Children of God without fault

This seems like a tall order – how can we be blameless, innocent, uncontaminated, without fault – while we are living in a morally corrupt and spiritually perverted generation? Without spots or blemishes while we are living here on earth in our natural bodies, as the above verse seems to suggest?

To understand this verse, we of course must read it in the context of what was written before it. We read in verse 12 that we have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. This does not mean that we must earn our salvation, but that we have to do our very best to live our lives in such a way that all areas of our lives show evidence of God’s presence in us. This will be the case if we have a respectful reverence of God – the fear and trembling being the result of our awesome encounters with the living God, not our fear of God because we feel guilty about our sin. We have to persistently refuse to live like the world around us dictates, making the right choices over and over again, never yielding to ungodly pressure to do otherwise.

Verse 13 shows us that God takes immense pleasure in energizing us and creating in us the power and desire to both will and work for Him.  This is not a reason to decide to do nothing on your part because He is doing it all inside you. If you understand His Lordship and presence all around you, it motivates you to be more dedicated to Him.

Paul gives practical ways to accomplish his entreaty, in verse 14. We have to stop complaining and disputing, and according to Spurgeon this means to stop complaining against the providence of God (let Him do what seems good to Him); against one another (do not raise controversy amongst your brethren); and against the ungodly world (of non-Christians).

This then leads into our verse 15. With God’s help inside us, we are ever preparing ourselves and working at it to be seen as people that are completely unable to harm or devour; no ungodly actions can be attributed to us; we follow and obey our Shepherd with total commitment; we refrain from complaining and bickering. Christians and non-believers alike cannot find evidence of wrongdoing in our lives; and our God does not judge us because we are under the covering of atonement through our faith in Jesus. Who then remains to condemn and find fault in us?

 Among whom you shine as lights in the world. This is not an instruction to shine; it is a statement of fact. We are shining lights. What do lights do? Lights expose things; they show the way; they are used to alert you of danger; they bring goodwill and cheer; they are used to make sure that things are safe.

Points to ponder:  Being in a dark place is a greater incentive to shine. How brightly are you shining? Which areas in your life are in darkness, and you are not letting God shine through?