I am in the process of being (present tense) saved.” Then we read in (1 Peter 1:5) that our completed salvation is yet future. Therefore we can say "I will be (future tense) saved" So we see that salvation can, and should be, expressed in this way to cover our past, our present, and our future!

Sincerely submitted.----Gramp