Egkaleo is a legal term meaning to bring a formal charge or accusation against someone, to call them to account before a court. It appears in Acts in the context of Paul's legal trials (Acts 19:38, 40; 23:28, 29; 26:2, 7) and in Romans 8:33 in Paul's triumphant declaration of justification.
Romans 8:33 is among the most powerful verses in Scripture: 'Who will bring any charge (egkaleo) against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.' The legal precision of egkaleo makes this declaration explosive. In the cosmic courtroom, the accusation that could condemn every sinner has been silenced — not because the charge is invalid but because the Judge has declared the defendant righteous. Satan, the 'accuser of our brothers' (Revelation 12:10), can bring no charge that stands because Christ has already paid the full penalty. Justification is the legal verdict that ends all accusation.