Blameless with Great Joy

Not guilty!

From a simple traffic violation to the grisliest murder, those words spell freedom, release, a second chance. And who in their right mind wouldn’t want to hear them? That’s why it’s so hard to accept the fact that many people will consciously walk away from the ultimate Not Guilty—forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ—and remain locked in their prison which carries an automatic and eternal death sentence.

Not guilty doesn’t necessarily mean without any hint of culpability. It could be that there just wasn’t enough evidence to judge “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Blameless with great joy; is a concept found in the Book of Jude, verse 24. But blameless means not only not guilty, it goes beyond that. It implies a clean slate, no sign of an offense, pure, righteous, undefiled. Wow. And then the icing: with great joy.

I’ve never been in jail

so I’m not speaking from experience. But I can imagine some level of joy or relief of hopelessness upon release. The problem with this type of release is the rate of recidivism is high in many states, even those with a large population. So this is temporary at best, even for those not returning to Graybar Hotel.

One big difference between a court-levied sentence and God’s pronouncement of guilt is one can be based on flimsy or flawed evidence and you can be convicted though innocent. The other (God’s) is perfect judgment because He sees all and knows all; nobody escapes His watchfulness. Because of that and because “all

have sinned” (Rom. 3:23) and thus are guilty of God’s law, all have earned the death penalty (Rom. 6:23). But we have a defense attorney, an advocate, in Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “…He always lives to make intercession for them (those who draw near to God through Jesus), Heb. 7:25. Who better to represent us before the court of God?

Think about

one of the most joyous events in your life: perhaps your wedding day, or the birth of a child, or that big promotion you worked so hard for. Whatever amount of joy you felt, it doesn’t last very long. But the joy that comes with God’s declaration of “blameless,” lasts throughout eternity. Words can’t do justice to the depth of joy we know because our sins are forgiven. Joy now because we know our future is secure. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2,3), and joy forever because we’ll be in Jesus’ presence. The psalmist said, “…in Your presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11).

Not just “not guilty,” but “blameless.” Not just joy, but great joy. We can experience both of these now. Jesus said, “The one who comes to Me, I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). Have you come to Him…on His terms? Forgiveness, resulting in the declaration of blameless, comes only through repenting (turning away from your sin) and believing that you are one of those for whom Jesus died and rose again. There’s a complete outline on our Steps to Salvation page that gives you God’s perspective on you and your final destiny. If you’re not experiencing the joy of knowing you are blameless in God’s eyes, please take a few minutes to visit the page. Thanks for reading.