[Biblemat] A> The Accusers

[Steven C. Harper]

From: TRUTH & REASON, a bulletin of the Glendale church of Christ, Glendale, AZ. 
Editor: Steven Harper 
April 22, 2007

The Accusers

 

      When Jesus walked this earth, there was seldom a shortage of those who were willing to accuse Jesus of wrongdoing, or who were trying to find something with which they could accuse Him. One Sabbath day when Jesus came into a synagogue, there was a man there with a withered hand and the Jews who were there asked Jesus, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" that they might accuse Him (Matt. 12:10). [Mark's record says they watched Him that they might accuse Him, and Jesus asks the question while they remain silent; Mark 3:1-5.] On another occasion, after Jesus had soundly condemned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, they "began to press Him hard and to provoke Him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch Him in something He might say" (Luke 11:53, 54). And let us not forget the time when the scribes and Pharisees brought the adulteress before Jesus and reminded Him of the Law's condemnation, then asking what He said about it, "that they might have some charge to bring against Him" (John 8:3-6). Please note that none of these efforts were successful; they never found anything with which they could accuse Jesus of wrongdoing and Jesus would eventually die as an innocent man, though He was falsely accused at the mockery of a trial that sent Him to that cruel death.

     The accusers did not go away, however, once Jesus had been crucified. When the apostle Paul began teaching Jesus as the Christ and even as his efforts were producing results, the same ones who had opposed Jesus and accused Him now turned their attention to Paul. He was nearly killed in Jerusalem by a mob, but was able to stand before them and give a defense of what he believed and taught (Acts 21:30-22:21). When he was finally brought before Felix, the accusers came down and continued their accusations, but Paul rightly said they could not prove the accusations (24:1-13). Because the accusations were false, Paul gladly stood in his own defense and countered the charges (v. 10). The accusers would pick up where they left off two years later as he stood before Festus and Agrippa, but once again Paul would answer the charges gladly because he knew them to be false (26:2-23). They did not succeed in their efforts to have Paul eliminated, but they certainly made his life miserable and did much to hinder the work of the Lord and for that they will one day have to answer directly to Jesus (2 Cor. 5:10).

     It seems that those who oppose truth and righteousness will never be satisfied unless they are obstructing truth and its spread. They will sometimes attempt to discredit the message of truth but, failing that, they will often be content to make accusations against the one who is speaking the truth in an effort to discredit him. Sadly, this is a tactic of many brethren when their erroneous teachings are exposed! Instead of humbly submitting to the will of God and admitting they were wrong, some brethren will shift into "accusation mode" and begin slinging the mud as fast and as far as they can in an effort to discredit the one who has exposed their false ideas. On this topic, I can speak from personal experience!

     It is a sad fact that even many of our own brethren across this country are willing to make baseless accusations, rather than admit error or even discuss differences with the goal of finding and following truth. In the past, when some have pointed out the errors of certain men or simply preached the truth on a particular subject [often, it is on marriage, divorce, and remarriage], there have been very few who were honest enough to sit down and discuss differences [I can count the number on one hand who have been willing to meet with me and discuss these differences], but many are willing to operate covert campaigns to destroy the credibility of those speaking truth or who expose their errors, and they do so by spreading rumors, innuendo, and outright lies. These are not people of the world - these are supposedly our own 'brothers'!

     I personally know of an occasion when someone at another congregation preached the truth - according to God's Word - [for the first and only time while he was there] on the subject of marriage and divorce, and that was enough to start an effort to spread rumors throughout the congregation that the speaker was trying to divide the elders, that he was working behind their backs and trying to get them removed, and many other patently ridiculous acts that would be laughable if they were not so serious. Not once did those who disagreed with him meet him to his face and talk about why they disagreed, and it was not until many months later that he even knew what was going on. When someone finally boldly accused him of these things to his face, he simply asked where they had heard those things - who had told them that. He wanted to know who was saying these things so he could confront them and answer for himself [something that had not been possible in the months when they were busy spreading the lies]. Not surprisingly, they all of a sudden "couldn't remember" who had told them!

     And what happens when someone accuses you of something and, when you ask them for evidence of the accusation, they cut off all communication or simply make further accusations? As flawed as our court system is in this country, at least we still have the right to hear the evidence against us if we have been accused of a crime! No one is supposed to be convicted of a crime without evidence, and never on the basis of hearsay. It seems some of our 'brethren' do not think this way! Some of our own 'brethren' are more than willing to make accusations and ruin reputations of others, without so much as a blink of the eye or hesitation about doing it! For some of our own 'brethren', it seems to be perfectly acceptable to "throw everything up on the wall until something sticks" as they accuse their own fellow believers - and often simply because their errors have been exposed! Some will relentlessly continue to make accusations - all without evidence or facts - feeling no remorse or compunction to cease and desist though the accusations are all found to be baseless.

     For shame!

     It is indeed frustrating to be falsely accused - especially when the accusers provide no opportunity for a defense - but we should not allow them to hinder the work of the Lord. We can look at Jesus and Paul and see how they answered and resolve to do likewise. Each time His accusers tried to catch Jesus in His words, He simply spoke truth and pointed out their errors. Each time Paul was falsely accused, he simply explained his actions and outlined the things he taught and believed, and each time the authorities recognized the accusations were baseless, having no merit. When accusers arise today, this is our only recourse. We cannot stoop to their methods and begin leveling our own false accusations or trying to discredit the accusers; all we have to do is speak truth and live righteously. That will answer any and all accusations.

     The apostle Peter reminds us that we should "Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation" (1 Pet. 2:12). When we are living as we should and when we answer as we should, "when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame" by our response (3:16). If we stoop to their tactics, it is we who will be ashamed, and rightly so.

      It is a sad fact that we will at some point in our lives, as disciples of Jesus Christ, face accusers who seek to destroy us or our credibility because they cannot refute the truth we speak. When it happens, continue to speak the truth, continue to live godly - and pray for them.            -- Steven Harper

[NOTE: The Greek word for accuser - as it is used in the New Testament - is kath,goroj [katagoros], from which we get our English word category [and categorize, which seems to be the attempt of the accusers] and as it is used in the New Testament, it is a term the ancient rabbis attributed to the devil himself (Rev. 12:10)!]
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