Let’s return to the fourteenth responsibility of leaders and workers: to promptly discern, and then clear out or expel all manner of evil people and antichrists. Let’s look at whether this work that leaders and workers must do is related to each detail about churches which I just fellowshipped. Why do we need to fellowship these specific details? What is the relationship between these details and this work that leaders and workers must do? (These evil people and antichrists are not church members and need to be cleansed away. Moreover, their existence obstructs and disturbs the work that churches do.) So, there is a connection; this fellowship is not in vain. After understanding each detail about the designation or definition of a church, let’s examine how leaders and workers should treat church members, how they should treat the various people that need to be cleared out or expelled from the church, how they can do this work well, and how they should fulfill their responsibility and maintain the church’s work. First, leaders and workers must understand what the definition of a church is, why a church needs to exist, and what work a church should be doing. After understanding these things, they should then look at which current church members do not play a positive role when it comes to the value of the church’s existence or the work the church does, or who may cause disruptions, disturbances, and negative impacts to the church’s essential work, or even seriously affect the church’s reputation and disgrace God’s name. Discerning clearly and promptly clearing out or expelling these people—is this not the work that leaders and workers should do? (Yes.) So, what is involved in doing this work well? In order to clear out or expel all kinds of evil people and purify the church, and allow the value of the church’s existence to be manifested and the church to fulfill the role it should, and at the same time allow the work of the church to progress smoothly, leaders and workers must first discern just which people in the church are evil people and antichrists. This is the information or actual situation that leaders and workers need to first grasp when carrying out this work. The first matter leaders and workers face in this work is discerning different kinds of people. What is the purpose of discerning different kinds of people? It is to separate them according to their own kind and protect those who are true members of the church. However, protecting these people alone does not mean that the work outlined in the fourteenth responsibility is being successfully carried out. What, then, is the most important aspect of successfully carrying this work out? It is clearing out or expelling all kinds of disbelievers and evil people who do not belong to the church. Regardless of whether these people are defined as evil people or antichrists, if they meet the conditions for being cleared out or expelled, then the need for this work arises, and it is time for leaders and workers to fulfill their responsibility. Let us first fellowship on how to discern different kinds of people.

How should we discern different kinds of people? The first criterion is to discern them according to their purpose for believing in God. The second is according to their humanity. And the third is according to their attitude toward their duty. If we were to use some simple, short headers, they would be: first, their purpose for believing in God; second, their humanity; and third, their attitude toward their duty. Now that we have these three headers, what are your understandings of each of them? We haven’t discussed much about people’s purpose for believing in God before. We have talked more about people’s humanity and their attitude toward their duty, so you are more familiar with these things. People’s purpose for believing in God is actually also not very unfamiliar to you because you yourselves came to believe in God with a purpose. Some people believe in God because they do not want to go to hell, some because they want to go to heaven, some because they do not want to die, some to avoid the disasters, some just because they want to be good people, some because they want to avoid mistreatment, and so on. This topic should not be unfamiliar to you; it is just that the details I will talk about may be somewhat unfamiliar—you might feel uncertain about them, not knowing what I am going to say about them or where I am going to start. So, let’s talk about this briefly. Tell Me, people who harbor which types of intentions and purposes in believing in God are those who should be cleared out or expelled? (Those who only pursue fame and status and only want to hold power, and who will unscrupulously disturb the church for the sake of their status.) This is one type of person. Are there others? (Disbelievers who only pursue blessings and seek to eat their fill of loaves.) Disbelievers, this is another type. Are there more? You might be thinking of some people’s manifestations, but you can’t clearly discern whether these people are just revealing corrupt dispositions or if they are actually people with impure purposes for believing in God who should be cleared out or expelled. You can’t figure this out and feel it’s a bit unclear, so you cannot articulate it. The topic of people’s purpose for believing in God is quite broad. Everyone has some intentions and purposes in believing in God. However, the types of people with impure purposes for believing in God that we are talking about here do not meet the conditions for God’s salvation. They cannot achieve salvation and they cannot even reach the minimum standard of being a laborer. No matter what purpose these people have for believing in God, in any case, when given the opportunity, these people who come to believe in God with a purpose, will try to achieve their goals, and if they don’t have the opportunity, they will commit evil and cause disturbances. This will bring unimaginable consequences to the church’s work or to the life entry of God’s chosen people, and these people should be the targets for clearing out or expulsion. Putting aside for now these people’s humanity or what attitudes they harbor toward their duties, just speaking in terms of their purpose for believing in God, it is absolutely not to accept the truth and attain salvation, much less is it to submit to and worship God. Therefore, their belief in God will naturally not result in salvation. Rather than allowing these people to stay in the church and continuously disturb God’s chosen people—the genuine brothers and sisters—it is preferable to accurately discern and define them as early as possible, and then promptly clear them out of the church. They should not be treated like church members or brothers and sisters. So, who are these types of people? Just now, you spoke in a broad way about some concepts. I will give some concrete examples, and you will understand once you hear them.

First, let’s talk about the first type of person that should be cleared out or expelled from the church. Some people always want to become officials in society and bring glory to their ancestors, but their career paths are unsuccessful. However, their desire to be officials does not diminish at all. But their family’s social status is not high, so they feel life is hopeless and see the world as too unfair, not even being able to achieve this small desire. They feel that they have some knowledge and competence, but no one appreciates them. They can’t find a backer, and the prospect of becoming an official seems very remote to them. In this desperate situation, they found the church. They feel that if they can become a leader in the church, it is also like being an official, and their desire can be satisfied. So, they come to God’s house wanting to achieve greatness. They think their competence and capabilities are just right for being utilized in God’s house, and their hope of being an official and a distinguished individual can be realized, thus fulfilling a lifelong wish. Their view on believing in God can be summarized by such sayings as “One good turn deserves another,” “True gold is destined to glitter eventually,” and “The smart bird chooses its perch wisely”—this is the sort of background from which they chose to walk the path of believing in God. Judging from the essence of this person, it is clear they do not believe in the existence of truth in the world, much less do they believe in the existence of the Savior. In short, they do not believe in the one true God and even less do they believe in the existence of the Creator. Whether it is what is written in the Bible or what is preached in the religious world—that God created the world and humankind, that God is sovereign over and leads humankind—all these sayings are just historical records to them. No one investigates them, and no one can verify them; they are just legends and stories, a kind of religious culture. This is their most basic understanding of faith. They come to believe in God with this understanding, thinking that they are walking the right path, abandoning darkness for light, that they are the “smart bird” choosing its perch wisely. Of course, their choice and desire to become an official and a distinguished individual have not been given up. They believe that in this vast world with so many people, there is no place for them, and only God’s house can bring them hope. Only living in the church can give them a chance to utilize their talents and realize their desire to become a distinguished individual. Because judging from the current situation, the outside world is becoming increasingly wicked and dark; only the church is a land of pureness in this world—the church is the only place in the world that can provide people with spiritual sustenance, and only the church is flourishing more and more. They come to believe in God with such wishes and purposes. After taking up faith, they don’t understand anything about believing in God, pursuing the truth, or about matters involving the truth, God’s disposition, and God’s work. They do not pursue or pay attention to these matters. In their heart, they have not let go of their desire for status and officialdom at all; rather, they continue to hold onto these notions and viewpoints while hanging about in the church. They view the church as a social organization, a religious community, and see God’s work and God’s words as illusions created by believers because of their superstitious beliefs. Therefore, whenever it comes to pursuing the truth, whenever it comes to God’s words and God’s work, they feel disgusted and resistant. If anyone says that something is God’s doing, God’s sovereignty, or God’s orchestration, they feel disgusted. However, no matter how disgusted they feel, and regardless of whether they acknowledge or accept the truth, their desire to gain a position of status in the church to satisfy their craving for authority has never diminished or been let go. Since they have such ambition and desire, they naturally reveal various manifestations. For example, they incite people by saying things like: “Do not base everything on God’s words or connect everything to God’s words and God. Actually, many of people’s ideas and sayings are correct; people should have their own viewpoints and stances.” They spread these statements to mislead people. At the same time, they also vigorously display their talents, gifts, and the various tactics and tricks they can play in the world, trying to attract people’s notice and gain their attention and their high regard. What is the purpose of their vigorous display? It is to make people think highly of and look up to them; it is to have status among people and thereby satisfy their wish to pursue an official career and to bring glory to their ancestor. They are satisfied when respected, praised, followed, endorsed, adored, and looked up to by people, and even when flattered. Moreover, they tirelessly pursue and enjoy these things. Even though God’s house constantly exposes antichrists, evil people, and people’s various corrupt dispositions, in their heart they disdain these as beneath their contempt and feel especially disgusted by them. They single-mindedly pursue status and being admired and looked up to by others to fulfill the wishes they could not achieve in the world and society. So, what is their purpose for believing in God? It is not to gain a hundredfold in this life and eternal life in the world to come, and it certainly is not to accept the truth and be saved. Their purpose for believing in God is not to act as a created being but to be an official and a lord, to enjoy the benefits of status. There are certainly such people in the church; these are the evildoers who infiltrate the church. The church absolutely does not allow such people to mix among God’s chosen people, so these people are ones to be cleared out. Is it easy to discern their purpose for believing in God? (Yes.) Considering their intentions and purposes in believing in God, combined with their various manifestations in the church, what kind of people are they? (Disbelievers.) Yes, they are disbelievers. Besides being disbelievers, they also want to pursue status and prospects in God’s house to satisfy their craving for authority. Their purpose for believing in God is to become an official. So, why is it that these people should be cleansed away? Someone might say, “If disbelievers labor in God’s house, and as church friends they can help a bit, isn’t it alright to keep them around?” Does this statement hold up? (No.) Why doesn’t it hold up? (Their desire to become officials will certainly lead to doing things that disturb others, provide no benefit to the work of God’s house, and affect the brothers’ and sisters’ pursuit of the truth.) No matter how you look at it, disbelievers resist the truth and deny God, so God’s house cannot keep them. They won’t play a positive role. Regardless of whether they pursue becoming officials, just their remarks, manifestations, and actions as disbelievers can cause disturbances and won’t have a positive effect. Some brothers and sisters, when experiencing certain environments, say, “This is God’s sovereignty, and we must submit.” Can disbelievers submit? It’s already good enough if they don’t stand up to disturb and oppose. In their hearts, they even say, “Don’t say everything is God’s sovereignty. People should have some opinions of their own and have some independence; don’t attribute everything to God’s sovereignty!” They not only drag others down but also say some ambiguous, specious fallacies to mislead people. Isn’t this shameless? They might be able to pull some clever maneuvers and tricks among nonbelievers, but God’s house is the wrong place for trying to pull these maneuvers and tricks! Some people run clinics where everyone likes to go because they say the injections there don’t hurt. Why don’t the injections hurt? The needle tip is dipped in anesthetic, so it surely doesn’t hurt. Is this a wise move? (No, it’s a pernicious move.) Yet they take it as a wise move and boast about it, thinking it shows their capability and skill, saying, “All you do is talk about submitting to God, God’s orchestration, and God’s sovereignty. Do you have the skills I have?” Isn’t this shameless? (Yes.) They even boast about such pernicious tricks! People harboring the motives of disbelievers who infiltrate the church are those who should be cleared out from the church. Why? In their hearts, these people resist the truth and are averse to it. Regardless of their purpose for believing in God, whether it is something they can openly admit or not, based on their essence as disbelievers, the church should clear them out or expel them. These disbelievers infiltrate the church with a certain purpose, wanting to display their talents, realize their ambitions, and satisfy their wishes within the church. They want to use the precious place that is the church as a means to achieve their goal of holding power, showing off, and misleading and controlling people. Considering their purpose for believing in God, they are capable of disturbing and disrupting God’s chosen people and the work of the church. Therefore, these people must be cleared out or expelled from God’s house. Leaders and workers must see through to their disbeliever essence. Whether you base it on their manifestations or their consistent statements about believing in God, once you have grasped the situation and clearly discerned that they are disbelievers, you should decisively reject them without hesitation. No matter what method or wisdom you employ, find any way you can to clear them away—this is the work leaders and workers should do; it is the work they should shoulder. This is one type of people who should be cleared out or expelled.

So, what are the manifestations of the second type of people who should be cleared out or expelled? Some people have never been involved in believing in God; they just have a favorable impression of it. They are not interested in knowing what one should pursue or gain by believing in God. They heard that people who believe in God are quite dutiful and guileless, so they want to find a romantic partner in the church, then get married and live a stable life. This is their intention and purpose, so they come to the church to find their ideal partner. These disbelievers have no interest whatsoever in believing in God; they do not care at all about the Creator, the truth, being saved, knowing God, doing duty, or any such matters. Even if they can understand after hearing God’s words and listening to sermons, they don’t want to take it to heart. They just want to find an ideal partner and, of course, hope to meet more people and broaden their network. They come to believe in God with the purpose of finding an ideal partner. Some people might say, “How do you know they have this purpose? They haven’t said anything or mentioned it to You!” They display it through their behavior. Look at how they always seek out the opposite sex when they do their duties or make contact with someone. Once they fancy someone, they keep fellowshipping with that person and getting close to them, always inquiring about their information and getting to know them. These unusual actions and manifestations should draw enough attention from leaders and workers, who should observe what their intentions are and what purpose they aim to achieve; they should ascertain who preached the gospel to them, why they especially seek contact with the opposite sex, why they always have something to say to the opposite sex, and why they have a particular fondness for the opposite sex, in particular showing special curiosity toward and concern for the people they like. Such individuals have a favorable impression of those who believe in God. Even if they are not very interested in gatherings, listening to sermons, fellowshipping God’s words, singing hymns, fellowshipping personal experiences, and other such matters, they generally don’t say anything that causes disturbances and disruptions. They are solely focused on finding a romantic partner to live a good life with. If they find a partner, they can follow along in believing in God; even if they themselves do not pursue, they can support their partner in believing in God. Some people have relatively acceptable humanity, are helpful, and try their best to be friendly and kind. For example, they can tolerate others, think of everything they can to help those with difficulties resolve them, or provide some advice, and so on. They are relatively kind to others and harbor no malice, but their purpose and goal in believing in God are not very honorable. They do not pursue the truth, and they do not accept the truth no matter who fellowships it with them. After following for half a year or one or two years, there is no change in them. Although they do not say anything about not believing and they do not cause any disturbances or disruptions, they do not develop any interest in matters of believing in God. Is it appropriate for such people to stay in the church? (No.) Should such people be cleansed away? (They should also be cleansed away.) What is the reason? (Because they are not interested in the truth, and they are not targets for salvation. If they stay in the church while always looking for a partner, it will disturb others and lead them into temptation; they will not play a positive role.) That’s exactly how it is. For example, some people particularly like eating meat. When they eat meat, they forget about their work. If there is no meat, they are still able to attend to some proper tasks, but when there is meat available, their work gets delayed. What is meat to them? (Temptation.) Exactly, it is a temptation. So, can those who are always looking for a partner be considered a source of temptation? (Yes.) They are indeed a source of temptation. For such people, it should be made clear to them: “You do not have sincerity toward believing in God or doing your duty. You have never been able to integrate into the church and have never been considered a true believer. Over these two years of contact, we have seen your purpose: You just want to find a partner in the church. Isn’t this harming good people? The people in the church are not suitable for you. There are many suitable for you among the nonbelievers. Go and find someone among the nonbelievers.” The implication is to tell them, “We have seen through you. You are not one of God’s chosen people. You are not a person of God’s house. You cannot be considered our brother or sister.” Such people should be cleared out of the church, according to the principles of God’s house. This way, these people who are recklessly looking for a partner and seducing others will be cleansed away. Are such people not easy to discern? (Yes.) These people are also disbelievers. They have a slight fondness for the church, for religious faith, and for those who believe in God. They just want to use the opportunity of believing in God to find a partner among believers to live with and devotedly serve them. Tell Me, is such a thing possible? Should we satisfy them? Should the church arrange such matters? (No.) The church has no obligation to satisfy their personal preferences. No matter how much they think believers are good people, that they’d be able to live their life in a proper manner with these believers, or that believers can walk the right path, it’s useless—their opinion doesn’t matter. Such disbelievers can also be found in most churches. The way to deal with these people is to use the method we just fellowshipped about, or you can use better methods if you have them, as long as they are handled according to principles. These disbelievers are categorized among the various types of evil people—is that excessive? (No.) This is precisely how we treat disbelievers.

What other types of people should be cleared out or expelled from the church? (Another type is those who believe in God just to avoid disasters.) Believing in God just to avoid disasters is also a purpose people have for believing. Don’t most people who believe in God also have this kind of adulteration? (Yes.) So how should we distinguish between which people should be cleared out or expelled because of this, and which people are just exhibiting a normal revelation of corruption and should not be cleared out or expelled? For the majority of people, their faith is mixed with the motive of believing in God to avoid disasters—this is a fact. Among those who believe in God to avoid disasters, you must distinguish the disbelievers who fit the criteria for being cleared out or expelled. For example, such people, when they see that disasters are starting to get worse, start attending gatherings more frequently and quickly take back the books of God’s words they had previously returned to the church, saying they want to believe in God seriously now. However, once the disasters pass or subside, they go back to doing business and making money, blocking all contact methods so the brothers and sisters cannot find or reach them for gatherings. When disasters strike, they actively seek out the brothers and sisters, but when the disasters are over, it becomes very difficult for the brothers and sisters to find them, and very rarely is anyone able to get in touch with them. Are these manifestations not quite obvious? (Yes.) When there is no disaster, they say, “People need to have a normal life. We have to go about our days. I have to do the cooking at home every day, and I have to take the kids to and from school, so sometimes I can’t make it to the gatherings. Besides, living requires money; all living expenses have to be paid for. We can’t survive without earning money. In this world, nobody can get by without money. Believing in God has to be practical!” They speak plausibly and provide ample reasons, being entirely focused on earning money and going about their days, only occasionally attending a gathering and rarely reading God’s words. Their attitude toward believing in God is lukewarm, neither cold nor hot. When disaster strikes, they say, “Oh, I can’t be without God; I need God! I must pray to God and call upon Him every day! I’m not trying to avoid disasters; the main thing is that I can’t be without God in my heart. Living a good life without God in my heart still feels empty!” They can’t say a single word that demonstrates any knowledge of God; all they say are words to justify their actions and behavior. They don’t know how many books God’s house distributes to everyone; they don’t know what topic the sermons have reached; they don’t know which truths are currently being fellowshipped about in church life. They attend a gathering once every six months or once every year. When they do attend, they say, “Nonbelievers are just terrible. Society is unfair. This world is evil. Making an effort to earn money is so hard! God’s burden on people is light….” They keep talking about these useless things that have nothing to do with the topics and content of the gathering’s fellowship. They say a few empty words in their prayer and a few superficial words about believing in God and then consider themselves believers, feeling at ease in their hearts and peaceful. Is this believing in God? What sort of wretches are such people? If you ask them, “Why don’t you attend gatherings regularly?” they say, “My conditions don’t allow it. This is the environment God has arranged for me, and I must submit.” How nice these words sound! They also say, “Look, God has arranged this environment for me. My whole family depends on me for food, so I have to earn money to get by! At the moment, earning money is the task God has given me.” They utterly fail to mention doing their duty, as well as their responsibilities and obligations as a created being, much less do they mention how to practice God’s words; only occasionally do they attend a gathering and make an offering of a few yuan, thinking they have made a contribution to God’s house. There are others who, when their children get sick, pray to God, and a few days later, when their children are better, they quickly make an offering of some money to the church and then disappear again. Every time they interact with the brothers and sisters, they never fellowship about the truth, nor do they read God’s words. When there are no disasters or calamities, they never pray to God. Their daily conversations are always about domestic trivialities, disputes over right and wrong, fleshly life, various social phenomena, and various things they see and hear; they rarely fellowship about God’s words and never utter a heartfelt word related to believing in God. They just keep their place in the church to seek God’s care and protection. This is just their way of believing in God; they just seek peace and blessings without pursuing the truth at all. They have no interest in the truth whatsoever. They only want to gain benefits, grace, and blessings from believing in God. They don’t care about the next life because they can’t see it and don’t believe in it at all. They only want to enjoy God’s grace in this life and avoid all disasters. Since God and the church are their refuge, whenever they do attend gatherings, it is certainly when they have encountered difficulties or disasters. Are such people sincere believers in God? (No.) What kind of people are they? (Opportunists and disbelievers.) These are disbelievers who want to use the church to avoid disasters. Should such people be allowed to stay in the church? (No.) When they come to gatherings, they disturb others and upset them internally. Most people are too polite and would feel embarrassed to try to curb them, so they let them prattle on and disturb everyone’s eating and drinking of God’s words. What should leaders and workers do at this point? Shouldn’t they take on the responsibility of restricting such people, protecting the interests of the majority, and maintaining normal church life? (Yes.) You can take back their books of God’s words and advise them to leave the church. There are various ways to persuade someone to leave the church—you can think up your own. Just make sure they can’t contact the brothers and sisters anymore. Suppose someone says, “This person is good. They just talk about some domestic trivialities in the church, but they don’t disturb the church’s work or affect our performance of duty, so we should be tolerant! In believing in God, shouldn’t we tolerate and endure all kinds of people? God wants every person to be saved and does not want anyone to suffer perdition!” Then you need to consider whether they are a target for salvation. If they are not, shouldn’t we discern and clear them out? (Yes.) Some people say, “I’m too polite; I’d feel embarrassed to try to persuade them to leave the church.” This problem is easy to solve. If you simply don’t contact them, you won’t be disturbed or constrained by them. Even if you run into them, you don’t need to engage with them. There’s no need to talk about matters of believing in God with them; just treat them as nonbelievers. Some people say, “Can’t we help them with love and fellowship the truth we understand with them?” For such disbelievers, if you truly have love, you can give it a shot. If you can truly change them, then they don’t need to be cleared out or expelled. Some people say, “I won’t waste my effort. Helping them is useless, like giving a pig a bath; no matter how clean you wash it, it will still go and roll around in the mud. That’s exactly the kind of creature it is; it won’t change!” If you can understand this, then you are right. Will you still fellowship the truth with such disbelievers to help them? Will you still do this pointless work? (No.) At this point, you realize you were foolish and did not see through people. Disbelievers cannot change. These people also know that those who believe in God do good deeds and avoid doing bad deeds, that they don’t push others around or swindle them. They have a good impression of those who believe in God, so they disguise themselves under the banner of “believing there is a God” and “believing in God is good” and worm their way into the church, making people think of them as a brother or sister. Some people are indeed taken in by this, truly regarding them as a brother or sister, often visiting and helping them. Only after a long time do they realize: “This person only comes to the church when they face disasters or difficulties, saying useless, nonsensical things. When things are going smoothly and everything is fine for them, when their life is good, they ignore everyone. If we had known earlier that they were such a scoundrel, we wouldn’t have helped them or put in so much effort!” Is it any use feeling regretful now? It’s too late for regret—you’ve already spoken so much in vain! In short, such disbelievers need to be discerned, dealt with, and cleared out of the church as early as possible. Don’t regard them as brothers and sisters; they are not brothers and sisters. Only people who are chosen by God are brothers and sisters; only those who can be saved and who pursue worshiping God are brothers and sisters. Those who hang around in God’s house to avoid disasters and greedily enjoy God’s grace without accepting the truth are disbelievers. They are not brothers and sisters, and they certainly are not God’s chosen people. Do you understand? Such disbelievers must be treated according to principles; they should be disposed of in the way they ought to be. This is the responsibility of leaders and workers, and it is also a principle that every one of God’s chosen people should be clear on.

October 23, 2021