200. This shall be shown in the following order:* (I.) No one can have charity unless from the Lord. (II.) No one can have charity from the Lord unless he shuns evils as sins. (III.) A man ought to shun evils as sins as if of himself and yet from the Lord. (IV.) In so far as anyone does not shun evils as sins, he remains in them. (V.) So far as anyone does not take cognizance of and know what sins are, so far he does not see but that he is without sins. (VI.) So far as anyone takes cognizance of and knows what sins are, so far he can see them in himself, confess them before the Lord, and repent of them. (VII.) Good before repentance is not good, thus neither is charity. (VIII.) Consequently, the first of charity is to look to the Lord and shun evils as sins, which is done by repentance. * [MARGINAL NOTE]: From Paul concerning love towards the neighbor: if it is asked what is first, whether to shun them as evils, or to love the neighbor.