(5) To live off the church

Next we will fellowship on the fifth purpose: believing in God in order to live off the church. You’re all familiar with this topic of living off the church, aren’t you? (Yes.) What are the manifestations of people who live off the church? Through what manifestations can we determine that their purpose for believing in God is impure, that they aren’t sincerely following God, or trying to achieve salvation, and that they have not come to pursue and accept the truth and practice God’s words on the basis of a belief in God’s existence and a willingness to accept God’s salvation so that they may achieve the goal of obtaining salvation, but have instead come to live off the church? What does living off the church mean? The surface-level meaning is very clear. It means to join a denomination through religious belief in order to resolve issues related to one’s daily life and the problem of securing food. This is the most concise and to-the-point definition of living off the church, and it is also the clearest definition. So what manifestations do these people exhibit that confirm they are not true believers but have instead come to live off the church? Some people have proficiency in a certain skill and the ability to work like a normal person, but they see that this society is unfair and that it’s not easy to make a living working in it. Earning money by working to support all the members of one’s family requires getting up early and staying up late, enduring a lot of hardships, and putting up with a lot of grievances—one must be tactful and flexible too, but also sufficiently ruthless and bad, and one must possess stratagems and capabilities—only then can one secure a stable livelihood and establish oneself in society. Looking at those who work, regardless of the industry and regardless of whether they’re in the upper, middle, or lower social classes, making a living is not easy. Those white-collar workers put on a facade of human likeness, with their glamorous appearances, high-ranking titles, high educational qualifications, and great salaries and perks, and everyone envies them, but each hurdle they encounter in the workplace is an ordeal. Working in any field is not easy. Being a farmer and working the land is even more difficult. Farmers toil away so strenuously and yet they only obtain enough food to feed their families, they don’t have money to buy clothes and other necessities, or to repair their houses, and when they want to spend some money, they have to rely on selling vegetables or raising livestock to do so—being a farmer is even more miserable! As the nonbelievers say, “Money is hard to earn—being born is easy, but living is hard”—making a living is very difficult. Some people have no means of earning a living, and they see that nonbelievers are very bad, and think that those with religious faith are guileless, and that making a living in the church might be a bit easier, so they use the opportunity of God’s house preaching the gospel to infiltrate the church. And after hearing that food is provided to those who do duties, they come to do a duty. Some people who want to do a duty think, “I am the breadwinner in my family. As long as there are people to farm the land at home, and my family’s living expenses are provided for, I’ll do my duty.” Their main purpose for believing in God and doing a duty is to obtain enough food and warm clothes to ensure their survival—to have three meals a day to eat, and to no longer need to rely on working and earning money to sustain themselves; everything’s fine for them as long as they have the assistance of the church and the brothers and sisters. To achieve this goal, they do whatever the church arranges for them to do. There are also some people who, after entering the church, start to learn how to be leaders and preach sermons. They read God’s words a lot, copy down and memorize God’s words a lot, and after memorizing them, they learn to preach to others and help people solve problems. They try every possible way to help everyone, and hope that people will extend a helping hand to them after receiving their help, and hope that people will feel grateful to them after listening to their sermons and the words of God that they preach, and thus provide them with charity and assistance. For example, if they have no money to pay the water and electricity bills at home, the brothers and sisters can help them pay, and if they have no money to pay their children’s tuition fees or to cover medical expenses for their sick parents, the church or the brothers and sisters can provide these funds because they are doing a duty. In this way, they feel at ease believing in God and feel that their belief in God is worthwhile, that it hasn’t caused them to suffer any losses, and that they have achieved their goal. They continuously thank God in their hearts, saying, “This is all God’s grace, God’s favor. Thank God!” In order to “repay” God’s love, they “comply” with the arrangements of the church, and as long as they are provided with food and living expenses, they will do any kind of task—their aim is simply to secure a stable livelihood in return. Once the church overlooks their living needs and does not resolve their difficulties in a timely manner, they become unhappy. Their attitude toward the work of the church and the duties assigned to them by God’s house immediately changes. They say, “This won’t work, I have to go out and make money. In the past, I didn’t have the opportunity to earn money because I was doing the work of the church. I even frequently risked being arrested by the great red dragon by appearing in person to do that work, and I’m known to people everywhere. Now it’s not convenient for me to earn money. What should I do?” In this kind of situation, they will actively present their difficulties and demands to the brothers and sisters, even reaching out and making demands of God’s house. Some people do not have money for their living expenses or for their old age, but they do not resolve these problems themselves. Instead, they want to rely on exerting themselves in God’s house to earn money for their living expenses. Some people even escalate this further—they not only ask God’s house to provide for their living expenses and for the cost of raising their children and supporting their parents, they also ask for money for their medical expenses. Some people even ask for money from God’s house to repay their loans—their demands become increasingly excessive, and they really are shameless to ask for such things. After some people come to believe in God and join the church, the money paid by God’s house to cover their expenses, and the additional funds they actively demand, exceed the money they earn from working. On the basis that these conditions are met, they appear outwardly to perform the work assigned to them by God’s house with dedication and a great deal of loyalty. However, once these benefits are reduced or disappear, their attitude changes. Their attitude toward the work assigned by the church varies based on the attitude of the brothers and sisters toward them and based on the amount of financial aid provided to them by God’s house. Once the grace they enjoy is withdrawn or gone, they can no longer be seen doing their duties. From the moment they start believing in God, these people calculate how they can cheat their way into a place in God’s house, and “rightfully” enjoy the charity and help of the brothers and sisters after gaining a foothold here, as well as the help from God’s house and its provisions for their daily life. They are absolutely not sincerely expending themselves for God, they absolutely do not come to expend themselves unconditionally—instead they join the church with just one aim, which is to live off it and secure a living. Once this purpose cannot be achieved as they wish it to be, they quickly turn hostile, and quickly reveal their true face, which is that of a disbeliever. Ever since they start believing in God, they do not come with sincerity; they do not sincerely follow God, or forsake things and expend themselves for God willingly, without asking for rewards, and without demanding anything in return. Instead, they come to believe in God with their own demands, intentions, and purpose—with their purpose of determinedly living off the church and relying on the church and the brothers and sisters to make a living since they believe in God. Once this purpose cannot be achieved or fulfilled as they wish, they find another way forward, either by going to work or doing business. Aren’t there people like this? (Yes.) There are some people of this type in the church. At the beginning, when God’s house or the brothers and sisters give them some things in charity, like clothes, daily necessities, or money, they seem outwardly embarrassed but are actually beaming with joy on the inside. For example, say that they host one or two brothers and sisters or do their duty full-time, and so God’s house or the brothers and sisters give some charity and financial assistance to their families. They feel quite happy and content about this, thinking that believing in God is worthwhile and profitable, and that they haven’t lost out. As time goes on, their hearts become increasingly greedy, their hands stretch out ever further, and they become increasingly shameless—no matter how much is given, they are never content. Initially, they feel embarrassed to accept things, but over time, they feel it’s somewhat justified, and then they start to resent that it’s not enough. Later, they directly demand that God’s house must give a certain amount; otherwise, they won’t be able to survive, and thus cannot do their duties. Isn’t their greed growing greater and greater? (Yes.) Despite enjoying so much grace, they not only do not think about repaying it but also increasingly demand more from God’s house. They believe that it is God’s house that owes them, that it is the brothers and sisters who owe them, and that it is only right for them to be given charity and financial aid. If they are given less or if they receive it later, they are not pleased. They accept however much money and whatever things are given to them, feeling that it is only right. As they continue to do their duty for a longer period of time, they even more so feel entitled and begin to demand that God’s house provide them with high-end mobile phones and computers. They also demand that God’s house install air conditioners in their homes and provide appliances like microwaves and dishwashers. They even demand that God’s house buy them a house and provide a car, and some ask for a maid. Their demands grow greater and their greed increases, and eventually they make ridiculously excessive demands, and dare to ask for anything. They believe, “I have expended myself and exerted myself for God’s house in my belief in God. I am part of God’s house. You people give so many offerings to God—what’s the harm in giving me a share? Moreover, if you give me a share, it won’t be for nothing; I also exert myself in God’s house and take risks, I also endure hardship and pay a price. Isn’t it only right that I get to enjoy these things? Therefore, God’s house must unconditionally meet my demands, it should give me whatever I need, and it shouldn’t be stingy.” Tell Me, aren’t these the manifestations of living off the church? Aren’t such people disbelievers? (Yes.) The accurate definition for these behaviors is living off the church. What does it mean to live off the church? It means extorting money and goods from God’s house under the guise of believing in God, and demanding compensation from God’s house under the guise of exerting oneself for God’s house and doing a duty. This is what it means to live off the church. Can such people pursue the truth? (No.) Why do they forsake things, exert themselves, and bear hardship? Is it to do a duty? Are they practicing the truth? (No.) They exert themselves and bear hardships not for the purpose of doing their duty at all, but entirely to secure a living, and they do not allow anyone to criticize them at all—they just want to live off the church justifiably. These are people who live off the church.

Those who live off the church believe in God for no other reason than to secure a living for themselves, to obtain a livelihood. Are there people around you who live off the church? Talk about their manifestations. (I have encountered someone like this. At first, he seemed a bit intelligent and enthusiastic, so the church arranged for him to preach the gospel. At that time, life was difficult for his family, so the church provided some help to him. However, it was later found that he spent money without principles, spending it on things he shouldn’t and not saving where he could. When the brothers and sisters fellowshipped the truth principles with him, he was unhappy and very resistant inside. Because he misused the money of God’s house, the church made reasonable adjustments according to the arrangements and stipulations of God’s house, reducing the financial aid given to him. Consequently, he lost the previous energy he had for doing his duty, and he became increasingly perfunctory. Later, the church stopped helping him, and his heart was no longer in doing his duty. He spent all his time thinking about how to work and earn money. He even borrowed money from the brothers and sisters, claiming that he needed to buy a car and invest in starting a company, and saying that this would make preaching the gospel more convenient and gain more people. He was obviously deceiving and misleading people with these words; he was using the pretense of preaching the gospel to swindle money from the brothers and sisters.) How was this person handled? (He was directly expelled.) That was the right thing to do. This is living off the church. When people who live off the church first come to believe in God, they seem somewhat enthusiastic and they expend themselves a bit, and at this time their demands are not high—they’re fine with just getting meals. But over time, they are no longer content with what they’re given and they start making higher and higher demands, and if their demands are not met, they start to act in a slippery way and become unwilling to render service. When they do a bit of their duties, they even have to be watched over, otherwise they do it perfunctorily. Eventually, when it is found that the service they render does more harm than good, they are eliminated. Some say, “Why doesn’t God’s house show them love?” There are also principles when it comes to showing love. Those people are disbelievers, they do not read God’s words, or accept the truth, they consistently act in a slippery and perfunctory manner while doing their duties, and they do not listen when the truth is fellowshipped, or accept any kind of pruning, and it can be said that they are incorrigible. Consequently, they can only be handled by clearing out and eliminating them. If leaders and workers discover this kind of person, they should handle them promptly, and if the brothers and sisters discover such a person, they should report it to the leaders and workers promptly. This is the responsibility of every one of God’s chosen people. Once it is confirmed that this person is living off the church, that they are only looking to secure a living, and that they are a disbeliever, and it is confirmed that they refuse to work when they’re not given money, become unwilling and hostile when they feel they aren’t being paid enough, and do a bit of work only when paid sufficiently, no leniency should be shown toward them—they must be cleared out! Speaking precisely, people like this are not even fit to render service in God’s house. If you don’t pay them, they won’t be willing to render service; but as long as you pay them, even though they are aware they are just rendering service, they will still be willing to do it. But what kind of service can these disbelievers render? They can’t even render service well, and their service is not up to standard, so they should be eliminated. Therefore, the first thing to do once it is discerned that they are the kind of people who live off the church is to handle them and expel them from the church as evil people. This is not excessive at all; it fully aligns with the principles of God’s house for clearing out and expelling people. Does this kind of person need to be given a chance to repent? Do they need to be kept for observation? (No.) Are they capable of repenting? (No.) This is precisely their nature; they will never repent. They are Satan’s ilk. Among Satan’s ilk, there is one type of person with the nature of a devilish scoundrel, who wants to freeload off others wherever they are, and does not engage in any proper work wherever they go, and looks only to swindle and cheat people. They see that believers in God have humanity and assume these people are easy marks, so they come to God’s house to live off the church. Little do they know, God’s house has long discerned and guarded against them, and has principles for dealing with people like them. When their attempts to live off the church fail, they fly into an embarrassed rage, exposing their true colors. At that point, you will know why God’s house does not give such people a chance to repent—it is because they have no humanity and are incapable of change. They are the devilish scoundrels that nonbelievers speak of. Therefore, God’s house deals with such people by directly clearing them out or expelling them, and never accepting them back into the church. Is it appropriate to handle them as evil people? (Yes.) This concludes our fellowship on this topic.

(6) To seek refuge

Next, we will fellowship on the sixth purpose, the sixth kind of disbeliever that should be cleared out or expelled from the church: those whose purpose for believing in God is to seek refuge. Some people say, “What are the manifestations of seeking refuge? Are there those who believe in God to seek refuge? Do such people really exist?” Have you ever heard someone say, “The church is a place of refuge; people believe in God so that they may seek refuge”? Many people in religion say this. In terms of the essence of this saying, is there a difference between this saying and the purpose we are going to dissect—“believing in God in order to seek refuge?” (Yes.) What is the difference? What is it that they seek refuge from? (Those who sincerely believe in God also have some impurities while pursuing the truth; they also hope to avoid disasters or difficulties and gain some peace. However, the type of person in the sixth purpose believes in God purely to seek refuge, and there is not the slightest bit of genuine faith in God in them. This is the difference.) The difference here is having impurities in one’s purpose for believing in God versus believing in God for the sole purpose of seeking refuge. Apart from this distinction, there is also a distinction in terms of what they are seeking refuge from. Some people have impurities mixed in with their purpose for believing in God; they believe in God to avoid disasters, escape disasters, or so that God will protect them and watch over them, and they can then objectively avoid some dangers and disasters. It is these disasters they aim to avoid. The type of person in this sixth purpose that we are fellowshipping on—those whose purpose for believing in God is to seek refuge—seek refuge from a wider range of things. For them, what’s most real goes far beyond avoiding those major disasters and calamities that have yet to occur. So what are the most real issues for them? Things like encountering formidable enemies in society, dealing with lawsuits, offending government officials or influential people, breaking the law, war or various disasters occurring in their country, or encountering some people or events that endanger their life or the safety of their family, and so on. After encountering these situations, they find a church they believe is trustworthy and reliable to seek refuge; this is the seeking refuge spoken of in the sixth purpose. That is, when they encounter some difficulties in their day-to-day life that endanger their life, family, work, career, and so on, they come to the church to seek refuge, looking for the help of a force composed of a large number of people. This is believing in God for the purpose of seeking refuge as mentioned in the sixth purpose. Isn’t this different from the impurities of true believers? (Yes.) The purpose of this type of person for believing in God is to seek refuge, to seek help from the church. That is, they hope that the church can extend a helping hand to them, and, aside from financial aid, they also demand that the church provide them with protection, support, and assistance. Some people like this also want to use the church’s influence, status, and reputation in society to contend with the wicked regimes or wicked forces that oppress and harm those who believe in God, so that their lives or livelihoods can be protected. This is their purpose for believing in God. Are there people like this? They believe that the church is a good place of refuge that can be separated from politics and society, and they think that when they need help, the church can sincerely and kindly extend a helping hand to provide them with any financial assistance, to stand up for them, to defend them, to represent them in lawsuits, and to fight for their rights and interests. This is the purpose of these people for believing in God. To this day, are there such people in the church? Have you heard of there being such people? There certainly are people like this in overseas churches. These people believe in God and join the church just for the purpose of seeking refuge. They do not understand what faith is, much less are they interested in the truth. However, when they encounter difficulties and cannot find any help in society, they think of the church, and they believe that the church is a place where they can safely take refuge, the best escape route, and the safest place, so they choose to believe in God and enter the church to achieve their purpose of avoiding disasters.

Disasters are now growing ever greater, and man has no way to live. There are some who choose to believe in God entirely for the sake of avoiding disasters. They believe that God exists, but they have not the least bit of love for the truth. If such people come to believe in God, should the church admit them? Many people do not see this issue clearly, and think that anyone at all who believes that God exists should be admitted by the church. This is a terrible mistake. The church’s decision to admit someone should be based on whether that person can accept the truth and whether they are an object of God’s salvation, not on whether they are willing to believe in God. There are many devils who would like to gain blessings and find a way forward through belief in God—should the church admit such people as well? This is not like preaching the gospel in the Age of Grace, when anyone was admitted, so long as they believed; there are principles and the restrictions of God’s administrative decrees regarding whom is admitted by the church in the Age of Kingdom. Whoever someone is, if they do not love or accept the truth, they cannot be admitted. Why are such people not admitted? Such people cannot be admitted primarily because we cannot clearly see their background or what sort of people they are, really. If the church were to admit a devil, an evil person of heinous wickedness, everyone knows what ill consequences it would have on the church. Moreover, in believing in God, we should understand His intentions, whom He saves and whom He eliminates. Of what people is the church composed? It is composed of those people who accept God’s salvation, of those who love the truth, of those who are accepted by God. God does not save those who do not genuinely believe in Him and do not accept the truth, for not accepting the truth is a problem with one’s nature, and this sort of person is of Satan and will never change. So, such people must never be admitted entry to the church. If someone admits an evil person, a devil, entry to the church, then that person is counted as a lackey of Satan. They have come deliberately to tear down and destroy the work of the church, and they are an enemy of God. To admit such a devil, an enemy of God, entry to the church is to offend God’s disposition and violate His administrative decrees, and God’s house will absolutely not tolerate this. Evil people, devils, are not to be admitted entry to the church—this is one of the church’s clear stances and requirements on the work of preaching the gospel. The church has no responsibility at all to admit those who choose to believe in God in order to escape disaster, nor must it ever admit entry to those who do not accept the truth in the least, for God does not save such people. Whoever does not acknowledge the words of Almighty God as the truth, whoever resists the truth and is averse to it, they are counted among the evil ones, and God does not save them. As for those who acknowledge God in their hearts, yet do not love the truth, and are classed as disbelievers who eat their fill of loaves, the church is never to admit any of them. This is to say nothing of those unscrupulous people of society who would like to come seek refuge in the church—they should be admitted even less. This is because the church is not a charitable organization, rather it is where God performs the work of saving man. The work of the church has nothing to do with the government of the nation. Social organizations persuade people to do good deeds, and to put down their weapons—this is for the sake of the nation, and it has nothing at all to do with the church. If anyone dares to draw into the church a nonbelieving evil person, a devil, or a disbeliever, that person will have offended God’s disposition and violated His administrative decrees. Whoever draws an evil person, a devil, into the church must be cleared out or expelled by God’s house. This is a clear stance of the church toward the work of preaching the gospel. When these evil people, devils, would like to come seek refuge in God’s house, they should be told that they have come to the wrong door, that they have picked the wrong place. The church will certainly not admit them. This is the clear stance of the church toward nonbelievers who would like to seek refuge. Has this been made clear? (Yes.) Then how should we handle such people? What is the appropriate way to tell them? You say: “No matter which country, there are Red Cross societies, welfare institutions, shelters, and Buddhist temples, as well as some volunteer groups in society. If you encounter troubles and feel that you have grievances that must be addressed, you can seek help from these organizations. Additionally, you can seek political asylum or refugee asylum from the government, and if your financial conditions allow, you can hire a lawyer to help you with your case. But this is the church; it is a place where God works, a place where God saves people, not a place for you to seek refuge. Thus, your entering the church is inappropriate, and your staying here is useless. God does not accept such people, and the church does not receive them either. No matter what difficulties nonbelievers have, they should seek help from charitable organizations, relief organizations, or Civil Affairs bureaus in society—these organizations are concerned with serving the people, giving charity and helping others. Whatever complaints or demands you have, you can tell them or petition the government. Those are the most appropriate places for you.” The church does not admit any of disbelievers and nonbelievers. If someone is particularly “loving,” let them admit such people personally and be done with it; they can shepherd such people on their own, and God’s house will not interfere with this. Some people might ask, “Why does the church preach the gospel then? What is the purpose of preaching the gospel?” Preaching the gospel is God’s commission. The potential gospel recipients are those who seek God and seek the true way, who yearn for God’s appearance, who love the truth and can accept the truth, and who truly believe in God—it is only these people to whom the gospel can be preached. As for those who are not seeking God, who do not come to accept the truth but to seek refuge, the gospel is not preached to them. Some muddled people cannot see through this matter and become confused when things happen to them—these are the muddleheaded ones who will never understand God’s intentions.