I was recently reminded of a story about Martin Luther, the well-known church reformer from the sixteenth century.
One day he was confronted by the devil who accused him of sin after sin. I’m paraphrasing, but in essence the devil said, ‘How can you pretend to be a leader and reformer of the church? You’re a massive sinner! Look at all these sins!’
The devil then presented a list of Luther’s sins. Undeterred, Luther agreed with the devil that he was a big sinner. As I heard it, he even gave him a few more minutes to write down some additional sins that the devil had missed.
But that’s when Luther told the devil to write 1 John 1:7 at the bottom of the list: “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Then he confidently declared that all his sins had been paid for by Jesus, and the devil therefore had nothing to hold over him.
With that, the evil one vanished.
Every once in a while—and yes, perhaps even every day—we need the reminder that our standing with God isn’t based on what we have (or haven’t) done, but on what Christ has done on our behalf.
In. Christ. You. Belong. To. God. Forever.
And that’s true not only on your good days, but on your worst ones too.
Trust God. Trust what he did for you on the cross. Trust that Jesus is the “once for all” sacrifice on your behalf (Hebrews 10:10). Trust the leading of his Spirit. Trust that he makes you new. Trust that the devil’s accusations are not the last word.
The last word is with Jesus, our risen and victorious Redeemer—and you belong to him.
Notes:
-“A biblical definition of humility.” Click here, or find it on ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan’ (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.)
-The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on July 13, 2026.
-Bible quotes, ESV.
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