L18.在教会，人们以为，主被父差来是为人类赎罪的，并且这一切通过祂成全律法和十字架受难而实现；祂以这种方式除去诅咒，作出补偿。此外，没有这种赎罪、补偿与和解，人类必在永死中灭亡；这是由于公义，有些人称这种公义为报复的公义。的确，没有主的降临，世人都必灭亡。但至于当如何理解主成全了律法的一切，祂又为何遭受十字架的苦难，这可从前面2和3章看出来，那里说明，这不是由于任何报复的公义，因为这不是一个神性的属性。神性的属性是公义，爱，怜悯和良善；神是公义本身，爱本身，怜悯本身和良善本身；这些在哪里，哪里就没有任何报复，因而没有报复的公义。
由于迄今为止，许多人将律法的成全和十字架受难理解为：主通过这两件事为人类做出补偿，并从人那里除去所预见或所定的诅咒。从这两件事的联系，同时从人唯独凭对事实就是如此的信仰而得救这一原则，就推出了这样的教义：主的功德通过我们接受这两件事而转稼，这两件事属于作为一种补偿的主的功德。然而，前面关于主成全律法，以及祂的十字架受难的内容则驳斥这个教义。同时，我们可以看出，功德的转稼是一个毫无意义的短语，除非把它理解为悔改之后罪得赦免。因为主的东西不可能归给人；不过，人在进行悔改，也就是看见并承认自己的罪，然后停止这些罪之后，主会将救赎赏赐给他；这救赎来自主。救赎是这样被赏赐给他的：人得救不是凭自己的功德或公义，而是靠着主；主独自与地狱争战，并征服它们；还是主独自为人争战，并为他征服地狱。
这些事就是主的功德和公义，它们决不能转稼给人；因为如果它们真的被转稼了，那么主的功德和公义就会被转稼给人，仿佛它们是人自己的；这种事永远不会做出来，也不可能做出来。如果转稼是可能的，那么一个不悔改的恶人就能将主的功德转稼给自己，从而认为自己称义了。然而，这将是以亵渎来玷污圣物，从而亵渎主的名；因为这会使得他的思维在主里面，而他的意愿却在地狱之中；然而，意愿才是整个人，或人的全部。既有对神的信，也有对人的信；那些悔改的人拥有对神的信；而那些不悔改，却思想转稼的人拥有对人的信；对神的信是一种活的信，对人的信是一种死的信。
主自己和祂的门徒传讲的是悔改和罪得赦免，这一点从以下经文明显看出来：
耶稣就开始传道，说，天国近了，你们应当悔改！（马太福音4:17）
路加福音：
约翰说，结出与悔改相称的果子来吧！现在斧子已经放在树根上，凡不结好果子的树就砍下来，丢在火里。（路加福音3:8，9）
同一福音书：
耶稣说，你们若不悔改，都要如此灭亡！（路加福音13:3，5）
马可福音：
耶稣来宣讲神国的福音，说，日期满了，神的国近了！你们当悔改，信福音！（马可福音1:14，15）
同一福音书：
耶稣派门徒出去，他们就出去传道，叫人悔改。（马可福音6:12）
路加福音：
耶稣对使徒说，他们要从耶路撒冷开始，在所有民族当中奉祂的名传悔改和赦罪。（路加福音24:47）
同一福音书：
约翰宣讲悔改的洗礼，使罪得赦。（路加福音3:3；马可福音1:4）
“洗礼”表示属灵的洗涤，属灵的洗涤是指从罪中洗涤，被称为重生。
主在约翰福音中如此描述悔改和罪得赦免：
祂到自己的地方来，自己的人倒不接待祂。凡接待祂的，就是信祂名的人，祂就赐他们权柄，作神的儿子。这等人不是从血生的，不是从肉欲生的，也不是从人意生的，乃是从神生的。（约翰福音1:11-13）
“祂自己的人”表示当时那些属于圣言所在的教会之人；“神的儿子”和“信祂名的人”表示那些信主并信圣言的人；“血”表示对圣言的歪曲，以及通过圣言对虚假的证实；“肉欲”是指属于意愿的人之自我，这自我本身是邪恶；“人意”是指属于理解力的人之自我，这自我本身是虚假；“从神生的人”是指那些被主重生的人。由此明显可知，得救的，是那些处于来自主的爱之良善和信之真理的人，而不是那些处于自己的自我之人。
18. The Imputation of the Lord’s Merit Is Nothing More nor Less Than the Forgiveness of Sins That Follows upon Repentance.
It is believed in the church that the Lord was sent by the Father to make atonement for the human race, and that this was accomplished by his fulfilling the law and by his suffering on the cross, that in this way he bore our damnation and paid the full price, and that if it were not for this atonement, payment, and propitiation, the human race would have died an eternal death. This is believed to have been a matter of justice, which some, too, call “retributive justice.”
It is quite true that we would all have perished if the Lord had not come into the world, but how we should understand the Lord’s fulfilling everything in the law has been explained in its own chapter above [sections 8-11]. An explanation of why he suffered the cross has also been given in its own treatment [sections 12-14,15-17], enabling us to see that this was not a matter of retributive justice, since that is not a divine attribute. Justice, love, mercy, and goodness are divine attributes, and God is justice itself, love itself, mercy itself, and goodness itself. Further, where we find these we find no vindictiveness and therefore no retributive justice.
[2] Until now, many people have understood “fulfilling the law” and “the suffering on the cross” to mean that through them the Lord paid the full price for the human race and delivered it from the predicted or fated damnation. Put this together with the principle that we are saved simply by believing that this is what happened, and what follows is the dogma that the Lord’s merit is imputed to us if we take these two acts to be a substitute for our giving satisfaction [to God for our sins], though they actually belong to the Lord’s merit. However, this dogma collapses in the light of what has been said about the Lord’s fulfillment of the law and his suffering on the cross. At the same time we can see that “the imputation of merit” is a phrase without substance unless we take it to mean the forgiveness of sins that follows repentance. You see, nothing that belongs to the Lord can be credited to us, but salvation can be transferred to us by the Lord after we practice repentance-that is, after we see and acknowledge our sins and then desist from them, doing this because of the Lord. Then there is a way in which salvation is transferred to us: we are saved not on the basis of our own worth and our own righteousness but by the Lord, the only one who has fought and overcome the hells and who alone thereafter fights for us and overcomes the hells for us.
[3] These accomplishments are the Lord’s merit and righteousness, and they can never be credited to our account-because if they were, the Lord’s merit and righteousness would be attributed to us as though they were our own. This is something that never happens and that cannot happen. If imputation were possible, we could claim the Lord’s merit when we were impenitent and irreverent and think ourselves justified by doing so. Yet this would be polluting what is holy with profane things and profaning the Lord’s name, because it would be focusing our thoughts on the Lord but our will on hell, when in fact all we are is what our will intends.
There is a faith that is God’s and a faith that is our own. People who practice repentance have the faith that is God’s. People who do not practice repentance but think in terms of imputation have a faith that is their own. God’s faith is a living faith; our own faith is a dead faith.
[4] The following passages show that both the Lord himself and his disciples taught repentance and the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, because the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
Jesus said, “Bear fruit that is consistent with repentance. The axe is already lying against the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:8-9)
Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you will all perish.” (Luke 13:3, 5)
Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)
Jesus sent out his disciples, and they went out and preached that people should repent. (Mark 6:12)
Jesus said to the apostles that it was necessary for them to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47)
John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Luke 3:3; Mark 1:4)
“Baptism” means a spiritual washing, which is a washing from sins and is called “rebirth.”
[5] This is how the Lord describes repentance and the forgiveness of sins in John:
He came to what was his own, and yet his own people did not accept him. But as many as did accept him, he gave them power to become children of God and believe in his name, who were born, not of blood, and not of the will of the flesh, and not of the will of a man, but of God. (John 1:11-13)
“His own people” means people of the church at that time, the church where the Word was; “children of God” and “believing in his name” mean people who believe in the Lord and who believe in the Word; blood means distortions of the Word and justifying what is false by that means; the will of the flesh means the will belonging to our own [lower] self, which is essentially evil; the will of a man means the understanding belonging to our own [lower] self, which is essentially false; and “those born of God” means people who have been reborn by the Lord.
We can see from this that we are saved if we are focused on good and loving actions that come from the Lord and on truths of our faith that come from the Lord; we are not saved if we are wrapped up in ourselves.
The Lord as the Divine-Human One Is Called “The Son of God” and as the Word Is Called “The Son of Humanity”
18. An Imputation of the Lord’s Merit Is Nothing Else Than the Forgiveness of Sins Following Repentance
People in the church believe that the Lord was sent by the Father to make atonement for the human race, that He did this by fulfilling the Law and suffering the cross, that by so doing He took away damnation and made satisfaction, that without that atonement, satisfaction and propitiation the human race would have perished in eternal death, and that this accords with justice, which some people also call a retributive one.
It is true that without the Lord’s advent into the world, people would have all perished. But how we are to understand the Lord’s fulfilling all of the Law, this may be seen in its own section above. And why He suffered the cross, also in its own section above. From those sections it can be seen that it was not owing to any retributive justice, inasmuch as retributive justice is not a Divine attribute.
Divine attributes are justice, love, mercy, and goodness. And God is justice itself, love itself, mercy itself, and goodness itself. Where these attibutes exist, there is no retribution, thus no retributive justice.
[2] Many people heretofore have interpreted fulfillment of the Law and suffering the cross to mean nothing else than the two means by which the Lord made satisfaction for the human race and took away the damnation foreseen or predestined for it. And that being the case, by extrapolation and at the same time on the principle that a person is saved simply by faith in its being so, the dogma has followed of an imputation of the Lord’s merit by a reception of those two means — which constitute the Lord’s merit — as making satisfaction.
However, this dogma collapses in the face of what we have said about the Lord’s fulfillment of the Law and His suffering of the cross. Moreover, it can be seen at the same time that an imputation of merit is a word without meaning, unless one interprets it to mean a forgiveness of sins following repentance. For no attribute of the Lord can be imputed to a person.
Salvation by the Lord, on the other hand, can be ascribed to a person after he repents, that is, after he has seen and acknowledged his sins and then desisted from them, doing so in obedience to the Lord. Salvation is then ascribed to him in the measure that he is saved, not by his own merit, or in consequence of his own righteousness, but owing to the Lord who alone fought and overcame the hells, and who alone also afterward fights for a person and overcomes the hells for him.
[3] These attributes constitute the Lord’s merit and righteousness, and they can never be imputed to a person; for if they were to be imputed, the Lord’s merit and righteousness would be assigned to the person as his, something that is never the case, nor could be.
If imputation were possible, an impenitent and impious person could impute the Lord’s merit to himself and think himself justified on that account, which would be to defile the sacred with the profane and profane the Lord’s name. For it would keep the person’s thought fixed on the Lord and his will in hell, and yet the will is the totality of the person.
Faith may be a faith in God, and it may be a faith in man. Those people have a faith in God who repent, whereas those people have a faith in man who do not repent and yet still think about imputation. Faith in God, too, is living faith, whereas faith in man is a lifeless faith.
[4] The Lord Himself and His disciples preached repentance and the forgiveness of sins, as is clear from the following verses:
...Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
(John said:) “...bear fruits worthy of repentance.... Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. ...every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:8-9)
(Jesus said:) ...unless you repent you will all...perish. (Luke 13:3, 5)
...Jesus...preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God...saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)
(Jesus sent out His disciples, who) went out and preached that people should repent. (Mark 6:12)
(Jesus said to His disciples) that they should preach repentance and remission of sins in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47)
John...(preached) a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (Luke 3:3, Mark 1:4)
Baptism means a spiritual washing, which is a washing away of sins, and is called rebirth or regeneration.
[5] Repentance and forgiveness of sins is described in this way by the Lord in John:
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11-13)
His own means the people who at that time constituted the church which had the Word. Children of God and those who believe in His name mean people who believe in the Lord and who believe in the Word. Blood means falsifications of the Word and defenses of falsity by means of it. The will of the flesh means the inherent volitional component of a person, which in itself is evil. The will of man means the inherent understanding component of a person, which in itself is false. Those born of God are people regenerated by the Lord.
It is apparent from this that those people are saved who possess the goodness of love and truths of faith from the Lord, and not those caught up in their own inherent nature.
18. V. THE IMPUTATION OF THE LORD'S MERIT IS NOTHING ELSE THAN THE REMISSION OF SINS AFTER REPENTANCE
It is believed in the Church that the Lord was sent by the Father to make atonement for the human race, and that this was effected by His fulfilling the Law, and by the passion of the cross; and that He thus took upon Himself damnation, and made satisfaction. Moreover, that without this atonement, satisfaction and propitiation, the human race would have perished in eternal death; and this from justice, which is also called by some, avenging justice. It is true that, if the Lord had not come into the world, all mankind would have perished. But how it is to be understood that the Lord fulfilled all things of the Law, and also why He suffered the cross may be seen above in their respective chapters. From these it may be seen that it was not on account of any avenging justice [on God's part], because this is not a Divine attribute. Justice, love, mercy and good are Divine attributes; and God is justice itself, love itself, mercy itself and good itself; and where these are, there is nothing of vengeance, and consequently no avenging justice.
[2] The fulfilling of the Law and the passion of the cross have hitherto only been understood by many as implying that the Lord made satisfaction for the human race by means of these two things, and took away from man the damnation that had been foreseen or destined. Accordingly, from the linking together of these two things and at the same time from the principle that man is saved solely by the faith that this is so, there has followed the dogma of the imputation of the Lord's merit by the acceptance of these two things, which were of the Lord's merit as a satisfaction. This, however, falls to the ground from what has been said concerning the Lord's fulfilling of the Law, and His passion on the cross. Moreover, it may now be seen that the imputation of merit is an expression without meaning, unless by it is understood the remission of sins after repentance. For nothing of the Lord's can be imputed to man; but salvation may be awarded him by the Lord after he has done the work of repentance, that is, after he has seen and acknowledged his sins, and then desists from them; and this from the Lord. Thus salvation is awarded him: not that man is saved through his own merit or his own righteousness, but from the Lord, who fought and conquered the hells alone, and who still fights alone for man and conquers the hells for him.
[3] These things are the Lord's merit and righteousness, which can in no wise be imputed to man; for if they were imputed, the Lord's merit and righteousness would be appropriated to man as his own; and this never is and never can be done. If imputation were possible, an impenitent and wicked man might impute to himself the Lord's merit, and might therefore think himself justified. This, however, would be to defile what is holy with the profane, and to profane the Lord's name; for it would be to keep his thought in the Lord, and his will in hell: when yet the will is the all of man. There is a faith which is of God, and a faith which is of man. Those who repent have the faith which is of God; but those who do not repent, and yet think of imputation, have the faith which is of man; and the faith which is of God is a living faith, but the faith which is of man is a dead faith.
[4] That the Lord Himself and His disciples preached repentance and the remission of sins, is evident from the following passages:
Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent ye, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand. Matthew 4:17.
John 1said, Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance ...
And now also the axe is laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Luke 3:8-9.
Jesus said, Except ye repent, ye shall all perish. Luke 13:3, 5.
Jesus [came] preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God,
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel. Mark 1:14-15.
Jesus sent out the disciples, who going out preached that men should repent. Mark 6:12.
Jesus said to the Apostles, that they should preach in His name repentance and remission of sins among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke 24:47.
John preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Luke 3:3; Mark 1:4.
[5] By baptism is meant spiritual washing, which is a washing from sins, and is called regeneration.
Repentance and the remission of sins by the Lord are thus described in John:
He came unto His own, but His own received Him not.
But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:
Who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man (vir), but of God. John 1:11-13.
By His own are meant those who were then of the Church where the Word was; by the sons of God, and those who believe on His name, are meant those who believe on the Lord, and who believe the Word. By bloods are meant falsifications of the Word, and confirmations of falsity by means of the Word. The will of the flesh is man's voluntary proprium, which in itself is evil; the will of man (vir) is the intellectual proprium of man (homo), which in itself is falsity; and those who are born of God are those who are regenerated by the Lord.
From all this it is evident that those are saved who are in the good of love and in the truths of faith from the Lord, but not those who are in their own proprium.
Footnotes:
1. Orig. Ed. has Jesus.
18. THE IMPUTATION OF THE LORD'S MERIT IS NOTHING BUT THE REMISSION OF SINS AFTER REPENTANCE.
It is believed in the church that the Lord was sent by the Father to make an atonement for the human race, and that this was effected by His fulfilling the law, and by the passion of the cross; and that in this way He took away condemnation, and made satisfaction; and that without this expiation, satisfaction, and propitiation, the human race would have perished in eternal death, and this on account of justice which by some is called vengeful justice. It is true that without the Lord's advent all in the world would have perished; but how it is to be understood that the Lord fulfilled all things of the law, and why He suffered the cross, may be seen above, in chapters II. and III., which show that it was not on account of any vengeful justice, because this is not a Divine attribute. Divine attributes are justice, love, mercy, and good; and God is justice itself, love itself, mercy itself, and good itself; and where these are, there is not anything of vengeance, and therefore no vengeful justice.
[2] As the fulfilling of the law, and the passion of the cross, have hitherto been understood by many to mean that by these two things the Lord made satisfaction for mankind, and took away the condemnation that had been foreseen or appointed, there has followed from the connection, and also from the principle that man is saved by mere faith that it is so, the dogma of the imputation of the Lord's merit by our receiving, as for satisfaction, these two things that belong to His merit. But this dogma is refuted by what has been said about the fulfilling of the law by the Lord, and about His passion of the cross. At the same time we can see that the imputation of merit is a phrase destitute of meaning, unless there is meant by it the remission of sins after repentance. For nothing of the Lord can be imputed to man; but salvation can be awarded him by the Lord after he has performed repentance, that is, after he has seen and acknowledged his sins, and has then desisted from them, and this from the Lord. Then is salvation awarded him: not that he is saved by his own merit or righteousness, but by the Lord, who alone has fought and conquered the hells, and who alone still fights for man, and conquers the hells for him.
[3] These things are the Lord's merit and righteousness, and they never can be imputed to man; for if they were, the Lord's merit and righteousness would be imputed to man as if they were his; and this is never done, nor can be done. If imputation were possible, an impenitent and wicked man could impute the Lord's merit to himself, and so think himself justified, and yet this would be to defile what is holy with things profane, and to profane the Lord's name; for it would be to keep the thought fixed on the Lord, and the will in hell, and yet the will is the whole man. There is a faith of God, and a faith of man; those have the faith of God who perform repentance; and those the faith of man who do not perform repentance, and yet think of imputation; and the faith of God is a living faith, and the faith of man is a dead faith.
[4] That the Lord Himself, and His disciples, preached repentance and the remission of sins, is evident from the following passages:
Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand (Matthew 4:17).
John said, Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance; and now is the axe laid to the root of the trees; every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire (Luke 3:8-9).
Jesus said, Except ye repent, ye shall all perish (Luke 13:3, 5).
Jesus, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God, said, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the Gospel (Mark 1:14-15).
Jesus sent out the disciples, who went forth and preached that men should repent (Mark 6:12).
Jesus said to the apostles that they must preach in His name repentance and the remission of sins among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47).
John preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Luke 3:3; Mark 1:4).
By "baptism" is meant spiritual washing, which is a washing from sins, and is called regeneration.
[5] Repentance and the remission of sins are thus described by the Lord in John:
He came unto His own, but His own received Him not; but to as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:11-13).
By "His own," are meant those who were then of the church, where was the Word; by "the sons of God," and "those who believe in His name," are meant those who believe in the Lord, and who believe the Word; by "bloods," are meant falsifications of the Word, and confirmations of falsity thereby; "the will of the flesh," is man's Own pertaining to the will, which in itself is evil; "the will of man," is man's Own pertaining to the understanding, which in itself is falsity; those "born of God," are those who have been regenerated by the Lord. From these things it is evident that those are saved who are in the good of love and in the truths of faith from the Lord, and not those who are in what is their own.
18. (V.) QUOD IMPUTATIO MERITI DOMINI NON ALIUD SIT, QUAM REMISSIO PECCATORUM POST PAENITENTIAM.
In ecclesia creditur, quod Dominus missus sit a Patre, ut expiaret pro genere humano; et quod hoc factum sit per impletionem Legis, et per passionem crucis, et quod sic sustulerit damnationem et satisfecerit; et quod absque illa expiatione, satisfactione et propitiatione, genus humanum aeterna morte periisset; et hoc ex justitia, quae ab aliquibus etiam vocatur vindicativa. Verum est, quod absque adventu Domini in mundum omnes periissent; sed quomodo intelligendum est, quod Dominus impleverit omnia Legis, videatur supra in suo articulo; et cur passus est crucem, etiam supra in suo: ex quibus videri potest quod non fuerit ex aliqua justitia vindicativa, quia haec non est attributum Divinum. Attributa Divina sunt, justitia, amor, misericordia et bonum; et Deus est ipsa justitia, ipse amor, ipsa misericordia, et ipsum bonum; et ubi haec sunt, non est aliquid vindictae, ita non justitia vindictativa.
[2] Quoniam impletio Legis et passio crucis hactenus a multis non aliter intellectae sunt quam quod Dominus per illa bina satisfecerit pro humano genere, et ei damnationem praevisam aut destinatam abstulerit, ex nexu et simul ex principio quod homo salvetur ex sola fide quod ita sit, secutum est dogma de imputatione meriti Domini, accipiendo illa duo quae fuerunt meriti Domini, pro satisfactione. Sed hoc cadit ex illis quae dicta sunt de impletione Legis Domino, et de passione crucis Ipsius; et simul tunc videri potest quod imputatio meriti sit vox nullius rei, nisi per illam intelligatur remissio peccatorum post paenitentiam: nam non aliquid Domini potest imputari homini; sed potest addicari salus a Domino postquam homo paenitentiam egerat, hoc est, postquam viderat et agnoverat sua peccata, et dein desistat ab illis, et hoc ex Domino. Tunc addicatur ei salus eo modo, quod homo non ex suo merito et ex propria justitia salvetur, sed ex Domino, qui solus pugnavit et vicit inferna, et qui postea etiam solus pugnat pro homine, et vincit inferna pro illo;
[3] haec sunt meritum et justitia Domini, et haec nusquam possunt imputari homini; nam si imputarentur, forent meritum et justitia Domini appropriata homini sicut ejus; et hoc nusquam fit, nec fieri potest. Si imputatio dabilis foret, potuisset homo impaenitens et impius imputare sibi meritum Domini, et ex eo cogitare se justificatum, quod tamen foret conspurcare sanctum profanis, et profanare nomen Domini; nam foret tenere cogitationem in Domino, et voluntatem in inferno, et tamen voluntas est omne hominis. Est fides Dei, et est fides hominis: fidem Dei habent qui paenitentiam agunt, fidem autem hominis qui non paenitentiam agunt, et usque de imputatione cogitant; ac fides Dei est fides viva, at fides hominis est fides mortua.
[4] Quod Ipse Dominus et discipuli Ipsius praedicaverint paenitentiam ac remissionem peccatorum, constat ex his sequentibus:
"Jesus incepit praedicare et dicere, Paeniteat vos, appropinquavit enim regnum caelorum" (Matthaeum 4:17);
"Johannes 1dixit, Facite fructus dignos paenitentia: ...jamjam securis ad radicem arborum jacet; omnis... arbor non faciens fructum bonum, exscinditur et in ignem conjicitur" (Lucam 3:8-9);
Jesus dixit, "Nisi paenitentiam egeritis, omnes... peribitis" (Lucam 13:3, 5);
"Jesus... praedicans Evangelium regni Dei;... dicens,... Impletum est tempus, et appropinquavit regnum Dei; paenitentiam agite, et credite Evangelio" (Marcum 1:14-15);
Jesus emisit discipulos, qui "exeuntes praedicarunt ut paenitentiam agerent" (Marcum 6:12);
Jesus dixit ad apostolos, quod illos oporteat praedicare "in nomine Ipsius paenitentiam et remissionem peccatorum, in omnibus gentibus, incipiendo a Hierosolyma" (Lucam 24:47);
Johannes praedicavit "baptisma paenitentiae in remissionem peccatorum," (Lucam 3:3; Marcus 1:4):
Per "baptisma" intelligitur lavatio spiritualis, quae est a peccatis, et vocatur regeneratio.
[5] Describitur paenitentia et remissio peccatorum a Domino ita apud Johannem,
"In propria venit, sed proprii Ipsum non receperunt: quotquot vero receperunt: dedit illis potestatem, ut filii Dei essent, credentibus in nomen Ipsius: qui non ex sanguinibus, neque ex voluntate carnis, neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt" (1:11-13):
Per "proprios" intelliguntur qui tunc ab ecclesia, ubi erat Verbum: per "filios Dei," et "credentes in nomen Ipsius," intelliguntur qui in Dominum credunt, et qui Verbo credunt: per "sanguines" intelliguntur falsificationes Verbi, et confirmationes falsi per illud: "voluntas carnis" est proprium voluntarium hominis, quod in se est malum: "voluntas viri" est proprium intellectuale hominis, quod in se est falsum: "nati a Deo" sunt qui a Domino regenerati sunt. Ex his patet quod illi salventur qui in bono amoris et in veris fidei sunt a Domino, et non qui in proprio.
Footnotes:
1. Johannes pro "Jesus"