Bible Verses for Reference:

“Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that follows the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and in Your name have cast out devils, and in Your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21–23).

“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

Relevant Words of God:

Most people place special emphasis on behavior in their belief in God, as a result of which certain changes occur in their behavior. After they have begun to believe in God, they stop smoking and drinking, and they no longer contend with others, preferring to exercise patience when they suffer a loss. They undergo some behavioral changes. Some people feel that once they believe in God they understand the truth by reading God’s word; they’ve experienced the work of the Holy Spirit, and they have true enjoyment in their hearts, making them particularly fervent, and there is nothing that they cannot forsake or suffer. Nevertheless, after having believed for eight, ten, or even twenty or thirty years, because there has been no change in their life dispositions, they end up sliding back into old ways; their arrogance and conceit grow more pronounced, they begin to compete for power and gain, they covet the church’s money, they envy those who have taken advantage of God’s house. They become parasites and vermin within God’s house, and some are even revealed and eliminated as false leaders and antichrists. And what do these facts prove? Mere behavioral changes are unsustainable; if there is no alteration in people’s life dispositions, then sooner or later, they will show their true colors. This is because behavioral changes have their source in fervor, and coupled with some work by the Holy Spirit at the time, it becomes extremely easy for them to be fervent or to have good intentions for a short time. As the nonbelievers say, “Doing one good thing is easy; what’s hard is doing a lifetime of good things.” Why are people incapable of doing good things throughout their entire lives? Because by nature, people are wicked, selfish, and corrupt. One’s behavior is directed by their nature; whatever one’s nature is, so is the behavior that one reveals, and only that which is revealed naturally represents one’s nature. Things that are fake cannot last. When God works to save man, it is not to adorn man with good behavior—the purpose of God’s work is to transform people’s dispositions, to make them reborn into new people. God’s judgment, chastisement, trials, and refinement of man all serve to change his disposition so that he may achieve absolute submission and loyalty to God, and come to worship Him normally. This is the aim of God’s work. Behaving well is not the same as submitting to God, much less does it equal being compatible with Christ. Changes in behavior are based on doctrine and born of fervor; they are not based upon true knowledge of God or upon the truth, much less do they rest upon guidance from the Holy Spirit. Even though there are times when some of what people do is enlightened or guided by the Holy Spirit, this is not a revelation of their life. They have not yet entered into the truth realities, and their life disposition has not changed at all. No matter how good a person’s behavior is, it does not prove that they submit to God or that they put the truth into practice. Behavioral changes do not represent changes in life disposition and they cannot be counted as revelations of life.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three

Though a person may have engaged in a great number of good behaviors since they began believing in God, they still cannot see many things clearly, let alone achieve understanding of the truth. Yet, because of their many good behaviors, they feel that they’re already practicing the truth, have already submitted to God, and have already quite satisfied His intentions. When nothing befalls you, you are able to do whatever you are told, you have no qualms about performing any duty, and you do not resist. When you are told to preach the gospel, you don’t complain and can stand this hardship, and when you are told to run about and work, or to do a task, you do so. Because of this, you feel you are one who submits to God and genuinely pursues the truth. Yet if you are asked seriously, “Are you an honest person? Are you a person who truly submits to God? A person whose disposition has changed?”—if every person is held up for comparison against the truth of God’s words—it may be said that none is up to standard, and that none would be capable of acting according to the truth principles. So, all of corrupt mankind must reflect on themselves. They must reflect on the dispositions that they live by, and on the satanic philosophies, logic, heresies and fallacies that form the basis for all of their acts and deeds. They must reflect on the root cause of why they reveal their corrupt disposition, what the essence of their acting willfully is, on what and for whom they live. If this is held up to the truth for comparison, then all people will be condemned. What is the reason for this? The reason is that mankind is so deeply corrupted. People do not understand the truth, and all of them live by their corrupt dispositions. They do not have the least bit of self-knowledge, they always believe in God according to their own notions and imaginings, do their duties based on their own preferences and methods, and follow religious theories in how they serve God. What is more, they still think that they are full of faith, that their actions are very reasonable, and in the end they feel that they have gained a lot. Without realizing it, they come to think that they are already acting in line with God’s intentions and have satisfied them completely, and that they have already met God’s requirements and are following His will. If this is how you feel, or if you think that you have reaped some gains in your several years of belief in God, then all the more must you come back before God to examine yourself carefully. You should look at the path you have walked over your years of faith to see whether all your acts and deeds before God have been entirely in accordance with His intentions. Examine which of your behaviors were in opposition to God, which achieved submission to Him, whether your actions have met and satisfied God’s requirements. You should clarify all these things, for only then will you have self-awareness.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Knowing One’s Own Wrong Views Can One Truly Transform

A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God—can you be in line with God’s intentions? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and you are not of sin because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are without sin or impurity. How can you be sanctified if you have not been changed? Within, you are full of impurity, selfish and base, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but you have not been changed. For you to be in line with God’s intentions, God must personally do the work to change and cleanse you; otherwise you could not possibly become sanctified as you’ve only been redeemed. In this way you will be unqualified to enjoy the good blessings together with God, for you have missed 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.

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

Though Jesus came among man and did much work, He only completed the work of redeeming all mankind and served as man’s sin offering; He did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to become the sin offering and bear the sins of man, but it also required God to do even greater work to rid man completely of his Satan-corrupted disposition. And so, after man was forgiven of his sins, God returned to the flesh to lead man into the new age, and began the work of chastisement and judgment. This work has brought 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 they shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.

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

Before man was redeemed, many of Satan’s poisons had already been planted within him and, after thousands of years of being corrupted by Satan, he has within him a nature that resists God. Therefore, when man has been redeemed, it is nothing more than a case of redemption. That is, man is bought at a high price, but the poisonous nature within him has not been eliminated. Man that is so filthy must undergo a change before becoming worthy to serve God. By means of this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt essence within his own self, and he will be able to change completely and become purified. Only in this way can man become worthy to return before the throne of God. All the work done this day is so that man can be purified and be changed; through judgment and chastisement by the word, as well as through refinement, man can cast off his corruption and be purified. Rather than deeming this stage of work to be that of salvation, it would be more apt to say it is the work of purification. In truth, this stage is also the work of conquest, as well as the second stage in the work of salvation. It is through judgment and chastisement by the word that man comes to be gained by God, and it is through refinement, judgment, and exposure by the word that all of the impurities, notions, motives, and personal hopes within man’s heart are completely revealed. Although man has been redeemed and forgiven of his sins, it can only be considered as God not remembering the transgressions of man and not treating man in accordance with his transgressions. However, when man, who lives in a body of flesh, has not been set free from sin, he can only continue to sin, endlessly revealing his corrupt satanic disposition. This is the life that man leads, an endless cycle of sinning and being forgiven. The majority of mankind sin by day and confess in the evenings. This way, even though the sin offering is forever effective for man, it will not be able to save man from sin. Only half the work of salvation has been completed, for man still has a corrupt disposition. … It is not easy for man to become aware of his sins; he has no way of recognizing his own deeply rooted nature, and he must rely on judgment by the word in order to achieve this result. Only thus can man gradually be changed from this point onward.

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

I determine the destination of each person not on the basis of age, seniority, or amount of suffering, much less on how pitiable they are, but according to whether they possess the truth. There is no other choice but this. You must understand that all those who do not follow the will of God shall be punished without exception. This is something that no person can change. Therefore, all those who are punished are so punished for the righteousness of God and as retribution for their numerous evil acts.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Prepare Sufficient Good Deeds for Your Destination

You might think that, having been a follower for so many years, you have put in hard work no matter what, and that whatever the case you can be a laborer and get a meal ticket in God’s house. I would say that the majority of you think this way, for you have always pursued the principle of how to take advantage of things and not be taken advantage of. Thus, I am telling you now in all seriousness: I do not care how meritorious your hard work is, how impressive your qualifications, how closely you follow Me, how renowned you are, or how much you have improved your attitude; as long as you have not met My demands, you will never be able to win My approval. Write off all those ideas and calculations of yours as soon as possible, and start treating My requirements seriously; otherwise, I will turn everyone to ash in order to bring an end to My work and, at worst turn My years of work and suffering into nothing, for I cannot bring My enemies and those people who reek of evil and still have that same old likeness of Satan into My kingdom or take them into the next age.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Transgressions Will Lead Man to Hell