There are some people who are extremely fainthearted, and whenever they hear that a brother or sister has been arrested, they are extremely afraid of being arrested themselves. It is clear that if they do get arrested, there is a danger of them selling out the church. How should such people be handled? Are these people fit to do some important duties? (No, they aren’t.) Some people may say, “Who can guarantee that they themselves won’t become a Judas?” No one can guarantee that they themselves would never become a Judas if they were to be tortured. So, why doesn’t God’s house use cowardly people who could become Judases? Because people who are obviously cowardly could get arrested and sell out the church at any time; if such people are used to do an important duty, it is extremely likely that things will go wrong. This is a principle that must be understood when selecting and using people in the perilous environment of mainland China. There is a special circumstance here, which is that some people have been subjected to severe, prolonged torture that put their lives in danger, and ultimately, they really couldn’t bear it anymore, so they became Judases out of weakness and sold out the church by exposing some insignificant things. No one can see through to such people, and these people can still be used. But then there are people who have already prepared a way out for themselves before getting arrested. They have thought long and hard about how to secure their immediate release after being arrested without having to undergo any torture—firstly, avoiding torture, secondly, avoiding being sentenced, and thirdly, avoiding going to prison. This is how they think. They don’t have the resolve that they would rather suffer or be imprisoned than become a Judas. They might sell out the church without even being tortured, so could it be said that they are already Judases before they get arrested and imprisoned? (Yes.) These are the real Judases. Does the church dare to make use of this kind of people? (No, it doesn’t.) If they can be spotted, they absolutely must not be cultivated and used. How do these people usually manifest themselves? They are extremely fainthearted. As soon as something goes wrong, they shirk their responsibilities at the earliest opportunity, and whenever they encounter the slightest bit of risk, they abandon their duty and take off. Every time they hear that the environment has become dangerous, they find a safe place to hide; no one can find them, and they don’t keep in contact with anyone. Laying low is a job they do exceptionally well. They don’t care about whatever difficulties the church’s work is experiencing, and they are capable of putting aside any manner of critical work; they regard their own safety as more important than anything else. Moreover, in the face of danger, they will get others to stick their necks out and take risks whenever something comes up, while they protect themselves. No matter how much danger they expose others to, they feel that it is worthwhile and proper to do this for the sake of their own safety. Also, when faced with danger, they don’t hurriedly come before God to pray, nor do they hurriedly arrange for the transfer of brothers and sisters or church property that may be in danger. Instead, they first think hard about how to escape, how to hide, and how to extricate themselves from the danger. They even have their exit plan worked out—who to sell out first if they do get arrested, how to avoid being tortured, how to avoid being sentenced to prison, and how to avoid adversity. Whenever they encounter some kind of adversity, they are scared to death and don’t possess a single ounce of faith. Aren’t people of this kind dangerous? If they are asked to undertake perilous work, they grumble about it endlessly, they become frightened and constantly think about running away, and are unwilling to undertake it. People of this sort already show signs of being Judases even before they are arrested. Once they do get arrested, it’s one hundred percent certain that they will sell out the church. In doing their duty in God’s house, they are really proactive in everything that puts them in the limelight without exposing them to risk; but when it comes to taking risks, they back off, and if you ask them to do something risky, they won’t do it, they just won’t take responsibility. Once they hear of danger somewhere, for instance, that the great red dragon is conducting arrests, or that some believers have been caught, they stop attending gatherings, they cease contact with the brothers and sisters, and no one can find them. They re-emerge once the rumors have subsided and everything’s fine. Are people of this kind reliable? Can they do a duty in God’s house? (No.) Why can’t they? They don’t even have the resolve or aspiration to not become Judases; they are just cowards, wimps, and good-for-nothings. People of this sort have one obvious characteristic, which is that no matter what strengths and abilities they possess, if God’s house makes use of them, they will never devote themselves wholeheartedly to defending the interests of God’s house. Is it that they don’t defend the interests of God’s house because they are incapable of doing so? No, that’s not the case; even if they have this ability, they won’t defend the interests of God’s house. They are typical Judases. Whenever they need to have dealings with nonbelievers in the course of doing their duty, they maintain harmonious relations with them and see to it that the nonbelievers maintain a high regard, respect and appreciation for them. What, then, is the price by which they obtain all this? It is that of selling out the interests of God’s house in exchange for their personal glory and interests. This kind of person is especially cowardly even before getting arrested, and after being arrested they are one hundred percent certain to become a traitor. God’s house absolutely cannot use people like this—these Judases—and it must eliminate them as soon as possible.

As for the sort of people who are Judases, although outwardly they don’t appear to be evil ones, they are actually people of extremely lowly integrity and diabolical character. No matter how much they listen to sermons or read God’s words, they just cannot understand the truth, and neither do they feel that harming the interests of God’s house is the most shameful, wicked, and vicious thing. They are willing to step up when it comes to things that get them noticed, but when it comes to things that are risky, or tricky to deal with, they let others take on them and tackle them. What manner of people are they? Are they not people of extremely lowly integrity? Some people purchase things for God’s house, and in doing so, they ought to take into account the interests of God’s house, and be fair and reasonable. However, the kind of people who are Judases not only fail to defend the interests of God’s house, but on the contrary, they help nonbelievers at the expense of God’s house, and satisfy the demands of nonbelievers at every opportunity, and would rather the interests of God’s house be harmed if it helps them to curry favor with nonbelievers. This is called biting the hand that feeds you, and it is lacking in virtue! Is this not having despicable humanity? This is not much better than Judas selling out the Lord and his friends. Whatever God’s house entrusts them to do, they don’t consider the interests of God’s house. When asked to purchase something, they never shop around and compare the prices, quality and after-sales service of multiple suppliers, and then carefully weigh up the options and carry out the proper checks, so that they avoid getting cheated, save God’s house a bit of money, and protect the interests of God’s house from being harmed—they never do that. If a brother or sister suggests that it would be best to shop around, they say, “There’s no need to shop around; the supplier says that their stuff is the best.” When the brother or sister asks them, “So can you negotiate a price with them?” they reply, “Why negotiate a price? They’ve already told me what the price is, and if I start haggling with them, that would surely be embarrassing, and it would seem like we had no money. God’s house is wealthy, isn’t it?” No matter how much something costs or what the quality is like, as long as they deem it suitable, they will get someone to purchase it straight away, and will criticize, reprimand and even condemn anyone who delays in making the purchase. No one dares to say “no” to their faces, and no one dares to put forward any opinions. Whether they are doing a major deal or running a small errand for God’s house, what are their principles? “God’s house just needs to pay the money, and whether or not the interests of God’s house are harmed has nothing to do with me. This is just how I get things done; I have to establish good relations with nonbelievers. Whatever the nonbelievers say is right, and I will go along with it. I won’t handle matters according to the requirements of God’s house. If you want to use me, then do so; if you don’t want to use me, then don’t—it’s up to you. This is just how I am!” Is this not a devilish nature? Such people are nonbelievers and disbelievers. Can they be used to handle affairs for God’s house? This kind of person has some education, strengths, and some outward abilities, and is good at talking, and can handle some business. But no matter what affairs they handle for God’s house, they inevitably do it recklessly and willfully, causing harm to the interests of God’s house. They also persistently deceive God’s house and conceal the true state of affairs, and once they have messed things up, God’s house has to arrange for someone to clean up their mess. This is a typical example of colluding with outsiders to sell out the interests of God’s house. How is this different from Judas selling out the Lord and his friends? When people of this kind are used to do a duty, not only do they fail to render service to God’s house, but they turn out to be wastrels and bringers of bad luck. They aren’t even qualified to be service-doers; they are degenerates, pure and simple! Such people are exactly lackeys of Satan and offspring of the great red dragon, and once they are revealed, they should be cleared out and eliminated right away. As a believer in God and a member of God’s house, they can’t even fulfill their responsibility to defend the interests of God’s house, do they still have conscience and reason? They are even worse than a guard dog!

The sort of people who are Judases don’t have the word “Judas” plastered across their foreheads, but their conduct and actions are of exactly the same nature as those of Judas, and you should never make use of this kind of people. What do I mean by “never make use of”? It means that they must never, ever be trusted with important matters. If it’s a trivial matter that doesn’t have implications for the interests of God’s house, it’s okay to make use of them temporarily, but this type of person definitely doesn’t conform to the principles of God’s house for using people, because they are born Judases, and they are innately bad. In short, these people are dangerous characters and absolutely must not be used. The longer you use this kind of people, the more uneasy you will feel, and the more repercussions it will have in the future. Therefore, if you already see clearly that they are the kind of people who are Judases, then you absolutely shouldn’t make use of them—all of this is true. Is it proper to act this way toward them? Some people may say: “It’s unloving to act this way toward them. They haven’t sold anyone out; how can they be Judases?” Do you need to wait for them to sell someone out? How did Judas manifest himself? Were there any signs that he was about to sell out the Lord? (Yes, he stole money from the Lord Jesus’ money bag.) People who constantly sell out the interests of God’s house have the same nature as Judas, who stole money from the money bag. Once people like this are arrested, they will sell out, and give up everything they know to Satan, without holding anything back. This kind of person has the essence of Judas. Their essence has already been clearly revealed and exposed; if you use them nevertheless, are you not asking for trouble? Is this not intentionally harming God’s house? Some people openly say, “If anyone prunes me, or if anyone does anything that harms my interests or ruins the good thing I’ve got going here, they’ll get what’s coming to them!” It is especially the case that this kind of person has the essence of Judas; it is all too obvious. They themselves tell others that they are Judas, so this kind of person definitely cannot be made use of.

There is another kind of people who cannot be considered as either good or bad, and who are believers in name only. If you ask them to do something occasionally, they can do it, but they won’t proactively do their duty if you don’t arrange it for them. Whenever they are free they attend gatherings, but in their own private time, it’s not known whether they eat and drink God’s words, learn hymns, or pray. However, they are relatively friendly toward God’s house and the church. What does relatively friendly mean? It means that if the brothers and sisters ask them to do something, they will agree to it; for the sake of being fellow believers, they can help get a few things done, within the extent of their abilities. However, if they are asked to expend great effort or to pay some sort of price, they absolutely will not do it. If a brother or sister is in some difficulty and needs them to lend a hand, such as by occasionally helping to look after the house, cook a meal, or occasionally helping out with a few minor chores—or the person knows a foreign language and can help the brothers and sisters to read letters—they are able to lend a hand with this sort of thing and are relatively friendly. They usually get along pretty well with others and don’t keep scores with people, but they don’t attend gatherings regularly and don’t ask to do a duty, let alone undertake any important or even dangerous work. If you ask them to do a dangerous task, they will definitely turn you down, saying, “I believe in god for the sake of seeking peace, so how could I do dangerous tasks? Wouldn’t that be seeking trouble for myself? I absolutely cannot do it!” But if the brothers and sisters or the church ask them to do something minor, they can help and make a token effort, just like a friend. This form of exerting oneself and helping cannot be called doing a duty, nor can it be called acting in accordance with the truth principles, and much less can it be called practicing the truth; it is just a case of them having a favorable impression of believers in God and being fairly friendly toward them, and being able to lend a helping hand if someone needs assistance. What is the name for this kind of people? God’s house calls them friends of the church. How should the kind of people who are friends of the church be treated? If they possess caliber and some strengths and can help the church to handle some external matters, then they also count as service-doers and are friends of the church. It is because people of this kind don’t count as believers in God, and God’s house does not recognize them. And if they are not recognized by God’s house, can God recognize them as believers? (No.) Therefore, never, ever ask this kind of people to join the ranks of those who perform a duty full-time. There are those who say: “Some people, when they first start believing, have little faith and just want to be friends of the church. They don’t understand many things about believing in God, so how can they be willing to do a duty? How can they be willing to wholeheartedly expend themselves?” We are not talking about people who have believed in God for three to five months or up to a year, but people who have nominally believed in God for over three years, or even for five or ten years. No matter how much people like this acknowledge with their mouths that God is the only true God and that the Church of Almighty God is the true church, it does not prove that they are true believers. Based on the various manifestations of this kind of people and their mode of faith, we call them friends of the church. Don’t treat them as brothers or sisters—they are not brothers or sisters. Don’t let such people join the full-time duty church, and don’t let them join the ranks of those who perform a duty full-time; God’s house does not make use of such people. Some may say: “Are you prejudiced against this kind of people? Although they may appear lukewarm on the outside, they are actually very fervent on the inside.” It would be impossible for sincere believers to have believed in God for five or ten years and still be lukewarm; the behavior of this kind of people already fully reveals that they are disbelievers, people on the outside of God’s words, and nonbelievers. If you still call them brothers and sisters, and still say they are being treated unfairly, then that is your notion and your feelings talking.

How should we treat the kind of people who are friends of the church? They are warm-hearted and willing to help with handling a small number of matters. If there is a need for them, you can give them an opportunity to handle a small number of matters. If they can do something, let them do it. As for things that they can’t do well, and might even mess up, definitely don’t leave such tasks to them, so as to avoid creating trouble—you cannot let yourself feel compelled by their good intentions. They don’t understand the truth, and neither do they understand the principles. If there are external matters that they can handle, let them go ahead. But never let them handle major matters that have a bearing on the church’s work—in such a case, their good intentions and enthusiastic help should be rejected. When you encounter this kind of person, just superficially have dealings with them, but leave it at that; don’t get serious with them. Why shouldn’t you get serious with them? Because they are just friends of the church, and they are not the brothers or sisters at all. Do such people conform to the principles of God’s house for using people? (No, they don’t.) Therefore, if this kind of person doesn’t attend gatherings, listen to sermons, or do a duty, there is no need to invite them. If they don’t eat and drink God’s words or pray, if they don’t seek the truth principles whenever things befall them, and if they are unwilling to engage with the brothers and sisters, there is no need to support or help them. Five words—don’t pay attention to them. Don’t get serious with the kinds of people who are friends of the church and disbelievers, and don’t pay attention to them. There’s no need to be concerned for them, and no need to ask after them. Why not ask after them? What’s the point of asking after people who have nothing to do with us? It’s superfluous, is it not? Do you want to pay attention to these kinds of people? Maybe you like being a busybody and want to be concerned, and wonder, “How are they getting on right now? Are they married or not? Are they doing okay? What work are they doing now?” No matter how they are, it has nothing to do with you. What’s the point of concerning yourself with that? Don’t pay them any attention, and don’t pass comments on them either. Some people like to pass comments, such as: “You see? They don’t believe in God properly, they live a dispiriting and draining existence every day, and they look so tired and exhausted all the time,” or “You see? They don’t believe in God properly, so they don’t have peace, and something bad happened in their family again.” All this is nonsense, and it’s unnecessary. How they live their life and how they walk their path are none of your business. Don’t even mention them; you are not on the same path as them. You sincerely expend yourself for God and do your duty full-time, you just want to pursue to gain the truth and achieve salvation, and no matter what God says, you want to do your best to satisfy Him; those people don’t have these things in their hearts. When you see evil trends, you feel revolted and disgusted by them, and you feel that there is no happiness living in this world, and you can only find happiness by believing in God; whereas they are the exact opposite to you: This proves that they are not on the same path as you. The principle of God’s house for handling this kind of person is that if they are willing to help, God’s house can give them an opportunity as long as there are no potential repercussions. If God’s house has no use for them at all and they are still willing to help, then it’s best to decline politely—don’t create trouble for yourself. Believers fellowship on the truth every day and accept being pruned, but can still do things in a perfunctory way, so can friends of the church handle matters properly without any compensation in return? (No, they can’t.) Tell Me, is this thinking worse of people? Is this viewing people in an overly negative light? (No, it isn’t.) This is speaking based on fact, speaking based on people’s essence. Don’t be ignorant, don’t be stupid, and don’t do anything foolish. Believers still have to go through prunings, judgments and chastisements, severe disciplining, chastening, and exposure before the performance of their duty can conform little by little to God’s intention. A friend of the church or a nonbeliever doesn’t accept any truth at all, and all they think about is their own interests, so what good can come from them handling affairs for God’s house or for the brothers and sisters? It’s totally out of the question. It’s just appropriate to pay no attention to this kind of people, isn’t it? (Yes.) What does that mean, “pay no attention to them”? It means that God’s house doesn’t regard them as believers. They can believe in God however they like, but the work and affairs of God’s house have nothing whatsoever to do with them. They are willing to help, but we must weigh things up and gauge whether they are suited to doing it, and if they aren’t suited to it, we cannot give them this opportunity. Tell Me, is acting this way in line with the principles? Do we have the right to treat such people like this? Very much so!