(1) It is necessary to identify false leaders, antichrists, evil people, and nonbelievers, and if they are found, to summarily expose and manage them in order to safeguard the normal life of the church;

(2) When a false leader or worker is found unable to do practical work, God’s chosen people should be contacted to identify them, and to proscribe and dismiss them at once;

(3) It is necessary to expose and refute all manner of heresy and fallacy. Enable God’s chosen people to discern them, lest they become deceived, and ensure that God’s word the truth reigns in the church;

(4) It is necessary to live the church life in strict accordance with work arrangements from the Above. Beware of antichrists and evil people who go their own way and deceive God’s chosen people;

(5) One should learn to identify antichrists and evil people, should they lay siege to the church’s leaders and workers. See through Satan’s schemes, and protect the leaders and workers.

Relevant Words of God:

The church is under construction, and Satan is trying its utmost to demolish it. It wants to demolish My construction by any means possible; for this reason, the church must be purified quickly. Not the slightest dregs of evil must remain; the church must be purified such that it becomes flawless and continues to be as pure as in the past. You must be awake and waiting at all times, and you must pray before Me more. You must recognize the various plots and cunning schemes of Satan, recognize the spirits, know people, and be able to discern all kinds of people, events, and things; you must also eat and drink more of My words and, more importantly, you must be able to eat and drink of them by yourselves. Equip yourselves with all of the truth, and come before Me so that I may open your spiritual eyes and allow you to see all the mysteries that lie within the spirit…. When the church enters its construction phase, the saints march to battle. Satan’s various hideous features are set before you: Do you stop and edge backward, or do you stand up and, relying upon Me, continue to move forward? Thoroughly expose Satan’s corrupt and ugly features, spare no feelings, and show no mercy! Fight Satan to the death! I am your backup, and you must have the spirit of the male child! Satan is lashing out in its final death throes, but it will still be unable to escape My judgment. Satan is beneath My feet and it is also being trodden under your own feet—this is a fact!

All those religious disruptors, and those who tear down the church’s construction, cannot be shown the smallest bit of tolerance but will be judged immediately; Satan will be exposed, trampled, destroyed utterly, and left with nowhere to hide. All manner of demons and ghosts will surely reveal their true forms before Me, and I will cast them all into the bottomless pit from which they will never be free; they will all be beneath our feet. If you want to fight the good fight for the truth, then first of all, you must not give Satan any chance to work—to this end, you will need to be of one mind and able to serve in coordination, relinquish all your own notions, opinions, views, and ways of doing things, quiet your heart within Me, focus on the voice of the Holy Spirit, be attentive to the work of the Holy Spirit, and experience God’s words in detail. You must have only one intention, which is that My will be done. You should have no other intention apart from this. You must look to Me with all your heart, watch closely My actions and the way I do things, and not be negligent at all. Your spirit must be sharp, your eyes open. Ordinarily, when it comes to those whose intentions and objectives are not right, as well as those who love to be seen by others, who are eager to do things, who are prone to causing disruptions, who are good at spouting religious doctrine, who are Satan’s lackeys, and so on—when these people stand up, they become difficulties for the church, and this causes their brothers’ and sisters’ eating and drinking of God’s words to come to nothing. When you encounter such people play-acting, ban them immediately. If, despite repeated admonitions, they do not change, then they will suffer loss. If those who stubbornly persist in their ways attempt to defend themselves and try to cover up their sins, the church should cut them out immediately and leave them no room to maneuver. Do not lose a lot by trying to save a little; keep your eye on the big picture.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 17

Every church has people who cause trouble for the church or meddle in the work of God. They are all Satans who have infiltrated the house of God in disguise. Such people are good at acting: They come before Me with great reverence, bowing and scraping, living like mangy dogs, and devoting their “all” to achieve their own objectives—but in front of the brothers and sisters, they show their ugly side. When they see people who practice the truth, they strike out at them and shove them aside; when they see people more formidable than themselves, they flatter and fawn upon them. They run wild in the church. It can be said that such “local bullies,” such “lapdogs,” exist in the majority of churches. They act devilishly together, sending each other winks and secret signals, and none of them practices the truth. Whoever has the most venom is the “head demon,” and whoever has the highest prestige leads them, bearing their flag aloft. These people rampage through the church, spreading their negativity, venting death, doing as they please, saying what they please, and no one dares to stop them. They brim with the disposition of Satan. No sooner do they cause a disturbance than an air of death enters the church. Those within the church who practice the truth are cast out, unable to give their all, while those who disturb the church and spread death run rampage within—and, what’s more, most people follow them. Such churches are ruled by Satan, plain and simple; the devil is their king. If the congregants do not rise up and reject the head demons, then they, too, will sooner or later come to ruin. From now on, measures must be taken against such churches. If those who are capable of practicing a little of the truth do not seek to, then that church will be expunged. If a church contains no one who is willing to practice the truth and no one who can stand witness for God, then that church should be completely isolated, and its connections with other churches must be severed. This is called “burying death”; this is what it means to cast out Satan. If a church contains several local bullies, and they are followed by “little flies” that entirely lack discernment, and if the congregants, even after having seen the truth, are still incapable of rejecting the binds and manipulation of these bullies, then all those fools will be eliminated in the end. These little flies might not have done anything terrible, but they are even more deceitful, even more slick and evasive, and everyone like this will be eliminated. Not a single one shall remain! Those who belong to Satan will be returned to Satan, while those who belong to God will surely go in search of the truth; this is decided by their natures. Let all those who follow Satan perish! No pity will be shown to such people. Let those who search for the truth be provided for, and may they take pleasure in God’s word to their hearts’ content. God is righteous; He would not show favoritism to anyone. If you are a devil, then you are incapable of practicing the truth; if you are someone who searches for the truth, then it is certain that you will not be taken captive by Satan. This is beyond all doubt.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. A Warning to Those Who Do Not Practice the Truth

God’s greatest commission to mankind is the greatest benefit to God’s house. What benefit is this? It is the implementation of God’s six-thousand-year management plan among mankind, an implementation that naturally includes many aspects. What does this include, then? It includes the establishment and formation of the church and the emergence of church leaders and workers at all levels, clearing the way for the unimpeded flow of all work in the church that relates to God’s new work and to the spreading of His gospel. This involves the church; it is in the church’s interest. This is the most important thing entailed in the oft-mentioned interests of God, of His house, and of the church. God’s work obtains an expansion; God’s management plan can flow unimpeded; God’s intent and will can flow unimpeded among man; and God’s word can be expanded, proclaimed, and preached more widely among them, making more of them come before God. This is the objective and the core of all this work that God does. Therefore, whatever is related to the interests of God’s house and the church is certainly also related to God’s will and management plan. Specifically, it is related to whether God’s work of every age and stage can flow unimpeded, whether it can be expanded, and whether it can progress smoothly among mankind, develop smoothly, and be carried out unhindered. If all this is progressing normally, then the interests of God’s family and church will have been secured, and His glory and testimony will also have been secured. If God’s work in His house and the church is hindered and unable to flow without impediment, if God’s will and the work He will do are obstructed, then the interests of God’s house and the church will certainly be greatly impaired. These things are joined together. This means, also, that when the interests of God’s house and the church are greatly impaired or hindered, His management plan is sure to be greatly obstructed, and God’s interest is greatly impaired.

—“They Do Their Duty Only to Distinguish Themselves and Feed Their Own Interests and Ambitions; They Never Consider the Interests of God’s House, and Even Sell Those Interests Out in Exchange for Personal Glory (Part One)” in Exposing Antich

Eating and drinking of God’s words, practicing prayer, accepting God’s burden, and accepting the tasks He entrusts to you—all of this is so that there may be a path before you. The more the burden of God’s entrustment weighs on you, the easier it will be for you to be perfected by Him. Some are unwilling to coordinate with others in service to God, even when they have been called upon; these are lazy people who wish only to revel in comfort. The more you are asked to serve in coordination with others, the more experience you will gain. Due to having more burdens and experiences, you will gain more opportunities to be perfected. Therefore, if you can serve God with sincerity, then you will be mindful of God’s burden; as such, you will have more opportunities to be perfected by God. It is just such a group of people that is currently being perfected. The more the Holy Spirit touches you, the more time you will devote to being mindful of God’s burden, the more you will be perfected by God, and the more you will be gained by Him—until, in the end, you will become a person whom God uses. At present, there are some who carry no burdens for the church. These people are slack and sloppy, and only care about their own flesh. Such people are extremely selfish, and they are also blind. If you cannot see this matter clearly, you will not carry any burden. The more mindful you are of God’s will, the greater the burden He will entrust to you. The selfish are unwilling to suffer such things; they are unwilling to pay the price, and, as a result, they will miss opportunities to be perfected by God. Are they not doing themselves harm? If you are someone who is mindful of God’s will, then you will develop a true burden for the church. In fact, instead of calling this a burden you bear for the church, it would be better to call it a burden you bear for your own life’s sake, because the purpose of this burden you develop for the church is to have you use such experiences to be perfected by God. Therefore, whoever carries the greatest burden for the church, whoever carries a burden for entering into life—they will be the ones who are perfected by God. Have you seen this clearly? If the church you are with is scattered like sand, but you are neither worried nor anxious, and you even turn a blind eye when your brothers and sisters are not normally eating and drinking of God’s words, then you are not carrying any burdens. Such people are not the kind in whom God delights. The kind of people in whom God delights hunger and thirst for righteousness and are mindful of God’s will. Thus, you should become mindful of God’s burden, here and now; you should not wait for God to reveal His righteous disposition to all humanity before growing mindful of God’s burden. Would it not be too late by then? Now is a good opportunity to be perfected by God. If you allow this chance to slip through your fingers, you will regret it for the rest of your life, just as Moses was unable to enter the good land of Canaan and regretted it for the rest of his life, dying with remorse. Once God has revealed His righteous disposition to all peoples, you will be filled with regret. Even if God does not chastise you, you will chastise yourself out of your own remorse. Some are not convinced by this, but if you do not believe it, just wait and see. There are some people whose sole purpose is to fulfill these words. Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of these words?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Be Mindful of God’s Will in Order to Attain Perfection

Do everything that is beneficial to God’s work and nothing that is detrimental to the interests of God’s work. Defend God’s name, God’s testimony, and God’s work.

You should uphold and take responsibility for anything that relates to the interests of the house of God, or which concerns the work of the house of God and the name of God. Each of you has this responsibility, this obligation, and it is what you should do.

—“A Talk About God’s Administrative Decrees in the Age of Kingdom” in Records of Talks of Christ of the Last Days

In the church, stand firm in your testimony to Me, uphold the truth; right is right and wrong is wrong. Do not confuse black and white. You shall be at war with Satan and must completely vanquish it so that it never rises again. You must give everything you have to protect My testimony. This shall be the goal of your actions—do not forget this. But now, you are lacking in faith and the ability to differentiate things and you are always unable to understand My words and My intentions. Nonetheless, do not be anxious; everything proceeds according to My steps and anxiety only begets trouble. Spend more time before Me and do not attach importance to food and clothing, which are for the physical body. Seek My intentions often, and I will clearly show you what they are. Gradually you will find My intentions in everything, so that for every human being, I will have a way in without obstruction. This will satisfy My heart, and you shall receive blessings with Me forever and ever!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 41

What does it mean to interrupt God’s management? What does it mean to demolish the construction of the church? What does it mean to interrupt the work of the Holy Spirit? What is a lackey of Satan? These truths must be clearly understood, and not just vaguely glossed over. What caused there to be no eating and drinking this time? Some people feel that they should praise God out loud today, but how should they praise Him? Should they do so by singing hymns and dancing? Do other methods not count as praise? Some people come to meetings with the notion that jubilant praise is the way to praise God. People have these notions, and they do not pay attention to the work of the Holy Spirit; the end result of this is that interruptions still occur. There was no eating and drinking in this meeting; all of you say you are considerate of God’s burden and will defend the testimony of the church, but who among you has really been considerate of God’s burden? Ask yourself: Are you someone who has shown consideration for His burden? Can you practice righteousness for Him? Can you stand up and speak for Me? Can you steadfastly put the truth into practice? Are you bold enough to fight against all of Satan’s deeds? Would you be able to set your emotions aside and expose Satan for the sake of My truth? Can you allow My intentions to be fulfilled in you? Have you offered up your heart in the most crucial of moments? Are you someone who does My will? Ask yourself these questions, and think about them often.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 13

Exposing the wicked is a duty and obligation for all people. It is fighting against the living Satan. Fighting Satan is what the elite soldiers of Christ ought to do. God has granted people so much truth. God has guided you for so long, and provided you with so much. If, at the moment evildoers appear, you shrink and flinch, if you run away in fear, you are a useless coward. You are not one of the elite soldiers of Christ, you cannot achieve victory over Satan, you have no testimony, and God despises you. You need to stand up and fight with Satan, expose their evil deeds, condemn them, curse them, and make them ashamed. You need to act according to church principles. You must not be afraid. Some people say, “This person is dangerous, and they know about my family and where I work. What if they do something behind my back to hurt me?” “What if” is a foolish question, the kind of thing an unbeliever says. Tell Me, what should one do to be a Christian, a follower of Christ? What testimony and expressions should they have? “What if” isn’t the question you should ask, so what should you do? (Perform our duties, completely expose the person’s evil deeds, and allow our brothers and sisters to gain the discernment to reject them. Our personal safety isn’t something we should worry about. We should be most concerned about doing our duty when wicked people disrupt the work of God’s house.) What should you do if it impacts your family? (Resolutely perform our duties, and not allow emotional concerns about the safety of our family to cause us to abandon our duty and the testimony we should stand.) That’s right. First, you need to stand firm in your testimony, and fight antichrists and the wicked to the end. You need to leave them no place to stand in God’s house. If they want to do service, let them do so in a proper manner, according to the rules, whatever they can do. If they don’t want to do service, you need to join hands and expel them, so that they don’t cause disruptions and disturbances in God’s house and don’t ruin the work of God’s house. This is the first thing you should do and also the testimony you should stand. Second, your own life and the lives of your family are completely in God’s hands. God said Satan dares not move a drop of water or grain of sand on the earth without His permission. How much do you believe those words? This is a matter in which your faith can be seen. If you truly believe in God, then you have real faith in God. If you only have a little faith in God, if it’s vague and hollow, then you do not have real faith. If you don’t believe God has sovereignty over everything, if you don’t believe that Satan is under God’s dominion, if you still fear them and allow them to continue doing evil in the church, if you compromise with Satan and beg it for mercy to protect yourself, if you don’t dare to stand up and fight them, you have no real faith in God. Your faith in God is under a question mark, and is indeed pitiful! You witness antichrists and the wicked causing disturbances and disruptions in God’s house, and you are indifferent. To protect your own life, your family, and your interests, you offer the interests of God and God’s house in exchange, you betray the interests of God’s house, and that makes you a traitor, a Judas. Nothing could be clearer than this.

—“They Do Their Duty Only to Distinguish Themselves and Feed Their Own Interests and Ambitions; They Never Consider the Interests of God’s House, and Even Sell Those Interests Out in Exchange for Personal Glory (Part Eight)” in Exposing Antis

The various work of the house of God all has an important and inseparable connection with God’s work of spreading the gospel—this is the interests of God and the interests of the house of God. If people are capable of correctly understanding this, then they should have the correct approach toward their own duty and that of others. And what is this correct approach? It means trying their utmost to do as God asks. At the very least, their behavior and actions should not be deliberately harmful or disruptive. They should not knowingly transgress. If they are well aware that they are interfering and interrupting, and could hinder God’s work—and if they insist on doing so, no matter what anyone says—then these people should be sorted out. If God does not act, how should you treat them? Should you try and educate them? And if they don’t listen, what then? If they have the ability to carry out this work but do it poorly, yet everyone still wishes for them to do it, then brothers and sisters should rise up to reprimand them, and fellowship with them. If they can be replaced, then don’t use them: “This is such a great blessing, such a good opportunity. God has raised you up and allowed you to perform this duty, yet you are going in the wrong direction, and still cause harm and disruption. If you do not do your work properly, we’re the first line of defense, and we shall all forsake you.” Do you have the courage to do this? Most people don’t. In matters concerning defending the work of God, most people don’t dare to stand up for what’s just—so does this mean that they dare not persevere in the truth? Some people are like a turtle with its head in its shell; they would rather watch the work of God being hindered, disrupted, and impaired, and seeing this brings them no pain or vexation. But if someone gives them a disdainful look, they take it to heart: “Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to look down on me? Let’s talk about this.” They take it to heart, they stew on it. They are blind and insensate to the severity with which God’s work is being hindered. What kind of person is this? (Someone selfish and mean.) Are they merely selfish and mean? Such people have no humanity. This is what antichrists do, it is the nature of antichrists. They have no concept of God’s interests, and do not see that God’s work is being hindered. Some people’s disruption to the work of God’s house throws it into utter disarray, into complete chaos—but seeing this, they think nothing of it, they remark on it offhandedly, lightheartedly, flippantly; they are not angry at all. Do such people have a sense of righteousness? What kind of person is this? They bite the hand that feeds them, they are traitors!

—“They Do Their Duty Only to Distinguish Themselves and Feed Their Own Interests and Ambitions; They Never Consider the Interests of God’s House, and Even Sell Those Interests Out in Exchange for Personal Glory (Part One)” in Exposing Antich

What is the disposition of irresponsibility? It is cunning. The most striking item in man’s philosophies for living is cunning. People think that if they are not cunning, they will be liable to offend others and unable to protect themselves; they think they must be cunning enough not to displease or hurt anyone, thereby keeping themselves safe, protecting their livelihoods, and gaining a firm foothold among the masses. This is how people act in the world of the unbelievers; why is it that some people in God’s house still act this way? To see something harming the interests of God’s house, they say nothing; they may as well say, “If someone else wants to speak up about this, let them—I’m not going to. I won’t displease anyone or stick my neck out.” This is irresponsibility and cunning, and such people are not to be trusted. In order to protect their own self-regard, reputation, integrity, and dignity, they will return money they find to its owner, find joy in helping others, lay down their life for the sake of a just cause, do anything for another, and do not hesitate to pay any price. However, when it is necessary to protect the interests of God’s house, protect the truth, and protect justice, all this evaporates, and they no longer practice the truth. What is the matter? There is a disposition at work here, one of detesting the truth. Why do I say they have a disposition of detesting the truth? This stems from the fact that in the moment something touches upon the reality of positive things, people flee and shy away. Though they may feel a measure of self-reproach within, they pay it no mind, and want to suppress it, and think, “I won’t be doing that—it would be foolish,” or else they think it is not an important matter, and they can simply talk about it another time. When it comes to upholding justice and positive things, they run away and fail to take responsibility. They turn a blind eye and do not take the matter seriously. This is an example of not having a love for positive things, and of detesting the truth. So, how should you practice when this issue comes up? What are the principles? If a matter relates to the interests of God’s house or to bearing witness for God, then you must treat it as seriously as you would your own interests, leaving no stone unturned—this is the attitude of one who loves the truth and positive things, one who takes responsibility. If you do not have this attitude, and are nothing but slipshod in your handling of things, and you think, “I’ll do the things within the scope of my own duty, but I don’t care about anything else. If you ask me something, I’ll answer you—if I’m in a good mood. Otherwise, I won’t. This is my attitude,” then this is the type of disposition you have. Only to protect one’s own position, reputation, self-regard, and only to protect the things that relate to one’s own interests—does one thereby protect a just cause? Do they protect positive things? These petty, selfish motives are a disposition of detesting the truth. The majority of you frequently express these sorts of behaviors, and the moment you encounter something that relates to the interests of God’s family, you prevaricate and say, “I didn’t see…. I don’t know…. I haven’t heard….” Regardless of whether you truly do not know something or are pretending not to, in short, there is a disposition at work here.

—God’s Fellowship

When the truth becomes your life, then if someone blasphemes against God, has no reverence for God, is slipshod in their duty, causes interruptions or disturbs the work of God’s house, and when you see this happen, you are then able to discern it and expose it when necessary, and approach it in accordance with the truth principle. If the truth has not become your life, and you still live within your satanic disposition, then when you encounter wicked people and devils who cause interruptions and disturbances to the work of God’s house, you will turn a blind eye and a deaf ear; you will brush them aside, without reproach from your conscience. You will even think that someone causing disturbances to the work of God’s house has nothing to do with you. No matter how great the loss to God’s work and the interests of His house, you will feel no reproach from your conscience, which means that you will be someone who lives by their satanic disposition. Satan controls you and causes you to live as something neither quite human nor quite demon. You eat what is God’s, drink what is God’s, and enjoy all that comes from Him, yet, when the work of God’s house suffers any loss, you think it has nothing to do with you, and, when you see it happen, you even “bend your elbow outward,”^[a] and do not take God’s side, nor do you uphold God’s work or the interests of God’s house. This means Satan has power over you, does it not? Do such people live as human beings? Clearly, they are demons, not humans! However, when the truth holds sway in your heart and has become your life, then, when you see something passive, negative, or evil arising, the reaction in your heart is entirely different. First, you feel reproach and a sense of uneasiness, followed immediately by this feeling: “I can’t just remain idle and turn a blind eye. I must stand up and speak, I must stand up and take responsibility.” You can then stand up and put a stop to these evil deeds, exposing them, striving to safeguard the interests of God’s house and prevent God’s work from being disturbed. Not only will you have this courage and resolve, and will you be capable of understanding the matter completely, but you will also fulfill the responsibility you should bear for God’s work and for the interests of His house, and your duty will thereby be fulfilled. How will it be fulfilled? It will be fulfilled through the truth exerting its effect on you and becoming your life. In this way, once your duty has been fulfilled, you will not ask whether God can grant you a reward, whether He saw your actions, or whether He accepts them. Instead, you will simply believe it is the responsibility you ought to have taken on. Would you not thus be living out conscience, reason, humanity, integrity, and dignity? Your deeds and behavior would be the “fearing God and shunning evil” of which He speaks. You would be performing the essence of these words and living out their reality. When the truth becomes a person’s life, they are then able to live out this reality. But if you have not yet entered into this reality, then, when you evince deceit, deception, or disguise, or when you see wicked people in action or evil forces disturbing and interrupting God’s work, you do not feel a thing, and perceive nothing. Even when these things happen under your very nose, you are still able to laugh, and can still eat and sleep with an easy conscience, and you feel not the slightest bit of self-reproach. Out of these two lives you can live out, which do you choose? Which life has a true human likeness, with which you live out the reality of positive things, and which life is an evil, devilish one? The answer is self-evident. When the truth has not become people’s reality or lives, then what they live out is quite pitiful and sad, and they are not in charge of their own lives. Because the truth has not become the life inside them, what they do is not under their own control, and though they may feel a bit sad about this, the feeling passes very quickly and they feel no remorse whatsoever. That is how great the difference is between these two sorts of life.

—“Only Those Who Practice the Truth Are God-Fearing” in Records of Talks of Christ of the Last Days

Footnotes:

a. “Bend one’s elbow outward” is a Chinese idiom, which means a person is helping others at the expense of people close to that person, for example parents, children, relatives or siblings.