“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.”
Genesis 17:1

by: Pastor Nick

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”
Ephesians 5:8

When God revealed Himself to Abraham and confirmed His covenant with him, the Lord strongly emphasized certain things as part of the covenant relationship. The Lord said, “I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless”. Abraham needed to understand that for him to have that intimate relationship with God; he must first know whom he was making covenant with. Abraham was not dealing with an ordinary person here but with God Almighty. Similarly as Christians and people who are in covenant relationship with God, we also need to understand that it is the Lord Almighty whom we have made covenant with. Our knowledge of this will always lead us to be cautious not to do things that will displease and dishonor God. At the same time, it will also make us earnest and steadfast in doing things that we are all tasked to do as part of out covenant with God. Our covenant relationship with the Lord is not just an ordinary agreement that we can compromise and not be serious with, for it is the Almighty God whom we are in covenant with.

God did not only emphasize to Abraham whom he was making an agreement with but the Lord also highlighted that for Abraham to be in covenant relationship with God, he needs to “walk before the Lord and be blameless”. God was simply saying that as part of the covenant, Abraham needed to live a worthy life before Him and be pure in his relationship with God. He needed to forsake and abandon the kind of life he had before which was not according to the kind of walk that God demands. Likewise, this is what God has asked of us. You and I are called by the Lord to walk before Him worthy and blameless in all aspects of our lives. We need to forsake our sinful life and live the kind of life that is holy and blameless.

This kind of understanding and agreement does not only apply to the nation of Israel for the Lord said, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.” It is a covenant that is binding and everlasting for all generations including us today and for the descendants to come. This is the reason why even in the time of the Early Church, Paul made emphasis on this relationship that we had with God in many of his writings.

In Ephesians 4:17-24 Paul said,

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

From these verses, there are several points that we need to consider in walking blamelessly before God.

• Insist that we no longer live as people who don’t know God (v.17). Paul told the believers in Ephesus to insist on themselves not to live anymore as Gentiles do but to live as people who knew God.
• Sensitivity and Sensuality (v.19). When we maintain our sensitivity (understanding) of who God is and our identity, it will preserve us to walk worthy of God. It is when we lose that sensitivity that we give ourselves over to sensuality as we indulge in every kind of impurity.
• We must live the way we know Christ and the truth that is in Jesus (v.20-21). We were taught of our former self and to put off the old self that is corrupted with sinful desires. We are to put on the new self created by God in true righteousness and holiness.

We were once in the darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. We are called to live as children of light. As “light in the Lord” who knew God, we are all to walk before the Lord and be blameless. As we walk before God blamelessly, it will always produce the fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth (Eph. 5:8) which will always please God.

We need to preserve our holiness and worthiness before God for it can be defiled if we engage ourselves in different kinds of impurities. As God’s people, there must not be even a hint of immorality among us. Therefore, let us walk worthy of our calling for He who has called us is faithful.