God’s Words From the Bible

“Let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no: for whatever is more than these comes of evil” (Matthew 5:37).

“These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no lie; they are without blemish” (Revelation 14:4–5).

“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defiles, neither whatever works abomination, or makes a lie” (Revelation 21:27).

“Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

You ought to know that God likes those who are honest. In essence, God is faithful, and so His words can always be trusted; His actions, furthermore, are faultless and unquestionable, which is why God likes those who are absolutely honest with Him. Honesty means giving your heart to God, being genuine with God in all things, being open with Him in all things, never hiding the facts, not trying to deceive those above and below you, and not doing things only to curry favor with God. In short, to be honest is to be pure in your actions and words, and to deceive neither God nor man. What I say is very simple, but to you it is doubly arduous. Many people would rather be condemned to hell than speak and act honestly. Little wonder that I have other treatment in store for those who are dishonest. Of course, I know full well how difficult it is for you to be honest. Because you are all so clever, so good at measuring people with your own petty yardstick, this makes My work much simpler. And since you each hug your secrets to your bosom, well then, I shall send you, one by one, into disaster to be “schooled” by fire, so that thereafter you may become dead set on your belief in My words. Ultimately, I shall wrest from your mouth the words “God is a faithful God,” whereupon you shall beat upon your breast and lament, “Deceitful is the heart of man!” What will be your state of mind at this time? I imagine you will not be as triumphant as you are now. And much less will you be as “profound and abstruse” as you are now. In the presence of God, some people are all prim and proper, they take pains to be “well-behaved,” yet they bare their fangs and brandish their claws in the presence of the Spirit. Would you number such people among the ranks of the honest? If you are a hypocrite, someone who is skilled in “interpersonal relations,” then I say that you are definitely someone who tries to trifle with God. If your words are riddled with excuses and valueless justifications, then I say that you are someone who is loath to put the truth into practice. If you have many confidences that you are reluctant to share, if you are highly averse to laying bare your secrets—your difficulties—before others to seek the way of the light, then I say that you are someone who will not attain salvation easily, and who will not easily emerge from the darkness. If seeking the way of the truth pleases you well, then you are someone who dwells always in the light. If you are very glad to be a service-doer in the house of God, working diligently and conscientiously in obscurity, always giving and never taking, then I say that you are a loyal saint, because you seek no reward and are simply being an honest person. If you are willing to be candid, if you are willing to expend your all, if you are able to sacrifice your life for God and stand firm in your testimony, if you are honest to the point where you know only to satisfy God and not to consider yourself or take for yourself, then I say that such people are those who are nourished in the light and who shall live forever in the kingdom. You should know whether there is true faith and true loyalty within you, whether you have a record of suffering for God, and whether you have wholly submitted to God. If you lack these, then there remains within you rebelliousness, deceitfulness, greed, and complaint. As your heart is far from honest, you have never received positive recognition from God and never lived in the light. How one’s fate will work out in the end hinges upon whether they have an honest and blood-red heart, and whether they have a pure soul. If you are someone who is very dishonest, someone with a heart of malice, someone with an unclean soul, then you are sure to end up in the place where man is punished, as is written in the record of your fate. If you claim to be very honest, and yet never manage to act in accordance with the truth or to speak a word of truth, then are you still waiting for God to reward you? Do you still hope for God to regard you as the apple of His eye? Is such thinking not preposterous? You deceive God in all things; how could the house of God accommodate one such as you, whose hands are unclean?

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

I take pleasure in those who are not suspicious of others, and I like those who readily accept the truth; toward these two kinds of people I show great care, for in My eyes they are honest people. If you are deceitful, then you will be guarded and suspicious toward all people and matters, and thus your faith in Me will be built upon a foundation of suspicion. I could never acknowledge such faith. Lacking true faith, you are even more devoid of true love. And if you are liable to doubt God and speculate about Him at will, then you are, without question, the most deceitful of all people. You speculate whether God can be like man: unpardonably sinful, of petty character, devoid of fairness and reason, lacking a sense of justice, given to vicious tactics, treacherous and cunning, pleased by evil and darkness, and so on. Is not the reason that people have such thoughts because they lack the slightest knowledge of God? Such faith is nothing short of sin! There are even some who believe that the ones who please Me are precisely those who flatter and bootlick, and that those lacking in such skills will be unwelcome in the house of God and will lose their place there. Is this the only knowledge you have acquired after all these years? Is this what you have gained? And your knowledge of Me does not stop at these misunderstandings; even worse is your blasphemy against God’s Spirit and vilification of Heaven. This is why I say that such faith as yours will only cause you to stray further from Me and be in greater opposition against Me.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How to Know the God on Earth

There are many people who do not quite understand what an honest person is, exactly. Some say that honest people are those who are guileless and straightforward, who are bullied and excluded wherever they go, or who are slow and always speak and act half a beat behind other people. Some fools and ignorant people, who engage in such folly that others look down on them, also describe themselves as honest people. And all those uneducated people from the lower rungs of society, who feel themselves to be inferior, likewise say that they are honest people. Wherein lies their mistake? They do not know what an honest person is. What is the source of their misapprehension? The main reason is that they do not understand the truth. They believe that the “honest people” God speaks of are fools and idiots, that they are uneducated, slow of speech and tongue, bullied and oppressed, and easily duped and swindled. The implication is that the objects of God’s salvation are those brainless people at the bottom of society who are often pushed around by others. Who will God save if not these lowly, impoverished people? Isn’t this what they believe? Are those really the people God saves? This is a mistaken interpretation of God’s intentions. The people God saves are the ones who love the truth, who have caliber and the comprehension ability, they are all people who have conscience and reason, who are able to fulfill God’s commissions and do their duty well. They are people who are able to accept the truth and cast off their corrupt dispositions, and they are people who truly love God, submit to God, and worship God. Although most of these people are from the bottom of society, from the families of workers and farmers, they are definitely not muddleheaded people, simpletons, or good-for-nothings. On the contrary, they are clever people who are able to accept, practice and submit to the truth. They are all people of justice, who would forsake worldly glory and riches to follow God and gain the truth and life—they are the wisest people of all. These are all honest people who truly believe in God and who truly expend themselves for Him. They can gain God’s approval and blessings, and they can be perfected into His people and the pillars of His temple. They are people of gold, silver, and precious jewels. It is those muddleheaded, foolish, absurd, and good-for-nothing people who will be eliminated. What do the disbelievers and absurd people view God’s work and management plan as? As a dumping ground, no? These people are not only of poor caliber, they are also absurd. No matter how many of God’s words they read, they cannot understand the truth, and no matter how many sermons they hear, they are incapable of entering reality—if they are this foolish, can they still be saved? Could God want this kind of person? No matter how many years they have been a believer, they still don’t understand any truths, they still talk nonsense, and yet they still consider themselves honest—do they have no shame? Such people do not understand the truth. They are always misinterpreting God’s intentions, and yet everywhere they go, they bang on about their misinterpretations, preaching them as truth, telling people, “It’s good to be bullied a little, people should lose out a bit, they should be a little foolish—these are the objects of God’s salvation and they are the people that God will save.” People who say such things are disgusting; this brings great humiliation upon God! It is so disgusting! The pillars of God’s kingdom and the overcomers that God saves are all people who understand the truth, and who are wise. These are the ones who shall have a share in the heavenly kingdom. All those who are foolish and ignorant, shameless and senseless, who do not have a shred of understanding of the truth, who are simpletons and fools—are they not all good-for-nothings? How could such people have a share in the heavenly kingdom? The honest people God speaks of are those who can put the truth into practice once they understand it, who are wise and smart, who open themselves up to God simply, and who act according to principle and submit to God absolutely. These people all have God-fearing hearts, they focus on doing things according to the principles, and they all pursue absolute submission to God and love God in their hearts. Only they are truly honest people. If someone doesn’t even know what it means to be honest, if they cannot see that the essence of honest people is absolute submission to God, fearing God and shunning evil, or that honest people are honest because they love the truth, because they love God, and because they practice the truth—then that kind of person is so foolish, and truly lacking in discernment. Honest people are absolutely not the guileless, muddleheaded, ignorant, and foolish individuals that people imagine; they are people with normal humanity, who have conscience and reason. What is clever about honest people is that they are able to listen to God’s words and be honest, and this is why they are blessed by God.

Nothing has greater significance than God’s request that people be honest—He is asking that people live before Him, that they accept His scrutiny, and that they live in the light. Only honest people are true members of the human race. People who are not honest are beasts, they are animals walking around in human clothing, they are not human beings. To pursue being an honest person, you must behave in accordance with God’s requirements; you must undergo judgment, chastisement, and pruning. When your corrupt disposition is cleansed and you are able to practice the truth and live by God’s words, only then will you be an honest person. People who are ignorant, foolish, and guileless are absolutely not honest people. By demanding that people be honest, God is asking them to possess normal humanity, to cast off their deceitfulness and disguises, to not lie to or trick others, to perform their duty with loyalty, and be able to truly love and submit to Him. Only these individuals are the people of God’s kingdom. God demands that people be the good soldiers of Christ. What are the good soldiers of Christ? They must be equipped with the truth reality and be of one heart and mind with Christ. At any time and any place, they must be able to exalt and testify to God, and able to use the truth to wage war with Satan. In all things, they must stand on God’s side, bear testimony, and live out the truth reality. They must be able to humiliate Satan and win marvelous victories for God. That is what it means to be a good soldier of Christ. The good soldiers of Christ are overcomers, they are those who overcome Satan. In requiring that people be honest and not deceitful, God is not asking them to be fools, but to cast off their deceitful dispositions, achieve submission to Him and bring glory to Him. This is what can be achieved by practicing the truth.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only Knowledge of the Six Kinds of Corrupt Dispositions Is True Self-Knowledge

An honest person is one who can accept the truth—not a pitiable wretch, a good-for-nothing, an idiot, or a guileless person. You should be able to discern these things, right? I often hear some people say: “I never tell lies—I’m always the one being lied to. I’m always getting pushed around by people out there. God said He lifts the needy up from the dunghill, and I am one of those people. This is God’s grace. God takes pity on people like us, guileless people who are not welcome in society. This truly is God’s mercy!” God saying He lifts the needy up from the dunghill does have a practical side to it. Although you can recognize that, it doesn’t prove that you’re an honest person. In fact, some people are just morons, idiots; they’re fools with absolutely no skills, low in caliber, and with no understanding of the truth. That kind of person has absolutely no connection to the honest people that God speaks of. It is the case that God lifts the needy up from the dunghill, but idiots and fools aren’t the ones being lifted. Your caliber is innately very low, and you are an idiot, a good-for-nothing, and even though you were born into a poor family and are a member of society’s lower class, you are still not a target for God’s salvation. Just because you’ve suffered a lot and endured discrimination in society, just because you’ve been pushed around and cheated by everyone, don’t think that makes you an honest person. If you think that, then you are sorely mistaken. Have you been holding on to any misunderstandings or distorted comprehensions of what an honest person is? Have you gained some clarity with this fellowship? Being an honest person isn’t like people think it is; it isn’t being a straight talker who refrains from equivocation. A person might naturally be very straightforward, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t engage in trickery or deceit. All corrupt humans have corrupt dispositions that are cheating and deceitful. When people live in this world, under Satan’s influence, governed and controlled by its force, it is impossible for them to be honest. They can only become ever more deceitful.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Most Fundamental Practice of Being an Honest Person

What are the manifestations of an honest person? Firstly, having no doubts about God’s words. That is one of the manifestations of an honest person. Apart from this, the most important manifestation is seeking and practicing the truth in all matters—this is most crucial. You say that you are honest, but you always push God’s words to the back of your mind and just do whatever you want. Is that the manifestation of an honest person? You say, “Although my caliber is poor, I have an honest heart.” And yet when a duty falls to you, you are afraid of suffering and bearing responsibility if you do not do it well, so you make excuses to shirk your duty or suggest that someone else do it. Is this the manifestation of an honest person? Clearly, it is not. How, then, should an honest person behave? They should submit to God’s arrangements, be loyal to the duty they are supposed to perform, and strive to satisfy God’s intentions. This manifests itself in several ways: One is accepting your duty with an honest heart, not considering your fleshly interests, not being half-hearted about it, and not plotting for your own benefit. Those are manifestations of honesty. Another is putting all your heart and strength into performing your duty well, doing things properly, and putting your heart and love into your duty to satisfy God. These are the manifestations an honest person should have while performing their duty. If you do not carry out what you know and understand, and if you only put in 50 or 60 percent of your effort, then you are not putting all your heart and strength into it. Rather, you are sly and slacking off. Are people who perform their duties in this way honest? Absolutely not. God has no use for such slippery and deceitful people; they must be eliminated. God only uses honest people to perform duties. Even loyal laborers must be honest. People who are perennially perfunctory and sly and looking for ways to slack off are all deceitful, and are all demons. None of them truly believe in God, and they shall all be eliminated. Some people think, “Being an honest person is just about telling the truth and not telling lies. It’s easy to be an honest person, really.” What do you think of this sentiment? Is being an honest person so limited in scope? Absolutely not. You must reveal your heart and give it to God; this is the attitude an honest person ought to have. That is why an honest heart is very precious. What does this imply? That an honest heart can control your behavior and change your state. It can lead you to make the right choices, and to submit to God and gain His approval. A heart like this is truly precious. If you have an honest heart like this, then that is the state you should live in, that is how you should behave, and that is how you should give of yourself.

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

Why does God ask people to be honest? Is it to make it easier to get a handle on people? Certainly not. God requires people to be honest because God loves and blesses honest people. Being an honest person means being a person with conscience and reason. It means being someone who is trustworthy, someone whom God loves, and someone who can practice the truth and love God. Being an honest person is the most fundamental manifestation of possessing normal humanity and living out a true human likeness. If someone has never been honest, or considered being honest, then they cannot understand the truth, much less can they gain the truth. If you don’t believe Me, go and see for yourself, or go and experience this for yourself. Only by being an honest person can your heart be open to God, can you accept the truth, can the truth become your life within your heart, and can you understand and gain the truth. If your heart is always closed, if you don’t open up or say what is in your heart to anyone, such that no one can understand you, then your walls are too thick, and you are the most deceitful of people. If you believe in God yet cannot purely open yourself up to God, if you can lie to God or exaggerate to deceive God, if you are incapable of opening your heart to God, and can still speak in circles and hide your intentions, then you will only harm yourself, and God will ignore you and not work in you. You won’t understand any of the truth, and you won’t gain any of the truth. Now can you see the importance of pursuing and gaining the truth? What is the first thing you should do to pursue the truth? You should be an honest person. Only if people seek to be honest can they know how deeply corrupted they are, whether or not they really have any human likeness, and clearly take their own measure or see their deficiencies. Only when they are practicing honesty can they become aware of how many lies they tell and how deeply hidden their deceit and dishonesty are. Only while having the experience of practicing being honest can people gradually come to know the truth of their own corruption and know their own nature essence, and only then will their corrupt dispositions be constantly purified. Only in the course of their corrupt dispositions being constantly purified will people be able to gain the truth. Take your time experiencing these words. God does not perfect those who are deceitful. If your heart is not honest—if you are not an honest person—then you will not be gained by God. Likewise, you will not gain the truth, and will also be incapable of gaining God. What does it mean if you do not gain God? If you do not gain God and you have not understood the truth, then you will not know God, and so there will be no way you can be compatible with God, in which case you are the enemy of God. If you are incompatible with God, God is not your God; and if God is not your God, you cannot be saved. If you do not seek to attain salvation, why do you believe in God? If you cannot attain salvation, you will forever be a bitter enemy of God, and your outcome will be set. Thus, if people wish to be saved, then they must start by being honest. In the end, those who are gained by God are marked with a sign. Do you know what it is? It is written in Revelation, in the Bible: “And in their mouth was found no lie; they are without blemish” (Revelation 14:5). Who are “they”? They are those who are saved, perfected and gained by God. How does God describe these people? What are the characteristics and expressions of their conduct? They are without blemish. They speak no lies. You can probably all understand and grasp what speaking no lies means: It means being honest. What does “without blemish” refer to? It means doing no evil. And what foundation is doing no evil built on? Without any doubt, it is built upon the foundation of fearing God. To be unblemished, therefore, means to fear God and shun evil. How does God define someone without blemish? In God’s eyes, only those who fear God and shun evil are perfect; thus, people who are unblemished are those who fear God and shun evil, and only those who are perfect are unblemished. This is totally correct. If someone lies every day, is that not a blemish? If they speak and act according to their own will, is that not a blemish? If they always ask for recognition when they act, always asking God for a reward, is that not a blemish? If they have never exalted God, always bearing witness to themselves, is that not a blemish? If they do their duty perfunctorily, act opportunistically, harbor evil intentions, and slack off, is that not a blemish? All these revelations of corrupt dispositions are blemishes. It’s just that before people understand the truth, they do not know it. Right now, you all know that these revelations of corruption are blemishes and filth; only once you understand a little bit of the truth can you have this kind of discernment. All that pertains to revelations of corruption is related to lies; the Bible’s words, “found no lie,” are the key element to reflecting on whether or not you have blemishes. So, in judging whether or not a person has experienced growth in their life, there is one more indicator, which is: whether or not you have entered into being an honest person, how many lies can be found in the things you say, and whether your lies are gradually decreasing or if they are the same as before. If your lies, including your disguising and deceiving words, are gradually decreasing, that proves that you have started to enter into reality, and your life is growing. Is this not a practical way to look at things? (Yes.) If you feel like you have already experienced growth, but your lies have not decreased at all, and you are basically the same as a nonbeliever, then is this a normal manifestation of entering into the truth reality? (No.) When someone has entered into the truth reality, they will at the very least speak much fewer lies; they will basically be an honest person. If you lie too much and your words are too adulterated, this proves that you have not changed at all, and you are not yet an honest person. If you are not an honest person, then you do not have life entry, and so what growth can you experience? Your corrupt disposition is still intact, and you are a nonbeliever and a devil. Being an honest person is an indicator by which to judge whether or not a person has experienced growth in their life; people must know how to compare these things against themselves and know how to take their own measure.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Six Indicators of Life Growth

Only honest people are trustworthy, have conscience and reason, and are worthy to be called human. If one can accept the truth while performing their duties and can act according to principles, performing their duties adequately, then this person is truly honest and is indeed trustworthy. And those who can obtain God’s salvation are honest people. Being an honest person who is trustworthy is not about your abilities or appearance, and even less about your caliber, competence, or gifts. So long as you accept the truth, act responsibly, and you have conscience and reason and can submit to God, that is enough. No matter the capabilities a person possesses, the real concern is whether they lack virtue or not. Once someone is without virtue, they can no longer be considered human, but rather a beast. Those who are eliminated by God’s house are eliminated because they are without humanity and virtue. Therefore, people who believe in God must be able to accept the truth, be an honest person, at least possess conscience and reason, be able to perform their duties well, and be able to fulfill God’s commission. Only these people can obtain God’s salvation; they are the ones who sincerely believe in Him and the ones who sincerely expend themselves for Him. These are the people who God saves.

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

Only honest people can persevere with practicing the truth and succeed in acting with principle, and can perform their duties up to standard. People who act with principle perform their duties meticulously when they are in a good mood; they do not work in a perfunctory manner, they are not arrogant and they do not show themselves off to make others think highly of them. When they are in a bad mood, they can complete their everyday tasks just as earnestly and responsibly, and even if they encounter something that is detrimental to the performance of their duties, or that puts a bit of pressure on them or causes a disturbance while they perform their duties, they are still able to quiet their hearts before God and pray, saying, “No matter how big a problem I come up against—even if the sky comes tumbling down—as long as I am alive, I am determined to do my best to fulfill my duty. Every day I live is a day in which I must perform my duty well, so that I am worthy of this duty bestowed upon me by God, as well as this breath He has put in my body. Regardless of how much difficulty I might be in, I will set it all aside, for fulfilling my duty is of the utmost importance!” Those who are not affected by any person, event, thing, or environment, who are not constrained by any mood or external situation, and who put their duties and the commissions with which God has entrusted them first and foremost—they are the people who are loyal to God and who genuinely submit to Him. People like this have attained life entry and have entered the truth reality. This is one of the most genuine and practical expressions of living out the truth.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Life Entry Begins With the Performance of Duty

When God saves people, He allows them to break away from Satan’s influence and cast off their corrupt dispositions, to become honest people, and live by His words. To live as an honest person is freeing and liberating, and much less painful. It is the happiest of lives. Honest people are simpler. They say what is in their hearts, and they say what they are thinking. In their words and actions, they follow their conscience and reason. They are willing to strive for the truth, and when they understand it, they put it into practice. When they cannot see through a matter, they are willing to seek the truth, and then they do whatever accords with it. They seek God’s desires everywhere and in everything, and then follow them in their actions. There may be a few areas in which they are foolish and must equip themselves with the truth principles, and this requires them to constantly grow. Experiencing in this way means that they can become honest, wise people and accord entirely with God’s intentions. But deceitful people are not like this. They live by satanic dispositions, revealing their corruption, yet fearing that others may find something to use against them in their doing so. So, they use crooked and deceitful tricks in response. They are afraid of a time when everything will be revealed, so they use every means they can to fabricate lies and cover them up, and when a gap appears, they tell more lies to fill it. Always lying and covering up their lies—is that not an exhausting way to live? They are always racking their brains to think up lies and cover up for them. It is just too taxing. That is why deceitful people, who spend their days devising lies and covering them up, have such exhausting and painful lives! It is different, however, with honest people. As an honest person, one does not have so much to consider when one speaks and acts. In most cases, an honest person can just speak truthfully. It is only when a specific matter touches on their interests that they work their minds a bit harder—they may lie a little to protect their interests, to maintain their vanity and pride. These kinds of lies are limited, so speaking and acting are not so exhausting for honest people. The intents of deceitful people are much more complicated than those of honest people. Their considerations are too multifaceted: They must consider their prestige, their reputation, profit, and status; and they must protect their interests—all this, without letting others see any flaws or giving the game away, so they must rack their brains to come up with lies. Moreover, deceitful people have great, excessive desires and many demands. They have to devise ways to achieve their goals, so they must continue to lie and cheat, and as they tell more lies, they need to cover up more lies. That is why the life of a deceitful person is so much more exhausting and painful than that of an honest person. Some people are relatively honest. If they can pursue the truth, reflect on themselves regardless of what lies they have told, recognize the trickery they have engaged in, whatever it was, viewing it in light of God’s words to dissect it and understand it, and going on to change it, then they will be able to rid themselves of much of their lying and trickery in no more than a few years. They will then have become a person who is basically honest. Living like this not only makes them free from much pain and exhaustion, it also brings them peace and happiness. In many matters, they will be free of the constraints of fame, gain, status, of vanity and pride, and will naturally live a free and liberated life.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Most Fundamental Practice of Being an Honest Person

That God asks for people to be honest proves that He truly loathes and dislikes deceitful people. God’s dislike of deceitful people is a dislike of their way of doing things, their dispositions, their intents and their methods of trickery; God dislikes all of these things. If deceitful people are able to accept the truth, admit to their deceitful dispositions, and are willing to accept God’s salvation, then they too have a hope of being saved—for God treats all people equally, as does the truth. And so, if we wish to become people who please God, the first thing we must do is change our principles of comportment. No longer can we live according to satanic philosophies, no longer can we get by on lies and trickery. We must cast off all our lies and become honest people. Then God’s view of us will change. Previously, people always relied on lies, pretense, and trickery while living among others, and used satanic philosophies as the basis of their existence, their lives, and the foundation for their comportment. This was something that God loathed. Among nonbelievers, if you speak frankly, tell the truth, and are an honest person, then you will be slandered, judged, and forsaken. So you follow worldly trends and live by satanic philosophies; you become more and more skilled at lying, and more and more deceitful. You also learn to use insidious means to achieve your goals and protect yourself. You become more and more prosperous in Satan’s world, and as a result, you fall deeper and deeper into sin until you cannot extricate yourself. In God’s house, things are precisely the opposite. The more you lie and play deceitful games, the more God’s chosen people will become sick of you and forsake you. If you refuse to repent and still cling to satanic philosophies and logic, if you use ploys and elaborate schemes to disguise and package yourself, then you are very likely to be revealed and eliminated. This is because God loathes deceitful people. Only honest people can prosper in God’s house, and deceitful people will eventually be forsaken and eliminated. All of this is preordained by God. Only honest people can have a share in the kingdom of heaven. If you do not try to be an honest person, and if you don’t experience and practice in the direction of pursuing the truth, if you don’t expose your own ugliness, and if you don’t lay yourself bare, then you will never be able to receive the Holy Spirit’s work and gain God’s approval.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Most Fundamental Practice of Being an Honest Person

Why does God always stress that people should be honest? Because being honest is very important—it has a direct bearing on whether or not a person can submit to God and whether or not they can attain salvation. Some people say: “I’m arrogant and self-righteous, and I often get angry and reveal corruption.” Others say: “I’m very shallow, and vain, and I love it when people flatter me.” These are all things that are visible to people from the outside, and they are not big problems. You should not keep going on about them. No matter what your disposition or character is, as long as you are able to be an honest person as God requires, you can be saved. So, what do you say? Is it important to be honest? This is the most important thing, which is why God talks about being honest in the chapter of His words, Three Admonitions. In other chapters, He mentions frequently that believers should have a normal spiritual life and a proper church life, and He describes how they should live out a normal humanity. His words on these matters are general; they are not discussed too specifically or in too much detail. However, when God speaks about being honest, He points out the path for people to follow. He tells people how to practice, and He speaks with ample detail and clarity. God says: “If you have many confidences that you are reluctant to share, if you are highly averse to laying bare your secrets—your difficulties—before others to seek the way of the light, then I say that you are someone who will not attain salvation easily.” Being honest relates to attaining salvation. So, what do you say, why does God demand that people be honest? This touches on the truth of human comportment. God saves honest people, and those He wants for His kingdom are honest people. If you are capable of lies and trickery, you are a deceitful, crooked, and insidious person; you are not an honest person. If you are not an honest person, then there is no chance that God will save you, nor can you possibly be saved. You say that you are very pious now, that you are not arrogant or self-righteous, that you are able to pay a price when performing your duty, or that you can spread the gospel and convert many people. But you are not honest, you are still deceitful, and you have not changed at all, so can you be saved? Absolutely not. And so these words of God remind everyone that, to be saved, they must first be honest in accordance with the words and requirements of God. They must open themselves up, lay bare their corrupt dispositions, their intents and secrets, and seek the way of the light.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Most Fundamental Practice of Being an Honest Person

Related Hymns

God Blesses Those Who Are Honest