Bible Verses for Reference:

“Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that follows the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and in Your name have cast out devils, and in Your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21–23).

Relevant Words of God:

Though a person may have engaged in a great number of good behaviors since they began believing in God, they still cannot see many things clearly, let alone achieve understanding of the truth. Yet, because of their many good behaviors, they feel that they’re already practicing the truth, have already submitted to God, and have already satisfied His intentions. When nothing happens to you, you are able to do whatever you are told, and you unhesitatingly do your duty without any defiance. When you are told to preach the gospel, you don’t complain and can endure this hardship, and when you are told to run about and work, or to do a certain task, you do so. Because of this, you feel you are one who submits to God and truly pursues the truth. Yet if you are subjected to serious examination, and asked, “Are you an honest person? Are you a person who truly submits to God? A person whose disposition has changed?”—if every person is held up for comparison against the truth of God’s words—it may be said that none is up to standard, and that none would be capable of acting according to the truth principles. So, all of corrupt mankind should reflect on themselves. They must reflect on the dispositions that they live by, and on the philosophies, logic, heresies and fallacies of Satan that form the basis for all of their acts and deeds. They must reflect on the root cause of why they reveal their corrupt dispositions, what the essence of their acting willfully is, on what and for whom they live. If this is held up to the truth for comparison, then all people will be condemned. What is the reason for this? The reason is that mankind is so deeply corrupted. People do not understand the truth, and all of them live by their corrupt dispositions. They do not have the least bit of self-knowledge, they always believe in God according to their own notions and imaginings, do their duties based on their own preferences and methods, and follow religious theories in how they serve God. What is more, they still think that they are full of confidence, that their actions are very reasonable, and in the end they feel that they have gained a lot. Without realizing it, they come to think that they are already acting in accordance with God’s intentions and have satisfied them completely, and that they have already met God’s requirements and are following His will. If this is how you feel, or if you think that you have reaped some gains in your several years of belief in God, then all the more must you come back before God to examine yourself carefully. You should look at your journey over these years of belief in God, and see whether your acts and deeds accord with the truth principles, as well as which of your manifestations are in opposition to God, which are in submission to God, which meet God’s requirements, which are those of bearing witness to God, and in what areas you are indebted to God. You should be clear on all these things—only then can you be considered to have self-awareness.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Knowing One’s Own Wrong Views Can One Truly Transform

Many who follow God are only concerned with how to gain blessings or stave off disaster. As soon as God’s work and management are mentioned, they fall silent and lose all interest. They think that understanding such tedious issues will not help their life to grow or provide any benefit. Consequently, although they have heard information about God’s management, they approach it in an unserious manner. They do not see it as something precious to be accepted, much less do they comprehend it by taking it as a part of their life. The purpose of these people in following God is very simple, and it is for a single goal: to be blessed. These people cannot be bothered to pay heed to anything else that has nothing to do with this goal. To them, gaining blessings is the most legitimate purpose in believing in God—it is the very value of their faith. If something does not serve this purpose, whatever it is, they remain unmoved by it. This is the case with most people who believe in God today. Their purpose and intention seem legitimate, because as they believe in God, they also expend themselves for God, dedicate themselves to God, and do their duty. They give up their youth, forsake family and career, and even spend years away from home rushing about. For the sake of their ultimate purpose, they change their own interests, their outlook on life, and even the direction they pursue; yet they cannot change their purpose in believing in God. They run about for the management of their own aspirations; no matter how far the road is, and no matter how many hardships, dangers, and obstacles there are along the way, they remain persistent and unafraid of death. What power compels them to continue dedicating themselves in this way? Is it their conscience? Is it their great and noble character? Is it their determination to battle the forces of evil to the very end? Is it the faith they possess to bear witness for God without seeking a reward? Is it their devotion of being willing to give up everything to fulfill God’s will? Or is it their dedicated spirit of always forgoing extravagant personal demands? For someone who has never understood the work of God’s management to be able to expend so much heart’s blood is, quite simply, a tremendous miracle! For the moment, let us not discuss how much these people have given. Their behavior, however, is highly worthy of our dissection. Apart from the benefits that are so closely associated with them, could there be any other reasons why people who never understand God would pay such a great price for Him? Here, we discover a problem previously unidentified by man: Man’s relationship with God is merely one of naked self-interest. It is a relationship between a receiver and a giver of blessings. To put it plainly, it is the relationship between an employee and an employer. The employee works hard only to receive the rewards bestowed by the employer. There is no kindred affection in this kind of relationship based on self-interest, only transaction. There is no loving or being loved, only charity and mercy. There is no understanding, only helpless suppressed indignation and deception. There is no intimacy, only an uncrossable chasm.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 3: Man Can Only Be Saved Amid God’s Management

The standard by which humans judge other humans is based on their behavior; those whose behavior is good are righteous, while those whose behavior is abominable are evil. The standard by which God judges humans is based on whether their essence submits to Him or not; one who submits to God is a righteous person, while one who does not is an enemy and an evil person, regardless of whether this person’s behavior is good or bad and regardless of whether their speech is correct or incorrect. Some people wish to use good deeds to obtain a good destination in the future, and some people wish to use fine words to procure a good destination. Everyone mistakenly believes that God determines people’s outcomes based on their behavior or their speech; many people therefore wish to take advantage of this to finagle momentary grace for themselves. The people who will survive in the time of rest to come will all have endured the day of suffering and borne witness for God; they will all be people who have fulfilled their duties and who have deliberately submitted to God. Those who merely wish to use the opportunity of rendering service to avoid practicing the truth will not remain. God has appropriate standards for the arrangement of the outcome of every individual; He does not simply make these decisions according to one’s words and conduct, nor does He make them based on how one acts during a single period of time. He will absolutely not be lenient with regard to all of one’s evil deeds due to their past service for Him, nor will He spare one from death because they expended themselves for Him for a while. No one can evade retribution for their evil, and no one can cover up their evil deeds and thereby evade the suffering of perishing. If people can truly fulfill their own duties, it means that they are eternally loyal to God and not seeking rewards, regardless of whether they receive blessings or suffer woe. If people are loyal to God when they see blessings, but lose their loyalty when they cannot see any blessings, and if these people—who once labored for God loyally—are ultimately still unable to bear witness for God or fulfill the duties incumbent upon them, then such people will still be those that perish. In short, evil people cannot survive forever, nor can they enter into rest; only the righteous will be the masters in rest.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together

Imagine that you are able to work for God, yet you do not submit to God, and are incapable of truly loving God. In this way, not only will you not have fulfilled the duty of a created being, but you will also be condemned by God, for you are someone who does not possess the truth, who is incapable of submitting to God, and who rebels against God. You care only about working for God, and not about putting the truth into practice or knowing yourself; you do not understand or know the Creator, you do not submit to or love the Creator, and you are someone who is innately rebellious against God. It is for these reasons that such people are not liked by the Creator.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks

People say, “God is a righteous God. As long as man follows Him to the very end, He will surely be impartial toward man, for He is most righteous. If man follows Him to the very end, could He cast man aside?” I am impartial toward all people, and judge all people with My righteous disposition, yet the requirements I make of people all include appropriate conditions, and that which I require must be accomplished by all people, regardless of who they are. I care not how senior or how experienced you are; I care only whether you follow My way, and whether or not you love and thirst for the truth. If you lack the truth, and instead bring shame upon My name, and do not act according to My way, merely following without care or concern, then at that time I will strike you down and punish you for your evil, and what will you have to say then? Could you say that God is not righteous? If you have abided by all the words I have spoken today, then you are the kind of person whom I approve of. You say you have always suffered while following God, that you have followed Him through storms, and have shared with Him the good times and the bad, but you have not lived out the words spoken by God; you wish only to run about for God and expend yourself for God each day, and have never thought about living out a life of meaning. You also say, “In any case, I believe God is righteous. I suffer for Him, run about for Him, and devote myself to Him, and even if I haven’t had any achievements, I have endured hardship; He is sure to remember me.” It is true that God is righteous, yet this righteousness is untainted by any impurities: It contains no human will, and it is not tainted by the flesh, or by human transactions. All who are rebellious and in opposition, all who do not abide by His way, will be punished; none is forgiven, and none is spared! Some people say, “Today I run around for You; in the end, can You give me a little blessing?” So I ask you, “Have you abided by My words?” The righteousness that you speak of is based on a transaction. You think only that I am righteous, that I am impartial toward all people, and that all those who follow Me to the very end are sure to be saved and gain My blessings. There is inner meaning to My words that “all those who follow Me to the very end are sure to be saved”: Those who follow Me to the very end are the ones who will be fully gained by Me; they are those who, after being conquered by Me, seek the truth and are made perfect. How many requirements have you satisfied? You have only satisfied the requirement of following Me to the very end, but what else? Have you abided by My words? You have satisfied one of My five requirements, yet you have no intention of satisfying the remaining four. You have simply found the simplest, easiest path, and pursued with an attitude of just hoping to get lucky. Toward such a person as you, My righteous disposition means only chastisement and judgment, and righteous retribution; it means the righteous punishment of all evildoers. All those who do not follow My way will surely be punished, even if they follow to the very end. This is the righteousness of God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment

I determine the destination of each person not on the basis of age, seniority, or amount of suffering, much less on how pitiable they are, but according to whether they possess the truth. There is no other choice but this. You must understand that all those who do not follow the will of God shall be punished without exception. This is something that no person can change. Therefore, all those who are punished are so punished for the righteousness of God and as retribution for their numerous evil acts.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Prepare Sufficient Good Deeds for Your Destination

You must know what kind of people I desire; those who are filthy are not permitted to enter into the kingdom, those who are filthy are not permitted to defile the holy ground. Though you may have done much work, and worked for many years, in the end you are still deplorably filthy, and it is intolerable to the law of Heaven that you wish to enter My kingdom! From the creation of the world until today, never have I offered such easy access to My kingdom to those who curry favor with Me. This is a heavenly rule, and no one can break it! You must pursue life. Today, those who will be made perfect are the same kind as Peter: They are those who pursue changes in their own disposition, and who are willing to bear witness to God and fulfill their duty as a created being. Only people such as this will be made perfect. If you only look to rewards, and do not pursue changing your own life disposition, then all your efforts will be in vain—this is an unalterable truth!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks