Feb 25, 2018
Only after hearing their fellowship did my wife and I understand that “being saved,” as spoken of in the Epistle of the Romans, referred to the acceptance of the Lord Jesus’ salvation and to no longer being condemned to death for violating the law. It was not the “being saved” that we had imagined, of being thoroughly purified. What they said made sense. That explanation of “being saved” is in line with our situation of living in a state of committing sins and then confessing those sins. So, what the Lord Jesus did was just the work of redemption, not the work of thoroughly purifying and saving man.
Although once people believe in the Lord they are saved, this does not mean that they have been thoroughly purified. Listening to their fellowship, I felt that there was truth to be sought from within it, so I expressed my willingness to continue on. I said, “Thanks be to the Lord! What you’re saying is wonderful. From this fellowship with you now we understand the true meaning of ‘being saved.’ Please continue on with your fellowship, and may the Lord guide us.” Sister Su went on to say, “Great, let’s read a few passages of the word of Almighty God and it will all become clearer. Almighty God said: ‘At the time Jesus’ work was the redemption of 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. Salvation did not mean man had been completely gained by Jesus, but that man was no longer of sin, that he had been forgiven his sins: Provided you believed, you would never more be of sin’ (‘The Vision of God’s Work (2)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘Man was healed of his sickness and forgiven his sins, but as for just how man was to be purged of the corrupt satanic dispositions within him, this work had yet to be done. Man was only saved and forgiven his sins for his faith, but the sinful nature of man was not extirpated and still remained within him. The sins of man were forgiven through the agency of the incarnate God, but this does not mean that man no longer has sin within him. The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but as for just how man can be made to sin no more, and how his sinful nature may be extirpated completely and transformed, he has no way of solving this problem. The sins of man were forgiven, and this is because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live within the corrupt satanic disposition of old. This being so, man must be completely saved from his corrupt satanic disposition, so that his sinful nature may be completely extirpated, never to develop again, thus enabling the disposition of man to be transformed. This would require man to grasp the path of growth in life, to grasp the way of life, and to grasp the way to change his disposition. Furthermore, it would require man to act in accordance with this path, so that his disposition may gradually be changed and he may live under the shining of the light, so that all that he does may be in accord with the will of God, so that he may cast away his corrupt satanic disposition, and so that he may break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation’ (‘The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment, and this work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life’ (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh). We can see from the words of Almighty God that if we adhere to God’s redemptive work from the Age of Grace and do not accept His judgment work of the last days, then the root of our sinfulness cannot be resolved. Almighty God of the last days has arrived and is carrying out a step of work on the foundation of the work of redemption, judging and purifying man. He is uttering truths to reveal the truth of man’s corruption, judging man’s satanic nature. He has come to transform people’s satanic disposition, to completely free them from Satan’s influence so they may attain full salvation. It is evident that Almighty God’s judgment work of the last days is the most critical and fundamental work for purifying, saving and perfecting people. Therefore, it is only by accepting Almighty God’s judgment work of the last days that we can gain a true understanding of our own corrupt essence and God’s righteous disposition, completely break free from Satan’s influence, be fully saved by God and become people who obey, worship and are compatible with God.”
Although once people believe in the Lord they are saved, this does not mean that they have been thoroughly purified. Listening to their fellowship, I felt that there was truth to be sought from within it, so I expressed my willingness to continue on. I said, “Thanks be to the Lord! What you’re saying is wonderful. From this fellowship with you now we understand the true meaning of ‘being saved.’ Please continue on with your fellowship, and may the Lord guide us.” Sister Su went on to say, “Great, let’s read a few passages of the word of Almighty God and it will all become clearer. Almighty God said: ‘At the time Jesus’ work was the redemption of 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. Salvation did not mean man had been completely gained by Jesus, but that man was no longer of sin, that he had been forgiven his sins: Provided you believed, you would never more be of sin’ (‘The Vision of God’s Work (2)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘Man was healed of his sickness and forgiven his sins, but as for just how man was to be purged of the corrupt satanic dispositions within him, this work had yet to be done. Man was only saved and forgiven his sins for his faith, but the sinful nature of man was not extirpated and still remained within him. The sins of man were forgiven through the agency of the incarnate God, but this does not mean that man no longer has sin within him. The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but as for just how man can be made to sin no more, and how his sinful nature may be extirpated completely and transformed, he has no way of solving this problem. The sins of man were forgiven, and this is because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live within the corrupt satanic disposition of old. This being so, man must be completely saved from his corrupt satanic disposition, so that his sinful nature may be completely extirpated, never to develop again, thus enabling the disposition of man to be transformed. This would require man to grasp the path of growth in life, to grasp the way of life, and to grasp the way to change his disposition. Furthermore, it would require man to act in accordance with this path, so that his disposition may gradually be changed and he may live under the shining of the light, so that all that he does may be in accord with the will of God, so that he may cast away his corrupt satanic disposition, and so that he may break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation’ (‘The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment, and this work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life’ (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh). We can see from the words of Almighty God that if we adhere to God’s redemptive work from the Age of Grace and do not accept His judgment work of the last days, then the root of our sinfulness cannot be resolved. Almighty God of the last days has arrived and is carrying out a step of work on the foundation of the work of redemption, judging and purifying man. He is uttering truths to reveal the truth of man’s corruption, judging man’s satanic nature. He has come to transform people’s satanic disposition, to completely free them from Satan’s influence so they may attain full salvation. It is evident that Almighty God’s judgment work of the last days is the most critical and fundamental work for purifying, saving and perfecting people. Therefore, it is only by accepting Almighty God’s judgment work of the last days that we can gain a true understanding of our own corrupt essence and God’s righteous disposition, completely break free from Satan’s influence, be fully saved by God and become people who obey, worship and are compatible with God.”
My heart really brightened from hearing all of this fellowship, and I felt like my long-standing confusions had finally been resolved. It turns out that God just carried out the work of redemption in the Age of Grace, not the work of ridding people of their corrupt satanic disposition. God’s judgment work of revealing the truth through His incarnation in the last days is the work of the thorough purification and salvation of mankind. So how does God actually purify, transform people and completely save them? I was eager to know the answer to this question, so I couldn’t wait to ask, “I understand what you just said, and now I know that we can only attain purification through the returned Lord carrying out the step of the work of judgment. This is what I’ve been longing for for quite some time. What I really want to know now is how Almighty God does His work of judgment to purify and save people? Please share your fellowship.”
Sister Su continued on, “The question of how Almighty God does His judgment work to cleanse and save people is particularly important for anyone who wants to achieve change and purification. Almighty God’s words provide particular clarity on this aspect of the truth. I’ll send them to you. Brother, please read them!”
Thrilled, I read out Almighty God’s words: “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the essence 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 essence 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 substance 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 substance 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.” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
After I had finished reading God’s words, Sister Su continued with her fellowship, “Almighty God’s words explain so clearly how God judges and purifies people. God in the last days is primarily uttering truths to target man’s corrupt disposition and satanic nature of resisting God in order to judge, purify and save mankind. Almighty God has uttered so many aspects of the truths—how Satan corrupts people, how God saves people, what it is to just follow man and what it is to obey God, what perspectives we should have in our faith, what a dispositional change is, what fearing God and shunning evil is, what offending God’s disposition is, how to be an honest person, etc. These truths all possess authority and power, and can provide people with sustenance for their lives. They are the path to eternal life that God has bestowed upon mankind. As long as people accept and practice the word of God, they can attain purification and salvation. After undergoing several years of Almighty God’s work of judgment we have personally experienced all of this. When we read Almighty God’s words of judging, chastising, and exposing man, we feel that they are like a double-edged sword, revealing our rebelliousness, corruption, resistance, wrong intentions, notions and imaginations and even Satan’s toxins hidden in the depths of our hearts. It makes us see that we are arrogant and self-righteous, crooked and cunning, selfish, mean and blind to all but our own interests, with no fear at all for God. We see we are filled with filth and corruption in our actions, hearts, and minds, that we are like living ghosts without any human likeness. We feel too ashamed to show our faces and realize that if we continue to live by our corrupt satanic dispositions, we will always be people who disgust God, we will never be able to win God’s praise and we will be destined for elimination and punishment. The judgment and revelations of Almighty God’s words are God judging us face-to-face, making us recognize God’s majestic, wrathful and righteous disposition and gradually develop a God-fearing heart as well as true repentance and change. We now feel that we are living out a bit of a human likeness and we see that we have indeed attained God’s great salvation. If God’s judgment hadn’t come upon us, we wouldn’t have had the chance to know God’s righteous disposition which does not tolerate man’s offenses and His holy and benevolent essence. We wouldn’t be able to come to hate our own rebelliousness and corruption, nor would we be able to cast aside our corruption and be purified. So, the more we experience God’s judgment and chastisement, the more we see that God’s judgment and chastisement is the best care for us, our greatest blessing and the truest salvation!”
Sister Liu also shared this in fellowship, “Almighty God’s judgment and chastisement work of the last days is the work of thoroughly purifying, saving and perfecting people. If we do not accept judgment before the seat of Christ of the last days, then we won’t be able to attain purification and changes to our life disposition. Our outcome will most certainly be rejection and elimination by God; we will suffer perdition and will perish. We will never have a chance at salvation and entering the kingdom of heaven. This is an absolute.”
I happily said, “Thanks be to God! My heart is so brightened by your fellowship. I’ve believed in the Lord for so many years but in fact I’ve been living in sin and have been powerless to break free. Now I understand that if I do not experience God’s judgment and chastisement in the last days, I won’t be able to break free from the bondage and constraints of sin. I have now found the path to purification and complete salvation.” After several days’ fellowship, my wife and I came to understand some truths and we accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days.
I give thanks to Almighty God for His love and salvation for me! As a pastor, I have the responsibility and the obligation to bring all the other pastors and the brothers and sisters that I know before God. After working with these brothers and sisters for a period of time, not only did dozens of brothers and sisters in the church who often attend gatherings all accept Almighty God, but we also brought a pastor of another house church into God’s family, and the majority of the brothers and sisters from his church also turned toward God. I was delighted seeing those brothers and sisters accepting God’s salvation of the last days and being raised up before the throne of God. This is all the fruit of the work of Almighty God: May all glory be to Almighty God!
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