6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:6-9

There is a truth buried in these verses that could free your thinking. Actually there are several great truths within these four verses. The truth I’m referring to, though, is what Christ did on the cross for our sins. It’s embedded in these words: “so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It doesn’t at all say we will be sinless. If that were the case, none of us would make it. The penalty for our sins was death. Jesus Christ was our substitute, our atoning sacrifice, for the sins we committed. His righteousness was imputed to us. What does all of that mean exactly?

It means that because we have faith in Jesus Christ, we are blameless in God’s sight. “When the roll is called up yonder,” as the hymnist wrote, we will be there even though we don’t deserve to be.

As songwriter David Crane wrote: “Black covered by red makes the purest white you’ve ever seen.”

If it all seems difficult to understand, that’s because it is difficult for us to understand the rationale of an infinite God wanting to have mercy on us. Graduate level courses have been developed and doctoral dissertations have been written around the “Imputed Righteousness of Christ.” Even though it’s difficult to understand, it’s the basis of our faith and standing in Christ.

So, “when the roll is called up yonder,” we will be there, blameless because of what He did for us.