Saturday, 22 August 2009

• Satan is the "Accuser of the Brethren:" Do You Feel Accused?

  The Bible describes Satan as the "accuser of the brethren."  He is seen as a sort of evil prosecutor who brings railing accusations against us, but Christ as our defense attorney steps in and pleads our case.  Our case, of course, is that He died for our sins, and they cannot be held against us.  Since Christ paid the price for them with His own blood, punishing us for them would be a sort of spiritual double jeopardy.  Now that's a very simplistic explanation of the concept because Satan not only accuses of us our sins, he also tempts us to sin further.  It's as though the  prosecutor is also your drug dealer. 

  Not only are we accused before God, we are also accused before our own conscience.  We struggle with thoughts like, "God could never love you.  Not after you did that!"  Sometimes even in church, I feel the sting of accusation, "You don't belong among these good people.  You aren't worthy." 

  Now, accusation is not the same thing as conviction.  When we sin, we feel a sense of conviction.  This is good because it should lead us to repent.  Accusation comes after we repent and are forgiven.  Accusation is when a sin is brought to memory that even God has forgotten.  The Bible says that God casts our sin in a "sea of forgetfulness."  A God who is omniscient chooses to forget the sins we have committed. 
  

  Sometimes, we become Satan for each other.  We bring up old sins and hold them against each other.  We bring accusations against those who are no longer accountable for their crimes.  It's almost like the news story I saw this morning about Michael Vick.  He did some horrible things, and he has paid his debt to society.  For some people this is not enough, they want to continue to bring this charge against him.  I have done horrible things, and Christ has paid my debt.  Yet, there are still forces that want to bring these charges against me.

  I think it's important that we try to become more like God in learning to forgive and forget.  If God forgets our sins, we should forget the sins that others commit.  We should not allow ourselves to become "personal Satans" for those who are covered in Christ's blood. 

  When one of my sons takes something from the other one, they begin to scream and cry.  Then when the object is returned, they immediately reconcile.  There is no grudge.  They do not hold sins against one another.  If this happens again, they will not say, "This is just like the last time."  They forget. 

  Personally, I struggle a lot with allowing accusations to weigh me down.  I allow myself to think things like, "Paul was wrong to call himself the chief of sinners.  He never met me."  Yet, when I do this, it's a form of pride.  It's wrong to feel like I am somehow beyond God's ability to forgive.  I'm not that special. 

  God, help us not to bring accusations against each other, and help those who feel accused to rest in You.  Amen.

  Do you frequently feel accused? Have you ever accused others when perhaps you shouldn't have?
  

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