3. The Lord Jesus said: “Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does 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” (Mat 7:21–23). Those who say “Lord, Lord” all believe in and serve the Lord. They have always made sacrifices, expended themselves, and worked hard for the Lord, and they have spread the gospel and built churches. Have they not followed the Lord’s will by doing all this? When the Lord Jesus returns, why will they not be commended by the Lord, and instead be condemned by Him as evildoers?
Relevant Words of God:
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
Serving God is no simple task. Those whose corrupt disposition remains unchanged can never serve God. If your disposition has not been judged and chastised by God’s words, then your disposition still represents Satan, which proves that your service to God is just you offering up your own good intentions, that your service is based on your satanic nature. You serve God with your natural character, and according to your personal preferences. What’s more, you always think that the things you are willing to do are what are delightful to God, and that the things you do not wish to do are what are loathsome to God; you work entirely according to your own preferences. Can this be called serving God? Ultimately, there will not be the slightest change in your life disposition; instead, your service will make it even more stubborn, thus deeply ingraining your corrupt disposition, and as such, there will be formed within you rules about service to God that are primarily based on your own character, and experience derived from your service according to your own disposition. These are the experience and lessons of man. It is man’s philosophy for worldly dealings. People like this are Pharisees and religious officials. If they don’t wake up and repent now, then they will surely turn into the false christs and the antichrists who mislead people in the last days. The false christs and the antichrists that were spoken of will arise from among such people. If those who serve God follow their own character and act according to their own will, they run the risk of being eliminated at any time. Those who rely on their many years of experience to serve God in order to win over the hearts of others, to lecture them and constrain them, and to stand on high—and who never repent, never confess their sins, never relinquish the benefits of status—these people shall fall before God. They are of the same kind as Paul, presuming upon their seniority and lording their credentials over others. God does not perfect people like this. Such service constitutes disrupting the work of God. People always cling to the old. They cling to the notions of the past, to everything from times gone by. This is a great obstacle to their service. If you do not throw them off, these things will ruin your whole life. Even if you break your legs running about, break your back with labor, or are even martyred for the sake of “serving” God, God will not approve of you in the slightest. Quite the contrary: He will say that you are an evildoer.
—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Religious Service Must Be Purged
In his belief in God, Peter sought to satisfy God in everything, and sought to submit to all that came from God. He was able to accept chastisement and judgment, as well as refinement, tribulation, and going without in his life, not uttering a single complaint. None of this could alter his God-loving heart. Was this not the ultimate love for God? Was this not the fulfillment of the duty of a created being? Whether it be in chastisement, judgment, or tribulation, you are capable of achieving submission unto death, and this is what should be achieved by a created being, this is the purity of the love for God. If man can achieve this much, then he is a created being who is up to standard, and there is nothing which better satisfies the intentions of the Creator. 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
Some people will end up saying, “I’ve done so much work for You, and even if I haven’t achieved anything, I have endured hardship. Can’t You just let me into heaven to eat the fruit of life?” 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
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
You might think that, having been a follower for so many years, you have put in hard work no matter what, and that whatever the case you can be a laborer and get a meal ticket in God’s house. I would say that the majority of you think this way, for you have always pursued the principle of taking advantage of things and not being taken advantage of. Thus, I am telling you now in all seriousness: I do not care if you’ve worked very hard and made major contributions, if you have a lot of seniority, if you follow Me closely, if you’re highly renowned, or if your attitude has improved; as long as you have not acted according to My demands, you will never be able to gain My approval. You’d better act as soon as you can to do away with all those ideas and plans of yours, and treat My requirements seriously. Otherwise, I will turn everyone to ash, thus bringing an end to My work; at most, My years of work and suffering will come to nothing—for I cannot bring My enemies and those people who reek of evil and have the same old satanic likeness into My kingdom or take them into the next age.
—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Transgressions Will Lead Man to Hell
