Because of faith, we are forgiven of sins; because of faith, we follow Christ till today. The website, Follow Christ, provides the latest information about the truth of Christ's return.
When I was 12, I began believing in the Lord Jesus and became a Christian. After I began believing, I actively and persistently participated in Sunday worship and Bible study groups. At Bible study meetings, we often discussed 2 Timothy 4:7–8, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” We thought that, as Christians, we should imitate Paul and strive to run around and do works, because the Lord would bestow crowns of righteousness upon us. Our pastor also often encouraged us by saying the kingdom of heaven is entered through effort, and as long as we make efforts to pursue and diligently do the Lord’s work, when the Lord returns, He would rapture us up to the kingdom of heaven. These teachings became the cornerstone of my belief in God, and I swore to myself that I would do all in my power to participate in church service work so that I could accrue enough “value” to satisfy God, so that when He came, I could be raptured up into the kingdom of heaven.
One day, Sister Zhou told me that Sister Wang had invited a preacher to come and preach to us, and I was asked to attend our co-workers’ meeting. I hurried to the meeting place after receiving the message, where Sister Wang introduced us to the preacher, Sister Ma Yan. Once we’d exchanged greetings, Sister Ma spoke of the reasons behind the church’s desolation, integrating some Bible verses into her fellowship. We all thought that she’d fellowshiped very clearly, that her fellowship had come from the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment, and that it had resolved questions that had perplexed us for a long time.
Sister Ma then continued her fellowship, saying, “Brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus we have longed for for so long has returned. He is Almighty God, Christ of the last days, and Almighty God expresses His words and performs the work of judgment beginning in God’s house upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption; this is to save us utterly from the bonds of sin, and to enable us to be purified so that we may enter into the kingdom of heaven. This fulfills the Lord Jesus’ word, ‘I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth’ (John 16:12–13). ‘And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’ (John 12:47–48). Almighty God has ended the work of the Age of Grace and begun the work of the Age of Kingdom….”
After I believed in the Lord, when I was among the brothers and sisters, we loved and helped each other like we were a big family. I felt particularly warm inside, as if a child who had wondered for years finally found his home. My life finally had its direction and motivation. So I attended the church meetings actively.
My name is Ella, and I am 53, from the Philippines. I was born in a Catholic family. Even though I believed in the Lord in the Catholic Church from childhood, I barely knew about the Lord and had little faith in Him, even pursuing to be rich like the unbelievers. In April 1987, I met Villan, who was a Filipino Christian, when I was a domestic helper abroad. She worked not far away from my work place. At that time she was a leader of a Christian church. She preached to me the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and invited me to go to her church. She also shared with me Romans 10:9-10 of the Bible, “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation,” telling me that I could go to heaven if I believed in the Lord Jesus. Hearing this I was shocked because I was afraid of going to hell. So I accepted the Lord Jesus and started regularly living the life of church in this Christian church. Afterward, I saw 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness…” and 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Know you not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain.” Influenced by these thoughts, I actively pursued superficial good deeds, often giving my family financial support, helping those who were in trouble, giving offerings to the church frequently, being nice to others, and never quarreling with others. Besides, I attended the meeting every Sunday and never missed it, often preached the gospel in public places, and handed out tracts in the park. I lived this way for 7 years, and then I became the leader of a church.
Sin, as a Christian, is something I couldn’t be more familiar with. It hovers around me every day, it’s always close, and I can’t get rid of it! The constant cycle of sinning and confessing had always troubled me, because if the Lord ever returned, could I enter the kingdom of heaven like this? In my torment, I thought of Paul’s words, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns?” (Romans 8:33–34). “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Yes, I am one of the Lord’s elect, the Lord has already forgiven all my sins, and no matter whether they are past, present, or future sins, He forgives them all. He no longer sees me as a sinner, and when the Lord comes, I will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven!
When I believed in the Lord Jesus in the church of Justification by Faith, I often read and recited the Bible and often heard the pastors and elders preach, “In believing in the Lord, one could not depart from the Bible. Departure from the Bible is not the faith in the Lord, for the Bible is given by inspiration of God.” Later I read 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” So I thought the Bible was the holiest book, which was indeed the words of God and given by inspiration of God. I not only believed it firmly, but also exhorted brothers and sisters to treat the Bible like this. Only by holding on to the Lord’s words in the Bible can we be true believers in the Lord, and only such can be the purest belief.
On one occasion when we went to visit brothers and sisters in another place, we encountered the brothers and sisters of the Church of Almighty God luckily. They gave me a book and said the words in it are the words of God. I was then dumbfounded and thought, “Aren’t the words of God all in the Bible? Only the Bible is given by inspiration of God and is the words of God. How come they say this book is words of God?” I said doubtfully, “All the words of God are in the Bible; how can you say the words in this book are spoken by God? This is not the Bible!” They said, “Brother, look at the name of this book.” I then noticed that the book’s name is The Word Appears in the Flesh. I shook my head, not knowing what the meaning was. Seeing I was confused, a sister fellowshiped, “The words in this book are truly the utterances expressed by God in the last days, and the work of God in the last days exactly fulfills the prophecy of the Bible ‘For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God’ (1 Peter 4:17). In the last days, the Lord has returned and done a stage of work of judgment with the word. If you want to know how the Lord Jesus does the work of judgment when He returns, you must read more words expressed by Almighty God, for Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus. He does the work of judgment of the last days based on the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus. Almighty God reveals all the truths and mysteries of mankind’s salvation as well as the mysteries of the Bible.” Though I didn’t understand the meaning of the words “The Word Appears in the Flesh,” what the sister fellowshiped was indeed in line with the Bible, which seemed that this book didn’t depart from the Bible. Yet, what were the contents? Can they be the same as those in the Bible? But they said that after reading this book I could understand the mysteries of the Bible and of God’s work of the last days. At that time, I was curious about it, saying, “I’ll read it.” Thus, I went home with this book.
One day, I read the words of Almighty God, “Not everything in the Bible is a record of the words personally spoken by God. The Bible simply documents the previous two stages of God’s work, of which one part is a record of the foretellings of the prophets, and one part is the experiences and knowledge written by people used by God throughout the ages. Human experiences are tainted with human opinions and knowledge, which is unavoidable. In many of the books of the Bible are human conceptions, human biases, and human absurd interpretations. Of course, most of the words are the result of the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit, and they are correct interpretations—yet it still cannot be said that they are entirely accurate expressions of the truth” (“Concerning the Bible (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). At that moment, my heart skipped a beat, “Why is it said that the Bible is not entirely the expression of God and is tainted with human conceptions and human absurd interpretations? What is it about? The Bible is clearly the expression of God and inspired by God. Though written by people, the Bible is given by inspiration of God, which is recorded in the Bible. It can’t be wrong! How could it be said that there are human absurd interpretations? How could it be possible? The Bible is the purest book and not mixed with human will. It is approved by the entire religious community.” This thought made me not want to read any more. At that time, I was completely lost in thought and could not figure them out. At last, I put the book away, pacing back and forth in my room and engaging in a mental struggle, “Should I read it or not? If I read it, I really can’t accept these words. Isn’t it a denial of ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God’? If I don’t read it, some words in this book are truly good and allow man to know how to believe in, obey and love God, which is indeed beneficial to man’s belief in God. And I also knew some mysteries from it.” Then I had a second thought, “If I put it aside and don’t read it any more, I won’t reach a conclusion about it. No, I should read on to see what on earth it says. And on what basis it says that the Bible is not entirely the expression of God, with the mixture of human absurd interpretations.” At the thought of that, I opened this book again to seek the answers purposefully. I then turned to Concerning the Bible (3), and saw Almighty God’s words, “The Gospel of Matthew of the New Testament documents Jesus’ genealogy. At the start, it says that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, the son of David, and the son of Joseph; next it says that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin—which would mean He was not the son of Joseph or the descendant of Abraham, that He was not the son of David. The genealogy, though, insists on associating Jesus with Joseph. Next, the genealogy begins to record the process by which Jesus was born. It says Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that He was born of a virgin, and not the son of Joseph. Yet in the genealogy it is clearly written that Jesus was the son of Joseph, and because the genealogy is written for Jesus, it records forty-two generations. When it goes to the generation of Joseph, it hurriedly says that Joseph was the husband of Mary, words which are in order to prove that Jesus was the descendant of Abraham. Is this not a contradiction? The genealogy clearly documents Joseph’s ancestry, it is obviously the genealogy of Joseph, but Matthew insists that it is the genealogy of Jesus. Does this not deny the fact of Jesus’ conception by the Holy Spirit? Thus, is the genealogy by Matthew not a human idea? It is ridiculous! In this way, you know that this book did not come entirely from the Holy Spirit. There are, perhaps, some people who think that God must have a genealogy on earth, as a result of which they assign Jesus as the forty-second generation of Abraham. That is really ridiculous! After arriving on earth, how could God have a genealogy? If you say that God has a genealogy, do you not rank Him among the creatures of God? For God is not of the earth, He is the Lord of creation, and although He is of flesh, He is not of the same essence as man. How could you rank God as of the same kind as a creature of God? Abraham cannot represent God; he was the object of Jehovah’s work at the time, he was merely a faithful servant approved of by Jehovah, and he was one of the people of Israel. How could he be an ancestor of Jesus?” (“Concerning the Bible (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
After reading these words, I was astonished. Oh! Such a genealogy was written by Matthew; how could he make such a big error? I have read the Gospel of Matthew for several times and even memorized it, but how did I not find such a big mistake? I immediately opened the Gospel of Matthew to see the genealogy of the Lord Jesus. Suddenly I came to my senses. I gaped at the Bible, dumbfounded. After a while, I talked to myself, “Matthew, Oh, Matthew, how could you…? Ay!” What I most feared and worried about happened: There are errors and human impurities in the Bible. I felt so restless, walking to and fro. I thought: As things are what they are now, I have no choice but to admit the facts. Matthew did say that. Are these words truly from God? If not, how can the deviation in the Bible that no one has found though reading it for thousands of years be spoken out? These words are extraordinary! It is understandable that I didn’t find it, but those pastors and elders who have read the Bible for decades also failed to find it. Today Almighty God’s words point out this deviation and flaw. Who can articulate this except God? In that case, not every scripture is given by inspiration of God. No, I need to find more definite words to verify it and make it clear. When the brothers and sisters of the Church of Almighty God come, I should fellowship with them about it.
Several days later, the brothers and sisters of the Church of Almighty God paid me a visit. They asked me, “Brother, have you read the book? If you have any questions, we can fellowship about them together.” I said, “Well, here you are. I’ve read about the genealogy by Matthew in this book, which says there are human impurities and human ideas, but I didn’t understand it. Paul says that all the scriptures are given by inspiration of God. Since the Bible is inspired by God, it should be from God. How come there are human ideas and human impurities in it?” A sister then said, “Actually, I had the same thought as you that the Bible is breathed by God. Not until I had read the words of Almighty God did I know that the Bible is not entirely given by inspiration of God, where there are human ideas and human impurities. This way, I was able to truly put aside the Bible, treating it correctly. Let’s read a passage of Almighty God’s words. Almighty God says, ‘Today, people believe the Bible is God, and that God is the Bible. So, too, do they believe that all the words of the Bible were the only words God spoke, and that they were all said by God. Those who believe in God even think that although all of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament were written by people, they were all given by inspiration of God, and a record of the utterances of the Holy Spirit. This is the erroneous interpretation of people, and it does not completely accord with the facts. In fact, apart from the books of prophecy, most of the Old Testament is historical record. Some of the epistles of the New Testament come from people’s experiences, and some come from the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit; the Pauline epistles, for example, arose from the work of a man, they were all the result of the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment, and they were written for the churches, were words of exhortation and encouragement for the brothers and sisters of the churches. They were not words spoken by the Holy Spirit—Paul could not speak on behalf of the Holy Spirit, and neither was he a prophet, much less did he see visions. His epistles were written for the churches of Ephesus, Philadelphia, Galatia, and other churches. And thus, the Pauline epistles of the New Testament are epistles that Paul wrote for the churches, and not inspirations from the Holy Spirit, nor are they the direct utterances of the Holy Spirit. They are merely words of exhortation, comfort, and encouragement that he wrote for the churches during the course of his work. So, too, are they a record of much of Paul’s work at the time. They were written for all of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, and were in order to make the brothers and sisters of all of the churches at the time follow his advice and abide by all of the ways of the Lord Jesus’ (‘Concerning the Bible (3)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh).” After reading God’s words, the sister fellowshiped with me patiently and said, “Almighty God’s words have made it very clear that not all the scriptures are God’s utterances. For example, Paul’s epistles, are merely his own knowledge of experiences and some enlightenments of the Holy Spirit and in them there are human opinions and human impurities. They are neither God’s utterances nor completely from the Holy Spirit. Only the words spoken by God Himself are completely God’s utterances, that is to say, only the words of Jehovah transmitted by Moses and the prophets, the words of the Lord Jesus, and the prophecies revealed to man by the Holy Spirit, like the prophecies in the Revelation, are the words of God. Except these, none is God’s word. So we couldn’t treat human words, human opinions and some enlightenments and illuminations of the Holy Spirit as the words of God. Such is blasphemy against God, for God is God and man is man. Thus, we know that not every scripture is given by inspiration of God.”
I thought, “Having read the Bible for several years, I’m not familiar with the Bible, but I know that the Bible is given by inspiration of God in Paul’s words. However, after hearing these words today, I really can’t accept that not every scripture is given by inspiration of God, and I just can’t calm down. Though I can’t accept it, all these words are reasonable and indisputable. The Bible is inspired by God in Paul’s words, but this book says that Paul’s epistles couldn’t be on behalf of the utterances of the Holy Spirit and the words spoken by the Holy Spirit, and only the utterances of God are God’s words. For instance, the words spoken by the Lord Jesus are all the utterances of the Holy Spirit. But I treated Paul’s epistles as the words breathed by God. Was I wrong? Hearing these words, if I still treat Paul’s words, human words, as the utterances of God, as the words of the Holy Spirit, it will be blasphemy! Won’t I be in a lot of trouble? Ay! I should really get it straight, or, I really don’t know which book I should read.” Then I asked the sister as I thought, “You said not every scripture was given by inspiration of God, then how should I treat the Bible in the future? Read it or not?” The sister replied with a smile, “To this question, let’s read the words of Almighty God. Almighty God says, ‘Today, I am dissecting the Bible in this way and it does not mean that I hate it, or deny its value for reference. I am explaining the inherent value and origins of the Bible to you to stop you being kept in the dark. For people have so many views about the Bible, and most of them are wrong; reading the Bible in this way not only prevents them from gaining what they ought to, but, more important, it hinders the work I intend to do. It is a tremendous nuisance for the work of the future, and offers only drawbacks, not advantages. Thus, what I am teaching you is simply the substance and inside story of the Bible. I’m not asking that you don’t read the Bible, or that you go around proclaiming that it is totally devoid of value, but that you have the correct knowledge and view of the Bible. Don’t be too one-sided!’ (‘Concerning the Bible (4)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh).”
After hearing the words of Almighty God and the fellowship of brothers and sisters, I understood that God said these words not to make man deny the Bible or the value of the Bible, but let them treat the Bible correctly, not worshiping and giving much credence to it and not even holding onto the words in the Bible as the words of God or worshiping the Bible as God, which are wrong. If man cannot treat the Bible correctly but worships it, they will not accept God’s new work. The words of Almighty God transformed my conceptions, and I knew that the Bible is a book of history which records God’s work and not all the words in it are God’s words. Before, I dared not say even one “no” to the Bible, thus, when some people spread the kingdom gospel of Almighty God to me, I dared not listen to them or read their book for fear of deviating from the Bible. After reading the words of Almighty God, I become more certain about the work of judgment starting from the House of God that Almighty God does in the last days, and I also understand many mysteries of the Bible, treating the Bible correctly. If I still insist that the Bible is God-breathed and except the Bible there is no God’s word, it will thwart God’s work and word, interfere with the work of God.
Later, I read more words of Almighty God. Almighty God says, “Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path through which man shall gain life, and the only path by which man shall know God and be approved by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. Those who are controlled by regulations, by letters, and shackled by history will never be able to gain life, and will never be able to gain the perpetual way of life. That is because all they have is turbid water that has lain stagnant for thousands of years, instead of the water of life that flows from the throne. Those who are not supplied with the water of life will forever remain corpses, playthings of Satan, and sons of hell. How, then, can they behold God? If you only try to hold on to the past, only try to keep things as they are by standing still, and do not try to change the status quo and discard history, then will you not always be against God? The steps of God’s work are vast and mighty, like surging waves and rolling thunders—yet you sit and passively await destruction, sticking to your folly and doing nothing. In this way, how can you be considered someone who follows in the footsteps of the Lamb? How can you justify the God that you hold on to as a God who is always new and never old? And how can the words of your yellowed books carry you across into a new age? How can they lead you to seek the steps of God’s work? And how can they take you up to heaven? What you hold in your hands is the letters that can provide but temporary solace, not the truths that are capable of giving life. The scriptures you read are that which can only enrich your tongue, not words of wisdom that can help you know human life, much less the ways that can lead you to perfection. Does this discrepancy not give you cause for reflection? Does it not allow you to understand the mysteries contained within? Are you capable of delivering yourself to heaven to meet God on your own? Without the coming of God, can you take yourself into heaven to enjoy family happiness with God? Are you still dreaming now? I suggest, then, that you stop dreaming, and look at who is working now, at who is now carrying out the work of saving man during the last days. If you do not, you shall never gain the truth, and shall never gain life” (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
God’s words allowed me to understand that Almighty God is the incarnate Christ. Just as the Lord Jesus’ work and word at that time, Almighty God does a newer and higher work beyond the Bible. The Bible cannot at all document the work that God has not yet done and the words that God has not yet spoken. So, if man wants to keep pace with the step of God’s work, they should read the actual words of God. If man doesn’t know that the words of Almighty God are spoken by the Holy Spirit and are the voice of God, but always worships and puts much blind belief to the Bible, refusing to accept God’s work and word of today, then they will be ones who don’t live before God but in the Bible. How could such people gain God’s salvation in the last days? So, today when God comes to work and speak, man should put the Bible aside to follow God’s work in the Age of Kingdom and read the words of Almighty God, for Almighty God’s words are the truth and the expression of God Himself, without any human opinion and impurity. When man understands God’s will of expressing words and saving humanity in the last days and understands the substance and the inside story of the Bible, they will not worship the Bible or put blind faith in it any longer.
I heard news of the Lord’s coming but hesitated about whether to seek His word.
Ever since I believed in the Lord, I have often heard my pastor say, “We are already in the last days and the Lord will soon return; we must not go and listen to other sermons. Because Revelation 22:18–19 say, ‘For I testify to every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.’ All of God’s words are there in the Bible. Nothing can be added or removed from the Bible, and anyone who adds anything to or removes anything from the Bible cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. In believing in God, reading the Bible is enough for us. We don’t need to go out to seek.” I was deeply influenced by what the pastor said, and thus kept listening to him and never went to other places to attend meetings or listen to sermons.
I trust every devout Christian is confused about the following: We pray to the Lord, and confess sins and repent every day, but why are we never able to escape the bondage of sin? As we all know, the Lord is holy, so are we, who often sin and resist Him, qualified to enter God’s kingdom? How can we shake off the shackles of sin? I always used to be perplexed by this too, but through seeking, I finally found the way to be purified of sin.
The Painful Life of Sinning and Confessing
“Lord, You are holy, yet I frequently involuntarily deceive and sin and offend You. Lord, I’m unwilling to live like this. Please lead me to rid myself of impurity and practice Your words. …” I often prayed to the Lord this way, but I always failed to do what I prayed, and continued to live in sin and was unable to follow the Lord’s teachings. For example, I knew perfectly well that the Lord requires us to be honest people, but to protect my self-respect and avoid being looked down upon by others, I often used the knowledge of the scriptures that I had written in the past to bluff my way through in the weekly Bible training class. Not only that, I always had a bad temper. At home, when my children didn’t do as I wanted them to, I would become furious at them; at work, when the younger generation spoke to me in an impatient tone, I couldn’t help but get angry and give them looks. … I knew that in my interactions with others, I should be tolerant and patient, and love them as myself, but I couldn’t do it at all and no matter how I prayed, repented and confessed to the Lord, I was still powerless to escape the bonds of sin. For this, I felt much pain. God says: “Be you holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). And the Bible says: “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26). I was so filthy and corrupt, and often committed sins, unable to implement the Lord’s words—would I be able to enter the heavenly kingdom in the future?
I sought answers to my confusion with the pastor, but he often comforted me by saying: “The Bible says: ‘That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation’ (Romans 10:9–10). So we need not be pessimistic and disappointed because of our habitual sin. The Lord won’t forsake us, and we have to have faith in Him. The Lord no longer sees us as sinful because our sins were long forgiven, and we are justified by faith. When He comes, we are qualified to be raptured into the kingdom of heaven.” Also, I often privately discussed this issue with my brothers and sisters, and they too believed that though we often sinned, we were deemed righteous thanks to the Lord’s redemption and that when the Lord returned He would surely bring us into the heavenly kingdom. Seeing how everybody thought this way, I was able to gradually let go of the concerns I’d had. However, I felt really uneasy in my heart, trapped in a state of sinning and confessing, but since I couldn’t find a solution, all I could do was constantly pray to the Lord, longing for Him to come quickly and lead me out of this predicament.
Happy to Hear the Good News of the Lord’s Return
One day, I visited a friend’s house, and there met Missionary Zhang. As we chatted, I unexpectedly heard from her the news of the Lord’s return. She said: “We’re now in the last stage of the last days. Disasters are frequently occurring around the world, and the prophecies of the Lord’s second coming in the last days have basically been fulfilled. We are all desperately yearning for the Lord Jesus’ return. In fact, the Lord Jesus has already returned in the flesh; He is Christ of the last days, Almighty God. He has expressed millions of words, started the Age of Kingdom and performed His work of judging, chastising and cleansing man. Only by accepting God’s work of judgment in the last days can our corrupt dispositions be purified; only then will we be qualified to be raised into the kingdom of heaven. …” Hearing that the Lord had returned, I felt pleased and surprised that now, in my lifetime, the Lord’s return had come. But I felt conflicted when I thought of how she had said that accepting God’s work of judgment in the last days was the only way for us to enter the heavenly kingdom. The pastors and elders always said that we had been absolved of our sins and been justified by faith, and that the Lord would directly bring us into the kingdom of heaven when He came. How could she say that?
Can Those Who Are Justified by Faith Get Into Heaven?
I therefore said to Sister Zhang: “The Lord was crucified to redeem mankind and has already taken on all of our sins. And the Bible says: ‘For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation’ (Romans 10:10). Our sins have been absolved and we have been made righteous through our faith. When the Lord returns, He will lift us up directly into the kingdom of heaven. How can you say that only if we accept God’s work of judgment and chastisement in the last days can we enter the heavenly kingdom? Isn’t this denying the Lord’s redemptive work?” After I finished, I turned sideways to drink tea, not feeling like talking.
Seeing that I was unhappy, Sister Zhang said amiably to me: “Sister, it’s true that the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion has forgiven man’s sins. But you think that as long as we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths, we are called righteous and will be brought into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes—is this way of thinking correct and does it have any basis in the Lord’s words? The Lord said: ‘Be you holy; for I am holy’ (1 Peter 1:16). This verse states very clearly that God is holy, and those who are not holy cannot see Him. We, however, are constantly sinning and resisting God and haven’t achieved purification. How could we be qualified to see God’s face and enter God’s kingdom? Just as the Lord Jesus said: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the son stays ever’ (John 8:34–35). From this, we can see the belief that those who are justified by faith and absolved of their sins can enter the kingdom of heaven is just a product of the imaginings from our heads and not in line with the Lord’s words. In our belief in the Lord, all things should be in accordance with the Lord’s words. Sayings that go against His words are man’s notions and fallacies, and if we continue to cling to them, we will easily ruin our chance to get into heaven.”
Sister Zhang’s fellowship was well-founded and my heart felt greatly stirred. It turned out that the argument that having our sins forgiven and being called righteous by faith meant that we could enter into the heavenly kingdom was wrong, and this was all just our wishful thinking and did not tally with the Lord’s will at all. The Lord’s words made it so clear, but how come I hadn’t pondered them in this way? In the past, I had listened only to the pastors but ignored the Lord’s words—I was so foolish!
Then the sister turned on her computer and said, smiling: “Sister, with regard to why we can’t get into heaven simply by having our sins forgiven, let’s read several passages of Almighty God’s words and it will all become clearer.” I nodded.
Understanding the True Meaning of Having Our Sins Forgiven
Almighty God says, “At the time, Jesus’ work was the work to redeem all mankind. The sins of all who believed in Him were forgiven; as long as you believed in Him, He would redeem you; if you believed in Him, you were no longer a sinner, you were relieved of your sins. This is what it meant to be saved, and to be justified by faith. Yet in those who believed, there remained that which was rebellious and opposed God, and which still had to be slowly removed.” “A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God, can you be after God’s heart? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but you have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. You, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are therefore incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance.”
After reading God’s words, the sister continued to fellowship, saying: “By reading God’s words, have we understood a little about the Lord Jesus’ redemption work and the result of it? As we all know, at the end of the Age of Law, because mankind was becoming more and more corrupted by Satan and unable to keep the law, they were all in danger of violating the laws and being punished with death. In order to redeem man from sin, God became flesh as the Lord Jesus and did the work of redemption during the Age of Grace, taking on all of our sins. As long as we believe in the Lord Jesus, and pray for repentance in His name, He will pardon our sins and give us peace and happiness. This is what we call being called righteous because of faith. But this only means we have been forgiven of our sins and will no longer be condemned by the law, but doesn’t mean we have been totally purified and become righteous people as we imagine. Because our corrupt dispositions haven’t been cleansed, such as arrogance and conceit, crookedness and deceitfulness, selfishness and baseness, and so we still frequently commit sins, incapable of practicing the Lord’s words. For example, we clearly know that the Lord teaches us to be tolerant and patient, but we often lose our temper in spite of ourselves so that others can listen to us; we clearly know the Lord requires us to be honest people, but if something involves our own interests or reputation, we involuntarily tell lies and deceive. And so on. Our sins are just like chives—as long as they aren’t uprooted, no matter how many times they are cut, they will continue to grow. Similarly, if our sinful nature isn’t eliminated, as long as there is the right environment and condition, we’ll continue to sin, and we cannot stop ourselves from doing things we know to betray the Lord’s words. As can be seen, our constant sinning is not a matter of external behavior but comes from the root of sin within us—the corrupt satanic natures. Without eradicating our corrupt dispositions, we’ll still rebel against and resist God in spite of ourselves and never will obey and worship God. This way, how can we be qualified to get into the kingdom of heaven?
“The Lord Jesus said: ‘I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come’ (John 12–13). ‘And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world’ (John 12:48). From the prophecies of the Lord, we can see that there are many things the Lord has yet to tell us and that when He returns in the last days, He will do the work of judgment and express words to lead us into all truth. Only if we accept God’s work of the last days, experience the judgment of His words, and have our corrupt dispositions cleansed, are we qualified to enter into God’s kingdom.”
The sister’s fellowship utterly convinced me and I kept nodding. From Almighty God’s words, I came to understand that the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption merely redeemed us of our sins but did not dig up the root of our sin, so we still often sin and resist God, unable to practice His words. I thought of how in those years, I recited and copied verses from the Bible, and knew by heart the Lord’s teachings to constrain myself, but when meeting with things that were not to my liking, I would still get angry and be unable to restrain my anger, and when it came to things that were in my interests, I couldn’t help deceiving. I had been experiencing inexpressible suffering and had no words to describe it. Through this communion, I finally knew that the Lord Jesus had long ago prophesied that in the last days He would express His words and do the work of judgment. Only by accepting God’s work of judgment in the last days and having our sinful nature purified can we enter the kingdom of heaven. I kept thanking the Lord in my heart for allowing me to listen to such enlightening fellowship. Since it was getting late that day, I made an appointment with Sister Zhang for the next day so we could continue to fellowship at my friend’s house.
Understanding God’s Judgment and Knowing How to Get Rid of Sin
The next day, I arrived at my friend’s house on time. Thinking of the previous day’s topic of fellowship, I couldn’t wait to ask Sister Zhang: “Sister, despite having believed in the Lord for many years, I’ve always been tightly constrained by the bonds of my sin and it’s very painful for me. I’ve kept trying to find a way to be cleansed of sin but I failed. Through your fellowshiping about Almighty God’s words yesterday, I’ve come to understand that only by accepting God’s work of judgment in the last days can we thoroughly cast off the binds of sin. I still want to know how God does His judgment work to cleanse people. Can you fellowship more with me?”
Smiling, the sister said: “Thank God. That you’re able to have a seeking heart is by God’s enlightenment and is His blessing. Christ of the last days, Almighty God, has expressed all truths to allow people to attain salvation and revealed all the truths and mysteries we never before understood when reading the Bible. With regard to how God does the work of judgment, let’s read Almighty God’s words to help us understand.” As she said this, she opened the book and handed it to me. Excitedly holding the book, I read a passage of Almighty God’s words: “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the substance of man, and to dissect the words and deeds of man. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the substance of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, the words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan, and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth of which man is utterly bereft. Only methods such as these can be called judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt essence and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the essence of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God.”
After I finished reading, the sister shared in fellowship: “Almighty God’s words are very clear. God does the work of judgment of the last days mainly according to the needs of corrupt mankind. He expresses words to judge and expose man’s God-resisting and God-betraying satanic nature, and reveal the truth of mankind’s corruption by Satan. Meanwhile, all aspects of the truth about God’s will and requirements of mankind, about what kind of people will be saved or punished, and so on, are disclosed to us. Also, God shows us the way to cleanse our sins. In addition, based on what we need in life, God also arranges all kinds of situations to discipline, deal with, try and refine us, thereby exposing our various satanic dispositions and allowing us to distinguish between positive and negative things and have a deeper understanding of our satanic nature of resisting and betraying God. For instance, through the revelation of the facts, we see our satanic dispositions of selfishness and lowliness—although we believe in God, we seek blessings and once God’s work doesn’t accord with our notions and our dreams of being blessed are ruined, we misunderstand and complain to God, and even betray Him. In our work and service to God, we often show off ourselves and pursue fame and status so that people look up to us. When faced with things that involve face and interests, we are still capable of cunning and deceit. When others infringe upon our interests, we not only hate them but also develop the idea of taking revenge on them. We are full of various satanic dispositions, such as greed, arrogance, deceit, maliciousness, and so on—we truly have no human likeness. In the process of experiencing God’s judgment, we come to have some understanding of God’s righteous disposition, holiness and kindness. For example, when we disobey God, our spirit is in darkness, we lose our peace and joy and we feel reproached, and sometimes we may be disciplined and pruned; this makes us realize that God’s righteous disposition brooks no offense. On the contrary, when we practice the truth to satisfy God, our souls feel peace and joy and we feel very close to God and have more faith to pursue the truth and satisfy Him. We feel that God is alive and vivid and practical. We are thus happy to accept and obey God’s judgment and implement and live by His words, so our satanic dispositions are gradually cleansed away; this way, we’ll finally live out a true human likeness, becoming a person who truly reveres and obeys God. These are the results achieved by experiencing God’s work of judgment in the last days.”
Hearing the sister’s fellowship was very exciting for me, and I said joyfully: “Sister, after listening to your fellowship, I understand that in the last days, God principally uses the expression of the truth to judge and purify people and also creates environments to change people. I’m very moved inside. It seems that God’s work of judgment in the last days is indeed the work of cleansing man and is entirely necessary for us to know ourselves and break away from sin. Thinking back over recent years, no matter how we’ve sacrificed and suffered for the Lord, the root of our sin can’t be resolved, and in spite of our praying, repenting and confessing, we still can’t attain purification. But now I have hope of breaking free from sin and becoming cleansed. I’ve gained a lot from your fellowship over the last two days. Not only have I understood God’s will to save man, but I also got why I was unable to rid myself of sin. I’m truly so thankful to God! Before because I’d clung to the view that we are called righteous by faith and that we can enter the kingdom of heaven, when you said only by accepting God’s judgment in the last days can we get into heaven, I felt resistance in my heart. I really was too stubborn and stupid. Now I have no misgivings and am willing to accept Almighty God’s judgment work of the last days. Hopefully, we’ll have more chances to fellowship together.”
Laughing, the sister said: “That’s wonderful, sister. Thank God!”
Welcoming the Lord’s Return and Gaining Spiritual Release
When she was leaving, Sister Zhang gave me a book of Almighty God’s words. I held onto the book, feeling as if I’d found some precious treasure. After I returned home, I hungrily, thirstily read God’s words. It turned out that Almighty God has revealed so many truths and mysteries, such as what the incarnation is, what the substance of the incarnation is, the inside story of God’s three stages of work, the difference between God’s work and man’s work, and so on. Each word of Almighty God is so fresh, and when reading His words, I felt I was face to face with God and feasting with Him, and felt at ease, joyful and sweet in my soul. More importantly, I also read the truth that exposes various aspects of man’s corrupt disposition and each word is piercing. What the truth reveals is the things deep within our souls and made me convinced in my speech and heart. I perceived from the bottom of my heart that God observes our hearts and minds and that His righteous disposition does not tolerate offense. I couldn’t help weeping tears of gratitude and falling to the ground before God to pray: “God, thank You for not abandoning me, a sinner, but allowing me to welcome Your return during my lifetime. Thank You so much. Now all I want to do is read Your words more and pursue the truth to attain change in my corrupt dispositions soon. May You lead me!”
I believed in the Lord by chance when I was 11 years old. After my father knew it, he opposed me strongly, saying that he was the head of the family so that I needed to obtain his permission before I could have faith, and he didn’t allow me to go to the church. After that, I did not go to church anymore, but I still prayed to the Lord every day, and the Lord heard my prayers and responded to me in different ways.
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