Most brothers and sisters think the Lord Jesus has taken on all of our sins, so we have received the Lord’s redemption by belief in Him and are no longer condemned by the laws. As long as we repent and confess to the Lord in tears, He will forgive our sins, and bestow us a new life. Then we’ll become the newly-created people. Is this viewpoint correct? What are newly-created people? In fact, God has told us. Leviticus 11:45 says, “[Y]ou shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” There are prophecies in the Book of Revelation, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14). “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Revelation 14:4–5). From these verses we can see that the newly-created people are those who cast off the bonds of sin and are purified. Such people are without fault, no longer sin and no longer resist or rebel against God—they can completely obey God and are compatible with God. However, in our real life we often commit sins and can’t put the Lord’s words into practice. For example, the Lord requires us to be honest people, but we will lie and do underhanded things when our own interests are affected; the Lord requires of us that we are tolerant and patient with others and that we love our neighbors as ourselves, but when we see others acting in a way that is at odds with our own ideas, we begin to quibble and fuss, can’t be tolerant or patient at all, and even judge others and take revenge. The Lord requires us to love Him with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind; however, though we believe in God, we don’t treat Him as God but only ask for His blessings. When God doesn’t meet our demands, we complain against God and even want to betray Him. Can we, who can still sin and resist God and who haven’t been cleansed, receive God’s praise? The Lord Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the son stays ever” (John 8:34–35). We can see from the Lord’s words that God is holy and righteous, and He absolutely will not allow any filthy, corrupt human beings into His kingdom; this is determined by His righteous disposition. Thus, if our satanic dispositions are not cleansed, then how can we be said to be newly-created people?

God’s words say, “For all that man may have been redeemed and forgiven of his sins, it can only be considered as God not remembering the transgressions of man and not treating man in accordance with his transgressions. However, when man, who lives in a body of flesh, has not been set free from sin, he can only continue to sin, endlessly revealing his corrupt satanic disposition. This is the life that man leads, an endless cycle of sinning and being forgiven. The majority of mankind sin in the day only to confess in the evening. This way, even though the sin offering is forever effective for man, it will not be able to save man from sin. Only half the work of salvation has been completed, for man still has a corrupt disposition.” It can be seen from God’s words that the Lord Jesus was crucified for man and became man’s sin offering. He has redeemed man from sin and forgiven man’s sin, but the root of our sinning has not been resolved, and we still live within our satanic corrupt dispositions, such as being arrogant and conceited, selfish and greedy, crooked and treacherous. These corrupt dispositions are deeper than sin and are much harder to resolve. This is the source of our sinning and resisting God. If these satanic corrupt dispositions are not resolved, then we will still often sin and resist God.

So, how can we cast off the bonds of sin and become newly-created people? The Bible says, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). In the epistles of Peter, it says, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). Revelation says, “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come” (Revelation 14:7). The Lord Jesus said, “He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). According to these verses we can see that when the Lord Jesus returns in the last days, He will do the work of judgment with the truth. If we want to be purified and transformed, we should accept and obey God’s judgment and chastisement in the last days, so that we can understand the truth, know God’s righteous disposition and revere God; then we are able to live out the reality of God’s word through experiencing His word, finally casting off sins and leaving behind the state of sinning and confessing. When we obtain the truth as life and don’t live by corrupt dispositions, then our perspective on things will change. When we live by God’s word, we will be God’s newly-created people, people who are reborn after gaining the truth, and thus we will completely break away the shackles of Satan’s dark influence, no longer rebel against or resist God, and will completely obey God and be compatible with God.