Gospel Movie "Faith in God" (1) - Is Obedience to Those in Power Truly the Same as Obedience to God?

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The CCP is still wantonly persecuting believers in God.
Christians don't have homes to return to. It's broken up families.
But in the Bible Paul says we should obey the authorities.
I just don't understand.
How should we treat the CCP regime?
Obeying the regimes is obeying the Lord.
If we follow Paul's words in the Bible,
isn't that obeying God?
But are these views really correct or in accordance with God's will?
Then what should we really think on this matter?
Hey, see that? The devil's back.
Oh no, why are they here?
What's going on?
Again?
All right,
anyone see a man in his forties run by here just now?
No, we didn't. No, sorry.
Listen here.
The man we seek has been preaching illegally.
He believes in Almighty God.
Whoever knows something, tell me!
He's wanted. There's a bounty.
We've been here a long while and haven't seen anything.
Right. Nothing.
If you know something and don't report it, you'll all be in trouble!
Understand?
Keep your eyes peeled.
If you learn anything, report it.
Why do they always arrest people who believe in God?
Yeah. It's absurd.
They're really preoccupied with this.
Let's go home.
I don't understand it.
They're really evil.
Quick! Move, move!
Come on, let's go!
Over there!
Mark my words.
If I catch this guy, I'll kill him.
Hurry! We have to find him!
Look over there!
Over there! Go!
Right there!
Hurry! We see him!
Catch him! He's done for now! Get over here!
Come on, he's up ahead!
I heard something over here.
Where'd he go?
Come on! Where is this punk?
Check over there! Go!
Let's go!
Hey, you hear something? (Yeah.)
I'll go look.
Hey, how'd you get down there?
Uh, I wasn't careful and I fell.
Okay. Let me help you. (Thanks.)
Grab this.
Hey, thank you so much. (No worries.)
You okay? (I'm fine. Thank you, sir.)
That's good.
Thank the Lord.
I heard the police were looking for a preacher.
Was it you they were trying to arrest by any chance?
Yes.
It's the Lord's protection!
Brother, we believe in the Lord too. (Yes.)
Oh. Thanks be to God.
It's not safe here. Quick, let's go! (Okay.)
So you got away from the cops.
It's really a narrow escape.
It's due to God's protection.
Yes.
Don't worry, Brother Yu, the police are long gone by now.
Stay here for now. Don't go back down the mountain.
Well, you'll be safe here.
I'll make other arrangements.
Thanks be to God.
The CCP is cracking down on house churches more than ever.
We gathered on this mountain out of desperation.
We never thought we'd run into you.
It must be the will of God! (Yeah!)
Praise God!
You know the police want me, but you took the risk of hiding me.
This really is the love of God.
It's made me realize everything is really in God's hands.
We are brothers in the Lord, one family. (Yes.)
You've been persecuted by the CCP for preaching the gospel,
for righteousness' sake. (That's right.)
It is our responsibility to receive you. (Yes.)
Thanks be to God.
If we lacked compassion after this many years,
we wouldn't be Christians. (Yeah.)
It's the right thing to do, to take you in.
Praise God!
I thank you both.
Let me introduce you.
Brother Yu was being hunted by the CCP.
We've only just met.
Nice to meet you.
This is Brother Wang and Brother Fang.
Hi! (Hello!)
It was the Lord's protection that let you evade the police. (Yes.)
Well, let's sit down. (Okay.)
Have a seat.
Things are only getting worse around here.
It's hard for us to believe in God in China.
Every time we gather, we're at risk for getting arrested.
That's right. Absolutely.
If we didn't have faith or wouldn't give up our lives for the Lord,
this path would be hard.
We need to pay a high price for following the Lord.
I was arrested for preaching the gospel. I served three years in prison.
So I know all about this stuff.
The CCP is still wantonly persecuting believers in God.
Christians don't have homes to return to. It's broken up families.
Countless Christians have been arrested, imprisoned, and tortured.
Yeah. Right.
Many have even been put to death.
Yes. It's despicable.
Their evildoings really fill people with rage.
Yes. Yeah.
But in the Bible Paul says we should obey the authorities.
I just don't understand.
How should we treat the CCP regime?
Yeah. I've struggled with this for a long time as well.
If we put Paul's words into practice,
then we should always follow the ruling authority.
Yeah.
But the atheist CCP always persecutes religious people and is an enemy of God.
They don't just forbid us from believing,
they persecute those who spread the gospel.
True. That's true. Right.
If we do what they want and don't believe or spread the gospel,
aren't we siding with Satan and betraying the Lord?
Of course. Yes, that's true.
Won't we become those destined to perish? (Right. Indeed.)
I agree.
I really don't understand.
How do we treat the ruling authority?
How do we make sure we're in accordance with the Lord's will? (Yeah.)
Hey, Brother Yu, you're a preacher. (Yes?)
You should have a unique perspective on this.
Please tell us what you think.
Yes, this issue is one that we've never understood.
Brother Yu, tell us about it.
Yes, tell us. (Sure. Okay.)
What don't you understand?
Paul said,
This proves the governing regimes of the world have been ordained by God.
So I think that obeying the regimes is obeying the Lord.
If we follow Paul's words in the Bible,
isn't that obeying God?
The Bible is the word of God.
Betraying the Bible is betraying God's words.
How can we be wrong if we follow the Bible?
No one would dare condemn us.
Yeah.
I think Brother Hou is right.
We should abide by the Bible.
Brother Hou,
according to your opinion,
obeying the regime is obeying the Lord.
But the evil CCP persecutes believers.
They ban us from believing in the Lord and from spreading the Lord's gospel.
You would still obey them?
The CCP called the Bible the book of an evil cult.
This is a direct attack on God's words.
You would really listen to that?
The demonic CCP denies God, the existence of the Lord.
They condemn the Lord and take God as their enemy.
If you obey them, do you still believe in the Lord?
Are you not serving as an antichrist and Satan?
I think you're wrong about this. I just don't agree.
Me neither.
In the Bible, Paul says to obey the higher powers,
but that's only Paul's opinion.
The Lord Jesus never said that.
So I think we must view Paul's words objectively.
The ruling party of every government is different.
We can't make a blanket rule for all of them.
And some countries allow religious freedom;
they don't restrict people's faith.
This is true for democratic countries.
They have freedom to believe in God. (That's right.)
If people don't break the law,
the state will not interfere with them.
That's right.
But the CCP regime is just too evil.
They won't let people believe in God.
They openly arrest and persecute Christians. (True.)
This is a commonly known fact.
She's completely right.
I believe we should not obey the CCP, this atheistic regime,
because it resists God too much!
Yeah. Right.
They're an enemy of God.
If we obey them, won't we also be resisting God?
That's right.
We can obey most ruling regimes,
but with the CCP, we just can't obey them.
That's how I see it.
Brother Yu, what are your thoughts on the matter? (Yes?)
We'd love to hear them.
Yes, please tell us. Yeah, that would be great. (Okay.)
Well, let me give you my thoughts on this. (Great.)
In the Bible, Paul says to obey the authorities.
His words are these:
Because of Paul's words,
many people who believe in the Lord think the ruling authority has been ordained by God,
and that obeying the regime is obeying God.
Some people even think
that even though the authorities restrict us from believing in God,
they should be obeyed.
They say resisting the government is resisting God.
But are these views really correct or in accordance with God's will?
Then what should we really think on this matter?
Actually, from the Age of Law to the Age of Grace,
God never said that we should obey the authorities.
Look at the Age of Law.
The enemy of the Israelites, the Egyptian Pharaoh,
he was a ruler, right? (Yes.)
And how did God treat him?
He forbade the Israelites leaving Egypt, so God sent disasters.
If he hadn't let the Israelites go, God would've destroyed him.
When the Egyptian army chased the Israelites, the Red Sea opened up.
The Egyptian soldiers who chased them were drowned.
Yes. Sure.
In the Age of Law,
the devilish rulers who resisted God were destroyed by Him.
True.
Let's look at the Age of Grace.
Why didn't the Lord Jesus preach at the synagogue?
Why did the Lord Jesus preach in the wilderness and among common people?
Because the ruling regime and religious leaders were resisting God.
They took the Lord as their enemy.
That's why He could only preach among the common people and in wilderness.
If the Lord Jesus' disciples had obeyed the authorities,
then could they have continued to follow Him?
No.
Could they have earned the Lord Jesus' praise?
No, I don't think so. Definitely not.
Based on this,
every true believer in the Lord should be able to tell
how we should treat the CCP in accordance with God's will.
Yes.
If someone's a longtime believer
but still cannot see the ruling regime is God's enemy,
then do they really understand the Bible?
Do they really know the Lord?
They don't know the Lord.
Their faith is confused.
Many people don't discriminate. They can't see through this.
Because they read these words of Paul in the Bible,
they don't know what to do.
Some even think obeying the ruling regime is obeying the Lord,
and resisting the regime is opposing God's ordinance and asking for punishment.
But tell me, isn't this idea actually wrong and harmful?
Yeah, it is wrong.
Isn't it a serious misunderstanding and resistance of God?
I think it is.
This misguided view deceives and harms people.
We all know the CCP is atheistic.
Atheists are in power, so Satan is in power. (Right.)
The CCP sees God as the enemy.
When they see Christ appear and do His work,
they send out armed forces and stop at nothing to ban it.
They want to crucify Christ. (That's right.)
Ever since the CCP came to power,
they've been publicly denying God, condemning God and blaspheming.
They label Christianity as a cult,
and the Bible they label as an evil book to confiscate and burn.
They declare religious groups as cults and subject them to oppression and persecution.
Yes, it's bad.
Especially toward the Christians who believe in and testify to the true God,
the CCP suppresses, captures, and persecutes them.
They commit inhuman torture and savage harm.
It really is ruthless and unwarranted killing.
Yeah.
There are countless Christians they've maimed or killed.
This is a commonly known fact. (Right.)
The CCP resists Heaven and God's will.
Their evil behaviors are countless and in defiance of God. (Right.)
It shows the CCP is an enemy of God, a satanic force.
Yeah.
But why do they persecute those who believe in the true God?
What is the point of their hate?
They fear the Chinese people will start following God.
They fear we will pursue the truth and gain salvation.
'Cause then no one would be enslaved by the CCP anymore.
Yeah. Right.
So then the CCP devil persecutes Christians by any means.
The CCP wants to ban God's work and Christianity
and turn China into a godless land
to secure its place as the dictator of China for thousands of generations.
His words are right on point. (Indeed.)
That is enough to show
the CCP is a satanic regime that hates truth and God the most.
They're devils and resist God. (That's right. I agree. Exactly.)
The CCP's rule is Satan's rule.
Don't you all agree? (Of course, I agree. Yes.)
That's right!
The CCP's reign is Satan's reign.
Their resistance of God is a terrible sin. (Awful.)
That's very true.
It's abhorrent.
They're the worst.
When you said that, my heart felt bright, clear.
This is great.
Thanks be to God.
The CCP arrests and persecutes believers wantonly
to slaughter Christians to wipe them out entirely,
to make China atheistic.
They seek to control China forever,
keeping the people submissive in every sense. (True.)
These are the evil ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party. (Yes.)
They expose their perverse, heretical, and reactionary substance.
That's right.
If we obey them, we're digging our own graves.
I agree. He's so right.
The Three-Self Church submits to the CCP by Paul's words.
They're under its control on Satan's side.
God must really hate the Three-Self Church!
Yes. Of course.
I have believed in the Lord for years and was persecuted by the CCP,
but never knew their essence of hating the truth and resisting God.
Brother Yu, your talk here today has allowed us to see this.
Yes. Praise God.
The CCP is a devilish group
that hates the truth and resists God.
Correct. You're right. Yes, it's so clear.
If Christians let themselves be controlled by it,
they will be forsaken by the Lord! (Right.)
Now I understand this.
Praise God!
Thank the Lord. My heart feels so liberated.
Before I didn't know the truth or see the God-opposing nature of the CCP.
Yeah.
No matter how much they persecuted Christians,
I didn't dare condemn them.
I even prayed for them.
I thought the ruling government was ordained by the Lord,
and failing to obey them was rebelling against the Lord.
We couldn't tell the difference between good and evil. (True.)
Yeah. We really are in quite a dilemma, aren't we?
We can't truly obey and worship the Lord,
and we still worship Satan's power.
We constantly pray for CCP officials.
We pray that people can liberate themselves from poverty.
We pray for harmony in our country.
We pray to end disasters and wars,
and we pray for world peace too. (Yeah.)
We pray that all corrupt men can enter God's kingdom and gain eternal life.
The more I think about it now,
I think we've been on the side of Satan.
We've been praying for Satan's evil forces to be blessed. (Yes. Yeah.)
But that is rebelling against God, right? (It is.)
Isn't this directly contradicting God?
Yes.
We wake up early and pray for them every day, resisting God without knowing it.
Yes, we've been foolish. (Yes.)
Thanks be to God.
God's enlightenment allows us to see things like this.
Praise the Lord!
Now we see it clearly.
During the CCP's rule, they rebel against God and persecute His chosen.
Haven't they committed countless sins? (Yes. Right.)
They really have.
The CCP uses all kinds of methods to hurt and kill countless Christians.
Have they not brought disaster upon countless Christian households?
Yes. That's true.
According to this,
we can confirm that the CCP is the world's most evil satanic regime,
a group of devils who rebel against God.
Don't you all agree?
That's right. Yes. What he says is true.
So we turn our backs on them.
Isn't that in accordance with God's will?
We must reject them. Yes.
The Lord Jesus revealed this long ago:
The Bible also says,
The Lord Jesus reveals the truth and root of this world's evil darkness.
All humanity lives under Satan's influence.
There is no space for God or the truth to exist.
In religious world,
no one dares to openly bear witness to God's incarnation in the church.
No one would dare to testify in the church or in public about the truth Christ expresses.
If anyone is found testifying about the incarnate Christ, they'll be condemned.
They will be driven out of the church and maybe even handed over to the government.
Tell me, isn't this mankind just as evil as it can get?
This humanity is too corrupt and evil.
The whole earth is full of the sounds of denying God,
denying truth or condemning Christ.
Isn't this because the world has been ruled by those evil satanic forces that resist God?
Yes, it is. That's right. Yeah.
Two thousand years ago,
when the Lord Jesus incarnate was born,
He was hunted by the Roman government.
When He preached and did His work,
He was crucified on the cross by Jewish leaders and Roman officials.
When the Lord Jesus' gospel came to China,
it was met with condemnation and resistance by the Chinese government.
We don't even know how many missionaries were afflicted or slaughtered.
Since the CCP took power,
it's even harder to know the number of Christians killed or captured.
That's right.
Why is this important? What does this prove?
Why does the CCP hate believers?
Why have Christians been persecuted so much throughout history?
Why do humans choose to reject and condemn the truth all the time?
Why can't the will of God be carried out on the earth and throughout all countries?
Because Satan is controlling humanity.
It is because the whole world lies under the domain of Satan.
That's right.
Because the earth is ruled by Satan's evil forces, (Indeed.)
and atheistic regimes that resist God!
The CCP regime is an example of Satan's evil forces.
That's the reason humanity is filled with dark and evil.
Isn't this a commonly accepted fact?
He's so right. Indeed.
Yes, that's the truth.
But some people still follow Paul's words,
They think that obeying those in authority is obeying God.
But the CCP prevents us from believing in or worshiping God.
Do we have to obey them as well?
We can't obey them!
The CCP persecutes Christians. It forces us to write confessions.
It forces us to deny, reject, and betray God.
It compels Christians to curse and blaspheme God.
Can we obey a regime that acts like that?
We cannot obey them. No, we cannot.
There's no way that we can.
The CCP forbids us from evangelizing,
forces us to sell out the Lord, makes us serve as their accomplices.
So how can we obey them?
No, we should not obey them.
Obeying them will lead to our destruction.
If we obey the devilish CCP,
then aren't we standing on Satan's side, resisting and betraying God?
Yes. That's right.
We can't obey this satanic regime.
To do so is to stand on the side of Satan,
to resist and betray God! (Yeah!)
Everyone, now let's look at what Paul said,
Can we put these words in practice? Are they in line with truth?
Those words are fallacies.
Right. We can't follow them.
Paul said,
Now if we look at Paul's words here,
they're very problematic and questionable.
Yes.
How could Paul not see through the age of evil and darkness?
Paul was arrested for spreading the gospel.
Logically, he should have greater insight into the evil essence of a satanic regime. (Yes.)
But Paul's words really boggle the mind.
They really just don't make sense.
Many people in the religious communities have been misled by Paul's words.
This is so true for the Three-Self Church.
They obey the authorities according to Paul's words.
They've chosen to side with Satan's regime.
They do whatever the CCP tells them.
Yes.
They even follow the CCP's "love country, love church, honor God and benefit man."
All the church meetings, Bible study, spreading gospel are all restricted by the CCP.
How are they believing in the Lord?
Isn't this worshiping Satan and betraying the Lord?
Absolutely. Yes, it is.
Paul's words are just really misleading.
They have misled and they've ruined many pious believers who don't understand the truth.
Paul's words are so harmful. (I agree.)
Everyone, we all know that
God allows Satan to rule on earth and corrupt humanity.
This is all part of God's wisdom and planning.
Wisdom?
God's wisdom?
Yes. The point of God saving humanity is to defeat Satan,
to make the corrupted mankind into those who obey and worship God.
This is the only way to fully defeat and humiliate Satan
and seal its fate.
Amen. God is so wise. Thanks be to God.
That's great.
So that's why God allows Satan to rule and corrupt man.
He wants to let humans discern for themselves, to see Satan's essence.
God wants mankind to hate and forsake Satan,
and God never said that man should obey Satan.
He never said rebelling against Satan's regime deserves punishment.
Think about it, isn't this the truth? (Yes. It is.)
Right. God never said that.
Right, now I understand.
According to Paul's view,
those saints who were persecuted by satanic regimes or martyred for the Lord
were asking for it because they rebelled against the ruling authority.
Really? (No! Definitely not! Of course not.)
The saints even did time in prison.
Isn't that a beautiful testimony to the Lord?
Of course. Of course it is.
But according to Paul's words,
the persecution of these saints did not constitute testimony for the Lord.
They were asking for punishment as they resisted the power.
The same way,
Paul himself was jailed for spreading the gospel.
Is that not futile?
Then why did Paul use his own suffering as testimony when he talked to other people?
Isn't that a contradiction?
Yes. How didn't we realize this?
Yes, he's truly right.
We believe in the Lord; we spread the gospel of the Lord.
This is a mandate from Heaven. (Amen.)
But satanic regimes stop at nothing to persecute Christians.
They resist spreading the gospel and carrying out God's will.
They're exposed as haters of the truth
and enemies of God in essence. (Yes. That's right.)
People are persecuted by satanic regimes
because they adhere to the true way and spread the Lord's gospel.
They're persecuted for righteousness.
It's most approved by the Lord. (Amen.)
How can we say they're asking for punishment?
Paul was really wrong. (Yeah.)
The Lord Jesus clearly said:
Amen.
Did Paul not know what the Lord Jesus said?
He must have. He spread the gospel for so many years.
See, the Lord Jesus' words and Paul's words obviously contradict.
Yes, they do.
So in this matter,
should we listen to Paul's words or obey the Lord?
Obey the Lord, of course! Obviously, obey the Lord.
Right.
Those were Paul's words, not the Lord Jesus'.
Paul's words don't speak for the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus never said obeying the authorities is obeying God.
Yeah, the Lord Jesus never said that.
Hey, I just realized.
Regarding taxes,
Amen.
The Lord Jesus said that we have to obey authorities in terms of taxes.
But He never said we had to obey all their orders.
Yes. That's right.
He definitely never said rebelling against them is opposing God's ordinance.
Yes, indeed.
So then, what Paul said is not in line with what the Lord Jesus said. (Right.)
It's not in line with truth. (I agree.)
We can't let it guide our behavior.
Amen!
We were created by God, belong to God. (Right.)
We should listen to God's words and obey His authority.
This is righteous and just!
Amen.
Since we believe in the Lord,
we must listen to His words and obey Him.
Whether it's the authorities or famous people,
if what they say doesn't conform to the Lord's words,
we will not listen. (Right.)
As it says in the Bible,
Amen.
Praise the Lord.
Listening to Brother Yu commune here, I feel so enlightened.
Praise God.
We've resolved so much confusion. (Yes.)
We've gained more just today than years of listening to our pastor.
Yes. It's true.
Brother Yu coming here today is truly the Lord's grace and plan.
Yes. Praise the Lord.
I knew there's God's good intention.
Thank God for His guidance. Today's fellowship has been wonderful.
Praise the Lord.
Brother Yu, your fellowship has enlightened us. (Yes.)
Hurry.
Dad, what's wrong?
What's going on?
It's from Brother Lu.
Since the police haven't caught Brother Yu,
they'll keep searching the mountain.
It's not safe for us here.
Let's head home. I will keep you all updated.
Okay. Good.
Let's hurry.
Brother Yu, we'll make the arrangements.
Brother Fang,
cover Brother Yu as he goes down the mountain to Brother Zhang's house.
Got it.
Brother Yu, come with me.
Take care!