“You are not worthy.” “You failed again.” “How could God ever love you?” “How could God ever use you?” “You might as well give up. You will never be anything but a second-rate Christian—if you are a Christian at all….”

Where do those voices come from? 

Revelation 12:10
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

Satan was the highest of all the angels, and his fall was great. Pumped full of pride, he wanted to de-throne God. He led an army of angels in rebellion and was thrown out of heaven. Now, he seeks to discredit and destroy. And we learn in our passage today that Satan accuses believers day and night before God. Satan hates God. He hates God’s grace. He hates God’s forgiveness. He hates God’s mercy. He tries to diminish God’s love for us by telling God all our sins and failures. However, Satan is no match for God. No one can bring a charge against believers because God is the One who declares us “Not guilty!” and clothes us with his righteousness (Romans 8:33).

Satan not only goes after God, but the enemy is also on the prowl for us, looking for an opportunity to attack. He reminds followers of Jesus that they are not worthy and tries to deposit doubt in our hearts. He plays up all our sin and discredits God’s grace. Satan says, “You are such a spiritual loser!” God says, “You are my child, and you are loved and forgiven.” Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). Your relationship is secure because of Jesus! Your significance is found in him!

In his classic allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress, written in 1678, John Bunyan describes the battle between Satan, whom he calls Apollyon, and a follower of Jesus he aptly named Christian. One of Apollyon’s favorite things to recite is a list of Christian’s sins. He sums up the list by saying that Christian is filled with pride in all his words and actions. Here’s how Christian responds, “All this is true; and much more which thou hast left out: but the Prince whom I serve and honour is merciful and ready to forgive.” Regarding his sins, Christian replies, “I have groaned under them, been sorry for them, and have obtained pardon of my Prince.” When the forgiveness of Jesus is mentioned, Apollyon flies into a rage. The accuser cannot handle the fact that his accusations are defeated by the grace of God in Christ.

Father,
The accuser will come at us to declare our unworthiness…and we are unworthy but for your grace. Our salvation was purchased by Jesus at the cross, where our sin was paid in full. Thank you for the pardon we have in Jesus. In his name. Amen.