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What is an honest person? Why does God like honest people?

Relevant Words of God:

Honesty means to give your heart to God; never to play Him false in anything; to be open with Him in all things, never hiding the truth; never to do that which deceives those above and deludes those below; and never to do that which merely ingratiates yourself with God. In short, to be honest is to refrain from impurity in your actions and words, and to deceive neither God nor man.

from “Three Admonitions” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You ought to know that God likes an honest man. God has the substance of faithfulness, and so His word can always be trusted. Furthermore, His actions are faultless and unquestionable. This is why God likes those who are absolutely honest with Him.

from “Three Admonitions” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

If you are very glad to be a service-doer in the house of God, working diligently and conscientiously in obscurity, always giving and never taking, then I say that you are a loyal saint, because you seek no reward and are simply being an honest man. If you are willing to be candid, if you are willing to expend your all, if you are able to sacrifice your life for God and stand witness, if you are honest to the point where you know only to satisfy God and not to consider yourself or take for yourself, then I say that these people are those who are nourished in the light and who shall live forever in the kingdom.

from “Three Admonitions” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

My kingdom requires those who are honest, not hypocritical, and not deceitful. Aren’t the sincere and honest people in the world unpopular? I am completely opposite as it. It is acceptable for the honest people to come to Me; I delight in this kind of person, I also need this kind of person. This is precisely My righteousness.

from “The Thirty-third Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

I very much appreciate those who harbor no suspicion about others and I also very much like those who readily accept the truth; to these two kinds of men I show great care, for in My eyes they are honest men. If you are very deceitful, then you will have a guarded heart and thoughts of suspicion regarding all matters and all men. For this reason, your faith in Me is built upon a foundation of suspicion. This manner of faith is one I shall never acknowledge. Lacking genuine faith, you will be even further from real love.

from “How to Know the God on Earth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

It is the honest that I seek; if you are an honest person and one who acts according to principle, then you can be a confidant of God.

from “Three Admonitions” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

God’s intimates are also His confidants; only God’s confidants could share His restlessness, and His wants, and although their flesh is painful and weak, they are able to endure pain and forsake that which they love to satisfy God. God gives more burdens to such people, and that which God shall do is expressed through these people.

from “How to Serve in Harmony With God’s Will” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Man’s Fellowship:

What does it actually mean to be an honest man? First, we can say with certainty that an honest man has a conscience and has sense, that in their hearts they exalt God, and that they are able to repay God’s love. This is an honest man. If you have a conscience and if you have sense, if in your heart you are able to exalt God (If you say you believe in God but you are unable to exalt God, then your faith is not genuine), and if you are able to repay God’s love (To be able to repay God’s love is to have a conscience and sense), then you are an honest man. Second, an honest man speaks in a practical and realistic manner. They do not distort facts, they speak fairly, and they treat people fairly. This is an honest man. Third, an honest man reveres God, they practice the truth and obey God. They revere God in their hearts and they are able to practice the truth and obey God. This kind of person is an honest person. Fourth, an honest man performs their duties faithfully. They are loyal to God in everything they do. Fifth, an honest man loves God in their heart. They are able to consider God’s will in all things. Sixth, an honest man lives by the word of God. They are able to truly worship God. Someone who is able to possess these above characteristics is an honest man. God is content with having these people live in His presence because this is exactly the kind of person that He wants. This is exactly the kind of person that God wants to make complete. This is exactly the kind of person that God wants to see. This kind of person is an honest person.

from “A Summary of Being an Honest Person” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (V)

God loves honest people and hates deceitful people because God is faithful and the devil is a liar. After people have been corrupted by Satan, they become full of lies. There is nothing corrupt mankind will not lie about; even all their words are adulterated with lies. They all become expert fibbers and master liars. It is clear to see that Satan has corrupted mankind into demons. It is very hard to judge which of corrupt mankind’s words are true and which are false. Corrupt mankind is not worthy of trust at all. If people cannot be honest, it is very difficult to take the right path of faith in God. They are unfit to see the face of God and to serve God.

from “Four Indicators That Must Be Grasped in Pursuing the Truth to Achieve Dispositional Change” in Collection of Sermons—Supply for Life

Why does God like honest people? The main thing about honest people is that they are trustworthy. First, honest people can get along with others in harmony, they can be bosom friends of others. They do not deceive you, they speak the truth; when you deal with these kinds of people, your mind is clear, relieved and at peace. Second, honest people are trustworthy and reliable; when you ask them to do something, or when they do you a favor, you can trust them. So, the conclusion is that when handling matters with an honest person, you feel relaxed, at ease, free from worry, and peaceful, you feel comforted, and you enjoy it. Only when you are an honest person can you become a bosom friend to others and gain people’s trust, thus only an honest person is the likeness of a real man. A deceitful person is not the likeness of a real man, because what deceitful people bring to others is deception, harm, suffering, mistrust, and tedium. They cannot get along with others, and people would hate, distance, and reject them. Thus, this kind of person is not the likeness of a real man. In a group of people, they cannot bring benefit to others, they can only bring suffering; this is in fact a devil, it is the likeness of Satan. The reason for God loving honest people is clear now, isn’t it? If we truly become an honest person, we will have cast away Satan’s corruptions, thrown off Satan’s poisons, and we won’t be controlled by Satan’s philosophies or its fallacies; we will then live in the likeness of a real man. So, only a truly honest person, someone who can practice the truth, is someone who has truly escaped from the influence of Satan and attained salvation. The honest people are those who have been saved and broken free of Satan’s influence; they have no philosophies of Satan, none of Satan’s poison, and they are not controlled by Satan. It can be said that they have no connection with Satan at all, having made a clean break and completely broken away from Satan’s influence. Thus, only honest people are those who have truly attained salvation.

from “Only Understanding the Truth and Casting Off the Influence of Satan Is Salvation” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (VII)

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