The accuser of brethren

Immediately one gets saved and joins the Christian brethren he/she finds in the new life some conflict and opposition they did not meet in their past sinful life. He/she discovers he/she has actually moved from a territory of peace into one of warfare. Things like guilty conscience and sorrow that you sinned against God as well as condemnation begin to assault you day and night. You thought you did the right thing to come out of darkness into light but it appears like you got yourself into trouble as remembrance of your past sins continue to torment you unceasingly. You ask God for forgiveness again and again for past sins but the assault continues.
Questions like, “why did I do it in the first place?” bombard your mind. You regret ever doing that wrong thing because you do not seem to break free from it. It haunts you day and night.  Probably you shared your secret sins with your trusted pastor or friend but you still find yourself in bondage to thoughts of that sinful past. You try to appease God through sacrificial giving, long fasts and serving tirelessly in church but to no avail. You end up convinced that you cannot possibly be a true Christian because you think that noone who ever sinned the way you did can be forgiven. You settle in your mind that you probably committed the unpardonable sin that is why you cannot get past it. You agree with a thought in your mind suggesting that you slow down, stop and abandon this whole business of trying to be a Christian.
But do not fall for that. As long as you sincerely confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and believed in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you were saved. You are a true Christian. But you say, “Why don’t I feel released from the grip of my past sins if I am now a truly born again Christian?” Well, understand this: when you were living in sin you belonged to Satan and you were at  peace with him because you offered no resistance to his will. But when you came to Christ, Satan, your ex-lover so to speak, got furious and jealousy and h e is the one actually tormenting you. He is called the devil, which means the accuser, defamer or slanderer. Your past sins were blotted out by the blood of Jesus. You are a new creation. You were justified by God. You were declared righteous and are treated as if you never sinned.
True, you sinned but God did not condemn you or condone your sin. He forgave you and cleansed you from all unrighteousness when you confessed your sin (1 John 1:8, 9). It is not God who is haunting you by bringing up your past sins. It is the accuser of brethren.   He knew all you did before your conversion and salvation.  He is jealousy and wants to stain your new relationship with Christ.  He knows God has forgiven you but he capitalises on your ignorance of the word that talks about your blessed assurance of forgiveness. 
The power of Satan’s accusations lies in the fact that the accusations are not false but true.  He knows that when you realise the truth of the accusations you will become discouraged, distracted and disoriented.  He knows that you will think it is God who is blaming you for your sins and charging you with wrong-doing. His intention is that you will begin to see God as a critical, condemning and a strict disciplinarian who walks around with a whip to punish everyone who commits sin. When you view God like that you will begin to hate Him, forsake Him and backslide.
Never regard God as a tyrant. Though He is a judge, He is also your loving, gracious and understanding Father. He will never condemn you because you sinned. Instead He cleanses you and clothes you with a robe of righteousness. Only Satan can condemn you and accuse you. He uses demons to accuse you by casting evil suggestions in your mind. He also uses human instruments to blame you, accuse and defame you.
However, your real accusing enemy is the devil. Knowing this helps you to overcome him.
But how do you overcome the accusations of the devil?
Check for the answer in the next article.
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