(1) It is necessary to accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, and to become purified of one’s corrupt disposition. Only thus is it guaranteed that they will no longer disobey or resist God;

(2) It is necessary to pursue the truth and come to understand its various aspects. Only thus is it guaranteed that one’s views on things conform to those of Christ and do not conflict with them;

(3) It is necessary to submit to all of God’s words. Even when one does not understand them, they must learn to seek submission to the truth, to guarantee they are not disobeying or resisting God;

(4) It is necessary to accept being perfected by Christ, and to achieve a change in one’s life disposition. Only thus can one submit to Christ absolutely and become one who testifies to Him.

Relevant Words of God:

I have done much work among man, during which time I have also expressed many words. These words are all for the sake of man’s salvation and were expressed so that man might become compatible with Me. However, I have gained only a few people on earth who are compatible with Me, and so I say that man does not treasure My words—it is because man is not compatible with Me. In this way, the work I do is not merely so that man can worship Me; more importantly, it is so that man can be compatible with Me. Man has been corrupted and lives in Satan’s trap. All people live in the flesh, live in selfish desires, and there is not a single one among them who is compatible with Me. There are those who say that they are compatible with Me, but such people all worship vague idols. Although they acknowledge My name as holy, they tread a path that runs contrary to Me, and their words are full of arrogance and self-confidence. This is because, at root, they are all against Me and incompatible with Me. Every day, they seek traces of Me in the Bible and find “suitable” passages at random which they read endlessly and recite as scriptures. They do not know how to be compatible with Me nor what it means to be against Me. They merely read scriptures blindly. Within the Bible, they constrain a vague God that they have never seen, and are incapable of seeing, and take it out to look at at their leisure. They believe in My existence only within the scope of the Bible, and they equate Me with the Bible; without the Bible there is no Me, and without Me there is no Bible. They pay no heed to My existence or actions, but instead devote extreme and special attention to each and every word of Scripture. Many more even believe that I should not do anything I wish to do unless it is foretold by Scripture. They attach too much importance to Scripture. It can be said that they see words and expressions as too important, to the extent that they use verses from the Bible to measure every word I say and to condemn Me. What they seek is not the way of compatibility with Me or the way of compatibility with the truth, but the way of compatibility with the words of the Bible, and they believe that anything that does not conform to the Bible is, without exception, not My work. Are such people not the dutiful descendants of the Pharisees? The Jewish Pharisees used the law of Moses to condemn Jesus. They did not seek compatibility with the Jesus of that time, but diligently followed the law to the letter, to the extent that—after having charged Him with not following the law of the Old Testament and not being the Messiah—they ultimately nailed the innocent Jesus to the cross. What was their substance? Was it not that they didn’t seek the way of compatibility with the truth? They obsessed over each and every word of Scripture while paying heed neither to My will nor to the steps and methods of My work. They were not people who sought the truth, but people who rigidly clung to words; they were not people who believed in God, but people who believed in the Bible. Essentially, they were watchdogs of the Bible. In order to safeguard the interests of the Bible, to uphold the dignity of the Bible, and to protect the reputation of the Bible, they went so far as to nail the merciful Jesus to the cross. This they did merely for the sake of defending the Bible, and for the sake of maintaining the status of each and every word of the Bible in people’s hearts. So they preferred to forsake their future and the sin offering to condemn Jesus, who did not conform to the doctrine of Scripture, to death. Were they not all lackeys to each and every word of Scripture?

And what of people today? Christ has come to release the truth, yet they would rather expel Him from this world so that they may gain entry into heaven and receive grace. They would rather completely deny the coming of the truth in order to safeguard the interests of the Bible, and they would rather nail the Christ returned to flesh to the cross again in order to ensure the everlasting existence of the Bible. How can man receive My salvation when his heart is so malicious and his nature so antagonistic toward Me? I live among man, yet man does not know of My existence. When I shine My light upon man, he still remains ignorant of My existence. When I unleash My wrath upon man, he denies My existence with even greater vigor. Man searches for compatibility with words and compatibility with the Bible, yet not a single person comes before Me to seek the way of compatibility with the truth. Man looks up to Me in heaven and devotes particular concern to My existence in heaven, yet no one cares about Me in the flesh, for I who live among man am simply too insignificant. Those who only seek compatibility with the words of the Bible and who only seek compatibility with a vague God are a wretched sight to Me. That is because what they worship are dead words, and a God that is capable of giving them untold treasures; what they worship is a God that would lay Himself at the mercy of man—a God who does not exist. What, then, can such people gain from Me? Man is simply too lowly for words. Those who are against Me, who make limitless demands of Me, who have no love of the truth, who are rebellious toward Me—how could they be compatible with Me?

Those who are against Me are those who are not compatible with Me. Such is also the case among those who do not love the truth. Those who rebel against Me are even more against Me and incompatible with Me. I deliver into the hands of the evil one all those who are not compatible with Me, and I relinquish them to the corruption of the evil one, give them free rein to reveal their maleficence, and ultimately hand them over to the evil one to be devoured. I care not how many worship Me, which is to say, I care not how many people believe in Me. All that concerns Me is how many are compatible with Me. That is because all those who are not compatible with Me are evil ones who betray Me; they are My enemies, and I shall not “enshrine” My enemies in My home. Those who are compatible with Me shall forever serve Me in My home, and those who go against Me shall forever suffer My punishment. Those who only care about the words of the Bible and are concerned neither with the truth nor with seeking My footsteps—they are against Me, for they limit Me according to the Bible, constrain Me within the Bible, and so are blasphemous in the extreme toward Me. How could such people come before Me? They pay no heed to My deeds, or My will, or the truth, but instead obsess over words—words that kill. How could such people be compatible with Me?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Seek the Way of Compatibility With Christ

I have expressed so many words, and have also expressed My will and disposition, yet even so, people are still incapable of knowing Me and believing in Me. Or, it could be said, people are still incapable of obeying Me. Those who live within the Bible, those who live within the law, those who live on the cross, those who live according to doctrine, those who live amid the work I do today—who among them is compatible with Me? You only think of receiving blessings and rewards, but have never spared a thought as to how to actually be compatible with Me, or to how to prevent yourselves from being against Me. I am so disappointed in you, for I have given you so much, yet I have gained so little from you. Your deception, your arrogance, your greed, your extravagant desires, your betrayal, your disobedience—which of these could escape My notice? You are slipshod with Me, you fool Me, you insult Me, you wheedle Me, you exact Me and extort Me for sacrifices—how could such maleficence elude My punishment? All this evildoing is proof of your enmity against Me and is proof of your incompatibility with Me. Each of you believes yourself to be so compatible with Me, but if that were the case, then to whom would such irrefutable evidence apply? You believe yourselves to possess the utmost sincerity and loyalty toward Me. You think that you are so kindhearted, so compassionate, and have devoted so much to Me. You think that you have done more than enough for Me. But have you ever held this up against your actions? I say you are plenty arrogant, plenty greedy, plenty perfunctory; the tricks with which you fool Me are plenty clever, and you have plenty of contemptible intentions and contemptible methods. Your loyalty is too meager, your earnestness too paltry, and your conscience even more lacking. There is too much maliciousness in your hearts, and no one is spared from your malice, not even Me. You shut Me out for the sake of your children, or your husband, or your own self-preservation. Instead of caring about Me, you care about your family, your children, your status, your future, and your own gratification. When have you ever thought of Me as you spoke or acted? On frigid days, your thoughts turn to your children, your husband, your wife, or your parents. On blistering days, I hold no place in your thoughts, either. When you perform your duty, you are thinking of your own interests, of your own personal safety, of the members of your family. What have you ever done that was for Me? When have you ever thought of Me? When have you ever devoted yourself, at any cost, to Me and My work? Where is the evidence of your compatibility with Me? Where is the reality of your loyalty to Me? Where is the reality of your obedience to Me? When have your intentions not been for the sake of gaining My blessings? You fool and deceive Me, you play with the truth, you conceal the existence of the truth, and betray the essence of the truth. What awaits you in the future by going against Me in this way? You merely seek compatibility with a vague God, and merely seek a vague belief, yet you are not compatible with Christ. Will not your maleficence beget the same retribution as that deserved by the wicked? At that time, you will realize that no one who is incompatible with Christ can escape the day of wrath, and you will discover what kind of retribution shall be wrought upon those who are against Christ. When that day comes, your dreams of being blessed for your belief in God and of gaining entry into heaven shall all be shattered. It shall not be so, however, for those who are compatible with Christ. Though they have lost so much, though they have suffered much hardship, they shall receive all of the inheritance I bequeath to mankind. Ultimately, you will understand that I alone am the righteous God, and that I alone am capable of taking mankind into his beautiful destination.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Seek the Way of Compatibility With Christ

Prior to contact with Christ, you may believe your disposition to have been entirely transformed, that you are a loyal follower of Christ, that no one is more worthy of receiving the blessings of Christ than you—and that, having traveled many roads, done much work, and brought forth much fruit, you will surely be one of those who ultimately receive the crown. Yet there is one truth that you may not know: The corrupt disposition of man and his rebelliousness and resistance are exposed when he sees Christ, and the rebelliousness and resistance exposed at this time are more absolutely and completely exposed than at any other. It is because Christ is the Son of man—a Son of man who possesses normal humanity—that man neither honors nor respects Him. It is because God lives in the flesh that the rebelliousness of man is brought to light so thoroughly and in such vivid detail. So I say that the coming of Christ has unearthed all the rebelliousness of mankind and has thrown the nature of mankind into sharp relief. This is called “luring a tiger down the mountain” and “luring a wolf out of its cave.” Dare you presume to say that you are loyal to God? Dare you presume to say that you show absolute obedience to God? Dare you presume to say that you are not rebellious? Some will say: “Whenever God sets me up in a new environment, I invariably submit without a murmur, and furthermore I entertain no notions about God.” Some will say: “Whatever God tasks me with I do to the best of my ability and am never remiss.” In that case, I ask you this: Can you be compatible with Christ when you live alongside Him? And how long will you be compatible with Him? One day? Two days? One hour? Two hours? Your faith may well be commendable, but you do not have much in the way of steadfastness. Once you are really living with Christ, your self-righteousness and self-importance will be exposed through your words and actions, bit-by-bit, and so too will your overweening desires, your disobedient mindset and discontent naturally be revealed. Finally, your arrogance will become ever greater, until you are as much at odds with Christ as water is with fire, and then your nature will be completely exposed. At that time, your notions can no longer be covered up, your complaints, too, will naturally come out, and your debased humanity will be completely exposed. Even then, however, you still refuse to acknowledge your own rebelliousness, believing instead that a Christ such as this is not easy for man to accept, that He is too exacting of man, and that you would wholly submit if He were a kinder Christ. You believe that your rebelliousness is justified, that you only rebel against Him when He pushes you too far. Never once have you considered that you do not look upon Christ as God, that you lack the intent to obey Him. Rather, you stubbornly insist that Christ work in accordance with your own wishes, and as soon as He does a single thing that is at odds with your own thinking, you believe that He is not God but a man. Are there not many among you who have contended with Him in this way? Who is it, after all, that you believe in? And in what way do you seek?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are Incompatible With Christ Are Surely Opponents of God

You always wish to see Christ, but I urge you not to hold yourselves in such high esteem; anyone may see Christ, but I say no one is fit to see Christ. Because the nature of man brims with evil, arrogance, and rebelliousness, at the moment you see Christ, your nature will destroy you and condemn you to death. Your association with a brother (or a sister) may not show much about you, but it is not so simple when you associate with Christ. At any time, your notions may take root, your arrogance begin to sprout, and your rebelliousness bear figs. How can you with such humanity be fit to associate with Christ? Are you truly able to treat Him as God every moment of every day? Will you truly have the reality of submission to God? You worship the lofty God within your hearts as Jehovah while regarding the visible Christ as a man. Your sense is too inferior and your humanity too debased! You are incapable of always looking upon Christ as God; only occasionally, when it takes your fancy, do you grab hold of Him and worship Him as God. This is why I say you are not believers of God, but a posse of accomplices who fight against Christ. Even men who show kindness to others are repaid, and yet Christ, who has done such work among you, has received neither man’s love nor his recompense and submission. Is this not something heartrending?

It may be that in all your years of faith in God, you have never cursed anyone or committed a bad deed, yet in your association with Christ, you cannot speak the truth, act honestly, or obey the word of Christ; in that case, I say that you are the most sinister and malicious person in the world. You may be exceptionally amiable and devoted toward your relatives, friends, wife (or husband), sons and daughters, and parents, and never take advantage of others, but if you are incapable of compatibility with Christ, if you are unable to interact in harmony with Him, then even if you expend your all in relief to your neighbors or take meticulous care of your father, mother, and members of your household, I would say that you are still wicked, and moreover one full of cunning tricks. Do not think yourself compatible with Christ simply because you get along with others or do a few good deeds. Do you think that your charitable intent can finagle the blessings of Heaven? Do you think that doing a few good deeds is a substitute for your obedience? Not one of you is able to accept being dealt with and pruned, and you all find it difficult to embrace the normal humanity of Christ, notwithstanding which you are constantly trumpeting your obedience to God. Such faith as yours will bring down a fitting retribution. Stop indulging in fanciful illusions and wishing to see Christ, for you are too little in stature, so much so that you are not even worthy of seeing Him. When you are completely purged of your rebelliousness, and are capable of being in harmony with Christ, at that moment God will naturally appear to you. If you go to see God without having undergone pruning or judgment, then you shall surely become an opponent of God and are destined for destruction. The nature of man is inherently hostile to God, for all men have been subjected to Satan’s most profound corruption. If man tries to associate with God from the midst of his own corruption, it is certain that nothing good can come of this; his actions and words will surely expose his corruption at every turn, and in associating with God his rebelliousness will be revealed in its every aspect. Unknowingly, man comes to oppose Christ, to deceive Christ, and to forsake Christ; when this happens, man will be in an even more precarious state and, should this continue, he shall become the object of punishment.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are Incompatible With Christ Are Surely Opponents of God

You should all now look into yourselves as quickly as you can, to see how much betrayal of Me remains within you. I am eagerly awaiting your response. Do not be perfunctory in dealing with Me. I never play games with people. If I say I will do something then I will certainly do it. I hope each of you will be someone who takes My words seriously, and not think as if they were science fiction. What I want is concrete action from you, not your imaginings. Next, you must answer My questions, which are as follows: 1. If you are truly a service-doer, can you render service to Me loyally, without any element of laxness or negativity? 2. If you discover I have never appreciated you, will you still be able to stay and render lifelong service to Me? 3. If I am still very cold to you despite you having expended much effort, will you be able to continue working for Me in obscurity? 4. If, after you have made expenditures for Me, I do not satisfy your petty demands, will you become disheartened and disappointed with Me, or even become furious and shout abuse? 5. If you have always been very loyal, with much love for Me, yet you suffer the torment of illness, poverty, and the abandonment of your friends and relatives, or if you endure any other misfortunes in life, will your loyalty and love for Me still continue? 6. If none of what you have imagined in your heart matches what I have done, how will you walk your future path? 7. If you do not receive any of the things you hoped to receive, can you continue to be My follower? 8. If you have never understood the purpose and significance of My work, can you be an obedient person who does not arbitrarily make judgments and draw conclusions? 9. Can you treasure all the words I have said and all the work I have done while I have been together with mankind? 10. Are you able to be My loyal follower, willing to endure a lifetime of suffering for Me, though you do not receive anything? 11. For My sake, are you able to forgo considering, planning, or preparing for your future path of survival? These questions represent My final requirements of you, and I hope all of you can give Me answers. If you have fulfilled one or two things these questions ask of you, then you must continue to strive. If you cannot accomplish a single one of these requirements, you are surely the type of person that will be cast into hell. To such people, I need not say anything more, for they are surely not people who can accord with Me. How could I keep someone in My home who could betray Me under any circumstance?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. A Very Serious Problem: Betrayal (2)

Currently, there are many truths that man does not understand. What does it mean that man does not understand? It means that humanity, which is corrupt, has views and opinions that, in many respects, do not accord with the views and opinions of God incarnate; it means that the principles and foundation from which man deals with many things do not accord with those of God incarnate. And where is the root of this problem? What factor is affecting relations between God and mankind? It is mankind’s corrupt disposition. That is, mankind still stands on the side of Satan; man lives in reliance upon Satan’s poison, and it is Satan’s disposition and essence that people manifest in the way they live. God’s essence is truth; it is immutable. So, who is it who must change in order to achieve accord with God? (Mankind.) Of course it is mankind; this is unequivocal. How is mankind to change, then? They must come before God and accept the truth; accepting the truth is man’s only path toward attaining accord with God in how He sees things and in the principles by which He acts. Once you set foot upon this path, the attitude and the manner in which you see things, the principles by which you act, and everything else will gradually begin to accord with God. In this way, the barriers between you and God will become ever fewer, there will be no more contradictions, and your attempts to subject God to study will also become fewer and fewer.

—“It Is Important to Rectify Relations Between Man and God” in Records of Talks of Christ of the Last Days

When you have understood the truth and entered the truth reality, you have gained the truth, and can be saved. Only those who have been saved are true creatures of God, and the ones who are praised by God. What God wants is people’s heart—but if they don’t understand the truth, and have not gained the truth, can they give their heart to God? Is it easy for them to give their heart to God? (No.) Can such people be compatible with God? The outpourings of their notions, corruption, rebelliousness, and resistance are ubiquitous. When you are with God, when you are carrying something out, if you have not gained the truth, have not entered the truth reality, and have no grasp of principle, though, on the outside, there may be no outpouring of a corrupt disposition in your words, actions, and thoughts, what lies in the deep recesses of your heart is hostile to God, and you are incapable of being compatible with God. Thus, the only path to salvation and being compatible with God is to pursue the truth and gain the truth; there is no second path to choose from. Some people have believed in God for many years, they have forsaken much, made much effort, given many alms and offerings. Can all this stand in the stead of understanding and gaining the truth? (No.)

—“Only by Practicing the Truth Can One Understand and Obtain the Truth” in Records of Talks of Christ of the Last Days

In seeking to change your disposition, you must reach a certain stage in your understanding of yourself whereby you can discover the satanic poisons that lie within your own nature. You must know what it means to defy God, as well as what it means to rebel against God, and you must learn how to conduct yourself in conformity with the truth in all matters. You must also gain some understanding of God’s will and His requirements of humanity. You must be possessed of conscience and reason before God, you must not speak boastfully or cheat God, and you must no longer do anything to resist God. As such, you will have changed your disposition. Those whose dispositions have transformed feel reverence for God deep in their hearts, and their rebelliousness against God gradually lessens. Moreover, in the fulfilling of their duties, they no longer need others to worry about them, nor does the Holy Spirit always need to do disciplining work on them. They basically can submit to God, and the truth is present in their views on things. This all amounts to having become compatible with God.

—“Only by Pursuing the Truth Can One Achieve a Change in Disposition” in Records of Talks of Christ of the Last Days