By An Xin, China

In April of 2021, I returned to my original church after being away and met Liu Min. Liu Min had nearly been expelled before because as a church leader, she not only failed to do real work but also promoted people based on her own will against principles, protected antichrists and evil people without handling them. This had resulted in the ineffectiveness of various church work. During that period, some brothers and sisters fellowshipped with her, but she refused to accept it. The leader at that time, Sister Wang Yi, assessed her behavior and suspected that she might be an evil person, but due to insufficient evidence, she concluded it might be just a temporary manifestation. After discussing with other leaders and workers, they decided to give her another chance to repent and to observe her. Thus, she was not expelled.

Once, while chatting with Liu Min, I asked her what lessons she had learned from that experience. I thought she would have some genuine understanding and repentance after such a significant failure and revelation. Unexpectedly, Liu Min said, “I was just prone to acting out of impetuousness. Besides, no one helped me at the time.” Hearing this, I thought, “Even though you weren’t expelled, it is a fact that you did evil things. Why don’t you reflect on yourself and learn from it?” Later, I found that not only did she fail to know herself, but she also distorted facts, and spread rumors wherever she went that made others believe she had been wronged and suppressed by Wang Yi. Unaware of the truth of the matter, the brothers and sisters believed her, thinking that Wang Yi was the problem. Later on, I was elected as a church leader. Not long after, I noticed that Liu Min was neglecting her duty in favor of personal matters. I pointed out her irresponsibility and fellowshipped with her about God’s words regarding the proper attitude toward one’s duties. But she didn’t accept this and even developed a prejudice against me. In gatherings she would repeatedly tell the brothers and sisters that I was too demanding toward her, misleading them with her words such that they too became prejudiced against me. This situation made me feel very constrained. I didn’t dare to point out her problems so readily again, for fear she would keep picking on me and not let go. But Liu Min didn’t stop committing evils. She seized on the news that a sister had been isolated for reflection by the church, distorting the facts to spread falsehoods by saying that the leaders and workers were arbitrarily expelling people and thereby ruining their lives. This created anxiety among the brothers and sisters and made them wary of the leaders and workers, plunging the church into turmoil. Seeing the severity of the situation, I realized that there was a problem. I thought about Liu Min’s behavior, about how she consistently rejected the truth, and had a tendency to criticize others’ actions and use them to take revenge on them. Not only hadn’t she admitted her past evildoing after being dismissed from her position, but she kept seizing on this matter and wouldn’t let it lie, passing judgment on Wang Yi at every turn, and claiming that she had been wronged; and when I had pointed out that she had been irresponsible in doing her duty, she had developed a grudge against me and distorted the facts to judge me behind my back, causing the brothers and sisters to become prejudiced against me. I also learned that when she was a leader, despite the emergence of a gang of antichrists in the church, she had not only failed to handle them, but had also asked the deacons to help these antichrists with love more, even demanding those who reported the antichrists to gain a better understanding of themselves and learn their lessons. Moreover, after her younger sister had been dismissed for not doing real work, Liu Min had written to the upper leadership several times, grilling them on why her sister had been dismissed, even saying, “If anyone dismisses me from my position, I won’t go easy on them.” On finding this out, I thought, “Liu Min’s behavior is not just a momentary revelation of corruption; this is a problem to do with her nature essence!” I read two passages of God’s words: “All who have been corrupted by Satan have corrupt dispositions. Some have nothing more than corrupt dispositions, while others are different: Not only do they have corrupt satanic dispositions, but their nature is also extremely malicious. Not only do their words and actions reveal their corrupt, satanic dispositions; these people are, moreover, the genuine devils and Satans” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. A Warning to Those Who Do Not Practice the Truth). “No matter what mistakes they have made or bad things they have done, those people with vicious dispositions will not allow anyone to expose them or prune them. Should someone expose and offend them, they will become enraged, retaliate, and never let the issue drop. They have no patience and tolerance for other people, and do not exercise forbearance toward them. What principle is their conduct based on? ‘I would rather betray than be betrayed.’ In other words, they do not tolerate being offended by anyone. Is this not the logic of evil people? This is exactly the logic of evil people. No one is allowed to offend them. To them, it is unacceptable for anyone to trigger them in even the slightest way, and they hate anyone who does so. They will keep going after that person and never let the matter go—that is how evil people are” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (14)). In light of God’s words, I saw that Liu Min’s nature was malicious and that she hated the truth. Not only did she consistently protect antichrists and evil people, but she also often criticized others’ actions to cause no end of trouble. She would rack her brains for ways to judge and retaliate against those who offered her advice or did things that endangered her interests. In doing so, she sowed discord within the church and caused disturbance to church life. Despite numerous attempts to fellowship with and help her, she still didn’t repent. Based on her consistent behavior, I confirmed that she was indeed an evil person. After discussing with the other leaders and workers, we reported her situation to the upper leadership.

The upper leadership instructed us to start by isolating Liu Min to prevent further disturbance to church life, and to collect her materials. After that, we were to fellowship and discern her with the brothers and sisters, and then expel her. Hearing this, I had some concerns, thinking, “Last time, due to insufficient evidence, Liu Min wasn’t expelled, and when she found out, she caused no end of trouble, and hasn’t let up on Wang Yi ever since. When I pointed out her issues, she not only didn’t accept it, but persistently distorted the facts to judge me. When her younger sister was dismissed, she even said that if anyone dismissed her, she wouldn’t go easy on them. Liu Min’s humanity is so evil; if she finds out she’s been expelled, won’t she kick up a huge fuss? Who knows what detrimental things she might do to me? Might she take revenge on me? She even knows where I live. What if she comes to my home in a fit of anger to quarrel with me, and causes a scene that my neighbors all learn of my faith, putting me in danger?” The more I thought about it, the more fearful I became. I didn’t know how to face the impending situation. I prayed to God and asked Him to guide me. Later, I read a passage of God’s words: “Antichrists have extremely vicious dispositions. If you try to prune them or expose them, they will hate you and sink their teeth into you as if they were venomous snakes. You won’t be able to swing or shake them off no matter how hard you try. When you encounter such antichrists, do you feel afraid? Some people do get scared and say, ‘I don’t dare prune them. They are so fierce, like venomous snakes, and if they wrap their coils around me, I’m finished.’ What kind of people are these? They are too small of stature, they aren’t good for anything, they aren’t Christ’s good soldiers, and they cannot bear witness to God. So, what should you do when you encounter such antichrists? If they threaten you or try to take your life, would you be afraid? In such situations, you must quickly unite with your brothers and sisters and stand up, investigate, gather evidence, and expose the antichrist until they are cleared out of the church. This is thoroughly resolving the problem. When you discover an antichrist and clearly identify that they have the features of an evil person and are able to punish and retaliate against others, don’t wait for them to commit evil and gather evidence before you handle it. This is passive and will have already resulted in a few losses. It’s best, when antichrists show that they have the features of an evil person and reveal their insidious and malicious disposition, and they are about to act, to handle, address, clear out, and expel them. This is the most sensible approach. Some people fear retaliation from antichrists and they don’t dare to expose them. Isn’t this foolish? You are unable to safeguard the interests of God’s house, which inherently shows that you are disloyal to God. You’re afraid that an antichrist might find leverage to retaliate against you—what’s the problem? Could it be that you don’t trust in God’s righteousness? Don’t you know that the truth reigns in God’s house? Even if an antichrist manages to get hold of some issues of corruption in you and makes a fuss over it, you should not be afraid. In God’s house, problems are handled based on the truth principles. Making transgressions doesn’t mean that someone is an evil person. God’s house never handles someone because of a momentary revelation of corruption or occasional transgression. God’s house deals with those antichrists and evil people who consistently create disturbances and do evil, and who don’t accept even a smidgen of the truth. God’s house will never wrong a good person. It treats everyone fairly. Even if false leaders or antichrists wrongly accuse a good person, God’s house will vindicate them. The church will never clear out or handle a good person who can expose antichrists and has a sense of justice. People always fear that antichrists will find leverage to retaliate against them. But aren’t you afraid of offending God and incurring His spurning? If you’re afraid of an antichrist finding leverage to retaliate against you, why not seize the proof of that antichrist’s evil deeds to report and expose them? In doing so, you will earn the approval and support of God’s chosen people, and most importantly, God will remember your good deeds and acts of justice. So, why not do this? God’s chosen people should always bear God’s commission in mind. Cleansing evil people and antichrists away is the most crucial fight in the battle against Satan. If this fight is won, it will become an overcomer’s testimony. Battling against Satans and devils is an experiential testimony that God’s chosen people should have. It’s a truth reality that overcomers must possess. God has bestowed so much truth upon people, has led you for such a long time, and has provided so much for you, for the purpose of you bearing witness and safeguarding the work of the church. It turns out, when evil people and antichrists do evil deeds and disturb the work of the church, you become timid and withdraw, fleeing with your arms over your head—you are a good-for-nothing. You cannot overcome Satans, you have not borne witness, and God detests you. In this critical moment, you must stand up and wage war against Satans, expose the evil deeds of antichrists, condemn and curse them, giving them no place to hide and cleansing them away from the church. Only this can be counted as gaining victory over Satans and ending their fate. You are one of God’s chosen people, a follower of God. You cannot be afraid of challenges; you must act according to the truth principles. This is what it means to be an overcomer. If you are afraid of challenges and make compromises because you fear retaliation from evil people or antichrists, then you are not a follower of God, and you are not one of God’s chosen people. You are a good-for-nothing, inferior even to service-doers. Some cowards might say, ‘Antichrists are so formidable; they’re capable of anything. What if they retaliate against me?’ This is muddled talk. If you fear retaliation from antichrists, where is your faith in God? Hasn’t God protected you throughout so many years of your life? Aren’t antichrists also in God’s hands? If God does not permit it, what can they do to you? Moreover, no matter how evil antichrists may be, what are they really capable of? Isn’t it all too easy for God’s chosen people to unite and expose and handle them? So why be afraid of antichrists? Such people are good-for-nothings and are not worthy of following God. Go back home, raise your children, and live your life. In the face of antichrists disturbing the work of the church and harming God’s chosen people, how should God’s chosen people respond to their evil deeds? How should those who follow God stand firm in their witness? How should they fight against the forces of Satan and antichrists? Whether you submit and are loyal to God or sit on the sidelines and betray God will be fully revealed when antichrists disturb, do evil, and oppose God. If you are not someone who submits to God and is loyal to Him, then you are someone who betrays Him. There is no other option. Some muddled individuals and those lacking discernment choose to take a middle-of-the-road stance and become fence-sitters. In God’s eyes, these people lack loyalty to God and are betrayers of Him” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part Eight)). God’s words say that exposing antichrists and evil people is the responsibility and duty of all of God’s chosen people and that it is an actual manifestation of protecting church work. However, I was really afraid of exposing and handling evil people. I always felt that once I exposed them, they would coil around me like a poisonous snake and I wouldn’t be able to shake them off. God’s words say: “They are too small of stature, they aren’t good for anything, they aren’t Christ’s good soldiers, and they cannot bear witness to God.” I felt guilty and upset when I read the words “they aren’t good for anything.” As a church leader, I should have considered God’s intention and protected the normal operation of church work and church life. But when I saw Liu Min spreading rumors and judgments everywhere that the leaders and workers were expelling people without principles, causing brothers and sisters to have prejudices and become guarded against the leaders and workers, and severely disturbing church life, I didn’t have the courage to handle Liu Min according to principles. I feared she would latch on to me and retaliate against me, tormenting me and causing trouble for me. To protect my own interests, I wanted to act like a turtle, watching evil people disturbing the church but not dealing with it and protecting the church work in good time. I really didn’t fulfill my responsibilities. I was so selfish and I was such a cowardly good-for-nothing! Especially when I read God’s words: “If you fear retaliation from antichrists, where is your faith in God? Hasn’t God protected you throughout so many years of your life? Aren’t antichrists also in God’s hands? If God does not permit it, what can they do to you?” I felt even more ashamed. God is sovereign over all things, and antichrists and evil people are also in God’s hands. Without God’s permission, they can do nothing. I had believed in God and eaten and drunk so many of God’s words, yet I didn’t have true faith in God. I was truly pathetic! Thinking about this, I hated myself for being such a disappointment and made up my mind to consider God’s intention and rely on God in cleansing away this evil person. So, I prayed to God, asking Him to give me faith and strength so that I could stick to principles and not be afraid of this evil person.

Later, we exposed and dissected Liu Min’s behavior and isolated her. Liu Min did not accept this or reflect on herself at all and she even said that she had done these things because the brothers and sisters hadn’t helped her. She had no recognition of her evil deeds, let alone remorse. At that time, the brothers and sisters did not have much discernment about her. They thought Liu Min had some gifts, fellowshipped in a logical and clear manner, and that she was capable of enduring suffering and expending herself. They had a good impression of her. I felt troubled, thinking, “If I fellowship with the brothers and sisters and dissect Liu Min as an evil person, and they don’t accept it and disagree with her expulsion, what should I do? Will everyone think I handled things unfairly and develop prejudice against me? Will the church sink into chaos? If it does, will I be held responsible? Will I face dismissal?” At that moment, I realized I was living in a state of cowardice and concern again, so I prayed to God, willing to rebel against myself and practice the truth. Then, I sought how to fellowship with the brothers and sisters in a way that would achieve results. I read a passage of God’s words: “The third requirement in the twelfth responsibility of leaders and workers is that when dealing with disruptions and disturbances caused by evil people, leaders and workers should eat and drink God’s word together with God’s chosen people to reflect on and know themselves, and have a genuine turnaround. They should be able to lead God’s chosen people to enter into the truth reality, cast off their corrupt dispositions, and achieve following God, submitting to God, and bearing witness to God. Only this kind of work aligns with God’s intentions. For one thing, leaders and workers who work in this way are able to solve problems and equip themselves with the truth while working. Additionally, through fellowshipping the truth to solve problems, they help the brothers and sisters understand the truth, know how to reflect on and know themselves, cast off their corrupt dispositions, do their duties well, know how to discern and treat people, achieve following God and submitting to God, not be constrained by others, and be able to stand firm in their testimony. This is fulfilling the duties of leaders and workers; this is the principle that leaders and workers should practice for solving problems while carrying out the church’s work. No matter what problems arise in the church, first and foremost, leaders and workers should seek the truth, grasp God’s intentions, and seek God’s guidance together. They should then look for relevant words of God to resolve the various existing problems. In the process of resolving problems, leaders and workers should fellowship more about the relevant words of God with the brothers and sisters, and understand the essence of the problems based on God’s words. They should also have God’s chosen people fellowship their own understanding to discern these issues. Once the majority are able to have the same understanding and arrive at a consensus, the problems become easier to resolve. In resolving problems, do not always repeatedly recount the events or pursue minor details or blame individuals involved in the problems. At first, do not focus on minor issues; instead, clearly fellowship the truth, as this will reveal the nature of the problems. Only this approach helps God’s chosen people learn to discern issues based on God’s words, gain discernment from the people, events, and things that arise, and learn practical lessons from them. It also allows them to compare the words and doctrines they usually understand to real life, enabling them to truly understand the truth. Isn’t this what the leaders and workers should do? … How should church leaders lead God’s chosen people? The main way is to lead God’s chosen people to identify and solve problems in real life, to practice and experience God’s word in real life, so that God’s chosen people are not only able to practice the truth, but also able to discern negative things and negative people—false leaders, false workers, evil people, disbelievers, and antichrists. The purpose of discerning various people is to solve problems. Only by thoroughly resolving the disturbances caused by evil people and antichrists can the church’s work progress smoothly, and God’s will be carried out in the church. At the same time, addressing evil people also serves as a warning to avoid making mistakes or doing evil, enabling oneself to achieve fearing God and shunning evil” (The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (20)). After reading God’s words, I understood that one aspect of a leader and worker’s responsibility is that when evil people and antichrists disrupt and disturb the work of the church, they should equip themselves and the brothers and sisters with the truth and learn lessons together, leading them to discern antichrists and evil people, and not to be misled and disturbed by them. At the same time, they should also guide brothers and sisters to understand the significance of the church’s cleansing work. Only by cleansing away disbelievers, antichrists, and evil people can God’s chosen people pursue the truth and fulfill their duties in a stable environment. Understanding these things, I thought, “The brothers and sisters have no discernment about Liu Min right now, and some even worship her because they see her apparent gifts, and eloquence, but they don’t discern her essence based on the motives and nature of her actions, and her attitude toward the truth. I should lead the brothers and sisters to discern Liu Min’s behavior and actions according to God’s words, so they will no longer be misled. This is fulfilling a leader’s responsibility.” Then, I looked for truths about discerning people’s nature essence and I drew on Liu Min’s consistent behavior to fellowship with the brothers and sisters. After listening, they agreed to expel Liu Min. Some brothers and sisters even said, “Now I understand what God means when He exposes how evil people stubbornly refuse to repent, Liu Min is a living example.” Seeing this result, I was filled with gratitude to God, knowing it was the result of God’s words. Later, we fellowshipped together and saw that God allowing the church to have antichrists and evil people contains His good intention, using this real example of Liu Min to show us what evil people are like. This was much more practical than speaking empty words of theory.

Later, I also reflected on myself, wondering why I had become so fearful and hesitant to stick to principles when it came to expelling evil people? I read God’s words, which say: “Until people have experienced God’s work and understood the truth, it is Satan’s nature that takes charge and dominates them from within. What, specifically, does that nature entail? For example, why are you selfish? Why do you protect your own position? Why do you have such strong feelings? Why do you enjoy those unrighteous things? Why do you like those evils? What is the basis for your fondness for such things? Where do these things come from? Why are you so happy to accept them? By now, you have all come to understand that the main reason behind all these things is that Satan’s poison is within man. So what is Satan’s poison? How can it be expressed? For example, if you ask, ‘How should people live? What should people live for?’ people will answer, ‘Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost.’ This single phrase expresses the very root of the problem. Satan’s philosophy and logic have become people’s lives. No matter what people pursue, they do so for themselves—and so they live only for themselves. ‘Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost’—this is the life philosophy of man, and it also represents human nature. These words have already become the nature of corrupt mankind and they are the true portrait of corrupt mankind’s satanic nature. This satanic nature has already become the basis for corrupt mankind’s existence. For several thousand years, corrupt mankind has lived by this venom of Satan, right up to the present day” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Walk the Path of Peter). Thinking over God’s words, I realized that the reason I hesitated and worried so much about expelling Liu Min was that I was controlled by Satan’s poisons like “Sensible people are good at self-protection, seeking only to avoid making mistakes,” “The less trouble, the better,” and “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” as well as “The bird that sticks its neck out is the one that gets shot.” When things happened, I started by considering how to protect myself and ensure my interests weren’t harmed. As a church leader, I had clearly discerned Liu Min’s essence as an evil person, but I was afraid of offending her and her retaliating, and I worried that the brothers and sisters’ lack of discernment would lead them to develop a prejudice against me again, and that if this happened, the church would sink into chaos and I might get dismissed and not be able to protect my status. No matter how I thought about it, I felt that exposing this evil person would be detrimental to me, so I shrank back and didn’t expel this evil person in good time. The church’s cleansing work is done to purify the church, and ensure that the church work and church life are not disturbed. However, I couldn’t uphold the church’s work and watched on as brothers and sisters were misled, and as the church life was disturbed, I did nothing, feeling that as long as my interests were not harmed, things were fine. I saw that by living by these Satanic poisons, my conscience had become increasingly numb, and all I could think about was my interests. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that I was so selfish and despicable, that I had no loyalty to God, and that I was completely lacking in humanity! It was only then that I realized that relying on these Satanic poisons in one’s actions was resisting God and disrupting the church’s work as Satan’s lackey. If I didn’t repent, I would only commit more evils and eventually be detested and eliminated by God! Another concern I had about why I didn’t stick to principles was that I might be dismissed if the church fell into chaos because I didn’t handle this evil person properly. In my seeking, I read some of God’s words: “Those who can perform a duty in God’s house must be people whose burden is the work of the church, who take responsibility, who uphold the truth principles, and who can suffer and pay the price. If one is lacking in these areas, they are unfit to perform a duty, and they do not possess the conditions for the performance of duty. There are many people who are afraid of taking on responsibility in performing a duty. … They say to themselves, ‘If this thing is mine to sort out, what if I end up making a mistake? When they look into who’s to blame, won’t they handle me? Won’t the responsibility for it fall first to me?’ This is what they worry about. But do you believe that God scrutinizes all? Everyone makes mistakes. If a person whose intention is correct lacks experience and has not handled some sort of matter before, but they have done their best, that is visible to God. You must believe that God scrutinizes all things and the heart of man. If one does not even believe this, are they not a disbeliever? What significance could there be in such a person performing a duty?” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part One)). After reading God’s words, I understood that God is righteous, He scrutinizes everything, and the church handles people according to principles, based on their consistent performance and their nature essence. If someone’s intention is to be considerate of God’s intentions and uphold the church’s work, and it’s just a matter of them simply not understanding the truth and failing to see through the essence of a problem so they don’t handle it well, and they are able to turn things around in good time through fellowship and help, the church will treat such people fairly and not handle or dismiss them. However, if someone deliberately causes chaos with bad intentions, the church will handle them according to principles. I didn’t understand God’s righteous disposition or believe that God scrutinizes people’s hearts, nor did I believe that the truth reigns in the church. I just lived in my own notions and imaginings, worried and concerned. This was truly distorted! Understanding these things made me feel completely liberated. I also read that God’s words say: “You are performing your duty in the house of God now. What is the first principle of performing a duty? It is that you must first perform that duty with your whole heart, sparing no effort, and protect the interests of God’s house. This is a truth principle, one that you should put into practice” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part One)). God’s words showed me a path of practice. In the future, whenever I encounter matters, I must be considerate of God’s intentions, practice according to the truth principles, and uphold the church’s work. This is fulfilling my duty.

Later, I went to expose Liu Min’s evil deeds and announce her expulsion with a partnered sister. Although I still had some worries, I thought of God’s words: “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 feelings aside and expose Satan for the sake of My truth? Can you allow My intentions to be satisfied in you? Have you offered up your heart in the most crucial of moments? Are you someone who follows 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). God’s questions in His words include His expectations for people. God hopes that we can consider His intention, uphold principles, and have the courage to expose evil people. I couldn’t disappoint God anymore. I had to practice the truth and uphold the church’s work. So, I came together with my partnered sister in heart and mind and we prayed. Based on God’s words, we exposed and dissected Liu Min’s issues. Although she still didn’t know herself, she had nothing to say. Seeing this result, I couldn’t help but thank God in my heart. After this experience, I gained some faith in God and some understanding of my own corrupt disposition. I experienced the peace that comes from practicing the truth.