A Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church · §§ 41–60

41. VII.

Then truly saving faith, which is faith in one God, united, with good works, is acknowledged and received.

42. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

The reason why this faith, which is a faith in one God, is acknowledged and received as truly saving, when the former faith, which is a faith in three gods, is rejected, is because till this is the case it cannot be seen in its own form; for the faith of the present day is set forth as the only saving faith, because it is a faith in one God, and a faith in the Savior; but still there are two faces of that faith, the one internal and the other external; its internal face is formed from the perception of three Gods, for who perceives or thinks otherwise? let every one consult himself; but its external face is formed from the confession of one God, for who confesses or speaks otherwise? let every one consult himself. These two faces are altogether discordant with each other; so that the external is not acknowledged by the internal, nor is the internal known by the external. From this disagreement, and the vanishing of the one out of sight of the other, a confused idea of things pertaining to salvation has been conceived and brought forth in the church. It is otherwise when the internal and external faces agree together, and mutually regard and acknowledge each other as one unanimous thing; that this is the case, when one God, in whom is the Divine Trinity, is not only perceived by the mind, but is likewise acknowledged by the mouth, is self-evident. That the dogma of the Father’s being alienated from mankind, is then abolished, and thence also that of His reconciliation; and that an altogether different doctrine goes forth concerning imputation, remission of sins, regeneration, and salvation thence derived, will clearly be seen in the work itself, in the light of reason illustrated by Divine truths from the Sacred Scripture. This faith is called a faith united with good works, because faith in one God without union with good works is not given.

43. VIII.

And this faith is in God the Savior Jesus Christ which in its simple form is as follows: I. That there is One God in Whom is the Divine Trinity, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ. II. Saving Faith is to believe in Him. III. Evils ought to be shunned, because they are of the devil, and from the devil. IV. Goods ought to be done, because they are of God, and from God. V. And they ought to be done by man as of himself, but it is to be believed that they are from the Lord, with him and through him.

44. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

This is the faith of the New Church in its simple form, which will appear more fully in the Appendix, and in its full form in the work itself, in its First Part; where we shall treat of the Lord God the Saviour, and of the Trinity in Him; of love to God, and love towards the neighbor; of faith and its conjunction with those two loves; and also in the other parts, which will follow in order there. But it is necessary that this preliminary concerning that faith should here be briefly illustrated. Its first, namely, That there is one God, in whom there is the Divine Trinity, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ, is summarily illustrated in the following manner. It is a certain and established truth, that God is one, and His essence is indivisible, and that there is a Trinity; since, therefore, God is One, and His essence is indivisible, it follows, that God is one Person, and when He is one Person, that the Trinity is in that Person. That this is the Lord Jesus Christ, appears from this, that He was conceived from God the Father (Luke 1:34, 35); and thus as to His soul and life itself He is God; and therefore, as He Himself said, that:

The Father and He are One (John 10:30).

He is in the Father, and the Father in Him (John 14:10, 11).

He who seeth Him and knoweth Him, seeth and knoweth the Father (John 14:7, 9).

No one seeth and knoweth the Father, but He who is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18).

All things of the Father are His (John 3:35; 16:15).

He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one cometh unto the Father but by Him (John 14:6);

thus from Him, because He is in Him, and thus is He Himself; and according to Paul that:

All the fulness of the Divinity dwells in Him bodily (Col. 2:9).

And according to Isaiah:

Unto us a Boy is born, unto us a Son is given, whose name is God, Father of Eternity (9:5).

And again, that:

He hath power over all flesh (John 17:2).

And:

He hath all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).

Thence it follows that He is the God of heaven and earth.

Second, That saving faith is to believe in Him, is illustrated by these:

Jesus said, he that believeth in Me, shall not die to eternity, but shall live (John 11:25, 26).

This is the will of the Father, that everyone who believeth in the Son may have eternal life (John 6:40).

God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:15, 16).

He that believeth in the Son, hath eternal life, but he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36).

The three remaining propositions, namely, That evils ought to be shunned, because they are of the devil and from the devil; and that goods ought to be done, because they are of God and from God; but that it is to be believed that they are from the Lord, with him and through him. There is no need to illustrate and demonstrate these; for the whole Sacred Scripture, from beginning to end, proves them, and, in short, teaches nothing else but to shun evils, and do goods, and to believe in the Lord God. Besides, without these three there is not any religion, for religion is of the life; and life is to shun evils and do goods, and man cannot do goods and shun evils except as of himself. Wherefore if these three are removed from the church, the Sacred Scripture, together with religion, is likewise removed at the same time: which being removed the church is not a church. For a further account of the faith of the New Church, in its universal and particular form, see below (n. 116, 117); all which will be demonstrated in the work itself.

45. IX.

The faith of the present day has separated religion from the church, since religion consists in the acknowledgment of One God, and in the worship of Him from the faith of charity.

46. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

What nation is there in the whole world, which has religion and sound reason, that does not know and believe, that there is one God, and that to do evils is contrary to Him, and that to do goods is with Him, and that man must do this from his soul, from his heart, and from his strength, although they inflow from God, and that herein religion consists? Who therefore does not see, that to confess three Persons in the Divinity, and to declare that in good works there is nothing of salvation, is to separate religion from the church? For it is declared that in good works there is not salvation, in these words: That faith justifies without good works [n. 12 (a) (b)]; that works are not necessary to salvation, nor to faith, because salvation and faith are neither preserved nor retained by good works [n. 12 (g) (h) (m) (n)]; consequently, that there is no bond of conjunction between faith and good works. It is indeed said afterwards, that good works nevertheless spontaneously follow faith, as fruit is produced from a tree [n. 13 (i) (n)]. But then who does them, yea, who thinks of them, or who is spontaneously led to perform them, while he knows and believes that they contribute nothing to salvation, and also, that no one can do any good thing towards salvation of himself, and so on? If it is said, that still they have conjoined faith with good works; we reply, this conjunction when closely inspected, is not conjunction, but it is mere adjunction, and this only like a superfluous appendage, that neither coheres nor adheres in any other manner than as a dark background to a picture, from which the picture appears more living. And because religion is of the life, and this consists in good works according to the truths of faith, it is evident that religion is the picture itself, and not the mere appendage; yea, with many it is like the tail of a horse, which because it avails nothing, may be cut off at pleasure. Who can rationally conclude otherwise, while he perceives such expressions as these according to their obvious meaning: That it is a folly to dream that the works of the second table of the Decalogue justify before God [n. 12 (d)]; and these: That if any one believes he shall therefore obtain salvation, because he hath charity, he brings reproach upon Christ [n. 12 (e)]; as also these: That good works are utterly to be excluded, in treating of justification and eternal life [n. 12 (f)]; with more to the same purpose? Who, therefore, when he reads afterwards, that good works necessarily follow faith, and that if they do not follow, the faith is a false and not a true faith [n. 13 (p) (q) (y)], with more to the same purpose, attends to it? or if he attends to it, understands whether such good works are attended with any perception? Yet good flowing forth from man without perception is inanimate as if from a statue. But if we inquire more deeply into the rise of this doctrine, it will appear as though the leading reformers first laid down faith alone as their rule, in order that they might be severed from the Roman Catholics, as mentioned above (n. 21, 22, 23); and that afterwards they adjoined thereto the works of charity, that it might not appear to contradict the Sacred Scripture, but have the semblance of religion, and thus be healed.

47. X.

The faith of the present church cannot be conjoined with charity, and produce any fruits, which are good works.

48. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

Before this is demonstrated, we shall first explain the origin and nature of charity, and the origin and nature of faith, and thus the origin and nature of good works, which are called fruits. Faith is truth, wherefore the doctrine of faith is the doctrine of truth; and the doctrine of truth is of the understanding, and thence of the thought, and from this of the speech; wherefore it teaches what we are to will and do, thus that evils and what evils are to be shunned, and that goods and what goods are to be done. When man does goods then goods thence conjoin themselves with truths, because the will is conjoined with the understanding, for good is of the will, and truth is of the understanding; from this conjunction the affection of good exists, which in its essence is charity, and the affection of truth, which in its essence is faith, and these two united together constitute a marriage. From this marriage good works are produced, as fruits from a tree; and hence they are the fruits of good, and the fruits of truth; the latter are signified in the Word by grapes, but the former by olives.

49. From this generation of good works, it is evident, that faith alone cannot possibly produce or beget any works, that are called fruits, any more than a woman alone without a man can produce any offspring; wherefore the fruits of faith is an empty expression and word. Besides, in the whole world nothing ever was or can be produced, but from a marriage, one of which has relation to good, and the other to truth, or in the opposite sense, one to evil, and the other to falsity; consequently no works can be conceived, much less be born but from such marriage, good works from the marriage of good and truth, and evil works from the marriage of evil and falsity.

50. The reason why charity cannot be conjoined with the faith of the present church, and consequently why good works cannot be born from any marriage, is because imputation supplies everything, remits guilt, justifies, regenerates, sanctifies, imparts the life of heaven and thus salvation, and all this freely, without any works of man; what then is charity, which ought to be united with faith, but something superfluous and vain, and a mere addition and supplement to imputation and justification, to which nevertheless it is of no avail? Besides, a faith founded on the idea of three Gods is erroneous, as has been shown above (n. 39, 40); and with an erroneous faith, charity, that in itself is charity, cannot be conjoined. There are two reasons given for believing that there is no bond of union between that faith and charity; the one is, because they make their faith spiritual, but charity natural moral, thinking that there is not given any conjunction of the spiritual with the natural; the other reason is, lest anything of man, and so anything of merit, should inflow into their faith alone, as saving. Furthermore, between charity and that faith there is no bond, but there is with the new faith, which may be seen below (n. 116, 117).

51. XI.

From the faith of the present church there results a worship of the mouth and not of the life, whereas the worship of the mouth is accepted by the Lord according to the worship of the life.

52. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

This is testified by experience. How many are there at this day, who live according to the commandments of the Decalogue, and other precepts of the Lord, from religion? And how many are there at this day, who desire to look their own evils in the face, and to perform actual repentance, and thus enter upon the worship of the life? And who among those that cultivate piety, perform any other repentance than oral and oratorical, confessing themselves to be sinners, and praying, according to the doctrine of the church, that God the Father, for the sake of His Son, who suffered upon the cross for their sins, took away their damnation, and atoned for them with His blood, would mercifully forgive their transgressions, that so they might be presented without spot or blemish before the throne of His judgment? Who does not see, that this worship is of the lungs only, and not of the heart, consequently that it is external worship, and not internal? for he prays for the remission of sins, when yet he does not know one sin with himself; and if he did know of any, he would cover it over with favor and indulgence, or with a faith that is to purify and absolve him, without any works of his. But this is comparatively like a servant going to his master with his face and clothes defiled with soot and filth, and saying, Sir, wash me. Would not his master say to him, Thou foolish servant, what is it thou sayest? See! there is water, soap, and a towel, hast thou not hands, and ability to use them? wash thyself. Thus also the Lord God will say, The means of purification are from Me, and from Me also thou hast will and power, wherefore use these My gifts and talents, as thy own, and thou shalt be purified. Take another example by way of illustration. Suppose you should pray a thousand times at home and in temples, that God the Father, for the sake of His Son, would preserve you from the devil, and should not at the same time, from the freedom in which you are perpetually held by the Lord, keep yourself from evil, and so from the devil; you could not in this case be preserved even by legions of angels sent from the Lord; for the Lord cannot act contrary to His own Divine order, and His order is that man should examine himself, see his evils, resist them, and this as of himself, yet from the Lord. This does not indeed at this day appear to be the Gospel, nevertheless it is the Gospel, for the Gospel is salvation by the Lord. The reason why the worship of the mouth is accepted by the Lord according to the worship of the life, is because the speech of man before God, and before angels, has its sound from the affection of his love and faith, and these two are in man according to his life; wherefore, if the love of God and faith in Him are in your life, the sound of your voice will be like that of a dove; but if self-love and self-confidence are in your life, the sound of your voice will be like that of an owl, howsoever you may bend your voice to imitate the voice of a turtle-dove. The spiritual, which is within the sound, effects this.

53. XII.

The doctrine of the present church is interwoven with many paradoxes, which are to be embraced by faith; and therefore its dogmas gain admission into the memory only, and not into any part of the understanding above the memory, but merely into confirmations below it.

54. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

The rulers of the church insist, that the understanding is to be kept under obedience to faith, yea that faith, properly speaking, is a faith in what is unknown, which is blind, or a faith of the night. This is the first paradox; for faith is of truth, and truth is of faith; and truth, before it can become an object of faith, should be in its own light and be seen; otherwise what is false may be believed. The paradoxes flowing from such a faith are many; as that God the Father begat a Son from eternity, and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both: and that each is a Person by Himself, and God; that the Lord both as to His soul and body, is from the mother; that those three Persons, consequently three Gods, created the universe; and that one of them descended, and assumed the Human, to reconcile the Father, and thus to save men; and that they who by grace obtain faith, and believe these paradoxes, are saved by the imputation, application, and translation of His justice to themselves; and that man, at his first reception of that faith, is like a statue, a stock, or a stone, and that faith inflows by the mere hearing of the Word; and that faith alone without the works of the law, and not formed from charity, is saving; and that it produces the remission of sins without any previous repentance; and that, merely by virtue of such remission of sins, the impenitent are justified, regenerated, and sanctified; and that afterwards charity, good works, and repentance, spontaneously follow. Besides many similar things, which, like offspring from an illegitimate bed, have all issued from the doctrine founded on the idea of three Gods.

55. What wise man does not see, that such things enter only into the memory, and not into the understanding above the memory, although they may be confirmed by reasonings from appearances and fallacies below it? for to the human understanding there are two kinds of light, one from heaven, and the other from the world. The light from heaven, which is spiritual, flows into the human mind above the memory, but the light from the world, which is natural, below it. That man, from this latter light, can confirm whatever he pleases, and falsities equally as well as truths, and that after confirmation he sees falsities altogether as truths, has been shown in a Relation inserted in the work lately published concerning Conjugial Love (n. 233).

56. To these things shall be added this arcanum from heaven. All these paradoxes, according to their confirmations, abide in the minds of men, bound together as into one bundle, or wound up together as into one ball, and they enter at the same time into every individual proposition that is stated from the doctrine of the church; so that when either faith, charity, or repentance, and still more when imputation or justification is mentioned, they all enter and are included in each particular. Man himself does not perceive that congeries or aggregation of the paradoxes in every individual proposition; but the angels that are with man perceive it, and they call it malua, that is, confusion and darkness.

57. I foresee that very many at this day, tinctured with the paradoxes of this faith, will say, how can theological things be perceived by the understanding? are they not spiritual which transcend it? Explain, therefore, if you can, the mystery of redemption and justification, that reason may see it and acquiesce. This mystery then shall be opened in the following manner. Who does not know that God is one, and that besides Him there is no other, and that God is love itself, and wisdom itself, or that He is good itself, and truth itself; and that the very God Himself as to Divine truth, which is the Word, descended and assumed the Human to remove the hells, and consequently damnation from man, which he effected by combats with, and victories over the devil, that is, over all the hells, which at that time infested and spiritually slew every man coming into the world; and that afterwards He glorified His Human, by uniting in it the Divine truth with Divine good, and thus He returned to the Father from whom He came forth? When these things are perceived, then the following passages in John may be understood:

The Word was with God, and God was the Word, and the Word became flesh (John 1:1, 14).

And also the following in the same:

I went forth from the Father, and came into the world; again I leave the world and go to the Father (John 16:28, 29).

Hence also it is evident, that without the coming of the Lord into the world, no mortal could have been saved, and they are saved who believe in Him, and live well. This face of faith presents itself as clear as the day to those who are enlightened by the Word, and it is the face of the faith of the New Church. See the FAITH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND OF THE NEW CHURCH IN ITS UNIVERSAL AND IN ITS PARTICULAR FORM, below (n. 116, 117).

58. XIII.

The dogmas of the present church cannot be learned and retained without great difficulty, nor can they be preached or taught without using great care and caution to conceal their nakedness, because true reason neither perceives nor receives them.

59. BRIEF ANALYSIS

That the understanding is to be kept under obedience to faith, is set as a motto before the dogmas of the present church, to denote that their interiors are mysteries, or arcana, which, because they transcend, cannot flow into the superior region of the understanding, and be there perceived, see above (n. 54). Those ministers of the church who are ambitious to be eminent for their reputation of wisdom, and wish to be looked upon as oracles in spiritual things, imbibe and swallow down in the schools, such things especially as surpass the comprehension of others, which they do with avidity, but nevertheless with difficulty. And because they are thence accounted wise, and they who have distinguished and enriched themselves from such hidden stores are honored with doctors’ caps and episcopal robes, they revolve in their thoughts, and teach from their pulpits, scarce anything else but mysteries concerning justification by faith alone, and good works as her humble attendants.

And from their erudition concerning both faith and good works, they in a wonderful manner sometimes separate them, and sometimes conjoin them; comparatively as if they held faith by itself in one hand, and the works of charity in the other, and at one time extend their arms and so separate them, and at another time bring their hands together and so conjoin them.

But this shall be illustrated by examples. They teach, that good works are not necessary to salvation, because if done by man they are meritorious; at the same time they also teach, that good works necessarily follow faith, and that both together make one in the article of salvation. They teach that faith without good works, as being alive, justifies; and at the same time, that faith without good works, as being dead, does not justify. They teach, that faith is neither preserved nor retained by good works; and at the same time, that good works proceed from faith, as fruit from a tree, light from the sun, and heat from fire. They teach, that good works being adjoined to faith make it perfect; and at the same time, that being conjoined as in a marriage, or in one form, they deprive faith of its saving essence. They teach, that a Christian is not under the law; and at the same time, that he must be in the daily practice of the law. They teach, that if good works are intermixed in the business of salvation by faith, as in the remission of sins, justification, regeneration, vivification, and salvation, they are hurtful; but if not intermixed, that they are profitable. They teach, that God crowns His own gifts, which are good works, with rewards also spiritual, but not with salvation and eternal life, because faith without works, they say, is entitled to the crown of eternal life. They teach, that faith alone is like a queen, who walks in a stately manner with good works as her train of attendants behind her; but if these join themselves to her in front, and kiss her, she is cast from her throne and called an adulteress. But particularly, when they teach faith and good works at the same time, they view merit on the one hand, and no merit on the other, making choice of expressions which they use in two different senses; one for the laity, and the other for the clergy; for the laity, that its nakedness may not appear, and for the clergy, that it may. Consider now, whether anyone hearing such things can draw from them any doctrine leading to salvation, or whether he will not rather, from the apparent contradictions therein, become blind, and afterwards grope for the objects of salvation, like one walking in the dark. Who in this case can tell from the evidence of works, whether he has any faith or not; and whether it is better to omit good works on account of the danger of merit, or to do them for fear of the loss of faith? But do you, my friend, tear yourself away from such contradictions, and shun evils as sins, and do goods, and believe in the Lord, and saving justification will be given you.

60. XIV.

The doctrine of the faith of the present church ascribes to God human properties; as, that He regards man from anger, that He wished to be reconciled, that He is reconciled through the love He bore toward the Son, and by His intercession; and that He wished to be appeased by the sight of His Son’s sufferings, and thus to be brought back to mercy; and that He imputes the justice of His Son to an unjust man who supplicates it from faith alone; and that thus from an enemy He makes him a friend, and from a child of wrath, a child of grace.