Accused by the Accuser

“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.’”—Revelation 12:10

As Christians we are in a war. Satan has waged war against God and His people and since he can’t get to God directly, he has to get to God through His children. And he does that by attacking us. He may attack our families, career, or even our personal health (see Job 1:13-19; 2:7). But one of his most effective ways of attacking us is by accusing us of sin. He brings up our past to God.

Consider the book of Job. In Job, Satan came to present himself to the Lord and He asks him where he came from, to which Satan answered, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” The LORD responds, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Such praise of a human was horrific to Satan. Angered he says,

“Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will cure You to Your face”—Job 1:9-12.

Satan leaves the presence of the Lord to take Job’s career and family, which he successfully does. But rather than Job blaspheming God, Job, “did not sin or charge God with wrong”—Job 1:22.

Satan returned to present himself before the Lord, and once again God presented Job as an example of godliness, even though Satan incited God to be against him. Incredulous Satan screams, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse You to Your face”—Job 2:4-5.

Satan then leaves God’s presence to afflict Job with loathsome sores. But even then, “Job did not sin with his lips”—Job 2:10. Had Job sinned, Satan would have accused him before God day and night, which is what angered him so much. He didn’t have anything to accuse him of.

When we sin, Satan accuses us before God. He wants to show God how hypocritical we are, how fallen we are, and how unworthy of salvation we are. And if we were in a court of law, he would easily have enough evidence to convict us of wrongdoing. However, for the Christian, we have the best defense attorney in the universe—Jesus Christ. He is our Advocate, as the apostle John writes, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”—1 John 2:1.

Jesus intercedes for us, pleading His blood over our sin. And when He does, Satan has nothing left to accuse us of. But that doesn’t stop Satan from accusing us for some other sin we’ve done. Which is why we look forward to the day when Satan, “the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God”—Revelation 12:10. That is the day when “the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come”—Revelation 12:10.

It is then and only then when we will be completely free from Satan’s accusations. But until then, we continually confess our sins, plead the blood of Christ, and bask in the forgiveness afforded to us through Christ’s death on the cross. Amen.