When they strive to live godly lives, disciples of Jesus Christ will likely face various accusations of wrongdoing from those who walk in the ways of the world. A person who lives an ungodly life often experiences no stronger condemnation of his life than observing one who is living in a godly manner. Knowing that godly living is possible defeats his biggest excuse for not obeying. So he tries to fell the godly under the false hope that it will somehow make him look better. With this in mind, Christ's disciples should be aware that the opposition is constantly scrutinizing their lives, and may be looking for something of which to accuse them, much like those who support opposing political candidates in the current Presidential campaign.

But how should the one who is striving to live a godly life face accusations from the irreverent? Do you attempt to answer every accusation? Do you simply ignore the false accusations? If you are accused falsely, what recourse do you have? Must a Christian who has been falsely accused simply accept the wrong, especially if it originates with a fellow believer? Let's consider a few Bible examples of accused individuals and how they dealt with their accusers' allegations. Hopefully, this will help us know what pleases God.

If the accusation is true. Nebuchadnezzar "made an image of gold" (Daniel 3:1) and then required, under threat of death (vv. 4-6), everyone to fall down and worship it when they heard music being played. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to bow. In time, someone noticed their disobedience and reported it to the king (vv. 8-12). Nebuchadnezzar had the three men brought before him and asked them to explain. He even gave them opportunity to escape punishment if they would promise to worship the image the next time the music sounded, but threatened them with certain death if they did not (vv, 14, 15). What could they say? The accusation was true!

In similar fashion, when some of the Babylonian kingdom's presidents and satraps sought for something of which to accuse Daniel, they found nothing except his devotion to God (6:1-5). We know that they tricked King Darius into establishing a law that would render Daniel guilty when he, as he regularly did (vv. 6-10), petitioned God in prayer. And we also know that when Daniel prayed to God, the accusers were ready and waiting. They brought the matter to the king, demanding that, in keeping with the immutable law of the Persians (vv. 11-15), he carry out the punishment. What could Daniel say? The accusation was true!

In both of these cases, the accusations were true, but they were not shameful! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego all served the one, true God. They refused to bow to the golden image because doing so would have been sin; and the threat of death did not deter their resolve (cf. 3:16-18).

Daniel prayed to God because that was what was right in God's sight. Bowing to pressure, even though it was the law of the land, would not be pleasing to God. From these examples, we learn that when accusations--but accusations of righteous acts--are true, we do not need to apologize or change our ways. Continue doing the right thing and be ready to accept the consequences.

On the other hand, we may remember the story of Simon the sorcerer who, not long after his conversion, offered the apostles money for the power to give the Holy Spirit to others (Acts 8:18). Peter confronted Simon, told him his heart was not right in God's sight, and demanded that he repent and pray to God for forgiveness (vv. 20-23). In this case, the accusation was true, but it was an accusation of wrongdoing that involved a sinful act. Unless Simon repented of his sin, he would remain separated from God. From this example, we learn that when the accusation of sinful activity is true, we must repent and pray for forgiveness that we may once again be right in God's sight. Making excuses will get us nowhere (cf. 1 Samuel 15--King Saul).

When the Accusation is False. I believe most of us could properly face accusations that are true; if we are accused of doing righteous things, we would not change; and if we were accused of sin, hopefully, we would repent quickly. But when the accusations are false, we sometimes become emotionally involved in the fact that we have been wrongfully accused. We forget to do what God tells us, and we behave as though anything we do is acceptable because the charge is false. But, once again, we need to be aware of what pleases God; let's consider some Bible characters and how they dealt with false accusations.

I imagine we all think of Jesus when we think about false accusations, remembering the farce of a trial He faced and how He stood silent. But I want to caution you to be careful about making personal application of that scene today. In that situation, Jesus had reached the point in His life when he knew He was going to fulfill His Father's will by dying for our sins; He did not seek to delay the inevitable. He remained silent, not because silence is the only proper answer to false charges, but because at that time, a greater plan was in action. What we should learn from that series of events is that to which Peter referred when he reminded us that Jesus, "When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly." (1 Peter 2:23) From this, we should learn that, if we are falsely accused, we cannot return the favor and falsely accuse those who falsely accuse us. Unfortunately, I have seen a few preachers who resorted to this tactic when they were libelously accused of being false teachers. We do no one any favors when we stoop to indulge in worldly passions because we've been falsely accused. Repay evil with good (Romans 12:17).

On other occasions, when falsely accused of doing wrong on the Sabbath [healing--Matthew 12:10-13; Luke 13:10-16], Jesus was not silent. In each case, He turned the accusation back on the accuser and rightly pointed to their hypocrisy. On one of these occasions, His adversaries were rightly put to shame while He was glorified (Luke 13:17). In the other case, those who sought to accuse Jesus left and began plotting His death. Some people may feel shame, and others may further harden their hearts; but we do not have to remain silent. [Paul also answered his accusers, and used government as an avenue through which to absolve himself of guilt (Acts 24-26).]

When we answer false accusers, we do not answer for their benefit; we do it to protect our own reputations. A person who strives to live a godly life will be hindered in the work if a false reputation precedes him. Answer from Scripture; point to the inaccuracies of the accuser[s]; and then continue living a godly, righteous life that they may see and be ashamed (1 Peter 3:16). At no time, however, should we stoop to their tactics.

Sadly, some false accusations may be leveled by our own brethren. When this happens, continue to do right and pray for their hearts and souls. The false accusations leveled against Jesus led to His death, but He still prayed for forgiveness for His accusers (Luke 13:34). Our aim should not be retribution, but forgiveness.