I love that song. Thank you.
Beautiful. I've entitled this message Without
Blame. Without Blame. This is the third
of the spiritual blessings that Paul mentions in this passage
in Ephesians 1, verses 3 through 14. The first spiritual blessing
is to be chosen by God before time began. The second spiritual
blessing is to be chosen to be holy. And I love thinking about
this. If the Lord's chosen me to be
holy, I am holy. And the third spiritual blessing
that he mentioned is to be without blame. And this is a hard thing
to get hold of, isn't it? To be without blame. I've been thinking about Tom
all day, and I've been thinking about the fact that he, at this
time, does not even remember what it's like to be a sinner.
And he's in a state of utter blamelessness. Without blame. What if I really was without
blame? What if I really was without
fault, faultless, nothing to correct me for? Is there such
a person? Hey, nobody's perfect. Could the word without blame
above and beyond reproach. No reason for censure. Could
that be used with regard to any man? Without blame, without blemish, without spot. a perfect man, a perfect woman. All of those who were chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world are, present tense,
even though they don't feel it, without blame before God. This is a description of all
of God's people holy and without blame, nothing to accuse them
of, no reason to judge them, nothing can be laid to their
charge. Pretty much sends justification,
isn't it? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Now, if you wanted to lay anything
to my charge, I have no doubt you could find plenty to lay
to my charge. And I could find plenty to lay
to your charge. You know that so. I know that
so. I am in reality so sinful. There is so much for which I
could be blamed and most of the stuff that I don't know about.
could be blamed for. How can someone who should be
blamed be blameless? Now only the gospel answers that
question. To blame means that the one blamed
is the one who caused the bad thing to happen. Now this blaming
began early. You remember right after the
fall when Adam was confronted with his sin by God. He said,
the woman that you gave me, she gave me of the fruit and I did
eat. The obvious implication, if you
wouldn't have given me this woman, this would have never happened. It is your fault. I'm a victim
in this. I've been set up. I've been set
up for failure. I ain't no doubt about it, but
I was set up. This is really not my fault. That's what Adam was saying. He's saying, God, this is your
fault. Even though he did it, he was
not to blame. He was a victim. He was entrapped. And this is still going on so
powerfully today, putting the blame somewhere else. The example
that came to my mind, the way we are, I'm talking about me,
I'm talking about you, how easily we can put the blame somewhere
else, I thought about David. When God sent Nathan to him and
he gave him that story about that man who had one little ewe
lamb that he loved so much it was like a daughter to him, and
it ate at his table. He loved this little ewe lamb.
And there was a man who had exceeding much, the scripture says, flocks
and herds and sheep. And a stranger came his way and
he didn't want to give up one of his sheep to feed this man. So he went and took this man's
only little ewe lamb and he killed it and they cooked it and they
ate it for supper. And when David heard about that,
he became so angry. He could see so clearly the guilt
and the blame worthiness of this man. And he said, as the Lord
liveth, surely this man is going to be put to death. That is what
he deserves. He could see that clearly. You
know, I can see your faults real clearly, but I'm blind to mine. I never will forget one time,
Lynn and I were doing something we shouldn't be doing. We were
saying something negative about somebody. And Lynn said, What do you reckon
people think about us? I said, What would they say?
And she said, Are you really that blind? I guess I was. Or I guess I am. We can clearly
see where others need to be blamed. Can't But Nathan said to David,
thou art the man. You are the one that I'm talking
about. How easily we excuse ourselves
and blame others. We blame our upbringing. We blame
our environment. We blame our genetic makeup. We blame other people. Indeed, those things play a role.
I wouldn't say they do not. They indeed play a role, but
they do not remove blame or personal responsibility for your own sin. Now, this blaming is seen in
a judgmental attitude toward others. Turn with me for a moment
to Romans chapter 1. I think this is one of the most
poignant passages in the Word of God. Paul describes this group of
people being filled, plumbed full with all unrighteousness. Fornication, sexual sin, wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness. Romans 1 29. Full of envy. What a base attitude. Murder,
debate, deceit, malignity. That means a bad character. Whisperers,
secret slanderers, backbiters, haters of God. Despiteful, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without
understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable. That means you can't be persuaded.
You're so hard-hearted, unmerciful, who knowing the judgment of God
that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only
do them, but have pleasure in them that do them too. Now, would
you agree with me that the people just described are morally reprehensible,
evil, wicked? You make that judgment? I do. Let's go on reading. Therefore
thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein you judge another,
you condemn yourself. For thou that judgest doest."
Now that word is in the present active voice, intense. Whatever you're judging somebody
for, don't matter what it is, in some way you're doing the
precise same thing even while you're judging that person. Somebody
says, I don't believe that. God says it. God says it. You expect me to
believe you or God? God says whatever you're judging
anybody for, whatever I'm judging anybody for, I am guilty of doing
the exact same thing that I'm judging that person for. Verse
2, but we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth
against them which have commit such things. And thinkest thou,
O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the
same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God." It's easy
to blame others. We can see everything about it. And we, God says, right now,
not the way we used to be, right now, we do the exact same things. seen most clearly in our judgmental
attitude toward God. Turn to Romans 9. Paul made this shockingly clear
and bold statement regarding election. God's choice of his
people. Verse 11, for the children, Jacob
and Esau being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto
her, the elder shall serve the younger. Esau the elder is going
to serve the younger Jacob as it's written. Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. And Paul anticipates our objection. That's not fair. That is not fair. That is unrighteousness with
God. Now the person who makes that
objection, they're sitting in judgment upon God. I'm all of
a sudden become God's moral judge. And isn't it ironic? That's not the right
word. I don't know what word it is
I'm looking for. But isn't it amazing that a sinful man like
me or you can sit in judgment on God and say, that's not fair. Look down in verse 18. Therefore, hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy and whom he will, he hardens. He hardens. He did that to Pharaoh, didn't
he? He said he hardened Pharaoh's heart. Well, Pharaoh hardened
his own heart. It says God hardened his heart.
Yes, it says Pharaoh hardened his own heart, but it also says
more times that God actively hardened his heart. And let me
remind you, all that God has to do to harden my heart or your
heart is leave us alone. Nothing else needs to be done.
Leave you alone. Verse 19, Thou wilt say then unto me, why
does he yet find fault? How can he hold me responsible?
How can he blame me? Who has resisted his will? If
he saves whom he will, if he hardens the heart of whom he
will, I don't have any say in this matter. How can he hold
me responsible? Once again, God is not fair. That is judging God. I love Paul's answer. Nay, but
O man, who are you? to object, to reply against whatever
God does. He's God. You're a sinful man. You have no business sitting
in judgment on God. Now, did you know that you and
I will never ask for mercy? unless our sin is all our fault. And the blame goes directly on
me, nowhere else, nobody else. I am the one to be blamed. If that's not where I am, that
means I'm finding fault with God. That's ultimately if I find
fault with you, ultimately I'm finding fault with God. That's
the bottom line. It's only when my sin is all
my fault, nobody else's fault, my fault. It's only then that
I will cry for mercy. The Pharisee, pay me what you
owe me. Look what I've done. Look what
I've refrained from doing. me what you owe me. The publican,
all my sin is my fault. God be merciful to me, the sinner. Now, can you imagine a few scenarios? Can you imagine the leper coming
up to Christ and saying, Lord, I will that you make me clean. Can you imagine Bartimaeus saying,
now son of David, have mercy on me. You ought to do it. That's
what you're here for. You're a God of mercy, have mercy
on me. Can you imagine the woman that
was a sinner demanding to be forgiven? Forgive me. You ought
to do that. I mean, you're the Savior, aren't
you? You ought to forgive me. That kind of thinking is offensive,
isn't it? It's wrong as it could be. Now remember Paul's words
to the Corinthians. I love this in 1 Corinthians
11. Matter of fact, let's turn there. I want you to see this.
1 Corinthians 11. Verse 31. Now this is the only judgment
you and I can rightly make. If we would judge ourselves,
blame ourselves, we would not be judged. Do you hear that?
If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. That's
the word of God. Turn to John 9 for a moment. beginning in verse 39. And Jesus
said, for judgment I'm coming to this world that they which
see not might see and that they which see might be made blind. Now that one who doesn't see
is not simply talking about one who can't see physically. but
the person who truly cannot see in themselves why God would look
in favor upon them. They can't see it. And the people
who can see are the people who can see why God would do something
for them. After all, I've done this, I've
done that, I believe this, I believe that. Verse 40, And some of the
Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto
them, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If you
were blind, what's that next statement? You'd have no sin. If you were blind, you would
have no sin. But now you say, we see. Therefore your sin remaineth. Now, how can God take somebody
like me, who is so blameworthy, and make me to be without blame? Oh, I want to enter into this,
how if God's made me without blame, I really am without blame
before God. Romans chapter three. Verse nine. What then? Are we better than
they, us Jews? Are we better than the Gentiles?
No, in no wise. For we have before proved, both
Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. There's not a square inch of
any of us that's over sin. We're under sin. That means it's
over us. were under sin. That's what God
says. As it is written, there is none righteous. No,
not one. There is none that understands.
There's none that seeketh after They are all gone out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that
doeth good. No, not one. Now that's quoted
in two different Psalms. Psalm 14 and Psalm 53, same Psalm
repeated. That's how important that is.
You reckon the Lord put that in the Psalms like that twice?
He doesn't do that with other Psalms to let us know how important
this is. Verse 13, their throat. is an
open grave. Their tongues, they've used deceit.
The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of
cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way
of peace they've not known. There's no fear of God before
their eyes. Now we know that what things,
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty
before God. Now here is the issue. Not is there God. Everybody here knows there is.
Here's the issue. What is my state before this
all powerful eternal God? You know God is. You know he
created the universe. You know that naturally. The
question is the issue is what is my state before this God?
The answer is guilty. to be blamed, blameworthy, completely
guilty. Is there anything I can do to
change that state? Verse 20, therefore
by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in
his sight. For by the law is the knowledge
of sin." That's all the law does. It reveals to me that all I am
is sin. And if you haven't seen the law
in that light, you've not seen the law, period. And you've not
seen the character of God, and you've not seen your own character.
If I have a proper understanding of the law, All it reveals to
me is that I am sin and there's nothing I can do to change that
state. You believe that? Does that mean there's no hope?
No, but now verse 21, but now the righteousness of the law
of God, but now the righteousness of God without the law. You know
what that means? Now, the law, I'm justified by
perfect righteousness before that law. When he's talking about
without the law, that means without doing anything to get this way.
That's what it means, without me doing anything to get this
way. The righteousness of God without
the law. Now, that's good news to you
if you can't do anything. If there's something you can
do, you don't like this. But if you can't do anything,
you really believe that about yourself. This is the only place
there's hope. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested. Well, how can I know that this
is true? This seems too good to be true. You talk about me
having the righteousness of God without me doing anything. How
can I know it's true? Well, it's witnessed by the law
and the prophets. This has always been the teaching
of scripture. Jehovah said, Kenu, the Lord, our righteousness. God said in Isaiah, their righteousness
is of me. This is what the scriptures have
always taught. Verse 22, even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith, And this is so important. It doesn't
say by faith in Jesus Christ, but by faith of Jesus Christ. By his faithfulness. By his faithfulness
to keep the law. You see, he couldn't do anything
for us if he didn't have a perfect righteousness. He couldn't take
my sin on if he didn't have a perfect righteousness. He was faithful
to God's holy law. He kept it perfectly. He was
faithful to the covenant. He was faithful to the mission
that God gave him to do. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. I'm saved by
the faith of Christ. What about faith in Christ? Well,
I do trust him. I do. But what do I think about
my faith? Weak, weak, weak. I'm not saved by my faith. I'm
saved by the faith. Somebody had to believe God perfectly.
Did he have weak faith? No, he said, though he slay me,
yet will I trust him. While he was on the cross, when
he was in utter darkness, you know what he never quit doing?
Is trusting his father. Now, me and you, something goes
wrong, the first thing we think is, I must not be saved. God's
going to cast me off. Not him. He trusted his Father
completely in utter darkness. I'm saved by the faith of Christ. Even the righteousness of God,
which is by the faith of Jesus Christ, well, who is this for?
Unto all and upon all them that believe. They rely. this being so. Believe what? For there's no
difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. Here's the first thing you believe. If you really believe,
you believe there's no difference between men. All have sinned. You take the most righteous and
Man, the most, I tell you, I've heard, listening to some political
shows, and they talk about these powerful men, powerful men. Ain't
no powerful men. Power belongeth unto the Lord.
There's nobody that has any power. Everybody's his pawn. I love
remembering that. You take the most powerful, moral,
strong man, and the weakest, most sinful man there is, there
is no difference. All have sinned and come short
of God's glory. Here's what they believe, being
justified. And that means blameless, without
guilt. being justified, look at the
next word, freely. That means there's absolutely
nothing I need to do to pay for this. It's a free gift of God. It's not an offer. It's a free
gift. It's not a free gift that's up
to you to accept or reject. It's a free gift. God's gifts
are given. And if they're not received as
a free gift, He never gave them. A free gift. Being justified
freely by His grace. Don't you love that? It's an
act of His grace where He says, you're justified, and you're
justified without blame through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. That's where this came from.
Christ redeemed me from the curse of the law. He put away my sins,
verse 25, whom, speaking of Christ, God hath set forth. reading says foreordained, foreordained. The only other two times the
word is used in the New Testament is translated purposed. God purposed,
God ordained beforehand, that Christ would be a propitiation,
a thin removing sacrifice through faith in his blood. Now he's
the propitiation. How can I know if he's propitiated
for me? Beloved, right now while I'm
talking to you, are you relying on his blood as the only thing
that makes you perfect before God? You don't have anything
else. That's called faith in his blood. Christ died for the elect, how
can I know if I'm one of them? Well, you'll have faith in His
blood. You will rely, you'll completely rely on the power
of His blood to make you blameless. Let's go on reading. To declare, verse 25, His righteousness,
not His mercy, not His grace, not His love, to declare His
righteousness. This is a righteous act of God
for your sins to be forgiven. It's not just mercy. It's not
just grace. It's a declaration of the righteousness
of His character in forgiving you of your sins and making you
to where you have no blame before Him. It's what Paul was talking
about in Romans 1, 16 and 17 when he said, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God and the salvation
to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek for therein in the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed. The righteousness of God demands
my salvation because I don't have anything to be blamed for.
I stand without fault, without blemish, perfect before God. Now that is every believer. I don't care how guilty you feel.
You don't have anything to feel guilty about. I don't care if
you do have a black cloud over your head. It's something you
put there because you have nothing to feel guilty about, nothing
to be blamed for. This is the gospel. He chose
me to be holy and without blame before Him. Now, this word, without blame,
is found seven times in the New Testament. Twice it's with reference
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 9 14 says he offered
himself without spot to God. That's the word without spot.
And then once again in first Peter 1 19 he's the lamb without
blemish. That's the word without blemish.
And both of those times it's had to do with his substitutionary
sacrifice to make us blameless. But The other five times it's
with reference to us being without blame. And the first time's in
our text. Ephesians 1, 4, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that
we should be holy and without blame before him. Now if I'm without blame, here's
why. God chose me to this end. That's the only reason. It's
because God chose me to be without blame. And then in Colossians
1 verses 20 through 22, we read this, having made peace through
the blood of his cross by him, by him, I say, having made peace. I'm not quoting it right. Let's
turn there. Colossians 1. and having made peace, verse
20, through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all
things unto himself. By him I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven. Don't you love the way
Paul repeats himself? By him I say. It has nothing
to do with what you do. By him I say. And you that were
sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through
death to present you holy and unblameable. That's the word. Same word. Unblameable and unreprovable
in His sight. Now, I'm unblameable because
God chose me to be unblameable. And the cause of my being unblameable
is because Christ's blood put away all my sin. It is no more. It's gone. There's nothing to
blame me for. I'm utterly without blame before."
Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25. Husbands, love your wives as
Christ also loved the church. and gave himself for it that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water
by the word that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish." Same word, without blemish. Now what this speaks of is the
beauty of Christ's bride. If the Lord Jesus Christ was
looking you over and he saw you apart from him, how would he
see you? You know as well as I do. But the fact of the matter is,
he says with regard to every one of his people, Behold, thou
art all fair, my love. There is no spot in thee. Absolutely no blemish. When Jesus Christ looks upon
me, he looks upon someone who is perfectly beautiful, his beautiful
bride. Now that's the heritage of every
believer. Without spot. Turn to Jude. right before Revelation, Jude
verse 24. Now, Jude 24, now unto him that
is able to keep you from falling. Question, how easy would it be
for you to fall? How easy would it be for you
to make shipwreck of the faith? What's the only reason you won't?
Because he's able to keep you from falling. And to present you faultless. That's the word. Same word. To
present you faultless. before the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy." Now, God the Father has exceeding joy
from the faultlessness of His beautiful people. Christ Jesus
has exceeding joy in making this presentation to His Father. Behold, I and the children that
thou hast given me, faultless And you know who else has exceeding
joy over being faultless? Everybody that's faultless. Everybody
that Christ has put away their sins and made them to be without
fault. Right now, oh glory to His name,
I am without blemish, without fault, before the very throne
of God, having been presented by the Lord Jesus Christ. And
here's the last one, Revelation 14. And I look, verse one, and lo,
a lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with him an hundred and forty-four
thousand, having his father's name written in their foreheads.
Now this is an exact number, and it represents God's elect. So many things have been made
out of the 144,000. I've had Mormons, are you going
to be part of the 144,000? Jehovah Witness, are you going
to be part of the 144,000? My response, yeah, I am and you're
not, in that you don't really believe what the 144,000 means
in the first place. This is God's elect. I want to
be in this group, don't you? God's elect, a number that can't
be added to or subtracted from. This is a representative number.
I realize the number is 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands and
thousands, but here it's 144,000. God's elect. having his father's name written
in their foreheads, Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. And
I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters and
as the voice of a great thunder. And I heard the voice of harpers
harping with their harps. And they sang as it were a new
song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders.
And no man could learn that song but the 144,000 which were redeemed
from the earth." That's who they are. Everybody who was redeemed
from the earth. All that Christ died for. Verse
four, these are they. which were not defiled with women,
for they're virgins, chaste virgins to Christ. These are they which
follow the Lamb, whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed
from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And
in their mouth was found no guile, no deceit, for they are without
fault. before the throne of God. This is the heritage of every
believer. Right now, present tense, without fault, before
the throne of God. What a blessing. according as
He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him. Let's pray.