3. Salvation Can Only Come Through Belief in Almighty God

Relevant Words of God:

When Jesus came into the world of man, He ushered in the Age of Grace and ended the Age of Law. During the last days, God once more became flesh, and with this incarnation He ended the Age of Grace and ushered in the Age of Kingdom. All those who are able to accept the second incarnation of God will be led into the Age of Kingdom, and will moreover be able to personally accept the guidance of God. Though Jesus came among man and did much work, He only completed the work of redeeming all mankind and served as man’s sin offering; He did not rid man of all his corrupt dispositions. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to become the sin offering and bear the sins of man, but it also required God to do even greater work to rid man completely of his Satan-corrupted dispositions. And so, after man was forgiven of his sins, God returned to the flesh to lead man into the new age, and began the work of chastisement and judgment. This work has brought mankind into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and they shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface

The first incarnation was to redeem man from sin, to redeem him by means of the fleshly body of Jesus, that is, He saved man from the cross, but the satanic corrupt dispositions still remained within man. The second incarnation is no longer to serve as a sin offering but rather to save fully those who were redeemed from sin. This is done so that those whose sins have been forgiven may be free from sin and fully purified, and attain dispositional change, and thus break free of Satan’s influence of darkness and return before the throne of God. Only in this way can man be fully sanctified. After the Age of Law had come to an end, and beginning with the Age of Grace, God commenced the work of salvation, which continues into the last days, when God performs the work of judging and chastising the human race for their rebelliousness, thereby completely purifying mankind. Only after this will God conclude His work of salvation and enter into rest.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)

The work of the last days is to speak words. Great changes can be effected in man by means of words. The changes now effected in these people from their acceptance of these words are much greater than those effected in people from their acceptance of the signs and wonders in the Age of Grace. For, in the Age of Grace, the demons were cast out from man with the laying on of hands and prayer, but the corrupt dispositions within man still remained. Man was healed of his sickness and forgiven his sins, but as for just how man could cast off the satanic corrupt dispositions within him, this work had yet to be done on him. Man was only redeemed and forgiven his sins for his faith, but the sinful nature of man was not removed and still remained within him. The sins of man were forgiven through the incarnation of God, but this did not mean that man no longer had sin within him. The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but as for just how man can be made to sin no more, how his corrupt dispositions and sinful nature may be cast off completely, and how his life disposition may be changed to some extent, he has no way of solving this problem. The sins of man have been forgiven, and this is because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continues to live within his old satanic corrupt dispositions. This being so, man must be completely saved from his satanic corrupt dispositions, his sinful nature must be completely cast off, never to develop again, and his disposition must undergo transformation. This requires man to understand the path of growth in life, to understand the way of life, and to understand the way to change his disposition. Furthermore, it requires man to practice in accordance with this path, so that his disposition may gradually be changed and he may live under the shining of the light, so that all that he does may be in accordance with the intentions of God, so that he may cast off his satanic corrupt dispositions, and so that he may break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man have received the complete saving grace.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)

At the time that Jesus was doing His work, man’s knowledge of Him was still nebulous and unclear. Man always believed Him to be the son of David, and said He was a great prophet, the benevolent Lord who redeemed man’s sins. Some, on the strength of their faith, were healed just from touching the edge of His garment; the blind could see and even the dead could be restored to life. However, man was unable to discover the satanic corrupt dispositions deeply rooted within himself, neither did he know how to cast them off. Man received much grace, such as the peace and happiness of the flesh, the faith of one member bringing blessing on an entire family, the healing of sickness, and so on. The rest were the good deeds of man and his godly appearance; if someone could live on the basis of these, they were considered an up-to-standard believer. Only believers of this kind could enter heaven after death, which meant that they were redeemed. But, in their lifetime, these people did not understand at all the way of life. All they did was to commit sins and then confess their sins in a constant cycle without any path to change their disposition: Such was the condition of man in the Age of Grace. Has man received complete salvation? No! Therefore, after that stage of work was finished, there still remained the work of judgment and chastisement. This stage is to purify man by means of the word, and thereby give him a path to follow. This stage would not be fruitful or meaningful if it continued with the casting out of demons, for it would fail to cast off man’s sinful nature, and man would come to a standstill at the forgiveness of his sins. Through the sin offering, man has been forgiven his sins, for the work of the crucifixion has already come to an end and God has prevailed over Satan. But the corrupt dispositions of man still remain within him, man can still sin and resist God, and God has not gained mankind. That is why in this stage of work God uses the word to expose the corrupt dispositions of man, and to make him practice in accordance with the proper path. The work of this stage is more meaningful than the previous one, as well as more fruitful, for now it is the word that directly provides for man’s life and enables the disposition of man to be completely renewed; it is a much more thorough stage of work. Therefore, the incarnation in the last days has completed the significance of God’s incarnation and completely finished God’s management plan for man’s salvation.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)

You only know that Jesus shall descend in the last days, but how exactly will He descend? A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and hasn’t undergone change or God’s perfection—can you be in accordance with God’s intentions? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and you are not of sin because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are without sin or filth. How can you be sanctified if you have not undergone change? Within, you are full of filth, and you are selfish and base, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God; you have merely been redeemed, but you have not undergone change. For you to be in accordance with God’s intentions, God must personally do the work to change and cleanse you; otherwise you’ve only been redeemed and could not possibly become sanctified. In that case, you are unqualified to enjoy wonderful blessings together with God, for you have fallen a step behind in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting man. You, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are therefore incapable of directly receiving God’s inheritance.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Concerning Appellations and Identity

In the work of the last days, the might of the word is greater than that of the manifestation of signs and wonders, and the authority of the word surpasses that of signs and wonders. The word exposes all the corrupt dispositions buried deep in the heart of man. You have no way of discovering them on your own. When they are exposed by the word, you will naturally come to discover them; you will have to give your acknowledgment, and you will be utterly convinced. Is this not the authority of the word? This is the result achieved by the work of the word today. Therefore, it is not through the healing of sickness and casting out of demons that man can be fully saved from his sins, nor can he be made fully complete by the manifestation of signs and wonders. The authority to heal sickness and cast out demons only gives man grace, but the flesh of man is still of Satan and the satanic corrupt dispositions still remain within man. In other words, man who has not been purified is still of sin and filth. Only after he has been purified through the agency of the word can man be gained by God and become sanctified. When the demons were cast out of man and he was redeemed, this meant only that he was wrested out of Satan’s hands and returned to God. However, man has not yet been purified or changed by God, and remains corrupt. Within man still exist filth, resistance, and rebelliousness; man has only returned to God through His redemption, but he has not the slightest knowledge of God and is still capable of resisting and betraying Him. Before man was redeemed, many of Satan’s poisons had already been planted within him and, after thousands of years of being corrupted by Satan, he has within him a nature that resists God. Therefore, when man was redeemed, it was nothing more than a case of redemption. That is, man was bought back at a high price, but the poisonous nature within him was not eliminated. Man that is so filthy must undergo a change before becoming worthy to serve God. By means of this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt essence within his own self, and he will be able to change completely and become purified. Only in this way can man become worthy to return before the throne of God. All the current work is performed so that man can be purified and be changed; it is so that man can cast off his corruption and be purified through the judgment and chastisement of the word, and through refinement. Rather than deeming this stage of work to be that of salvation, it would be more apt to say it is the work of purification. In truth, this stage is also the work of conquest, as well as the second stage in the work of salvation.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)

God’s work in the present incarnation is to express His disposition primarily through chastisement and judgment, and on this foundation, to bring more truth to man and point out to him more ways of practice, thereby achieving His objective of conquering man and saving him from his corrupt dispositions. This is what lies behind the work of God in the Age of Kingdom.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface

Those who are able to stand firm during God’s work of judgment and chastisement in the last days—that is, during the final work of purification—will be the ones who will enter into the final rest alongside God; as such, all those who enter into rest will have broken free from Satan’s influence and been gained by God only after having undergone His final work of purification. These humans, who will have been finally gained by God, will enter into the final rest. In essence, God does the work of chastisement and judgment to purify humanity, and for the sake of the ultimate day of rest; otherwise no members of humanity could be sorted according to their kind, or enter into rest. This work is humanity’s only path to enter into rest. Only God’s work of purification will cleanse humans of their unrighteousness, and only His work of chastisement and judgment will expose those rebellious elements of humanity, thereby distinguishing those who can be saved from those who cannot, and those who can remain from those who cannot. When this work ends, those people who can remain will all be purified and enter a higher realm of humanity in which they will enjoy a more wonderful second human life upon the earth; in other words, they will enter into humanity’s day of rest and live together with God. After those who cannot remain have been chastised and judged, their true colors will be entirely exposed, after which they will all be destroyed and, like Satan, will no longer be permitted to survive upon the earth. The humanity of the future will no longer include any people of this sort; such people are not fit to enter the land of the ultimate rest, nor are they fit to enter into the day of rest that God and humanity will share, for they are the targets of punishment, and they are evil ones, not righteous people. … The sole purpose behind God’s ultimate work of punishing evil and rewarding good is to thoroughly purify all humans so that He may bring a purely sanctified humanity into eternal rest. This stage of His work is the most crucial; it is the final stage of the whole of His work of management.

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

Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path by which man gains life, and it is the only path by which man shall know God and be approved of by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. Those who are controlled by regulations, by words, and by the shackles of history will never be able to gain life nor gain the perpetual way of life. This is because all they gain is turbid water which has been clung to for thousands of years instead of the water of life that flows from the throne. Those who are not supplied with the water of life will forever remain corpses, playthings of Satan, and sons of hell. How, then, can they behold God? You only seek to hold on to the past, to stand still and keep things as they are, and do not seek to change the status quo and discard history, so will you not always be antagonistic toward God? The steps of God’s work are overwhelming and mighty, like surging waves and rolling thunders—yet you sit passively awaiting destruction, clinging to that which is old and waiting for things to fall into your lap. In this way, how can you be considered someone who follows the footsteps of the Lamb? How can this demonstrate that the God you hold on to is the God who is always new and never old? And how can the words of your yellowed books carry you across into a new age? How can they lead you to search for the steps of God’s work? And how can they take you up to heaven? What you hold in your hands are mere words that can provide but temporary solace, not truths that are capable of giving you life. The words of Scriptures you read can only enrich your tongue; they are not words of wisdom that can help you know human life, much less are they the path that can lead you to perfection. Does this discrepancy not give you cause for reflection? Does it not give you insight into the mysteries contained within? Are you capable of delivering yourself to heaven to meet God on your own? Without the coming of God, can you take yourself into heaven to enjoy family happiness with God? Are you still dreaming now? I exhort you, then, to stop dreaming and to look at who is working now—look to see who is now carrying out the work of saving man during the last days. If you do not, you shall never gain the truth, and shall never gain life.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life

Those who wish to gain life without relying on the truth spoken by Christ are the most ridiculous people on earth, and those who do not accept the way of life brought by Christ are lost in fantasy. And so I say that those who do not accept Christ of the last days shall forever be loathed by God. Christ is man’s gateway to the kingdom in the last days, and there are none who can bypass Him. None may be perfected by God except through Christ. You believe in God, and so you must accept His words and submit to His way. Do not only think of gaining blessings while being unable to accept the truth and the provision of life. Christ comes in the last days so that He may provide all those who sincerely believe in Him with life. This work exists for the sake of concluding the old age and entering the new one, and this work is the path that must be taken by all those who would enter the new age. If you do not acknowledge Christ, and moreover condemn, blaspheme, or persecute Him, then you are bound to burn for eternity and shall never enter the kingdom of God. This is because this Christ is Himself the expression of the Holy Spirit, the expression of God, the One whom God has entrusted to do His work on earth, and so I say that if you cannot accept all that is done by Christ of the last days, then you blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The due retribution for those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit is self-evident to all. I also tell you this: If you resist Christ of the last days, if you reject Christ of the last days, then no one else can bear the consequences for this on your behalf. Furthermore, from that point onward you will never have the chance to gain the approval of God; even if you wish to redeem yourself, you won’t be able to behold the face of God again. This is because what you are resisting is not a human being, what you are rejecting is not some insignificant person, but Christ. Do you know what the consequences of this are? You are not making a small mistake, but committing a heinous sin. And so I advise every person to not bare your fangs and brandish your claws or make arbitrary comments before the truth, for only the truth can bring you life, and nothing except the truth can enable you to be reborn and behold the face of God again.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life

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