Susan's Homeschool Blog

When Christians accuse other believers, they are doing the work of Satan. We become deceived by the enemy, since the accusation sounds true to us because we are already trying to find fault with that other person, especially if they did something against us.

Even though we are not to accuse, God commands us to rebuke sin in other believers. So what is the difference between a rebuke and an accusation?

• A rebuke is when you see someone sinning, and you love them enough to treat them with honor and kindness as you point out their sin. If you see someone sinning and do not rebuke them, you are accountable before God for their sin (Matthew 18:15-17, and Ezekiel 3:18-21). When you rebuke, you love that person and know that they are a person of integrity except for the one sin that they are blind to.
• An accusation is when you malign someone as a person. Who they are is despicable, or they are a liar, etc. If you are saying these things against a believer, you are being used by Satan to accuse. You have hatred for that person, and your face contorts when you think of them. Accusation brings death. It never brings repentance. It has the appearance of truth because the accusations may be technically true with backed up facts, but you are saying that a true believer is evil, and that is not possible. All true believers are a new creation in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Satan’s Strategy: Accusation

Here are some of the main points about Satan and accusation:

• Satan is called the accuser of the brethren, who accuses us night and day before God. (Revelation 12:10) (Zechariah 3:1-3) Satan enjoys hurting the people of God; by hurting the church, he hurts Christ.
• Satan is the tempter, and when we fall, he then turns around and is our accuser. He also keeps bringing back to mind sins that have already been repented of. If you have been forgiven by God, He removes the sin as far as the east is from the west. It’s gone. If you can’t tell the difference between conviction and condemnation, read True Guilt and False Guilt.
  
• God wants us to choose what is right so that He can reward us. Satan wants us to choose evil so that he can accuse us and ensnare us and keep us in bondage.
• “He is called the accuser of the brethren because he does not believe that even a child of God has a higher motive than self-service.” – Neil Anderson (& the book of Job)

How do you overcome accusation?

If you are the one being accused, you must be silent. Do not defend yourself because everything you say will be twisted and used against you. Fast and pray for the believer who is under the clutches of Satan. Feel sorry for the person who is accusing you because he is sinning and is harming the body of Christ. Ask God to defend you and clear your name. I have seen over and over again, God restoring falsely accused people.

If you are the one doing the accusing, stop. Ask God how you can make restitution for the wrong you’ve done to another believer. Go to the people you gossiped to and repair the reputation of the believer. This is one way to make amends. Just telling God you’re sorry is not enough. You need to humble yourself to your enemy and ask for forgiveness that you believed the enemy in taking a position against them. Even if that person sinned, the way you went about accusing them was wrong. Because you were vicious, you made it impossible for them to repent, and you hardened them in their sin. This is why accusation is so wrong and why rebuke is so much better when you find sin in another person.

Stay tuned for the next installment: “Satan’s Strategy: Temptation.” If you don’t want to miss this series, follow my Prayer page and subscribe to my monthly newsletter below.

Satan’s main strategies are deception, accusation, temptation, and control. Today we will be dealing with the first one: deception.

This is the second installment of our 7-video series on “Unmasking the Enemy.” Christians must be aware of Satan’s strategies “so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” 2 Corinthians 2:11 NASB

Satan’s Strategy: Deception

• Satan is a deceiver. He is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44) Revelation 20:3 also says about Satan: “that he should not deceive the nations any longer.” He distorts truth so masterfully that we are easily manipulated. Everything Satan says appears to be true and has evidence, in a sinister and twisted way. Logic is a tool of Satan. He can logically maneuver you into rationalizing any sin as being harmless or good. Satan will even twist Scripture to rationalize your sin.
• Satan depends on secrecy and darkness. He can be exposed by shining light. We are attacked in our minds at night more than any other time, especially as we fall asleep. Take every thought captive, and be aware that this window of time is the main attack time.
• Satan makes evil to look good and good to look evil. (This is how he tempts us.)
• Satan is a counterfeiter. He will lure you with counterfeit happiness. Don’t take the bait. Satan is the source of our affliction.
• Satan causes us to surrender to him because he will pander to our lusts and desires. If we surrender to him, we give him permission to exercise dominion over us in that area.

This is crucial for you to understand! Here is the progression of Satan’s deception:

1. Things that are technically true are said by the enemy.
2. Those technical truths are backed up by actual evidence, making his claims facts.
3. The conclusions derived in this way are false because the actual facts are manipulated in such a way that the truth is hidden and the lie is believed.

Stay tuned for the next installment: “Satan’s Strategy: Accusation.” If you don’t want to miss this series, follow my Prayer page and subscribe to my monthly newsletter below.

Today is the first installment of our new series on “Unmasking the Enemy,” where we will be discussing authority over the enemy, which is the demonic realm ruled by Satan. I will be showing you Scriptures which prove that Christians have power over demons, and that we should not fear them. When Jesus was on this earth, He commanded His followers to cast out demons in His name. (Matthew 10:8) What God commands you to do, He enables you to do, because “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4 NASB)

If we have the power to cast them out, we should not be ruled by them either. I see so many Christians ensnared by the devil, and they refuse to see it. They are trapped in the grip of sin and its consequences, and the strongholds in their lives are enabled by their flesh which has fallen because they allowed the devil a foothold. When this happens, demons can oppress Christians and rule over them in specific areas of sin.

Authority Over the Enemy

If you belong to Christ, Satan no longer has power over you; you have power over him! Satan’s power over you has been taken away. Christ paid the penalty for our sin so that we cross from the domain of darkness into light (I Peter 2:9) You must understand your position of authority in Christ:

• “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:15 NIV
• “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 ESV
• “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Corinthians 15:57 ESV
• “…that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Hebrews 2:14b NASB
• “The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” Luke 10:17 ESV

It’s crucial for you to understand your authority in Christ over the enemy so that you can gain victory. This is the first in a series of 7 practical videos. Make sure you don’t miss the next installment in this series, “Satan’s Strategy: Deception.” You can keep up with my posts by following my Prayer page and subscribing to my monthly newsletter below.

This month I’m starting a new video series called “Unmasking the Enemy,” where I will be exposing the devices of Satan against believers and showing you how to overcome each device. We need to unmask the lies of the enemy so that we do not fall into his traps. Instead, our birthright as sons and daughters of God is to triumph over the enemy with compete victory. Educate yourself to overcome the enemy, or you will be ensnared by him.

You also want to be aware of how the enemy works to help other Christians, that “they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:26 ESV

In war, you are supposed to study the enemy so that you can have victory over him. You find out his tactics and strategies so that you do not stumble into his traps. If you insist on NOT studying the tactics of your opponent, you will easily fall into his snares because demons have been around for thousands of years and they are much smarter than you are. So many Christians insist on staying ignorant, and they do not realize that desiring to stay ignorant is itself a scheme of the enemy!

We are commanded to be vigilant: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 KJV

Over the next seven weeks, I will be doing a series where I will unmask the tactics of the enemy so that we can overcome him.

Unmasking the Enemy Series

1. Authority Over the Enemy
2. Satan’s Strategy #1: Deception
3. Satan’s Strategy #2: Accusation
4. Satan’s Strategy #3: Temptation
5. Satan’s Strategy #4: Control
6. How to Resist the Enemy’s Attacks
7. Take Up the Full Armor of God

Christians must be aware of Satan’s strategies “so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” 2 Corinthians 2:11 NASB

Stay tuned for the first installment: “Authority Over the Enemy.” If you don’t want to miss this series, follow my Prayer page and subscribe to my monthly newsletter below.