"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)
Perhaps you're thinking, why did I put that verse at the start of an article that should talk about how Christians should respond to slanderous accusations. Maybe you're thinking, "what's the connection?" Maybe you're thinking that somebody has accused you falsely in an attempt to smear your name and reputation, and that verse doesn't give you a way of response.
Or does it?
Friends, I deliberately placed it there because most of the time, when someone accuses us, all we seek to do is clear our names and even retaliate by showing that our accusers are liars. We seek to have the charges made against us dropped, that our smeared reputation cleared, and our person vindicated.
But wasn't Jesus accused with all sorts of false accusations? Wasn't He a victim of slander? Wasn't He labeled with all sorts of insults? He was! But what did He say?
"Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
Rest easy
Friends, I encourage all of you to rest in the Lord. God is our Vindicator. He knows the truth, and if we're mere victims of slanderous accusations, we can rest easy because we have a clear conscience before the Lord. He is the just Judge who will call everyone to account, whether Christian or not.
That said, here are a few ways we can respond whenever someone, whether a fellow believer or not, slanders us and wrongly accuses us before others.
1) Receive Christ's peace
Christ Jesus was on the receiving end of all sorts of slanderous complaints, but He did not waver nor falter in His mission to fulfill God's will. All religious leaders labeled Him wrongly, even calling Him as a worker of the devil, but He did not cower in fear or fret in worry. He just continued doing the will of God.
If we are in Christ, we must receive the peace He gives. We can choose to rest in Him, knowing that all accusations against Him fell to the ground.
2) Seek the Lord
When someone brings an accusation, bring it to the Lord. If you did something wrong, then repent of it before God and ask for forgiveness from those who were offended. On the other hand, if you didn't do anything wrong, then there's nothing to fear.
Romans 8:1 assures us, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
3) Continue pressing on
There's no point in spending all your time thinking about the accusation and working to clear your name. Again, if you've done nothing wrong, there's nothing to worry about. Continue to do the good that you are doing in your pursuit to obey God, and leave the problem to Him.
Romans 8:33-34 assures us, "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."
Knowing that God is your Defender, don't even think of retaliating. Romans 12:19-21 tells us,
"Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
