Analysis. Have you ever been tempted to lie down and let people run all over you when they launch false accusations against you? If so, I want to encourage you today to resist the lies, instead of acting like false accusations are okay.

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Too often, people think Jesus was a namby-pamby weakling who let everyone run all over Him. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

According to the Biblical record, Jesus was actually quite strong. He definitely had a backbone when dealing with the devil.

Just because He submitted to the Father’s will to be crucified doesn’t mean Jesus didn’t fight hard against the devil. He did. In John chapter 8, in particular, we see Jesus fighting against the lies of the enemy—and He hit back against the enemy hard.

In John 8, the Pharisees got together and let the devil work through them to launch a major psychological operation (“psyop”) against Jesus.

A “psyop” is a warfare term that refers to a strategic military operation that demoralizes and deceives enemy troops, or even demoralizes the regular citizens of an opposing nation. In John chapter 8, the one launching the psyop was the devil. The devil used the Pharisees as his unholy vessels to attack Jesus.

But you know what? Jesus was wise to their attack.

Those Pharisees, operating in their unholy spirit (which I’ll call the “Pharisee spirit” for the purposes of this article), launched at least ten different kinds of lies and false accusations at Jesus. However, every time, Jesus shot back at them. He didn’t “take” their lies sitting down; He fought back … with truth.

And beloved, TRUTH is the only thing that combats the enemy’s lies even today.

Why does this matter to you? Because too many Christians think that Jesus was always silent, and that therefore we shouldn’t have a voice.

It’s true that Jesus was silent when He went to the cross. He was silent because:

1. it was the Father’s will for Him to go to the cross, so He obeyed without complaint or interference; and
2. He bore silence for us so that WE could have a voice in the face of abuse.

I have often heard people say that Christians should be silent in the face of injustice or abuse, simply because Jesus opened not His mouth on that occasion:

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53:7 NKJV).

However, Jesus was only silent when following God’s will. (Jesus even told Pilate before the crucifixion that Pilate could have no power over Him except it had been given to him from above.) When Jesus was attacked by the devil, He actually counteracted the attacks by speaking truth.

Yes: Jesus taught us to go with someone two miles instead of one mile when pressed into service. He taught us to go over and above in kindness, forgiveness, and sharing. But when attacked by the Pharisees’ lies, Jesus demonstrated by example that we should fight back.

So how exactly do we resist false accusations?

By telling the truth.

Jesus wants us to operate in truth in all things. This means that we only believe truth, speak truth, and accept truth. Notice what He said about truth in John:

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32 NKJV).

And as we also read in John 14:6:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NKJV).

Think about these three reasons why it’s so necessary to combat false accusations with truth:

1. Jesus is Truth. Anything that is not true is not of Christ—and if it’s not of Christ, it’s evil. We are to resist the evil one and all of his byproducts, such as lies.
2. Jesus said that knowing the truth is the key to freedom. As He said in John 8, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32 NKJV).
3. The devil is a liar and the father of lies; there is no truth in him. (See John 8:44.) We are to submit to God, but resist the devil. This means we are to resist all lies, for they are the work of the devil.

So how do we apply this? When someone launches false accusations against you, you have to stand up to them using TRUTH.

You have to gird your waist with truth and carry truth always (Ephesians 6:14). I know that standing up for oneself goes against the grain if we’ve been taught otherwise—but imitate Jesus.

Jesus had a backbone.

Jesus suffered silently so that you could have a voice. He bore silence to Calvary’s tree so that you could do what He did the rest of the time and SPEAK OUT against lies and false accusations.

Friend, only the devil is the accuser of the brethren (see Revelation 12:10). If someone is making false accusations against you or proclaiming lies against you, STAND UP. Have a backbone and do what Jesus did when accused by the Pharisees: Resist the devil by speaking truth.

For many years, I personally thought we were supposed to say nothing in the face of the devil.

I submitted to God, but I didn’t resist the devil by speaking truth like Jesus did. And you know what? The devil ran all over me and almost ruined my life in multiple ways.

But then I got a revelation that lies and false accusations are a form of injustice. I decided to stand up and confront the lies—which meant confronting the people who had been speaking them. And you know what? A funny thing happened: the liars backed down. The lies could not stand in the face of truth.

Beloved, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Anything that is not truth is not of God. Have you been letting the devil run all over you with his lies and false accusations?

If so, stand up today. Get your backbone in gear and imitate Christ—who was not a namby-pamby weakling.

Jesus DID counteract lies and false accusations with truth—every time. He didn’t fight against the Romans whose mandate from Heaven was to crucify Him, but He did fight back against demon-possessed Pharisees who spewed lies and false accusations on behalf of that old serpent, the devil, who is the accuser of the brethren.

Christians have too long been silent in our nation at large.

Additionally, many individual believers have been letting abusive humans run all over them with false accusations and lies in their personal environments. Stop tolerating it. Confront lies with truth, and see how Jesus—the Way, the Truth, and the Life—backs you up.

Remember: You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

What do you need to do to imitate Jesus and speak truth? Leave a comment below!

Jamie Rohrbaugh is the founder and CEO of From His Presence. She is the author of Victory In the Camp of the Lord Volume 1: Healing from Fear. Her resources have been published by YouVersion Bible Plans, Charisma Magazine, The Elijah List, Spirit Fuel, and various other ministry outlets. You can find free mentoring on her podcast, Take Your Territory with Jamie Rohrbaugh, which is available through your favorite podcast streaming app. Download her free prayer tool, Praying the Names of God: 555 Biblical Names of God and How to Use Them in Prayer and Worship, here. Photo Credit: Canva.