The answer from God’s word:
“People say that God is a righteous God, and that as long as man follows Him to the very end, He will surely be impartial toward man, for He is most righteous. If man follows Him to the very end, could He cast aside man? I am impartial toward all men, and judge all men with My righteous disposition, yet there are suitable conditions to the requirements I make of man, and that which I require must be accomplished by all men, regardless of who they are. I care not how extensive or venerable are your qualifications; I care only whether you walk in My way, and whether or not you love and thirst for the truth. If you lack the truth, and instead bring shame upon My name, and do not act according to My way, merely following without care or concern, then at that time I will strike you down and punish you for your evil, and what will you have to say then? Will you be able to say that God is not righteous? Today, if you have complied with the words I have spoken, then you are the kind of person whom I approve. You say you have always suffered whilst following God, that you have followed Him through thick and thin, and have shared with Him the good times and the bad, but you have not lived out the words spoken by God; you wish only to run about after God each day, and have never thought to live out a life of meaning. You say that, in any case, you believe God is righteous: You have suffered for Him, run around for Him, and devoted yourself for Him, and you have worked hard despite not receiving any recognition; He is sure to remember you. It is true that God is righteous, yet this righteousness is untainted by any impurities: It contains no human will, and it is not tainted by the flesh, or human transactions. All who are rebellious and in opposition, and not in compliance with His way, will be punished; none is forgiven, and no one is spared! Some people say, ‘Today I run around for You; when the end comes, can You give me a little blessing?’ So I ask you, ‘Have you complied with My words?’ The righteousness that you speak of is based on a transaction. You think only that I am righteous, and impartial toward all men, and that all those who follow Me to the very end are sure to be saved and gain My blessings. There is inner meaning to My words that ‘all those who follow Me to the very end are sure to be saved’: Those who follow Me to the very end are the ones who will be fully gained by Me, they are those who, after being conquered by Me, seek the truth and are made perfect. What conditions have you achieved? You have only achieved following Me to the very end, but what else? Have you complied with My words? You have accomplished one of My five requirements, yet you have no intention of accomplishing the remaining four. You have simply found the simplest, easiest path, and pursued it whilst thinking yourself fortunate. Toward such a person as you My righteous disposition is one of chastisement and judgment, it is one of righteous retribution, and it is the righteous punishment of all evildoers; all those who do not walk in My way will surely be punished, even if they follow to the very end. This is the righteousness of God.”
from “The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
“In the words that ‘those who follow God to the end will receive salvation,’ the meaning of ‘follow’ is to stand firm in the midst of tribulation. Today, many believe that following God is easy, but when God’s work is about to end, you will know the true meaning of ‘follow.’ Just because you are still able to follow God today after being conquered, this does not prove that you are one of those who will be made perfect. Those who are unable to endure the trials, who are incapable of being victorious amid tribulation will, ultimately, be incapable of standing fast, and so will be unable to follow God to the very end. Those who truly follow God are able to withstand the test of their work, whereas those who do not truly follow God are incapable of withstanding any of God’s trials. Sooner or later they will be expelled, while the overcomers will remain in the kingdom. Whether or not man truly seeks God is determined by the test of his work, that is, by God’s trials, and has nothing to do with the decision by man himself. God does not reject any person at whim; all that He does is so that man may be utterly convinced. He does not do anything that is invisible to man, or any work that cannot convince man. Whether man’s belief is true or not is proved by the facts, and cannot be decided by man. That ‘wheat cannot be made into tares, and tares cannot be made into wheat’ is without doubt. All those who truly love God will ultimately remain in the kingdom, and God will not mistreat anyone who truly loves Him.”
from “God’s Work and Man’s Practice” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
“Many people say, ‘I believe in God just by following like this and I will surely make it. I do not pursue the truth and I just follow to the end finally, and in performing my duty, I spend and give up as much as I can; even if I have some transgressions, I can make it.’ They do not know what they are saying. There are so many corrupt things within man; how can man be transformed without pursuing the truth? Judging from the degree of man’s corruption, without God’s keeping, man will fall and betray God and leave at any time. Do you believe it? You cannot walk to the end even if you force yourself to. For the last stage is to make a group of overcomers. Is it so simple as you imagine? You are not required to be transformed one hundred percent or eighty percent in the end; at the very least you need to be transformed thirty percent or forty percent; at least the deep-rooted things in your inner heart have to be dug out and be transformed. If you can meet thirty percent or forty percent of God’s requirement, or at best can meet sixty or seventy percent of it, it shows that you have some truths within and have some elements compatible with God, and when you encounter things then, you will not easily resist God or offend God’s disposition. Only then can you be perfected and approved. Some people always think: Believing in God just means to have meetings, sing hymns, listen to God’s words, say prayers, and perform duties when you are asked to. Isn’t that so? Now, no matter how many years you have believed, you still have not seen clearly the significance of believing in God. Actually, the significance of believing in God is extremely deep and man cannot fully figure it out. In the end, some things in a man that are of Satan or of his nature must be transformed and can be compatible with what the truth requires. Only this means that he is truly saved. If you are still the same as you were in religion and just shout some letters and doctrines and some slogans and have some deeds and good practices, that is, you no longer do certain sinful things or commit those obvious sins, it still does not mean that you have entered the right track of believing in God. Does it mean that you have taken the right way when you can observe regulations? Does it mean that you have made a right choice? If the things in your nature are not transformed, finally you will still resist God, and still offend God. This is the biggest problem. If this problem is not solved in your believing in God, can you be considered as having been saved? What do I mean by saying so? I just want you to understand in your heart that believing in God, you cannot leave God’s word, cannot leave God, and cannot leave the truth. And you should take the right way, exert efforts on the truth, and exert efforts on God’s word. Do not be contented with a half-baked knowledge or be satisfied with a general understanding. Deceiving yourself can only ruin yourself. While you believe in God, do not go astray, having no God anymore in the end, only holding a book and reading it carelessly and hurriedly, without a place for God in your heart. If so, you are finished. … If you cannot even act according to God’s requirement in a small thing, you can still less meet God’s requirement when you encounter great matters of principle. Then you will have no testimony. If so, it is serious, and proves that you have nothing.”
from “Those Who Have Lost the Work of the Holy Spirit Are Most at Risk” in Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church
