And the LORD said to Satan, "I, the LORD, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire. Zechariah 3:2
Satan's accusations against Joshua may have been well founded on the strength of what he may have done or failed to do, but it sprang from malice, and did not take account of the fact that he had been plucked out of the fire of divine judgment. On the basis of the work of grace, every accusation against those saved by faith in Christ, loses its merit. And it is on this same ground of what Christ did on the cross that God rebukes satan for accusing those justified by grace. Satan accuses the believer on the basis of the wrongs that they have done, but the Lord defends them on the basis of what Jesus Christ has done.
God's elect will not to be abandoned to the consequences of her sins forgiven because of the sacrificial death of Jesus, Christ on the cross, nor will God's gracious and eternal purposes towards the redeemed be frustrated. "God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew;" and, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" (Romans 8:33; Romans 11:2, 29). Having said this, it is equally important that we emphasize that God takes responsibility for the discipline of His erring children. He disciplines them because He loves them.
How wonderful it is to know that we are a people plucked out of the fire of God's judgment through the sacrifice of God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and never to be judged again, and upon this truth, the devil, who accuses us, stands rebuked by the Lord. Praise God!
Toni
