If God Has Justified Us, Who Will Accuse Us?

Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies.
–Romans 8:33

In Romans 8:33, Paul asked this question: “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies.” If God has already justified you, then who is going to accuse you? You say, “I have people who accuse me all the time of things I have done or things I have not done. Not only that, Revelation 12:10 says I have an adversary, Satan, who is accusing me before God. And I have my own conscience that condemns me. There are plenty of people who are accusing me.” Paul was not saying that nobody would ever accuse you. He was saying, “What difference does it make? If God has justified you, then do you really care what anybody else has to say against you? God is the ultimate judge.” Romans 3:26 says God is both “just” and “the justifier.” God presides over the greatest court in all the universe, and the moment you trusted in Christ as your Savior, God said, “Not guilty.” He declared you to be in a right standing before Him. If God has forgiven you, then there is nobody left to accuse you.

A few years ago, I received a legal document informing me that I was the defendant in a lawsuit. Of course, I was concerned about being sued. But when I read the charge against me, I noticed other defendants named in the lawsuit included Billy Graham, Bill Clinton, the pope, the Roman Catholic Church, and the nation of Israel. I never heard anything more about it because a judge threw that suit out. But my accuser had an alternative. Even after a judge threw it out, he could have taken the suit to an appellate court. And even if an appellate court threw it out, he could have taken it to the Supreme Court. And even if the Supreme Court threw out that suit, he could have gotten another nation to assume jurisdiction, and he could have taken it to a court in that nation. But there is one final courtroom in this universe, and it is the courtroom of God the Father. Once God the Father has declared you not guilty, there is no other venue in which you can be accused. That is what Paul was saying here. If God the Father, the Creator of the universe, has declared you not guilty, then who of any consequence can accuse you of being sinful?

Finally, Paul asked the question: If Christ has died for us, then doesn’t He also live for us? Look at Romans 8:34: “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Did you know Christ’s work for you did not stop at the cross? After Jesus ascended into Heaven, He sat down at the right hand of God the Father to pray for us. Hebrews 7:25 says, “He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” When circumstances overwhelm me, when my adversary the devil accuses me before God, I have an Advocate, a Lawyer in Heaven. His name is Jesus Christ, and He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. Whenever I have a need in my life, Jesus Christ intercedes for me. He intervenes for me. He prays for me before the Father. Christ lives to make intercession for us.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “More Than Conquerors” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2014.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.