¹My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous . . .

What are the accusations against us, for which we need Jesus as our defender? With Job, the charge was a secret limit of his devotion to God. Here is the challenge Satan placed before God: “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face” (Job 1:11). So God allows the accuser to bring all kinds of hardship into Job’s life to bring him to the breaking point, where Job will give up on God and curse Him. Satan reasons that everyone has a breaking point that will prove that faithfulness to God is self-serving in the final essence. That powerful accusation will cause many believers to pause and ask, “What is there in my life that, if it were taken away from me, would cause me to turn my back on God?”

Just asking the question brings a sense of guilt, or a least a fear that the hidden self-serving nature of my heart would not stand the test of Job. How would I stand up to the loss of something that is most precious to me: my spouse, my children, my possessions, my reputation, my pride, what? Christians can wallow in the threat of falling when the going gets too tough. Satan whispers in our ears, “You will break once you suffer more than you can handle.”

Or it may not be mere fear of sinfully falling away from God, but actual sin that we have fallen into repeatedly, the so-called “besetting sin” (Heb. 12:1), also translated “sin which so easily entangles us.” We all have sin like that. It may be the sin of anger, lust, envy, pride, defensiveness, fear, anxiety, hatred, lying, substance abuse or addiction, or some other secret sin. Satan is quick and constant in accusing us, even if it is over a sin from long ago—one in which we no longer participate but whose guilt we can’t shake.

Satan’s accusations are familiar, and we repeat them to ourselves: “You aren’t really sorry for your sin because you keep doing it again.” “God is not going to forgive you again.” “You are not worthy.” “God is getting tired of you asking for forgiveness again.” “God has given up on you.” “You are a second-class Christian.” “You are a third-class Christian, maybe not even a Christian at all.” “You are the worst Christian.” “You’re a spiritual failure.” “You’ll never get rid of the guilt and shame.” “God is ashamed of you.”

Against all this, we just read, “[God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Prayer: Lord, I believe Your Word that You have forgiven me and I am clean!