“Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the king’s son. He shall judge Thy people with righteousness, and Thy poor with judgment.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.” Psalm 72:1-4 (KJB)
Righteousness
The LORD, My Praise
“In Thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
Deliver me in Thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline Thine ear unto me, and save me.
Be Thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: Thou hast given commandment to save me; for Thou art my rock and my fortress.
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For Thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: my trust from my youth. By Thee have I been holden up from the womb: Thou art He that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of Thee.” Psalm 71:1-6 (KJB)
Pride, Riches, and Righteousness
“When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.” Proverbs 11:2-4 (KJB)
The Righteous and the Wicked
“Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.
The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but He casteth away the substance of the wicked.” Proverbs 10:2-3 (KJB)
Understanding Righteousness, Judgment, and Equity
“For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of His saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.” Proverbs 2:6-9 (KJB)
The Heavens Shall Declare His Righteousness
“The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people.
Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is judge Himself. Selah.” Psalm 50:1-6 (KJB)
Our God Forever and Forever
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness.
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
God is known in her palaces for a refuge. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw, so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.
We have thought of Thy Lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of Thy temple. According to Thy name, O God, so is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of righteousness.
Let Mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of Thy judgments.
Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.” Psalm 48:1-14 (KJB)
You Have Redeemed Me
In Thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in Thy righteousness. Bow down Thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be Thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.
For thou art my Rock and my Fortress; therefore for Thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for Thou art my strength.
Into Thine hand I commit my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD. Psalm 31:1-6 (KJB)
He Shall Receive The Blessing From The LORD…
“Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He that has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek Him, that seek Your face, O Jacob. Selah.” Psalm 24:3-6 (KJB)
The Shepherd Leads His Sheep
“The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” Psalm 23:1-6 (KJB)
Thanksgiving for Deliverance
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,
“I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death surrounded me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because He was wroth. There went up a smoke out of His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about Him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before Him His thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave His voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, He sent out His arrows, and scattered them; and He shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because He delighted in me.
The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath He recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments were before me, and I did not put away His statutes from me. I was also upright before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyesight. With the merciful You will shew Yourself merciful; with an upright man You will shew Yourself upright; with the pure You wilt shew Yourself pure; and with the froward You wilt shew Yourself shrewd. For You will save the afflicted people; but will bring down high looks. For You will light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by You I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him. For who is God except the LORD? Or who is a rock except our God? It is God that girds me with strength, and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teaches my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation: and Your right hand has held me up, and Your gentleness has made me great. You hae enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. I have pursued my enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet. For You have girded me with strength unto the battle: You have subdued under me those that rose up against me. You have also given me the necks of my enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but He answered them not. Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; and You have made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. The LORD lives; and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdues the people under me. He delivers me from my enemies: yea, You lift me up above those that rise up against me: You have delivered me from the violent man. Therefore will I give thanks unto You, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto Your name. Great deliverance gives He to His king; and shows mercy to His anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.” Psalm 18:1-50 (KJB)
He Shall Judge the World In Righteousness
“I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Your marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You: I will sing praise to Your name, O You Most High. When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at Your presence. For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat in the throne judging right. You have rebuked the heathen, You have destroyed the wicked, You have put out their name for ever and ever. O you enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and you have destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. But the LORD shall endure for ever: He has prepared His throne for judgment. And He shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know Your name will put their trust in You: for You, LORD, have not forsaken them that seek You.” Psalm 9:1-10 (KJB)
Have Mercy…, and Hear My Prayer
“Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: You have enlarged me in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.” Psalm 4:1 (KJB)
Healing
“And He came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of His disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases; and they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him: for there went virtue out of Him, and healed all.” Luke 6:17-19 (KJB)
“…And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed” (Luke 6:17) is the verse that we look at in particular in today’s study. Why that one.
I do not believe it to be a new thing that there are troubled souls, troubled individuals in our day of 2019. There has always been vexed souls of men, women, even boys and girls. Ever since the fall of Adam in the garden of Eden there have been vexed souls and minds.
That vexing; that troubling; is from the realm of evil spirits, or demons. It all begins with a person by filling their minds with that which is self oriented, and always turning away from anything that is holy, right, and godly. In essence those demons have been virtually invited into the heart and mind of the afflicted party.
The gospels include these afflictions along with all the diseases of mankind. So I must as well. However, there is no doctor, specialist, or medicine to rid one’s self of a demon presence.
The only way to be rid of the devil/demons is to call on the name of Jesus Christ, believing that He died on the cross for your sins, was buried, that He rose again; and that evil rascal must flee.
There is peace in Jesus Christ alone. Peace with God, and peace within.
Dwelling In Christ Jesus
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:8-11 (KJB)
For those who dwell in Jesus Christ there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1). Our dwelling in Him is due to His dwelling in us. If His is not living in us; we are not in Him.
“Dwelling” means the place of our abiding; the place we live, where we sleep, we eat, we rest, we learn, we grow, etc.. For Him to dwell in us is for our benefit.
According to these verses, and the text of Scripture then to live in the flesh; to live a carnal life is the opposite of living or dwelling in the Spirit of Christ Jesus.
- They that are in the flesh cannot please God;
- You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwell in you;
- If you do not have the Spirit of God in you, you are not God’s;
- If Christ is in you the carnality of the body is dead, because of sin (Isaiah 5:18);
- The Spirit is life because of righteousness – the righteousness of Jesus Christ;
- Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, and raised to life again;
- Just as Jesus Christ was raised to life again, the LORD will also raise our mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in us.
If you are condemned by your sinful life come to Jesus Christ. Trust His work of death on the cross, His burial, and bodily resurrection. He will redeem you, forgive you, and set you free.
But God…
“But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (KJB)
There are several “But God” statements throughout the New Testament, and the apostle Paul was quite good at using them.
“But God…” even while we were still His enemies sent His Son to die for us. How unhuman that is; how so much GOD it is.
Jesus said,
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
“But God” in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ, went to the cross and died even for those who condemned Him to die; He died for those who falsely accused Him; for those who beat Him so cruelly; for those who drove the nails in His hands and feet; for the one who thrust the spear into His side. Some of them believed, and were redeemed.
How much greater love is that.
“But God” while we were yet sinners poured out His wrath in its fullness upon His only begotten Son, who had became our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), and gives to all who will believe His holiness, His righteousness, and declares us Just.
“But God…” has clearly demonstrated His hatred for our sin; and His love for us by way of the cross of Jesus Christ. He died, was buried, and was raised to life. He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life; the only way to the Father.
To Whom It Shall Be Imputed
“Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” Romans 4:23-25 (KJB)
For our understanding of the word impute –
“IMPU’TED, pp. Charged to the account of; attributed; ascribed.” WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN ENGLISH (1828)
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted (or imputed) to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3). The salvation of Adam’s race has never been any different than it is today.
For the people of the Old Testament period of time imputation of righteousness was on credit waiting for the coming of the Messiah to die for the sins of the people, having all our sins imputed onto Him; while on those who will believe He imputes His righteousness.
For those who believe today it is a debt that has already been paid. All our sins and trespasses were laid on Him, He died for our sins, was buried, and as the Scripture above says, “…was raised again for our justification”.
Being declared “Just” and “Righteous” by God is His work of grace; and that comes only by way of the cross of Jesus Christ.
Justification By Faith and The Law
“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Romans 3:31 (KJB)
Since people are justified by faith without the law does that void the law? Paul says, “NO!” The law was given to show mankind his condemnation; to cause him to fall on his knees before our righteous and holy God in repentance, calling on Him by faith.
In the work of Jesus Christ on the cross the demands of the law were fulfilled, thus, by faith it is possible for a sinner to be made righteous before God; not on his own merit, but on the merit of Jesus Christ through His death, burial, and resurrection.
In Christ the holiness and righteousness of God toward sin is intact. His love for His enemies is shown. All who believe Him are declared righteous. That is an amazing salvation.
Actually the law is firmly established. All God desired is accomplished. Sinners; by God’s declaration; become saints.
When a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ the desire of their heart is to be with Him; to be like Him; to serve Him whenever and however possible. We desire to learn more about Him. We desire to be around others who love Him. We grieve over our sins and seek forgiveness quickly and diligently. We grieve over lost sinners who are condemned and pray for them, witness to them, and lead them to personal faith in Jesus. We seek to worship God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. That certainly sounds like the establishment/fulfillment of the law.
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Galatians 2:16
The Judgment of The LORD
“The just LORD is in the midst thereof; He will not do iniquity: every morning doth He bring His judgment to light, He faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.” Zephaniah 3:5 (KJB)
The LORD is always good. There is never a time when He is not. If He were not also Holy, Just, Righteous, and Jealous He would not be good.
The people in the day of Zephaniah’s prophecy were feeling quite positive of God’s presence with them. Judah, Jerusalem was counting on the fact that God would not leave them, neither forsake them; and the prophet assures them that He is indeed in the midst of them.
The LORD in their midst did not excuse their iniquity, their sin, their rebellion against the LORD. It would rather magnify their grievous sin – at least it should have. It magnified iniquity for the prophet of God; and God used him to warn His people.
For the people of God in 2019, those who call themselves “Christian” this word is for you today. God truly is in our midst; He will not do iniquity, and He does not rejoice in it. While the judgment of sin has been paid for by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, He was buried, and He rose again; does not give you a license to sin; neither is it an excuse for sin.
It is a license to freely live for God, confessing our sin when we commit the grievous act of sin and iniquity against God (1 John 1:9).
God will judge those who refuse to accept the gift of grace through the cross of Jesus Christ. We must never forget as a Christian, that judgment must begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17).
O that the Christian today; from the pulpit to the pew, the preacher to the man or woman who professes Jesus Christ as Savior of their lives to fall on their faces before God confessing, and repenting of their sins. Also crying out to see their sin as God does. That would be the beginning of a great awakening in the Body of Christ.
Holy Mountain
“So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.” Joel 3:17 (KJB)
You will need to read the verses previous to verse 17, and also the verses following, to grasp the message clearly. These are not prophetic of the Church the Body of Jesus Christ, but of Judah/Israel, and the city of Jerusalem. Read Zechariah 14.
May I have your attention? There are judgments coming on this earth to judge the sins of men and women who have turned their backs on God, His holiness, and His righteousness. He is God. There is no other.
The only place of repentance is at the cross of Jesus Christ where He bled and died for our sins; He was buried and carried away all our sins; then He rose from the dead – the grave – and He forever lives seated at the right hand of the Father.
One day He will return to this earth, and put an end to evil forever. I pray you will realize the evil of your own heart, mind, and life and repent, calling on the name of Jesus Christ for salvation. Do it today before it is too late.
All will know that the LORD is God. Many will realize it too late.
I Will Accept You
“I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up Mine hand to give it to your fathers. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 20:41-44 (KJB)
“I will accept you” says the LORD. He will not accept them because of their holiness, righteousnesses, or their sacrifices. He accepts them because of His good, Holy, and Righteous Name.
Keep in mind, if you will, the one’s to whom God is speaking through the prophet are the people of Israel in captivity in Babylon. They are being promised that they will one day return to their Promised Land. Most of these who are hearing would not. Ezekiel himself would not see his homeland again. The nation would return. They did return.
The Lord GOD says to you today, “I will accept you, but not because of your sacrifices, not because of your holiness, righteousness; but for My own Name’s sake.” His Name is the Name that is above every name (Philippians 2:10-11).
I am not accepted by God because of anything good in me, but because of the gift of Jesus Christ – His death on the cross, His burial, and resurrection. He is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:19; 2:9).
The Lord accepts all who will come to Him through Jesus Christ. Call on His Name.
When the Righteous Perish
“The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil.” Isaiah 57:1 (KJB)
First of all we need to understand who the righteous are. The righteous are those whom God declares righteous, and none other. In the context of Scripture these righteous are a remnant of Israel who were ashamed of the sin, debauchery, and evil in the land, and they kept themselves from it. The righteous of today are those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ death on the cross; His burial and resurrection proving the deal.
The death of the righteous is just as likely as the death of the evil. It is most likely going to happen, and none knows the day. The death of the righteous is not eternal. The death of the wicked is eternal. There is a place in Heaven prepared for the righteous. There is no place found for the evil in Heaven, so the only place for them is Hell.
When the righteous die there will be many wicked who applaud that death saying something like “Well that trouble maker is gone, and good riddance”, maybe just thinking it. The wicked always see the righteous as the cause of trouble. At any rate they do not care at their passing.
The merciful are the same as the righteous, and will be taken away from the evil that God has declared judgment upon. God knows how to deliver the righteous from the evil…
“The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished…” 2 Peter 2:9
Become one who is righteous before God. Call on the name of the One who died on the cross for you, was buried, and He rose again. His name is Jesus Christ the Son of God, God the Son.
When The Righteous King Reigns
“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.” Isaiah 32:1-8 (KJB)
From the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary on Isaiah32:8…
“liberal — rather, “noble-minded.”
stand — shall be approved under the government of the righteous King.”
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10
…Be Found Of Him In Peace…
“…Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:13-18 (KJB)
The Eyes, the Ears, and the Face of the Lord
“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.” 1 Peter 3:12-16 (KJB)
Also consider reading 2 Chronicles 16 and note verses 7 – 10 especially: and Romans 8.
The Fire and Hammer 