Where Are Thine Accusers?
James L. Reynolds
(John 8:1-11)  "Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. {2} And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. {3} And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, {4} They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. {5} Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? {6} This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. {7} So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. {8} And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. {9} And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. {10} When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? {11} She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
    In the above narrative we see that the Jews brought a woman before the Lord Jesus and laid a charge against her of violating the law of Moses. Such a violation carried with it the punishment of death by stoning.
(Leviticus 20:10)  "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death."
    The inspired Word of God makes it plain that the Jew's real motive was not to make sure that the Mosaic law was being upheld and that violators of it were punished according to it, but they were seeking an excuse to condemn the Lord.
"{6} This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him."
    It was the Jew's general practice at this time in His ministry to attempt to entrap or ensnare the Lord Jesus in his words and actions. In each of the Gospels is recorded an instance where the Jews did something so “that they might accuse Him”. They endeavored to twist and distort His words so that they would have, in their own minds,  justification to accuse, condemn and therefore punish Him.
    The Jews did not want to merely point to the Lord and say that He was doing something which displeased them. No, the Greek word here translated accuse carries with it a much stronger meaning. It means "to charge with some offense". The Jews sought to charge the Lord Jesus Christ with an offense, an offense which to them justified the death penalty.
    This same Greek word is used when the Scriptures relate how the apostle Paul was “accused” by the Jews before Felix. This same Greek word is also used in Revelation 12:10 when the saints rejoice because the one who “accused” their brethren is cast down. And the Lord Jesus used this same Greek word in John 5:45 when He tells the Jews that He will not accuse them but that they will be accused by Moses in whom they trust.
    After the woman's accusers were convicted by their own conscience and had turned and left the woman  alone with the Lord He asked her a simple but pointed question.
"Woman, where are those thine accusers?
    "Where", our dear Lord asks, "are those who brought you unto me and laid those charges worthy of death against you?"
    This morning we would like to take a brief look at the subject of accusations. We desire to note some of the accusations made mention of in the Word of God and some which we may have heard ourselves.
    If you will recall the definition which was just previously put before you of the Greek word translated as accuse in the New Testament was "to charge with some offense".
    Before we go any further let us point out that there are four categories of those accused.
    1.)  There are those who are innocent of the offense for which  they are being accused and in time that innocence will be made manifest. They will be declared not guilty of the offense and therefore they will receive no punishment.
    2.) There are those who are innocent of the offense for which  they are being accused and yet because of their accusers' station in life, power, influence, etc. they are declared guilty of the offense and they receive punishment which they do not deserve.
    Sometimes these accusers are sincere in their accusations and believe them to be valid and true, yet they are wrong in those beliefs, they are sincerely wrong. And as was mentioned earlier sometimes the accusers are malicious and aware that their accusations are false.
    3.) There are those who are guilty of the offense for which they are being accused and who yet manage to manipulate the system and their accusers and are therefore declared not guilty of the offense and do not receive the deserved punishment for the their offense.
    4.) There are those who are guilty of the offense for which they are being accused. In time that guilt is made manifest, they are declared guilty and therefore they receive the deserved punishment for the offense.
    To be accused of something by one's fellow creatures does not necessarily mean that one is guilty of the 'offense' they are being accused of. At one time the criminal courts system in the United States was based upon the precept that an accused person was 'innocent until proven guilty'.  (Except in military law)
Such however, is not the case now. Many people seem to believe that to be accused of something is the same as being declared and proven guilty of it. Many unscrupulous people are aware of that mind set and they use it to destroy and discredit their opposition. There are many today who knowingly lay these ungrounded and 'false accusations' against individuals whom they wish to discredit and destroy. There were also such individuals in the days of our Lord's ministry upon this earth.
    There are three types of false accusations which the Bible gives us that we would like to take a brief look at this morning. These kinds of false accusations are not of a single instance but are, at first glance, directed at a single focal point.
    1.) False accusations against God, in any or all of the persons of the Holy Trinity.
    2.) False accusations against the Lord Jesus Christ.
    3.) False accusations against the people of God.
    Let's begin with our first point:
    1.) False accusations against God, in any or all of the persons of the Holy Trinity.
    If you will please turn in your Bibles with me to Genesis 3 and let us take note of the first accusation which the inspired Word of God records for us. Please note if you will that it was not the One who spoke the universe into existence who brought forth the first accusation or charge of an offense. It was not the only One in the expansiveness of the universe Who then had and as yet singularly has the authority to bring forth an accusation and a charge of some offense. Had that been the case the accusation would have been totally accurate, true and valid.
    But, that first accusation recorded for the benefit of mankind was also the first false accusation recorded for us.
(Genesis 3:1-5)  "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? {2} And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: {3} But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. {4} And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: {5} For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
    That first accusation, that first 'charge with some offense', which we have record in the Word of God is that deceitful and false accusation of a sinful creature accusing, yea charging, its holy Creator with being a liar.
    Can we begin to grasp the enormity of this heinous and willful act? A creature, perhaps the first creature, charging its Creator with the offense of lying.
    How repulsive should such a blatantly false accusation be unto one who has been washed in the blood of the Lamb! And I trust that it is indeed repulsive and offensive unto each of us. Yet, when we disregard, ignore and esteem lightly God's instructions and commandments contained in His holy Word are we not also in some degree guilty of charging our God with the same offense?
    I do not want to be offensive to anyone and I certainly do not want to say anything which is offensive to my Creator, Redeemer and Lord. I would ask you to think diligently on this however. When God, in infinite kindness to His unworthy creatures, plainly tells us that a certain action is wrong and to be avoided by us, when He tells us that He is to be worshipped in a certain manner and will only accept such worship, and when He tells us a host of other things and we disregard those clear instructions are we not saying that we don't believe them to be true? Do our actions say things which our minds prohibit our tongues from saying?
    In Genesis 3 the creature falsely accused its Creator. Such has continued to be the case with millions of the mortals which God has since that time created.
    Every unrepentant sinner who dies in that unconverted state is guilty of charging their Creator with lying to them when He told them, through His Word, about their sinful condition, about the perilous plight they were in and that for all who would look only to His Son there was safety and forgiveness.
(1 John 5:10)  "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son."
    Every organization which calls itself a church but does not worship God in the fashion and manner which He has declared through His holy Word as acceptable unto Him is guilty of charging God with either ignorance or deceit. They will most likely not make such an accusation by their words but by their actions they are saying, either God did not know that it was okay to offer the worship concocted by His creatures or that He was deceitful in telling them that only the worship which He ordained and declared would be acceptable.
    How many of you know someone who claims to believe God's Word, someone who claims to trust only in the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, someone who claims to be His devoted servant and someone who also claims to have reached a state of sinlessness in this fleshly existence?
    I mean no disrespect whatsoever to God when I say that many who claim to be His children, many who claim to serve Him and many who claim to worship Him are guilty of charging Him with being a liar. The Bible gives us a very clear and plain instance of this terrible sin in I John 1:10.
(1 John 1:8-10)  "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. {9} If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. {10} If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
    When the Scriptures say in 1 John 1:8-10 and 1 John 5:10 that by peoples' disbelief and claims of sinlessness in the flesh they make God a liar it in no wise means that because of these actions God becomes a liar. God is infinitely holy and it is impossible for Him to lie!
(Deuteronomy 32:4)  "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."

(Psalms 31:5)  "Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth."

(Hebrews 6:18)  "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:"

    One of the things which is meant in the above cited Scriptures (1 John 1:8-10 and 1 John 5:10) is that by these individuals' disbelief in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ and by their assertions of sinlessness in the flesh they are claiming God to be a liar, they are ‘accusing’ God of being a liar.
    As we stated earlier there is often a vast difference in what is claimed and what is truth.
    Millions of people from every kindred, tongue and nation are guilty of charging their Creator with the offense of lying. Perhaps they have never verbally made this charge and to many it would be considered unthinkable to do so. But, by their actions the accusation has been made.
    Beloved, let us fervently pray that not only would we never be guilty of such a terrible sin of charging our Creator with an offense by our tongue but that also we would so order, by His strength and enablement, our steps so that our actions would never bring such a false accusation against Him.
    If you will recall the first of the four categories which we previously mentioned concerning those accused.
    1.)  Those who are innocent of the offense for which  they are being accused and in time that innocence is made manifest, they are declared not guilty of the offense.
    Beloved, one day it will be made apparent to all of the universe that these false accusations which God's unworthy creatures have made against Him are the product of that one who is a liar, who is the father of it and that those false accusations were perpetuated by his followers.
    The above false accusation, that God was a liar,  was first made against the omnipotent God by one of His angelic creations who, because sin was in him, fell from that position and has become lucifer, satan or the devil.
    Multiplied millions of God's human creatures have followed in that false accusation by their actions and thoughts if not by their words.
    Few if any of those who verbally deny God and the truths of  His Word would make the claim of being His people. There are many however, who while claiming to be God's children, while claiming to be the very sheep of His pasture, who will then bring a bring a false accusation against Him. These professors of divine grace would be quick to deny that they have ever brought any false accusation against God and take us to task for making such a statement. While they do not voice the exact words which their accusation implies, a cursory examination of their beliefs reveals that they do indeed bring a false accusation against God.
    The first false accusation brought forth by a people claiming to be God's people that we wish to take note of is that they accuse God of being weak and unable to bring to pass His desires without the help of His creatures. They claim that in the greater part of His designs for mankind He is a failure.
    Now I will readily admit that I can not ever recall hearing anyone who claimed to be one of God's children say that God is weak and a failure in those exact words. However, I have heard individuals, while expounding their beliefs, make such clear implications that if it is pointed out to them what they are saying they have become infuriated and hostile. When their beliefs are followed to the logical conclusion it is glaringly apparent that they are indeed making false charges against God. Their concept of God is not  of the same God as declared in His Holy, inspired Word. When this logical conclusion is brought to their attention then we are charged with 'attempting to use logic' as if it was something evil or against the teachings of God's Word. Beloved, there is nothing wrong or anti Scriptural with logic and reasoning.
(2 Timothy 1:7)  "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
    Beloved we do not want to put words in anyone's mouth and suggest that they have said something which they did not. But far more importantly we do not want to stand by indifferently as someone spews forth blasphemous statements and false accusations against our Sovereign God and not denounce and oppose those false accusations.
    Many people who claim to be God's people, some of which may indeed be His people, accuse God of weakness in their following beliefs.
    a.) They claim that by creation all of mankind are God's children and that God desires that all of those wayward children would believe on His Son as their Savior and Lord and return unto Him.
    b.) They claim that God planned for the redemption of the entire human race and that He sent His only Son unto this earth for the purpose of redeeming the entire human race.
    c.) They claim that it is God's earnest and sincere longing for all of His rebellious creatures to submit unto His pleadings and receive the gift which He has waiting for their acceptance. (In reality God does not plead with anyone in the ‘begging’ sense. The Lord Jesus Christ ‘pleads’ for His people in the sense of and advocate. God pleads ‘with’ no one but pleads ‘for’ His people.)
    d.) They claim that God has made all of the provisions necessary for all of mankind's redemption, that He has done all that He can do and that the rest is up to mankind.
    e.) They claim that God is powerless to save the soul of a person unless that person permits Him to do so.
    These claims are not 'straw men' made by us to be easily destroyed with the Word of God, but are a simple and plain exposition of some of the ideas of many professed children of God.
    Beloved, do the above mentioned claims declare God to be a powerful, almighty being or do they declare Him to be weak and often frustrated being?
    Do those claims, based on the acknowledged fact that there are many currently in hell, declare God to be a success in His designs for mankind or to be a failure in His designs?
    Beloved, I believe that it is evident to all who will honestly assess those claims what those claims declare. And, those declarations are based upon a faulty concept of the God of the Bible and they lead to false accusations against our Sovereign and Omnipotent God.
    Sometimes when we speak of God's electing some unto salvation and of His reprobating others by leaving them in their sins we are accused of charging God with meanness or spitefulness. Nothing could be further from the truth. In leaving someone in their sins God is not depriving them of anything which they merit or deserve. Yet, in electing some unto salvation through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, He is manifesting the greatest love this universe has ever witnessed and freely giving those elected in Christ what they do not merit nor deserve.
    God is not obligated to show mercy, favor, kindness and grace unto anyone. He has nevertheless indeed shown mercy, favor, kindness and grace unto millions of those who were undeserving and ill deserving of them.
(Matthew 20:15)  "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?"
    Those who deny God's election and reprobation accuse those of us who hold to those precious truths of setting forth a God who takes pleasure in the damnation and punishment of His creatures. We certainly do not believe or teach that God takes pleasure in the damnation of the wicked, as some sadistic person would take pleasure in the punishment of an animal or person. We do not believe such a thing because the Bible does not teach such a thing!
(Ezekiel 33:11)  "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"
    The next false accusation which those claiming to be God's people bring against Him that we desire to take note of is their claim that God is unfair and dishonest.
    They claim that, according to God's plan, the Lord Jesus Christ suffered the penalty due for all of the sins of all of mankind.
    They claim that God poured out His wrath, which wrath was due unto each and everyone of Adam's fallen posterity, upon the sinless soul of His Son, exacting from Him the fullest measure of the payment due from each and everyone of those fallen in Adam.
    They claim quite simply that the Lord Jesus Christ died for all of the sins of all of mankind.
    While making these claims they acknowledge that all people have not been and will not be saved. They acknowledge that many have already died in their sins and are currently in torment awaiting God's final judgment. And they acknowledge that before the Lord returns there will undoubtedly be many more who die in their sins and go to hell.
    Yet, they are unable to see how that in making the claims and the acknowledgments they are accusing God of being unfair and dishonest.
    Let's suppose for a moment that one of you owed me such a great sum of money that you were unable to pay it. There was no way that you could possibly pay that which was owed unto me.
    Following on, let's suppose that someone else, someone who was able to pay that debt did so for you. They paid the debt in its fullness and I accepted that payment.
    You would naturally assume that you no longer owed me anything. That debt owed had been paid by another.
    Following on, let's suppose that after I accepted, from another, the payment which you owed me that I then afterwards took action against you and demanded that you pay me what was owed unto me.
    You would rightly conclude that I was not only unfair but that I was dishonest in attempting to collect twice for the same debt.
    Are those who claim that the Lord Jesus Christ paid the sin debt for all of mankind and then acknowledging that some of mankind are and will be in hell for their sins not guilty of accusing God of being dishonest?  Do they not say that God is guilty of dishonesty in that He charged the debt of mankind's sin to the Lord Jesus Christ and then AGAIN charges it to the ones who actually owed that sin debt unto Him?
    God did not charge the sinless Lord Jesus Christ with the sins of a person and then also charge that person with those same sins!
(Isaiah 53:11)  "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities."
    God saw the anguish of His Son's sinless soul as He made atonement for His people and was satisfied that it was indeed sufficient for the complete redemption of all for whom it was designed.
    2.) No let us turn, for a moment, our attention to some of the false accusations put against our Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry.
    We just previously noted that those who claimed to be God's people were in fact the very ones who brought those false accusations against Him.
    So it was in the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus. Those who were His people, nationally, and those who claimed to be God the Father's people and therefore the Messiah's people, spiritually, were the ones who brought many accusations against Him.
(John 1:11)  "He came unto his own, and his own received him not."
    The Lord Jesus came unto His own, that is to His own nationality, the Jews and they received Him not. They claimed to be God's followers and to be looking for the Messiah, yet when He came in the their midst they refused to acknowledge that He was indeed the long awaited Messiah.
    Their first false accusation which we desire to take note of is their claim that our Lord Jesus violated the law of God.
    We are told in the Bible of occasions in which the Jews watched Jesus to see if He would heal on the Sabbath, "that they might accuse Him". Then we read that when Jesus, on the Sabbath,  healed a woman who had been plagued by an infirmity eighteen years the ruler of the synagogue was furious and declared that in so doing Jesus had done that which was against the law of God.
(Luke 13:14)  "And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day."
    Many were the times which the Jews falsely accused the Lord of breaking God's law and in the end they used those false accusations as an excuse to put Him to death.
(Mark 14:56)  "For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together."


    These false accusers could not get their stories straight and the Jews under pretense of doing what was right sought some semblance of correctness, legality and integrity in their actions. However knowing that they had no valid and truthful charges to lay against the Lord they sought and accepted false witnesses.

(Matthew 26:59-62)  "Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; {60} But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, {61} And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. {62} And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?"
    Though the Jews accused Christ of violating God's law such an accusation was ungrounded and false. Christ had no thoughts nor intentions of violating or of destroying God's law, for as God Himself it was His law.
(Matthew 5:17)  "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
    The very law which the Jews accused our Lord of violating and attempting to destroy was, praise God, completely and perfectly fulfilled by Him. By His sinless life He fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law, therefore being an acceptable substitute for those who could not keep that law.
    Another false accusation made by the Jews was that our dear Lord and Savior was in the service of satan. They claimed, falsely of course, that the wondrous and spectacular things which Jesus was doing were being done under the power, authority and control of satan.
(Matthew 12:22-24)  "Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. {23} And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? {24} But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."
    These depraved Jews sought to discredit the miracles worked by our Lord by assigning them to the devil instead of unto God. They were therefore claiming Jesus to be the agent or servant of satan.
However, not all of the Jews, not even all of their leaders believed that false accusation.
(John 3:1-2) "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: {2} The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."
    The final false accusation against our Lord which we wish to take notice of this morning is the false accusation that His precious blood is not sufficient to save by itself and that it is not sufficient to keep those once saved in a continual saved state. Sadly this false accusation is also put forth by those who claim to be washed in that very blood.
    a.) They claim that Christ shed His blood for all of mankind.
    b.) They claim that it is up to mankind as to whether or not that blood will be effective.
    c.) They claim that Christ's blood is not sufficient to save a soul unless the possessor of that soul exercises their 'free will' and that by adding their acceptance to His blood that combination is therefore then acceptable unto God the Father.
    d.) They claim that the blood of Christ is not sufficient to keep one saved unless that one does the various things they deem necessary to keep themselves saved.
    Beloved, do not such claims deny the efficacy of our Lord's sinless blood?
    Are not such claims repulsive to those who have been enabled to trust in that blood as their only means of acceptance in God's sight?
    Are not such claims disgraceful and dishonoring unto the One who shed that precious blood and to the One who accepted that blood and to the One who applies the benefits of that blood to those for whom it was shed for?
    Those claiming to be washed by that blood make such offensive claims that it was shed for all of mankind and that it only becomes effective if one let's God make it acceptable.
    What does the One who bore the Father's fullest wrath, the One who shed that precious and sinless blood say about those whom it was intended for?
(Matthew 26:27-28)  "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; {28} For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
    We have looked briefly at false accusations laid against God, in the three persons of the Godhead and false accusations laid against the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
    In closing we would like to note a few false charges laid against the people of God.
    We are told in Revelation that satan is the accuser of God's people.
(Revelation 12:9-10)  "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. {10} And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night."
    In Job chapters 1 & 2 satan falsely accuses Job of serving God because God had blessed him so abundantly and that if bad things would happen to Job that he would turn and curse God. God permitted satan to afflict Job for He knew that satan's' accusations were false.
    In this day and age in which we live many and varied are the accusations against God's true people. Many times they are brought forth by that old accuser satan or one of his children.
Sometimes satan accuses us to others in an attempt to bring persecution and distress upon us. Sovereign Grace Missionary New Testament Baptists have been and are accused of all manner of things in an attempt to destroy our credibility because we triumphantly declare that God is in absolute control and that mankind is a stubborn, rebellious and totally depraved creature.
    There is also a much more hateful, hurtful and potentially harmful manner, in which satan accuses us. That is when he accuses us unto ourselves. Those who acknowledge their sinful condition, those who are troubled by the struggle and turmoil within their chest are accused of being false professors.
    "If you were really a child of God", he says "you would not have the thoughts you have, you would not say the things you say or do the things you do or you would do the things which you should be doing but that you do not do."
    Read Romans 7:14-25 and note how Paul lamented this very thing.
(Romans 7:14-25)  "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. {15} For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. {16} If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. {17} Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. {18} For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. {19} For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. {20} Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. {21} I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. {22} For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: {23} But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. {24} O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? {25} I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."
    I doubt if there any here this day that have not at one time or the other been subject to those self accusations.
    Though there may indeed be some basis for those charges of sin and slothfulness, and because of our sinful nature there often will be. But, beloved, we need to turn a deaf ear to those accusations. It doe not matter if the accusations originate from our own minds, from the mind of the old accuser or from the mind of one of his children they are not to be given the least moment of thought.
    Although the charges of sin and slothfulness may indeed be true they are not valid for they are being brought by one who has no authority to do so. There is no created being, either human or angelic who has any right whatsoever to bring any charge against one who has been washed in the blood of the Lamb!
(Romans 8:33-34)  "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. {34} Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."
    None but the blessed Holy Trinity have the authority to bring any charge against any of God's people.
    There is however beloved one charge that if it were laid against us we should hope and pray that we are able to truthfully say that the charge is valid and true.
    Years ago I saw a card that had a simple but thought provoking question on it. "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"
    Ponder for a moment on that question. If we were accused of being a Christian, that is if we were accused of being like Christ, is there sufficient evidence in our lives that such an accusation would be obviously and undeniably valid?
    I pray that the blessed Holy Spirit will so fill each of us with the desire, strength and ability to so serve the Lord that it would, without a doubt be a valid and truthful accusation.
(09/24/2000)

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