Introduction

Hello, everyone. This is our seminar on the transformation of Christianity in a new era. I am about to preach a new gospel—not because the gospel itself is new, but because much of what is being preached today no longer accords with the Bible. We must bring about a transformation.

Many years ago, God told me that I was to bring about a transformation. At the time, I wondered who I was, and what right I had to undertake something so great. I only dared to mention it quietly to someone. He promptly poured cold water over me. So I delayed, and delayed again, until today. But I thank God that I have finally summoned the courage to speak of a transformation of Christianity for a new era.

Of course, I am also afraid. Do not imagine this is an easy thing to do. It will touch many people's vested interests. It may even touch what they hold most sacred.

The subject of the first message is: Hypocrisy in a New Era. There will be ten messages in all. After each message, there will be a session for questions and answers. If you have questions, raise them. I will answer as best as I can, and I will not pretend.

To accommodate the time zones in the United States and Canada, at eleven every morning, for ten consecutive days, we will repeat the previous day's message. I may preach it again, or we may play the recording from the day before. Whether it is Beijing time or North American time, there will be live questions and answers after the message.

Over the next ten days, all our teaching will revolve around The Transformation of Christianity in a New Era. Some may think this sounds rather strange. Never mind. What I am saying is truly the word of God.

About five years ago, God told me: “You must change the gospel being preached today, because much of it does not work.” I then said, trembling, to a friend whom I had known in church for many years, “I am going to bring about a transformation in Christianity.” His reaction was fierce. Even his face changed—not for the better, but for the worse. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

That left a deep impression on me. He thought I was bringing a false transformation. To him, the word “transformation” was inseparably tied to one name: Martin Luther. Martin Luther was the reformer. He thought, “How can you possibly do what Martin Luther did?”

In truth, he did not know Martin Luther well. He only knew that Martin Luther reformed the church. He did not know what exactly was reformed. Martin Luther, in fact, did not fully understand justification by faith, nor did he fully understand the Book of Romans.

Transformation has never ceased. In the days of the State of Qin, Qin Mugong and Qin Xiaogong carried out reforms. In the days of Qin Shi Huang, reforms continued. Reform has never stopped. A person who clings to the old ways cannot be effective.

Jesus Christ constantly spoke of new wine and new wineskins. Martin Luther lived several centuries ago, yet his reform was far from fulfilling the will of God.

Today, in this generation, we must pursue one thing: that the will of God may be fulfilled. It does not matter if others pour one or two buckets of cold water over us. Even if they throw a bucket of filth at us, it does not matter. On this Christmas Eve, we will begin to celebrate Christmas with Jesus and Paul in one heart and one spirit.

What Martin Luther did was still far removed from what Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul did. Sometimes people challenge me and ask, “How do you know you are right?” I went home and studied this for a long time. At last, I understood it.

To determine whether something is right or wrong, we must see whom it resembles. A gospel that does not resemble Jesus is not the gospel.

From then on, the standard of resembling Jesus was deeply imprinted in my mind. When I used this framework to look at the church, the more I looked, the more distressed I became. There were hardly any places that resembled Jesus, but there were plenty that did not.

Once, I flew to Taiwan to minister to a seriously ill patient. I met an old friend there. In Hokkien, he described what he had seen in the church: “There are none laying eggs, but plenty producing excrement.”

After studying theology, he went to help at a church in New Zealand. The senior pastor saw that someone had come to help and immediately bought tickets, taking his whole family on holiday. My friend served in the church alone. While moving chairs, he accidentally fractured his arm.

When he called the pastor, the pastor's trip was only halfway through. The pastor faced a dilemma: should he deal with my friend's broken arm, or should he continue his holiday? In the end, after much hesitation, he chose to finish his grand holiday first. Only then did he return and arrange for my friend to be sent back to Taiwan.

After my friend's arm was treated in Taiwan, it looked healed on the surface, but it still hurt. He cooked meals in the local church. The pastor did not care whether his arm hurt. Pain or no pain, he still had to cook. That, they said, was serving God.

When I arrived in Taiwan and he came to see me, he told me that his arm still hurt. I laid hands on his arm and prayed. Within five minutes, all the pain was gone. Was this not what it was like in the days of the Lord Jesus? Those Pharisees in the temple—from the high priests to the ordinary priests, to the scribes and Pharisees—were all like this.

Many churches hold activities on Christmas Eve. They put on performances and exchange gifts. But we speak of the will of God.

This transformation will be advanced through Chinese Mingding Doctrine. It is a movement to resemble Jesus Christ. Every person must pursue becoming like Jesus and like the Apostle Paul. This is the will of God.

Why has the gospel of Jesus Christ become ineffective? From what I have seen in churches over the years, and from the videos I have seen online, pastors want to fashion themselves into world-famous ministers. They put on an ephod, wear a hat, raise a trumpet and blow it. Then they carry great banners and march in procession. It looks like some religious rite. As for what use it serves after it is done, we truly do not know.

Not long ago, before the pandemic had fully passed, three hundred thousand people gathered in Seoul. Flags were flying everywhere. The scale was immense. Those who did not know better would have thought the Olympics were being held. Then nothing came of it.

A friend of mine who pastors a church went there. He caught COVID-19, and later posted a video online showing that he was struggling to breathe. Is this what the church ought to be doing? Regrettably, this is the gospel being preached in this generation.

This generation must change. If Jesus Christ came today, what would He say? He would say: “Woe to you, hypocrites! You hypocritical generation!”

Among us today, those who had COVID-19 were healed through prayer. If Jesus Christ came, He would surely ask: “You cannot even deal with COVID-19. Have you been doing nothing but hypocritical things all this while?”

How much suffering has this caused? Since the beginning of mankind, hypocrisy has always had the upper hand. Today is no exception. How much we need to bless this generation.

Since we are born in this generation, we shall bless this generation, and we shall also bless the generations to come. We will bring back the powerful gospel preached by Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul!

Have you heard the word “reformation” or “return to orthodoxy”? Some want to return to Martin Luther, not knowing how far Martin Luther himself had gone astray. Martin Luther was raised up because the gospel of his time had gone badly astray. God used him to turn it back a little.

But if we return to Martin Luther today, we will return to error.

If we are to return to orthodoxy, we must return to Jesus and the Apostle Paul. Do not return to the wrong place.

Chinese Mingding Doctrine was founded by me. I have redefined what it means to return to orthodoxy. I have read the word of God afresh according to the Bible, and I have received much revelation.

Without God's revelation, there is no way to return to the gospel of the Apostle Paul.

We have redefined many confused concepts in contemporary Christianity. We have straightened them out one by one. Some people wonder how I know that this is the right way. Let me put it simply: if you have an elementary-school education, you will know that what I preach is indeed the word of the Bible.

From Genesis to Revelation, we have read through the Bible together several times. As for Genesis alone, the version we are studying now should be the seventh edition. I am not saying this only to newcomers. The brothers and sisters in our church will certainly agree. If anyone asks where this confidence comes from, I can only say: I believe.

I have defined a number of concepts. What exactly is the gospel? What are the Holy Spirit, the church, and faith? What are healing and deliverance? Where do the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven come from? This includes Mount Zion, the temple, and Jerusalem in the Old Testament. We have sorted all these matters out clearly.

If you still want to spend money to visit Israel today, then go as a tourist. There is no sin in travelling. Just do not treat it as a pilgrimage.

The true pilgrimage is to build the body of Jesus Christ and to build God's temple.

We have removed many confusions and have shown again that this gospel remains a gospel of power. The person I admire most is Jesus. Of course, the Son of God does not belong in the category of sinful men. But among sinful men, the one I admire most is the Apostle Paul. Without the Apostle Paul, we would not have the pure gospel we have today.

Scripture

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13)

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?” (Matthew 23:16–19)

“Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law—judgment, mercy, and faith. These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.” (Matthew 23:20–24)

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.” (Matthew 23:25–32)

“Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.” (Matthew 23:33–36)

Prayer

God, save us from hypocrisy! God, let Your gospel save us in this generation. May You become the strength within us! God, we are willing to follow You. We will utterly reject every hypocritical thing within us!

God, help us today, that we may become vessels fit for Your use! God, help us escape the woes of the Pharisees. Let us return once again under the covering of the power of Your gospel. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Background of the Scripture

These passages have a most interesting background. A group of people studied the Bible, yet through their study they turned themselves into hypocritical Pharisees. To read the Bible and become Pharisees, to become a brood of vipers, to produce hypocrisy—this is frightening.

Some people have always thought that reading the Bible is an entirely good thing. But how can one read it and become a Pharisee and a hypocrite?

If we trace the history, after the Israelites left Egypt and entered Canaan, many leaders arose in Canaan to lead Israel. This period came to be known as the time of the judges. Later, the Israelites felt that the system of judges was not good enough and demanded a king. Thus King Saul appeared. God then raised up King David. Eventually, the kingdom of Israel became the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel.

Both kingdoms were later destroyed. After Judah was destroyed, its people were taken to Babylon. A Persian emperor allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The first group to return was led by Zerubbabel.

Zerubbabel found it very difficult to rebuild the temple. Several decades later, another Persian emperor sent Nehemiah and Ezra back to rebuild it. Yet the temple remained desolate.

God is remarkable. He allowed a Persian emperor, after Israel had suffered national ruin and all its territory had fallen under the Persian Empire, to permit the Israelites to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Yet among the Jews who returned in Zerubbabel's time, there was a group that promoted “family first.” As a result, the temple was never properly built, but their own homes were built quite well.

By the days of Malachi—that is, the days of Nehemiah and Ezra—the temple was still in a terrible state. Every person was busy with his own small household. It was much like today. The church, or the temple, remained deeply desolate.

Among those who returned was a scribe named Ezra. He was very familiar with the Law and the Bible. He attached great importance to the Bible and founded a theological school for this purpose. It lasted for more than four hundred years, right up to the time of Jesus. The school trained Pharisees.

When Jesus came, it became a joke. The people Ezra trained became hypocritical scribes and Pharisees. This is deeply puzzling.

Later, I finally understood this passage. I came to one conclusion: hypocrisy has hardly ever suffered defeat from ancient times until now. Even when you and I confront hypocrisy, the odds of overcoming it are not high.

When I cast out demons, I discovered that hypocrisy is formidable. The demon behind hypocrisy once said to me, “For so many years, I have never lost a battle.” At first I thought it was boasting. Then I reflected on it and realised it was telling the truth. It even said, “I am sorry. At last I have been defeated by you.”

Hypocrisy was certainly defeated by Jesus Christ, and it was certainly defeated by the Apostle Paul. But Peter did not overcome it, because he was a master at pretending. He spoke one way before men and another way before spirits. The Bible records Peter's hypocrisy. Otherwise, we would not dare say so.

In the days of Jesus, He described those trained by Ezra as a brood of vipers. Let me briefly explain the broad outline of this passage. After these people were trained, they shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven.

So it is not surprising that churches today shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven. If it was so in the days of Jesus, would it not be even more so today? Things in the spiritual realm are powerful. The demons behind a brood of vipers are particularly ruthless.

After they had done all this, they shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven, and then eagerly preached a gospel that had shut that door.

Think carefully about what I am saying. Being zealous in evangelism means nothing in itself. If you preach a gospel that shuts the door of the Kingdom of Heaven, you make people children of hell. This is not strange. It is the devil's scheme.

These people preached the gospel and induced people to join their religion. Later, they discovered that this gospel did not work. It solved no problem. Instead, people had to carry an additional cross, and they carried it with great difficulty.

Many among us who came from other churches have had this experience. They were poor as church mice, yet they were still made into mighty prayer warriors in their churches. It became a joke.

There are also those who practise alone at home. They clean up their houses, put up flags, trumpets and drum kits, and beat drums and worship at home. They look down on the church, and the church looks down on them. So they pile up all these things in their homes.

That is still relatively harmless. But if someone joins a church and finds that the gospel does not work, then trouble begins. When COVID-19 comes and cannot be healed, he goes to see his pastor. If Jesus stood beside him, one touch from Jesus would heal him, or one touch from him would bring healing. But when this pastor lays hands on him, he is nearly dead. Yet the pastor tells him that this is a blessing.

I cannot see how that is a blessing. If it were me, I would ask the pastor, “Shall we pray and give some of this blessing to you as well?”

When such pastors pray and nothing happens, they speak nonsense. They are truly ignorant. Blind people are leading others who are blind. They say that praying by the altar does not work, or praying by the temple does not work, but praying by the gold in the temple works. It is sheer nonsense.

After they say such things, many people will find that the shoe fits. You too must have spoken nonsense before. When you visited people in hospital and comforted the sick, much of what you said was nonsense. After you said it, nobody understood it.

You must understand this: they shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven, yet zealously preach religion. They bring people into church, and these people come under a curse. For whether one preaches a wrong gospel or believes a wrong gospel, one comes under a curse.

I searched the Bible from beginning to end and did not find anywhere that says cancer is a blessing. Yet after speaking nonsense, when people do not give offerings, these pastors demand offerings. Mint, anise, whatever is grown at home—all must be tithed. No tithing is allowed to be omitted.

Some people tell their pastors, “All my money has gone to the doctors. I have no money to give.” The pastor says, “You need doctors precisely because you did not tithe.”

If people do not give, the church cannot build its building. It has spent huge sums, taken a loan of 320 million, and then added another loan of 30 million. The pastor is in a dilemma. The congregation is in a dilemma. The entire matter becomes a mess.

Yet at such a time, the pastor still goes up to preach, saying that Joseph should not have told his family about his dreams. He says that because Joseph told them, he was sold into Egypt, became a slave and was thrown into prison.

This is nonsense. It turns everything upside down. They say Joseph was too proud. Some say that I am too proud, that I am trying to bring about a transformation of Christianity in a new era, and that I should forget it.

Do not imagine that because someone tells me to forget it, I will forget it. A person like me is not easily stopped.

Some explain the words, “You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel,” with all manner of nonsense. They specialise in picking on trivial matters. They speak enthusiastically about matters that are not important and are not God's will. But when it comes to matters that truly concern God's will, they cannot explain anything clearly.

This is because the core interest within them is extortion and excess. Do not think they are interested in your problems. They are interested only in your offerings.

Christians listening to this may feel cold in their hearts. But it was the same in the days of Jesus. This is why I finally understood what Jesus was saying in this passage.

After doing all these things, these people still say confidently that if they had lived in the days of Jesus, they would certainly not have crucified Him. Yet if Jesus came today, they would do the same thing again, because they do not know that Jesus is God.

The pure gospel, the gospel of the Apostle Paul, is plainly written in the Bible. Yet they do not read it properly. But the First and Second Epistles of Peter, written by Peter, the master of pretence—they will read them desperately, even if their knees grow calluses from kneeling.

Old camel knees are displayed for people to see. They regard them as a mark of spirituality. The same goes for the Book of James. They read it with great seriousness. I kept wondering what kind of logic this was, until I finally understood: hypocrisy runs in one continuous line.

Peter was a master at pretending. He opened the historical chapter of hypocrisy in the church. He was also confident that he would not crucify Jesus or kill the prophets. Yet they crucified Jesus, and the sin came upon that hypocritical generation.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in this generation, we must continue what the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul taught. We must continue to strike against the evil habit of hypocrisy. We are not referring merely to hypocrisy outside; we are referring to hypocrisy among us.

History Repeats Itself with Astonishing Similarity

The New Testament and the Old Testament are remarkably alike. The people in the Old Testament were deeply corrupt, and the people in the New Testament were no different. I can give many examples. Hypocrisy is exactly the same.

There was an interesting man. After a meeting, I drove him home. In the car, he said that his chest hurt. I said, “This is a small matter.” I told him to place his hand on his chest. I led him in prayer, and the pain was gone.

After he returned to his church, he told everyone to be careful, because this pastor was an extreme Charismatic. I was puzzled. What had I done? His prayers for others did not work. My prayer for him worked. Yet I became an extreme Charismatic. What kind of logic is that?

Why did he not say, “This pastor is rather like Jesus”? Even if he had said, “This rascal has a little of Jesus in him,” I would not have minded being called a rascal.

Let me tell you: whether in the days of Jesus and Moses, or in the days of the Apostle Paul, history repeats itself with astonishing similarity. How did the church become what it is today? It shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven, preached religion, eagerly drew people into church, and made them children of hell.

When their nonsense and explanations did not work, they pretended to be spiritual. They brought in every trivial thing. Building church buildings and tithing became very important, while justice and mercy were neglected. What filled them was excess and extortion.

They are hypocritical all day long, yet they think we cannot see through them. Do not even speak of us today. If a monkey jumped out of a stone with sharp eyes, it could see at once that these are false things. When people play false, even the dogs by the roadside know it. They see it at one glance.

Yet everyone knows except the person himself. He still says confidently that he would never crucify the prophets or crucify Jesus.

But I tell you: if Jesus comes again, He will not give them another opportunity to crucify Him. If they had another opportunity, they would crucify Jesus again, because today they are constantly doing things that amount to crucifying Jesus again.

This sin will come upon this generation. Jesus said so. If Jesus came among us today, He would say the same things. Look carefully. There are far too many things that perplex Christians. Later, I will share with you the perplexities Christians face in this generation. There are simply too many.

Chinese Mingding Doctrine saw these endless perplexities and began to compare everything with the Bible, practise according to God's word, and discover that these perplexities are all brought about by hypocrisy.

If you come to Chinese Mingding Doctrine, you will find that we are working hard today to deal with hypocrisy. But if you ask how well we have dealt with it, I can only say: we are still far from it.

This thing lies in the marrow of man. The blood must be changed, the heart must be changed, and the mind must be changed. Everything must be replaced with that of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, we are still working actively against hypocrisy, because it is exceedingly evil. One of our pastors once called to minister to a sister who had COVID-19. She had caught it while caring for her mother. Her own child was at home, but she did not dare return because she feared passing COVID-19 to her child.

What kind of logic is this? Do you think you can stop it?

I can tell you that even if you build a glass house for yourself and wrap yourself completely inside it, you can still end up with COVID-19.

The COVID-19 virus cannot be stopped by masks or face coverings. Even if you cover your entire body, it is of no use. This virus is closely connected to the thoughts and intentions within a person.

The moment this mother began to speak, I knew that her system of logic was tangled. She could not go home, but her child at home had not eaten. Chinese Mingding Doctrine seeks to solve such problems.

Hypocritical people shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven. They zealously preach the gospel but make people children of hell. They feel that this gospel does not work. They believe the wrong gospel and come under a curse. Then they begin to speak nonsense and preach strange things.

For instance, they say that giving offerings is of no use, and then confidently declare that they would never crucify a prophet. It is all nonsense. Behind it all is a brood of vipers.

You must understand that things in the spiritual realm are powerful. The spirit of the viper is an extremely fierce evil spirit. All these things are done by evil spirits.

Many years ago, I began to build a church. I saw that other churches were not doing well, and I thought I could do better. I said to God, “This is not good. I will build a church.” But the church I built turned out to be worse than theirs. I repented thoroughly. I have been changing ever since, until today. Only then was Chinese Mingding Doctrine established.

When I first intended to build a church, I went to visit other churches one by one. When I entered those churches, God opened my eyes and allowed me to see many demons inside. At that time, I did not understand.

Have you seen weasels? Some have black fur, and some have yellow fur. Their eyes are sharp. There were also creatures that looked like bats. I was puzzled. The church looked quite good. Why were these things there? I blinked and looked again, and they were gone.

At that time, I did not understand. It was a vision. I asked God what they were. God said, “These are the demons governing that church.”

After reading about hypocrisy, I finally understood. Behind it all was the work of evil spirits. It is terrifying. One has barely believed the gospel and entered a church, only to find that a brood of vipers governs it from behind. They twist and turn the gospel. What ought to be there is absent. What ought not to be there is added in abundance.

Today, Chinese Mingding Doctrine must rise up, remove hypocrisy, and ensure that every brother and sister in the church bears the likeness of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul.

During the recent period when COVID-19 was raging fiercely, there were too many people in our church who needed ministry. We could not arrange enough people to serve them. Long ago, God had spoken through prophets that in this generation, He would raise up a church without face and without name—a church in which every brother and sister bears the likeness of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul.

Even what an obscure, low-ranking pastor among us does can shake heaven and earth. But we must not be satisfied with this. We must continue to deal with the knowledge of good and evil and hypocrisy within us.

This is spiritual warfare. The devil lies at our door. We must overcome him and rule over him.

“If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” (Genesis 4:7)

Hypocrisy Can Shut the Door of the Kingdom of Heaven

Where did false gospels and erroneous gospels begin? Later, when I studied the Bible, I discovered something. Thank God for the Apostle Paul. What he preached was the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, the pure gospel.

You must know: in the days of the Apostle Paul, who were the people constantly creating trouble in the churches Paul established? Among them were Peter and James, the physical brother of Jesus. These matters are in the Bible, but many have not understood them. Once you understand them, you will reach the same conclusion as I have.

Because Peter pretended, Jesus Christ chose the Apostle Paul in order to preserve a pure gospel. We are truly grateful that God chose the Apostle Paul. He contended earnestly for the pure gospel and fought a victorious battle in that generation.

So if you ask me whom I admire most, Jesus Christ is first, and the Apostle Paul is second.

What was so remarkable about the Apostle Paul? In such a desolate generation, he pioneered churches. Amidst repeated obstacles, he was able to withstand the pressure brought by Peter and James, and preserve the pure gospel.

Peter sought to please men, but Paul did not seek to please men; he sought only to please God. Once a man becomes hypocritical, he shuts the door of the Kingdom of Heaven. Once that door is shut, he loses the power of the Kingdom, loses the keys of the Kingdom, and then loses spiritual power.

Yet hypocrisy made them shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven. But they still had to make a living from such things. So they ran wildly down the road of hypocrisy.

Brothers and sisters, you must know that hypocrisy can use one great lie to conceal a smaller lie. One lie is added to another, layer upon layer, until the situation becomes increasingly impossible to control.

Hypocrisy Makes People Zealous in Religion

Hypocrisy will certainly make people zealous in religion. Do you know that this viper is the most zealous in religion? A brood of vipers is a religious spirit.

In the Old Testament era, Pharisees read the Bible until they became a brood of vipers. They preached religion and made people children of hell. By the New Testament, the devil's schemes had scarcely changed. They merely copied and pasted them, and they still worked.

They are zealous in religion so that people may believe a lie and become children of hell.

Therefore, we must persist today. We must bring about a transformation of Christianity in a new era, remove the works of the devil, and enable God's people to enter the Kingdom of God.

Those hypocrites are zealous in religion. Outwardly, it seems that everyone is preaching and bringing people into church regularly. There are “salvations” every day. There seem to be people making decisions for Christ every day. They feel very good about themselves. They think they love God deeply.

But what do they love? They believe a lie, become a brood of vipers, and finally become children of hell. Can they escape God's judgment?

Some say that because they are zealous in religion, many people believe in the Lord. But what does having many believers prove? Lady Gaga holds a concert and more people attend than attend your meetings. What does that prove? Nothing.

In those days, I lived with this confusion. But I have come through it. In fact, my whole journey of ministry has been much like that of the Apostle Paul. It is not easy for a small church to survive in the cracks.

At that time, you might say that they had things wrong, but their churches were large. Their stages, lighting and worship services were so impressive. I felt something was not right, but I could not explain why. Today, when I look at it, it is simply low-grade.

Those large churches have rich resources. Many members give generously, preach the gospel actively, and are zealous in religion. Then the stories multiply. This is how the devil works. You say it is not a church, but it hangs up a church sign. You say it preaches the wrong gospel, but it is still zealous in religion.

Their knees kneel daily for prayer and Bible reading until calluses form. They kneel very well. But Japanese people kneel when they eat. What does kneeling achieve? Their knees develop calluses, and people call them old camel knees. But is it not normal for a camel to kneel?

They actively build church buildings and give offerings. But after all is said and done, one question remains: does it resemble Jesus?

They do not do what Jesus did. They do a great many things Jesus did not do.

Brothers and sisters, you must know that Chinese Mingding Doctrine greatly desires to resemble Jesus.

The generation has changed, but our God has not changed. The will of God has never changed. The will of God does not change because the generation has changed.

Therefore, until today, our church does not pursue numbers. We pursue only becoming like Jesus. Jesus filtered people severely. He filtered and filtered until only a small number remained. Jesus never thought that having many people meant greater glory.

Pursuing crowds was what Peter did. With one prayer, five thousand believed. With one sermon, three thousand believed. That was man's idea.

Jesus' intention is to bring God's treasures into God's Kingdom.

Hypocrisy Produces Nonsense and Disorder

The reason people speak nonsense and create disorder is that the door of the Kingdom of Heaven has been shut. Once they have brought people in through religious preaching, they must continue deceiving them. Otherwise, they cannot go on. The road ahead becomes impossible.

In the end, they deceive even themselves. A person whose legs are perfectly healthy buys a pair of crutches. After buying them, he wonders what they are for. Crutches are useful only if his legs are lame. So he deceives himself into becoming lame, and he really begins leaning on the crutches.

This was the story in a comedy sketch called Deception. But is real life not the same? The greatest skill of hypocrisy is deception. It does nothing else.

The worst part is that occasionally, a few things appear to work. Occasionally, a sick person is healed. Then they produce all kinds of testimonies. No one knows exactly how it worked, and no one can explain why it did not work at other times. It is deeply confusing.

Have you noticed that if something never works at all, it is easier to deal with? The problem is that sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. That is what deceives people.

Those who write computer programs know this. If a program sometimes works and sometimes does not, the problem is hard to trace. If it never runs at all, the problem is easier to find. But if it works sometimes and fails sometimes, it is most troublesome.

This is because the devil is working behind the scenes, deliberately confusing people. Those who do not understand then invent a whole series of patterns. One is called prosperity theology, another is called the Charismatic movement, and another the evangelical movement. If there is no basis for it, is it not mere fabrication?

Unbelievers see that the gospel does not work and say that God is dead. Yet these hypocrites call themselves evangelicals. People outside know that your gospel does not work, but those within are still very confident and insist that this is the gospel.

Therefore, hypocritical people will certainly speak nonsense and create disorder. You must know that behind this disorder is the viper. God will judge these people in this generation.

Who told you to follow the viper? Who told you to become hypocritical? You say you do not know that you are hypocritical. That is because hypocrisy has become so real to you that you no longer know it is false.

Some say poverty is more spiritual, and receiving grace is somehow not good. They say that being blessed after believing in the Lord is dangerous, because too many blessings may make one love the world. What kind of talk is this? In truth, poor people love the world even more.

Hypocrisy Turns Things Upside Down and Picks at Trifles

Hypocrisy causes people to reverse what is primary and what is secondary, and to pick at trifles. When they read the Bible, they bring out Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, and criticise each one. Of course, they also criticise Tamar.

Some are even professors in theological schools. Yet when they speak of Judah having children with Tamar, they sigh and say that Judah committed incest and fell into depravity. When they speak of Jacob marrying four wives, they focus on monogamy and say that Jacob was wrong.

This is putting the cart before the horse. They do not grasp what is essential. Instead, they pick out trivial matters and nitpick.

A pastor once announced his church's Christmas programme. I gave it another name: The Public Struggle Session Against Joseph. That pastor stood on the moral high ground and used morality to judge God.

He also started a movement called “family first.” But when did God ever tell you that family should come first? If that were so, how would the church be served?

There was once a person who learned a little from me. He solemnly declared that even unto death he would follow the pastor, walk the path of Chinese Mingding Doctrine, and preach the pure gospel preached by the Apostle Paul.

But the moment his wife objected, he retreated. The fire was immediately extinguished. The next time he preached, he wept bitterly and said that he had neglected his wife and family in the past, placing the church first. From then on, he said, he would repent.

Does that sound familiar? In an instant, he became Peter. For Peter spoke of husbands and wives being heirs together of the grace of life.

Then this pastor said that from then on, he would put God first, family and wife second, and serving God third. It is confusing to hear this.

This is hypocrisy. It reverses priorities. It takes the Bible out of context and speaks nonsense. Clearly, there is much work for us to do in this generation.

Brothers and sisters, gather up your faith. The road ahead is rugged. The challenges are immense. There will certainly be difficulties. But the field is also very large.

Let me tell you: all the materials taught by Chinese Mingding Doctrine, apart from those materials which may unnecessarily cause people to stumble, are made public and available free of charge for everyone to use.

I can say boldly that many people are now using our materials. There was a pastor whom I had known for many years. He had agreed to lead another church in studying the Book of Romans, but he did not know how to teach it. He called me and told me that he was using materials from Chinese Mingding Doctrine.

Our materials are not charged for. Anyone may use them. Some platforms have copied our content. It does not matter. The question is whether we, brothers and sisters, have the breadth of heart to bless this generation. This generation must be blessed because of us.

We must understand clearly what God values, which matters must be done, which truths are important, and which are not. Chinese Mingding Doctrine is a system. It establishes the most important truths first, and then arranges everything else beneath them.

Some things are like mint and anise; they belong at the level of mint and anise. Building the church and building the body of Jesus Christ belong at the level of the body of Jesus Christ. Do you understand?

The Core Interest Within Hypocrisy Is Personal Gain

The core interest within hypocrisy is personal gain. As for why people are hypocritical, I can only speak from what is visible. I do not know the true reason behind their hypocrisy, and there is no final conclusion.

There is one matter that has always puzzled me greatly. I was afraid that someone had been deceived. A man bought a property from an older pastor. They agreed that he would buy half the property, while the older pastor retained half the shares.

I was concerned for him. I told him that the paperwork must be properly completed, and that the property must bear his name. Otherwise, he might pay the money and receive nothing.

Later, my concern proved to be correct. He paid the money, but his name was not added to the title deed. While I was concerned for him and thought that his church salary should be increased, someone told me that during the same period, his son bought a large house, and he himself bought a car.

There was no longer any need to raise his salary. A house worth more than a million had simply been purchased. Where did all this money come from? When these matters are put together, they become highly suggestive.

I can tell you: within people are their own core interests. Fame and profit destroy people. They are all matters of this present life.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” (Matthew 23:27–28)

You must know with certainty that the only core interest promoted by Chinese Mingding Doctrine is God. God is our core interest. We are to walk in the will of God. Because the door of the Kingdom of Heaven is open, our resources come from God.

The core interest in the hearts of hypocrites is merely the business of their own lives. Outwardly they are like decorated tombs, but inwardly they are full of dead men's bones. They are running towards death.

When people think and act in this way, they have already become enemies of God. They are opposing God. Whether God sends His prophets or sends Jesus, they will still kill them. They will not hesitate to crucify Jesus again.

Hypocrites Are Extremely Confident

The confidence of hypocritical people lies in their belief that they will not kill the prophets. In fact, they kill the prophets every day without knowing it.

Many people assume that everyone else's logic is the same as theirs. They think that anyone who believes in the Lord can go to heaven. I see them going down to hell.

If Chinese Mingding Doctrine were extremely confident, we would be just like them. But Chinese Mingding Doctrine today is not highly confident. We often think that we may have got something wrong. We often examine ourselves: is our core interest truly God?

We also often feel that we may not have read the Bible correctly, or that we may not have understood a certain passage. At such times, we must pray to God: “God, may You reveal it to us!”

If one is not overly confident, there is still an opportunity. But when hypocrisy reaches a certain point, people become exceedingly confident. They may not even know that their confidence is blind.

We must never fall into this pit. Can the things within us be brought into the open? Can we tell others, “This is what I think”? If we cannot say it, it is because we would be ashamed to say it. We cannot say it because we know that within us are dead men's bones.

But as we go on speaking, we become extremely confident.

God Will Surely Judge Hypocrisy

“Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.” (Matthew 23:36)

These words do not say that the sins will fall on others. They will fall upon these hypocritical people. These hypocritical people will bear the punishment of sin.

Sin is brought about by the things that are innate within us. Do not think people do not know. Even the dogs by the roadside know. God knows, and demons know.

Once a person lives in such a state, demons will certainly come after him, because this is the will of God.

Demons are to carry out God's work of judgment.

I can give many examples of people being judged, though many may be uncomfortable hearing them. A pastor once brought a cancer patient from his church to see me. First, he praised me, saying that I was especially anointed in healing and deliverance. He intended to outsource all the healing and deliverance work to me.

He thought I did not know that he was playing false. Think carefully about how I responded. I said, “There is no problem in blessing a cancer patient, but the bad habits in a cancer patient are deep.”

He immediately objected and said that this sister loved the Lord very much.

How then did she love the Lord until she developed cancer? He said that she was always the first to arrive at every meeting, and that she was very zealous in preaching the gospel.

I did not argue with him. We know that the work of demons in cancer patients is the consequence of a person's sin reaching its extreme point.

I said, “Since you are this sister's pastor, I will minister to her for one hour, and you can accompany us for one hour.”

The pastor refused directly, saying that he had no time. It was plainly false. Yet I was doing the real thing. This cancer patient and her pastor were both tragedies. I now know that the time has simply not yet come, but God will surely judge.

I once ministered to a pastor of a large church who had a brain tumour. At the time, I was only a pastor of a small church, while his church had thousands upon thousands of members.

I asked him why he had a brain tumour. The moment he opened his mouth, he spoke the language of demons. He said, “We pastors work very hard. We rest only one day a week.” He was not satisfied with one day of rest. He wanted two.

But there are people in this world who do not rest even one day. On Sundays, they still come to church to give money. This pastor felt that his church had many small groups. He had to manage more than ten small-group leaders, and every few years the leaders changed, so he had to make new arrangements and follow them up. He said that this exhausted him to the point of getting a brain tumour.

It was strange to hear this. Would a person zealous for God, serving God, get a brain tumour after doing such little work? He was unwilling and resentful. He felt that he had paid too great a price. One day of rest each week was not enough. He felt it was too hard to serve so many people. Complaints arose within him. He regarded it as a burdensome task, and that was why he developed a brain tumour.

Therefore, judgment will certainly come upon our generation. Everyone must remove the perplexities within Christianity. Do not judge people merely by outward appearances. God does not make mistakes. Demons do not make mistakes. If such a thing comes upon me, it is not a mistake either.

You must gradually understand that God's judgment is severe. It begins with His household. If it is so for His household, how much more for a brood of vipers?

A sick sister from another church came to us. I asked her why she did not ask her own pastor and church to pray for her. She said that her pastors had gone away to hold a healing and deliverance conference. They did not minister to people within their own church; they ministered only to people outside.

Their healing and deliverance was for outsiders, not insiders. It sounded very strange. Were they not forcing church members, if they became sick, to leave the church and become outsiders before they could receive ministry?

Later, a pastor said that when they prayed for the sick in their own church, no one was healed. But once they were invited out to pray for people elsewhere, everyone was healed. Is this the famous saying that an outsider's monk chants better scriptures?

In their own church, they could not deceive people, because everyone knew what kind of people they were. Suddenly, when they arrived in an unfamiliar place, no one knew who they were. People treated them as masters. But in truth, it was the faith of the people themselves that saved them.

A pastor's ministry does not work for the brothers and sisters in his own church, but it works only when he goes elsewhere? Chinese Mingding Doctrine has none of this nonsense. Whether we pray for insiders or outsiders, it works.

This is not a matter of being able to package oneself outside, but being exposed inside one's own church and becoming ineffective. It is because the sermons they have preached from the pulpit have long since worn people out.

I hope no one will say they are tired of hearing what I preach, because I am doing in-depth research every day.

God will judge this generation. These examples are cited merely to show the seriousness of hypocrisy. We must bring about a transformation.

If you are a pastor or a church worker and you have heard today's sharing, do not come and challenge me, saying, “Are you the only one who has got it right?” In truth, I have not got everything right either. I am simply working continuously in the direction of getting it right.

In any case, if we can bless one person, let us bless one person. If we can bless two people, let us bless two people—as long as they can receive it and know that they have gone wrong. We must put down this false mask and stand once again before Jesus Christ as pastors like Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul, with no complaints within us, but only willing service.

This is also my choice.

Conclusion

The transformation of a new era is no longer about asking whether it is possible for people to become like Jesus. Rather, every one of us must become like Jesus, because this is the will of God. God will raise up Chinese Mingding Doctrine in this generation. Many people will become like Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul, because the door of the Kingdom of Heaven has been opened for us.

Amen!

May God bless you all!