It
might be well to state here that Satan likes to pick
on the tender, sensitive, obedient Christians, as
these always make the best Christians and the best
workers for God. If he can serve to discourage and
harass them by making them doubt their experience,
he can make them unhappy, and to a certain extent,
unsuccessful.
The
devil has successfully accused many dear, honest souls
into believing they have sinned in some little way
or other, when it is their whole desire to do the
complete will of God, and they would not fail Him
willfully for anything. Things, which do not bother
the average Christian, will trouble those who are
subject to the accusing powers of the devil, making
them miserable indeed.
Some
of the things the devil uses to discourage, accuse,
and confuse the dear Christian are of times foolish
and unreasonable, but nevertheless, this fact does
not for one moment lessen the awful fear and torment
that are associated with accusations. Also, if Satan
cannot accuse the dear Christian by telling him that
he has sinned, he will then often tell him he never
was saved in the first place.
There are no words descriptive enough to portray the
awful fear and horror, and confusion and hopelessness
of the dear person so accused, yet all the time the
heart of this very person is crying out and yearning
to do the whole will of God. Remember, dear friend,
there is real hope for you. The Bible says, "And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by
the word of their testimony."
There is victory!
Many have believed Satan's evil suggestions and have
gone back time and time again trying to repent over
and over to make sure of their experience with God,
only to find that even this did not bring permanent
victory.
Most Christians have experienced accusations to some
extent in their Christian walk. Some have overcome
readily, while others have had a real battle with
the enemy of their souls. The devil will tell you
that you are the only one who ever experienced such
things, but this is not true. In 1 Peter 5:9 we read
that the same afflictions are accomplished in our
brethren that are in the world. It is through accusations
that the enemy steals away our peace and happiness
in Jesus Christ. He knows he cannot get sincere Christians
to sin, so he tries in this way and in many other
ways to defeat them.
Sin
Defined
Sin is a known, willful, transgression against the
Word, or the will, of God. Sin is the only thing that
can separate us from God. As long as we have not committed
willful sin, since we became Christians, we have a
perfect right to testify that we are Christians.
If the devil cannot get a person cast down with accusations,
he will always try other things. He will get some
so interested in the affairs of this life that he
will choke out their love for God. God must have first
place in our lives if we please Him. Some people count
their religion as a side line issue, only attended
to in their spare time, but God must come first and
other things put on the side line where they rightfully
belong. The devil succeeds in getting many to set
their affections on earthly things such as their home,
family, or car, and God is not first as He should
be. This must not be, if we want to be victorious
Christians and pleasing in the sight of God.
Let us deal here definitely with the Christian who
is accused and harassed by the enemy of his soul,
whose happiness is not as it once was. Satan is the
enemy of our souls, and it makes no difference to
him how he steals away our happiness, just so he succeeds
in so doing. In 1 Peter 5:8 we read, "Be sober,
be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as
a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour." The devil becomes roaring mad every
time a soul is translated out of his kingdom into
the kingdom of God's dear Son. Therefore, he will
not rest so long as there is an opportunity to seize
upon the Christian and take him as his prey. Nevertheless,
thank God for His written, eternal, and unfailing
promises which tell us that "greater is he [Christ]
that is in you, than he [Satan] that is in the world"
(1 John 4:4).
The power of the devil, matched with the power of
Christ becomes very weak indeed. Christ is our Redeemer,
our buckler, and our strong and high tower. By trusting
in Him, we are safe from every power of the enemy.
In Proverbs 18:10 we read, "The name of the Lord
is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it,
and is safe." What a glorious promise for the
troubled Christian! It is good for us to remember
that the devil flees at the mentioning of the name
of Christ, and it is your privilege as a Christian
to rebuke him in the name of the Lord.
Cause for Accusations
What is the true cause for accusations? They are purposed
to defeat the Christian entirely, or at least to steal
away his joy and peace and freedom in Jesus Christ.
People bothered with accusations are not free people.
I have seen people so harassed and bound by the accusing
powers of Satan that they are no longer free as Christ
intended for them to be. "If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed"
(John 8:36). However, the accused are bound under
the yoke of the devil, and truly it is a galling yoke.
I have seen some people who were afraid to talk for
fear they would tell a lie, then to experience Satan's
coming and accusing them for
it. This is not freedom, neither is it becoming to
the Gospel of Christ. The Scriptures tell us in Philippians
1:27, "Only let your conversation be as it becometh
the Gospel of Christ." Most generally we refer
this Scripture to loose living or loose conversation,
but extremes either way are hindering to the gospel
of Christ.
Impressions
I have seen others bothered with
compelling impressions that they felt they just had
to obey or the devil would accuse them over it. This
is not freedom.
Impressions most generally come from
three sources—from God, from one's self, and
from the devil. Impressions that come from God are
clear and easily understood. If they come with confusion,
fear, or uncertainty, they are certainly from the
devil. The devil does not care what tactics he uses,
if he can only harass and trouble the Christian. This
is his delight. People have sometimes obeyed impressions
from Satan that did not glorify God at all, because
they did it with such fear and distress that people
of the world did not understand why they did it.
It would be good for us to remember
that we serve God because we want to, and not because
we have to. Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep
my command-ments" (John 14:15). The true Christian
enjoys doing the will of God because he loves Him
above everything else. The Spirit of God is not a
compelling Spirit! He only compels us by love. We
please God because we want to please Him.
Compelling impressions that come
with an ugly, confusing feeling are from Satan, himself.
God's will is sweet and comes with an assurance of
grace for any task He would have us perform. Someone
might ask, "Why would Satan impress someone to
do something that could be good?" The answer
is, it is a trap, for without grace and divine direction
you could never do it. You see, if you are impressed
to do something, and you are in question about it,
and do not do it, then the devil can use that to accuse
you. Or if you do go ahead and do the thing in question,
you do it in your own strength, and it is not done
right and is not glorifying to God.
I want to say here, for the encouragement
of every dear, accused soul, that I have experienced
the worst in accusations. I have experienced all these
things and more, in my early Christian life, and I
know whereof I speak. Surely accused people who are
suffering under accusations are miserable creatures,
and because they are miserable, the devil suggests
this as proof that they are not saved. Remember that
he is a liar and the father of it!
Dear Christian, the moment you listen
to his reasoning and begin to doubt your experience
with God, the joy and peace go out of your heart.
You are still a Christian, but not a happy one as
God intended for you to be. Doubts and faith cannot
dwell together, so the moment we entertain doubts,
faith flees away; and when faith goes our joy and
peace go, for joy and peace come by believing. When
we were first saved, we found real joy and peace because
we believed we were saved, and we must keep on believing
we are saved to keep the joy and peace in our hearts.
Paul said, "For by faith ye
stand." Satan brings accusations for the express
purpose of tearing down our faith. It is the overconscientious
Christian whom he troubles most. I say again, it makes
no difference to Satan how he gets us down, just so
he gets the job done. Some Christians are not conscientious
enough while others are entirely too conscientious.
The devil will attack at either side of the road,
and there is a ditch on each side, so let us move
over from the edge, where there is peace and safety.
Accusations
or Condemnation?
Many people mistake accusations for
condemnation and condemnation for accusations. I have
heard some people say they felt condemned, when it
was nothing but the accusing powers of the devil for
they had done nothing wrong. Then, I have heard others
say the devil was accusing them when really God was
dealing with their hearts over some matter that was
displeasing Him. You may say, "How can I know
the difference?" Let me encourage you, dear one,
there is a way. Even as John told us to try the spirits
of the false prophets, so we, as Christians, must
try the spirits that come to us.
God's Spirit works in a clear, definite,
uplifting way, while the spirit of Satan comes in
a down-casting, confusing, questioning, depressing
way. The pull of God's Spirit is upward. The pull
of Satan's is downward. Any spirit that makes you
feel downcast and depressed is not of God! Any spirit
that confuses you is not of God! "For God is
not the author of confusion, but of peace . . . "
(1 Corinthians 14:33).
If God points out something in your
life that you are doing to displease Him, you can
know readily and clearly what it is, and every true
Christian will be obedient to the voice of God. However,
when you begin to feel bad in your heart, finding
yourself confused as to what it is all about, and
the more you think of it, the more confused you become,
it is a sure sign a spirit of Satan is speaking to
you. When this happens you should refuse to listen
to it, refuse to entertain it as you would refuse
an enemy from your home, that would steal away your
family and possessions. "Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you" (James 4:7). I repeat
again, any spirit that comes to you in a depressing
way is not God's Spirit. God's Spirit never depresses.
Depression is always of the devil.
God's Spirit does not discourage,
but encourages us to move up and overcome in the name
of the Lord.
Defeating
Depressing Spirits
Depressing and confusing spirits
must be resisted steadfastly or they will tear down
our faith and ruin our happiness as Christians. Once
the devil has succeeded in depressing us, then he
will suggest that certainly we must be devil-possessed
or we would not feel like we do. I believe that the
devil suggests to every accused soul that they are
devil-possessed. Then he will bring all kinds of thoughts
and feelings to prove his point. This only adds to
their misery. Truly, a person suffering under accusations
is not to be condemned but helped out
of their difficulty, although they can do more to
help themselves than anyone else can do for them.Prayer
and laying on of hands and rebuking the devil is always
a great help, but unless the individual, himself,
takes hold of the promises of God and believes God
in spite of all feelings, it will be only of temporary
help.
I say again, having experienced accusations
myself and gaining victory over them after a long
struggle, when my Christian life seemed hopeless and
Satan suggested I never would get victory and that
God had turned His face from me, victory was just
out ahead.
There is victory for every accused
soul if you take the remedy! It might seem like a
bitter pill, and may take a lot of effort to swallow
it, but it is a sure cure. It is as simple as this:
believe God in spite of feelings. Find a promise or
two or three from God's eternal, unfailing Word, such
as 1 John 3:14, which says, "We know that we
have passed from death unto life, because we love
the brethren," or 1 John 3:24, which says, "And
he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him,
and he in him." Another good Scripture is 1 John
3:7. It reads, "Little children, let no man deceive
you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even
as he is righteous." (Other good Scriptures are
John 5:24; John 14:23; John 15:10-14: Matthew 12:49-50;
Philippians 4:19; 2 Timothy 1:7.)
You must stand upon the promises
of God and claim your salvation upon the eternal authority
of God's written, infallible, unfailing Word, regardless
of how you feel, and victory is sure to come. A person
who has suffered under accusations very long is low
in faith, for Satan has succeeded in getting you to
let down your shield of faith and now his fiery darts
have been striking you instead of hitting the shield
of faith. So, lift it up again, dear Sister or Brother,
and the darts will glance off into the air instead
of hitting you.
If the devil has torn down your faith
little by little, you cannot expect to gain it all
back at once, but you can climb back up faster and
faster. If you are patient and persistent in your
believing, you will soon be above the stormy clouds
of doubt and despair.
My Experience
How well I remember the day when I looked up into
the face of God and told Him, by His grace and help,
I would claim my experience regardless of feelings
until I saw Him face to face, knowing I had met the
conditions of His unfailing Word to the best of my
knowledge and ability. Thank God, I am still claiming
it today!
When I made that promise to God, it was a hard thing
to do, for I had before this made a new start again
and again, not feeling safe in my experience, although
I was doing my best to serve God, yet repenting or
trying to repent when there was nothing to repent
of. I would feel relieved each time, only to fall
back into my gloom of unbelief again. However, when
I promised God I would cease starting over and over
again and claim it once and for all, the victory was
mine! Oh, I did not have any great good feeling just
then, but great peace flooded my soul. I had only
cleared out the thing that was hindering.
I am glad to say, that same peace is mine today.
Many times since then the devil has attempted to trouble
me again, but by the resisting of him and leaving
my experience committed into the hands of God, I have
always overcome.
As time went on, my trouble with accusations was
left farther and farther behind in my life, and today
victory is mine, full and free! Praise God!
Friend, you can have victory too, but remember,
you will never receive it by proving your experience
of salvation by your feelings, but if you accept your
salvation by faith, the feelings are sure to come
sooner or later.
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