Revelation 12:10 says, "The accuser of our brothers...who accuses them before our God day and night." This shows us that part of Satan's work is to accuse us. This work is carried out in man's conscience. As soon as a person is saved, his conscience is quickened, and he begins to know sin. Satan knows this. He knows that the Holy Spirit touches the conscience of God's children concerning sin. He knows that He guides them into confession and prayer for forgiveness before God. Consequently, Satan steps in to counterfeit the Holy Spirit's work. He accuses man in his conscience. Such an attack is found frequently among God's children, and it causes much havoc.
Many children of God cannot differentiate between the Holy Spirit's reproach and Satan's accusation. As a result, they are hesitant to withstand anything. This gives Satan further ground to exercise his accusations. Many children of God could have been very useful in the hands of God, but their conscience has been weakened to the uttermost by Satan's attack. They are bombarded constantly with the accusation and feeling that they have sinned in this and that matter. They are unable to stand up before God or before men. As a result, they become spiritually handicapped for the rest of their lives.
It is true that we should pay attention to the reproach of the Holy Spirit once we become Christians. However, we also need to withstand Satan's accusation. We need to pay attention to the difference between the Holy Spirit's reproach and Satan's accusation. Many so-called reproaches are counterfeits; they are, in fact, Satan's accusations.
What is the difference between Satan's accusation and the Holy Spirit's reproach? We need to distinguish between them.
First, all reproaches from the Holy Spirit begin with a small feeling from within. This inner feeling becomes stronger and stronger and convicts us of our mistakes. Satan's accusation, however, is a continual nagging within. The reproach of the Holy Spirit grows stronger and stronger as time goes on; the accusation of Satan is the same from beginning to end. As time passes, the inner sense of the Spirit ascends by degree; but the accusation of Satan is a constant, muddled nagging that stays the same from beginning to end.
Second, each time we yield to the rebuke of the Spirit, we find the power of sin diminishing in us. Each rebuke of the Spirit diminishes the power of sin a little. Therefore, any rebuke from the Spirit weakens the power of sin; it results in a diminishing of sin. This is not the case with Satan's accusation. Every time he accuses us, we find the power of sin to be just as great as before.
Third, the reproach of the Holy Spirit brings us to the Lord, whereas Satan's accusation brings us disappointment. The more we are reproved by the Holy Spirit, the more we are strengthened within to deal with our problem before the Lord. But Satan's accusation brings about despair and resignation. The reproach of the Holy Spirit causes us to come before the Lord and to rely on Him; Satan's accusation causes us to turn back to ourselves and to be disappointed.
Fourth, if it is the reproach of the Holy Spirit, confession before the Lord will follow. This confession will result in at least peace, if not joy. There may or may not be joy, but there is always peace. Satan's accusation, however, is totally different. There is no joy and no peace, even after one confesses his sins. This is like coming out of a major illness or going through a theatrical performance—nothing remains after the act is over. The reproach of the Holy Spirit has a result—peace, if not joy. However, Satan's accusation leads us nowhere.
Fifth, the reproach of the Holy Spirit reminds us of the blood of the Lord. With Satan's accusation, there is always the Satan-injected thought: "There is not much use. Perhaps the Lord will not forgive you." This thought will be there even when we know that we have the blood. In other words, the reproach of the Holy Spirit leads to faith in the Lord's blood, while Satan's accusation causes us to lose our faith in the Lord's blood. When a certain feeling comes, simply check whether we are reminded of the blood as a result of this feeling or whether we have been distanced from the blood. This will tell us whether the feeling is a reproach of the Holy Spirit or an accusation from Satan.
Sixth, the result of the reproach of the Holy Spirit is power from God; one will rise up on his feet and run faster. He will go on with renewed zeal, cast aside his trust in himself, and have more faith in God. However, the result of Satan's accusation is the debilitation of the conscience. The conscience of such ones is smitten before God. They have no faith in themselves, and they have no faith in God either. It is true that the reproach of the Holy Spirit takes away our strength and our trust in ourselves. But at the same time it causes us to have more faith in the Lord. Satan's accusation is not like this. It takes away our confidence in ourselves as well as our faith in the Lord. The result is that we become a debilitated person.