A Pastor’s Spiritual Confession

I said, “Thank the Lord! You speak well. Through your such fellowship, we’ve got a better understanding of being saved. Please go on. May the Lord lead us.”
Sister Su continued, “Okay. We’ll understand more after reading a few passages of Almighty God’s words. Almighty God says, ‘At the time Jesus’ work was the redemption of all mankind. The sins of all who believed in Him were forgiven; as long as you believed in Him, He would redeem you; if you believed in Him, you were no longer a sinner, you were relieved of your sins. This is what it meant to be saved, and to be justified by faith. Yet in those who believed, there remained that which was rebellious and opposed God, and which still had to be slowly removed. Salvation did not mean man had been completely gained by Jesus, but that man was no longer of sin, that he had been forgiven his sins: Provided you believed, you would never more be of sin’ (“The Vision of God’s Work (2)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
‘Man was … forgiven his sins, but the work for just how the corrupt satanic dispositions within man could be cast away was not done in him. Man was only saved and forgiven his sins for his faith, but the sinful nature of man was not taken away and still remained within him. The sins of man were forgiven through God incarnate, but it does not mean that man has no sin within him. The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but man has been unable to resolve the issue of just how he can no longer sin and how his sinful nature can be cast away completely and be transformed. The sins of man were forgiven because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live in the old, corrupt satanic disposition. As such, man must be completely saved from the corrupt satanic disposition so that the sinful nature of man is completely cast away and never again develops, thus allowing the disposition of man to be changed. This requires man to understand the path of growth in life, the way of life, and the way to change his disposition. It also needs man to act in accordance with this path so that the disposition of man can gradually be changed and he can live under the shining of the light, and that he can do all things in accord with the will of God, cast away the corrupt satanic disposition, and break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation’ (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
‘Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment, and this work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life’ (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh).

From Almighty God’s words, we know that if man holds on to merely the work of redemption God did in the Age of Grace, but refuses to accept God’s work of judgment in the last days, the root of his sin and his satanic nature will not be resolved. In the last days, Almighty God has come and done a stage of work of judging and purifying man on the basis of the redemptive work. By expressing the truth, He has revealed the true face of man’s corruption and judged man’s satanic nature, so that man’s sinful nature can be thoroughly resolved, his satanic disposition can be changed, and he will be completely free from Satan’s influence and saved by God. So, Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days is the most crucial and fundamental work to save man and perfect man. Only when we accept it can we have a true knowledge of the substance of our corruption and God’s disposition, utterly break away from Satan’s influence, change our life disposition, and finally become ones who obey God, worship God and are compatible with God.”

Such fellowship left me enlightened inside and solved the questions puzzling me for a long time. It turned out that God only did the work of forgiveness in the Age of Grace and did not do the work of casting off man’s corrupt satanic disposition, while the work of judgment done by God incarnate in the last days through expressing the truth is that which completely purifies man and saves man. But then, how does God cleanse and change man to make him be fully saved? I was anxious to get the answer. I couldn’t wait to ask, “I understand what you fellowshiped. Man can only be purified when the Lord comes to do a stage of work of judgment, which I’ve long expected. Now I’m eager to know how Almighty God does the work of judgment to cleanse and save man.

Sister Su said, “That question is of great importance to everyone who wants to get changed and cleansed. Almighty God’s words have put it very clearly. Let me send them to you through Skype. You may read them, brother!”

I read Almighty God’s words excitedly, “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, reveal the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and disposition of God, and so on. These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regards to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. When God does the work of judgment, He does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words, but carries out revelation, dealing, and pruning over the long term. Such manner of revelation, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only such manner of work is deemed judgment; only through such judgment can man be persuaded, be thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that could not be understood by man. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of such work is actually the work of opening up the truth, way, and life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Then Sister Su continued with her fellowship, “From Almighty God’s words, we see that in the last days, God judges and purifies man mainly through expressing the truth directed at man’s corrupt disposition and satanic nature of resistance to God. Almighty God has expressed a variety of truths, such as how Satan corrupts man, how God saves man, what is to follow man, what is to obey God, what viewpoint believers should hold, what offending God’s disposition means, the way to have one’s life disposition changed, and so on. These truths all carry authority and power, can supply man with life, and are the way of life for man to be cleansed and transformed. While reading Almighty God’s words, we sometimes feel God is as loving as a mother, amiable and adorable; sometimes we feel He is like a severe father. Especially when we read Almighty God’s words that judge, chastise, and reveal man, we feel they, like a double-edged sword, disclose our disobedience, corruption, resistance, wrong intentions, notions and imaginations. Moreover, they even disclose the unknown satanic poisons hidden deep within our hearts. We realize what we’ve lived out is the ugliness of Satan. For example, we’re arrogant and self-conceited, crooked and crafty, selfish and base, mercenary, and show no reverence for God at all; our actions and deeds, thoughts and ideas are also filthy, corrupt, and hideous. We feel so humiliated and ashamed, as if God were judging us face to face. We see God has appeared to us with His majestic, wrathful, righteous disposition, and realize that if we still live in such corrupt dispositions without any change, we’ll be doomed to be eliminated and punished. When we live by the truth, God’s words, there is the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and reassurance, peace, enjoyment in our hearts. We feel as if we lived in the light and lived before God. We truly feel only if one lives by the truth can he have the likeness of a real man, and that only living this way is valuable and meaningful. Were it not for God’s judgment coming upon us, we would not know God’s righteous and unoffendable disposition, hate our disobedience and corruption, nor cast off our corruption and get transformed. Through our practical experiences, we feel sincerely that God’s judgment and chastisement is the best protection and blessing for man.”

Sister Liu said, “Almighty God’s work of judgment and chastisement in the last days is the work that completely purifies, saves, and perfects man. If man doesn’t accept the judgment before Christ’s seat, he won’t be able to be purified and change his life disposition, and in the end he is surely to be abandoned and eliminated by God, thus perishing, being destroyed, and forever losing the opportunity to be saved by God and enter the kingdom of heaven. This is absolute.”

I said cheerfully, “Praise God! After hearing your fellowship, I feel brightened inside my heart. I’ve indeed lived in sin over these years of believing in the Lord, and had no strength to get rid of it anyway. Now, I understand that without experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement in the last days, man won’t be able to break free from the shackles and restraints of sin. I’ve seen the way to be cleansed and saved.” After fellowshiping for a couple of days, I understood more truth, and accepted Almighty God’s work of judgment and chastisement.

I thank Almighty God so much for His love and salvation to me. As a pastor, it is my duty and obligation to bring other pastors, brothers and sisters I know before God. After cooperating to preach the gospel for some time, I brought before Almighty God not only dozens of brothers and sisters who regularly attended the meetings in my own church, but also a pastor and all the brothers and sisters of another house church. Now, most of the brothers and sisters of the two churches have been raptured before God’s throne. I’m very happy. I know all the results are achieved by Almighty God’s work. May all the glory be to Almighty God!

Christopher the Philippines

Part One: The Way to Be Purified (I)

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