The Bible says, ‘The accuser of our brothers and sisters…has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony’ (Revelation 12:10-11 NIV). ‘The accuser’ is Satan, and he accuses us because of our sins. God is ready to forgive us, but first we need to acknowledge our sin, then ask for and accept forgiveness. If we refuse to admit it and repent of it, we give Satan an opportunity to condemn us for it. It gives him power over us.

But Jesus said: ‘The ruler of this world [that’s Satan] is coming. He has no power over me.’ Satan couldn’t point to a single sin in Jesus’ life, so he had absolutely no power over Him. The good news for us is that when we’re ‘in Christ’, Satan loses his power to condemn us too. ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit’ (Romans 8:1 NKJV). We’ll still sin from time to time because we’re not perfect. But when we repent, God will cleanse us, work with us, and give us victory over our weaknesses. As long as we’re positioned securely ‘in Christ’, who has no sin, we’ll live with the joy of knowing that we’re fully accepted by God, and Satan’s accusations will just bounce off us.

So if Satan whispers, ‘You sinned – you’re not a real Christian,’ don’t believe him. As long as you’re ‘in Christ’, you’re simply a Christian under construction. And knowing that takes a powerful weapon out of Satan’s hands.

What Now?

Do you have any unconfessed sin that’s weighing you down? Take time to talk to God about it, and as you do, picture Jesus standing beside you, covering you with His righteousness, love, and acceptance.