Item Fourteen: Promptly Discern, and Then Clear Out or Expel All Manner of Evil People and Antichrists (Part Two)

At the last gathering, we fellowshipped on the fourteenth responsibility of leaders and workers: “Promptly discern, and then clear out or expel all manner of evil people and antichrists.” The fellowship covered one aspect of this: what a church is. After fellowshipping on the definition of a church, are you clear on the relationship between this and the fourteenth responsibility of leaders and workers? (After God fellowshipped on the definition of a church, we understood why churches exist, the role a church plays, and the work a church does. Based on this, we can discern which people in the church are causing disruptions and disturbances, and not playing a positive role, and then clear out or expel these people.) After understanding what a church is, leaders and workers should know why God establishes churches, the effect the formation of churches has on people, the work churches should do, the types of people who make up a church, and which people are true brothers and sisters. After understanding and knowing these things, you have a basic concept and definition, as well as a foundation of principles for the work outlined in the fourteenth responsibility: “Promptly discern, and then clear out or expel all manner of evil people and antichrists.” This is something you should be clear on and understand in terms of theory and vision. After understanding this, the first work leaders and workers should undertake is to discern all manner of evil people. What are the standards and principles for doing this? Discerning all manner of evil people should be based on the definition of a church, the significance and value of a church’s existence, and the work that God establishes churches to do. Last time, the standards and bases for discerning various kinds of evil people were divided into three main categories. What are these three categories? (One’s purpose for believing in God, one’s humanity, and one’s attitude toward their duty.) Are these three main categories specific and comprehensive enough? Some people say, “Why is discerning all manner of people not based on the degree to which they love the truth, and the degree to which they submit to and fear God, but instead based on their purpose for believing in God, their humanity, and their attitude toward their duty? Aren’t these standards too low? In other words, judging from the specific content of these three categories, why is there not a deeper discussion on people’s attitude toward God and the truth? Why is there no mention of whether people are willing to accept pruning, judgment, and chastisement, whether they have a heart that submits to and fears God, and other more in-depth content related to the truth?” Have you ever thought about this question? Let’s not get into this issue for now. Let’s first look at the three criteria: people’s purpose for believing in God, their humanity, and their attitude toward their duty. Judging from their titles, are these three criteria shallow or not? If a person is not up to standard in terms of these three most basic criteria, can they be called a brother or sister? (No.) Can they be considered a church member? Can they be recognized by God as part of the church? (No.) None of these things are possible for them. So, if a person is inadequate or substandard in terms of all these three criteria, then such individuals should be discerned; they belong to the ranks of various sorts of evil people, and they should be cleared out or expelled. Whether a person is a brother or sister, recognized by God, or a member the church should accept, depends at the very least on whether they are up to standard and pass muster in terms of these three criteria. If they do not even meet these three criteria, then they definitely are not a brother or sister. Naturally, God does not recognize them, and the church should not accept them either. So, how should the church treat and handle them? (They should be cleared out or expelled.) Once they are discerned, they should be cleared out or expelled. That’s exactly how it is.

The Standards and Bases for Discerning Various Kinds of Evil People

I. Based on One’s Purpose for Believing in God

D. To Engage in Opportunism

At the last gathering, we fellowshipped and listed three purposes for believing in God. If we list them as headings, the first is to satisfy one’s desire to be an official; the second is to seek out the opposite sex; and the third is to avoid disasters. We finished fellowshipping on these three purposes. Next, we shall fellowship on the fourth purpose: Some people believe in God purely for opportunistic reasons, so the heading of this purpose is “to engage in opportunism.” Some people see that all religions and denominations in the religious world are desolate and do not have the work of the Holy Spirit—that people’s faith and love have grown cold, that people themselves have grown increasingly depraved and see no hope for salvation, and that people have believed in the Lord for many years without gaining anything. Seeing that the religious world has completely turned into a wasteland, they seek a way forward for themselves. They ponder, “Which church now has more people, is thriving, and has development prospects?” They find that The Church of Almighty God, which is resisted and condemned by the religious world, is thriving, that it has the work of the Holy Spirit, and is developing well both domestically and overseas. They think, “I heard that this church’s membership is growing, that it’s developing well, and that it possesses abundant manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and has development prospects. If I seize this good opportunity to join their church, won’t I be able to gain some benefits? Won’t I secure good prospects for myself?” With such an intention and purpose, and a bit of curiosity, they infiltrate the church. After these people infiltrate the church, they are not interested in the truth, believing in God, or in the transformation of their life disposition. Their purpose in joining the church is just to find a backer or a place to stay and to gain the prospects they desire. In fact, in their hearts, they have no interest in believing in God, in the truths that God expresses, or in the work of salvation that God does, and they do not want to hear about or seek regarding these things. In particular, they completely lack interest in God’s work and the work of the Holy Spirit. These people are like opportunists in society who, no matter which industry they join, do so only to find opportunities to obtain fame, gain, and status, and just make investments and pay a price for the sake of their own prospects and destiny. Once they discover that there are currently no apparent prospects in the field or industry they have thrown themselves into, or that this industry does not allow them to display their strengths and rise up in the world, they often calculate in their minds whether to change jobs or switch industries. In whatever they do, such people are always waiting for the opportunity to make a move; they have an intention and purpose for joining the church. When the church is thriving, when it can stand firm and has development prospects in society or any country, they actively and enthusiastically throw themselves into the church’s work. But once the church is oppressed and restricted, or cannot satisfy their personal desires and demands, they contemplate whether to leave the church and find another way forward for themselves. Clearly, the real purpose of these people joining the church is not because they are interested in the truth; they did not join the church on the basis of acknowledging the existence of God and God’s new work of saving people. Even when they choose a church, they opt for a well-known, large-scale one with many members, especially one that has a certain level of renown both domestically and overseas. For them, only this kind of church meets their standards and completely aligns with the goals they aspire to or pursue. But no matter what, they have never truly believed in the truth, nor have they genuinely acknowledged God’s existence or God’s work. Even if it appears that they sometimes do something for the church or throw themselves into some part of the church work, in the depths of their hearts, their attitude toward the truth and toward God remains unchanged. What is their attitude? Their consistent attitude is to just follow along for now, to see what exactly they can gain from this church, to see exactly how many of God’s spoken words can come true and to what extent, and to see when the blessings promised to man by God can be obtained, and if these blessings can be witnessed and fulfilled in the short term. Their attitude is always like this. They come to God’s house with curiosity and a desire to give it a go, and an attitude that if God’s words are fulfilled and come true, then they will receive blessings and not lose out. Such people come to God’s house and, even if they appear to be friendly with others, to abide by the rules, to not cause disruptions or disturbances, and to not engage in mischief, based on their attitude toward God and the truth they can be identified as obvious disbelievers.

How can we discern the type of disbelievers who believe in God only to opportunistically gain blessings, and have no wish to gain the truth? No matter how many sermons they hear, no matter how the truth is fellowshipped to them, their thoughts and views on people and things, their outlook on life and values never change. Why is this? Because they never ponder God’s words seriously and are utterly unaccepting of the truths expressed by God or what God says about various issues. They just cling to their own views and the philosophies of Satan. In their hearts, they still believe that the philosophies and logic of Satan are right and correct. For example, “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” “Officials do not make things difficult for those who bear gifts,” or “The good have peaceful lives.” There are even those who say, “When people believe in God, they must be good, which means never taking a life; to take a life is a sin, and is unforgivable to God.” What kind of view is this? It is a Buddhist view. Though the Buddhist view may fit with people’s notions and imaginings, it is devoid of any truth. Faith in God must be based on God’s words; only the words of God are the truth. In their faith in God, some people even accept the absurd views of the nonbelievers and the mistaken theories of the religious world as the truth, they hold them dear and cling to them. Are these people who accept the truth? They can’t differentiate between the words of man and the words of God, or between the devil and Satan and the one true God, the Creator. They do not pray to God or seek the truth, nor do they accept any of the truths expressed by God. Their thoughts and views on people, the outside world, and all other matters never change. They cling only to the views they have always held, which come from traditional culture. No matter how ridiculous those views are, they cannot perceive this, and they still hold fast to those mistaken views and do not let them go. This is one manifestation of a disbeliever. What is another? It is that their zeal, sentiments, and faith change as the church increases in scale and as its status in society continually grows. For example, when the church’s work spread abroad and increased in scale, when the work of the gospel fully spread, they saw this and felt immediately invigorated. They felt that the church was becoming more and more influential and would no longer suffer the oppression and persecution of the government, they believed that there was hope for their faith in God, that they could hold their heads high; and so they felt that by believing in God, they had made the right bet, that their gamble was finally going to pay off. They felt that their chances of gaining blessings were growing greater and greater and they finally started to cheer up. During previous years, they used to feel oppressed, pained, and anguished because they often saw the great red dragon’s arrests and suppression of Christians. Why did they feel anguish? Because the church was in such dire straits, and they were concerned about whether they had made the right choice in believing in God, and more than that, they were troubled and worried by whether they should stay or leave the church. During those years, no matter what adverse circumstances the church was facing, it would have an impact on their emotions; whatever work the church was doing and however the church’s reputation and status within society fluctuated, it would affect their emotions and mood. The question of whether they should stay or go was always lingering in their minds. Such people are disbelievers, are they not? When the church is condemned and suppressed by the national government, or when believers are arrested or judged, condemned, slandered, and rejected by the religious community, they feel deeply disgraced and even great shame and humiliation about having joined the church; their hearts waver and they regret believing in God and joining the church. They never have any intention of sharing in the joys and hardships of the church, or to suffer alongside Christ. Instead, when the church is flourishing, they appear brimming with faith, but when the church is persecuted, rejected, suppressed, and condemned, they want to run away, to leave. When they cannot see any hope of receiving blessings, or any hope of the gospel of the kingdom spreading, they want to leave even more. When they do not see the words of God fulfilled, and do not know when the great catastrophe will descend and when it will end, or when the kingdom of Christ will be realized, they waver uncertainly and are incapable of doing their duty with peace of mind. Whenever this happens, they want to leave God, to leave the church, and to find a way out. Such people are disbelievers, are they not? Their every move is for their own fleshly interests. Their thoughts and views will never gradually change through their experience of God’s work, or by reading His words, fellowshipping the truth, and living the church life. When something happens to them, they never seek the truth, or search for what God’s words say about it, what God’s intentions are, how God guides people, or what He asks of people. Their only aim in joining the church is to wait for the day when the church can “hold its head high,” so they can make a grab for the benefits they have always desired. Of course, they joined the church also because they saw that God’s words are the truth—but they are totally unaccepting of the truth, and they do not believe that all the words of God will be fulfilled. So what do you say, are such people disbelievers? (Yes.) No matter what happens in the church or the outside world, they gauge how much their interests will be affected, and how great an impact it will have on the goals they pursue. At even the slightest sign of trouble, they will immediately think of their own prospects, interests, and whether they should stay or leave the church with great acuity. There are even people who keep asking, “Last year it was said that God’s work would end—so why is it still going on? What year exactly will God’s work end? Am I not entitled to know? I have endured long enough, my time is precious, my youth is precious—surely you can’t keep me hanging on like this?” They are especially sensitive to whether God’s words have been fulfilled, the situation of the church, and its status and reputation. They don’t care about whether they are capable of gaining the truth or if they can be saved, but are very sensitive to whether they will be able to survive, and whether they can obtain benefits and blessings by staying in God’s house. Such people are opportunistic in their desire to be blessed. Even if they believe to the very end, they will still not understand the truth, and they will have no experiential testimony to speak of. Have you met people like this? Actually, people like that exist in every church. You must take care to discern them. Such individuals are all disbelievers, they are a scourge in the house of God, they will bring great harm and no benefits to the church, and they must be cleared out from it.

Let’s summarize the characteristics of opportunists. Their first characteristic is that they do not take the matter of whether God exists very seriously. If you ask them whether God exists, they will say, “Probably. But it’s fine if he doesn’t. I’m just here to see exactly whether or not the prophecies that god made will come true, and whether or not the great disasters will come.” Within their thoughts and viewpoints, their attitude is that it doesn’t matter whether God exists or not. Isn’t it a joke for them to believe in God and join the church then? (Yes.) Their faith in God is a simple belief, it’s like a game, and it is unrelated to the truth or their life path. They actually don’t care whether God exists or not; it’s okay if He does, and it’s okay if He doesn’t. Some people refute them, saying God doesn’t exist, and they don’t get upset or hate such people. If people say God exists, they say, “If he exists, then he exists. Anyway, if you believe, then he exists; if you don’t, then he doesn’t.” This is their viewpoint. Are such people true believers? They’re disbelievers, aren’t they? (Yes.) Whether God exists or not is inconsequential to them, so is there sincerity in their belief in God? They cannot possibly be sincere. What is the first characteristic of opportunistic people? (They do not take the matter of whether God exists very seriously.) This is the first characteristic.

What is the second characteristic of opportunistic people? It is that they are not very earnest about distinguishing between positive and negative things. They do not discern which sayings, people, events, and things are positive and which are negative, and they do not take this seriously. For them, good things can be made out to be bad, and bad things can be made out to be good, just like the saying of nonbelievers, “A lie told a thousand times becomes the truth;” this saying is valid to them. If you ask them what the truth is, they will definitely not say that God’s words are the truth because they do not acknowledge this. What will they say? Their true viewpoint is that a lie told a thousand or ten thousand times will become the truth, meaning that if many people say something, they will believe it is true. It’s like how the nonbelievers say: “There was originally no path in the world, but as more people walked, a path formed.” They do not care about what is right or wrong, just or wicked; they believe that whoever has great ability is right, and whoever is useless and incompetent is negative. They will absolutely not acknowledge that all God says and does are positive things, nor will they acknowledge that what God requires people to live out are the realities of positive things. These people will even speak fallacies like, “You say god is the truth, and god’s words are the reality of all positive things. Does this mean there are no positive things in the world? Are there not positive things and truths in the world as well?” Isn’t this nonsense? Isn’t this a fallacy? (Yes.) These people do not take God’s words as the criterion for their words or actions. For example, when they express a fallacy and you rebut them, they will say, “You think you are right, and I think I am right, so let’s agree to disagree. Whatever one thinks is good, that is right.” What kind of viewpoint is this? Isn’t this just trying to gloss things over? (Yes.) This is a foolish and muddled viewpoint; these people are not earnest about distinguishing between positive and negative things. What does it mean to not be earnest about this? It means they cannot acknowledge from their hearts that all the positive things God speaks of are related to the truth, are in accordance with the truth, and come from God, and that the negative things God speaks of are contrary to the truth and come from Satan. They do not accept this fact and always want to blur the concepts. To avoid being discerned by others and being condemned, they are never earnest about distinguishing between positive and negative things, they never expose their true views, and always speak equivocally, never telling people what they really think. They say different things according to whom they’re talking to, completely adjusting to the situation as needed. These people, in all respects, are not interested in the truth or in the existence of God. This is the second manifestation of opportunistic people: They are not very earnest about distinguishing between positive and negative things.

What other characteristics do these opportunistic people have? These people will always choose whether they stay or leave based on how things develop, being particularly adept at adapting to circumstances. When they join the church, they have already made ample preparations for their exit strategy and their prospects, having planned every step. In their hearts they calculate and make plans about what to do if God’s words are fulfilled and what to do if they are not fulfilled after a certain number of years. This type of person never fully commits to church work after entering the church. Instead, they constantly observe the church’s development, the church’s attitude toward them and the way it treats them, and other factors to decide their next steps. Aren’t these people’s thoughts quite complicated? (Yes.) Although they have joined the church, they always hold a temporary perspective, like a contract worker, forever remaining in a state of “physically here but mentally elsewhere,” their minds occupied with schemes and plots. Their choice to believe in God and join the church is just a reluctant compromise, not a spiritual necessity or a desire to follow God and walk the right path of human life based on acknowledging the existence of God. They lack the faith for this. These people believe in God with a wait-and-see attitude, calculating in their hearts: “If believing in God brings me a hundredfold in this life, eternal life in the world to come, and the chance to be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven, then I’ll follow along and believe. If I can’t receive these, I’ll leave the church at any time and in any situation and stop believing.” They come to believe in God entirely in the opportunistic hope of gaining blessings. If they can’t receive blessings, they can abandon their duties at any time and in any situation and plot another path for themselves because their hearts have never been rooted in the church, nor have they truly chosen the path of believing in God and following God.

The main characteristics of these opportunistic people are these three: They do not take seriously whether God exists, they do not seriously distinguish positive and negative things, and they can leave the church at any time and in any situation. No matter how well the brothers and sisters treat them, as long as things do not align with their interests or meet their current needs, they can leave the church. But when they have nowhere to go, they choose to come back. After coming back, they still do not pursue the truth and might leave the church again at any time. What sort of wretch are they? Their coming and going appears so casual; they do not believe in God with sincerity. These are the characteristics of opportunistic people; in terms of their essence, they are disbelievers. Some people can persist in believing for three to five years, some can persist for eight or ten years, but their purpose is just to opportunistically seek blessings. Such people are not simple. They have even endured until now in the harsh, persecuted environment of mainland China—isn’t that a bit like “sleeping on brushwood and licking gall?” Some people can no longer persist after believing for ten years, so they complain: “It’s been ten years. My youth has been wasted in the church. If I had worked hard in the world for these ten years, how much money could I have earned? Maybe I would have become a manager, and I probably would have had so many assets.” They then become restless. They have believed in God for ten years solely to satisfy their meager curiosity and desire for blessings, but they have never pursued the truth. As a result, they have gained nothing. They regret believing in God, and they even scold themselves, saying, “You fool, you idiot! You didn’t take the broad, easy road but insisted on walking this arduous route. No one forced you; it was your own choice!” Some people can leave even after believing for ten years, leaving at the drop of a hat. After just getting by in society for two or three years, they find that society is not as smooth or easy to navigate as they imagined, and the world of nonbelievers is not as colorful and ideal as it seemed; it’s not easy for them to get by anywhere out in the world. After thinking it over, they find that the church is still better, so they shamelessly come back. When they return, they say, “Believing in God is good; nonbelievers are bad, always bullying people. There is too much suffering in the world. These years without reading God’s words, without living the church life, I fell into darkness, weeping and gnashing my teeth every day; I’ve been ground down to the point that I no longer resemble a human. It’s better to believe in God!” They proclaim that it’s better to believe in God, but actually it’s because they heard that there are too many disasters in this world, and humankind is soon to experience a great catastrophe. Having money, land, cars, and houses is useless; only those with faith can be saved. So, they come back to believe in God again. Is this not an opportunist? (Yes.) Opportunistic people can leave the church at any time. If they see that there is hope of gaining blessings by returning to the church, they can come back at any time too. After returning, they can say a few words of regret and express that they will never leave God again, but after seeing that things are calm and peaceful in the world and that they can still enjoy a few good days, they can leave the church again at any time. What do they regard God’s house and the church as? They regard it as a free market, coming and going as they please. Tell Me, if such people are cleared out or leave on their own, should the church accept them back if they want to return? (No.) They should not be accepted back. Accepting them back is a mistake and violates principles. These people do not meet the standards of church members. They can leave the church at any time, and in order to gain blessings they can worm their way back into the church at any time, but throughout this they never accept the truth. This proves that they are not true believers. Such people will forever be the targets of clearing out and expulsion. The church should clear them out and tell them: “Don’t be regretful. Once you’re gone, you can’t come back. The church will not open the door for you a second time. This is the principle.” Some people say: “They were foolish at the time, but now they behave very well. They’re as obedient as a little lamb, as pitiable as a homeless wanderer. Whenever they see the brothers and sisters, they express their regret and indebtedness, their eyes red from crying in remorse. They look very pitiful, and their attitude of confession is very good. Let’s let them come back.” Is there any sentence here that aligns with principles? (No.) Even after believing for three or even ten years, they can still leave the church resolutely and without hesitation. What sort of wretch are they? Are they true believers? (No.) Did they have any sincerity when they initially chose to follow God? No. If they had any sincerity at all, they would not be so determined to leave the church. Generally, one might at most have such thoughts when they are weak, despondent, or when things aren’t going well for them, but they would never resolutely decide to leave the church to find another way after believing in God for three, five, or even ten years. If they can leave the church at will, it shows that they were not sincere when they accepted the true way and joined the church in the beginning; they had ulterior motives and aims—there’s no other way to put it. Such people must be clearly discerned. They are not true believers. Their belief in God and following God is for the opportunistic hope of gaining blessings. Such people are defined as opportunists and, once discerned, should be cleared out of the church. If they do not leave the church and continue to take advantage of the situation for their personal gain within the church, then that is because no one is able to discern what they are. However, through today’s fellowship on the various manifestations of these opportunists, leaders and workers and God’s chosen people should have a clear understanding and discernment of such people. Once it is discovered that they never read God’s words or pray to God, are not interested in God’s work or the truths God expresses, are not interested in positive things, and do not take them seriously, then they should be closely guarded against. It is necessary to observe their motives and purpose in believing in God, and ascertain their attitude toward the church, their attitude toward the truth, and their attitude toward God. If it is evident that they do not have a correct attitude, are particularly indifferent toward pursuing the truth and doing duty, not showing any interest whatsoever, and they always hold a skeptical attitude toward God’s words, then it can be confirmed that these people are opportunists and disbelievers. In that case, they should not be considered brothers or sisters; they are not part of the church. Rather, they should be cleared out of the church. They have believed for years and still do not accept the truth; could it be useful to continue fellowshipping the truth with them? Would it be realistic to continue waiting for them to repent? Do not work on such people anymore, and do not wait for them to repent. If they are not willing to do their duty and still want to drag out their stay in the church without leaving, then the church leaders should find a way to wisely isolate them. Is this appropriate? (Yes.) Once these people are discerned as opportunists, they are already classified among the ranks of various evil people and disbelievers. Since they are evil people and disbelievers, they meet the principles and conditions for being cleared out or expelled from the church. Clearing them out early is definitely better than clearing them out late. Clearing them out early avoids many troubles, and they don’t need to feel aggrieved anymore. You should clearly tell such people: “You don’t need to keep calculating in your heart when to leave or how to leave, and you don’t need to keep calculating whether you stay or leave. God’s house and God do not force people; if you want to leave, the church will not try to urge you to stay. But there is one thing that must be made clear to you: If you are sure that you are not a person of God’s house and you are not willing to be a member of the church, then leave as soon as possible; don’t delay. This is for everyone’s good. If you believe in the existence of God, can accept God’s words as the truth, and are genuinely willing to join the church, then you are rightfully a member of the church. But now, you are not. You came for opportunism, and maybe you don’t know this yourself, but we have discerned—according to God’s words, the truth, and the principles of the church in dealing with all kinds of people—that you are an opportunist. You keep calculating the right time to leave the church; this is such a bother. You don’t need to find the right time; you can leave now. If you are always uncertain about the appearance and work of God, then I tell you clearly now: You don’t need to ponder or scrutinize things anymore, you don’t have to keep making things hard for yourself—you can leave the church now, the door of God’s house is open, and God’s house will not retain you, it does not force people.” Is it appropriate to do this? (Yes.) Give them a “way out”; don’t let them suffer torments here every day like ants on a hot pan, constantly tormented by their feelings, their flesh, their prospects, and the issue of staying or leaving. No matter how much they are tormented by these things, it never leads to anything. They are still pondering in their hearts when to leave, how to leave, whether they will suffer losses and misfortune if they leave early, and whether they can receive blessings if they stay longer. What if they leave and then God’s words are fulfilled? What if they don’t leave and God’s words remain unfulfilled? There is no need for them to constantly worry and be anxious about these things. Since they are not believing in God with genuine willingness, they should leave as soon as possible. They shouldn’t stay here trying to take advantage of the situation for their personal gain, pretending to be something they are not. Tell Me, is it good to advise them like this and handle it this way? (Yes.) Is it excessive to classify opportunists among the various evil people to be cleared out or expelled? (No.) Some people say: “How can people like this be considered evil people?” How many good ones are there among disbelievers? In God’s eyes, the disposition essence of those who believe in God and acknowledge God’s existence is considered evil, let alone those who totally do not believe in God and do not acknowledge God’s existence. So is it excessive to classify them as evil people? (No.) In any case, they are still at least being called people—evil people. It’s already good enough that they’re not being classified as evil demons. Classifying them among evil people is entirely appropriate and fitting; it is not excessive at all. Such evil people are also one of the various types of people to be cleared out or expelled by God’s house. This is the fourth type of disbeliever, whose purpose for believing in God is opportunistic.

What are the main characteristics of opportunists? Through your interactions with these people and observing the dispositions, viewpoints, attitudes, or humanity they reveal, what main characteristics have you found? Summarize them. (Opportunists do not initially come to believe in God to pursue the truth. They hear that The Church of Almighty God is thriving, so they only come to believe in God with the hope of getting some benefits and blessings from God’s house, seeking profit. And if they don’t receive these things after a while, they want to leave. These people do not sincerely believe in God and are not interested in believing in God at all.) What is the biggest problem with opportunists? The main issue is that they are not interested in the truth but are most interested in gaining blessings, so it is the hardest for them to accept the truth. Some people say: “You can’t clear out or expel them just because they are not interested in the truth, right?” These people’s lack of interest in the truth is mainly shown in that they never read God’s words or fellowship the truth. If they hear someone fellowshipping the truth and talking about knowing oneself, or seeking the truth to solve problems, they feel a particular aversion in their hearts and are completely uninterested, and they start to doze off. They are extremely averse to these things, and even use idle talk, talking about disasters, and discussing God displaying signs and wonders to disturb others from fellowshipping the truth. As a result, some who do not pursue the truth get excited when they hear these topics and join in the discussion. Isn’t this blatantly disturbing church life? They rarely read God’s words in their daily life, and when they occasionally do, it’s probably because there’s something bothering them inside. They are not interested in gatherings, in eating and drinking God’s words, or in fellowshipping God’s words. They only concern themselves with: “When will God’s day come? When will the great disaster end? When can we enjoy the blessings of the kingdom of heaven?” They are always wondering about these things. If no one discusses these topics, they go online to search, and after searching, they start spreading these things during gatherings. Their hearts are inundated with these things. As long as they hear others fellowshipping about topics they are interested in, they can chime in and join the fellowship. But as soon as they hear content related to the truth or God’s words, they don’t want to listen. They start dozing off, and some even leave, while others start fidgeting—they display all sorts of ugly expressions. You say, “Let’s fellowship God’s words.” They say, “I’m thirsty, I need to drink some water.” You say, “Let’s fellowship about knowing oneself,” or “Let’s fellowship about the details of doing duties; let’s see what God’s words say about this, and what the truth principles are.” They say, “I have something to do. I’m gonna head out. Enjoy your chat.” They find all sorts of excuses to decline and refuse fellowshipping God’s words and the truth. This clearly exposes the fact that not only do they not love the truth, but they are also averse to and resist the truth from the depths of their hearts. Whenever God’s words, the truth are mentioned, they don’t openly oppose or argue, but find various excuses to refuse and avoid them. Can’t these behaviors clearly show that they are opportunists? Doesn’t it clearly indicate that they are disbelievers, believing in God for a certain purpose, for opportunism? (Yes.) Some people say: “You say they are disbelievers and not sincerely following God, so why are they able to believe until now and still exert themselves and endure hardship for the church’s work?” Aren’t the behaviors we just mentioned enough to answer this question? These behaviors are enough to prove that our discernment and categorization of them is accurate. Therefore, to measure whether a person’s purpose for believing in God is opportunistic, you should measure and discern it based on their attitude toward God, God’s work, the truth, and toward positive and negative things. This is the most accurate. It is not accurate and not objective to measure it by their outward behavior and actions. Only their true inner thoughts and their attitude toward God and the truth reveal the issues; only these are the most accurate standards for determining what kind of person they are. Now, are you basically clear on the essence of those whose purpose for believing in God is opportunistic? Have you all encountered some people like this? (Yes.) It is better for such people to leave as soon as possible. If they are genuinely willing to render service, then they can be reluctantly kept. However, if they do not do their duties and cannot render any service, but cause disturbances to and have a negative impact on the church’s work and church life, then they should be made to leave as soon as possible. This is the principle for clearing out disbelievers. God’s house needs people who sincerely believe in God and love the truth; it needs loyal service-doers. It absolutely does not need disbelievers or those who hesitantly observe to make up the numbers. The church also does not need anyone to make up the numbers. We will end our fellowship on this topic here.

E. 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.

F. 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.

G. To Find a Backer

The seventh purpose people have for believing in God is to find a backer. Have you ever seen such people? This is a rather special situation; although they are not many, they definitely exist. This is because God’s churches have not only appeared in China, but also in Asia, Europe, America, and various countries in Africa, and so these opportunists and disbelievers will appear along with them. No matter how likely it is for these people to appear, in any case, once they do, you must face them and discern them, and do not let these disbelievers gain any status and create disturbances in the church. If you think that these problems do not exist because they have not appeared or you have not encountered them, this is a foolish idea. Once these problems arise, if you do not have discernment and do not know how to resolve them, they will bring great hidden dangers to the church, to God’s house, to the brothers and sisters, and to the church’s work. So, before anything happens, you need to know what issues should be faced and how to resolve them. This is the best way; it serves as an invisible protection for you. The people mentioned in the seventh purpose for believing in God, those who believe in God to find a backer, are not few in number. This society is filled with injustice, discrimination, and oppression everywhere. People living in all levels of society are full of loathing and hatred toward various injustices in society and are also full of anger. However, it is not easy to escape the injustices of the human world unless you vanish from it. As long as one lives in this world, as long as they live among these people, they will—more or less, and to greater and lesser extents—be bullied and humiliated, and may even be hunted and persecuted by some powerful forces. These various injustices and inequalities have caused great stress on people’s psyches, bringing them significant psychological pressure and, of course, many inconveniences to people’s normal lives. As a result, some people can’t help but develop a certain idea: “In order for a person to establish themselves in society, they must have a force behind them to rely on. When they encounter difficulties and need help, or when they’re on their own and helpless, there will then be a group of people to back them up and call the shots, to sort out the troubles and problems they face, or to ensure the essentials for their living.” Therefore, they strive to seek such support. Of course, some of these people eventually find the church. They believe that people in the church are united in heart and working toward the same goal, each having faith, possessing good intentions and acting kindly toward others, staying away from social conflicts, and distancing themselves from the evil trends of society. For those who believe in God, the church is undoubtedly a symbol of great justice in this society and the world; the people in the church also have a positive, good, and kind image in people’s minds. Some choose to believe in God because they are at the bottom of society, with no power in society whatsoever and entirely lacking a good family background. They encounter various difficulties with getting an education, making friends, finding jobs, or doing various things, so they believe that to survive and establish themselves in this society, they must have some people to help them. For example, when looking for a job, if they rely on themselves, combing aimlessly through job opportunity after job opportunity, they might almost exhaust their savings without necessarily finding a suitable job. But if they are aided in their search by some reliable people who can sincerely help them, the trouble they have to go through is much less, and the time spent on job hunting is greatly reduced. Therefore, they believe that if they can find such a backer, when it comes to everything they have to deal with in society—getting an education, job hunting, even their day-to-day life and survival—they will have some people to pull strings and support them, a group of enthusiastic people helping them behind the scenes. Thus, when they find the church, they feel they have found the right place. The church becomes a very good choice for them to establish themselves in society and achieve a peaceful life. For example, whether it’s seeing a doctor, shopping, buying insurance, buying a house, helping their children choose schools, or even handling any matter, they can always find loving people in the church to extend a hand and help them resolve these issues. This way, their lives become much more convenient, they are no longer so alone in society, and the difficulties in handling matters are greatly reduced. Therefore, for them, coming to the church to believe in God truly provides tangible benefits. Even if they go to the doctor, the brothers and sisters will find acquaintances in the hospital to help them out; they can utilize them to get the best deals on purchases, and even buy houses at insider prices. With the help of the brothers and sisters in the church, all these problems are solved. They feel, “Believing in God is so great! Finding a job, handling affairs, and making purchases are all convenient now! Whenever I need something, I just have to make a phone call or send a message to the group, and everyone joins forces to lend a helping hand. There are so many kind people in the church; handling matters is so convenient! It wasn’t easy finding a backer, so I won’t leave the church no matter what. But the gatherings in God’s house always involve reading God’s words and fellowshipping the truth, which makes me awkward and conflicted. I am unwilling to eat and drink God’s words, and I feel averse whenever I hear fellowship on the truth. But if I don’t listen, that won’t work—I can’t leave them. They help me out so much. If I refuse to listen, I’ll feel embarrassed, and it would also be awkward to say I don’t believe anymore, so I just have to go along and say nice things.” In their hearts, they don’t actually want to believe, but they can only shut this feeling away. Some people say, “You only see them always asking the brothers and sisters to handle matters, and them being quite happy when the brothers and sisters help—You can discern that their purpose for believing in God is to find a backer from this alone?” Apart from these manifestations, look at whether they usually read God’s words and fellowship the truth, whether they can fulfill their duty and have any real changes; this will let you know if they sincerely believe in God. Those who seek a backer believe in God just to use the church and the brothers and sisters to handle matters for them and resolve the difficulties in their lives. But they never mention doing their duty, nor do they eat and drink or fellowship God’s words. As soon as they hear about some nifty way to get things done, they become highly excited; they start blabbering incessantly and can’t even be interrupted. But when it comes to doing duty or being honest and not telling lies or cheating others, they turn mute. They are not interested in these things in their hearts—no matter how passionately you speak, they have no response and do not engage; they even constantly try to interrupt you and steer the topic toward something they are interested in. They rack their brains thinking of ways to get the brothers and sisters to do things for them and put in effort for them, not wanting to give the brothers and sisters any opportunity to mention doing duty or expending oneself for God. If anyone suggests that they do their duties and expend themselves for God, they quickly find an urgent matter of their own to offer up in exchange; while the brothers and sisters handle this matter for them, they reluctantly put in some effort for God’s house, satisfying the brothers and sisters’ request by a narrow margin, and once their personal matter is settled, they grow cold toward the brothers and sisters. To maintain contact with the church, to not lose this backer that is the church and these helpers that are the brothers and sisters, they keep close contact with everyone who is useful to them, often inquiring solicitously after them, saying considerate and insincere words to maintain relationships. They talk about how much they believe in God’s existence, how much God blesses them, how much grace God gives them, and how they often shed tears, feeling indebted to God and willing to repay God’s love—this is to deceive the brothers and sisters and gain their help. Once someone is no longer worth exploiting, they immediately block and delete their contact information. They vigorously curry favor with, cater to, and get close to those who are most beneficial to them, those who are most worth exploiting. As for those who are not worth exploiting, those who, like them, have no influence or status in society and are also at the bottom rung of society without anyone to rely on, they don’t even spare them a glance. They exclusively associate with those who are worth exploiting and who have connections in society, those they see as capable. They can put in effort and endure hardship for the church only when they need something from the church or the brothers and sisters. Actually, the manifestations of disbelievers of such people are very obvious. At home, they never read God’s words, never pray to God when there are no difficulties, and participate in church life with great reluctance. They don’t ask to do duties and do not take the initiative to involve themselves in church work; they especially never actively participate in dangerous work. Even if they do agree to do it, they show great impatience, and only when called or invited do they reluctantly put in a bit of effort. These are manifestations of disbelievers. Not reading God’s words, not doing duty—even though they reluctantly participate in church life, it’s to avoid losing the community of the brothers and sisters in the church, a huge backer for them. They maintain relationships with these people just to make it more convenient for them to handle matters in the future. Once such people gain a foothold in society and have a place to settle down and begin their lives, and once they’ve made it in the world and have acquired influence and prospects for a dazzling future, they will quickly and unhesitatingly leave the church, sever ties with the brothers and sisters, and lose contact. If there is a potential gospel recipient with whom they have a good relationship and you want to contact them to preach the gospel to that person, you won’t be able to reach them. They not only sever ties with the church but also end friendships with certain individuals. Haven’t they already betrayed themselves as disbelievers? (Yes.) So how should the church handle such people? (Clear them out.) Should we give them a chance, show understanding for their weakness and for the difficulties in their lives, and support and help them more so they can come to believe that God exists, become interested in the truth, and sincerely expend themselves for God? Does this work need to be done? (No.) Why not? (Because these people are not here to believe in God at all.) That’s right, they have not come to believe in God; their goal is very clear—they are here to find a backer. So, can fellowshipping the truth with such people achieve any results? (No.) They won’t take it in; they don’t value it, don’t need it, and aren’t interested in it.

How should we describe those who believe in God just to find a backer? It is quite fitting to describe them as people who put their own interests before anything else. As long as they see someone is useful and beneficial to them, they will do anything that person asks; they will even follow any and all orders they give. They put their own interests above everything else; as long as something serves their interests, that’s fine. If you tell them that believing in God will bring blessings and benefits, they will definitely believe in Him and do whatever you ask them to do. As long as your ability to handle matters in society meets their needs and allows them to benefit, they will certainly associate with you. However, their association with you does not mean they can truly believe in God, nor does it mean they will sincerely expend themselves for God as you do. Even if they get along well with you and you have an especially good relationship, it does not necessarily mean you speak the same language, follow the same path, or have the same pursuits. Therefore, you must not be misled by such people. These people are slick and have tactics for interacting with other people. Their purpose for believing in God is to find a backer, not to pursue the truth and achieve salvation. This shows how lowly and dark their character is! They come to the church to find people they can exploit, conspiring to obtain various benefits for themselves. Doesn’t this mean that such people are capable of acting without any scruples and doing all manner of shameless things? (Yes.) Just from the fact that their purpose for believing in God is to find a backer and secure a living, it is clear that these people are nothing good, and they are lowly in character, selfish, despicable, and sordid, living in great darkness. Therefore, the principle of the church for dealing with them is likewise to discern them and then clear them out or expel them. Once you discern that they are not true believers, that they have come to the church looking for a way out and taking advantage, wanting to exploit the brothers and sisters to handle matters and render service for them, then, in such cases, leaders and workers and the brothers and sisters should promptly and accurately handle the situation. Without endangering the safety of the church or the brothers and sisters, clear them out or expel them as soon as possible. They should not be allowed to continue to lurk among the brothers and sisters. They are not the objects of God’s salvation. When such people are lurking in your midst, they constantly keep a covetous and watchful eye on everyone to see who is worth exploiting. They are always calculating if there are people in the church they can use—who has relatives working in a hospital, who knows how to treat diseases or has secret remedies, who can get wholesale prices at stores, which brother’s family runs a car dealership, who can get insider prices on houses—they specifically investigate these matters. These people are meticulous in their calculations! They calculate even small matters, and they also wish to scheme against the brothers and sisters, and plot to take advantage of them. They investigate the family background of everyone and keep everyone within the ambit of their schemes and conspiracies. Can your hearts feel peace when interacting with such people? (No.) What should be done if there is no peace? You should be on guard against such people. These people believe in God with ulterior motives; they are not here to pursue the truth or salvation, but to find a backer, a livelihood, and a way out for themselves. Such people are especially selfish, despicable, and insidious. They do not do any duty or expend themselves for God. When the church needs them for something, they are nowhere to be found, but they reappear once the matter is over. These people only know to take advantage, and there is no use letting them remain in the church; various methods must be called upon to cleanse them away as soon as possible. Some people say, “Does it really require various methods to deal with one person?” The church has all kinds of people; many of them believe in God just to find a backer and a way out, to gain blessings, or to avoid disasters. It is only the severity of these motives that varies; some people display one kind of behavior, while others display another. Therefore, different people must be treated differently; only this aligns with principles. As for these disbelievers who are looking for a backer, they must be cleansed away promptly. Don’t let them freeload in the church. They ask the brothers and sisters to handle matters for them—since it actually only requires a little bit of effort to help them handle matters, why shouldn’t they be lent even this small bit of help? The first point is that, crucially, these people are not true believers; they are thoroughgoing disbelievers. The second point is that these people cannot change from not believing to being true believers. They are not the ones whom God has predestined and chosen; they are not the objects of His salvation—rather, they are evildoers who have infiltrated the church. The third point is that these people rush about all over in the church, always seeking help from the brothers and sisters no matter how great the issue they face is, which imperceptibly harasses the brothers and sisters and meanwhile creates a severely negative atmosphere in the church that is detrimental to everyone. Therefore, it is best to cleanse away these devils who believe in God only to find a backer as soon as possible. If you haven’t identified them or perceived that they are this type of person yet, you can retain them for observation. Once you discern and see through that they are among the various evil people that God’s house needs to clear out, don’t hesitate or show them any courtesy. After discussing with everyone and reaching a consensus, you can clear them out. If the leaders and workers in the church ignore this matter, as long as the majority of the brothers and sisters confirm that they are the type who believes in God only to find a backer and a way out, you have the right to clear them out directly without going through false leaders. Doing so is correct and fully aligns with the truth principles. It is your right, your obligation, your responsibility; it is for your own protection. Of course, when the brothers and sisters who are true believers encounter difficulties, we have the responsibility and obligation to do our utmost to help them to the best of our abilities, either with loving help and support, or through material assistance. This is the love among brothers and sisters, the love of those who believe in God. However, we have no responsibility or obligation to practice helping disbelievers because they are not brothers and sisters and do not deserve this grace or such help. This is treating people according to principles. Our fellowship on the seventh purpose for believing in God concludes here. There’s no need to provide any more specific examples about these kinds of people. In short, anyone whose purpose for believing in God is to find a backer is someone who should be cleared out or expelled from the church. Once leaders and workers discern that there are such people in the church, they should promptly clear them out. Clear out each one you find, leaving none behind. If the majority of the brothers and sisters have already been harassed to the point of feeling helpless and being unable to bear it anymore, and the leaders and workers still defend them by saying, “They have difficulties; we should help them,” then such leaders should be told: “They are not true believers in God at all. They ignore anyone who fellowships God’s words with them and refuse to do their duty when told. They’ve never had any intention of expending themselves for God, and they just want to use the brothers and sisters to handle their matters. We have no responsibility or obligation to help such disbelievers!” Even if the church leader does not approve, you have the right to join together with the majority to clear them out of the church. If the church leader still does not agree at this point, then report the matter upward; isolate the leader and let them reflect. You can accept their leadership again once they agree. If they continue to disagree, you can remove them and re-elect a new leader. This is the seventh purpose for believing in God: to find a backer.

H. To Pursue Political Aims

Next, we will fellowship about the eighth purpose: believing in God with political purposes and political aims. The likelihood of such individuals appearing is not very high, but regardless of how likely it is, as long as there is a chance of these people appearing, we should list out examples of them, and expose, fellowship about, and define them. We must do this so that everyone will have discernment toward them, and then they can be cleared out as soon as possible, thereby preventing trouble and danger from being brought upon the church and the brothers and sisters. This is done to protect the church and the brothers and sisters. Therefore, those who believe in God with political aims are people we should discern and guard against, and they are also evil people that the church should clear out as soon as possible. What are the manifestations of those who have political aims? They will not speak their true thoughts to you. They will not clearly say, “I am just interested in politics, I like to participate in politics, so I believe in God with political aims and political purposes, and not for any other reason. You can handle me however you ought to.” Will they say this? (No.) So, what manifestations do they have that allow you to discern that they have political aims? That is, what words do they say, what things do they do, what expressions, looks in their eyes, and tones of speech are enough for you to confirm that their purpose for believing in God is not pure? No matter what they say or do, they hide things in their hearts, and no one can fathom them. They have a special identity and background; from their speech and behavior, it can be seen that they have schemes and plots, and that their way of speaking and doing things is strategic. When they talk, the average person cannot grasp their true motives or thoughts, and does not know why they say the things they do. Although outwardly these people show no enmity or judgment toward believing in God or fellowshipping the truth, and may even display some fondness toward these things, you just feel that they are odd—they are different from the other brothers and sisters and somewhat unfathomable. What do you usually do with people who are somewhat unfathomable? Do you just guard against them in a simple manner? Or do you take the initiative to investigate them and find out what’s really going on with them? (We should observe them.) No matter what someone is doing, their purpose and aims are generally not easily exposed within a short period of time. But as more time passes—unless they do absolutely nothing—when they act, they will surely give the game away. Observe and look for clues from the small details—you can discover some information and clues from their speech and behavior, from the intent and direction of their actions, and from the words and tone they use when speaking. Being able to do this depends on whether you are meticulous and whether you have a certain level of intelligence and caliber. Some fools aren’t able to recognize the danger and viciousness that exists in human society; regardless of whom they encounter, they always use the same method to interact with them. As a result, when they encounter crafty and sly politicians with political aims, they easily become Judases and tools for selling out the church, and unknowingly do foolish things that entrap the church.

What manifestations do these people with political aims actually have? These people have a certain social background; they are individuals who mingle in political circles. Regardless of their status in the political circles, whether they are officials, doing odd jobs, or preparing to gain a foothold in the political circles, in short, these people have a political background in society; this is a complex and special situation. Regardless of whether these people believe in the existence of God, judging from their pursuits, the paths they take, and their nature essence, can these people become those who sincerely believe in God? Can they transform from disbelievers, from politicians enthusiastic about politics, into those who sincerely believe in God? (No.) Are you sure? Or is there a possibility? (Absolutely not.) It is definitely impossible. Believing in God and politics are two different paths; these two paths develop in opposite directions, have no commonalities, and absolutely cannot intersect. They are completely divergent paths. Therefore, those who have political aims or love and are enthusiastic about politics, even if they believe in God without any explicit political purposes, still harbor other purposes; and it is certain that their purpose is not to gain the truth or be saved. At the very least, it can be determined that they do not sincerely believe in God. They only acknowledge the legend that there is a God but do not acknowledge the existence of God or the fact that God is sovereign over everything. Thus, these people will never transform from disbelievers enthusiastic about politics into true believers who believe in God’s existence, can accept God’s work, and accept God’s judgment and chastisement.

What purposes do these disbelievers with political aims actually have for believing in God? This relates to their pursuits and the professions they engage in. For example, some people always have certain personal demands within a political circle, with grand political goals and aspirations, and so on, which—regardless of what they are—are all related to politics. What is meant by “politics?” Simply put, it is related to regimes, power, and governance. Therefore, their belief in God with political aims is of course related to their political pursuits. So what are their aims? Why do they take a fancy to the people in the church? They want to use the institution that is the church, the large number of people in the church, and the influence of these people in the church from various professions and social strata, to achieve their goals. After learning about the church’s teachings, the operation of various items of church work, the way God’s chosen people live church life, their practice of duty, and so on, they attempt to integrate themselves into the church. They keep things like the spiritual terminology and various expressions frequently used in fellowship by God’s chosen people firmly in mind, hoping that one day they can use these things to rally everyone to listen to them, to be used by them, thereby achieving their political goals. Just like what nonbelievers say, after things have been brewing for a period of time, when they can raise a banner and get people to rise up in rebellion, more people will respond to their call and follow them, so that they can gain a portion of people in the church to become their force to contend with their rivals. Such things have happened several times in modern Chinese history. For example, the White Lotus Rebellion and the Taiping Rebellion during the Qing Dynasty were instances where people with political aims used religion to fight against the government. The teachings of their religions deviated from the true way and had many absurd and ridiculous aspects that did not conform to the truth at all. Those with political aims made use of such teachings to unify people’s minds, bind their minds, and influence and indoctrinate their minds. Ultimately, they exploited these indoctrinated people to achieve their political goals. From the beginning, when these people with political aims come to believe in God, it is the name of the church that they take a fancy to. That is, they can hide their identity and their aims under the title of the institution that is the church—this is one aspect. Another is they think that as long as they spread their political views under the banner of believing in God, it will be very easy to indoctrinate the people in the church, and that these people are likely to worship and listen to famous people. Consequently, these individuals who have political aims are liable to view the people in the church as objects to be utilized. They believe that it is very easy for the church to become a place where they can hide their identity, and that the members of the church are objects that can be easily utilized by them—simply put, this is how they see things. Therefore, their purpose for joining the church is to hope that one day, once they are on the ascendant, they can contend with their political rivals and gain power—this is their political aim. They want to use the nominal pretext of believing in God to expand the people who idolize and follow them into part of their political sphere of influence. Some people say, “They may have this purpose, but if they don’t make any moves, at most we can only see that they are disbelievers or false believers. How can we see that they have clear political purposes?” This is not difficult. Just take the time to observe. As long as they have political aims, they will definitely take action. If they don’t want to take action, why would they have infiltrated the church? If they haven’t taken action yet, it’s because they haven’t found the opportunity. Once they have the opportunity, they will act accordingly. For example, if the government enacts a wrong policy or suppresses and arrests God’s chosen people, the brothers and sisters would at most discuss and discern this matter, and that would be the end of it. No matter what, believing in God, doing their duties, and following God’s will are what’s important. They wouldn’t lose the big picture for small matters; they would continue believing in God and doing their duties in the manner they should, as usual. However, people with political aims are different. They would make a big deal out of the matter, rampantly expose and widely publicize it, and wish desperately to incite everyone to rise up against the government to serve their own political aims, and they would not stop until they achieve their goals. For the sake of engaging in politics, they completely set aside the matters of believing in God and doing their duties, and disregard God’s requirements of man and God’s intentions. This is how crazy they are—can people still not discern them? Are such individuals following God or following politics? Some people, lacking discernment, are easily misled. These people who engage in politics do not know what the truth is, much less do they understand that God’s work is to cleanse people’s corrupt dispositions and save them from Satan’s influence. They think that engaging in human rights and politics means having a sense of justice and submitting to God. Does engaging in politics and human rights represent that a person has the truth reality? Does it represent that a person submits to God? No matter how well you handle human rights and politics, does it represent that your corrupt disposition has been cleansed? Does it represent that your ambition and desire to hold power have been cleansed? Many people cannot see through these issues. Apparently, Sun Yat-sen was also a Christian. When he was in danger, he prayed for God to save him. He spent his whole life engaging in revolution—did he receive God’s approval? Was he someone who practiced the truth and submitted to God? Did he have experiential testimony of practicing God’s words? He had none of these. After Paul was called, he continuously preached the gospel and suffered much hardship, but because he did not truly repent, did not have life entry, repeatedly committed the same old sins, and exalted and testified to himself at every opportunity, he became an antichrist and was punished. No matter what, believing in God without accepting the truth, always pursuing fame and status, and always wanting to be a superman or a great person is very dangerous. All those with political aims are antichrists. These people will not easily give up on realizing their political aspirations and will always look for opportunities to incite and win over believers as their political force. If one day they see that believers are not easily exploited, that believers only love and pursue the truth, and that they only follow Christ and not people, only then will they completely give up on these believers.

At root, the minds of people with political aims are occupied entirely by ideas related to politics—power and influence, governance, conspiracies, political means, and so on. They do not understand what it means to believe in God, what faith is, what the truth is, or much less how to submit to God. They also do not understand what the will of Heaven is. Their survival principles are “Man will triumph over nature” and “A person’s destiny is in their own hands.” Therefore, trying to change such people is impossible and is a foolish idea. These people often spread political viewpoints among the brothers and sisters in the church, inciting them to engage in political activities and participate in politics. It is very clear that their purpose for believing in God is driven by political aims. This essence can be quickly and easily discerned by others. These people are completely ignorant of faith, walking the right path, and submitting to the will of Heaven—they believe that any person’s thoughts and paths can be changed using political tactics, and they especially believe that a person’s destiny can be changed through human means and methods. Therefore, they are completely ignorant about the profound yet obvious matters of the laws of nature created by God and God’s sovereignty over man’s destiny; they are laypeople when it comes to these matters and simply cannot wrap their heads around them. What do I mean by saying this? If you find anyone whose purpose for believing in God is driven by political aims, you absolutely must not try to change or persuade them, and there is no need to fellowship so many truths with them. Besides being on guard against them, you should inform church leaders at various levels or reliable brothers and sisters about them as soon as possible, and then find a way to expel them from the church. You should not secretly and quietly guard against them while letting others remain in the dark. So, what kind of people can have a bit of discernment concerning those who like to talk about politics and have political aims? Is it older people or younger people? Is it brothers or sisters? (Older brothers.) That’s right; older brothers, that is, those who have social experience, have had contact with politics, or have been politically persecuted—people with insight into these matters—can perceive political issues with relative clarity. Naturally, they can exercise a bit of discernment toward those who engage in politics, and in particular they can perceive their ambitions and desires, as well as their thoughts, viewpoints, ideals, and aspirations, with relative clarity. Therefore, they can discern these people relatively faster than others. Once someone discerns that these people have political aims and are disbelievers, they should guard against them and expose these disbelievers. At the same time, they must also protect the foolish and ignorant ones who don’t understand the truth, preventing them from being misled and exploited, and from unintentionally leaking some of the internal information of the church. It is necessary to notify church leaders and discuss this matter with them, and to inform more older people or those who understand some truth and have some stature to guard against these people with political aims, as soon as possible. It is important to help others see clearly the essence of these people as disbelievers, thereby protecting the foolish and ignorant brothers and sisters from being exploited by them. If you cannot see through these matters and have no discernment, when some sinister, sly, crafty people talk and chat with you, you will willingly spill your guts about the details of your true situation and everything you know without even being asked, inadvertently becoming a Judas. Are there such people? (Yes.) When you speak, you don’t know what purpose the other person harbors and treat them as a brother or sister, telling them everything in your heart without realizing it—after you’ve spoken, you don’t know what consequences will come about. Seeing others guarding themselves against such people, you say, “You’re too cautious. What’s there to hide between brothers and sisters?” You don’t realize why others don’t speak up—this is called being a fool.

People with political aims are certainly disbelievers as well because they do not love the truth and will not accept the truth. Even if they believe in God, they entirely belong to the category of evil people that are antichrists. Guarding against such people is actually the most passive approach. The proactive approach is to discover them early, and deal with and expel them as quickly as possible, to avoid bringing any trouble to the church and the brothers and sisters. Because these people can influence others anytime and anywhere within the church and can destroy the normal order of the church anytime and in any situation, do not keep tolerating or exercising patience with such disbelievers. Do not give them another chance to repent; do not be foolish. Once discovered, they should be expelled as soon as possible to prevent future misfortune. The purpose of doing this is to prevent those who do not pursue the truth from being misled and used, becoming puppets of Satan and demons. Of course, what you most ought to do at the moment is to prevent those with political aims from learning any important information about the church. The sooner you discern and expel them, the less contact the brothers and sisters will have with them, and the less they will be misled and influenced by them. Therefore, in terms of timing, it is better to deal with and expel such people sooner rather than later—the earlier, the better. Being proactive is better than being passive. People with political aims are ill-intentioned; they cannot possibly have any sincerity for doing anything for the church and God’s house. If they cannot mislead or use the brothers and sisters, they will be completely humiliated and will leave the church voluntarily, even without saying goodbye. This concludes our fellowship on the eighth purpose for believing in God: to pursue political aims.

October 30, 2021