Accused and Justified

[0:00] A Pastor's Reflections, Accused and Justified. Genesis 44, 6-7 And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.

[0:12] And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my Lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing. Revelation 12, 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ.

[0:33] For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Hebrews 7, 25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.

[0:52] Judah and his brothers knew they were innocent. They knew that the charges leveled against them were false. This was not a question of false pride or overestimating one's own righteousness.

[1:07] There was a time in the life of these men when excuses came easy and lies leapt readily to the tongue. But not now, and not at this time.

[1:19] How do we respond when we are falsely accused? How do we respond when the accusations stick, even when we know they are false? How can we justify ourselves when all of the circumstantial evidence points to us as guilty?

[1:36] For Judah and his brothers, they did the only thing possible. They appealed to a higher authority. Genesis 44, 16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my Lord?

[1:49] What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of thy servants. Judah understood that even if the sin for which they were currently being accused was false, There was enough sin in their past that could stick.

[2:07] It's not Joseph that Judah appeals to, but God. God forbid. Or in other words, God knows we are innocent in this thing for which we are accused.

[2:19] A wise man once said, Don't give up what you know for what you don't know. Judah and his brothers do not know why they are finding themselves in this situation.

[2:31] They do not understand why this ruler of Egypt would accuse them of that which they know they did not do. And they don't know why everything seems to point to a guilt they do not own.

[2:44] However, what they do know is that there is a legitimate guilt they do own, and a God to whom they are answerable. For you and I, we have enough guilt to own before God that we don't need any of the false accusations added by our accuser, Satan.

[3:03] The problem is not that we are not guilty, but that Satan continually tries to accuse us of guilt that we no longer own. Yes, at one time the accusations would have stuck, but not now.

[3:16] Not since one became our surety for past sin, and our intercessor for present sin. You see, there is no guilt that the enemy can stick upon you any longer.

[3:28] No matter how convincing the argument or the circumstances stand in integrity. No, not your integrity, but the integrity of the Son of God, who loved you and gave himself a surety for you.

[3:44] Hebrews chapter 7, verses 22, 24, and 25. By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament, that this man, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.

[4:00] Wherefore, he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing that he ever lives to make intercession for them. Father, thank you for the heart of intercession in your Son.

[4:14] Without Jesus interceding for us, we would have been crushed under the weight of false and legitimate accusations. Whenever we are faced with the very plausible circumstances of our guilt, help us to be reminded of what we already know, that we stand justified by our intercessor, Jesus.

[4:35] Amen.