No Accusers

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”
Romans 8:31-34 NLT

We live in a sad time when accusations against another person can cause inordinate suffering and misery. For example, children make false accusations against teachers, foster parents, or anyone else in authority, that can lead to consequences that are out of all proportion to what was intended. The ultimate false accusation, of course, was against Jesus. When He stood before Pilate, the Jewish leaders called for His death. We read in John 19:7, “The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God””. By calling Himself the Son of God, Jesus was elevating Himself to the same level as God, and this was considered to be blasphemous by the Jewish leaders. We read in John 10:33, “They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God””. Jesus was of course speaking the truth when He claimed His Messiahship, but that was not accepted by the Jewish leaders. So they falsely accused Him of blasphemy. One day they will find out just how wrong they had been.

Paul wrote, “Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own?” Accuse us of what? One thing the devil is good at is accusing Christians. We read in Revelation 12:10 about what happened to him. “Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night.” The prophet Zechariah, in a vision, and as recorded in Zechariah 3:1-2a, wrote, “Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord . The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. … “

The accuser, the devil, was very good at introducing doubts in people’s minds about sin, their salvation and anything to do with their relationship with God. His tactics in the Garden of Eden, when he deceived Eve, are well known. But Paul refutes all of this, because he points out to his readers that we are justified through our faith in Jesus. Before God we have nothing to be accused of. And similarly, we cannot be condemned either, again by our faith in Jesus. He died for us and is now with God, “pleading for us”. 

We pilgrims are in a strong position because of our relationship with God. The devil is a defeated foe. We have read the last page in the Book. But we must be aware of his ploys. We read in 1 Peter 5:8, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are”. In Zechariah’s vision, the devil made accusations against Jeshua, the High Priest. The devil is no respecter of persons – even the Jewish High Priest is not immune from accusations. But as we read in the Zechariah Scripture, God was having none of it. The devil’s accusations were rejected.

And so it is with us – the devil has nothing to pin on us because we are blood-bought children of God. We constantly keep short accounts with God, assured that He is always accessible, and then the devil cannot accuse us of anything. As we do with any loved one, we keep in regular contact. And we thank Him for His grace and love. Where would we be without God?

Dear Heavenly Father. We have no need to be anxious about the devil’s lies and false accusations. Before You, we are justified and redeemed. That’s all that matters. Amen.