What are the differences between dispositional change and good behavior?

Relevant Words of God:

A transformation in disposition mainly refers to a transformation in people’s nature. The things of a person’s nature cannot be seen from outside behaviors; they are directly related to the worth and significance of their existence. Which is to say, they directly involve a person’s outlooks on life and their values, the things deep within their soul, and their essence. Someone who is unable to accept the truth will have no transformation in these aspects.

What is dispositional change?

Relevant Words of God:

What does a transformation in disposition refer to? It happens when a lover of truth, while experiencing God’s work, accepts the judgment and chastisement of God’s words and undergoes all manner of suffering and refinement. Such a person is cleansed of the satanic poisons within, and completely breaks free of his corrupt dispositions, so that he can obey God’s words and all of His orchestrations and arrangements, never again to rebel against Him or resist Him. This is a transformation in disposition. … A transformation in disposition means that a person, because he loves and can accept the truth, finally comes to know his disobedient nature that is in opposition to God; he understands that the human corruption is too deep and recognizes man’s absurdness and deceitfulness. He recognizes man’s poorness and pitifulness, and finally understands man’s nature and essence. Knowing all this, he can deny and forsake himself completely, live by God’s word, and practice the truth in everything. This is someone who knows God; this is someone whose disposition has transformed.

What is meant by “leave everything behind and follow God”?

Relevant Words of God:

You can devote your heart and body and all of your genuine love to God, place them before Him, be completely obedient toward Him, and be absolutely considerate to His will. Not for the flesh, not for family, and not for your personal desires, but for the interests of God’s household. In everything you can take God’s word as the principle, as the foundation. That way, your intentions and your perspectives will all be in the right place, and you will be someone who gains God’s praise before Him.

from “People Who Can Be Absolutely Obedient Toward God’s Practicality Are Those Who Truly Love God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You believe in God and follow God, and so in your heart you must love God. You must cast aside your corrupt disposition, must seek to fulfill God’s desire, and must perform the duty of a creature of God. Since you believe in and follow God, you should offer everything to Him, and should not make personal choices or demands, and you should achieve the fulfillment of God’s desire. Since you were created, you should obey the Lord that created you, for you are inherently without dominion over yourself, and have no ability to control your destiny. Since you are a person that believes in God, you should seek holiness and change. Since you are a creature of God, you should adhere to your duty, and keep your place, and must not overstep your duty. This is not to constrain you, or to suppress you through doctrine, but is the path through which you can perform your duty, and can be achieved—and should be achieved—by all those who do righteousness.

from “Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

9. Your thoughts ought to be of the work of the church. You should put aside the prospects of your own flesh, be decisive about family matters, wholeheartedly devote yourself to the work of God, and put God’s work first and your own life second. This is the decency of a saint.

from “The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You must suffer hardship for the truth, you must give yourself to the truth, you must endure humiliation for the truth, and to gain more of the truth you must undergo more suffering. This is what you should do. You must not throw away the truth for the sake of a peaceful family life, and you must not lose your life’s dignity and integrity for the sake of momentary enjoyment. You should pursue all that is beautiful and good, and should pursue a path in life that is more meaningful. If you lead such a vulgar life, and do not pursue any objectives, do you not waste your life? What can you gain from such a life? You should forsake all enjoyments of the flesh for the sake of one truth, and should not throw away all truths for the sake of a little enjoyment. People like this have no integrity or dignity; there is no meaning to their existence!

from “The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Sermon and Fellowship Excerpts for Reference:

God requires this of all those who believe in Him: abandon everything to follow God. From the Age of Grace to the Age of Kingdom, there have been so many people who abandoned everything to follow God. Only these people are worthy of being called saints, who are the people of God in the Age of Kingdom. What does it mean to abandon everything and follow God? It is to offer up your whole heart, your entire being to God, and to fully immerse yourself in God’s work and expend yourself for Him. This is the true meaning of abandoning everything to follow God. There are people who believe that only those who haven’t started their own family and have nothing to worry about can abandon everything, while those who have a family, who have parents, a spouse, or children cannot do so. This perspective is incorrect. First, people must know that God’s demands on people are fair and reasonable. He does not demand that people forsake their parents, spouse, or children. Rather, He requests that people offer up their hearts and perform their duty to the fullest without being constrained by any person, event, or thing. This is tantamount to abandoning everything and following God. God does not force people to do things they are not willing to do. It is enough for a person to exert all his effort to satisfy God. It is only natural that one must cast aside some things which should be cast aside. If for the time being one cannot abandon something, all that is required is to not be constrained by that thing. If his heart is still constrained and he cannot fully perform his duty, then this does not count as abandoning everything. The issue of devotion to God lies within the practice of abandoning everything. If you truly are someone who is devoted to God, within your heart you’ll be able to avoid being constrained by your family, spouse, or children. Many brothers and sisters have family ties, but their hearts are not constrained by their families; they perform their duties very well. Though they go away occasionally to care for their families, they do not allow this to interfere with their duties at all. Can you say that they have not abandoned everything to follow God? Having a family truly is a difficulty—no one can deny this. However, if their heart can be loyal to God, they will be able to shake off all family entanglements. Though the flesh undergoes some hardship, there are great blessings from God for their growth in life. And what do those people who cling to the enjoyments of the flesh gain? Ultimately they gain nothing. And how should one deal with the hardships of the flesh? It can be said that any amount of fleshly hardship is a good thing. As long as God is satisfied, then a person’s spirit can rejoice. The greatest pain of all would be to offend God because of clinging to pleasures of the flesh. All those who abandon everything to expend themselves for God will be gratified because they have properly performed the duty of a human being and have satisfied God. Moreover, they will be commended by God, because God gives great blessings to all those who sincerely expend themselves for Him. Those who cling to the enjoyments of family and flesh and cannot abandon everything to follow God are all ones who are devoted to the devil Satan. They certainly cannot be saved by God, and particularly will not have God’s blessing.

from The Fellowship From the Above

What are the differences between doing one’s duty and rendering service?

Relevant Words of God:

There is no correlation between the duty of man and whether he is blessed or cursed. Duty is what man ought to fulfill; it is his heaven-sent vocation, and should not depend on recompense, conditions, or reasons. Only then is he doing his duty. To be blessed is when someone is made perfect and enjoys God’s blessings after experiencing judgment. To be cursed is when someone’s disposition does not change after they have experienced chastisement and judgment, it is when they do not experience being made perfect but are punished.

What is the difference between an honest person and a deceitful person?

Relevant Words of God:

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.

How is dispositional change manifested?

Relevant Words of God:

Whether or not your disposition can change depends upon whether or not you keep up with the Holy Spirit’s current words and whether or not you have true knowledge. This is unlike what you understood before.

How should one practice and enter into being an honest person?

Relevant Words of God:

Pursuing the truth is what is most important, and practicing it is actually very simple. You should begin with being an honest person and speaking truthfully, and opening up your heart. If there is something about which you are too embarrassed to speak with your brothers and sisters, then you should kneel down and tell it to God through prayer. What should you say to God? Tell God what is in your heart; do not give empty pleasantries or attempt to deceive Him.

What is the difference between understanding the truth and understanding doctrine?

Relevant Words of God:

Coming to a real understanding of the actual meaning in God’s word is no simple matter. Don’t think this way: I can interpret the literal meaning of God’s words, and everyone says it’s good and gives me a thumbs-up, so it counts as understanding God’s word. That is not the same as understanding God’s word. If you have gained some light from within God’s word and you have gotten a sense of the true significance of God’s word, if you can express the significance of God’s word and what they will ultimately achieve, once this is all clear that counts as having some level of understanding of God’s word. So, understanding God’s word is not quite so simple. Just because you can give a flowery explanation of the letter of God’s word does not mean you understand it. No matter how much you can explain the letter of God’s word it is still man’s imagination and way of thinking—it’s useless!

What is a deceitful person? Why can’t deceitful people attain salvation?

Relevant Words of God:

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.

What exactly must one do to achieve understanding of the truth and gain the truth?

The Answer from God’s Word:

Understanding God’s word is not quite so simple. Just because you can give a beautiful explanation of the letter of God’s word does not mean you understand it. No matter how you interpret the letter of God’s word it is still the imagination and way of thinking of man and is useless.

I’ve accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, and I’d like to share the gospel with the brothers and sisters of my former denomination. However, not only do they refuse to accept it, but they have even rejected and slandered me. I’m really upset and don’t want to share the gospel with them anymore. In the face of this kind of situation, what can I do to be in accord with God’s will?

Relevant Bible Verses:

“If the world hate you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you” (Jhn 15:18).

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake” (Mat 5:10-11).

What is doing one’s duty?

Relevant Words of God:

Fulfilling your duty is the truth. Fulfilling your duty in God’s house is not simply fulfilling some obligations or doing something you should do. It is fulfilling the duty of a created being living between heaven and earth! It is fulfilling your obligations and responsibilities before the Lord of creation. These responsibilities are your true responsibilities. Compare fulfilling the duty of a created being with being filial to your parents—which is the truth? Fulfilling the duty of a created being is the truth; it is your bounden duty.

How can one establish a normal relationship with God?

Relevant Words of God:

People believe in God, love God, and satisfy God by touching the Spirit of God with their heart, thereby obtaining His satisfaction; when engaging with God’s words with their heart, they are therefore moved by the Spirit of God. If you wish to achieve a proper spiritual life and establish a proper relationship with God, you must first give your heart to Him, and quiet your heart before Him. Only after you have poured your whole heart into God can you gradually develop a proper spiritual life. If people do not give their heart to God in their belief in Him, if their heart is not in Him and they do not treat His burden as their own, then everything they do is cheating God, and it is all the behavior of religious people—this cannot receive God’s praise.

Why does accepting God’s salvation and perfection require enduring so many hardships?

The Answer from God’s Word:

How do you learn how to love God? Without torment and refinement, without painful trials—and if, furthermore, all that God gave man were grace, love, and mercy—would you be able to attain the true love of God? On one hand, during God’s trials man comes to know his deficiencies, and sees that he is insignificant, contemptible, and lowly, that he has nothing, and is nothing; on the other hand, during His trials God creates different environments for man that make man more able to experience the loveliness of God. Although the pain is great, and sometimes insurmountable—and it even reaches the level of crushing grief—having experienced it, man sees how lovely is God’s work in him, and only upon this foundation is there born in man the true love of God. Today man sees that with the grace, love, and mercy of God alone, he is incapable of truly knowing himself, much less is he able to know the essence of man. Only through both the refinement and judgment of God, only during such refinement can you know your deficiencies, and know that you have nothing. Thus, man’s love of God is built upon the foundation of the refinement and judgment of God. If you only enjoy the grace of God, with a peaceful family life or material blessings, then you have not gained God, and your belief in God has failed. God has already carried out one stage of the work of grace in the flesh, and has already bestowed material blessings upon man—but man cannot be made perfect with grace, love, and mercy alone. In man’s experiences he encounters some of God’s love, and sees the love and mercy of God, yet having experienced for a period of time, he sees that God’s grace and His love and mercy are incapable of making man perfect, and incapable of revealing that which is corrupt within man, nor are they able to rid man of his corrupt disposition, or make perfect his love and faith. God’s work of grace was the work of one period, and man cannot rely on enjoying the grace of God in order to know God.

What exactly is the connection between doing one’s duty and pursuing the truth? What does doing one’s duty have to do with achieving salvation?

The Answer from God’s Word:

It is always through the process of doing his duty that man is gradually changed, and it is through this process that he demonstrates his loyalty. As such, the more you are able to do your duty, the more truths you shall receive, and so too shall your expression become more real. Those who merely go through the motions in doing their duty and do not seek the truth shall be eliminated in the end, for such men do not do their duty in the practice of truth, and do not practice truth in the fulfillment of their duty. Such men are those who remain unchanged and will be cursed. Not only are their expressions impure, but what they express is nothing but wickedness.

Why is it that believers must pursue the truth to achieve salvation and be perfected?

The Answer from God’s Word:

Many people say: “I believe in God and I follow in this way, so I’m bound to obtain something. I do not seek the truth but I follow until the end, and I use all my strength to expend effort and to abandon things in the course of my duties. Even if I commit some transgressions, I can still obtain something.” They do not know what they are saying.

When I am interacting with friends and family and come across a situation that irritates me, I tend to become very angry and expose hot blood. I feel quite bad about this. I want to ask, “How should one interact with others and live out a normal humanity?”

Relevant Bible Verses:

“Judge not, and you shall not be judged: condemn not, and you shall not be condemned: forgive, and you shall be forgiven” (Luk 6:37).

“And why behold you the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye?” (Mat 7:3).

“Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus said to him, I say not to you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Mat 18:21-22).

“By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another” (Jhn 13:35).

What is true prayer?

Relevant Words of God:

What is true prayer? It is telling God what is in your heart, communing with God as you grasp His will, communicating with God through His words, feeling especially close to God, sensing He is there before you, and believing you have something to say to Him. Your heart feels filled with light and you feel how loveable God is. You feel especially inspired, and listening to you brings gratification to your brothers and sisters. They will feel that the words you speak are the words within their hearts, the words they wish to say, as though your words were a substitute for their own. This is what true prayer is. After you have engaged in true prayer, your heart will be at peace and will know gratification. The strength to love God can rise up, and you will feel that there is nothing of greater value or significance in life than loving God. All this proves that your prayers have been effective.

How should one submit to and experience God’s work of the last days in order to achieve salvation?

The Answer from God’s Word:

The work of the Holy Spirit changes from day to day, rising higher with each step; the revelation of tomorrow is even higher than today’s, step by step climbing ever higher. Such is the work by which God perfects man.

Presently, I believe that God’s work of the last days is real. However, I do not know when God’s work will finish. I just want to earn some money and support my family until God’s work nearly concludes. At that point, I will believe in God once more and pursue the truth. Is my perspective on seeking is correct?

Relevant Bible Verses:

“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Mat 24:37-39).

“And woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!” (Mat 24:19).

“Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Mat 7:21).