Brief Exposition (Stanley) n. 50

Previous Number Next Number Next Translation See Latin 

50. The reason why charity cannot be united with the faith of the present Church, and why no good works can be born from any such marriage, is because imputation supplies everything, remits sins, justifies, regenerates, sanctifies, and imparts the life of heaven, thus salvation; and all this freely, without any works of man. In such a case, what is charity, whose union should be with faith, but something superfluous and vain, an accessory and token of imputation and justification, which, however, avails nothing? Besides, a faith founded on the idea of three Gods is erroneous, as has been shown above, nos. 39, 40; and with an erroneous faith charity that in itself is charity cannot be united. It is believed that there is no bond of union between the above-mentioned faith and charity for two reasons; one, because the leaders of the Church make this faith spiritual, but charity they make natural-moral, imagining that there can be no union between what is spiritual and what is natural. The other reason is, lest anything from man, and so anything of merit, should flow into their faith, which alone they regard as saving. Moreover, no bond of charity is possible with that faith; but there is a bond with the new faith, as may be seen below, nos. 116, 117.


This page is part of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church