Accuser or Excuser

The English word “accuse” comes from the Latin “accūsāre,” which signified holding someone accountable or making a complaint against them. This verb stemmed from the phrase “ad causa,” meaning “with regard to a cause or lawsuit”. The word “excuse” comes from the Latin verb “excusare”. This verb is formed from the prefix “ex” (out, away) and the noun “causa” (accusation, legal action). Accuse is to bring a lawsuit against someone, while excuse is to remove the lawsuit.

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.”
— Revelation 12:10 ESV

We know the devil is a liar (John 8:44), but we forget the devil is a lawyer. He is the prosecutor who is continually building a case against you and also using you as his witness on the stand against others. You will believe accusations are justified. As you stand in partnership with him and accuse yourself or others, it will feel like justice. It will feel like facts with deserved consequences, but you are being used by the accuser.

Jesus is the Advocate. Advocate is also a legal word, and is similar to a defense lawyer. Jesus does WAY more than any human defense lawyer could ever do. Though we were guilty, He took our case, received the punishment we deserved (mercy), and extended to us the fullness of heaven He deserves (grace).

He canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all—our sins, our stained soul—he deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto his cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation.
— Colossians 2:14 TPT

Every time you look to the cross, what do you see? Jesus is no longer on the cross. The only thing that remains permanently nailed is your legal notice: “Not Guilty”. The only thing God is looking for from you is faith in Jesus Christ (John 6:29). Your faith is your invitation to Jesus to step in as your Advocate, and the first thing He does is walk into the court records office and completely satisfy all legal requirements on your behalf and then expunge every single bit of your legal records.

Isaiah 43:25 says He blots out your transgressions and removes all memory of your sins. Hebrews 8:12 says He will be merciful and remember your sins no more. Psalms 103:12 says He has removed your sins as far from you as the east is from the west. East and west never connect because they are polar opposites; therefore the legal record that condemns you will never return to God’s presence. When the accuser brings an accusation, Jesus says, “Check the files again. There’s no record of that.”

Now He continually intercedes for you, silencing the accuser who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and decreeing life and life abundantly. He is your Advocate in heaven, and His Spirit is your Advocate within you. You have the heavenly dream team defending and representing you.

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.
— 1 John 2:1 NLT

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
— John 14:26 NLT

Your advocates are also your intercessors. Jesus intercedes for you from the courts of heaven and Holy Spirit intercedes for you from you. Romans 8:34 (NLT) says, “Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.” He is pleading your case and interceding for you. He lives forever to intercede with God on your behalf (Hebrews 7:25).

You have Kingdom decrees on your behalf coming directly from the heavenly throne-room and, as you allow Holy Spirit to operate, you have Kingdom decrees on your behalf coming from within you, out of your mouth, and into heaven. There is a supernatural loop of agreement. Jesus speaks edification, encouragement, and comfort, and the His Spirit speaks edification, encouragement, and comfort. As this loop operates, “the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Jesus as we are changed into His glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18b NLT).

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
— Romans 8:26-30 NLT

Seeking His face!
Matt