Do you give much thought to your arch enemy? You should you know. He’s been called the accuser of the brethren and he wastes no time in doing this and letting us know that he is doing this, though this verse speaks to what his fate is…
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom (dominion, reign) of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come; for the accuser of our [believing] brothers and sisters has been thrown down [at last], he who accuses them and keeps bringing charges [of sinful behavior] against them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:19, AMP)
Do you see what the behavior of our accuser is? No little thing. And he is involved in this activity DAY AND NIGHT! Why shouldn’t we be aware of him and his behavior?
Then I saw something I really hadn’t considered before. The devil, who does the accusing, is bringing charges of sinful behavior against us. But look again at that phrase. If he’s bring charges then we have already committed those sinful behaviors. Past tense. He can’t bring charges of current or future behavior because it hasn’t occurred!!! Only yesterday’s. And if we are guilty, yesterday, then did we do what’s available for us when we become aware that we did something we shouldn’t? We have 1 John 1:9 (AMP):
“If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].”
For me, this is a scripture I keep close since I need it so often. We do need to realize that repentance is a big ‘condition’ of this scripture. Because if you continue to repeat the sin, what are you actually saying when seeking forgiveness? Look to Matthew 3:8 (AMP) – I do believe this is our guide.
“So produce fruit that is consistent with repentance [demonstrating new behavior that proves a change of heart, and a conscious decision to turn away from sin];”
I also think that another realization is that we don’t have to accept and live with yesterday’s sins by accepting the accuser’s words. He may have been right, but at the point we turned to the Lord, his accusations became nothing. We don’t have to live with that guilt. We have been made conquerors, we can live in the abundance provided for us and become all that the Lord has intended for us.
