Holy and Blameless
In legalese, not guilty is not the same as innocent. It could just mean that the prosecution didn’t present a compelling case. But in God’s world, today’s title from Ephesians 1:4 means innocent, pure, like it never happened. Jude 24 adds the phrase “blameless with great joy.”
I don’t know if you’ve ever
appeared before a judge for a speeding ticket or something more serious, but let’s assume you weren’t guilty of whatever the charge was. I’d be willing to bet that while the deliberation was going on, you felt anything but great joy. And then, the verdict: “not guilty.” It was hard to contain it, wasn’t it? That’s the feeling that we, as followers of Jesus, should feel every day.
Yes, we were guilty of sin.
And yes, we deserved death because of it (Rom. 6:23). But the prosecution—in this case, Satan—tried every trick he knew to accuse us before God’s court (Rev. 12:10). However, he missed one key element in his charge. Jesus already paid the penalty for it with His blood on the cross.
Lest you think this—your absolution—is a future event waiting to happen and one of your sins might fall through the cracks and not be covered by Jesus’ blood, listen to Paul’s message to the Ephesian church. All of these verbs are in the past tense. It’s already happened.
We…Have been blessed in Him,
Have redemption in Him, Have inherited eternal life in Him, Were sealed in Him, Have knowledge of the mystery of His will in Him, He (God) purposed in Him (planned ahead) before the creation of the world.
It’s hard to miss the one thing that puts a bow on this. All the above are only ours IN HIM. If this doesn’t fire your jets and spawn “great joy” and thanksgiving, you need to consider whether or not you’re IN HIM. Have you ever recognized that apart from Jesus you’re still spiritually in debtors prison? And the sentence is still eternal death?
If that’s the case, it’s not too late
as long as you have breath. Click here Steps To Salvation and see what God has in store for all who love Him and invite Him to change their lives through Jesus. Thanks for reading. Great Joy can be yours today.