FAULTLESS? BLAMELESS? REALLY?

I’m flawed. I have many faults. You know it, and I know it. I know the ugly side of Robbie better than anyone else, so when I read Colossians 1:22 this morning, a phrase jumped out at me that *seems completely impossible…

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. (NLT)

It’s Scripture, and Scripture is inspired, perfect, and without any mixture of error. But it just can’t be… “without a single fault?”  No Way? Really? Impossible!

There are two phrases in this verse that are stated in perfect tense. First, “He has reconciled you…” means that in the past, He reconciled you, and the effects of that reconciliation are permanent, remaining in the present and into the future. Also, “He has brought you into His own presence…” means that in the past, He brought you into His presence, and you remain there presently and into the future. For believers in Jesus, these two actions are done-ditty-done, never to be undone!!

Then there are two phrases that are present in tense, which in Koine Greek, means that the action is presently happening in an ongoing sense. “You are holy and blameless…” and “you stand before him…” are both present tense. I am holy, right now. I’m also standing before God, right now.

Physically, I’m sitting at my desk, with plenty of flaws and faults, typing a blog post. But as far as the way God views me, I am presently holy and blameless (because He has reconciled me to Himself through the death of Christ, forgiving my sins completely and transferring Christ’s perfect righteousness to my account) and I am standing in His presence.

I know. It’s a lot to think about. It seems abstract, but it’s true. But that last phrase is the most unbelievable part of it all… “without a single fault.” That’s crazy. That’s weird. I can hardly begin to wrap my mind around it because my personal experience is filled with fault. But my Creator has made the bold decision to see me as faultless on the basis of His Son’s faultlessness. I’m completely forgiven. All of my sins, past, present, and future, are absolved in the death of Jesus on the cross. And this is why I love Him, and have a passion for the supremacy of Christ in all things.  He first loved me!  Let this sink in....
...Without a 'single' fault.

 Unbelievable.

But God said it.  So BELIEVE IT! (Mark 9:34 - "I BELIEVE, help my UNBELIEF!)

So the man who has looked at pornography a thousand times, and who turns to Jesus… without a single fault.

The woman who gave up purity in a moment, or many moments, of ecstasy, and who turns to Jesus… without a single fault.

The teenager who has treated others with cruelty/unfair judgment, and who turns to Jesus… without a single fault.

I've often said that grace is scandalous, shocking, and seemingly unfair. But it’s more than fair. It’s Jesus, dying because of our sin, to reconcile us back to God in a way that sticks forever. YES!

Wanna be “without a single fault?”
Turn. To. Jesus.

Theology you can eat and drink.