Walking with God and Blamelessness

One of the highest privileges of the Christian on this earth is to walk with God. It involves a relationship with the King of the Universe, and that relationship is impossible without special revelation, that is, without God specifically making known, outside of natural means, that the relationship is possible, and what are the terms.

It was a privilege that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the “nature” of things. That is, God, their Creator, walked with them in the natural order, in the Garden. And their was no hindrance to that relationship, no interruption, until Adam and Eve sinned. They broke God’s command, and the relationship was immediately changed. Fellowship turned to fear. Communion turned to curse. They were banished from the Garden, and “walking with God” would be re-defined.

“Walking with God” was altered, but not done away with. Just a few chapters later, we find Enoch, “seventh from Adam,” was known for walking with God. And he was rewarded by having his “walk with God” uninterrupted even by death. He “was taken,” without death, directly to God’s presence. Noah also “walked with God,” and it says that he was blameless. I do not believe that it squares with Scripture to say that his blamelessness earned him the privilege of walking with God. What I think we learn, and what Scripture supports, is that walking blamelessly and walking with God go together. They are complementary terms, and to think that we can have no regard for blamelessness and yet walk with God is not complementary, but rather contradictory.

God met with Abraham, and He said, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless” (Gen 17:1). The phrase, “walk before Me,” is a little different from “walk with God,” though I think they are very close. And so what we have in this verse are these two ideas tied together: 1) walking with God, and 2) blamelessness. 

So what does it mean to live a blameless life? I would encourage you to read Psalm 101, which I call “the blameless psalm.” The word “blameless” shows up specifically in vv. 2,6, though the whole Psalm outlines how the king “cleans house” and establishes blamelessness for his life and household. (This article is the outline from this past Wednesday night study, called “What Does it Mean to Walk with God?” We meet next on Wednesday, January 29, and you are invited.)