Thank You. May I have Another?

Q: How should Christians respond to false accusations? Should they seek legal counsel and pursue legal action?

A: Many Christians struggle with how we are to respond in the face of being sinned against. I believe that, depending on the nature and severity of the accusation, there could be different ways to respond. One of the Ten Commandments says, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16)." Nothing can destroy a relationship or cause more problems in a person's life than to be lied on. If you look at the current state of politics you have a perfect backdrop in which to see what can happen when people level false accusations against one another. The time necessary to respond takes away from a candidate being able to focus on the issues they feel are more important. Perhaps no other person in history bore more false accusations than Jesus Christ. "The chief priests accused him of many things (Mark 15:3)." Jesus was accused of being a glutton, a blasphemer, demon-possessed and many more vile things. But, what did He do in response? He made "no reply (Mark 15: 5)." One of the most famous sayings of the Lord is, "Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5: 39)." Because Jesus put up little fight against the false accusations made against Him, on His way to the cross, many Christians will say that we are to put up little resistance when we face similar circumstances. However, two things are wrong with this belief. One, none of us are called to do what Jesus came to this earth to accomplish; die for the sins of the world. He had to endure all this in order to fulfill what He was here to do. Secondly, when Jesus said to turn the other cheek, it was in circumstances where the only thing we were in danger of having hurt is our pride.

However, there may be times when a false accusation can lead to a severe encroachment on our lives and freedoms. Using Jesus as the example again, we see where the lies made against Him eventually led to His death. When Jesus was arrested, and Peter reacted with physical aggression by cutting off the ear of one the arresting men, He told Peter to put away his sword. He said to Peter, that if need be, He could call on the Father and He would have at His disposal, "more than twelve legions of angels...(Matthew 26:53)" This implies that there may be a time for a more aggressive response when being sinned against. Depending on the consequences of the false accusation, the best thing to do may be to pursue legal action. One thing God gives us is freedom. We have freedom to use common sense and to apply it to every situation if we think the false accusation may lead to further damage being done to ourselves, those we love or the general public. If a lie we are enduring leads to our inability to lead a normal life then I think we are well within our right, as Christians, to seek a resolution through legal action. There is nothing written in the Bible where Christians are to be doormats and allow ourselves to be abused without fighting back. We must use the discernment of the Lord to help us decide what the proper response should be for us given the situation. "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord (Romans 12:19)." If our response to a false accusation is merely to take revenge then our actions are not in line with the character of God. It is simply a prideful, and worldly, reaction designed to inflict damage on those who have offended us.

"If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases (1 Corinthians 6: 1-2)?" As I have already said, there may come a time when legal action is necessary when we are sinned against. However, why would the Apostle Paul chastise the Corinthian church for handling their disputes with each other through lawsuits and legal actions? It is because, ultimately, this subject revolves around the area of forgiveness. And Christians should be the most familiar with forgiveness. After all, how can we express the love of God towards each other unless we are being sinned against? It is easy to get along with others when they are not sinning against us. However, when they do, it is an opportunity to share with them that which we have received from God through faith in Jesus Christ. All our sins were taken away from the eyes of God by Christ's one sacrifice at the cross. The debt we owed God is something that we could not afford to pay. When someone falsely accuses us it may cause us harm that the individual cannot repay to us. Therefore, in order for us to be set free from the debt they cannot pay, we forgive them. We, effectively, do for them what Jesus Christ has done for us, by setting them free from their debt. It is the only way we can have fellowship with each other. Just as God is free to have a relationship with us because our sins are no longer an issue, we are free to have a relationship with our brethren, and others, because of the forgiveness we extend towards them.

When we realize how much God has forgiven us in Christ, we look at the world with a different perspective. We are not surprised when people level false accusations against us because we don't have any unrealistic expectations about human behavior. When our hope and trust is in the Lord we don't expect to receive it from the world. Therefore, we are better equipped to handle it when we are the victim of the sin of others. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me (Matthew 5:11)." As Christians, we should expect to be sinned against simply because of who we are in Christ. We are hated and despised because Jesus was treated the same way. The world doesn't like who we are, what we stand for or whom we proclaim. Therefore, if we can be slandered because of our faith in the Lord, we shouldn't be surprised to be the recipient of false accusations against us personally. That doesn't mean we should always take everything thrown our way without taking legal action, if necessary. But, as a general rule, if being falsely accused results in little more than a loss of our sinful pride, we should simply forgive those who have sinned against us in hopes that by doing so we may win some for Christ because we have shared the love of God with them.