Philippians 1:10
“that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.”
This will be our third entry on this verse. Today’s focus comes from the end. That we are to be “without offense”. Another versions says, “blameless”. There are plenty of things to say about this. First off, God made us blameless when we accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. He justifies us. That is He makes us just if I’d never sinned. Thus begins a wonderful life in Christ.
Today’s verse speaks of our conduct. We shouldn’t be dabbling in sin. God saved us from the sentence of sin and He seeks us to be free from the slavery of it. Sometimes it’s not so easy. Some are addicted. It’s a real struggle to get out of and remain out of it. Some are delivered instantly for good, while others have a lifetime struggle ahead of them. There are AA meetings or CR groups. These are greatly helpful.
The world expects us not to sin and mock when we stumble. They shame. They don’t understand that all are hypocrites on some level. But it’s devil inspired and he seeks to bring us down. Shame is one his great tools.
It’s a blessing to avoid sin. If we are addicts or not, it’s a wonderful thing to be free from sin. It brings it’s own shame. We still have our old sinful flesh that doesn’t want God and will shame us also. To avoid sin starves the flesh and deprives it of an opportunity to shame. It wants indulgence, so when we are temperate and moderate, it’s not happy.
Our conscience and our spirits delight when we avoid sin. It appears as it they pat us on the back and say “atta boy”. God’s Spirit also is pleased when we avoid sin. “His Spirit bears witness to our spirits…”, (Romans 8). This is part of the “my cup runneth over in Psalm 23. We’re happy, God’s happy, we are filled with joy.
We are a good example when we are blameless. We are loving to others instead of mocking, mean and selfish. They are blessed by this. We give them a break. God is glorified and some look to Him because of this love. This is part of the point, to bring others to Him. The words of our testimony are important, but so are our actions.
Unfortunately we will stumble at times. We’ll disappoint ourselves and others. We repent and sometimes an apology is necessary. This meets the other word used in today’s verse, to be sincere and genuine. An apology is quite sincere. Some accept it, some don’t. We also ask the Lord for forgiveness and to cleanse us. We’ve been stained from sin and He wants to clean us up.
We learn our weaknesses and seek to avoid temptation or those circumstances that trigger sin. Jesus models the prayer that contains “and lead us not into temptation”. We pray to ask God’s help to avoid sin. He will help us. I can recall long ago, being grieved with sin and wondering if I would make it. But here I am and here we are. Still walking with Him. We are still in the palm of His hand and no one has been able to snatch us out.
Thank You, Lord, that You want us to be blameless and You help us to be so. You take away the sin and despair of sin. You’ve given us the joy and victory of avoiding sin. Help us to continue to walk blamelessly and to be a witness and a blessing to others.