Blameless: the dictionary notes it as being above reproach, above suspicion, unimpeachable. Now there’s a word for the day! It means one is morally upright, sound in ethics, living a right life according to God’s standards. (It does NOT mean one is sinless!) Faithful: loyal, steadfast, staying true to the facts.
Psalm 119:1 “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.”
The Bible footnote takes me to Genesis 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God almighty. Walk before me faithfully and be blameless’.”
So faithful and blameless go hand in hand. When we are loyal to God, revering Him and standing steadfast in Him, though we won’t be perfect, we will live our lives to be above reproach, staying sound in God’s truth and living a right life, thankful for God’s grace when we don’t get it right …
As is the case for Abraham in Genesis 20 (the next place the footnotes take me, speaking of Abimelek acting “with a clear conscience and clean hands”). Abraham should have trusted God to cover him and his wife Sarah, but instead he allowed fear to reign. Yet God remained faithful and showed grace on all sides, for He knew Abraham’s heart and that his deep desire was to do right and follow Him.
How do we stay faithful and blameless? Following more footnotes, we come to Deuteronomy 8 (summarized): “Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to Him and revering Him. For the Lord is bringing you into a good land … Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands … otherwise your heart will become proud … and you will say ‘my power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me’.”
Even in the new testament, when Jesus was teaching, He again reminded that the right path means: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37
Let us intentionally stay in God’s Word. Hear and listen to His words. Let’s make time to follow footnotes and study to understand. And always, always, always be aware of the context in which it’s being written! Let us choose to live above reproach – not making God’s words say what we want them to say. But rather allowing God to fill us with what He is truly saying. Take the challenge!