329. 十誡包含如何愛上帝及愛鄰舍的一切事情
十誡中的第一,二,五,六,七,八,九,十等八條誡命未提及任何關於愛上帝或愛鄰舍的內容。並未說, 我們必須愛上帝, 或者我們必須保守上帝的名為聖; 也不說當愛鄰舍, 或應當真誠正直地對我們的鄰舍。以上誡命只是說:"在我面前不可以有別的上帝; 不可妄稱耶和華你上帝的名; 不可殺; 不可姦淫; 不可偷盜; 不可作假見證陷害人; 不可貪戀人的房屋, 也不可貪戀人的妻子,僕婢,牛驢, 並他一切所有的。"簡單說來, 就是我們不可以意願,思考與做出違背上帝或違背我們鄰舍的事情。
我們並未被命令去直接行出義行, 而只是要求去避免行出不義之事, 原因在於:我們越是視作惡如同犯罪而避免作惡, 就越想去行出與義有關的良善行為。
愛上帝與愛鄰舍, 第一步就是不作惡, 第二步才是行善; 關於這點, 請參看第七章:義。
[2]有兩種完全相互對立的愛:意願良善並且行出良善的愛, 意願邪惡並且行出邪惡的愛。後者是地獄之愛, 前者是天國之愛。整個地獄都擁有作惡之愛, 整個天國都擁有行善之愛。
我們人類被生入各樣的邪惡之中, 從出生時起, 我們就傾向於地獄之事, 除非重生——也就是被更新, 否則無法進入天國。因此, 在我們獲得來自天國的良善品性之前, 必須先除去地獄而來的邪惡品性。除非與魔鬼分道揚鑣, 無人能被主接納。人的惡行如此被移除, 以及人如何被帶向行善, 請參看後面兩章內容:第九章關於悔改(509-570節), 以及第十章關於改造和更新(571-625)。
[3]在『以賽亞書』中, 主教導:在我們所行之善於上帝面前成為善之前, 人當先移除惡行。內容如下:你們要洗濯,自潔, 從我眼前除掉你們的惡行, 要止住作惡, 學習行善。你們的罪雖象朱紅, 必變成雪白; 雖紅如丹顏, 必白如羊毛(以賽亞書1:16-18)。
類似之言, 請參看『耶利米書』:你當站在耶和華殿的門口, 在那裡宣傳這話說萬軍之耶和華以色列的上帝如此說:"你們改正行動作為, 你們不要倚靠虛謊的話, 說:'這些是耶和華的殿, 是耶和華的殿, 是耶和華的殿(也就是祂的教會)。'你們偷盜,殺害,姦淫,起假誓後, 來到這稱為我名下的殿, 在我面前敬拜。又說:'我們可以自由了。'你們這樣的舉動, 是要行那些可憎的事嗎？這稱為我名下的殿, 在你們眼中, 豈可看為賊窩嗎？我都看見了。這是耶和華說的"(耶利米書7:2-4, 9-11)。
[4]在『以賽亞書』中, 我們還被教導:在我們從邪惡中被潔淨之前, 我們向上帝的禱告不被垂聽:犯罪的國民, 擔著罪孽的百姓, 他們往後退步。你們舉手禱告, 我必遮眼不看; 就是你們多多地祈禱, 我也不聽(以賽亞書1:4, 15)。
當人通過避免作惡,將十誡應用於實際生活之中, 就會結出良善之果。可從『約翰福音』中主自己所說看出:耶穌說:"有了我的命令又遵守的, 這人就是愛我的; 愛我的必蒙我父愛他, 我也要愛他, 並且要向他顯現, 到他那裡去, 與他同住"(約翰福音14:21, 23)。
此處所說的"命令"特指十誡, 勸人不可作惡,也不可有惡欲, 這樣就會導致我們對上帝的愛,上帝對我們的愛, 於是惡去善來。
329. The Ten Commandments Contain Everything
about How to Love God and How to Love Our Neighbor
Eight of the commandments - the first, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth - say nothing about loving God or loving our neighbor. They do not say that we must love God or we must keep God's name holy. They do not say that we must love our neighbor, or deal honestly and uprightly with our neighbor. They say only, "There is to be no other God before my face; you are not to take God's name in vain; you are not to kill; you are not to commit adultery; you are not to steal; you are not to testify falsely; and you are not to covet what your neighbor has. " Briefly put, we are not to intend, think, or do evil against God or against our neighbor.
We are not commanded to do things that directly relate to goodwill; instead, we are commanded not to do things that are the opposite of goodwill. This is because the more we abstain from evils because they are sins, the more we want the goodness that relates to goodwill.
In loving God and our neighbor, the first step is not doing evil, and the second step is doing good, as you will see in the chapter on goodwill [435-438].
[2] There is a love of intending and doing good, and there is a love of intending and doing evil. These two loves are opposite to each other. The second is a hellish love and the first is a heavenly one. The entirety of hell loves doing evil and the entirety of heaven loves doing good.
We, the human race, have been born into evils of every kind. From birth onward we have tendencies toward things that come from hell. Unless we are born again or regenerated, we cannot come into heaven. Therefore the evil attributes we have from hell have to be removed first before we are able to want good attributes that come from heaven. None of us can be adopted by the Lord before we have been separated from the Devil. How our evil actions are removed and how we are brought to do good things will be shown in two chapters below: the chapter on repentance [509-570]; and the chapter on reformation and regeneration [571-625].
[3] The Lord teaches in Isaiah that our evil actions have to be moved aside first before the good things we are doing become good before God:
Wash yourselves; purify yourselves. Remove the evil of your actions from before my eyes. Learn to do what is good. Then, if your sins had been like scarlet, they will become as white as snow; if they had been red as crimson, they will be like wool. (Isaiah 1:16-18)
The following passage in Jeremiah is similar:
Stand in the entrance to Jehovah's house and proclaim there this word. "Thus spoke Jehovah Sabaoth, the God of Israel: 'Make your ways and your works good. Do not put your trust in the words of a lie, saying, "The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah is here [that is, the church]. " When you steal, kill, commit adultery, and swear falsely, then do you come and stand before me in this house that carries my name? Do you say, "We were carried away," when you are committing all these abominations? Has this house become a den of thieves? Behold I, even I, have seen it,' says Jehovah. " (Jeremiah 7:2-4, 9-11)
[4] We are also taught by Isaiah that before we are washed or purified from evil, our prayers to God are not heard:
Jehovah says, "Woe to a sinful nation, to a people heavy with wickedness. They have moved themselves backward. Therefore when you spread out your hands, I hide my eyes from you. Even if you increase your praying, I do not hear it. " (Isaiah 1:4, 15)
When someone puts the Ten Commandments into action by abstaining from evil, goodwill is the result. This is clear from the Lord's own words in John:
Jesus said, "The people who love me are those who have my commandments and follow them. Those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and manifest myself to them, and we will make a home with them. " (John 14:21, 23)
The "commandments" mentioned here are specifically the Ten Commandments, which prescribe that we should not do, or crave to do, what is evil. If we do not do evil or crave to do evil, we love God and God loves us. This is the benefit we receive after something evil has been removed.
329. The Ten Commandments contain everything to do with love for God and everything to do with love towards the neighbour.
Eight of the Ten Commandments, the first, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth contain no mention of love for God and love towards the neighbour. They do not tell us that God is to be loved, nor that God's name is to be kept holy, nor that the neighbour is to be loved, nor that he should be treated honestly and uprightly; they merely say 'There is not to be any other God before my face; you are not to take the name of God in vain; you are not to commit murder; you are not to commit adultery; you are not to steal; you are not to bear false witness; you are not to covet what is your neighbour's.' In general, they prescribe that evil is not to be willed, thought or done, either against God or against the neighbour. The reason why we are not commanded to do what is directly the work of love and charity, but only to avoid doing their opposites, is that in so far as a person shuns evils as sins, so far does he will the good actions of love and charity. It will be seen in the chapter on charity [Chapter 7] that the first point of love for God and love towards the neighbour is not to do evil, and their second point is to do good.
[2] There are two contradictory loves, the love of willing and doing good, and the love of willing and doing evil. The latter love is the love of hell, the former the love of heaven. The whole of hell possesses the love of doing evil, the whole of heaven possesses the love of doing good. Now since human beings are by birth prone to evils of every kind, and from birth on they tend towards the pursuits of hell, being unable to enter heaven unless they are born again, that is, regenerated, the evils which belong to hell must first be removed, before a person can will the good deeds which belong to heaven. For no one can be adopted by the Lord, until he has parted with the devil. The manner in which evils are removed and a person is brought to do good will be demonstrated in two chapters, those on Repentance [Chapter 9] and Reformation and Regeneration [Chapter 10].
[3] The Lord teaches in Isaiah that evils must first be removed before the good deeds performed by a person become good in the sight of God:
Wash yourselves, purify yourselves, remove the wickedness of your works from before my eyes; [cease to do evil;] learn to do good. Then if your sins were as scarlet, they will become white as snow; if they were red like purple, they will be like wool, Isaiah 1:16-18.
There is another passage like this in Jeremiah:
Stand in the gate of Jehovah's house, and there proclaim this word.
Thus spoke Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel: make your ways good, and your works also. Put not your trust in lying words, saying, This is Jehovah's temple, this is Jehovah's temple, this is Jehovah's temple (that is, His church). Will you, after stealing, murdering and committing adultery and swearing falsely, then come and stand in my presence in this house, upon which my name is written, and say, We were carried away, when you do all these abominations? Has this house become a robbers' cave? Behold, even I have seen it, this is the word of Jehovah, Jeremiah 7:2-4, 9-11.
[4] We are also taught in Isaiah that before washing or purification from evils, prayers addressed to God are not heard:
Jehovah says, Woe to the nation that sins, the people weighed down with iniquity. They have banished themselves back again; from which place when you spread out your hands, I hide my eyes from you. Even though you pray time and again, I do not hear, Isaiah 1:4, 15.
The person who keeps the Ten Commandments and shuns evils is attended by love and charity; this is proved by the Lord's words in John:
Jesus said, He who has my commandments and does them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and show myself to him; and we shall make our dwelling with him, John 14:21, 23.
Commandments there mean especially the Ten Commandments, which state that evil actions are not to be done nor longed for, and that thus a person's love for God, and God's love for him, follow, just as good does when evil has been removed.
329. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF THE DECALOGUE CONTAIN ALL THINGS THAT BELONG TO LOVE TO GOD, AND ALL THINGS THAT BELONG TO LOVE TOWARD THE NEIGHBOR.
In eight of the commandments of the decalogue, the first, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth, there is nothing said of love to God and love toward the neighbor; since it is not said that God should be loved, that His name should be hallowed, that the neighbor should be loved and consequently that he should be dealt with sincerely and uprightly. It is only said, "Thou shalt have no other God before Me;" "Thou shalt not take the name of God in vain;" "Thou shalt not kill;" "Thou shall not commit adultery;" "Thou shalt not steal;" "Thou shalt not bear false witness;" "Thou shalt not covet what belongs to thy neighbor;" that is in general, that evil, either against God or the neighbor, is not to be cherished in will or thought, nor to be done. The reason why such things as relate directly to love and charity are not commanded, but only such things as are opposed to them are forbidden, is that so far as man shuns evils as sins, so far does he will the goods that pertain to love and charity. That the prime thing of love to God and the neighbor is not to do evil, and the second to do good, will be seen in the chapter on Charity.
[2] There are two opposite loves, the love of desiring and doing good, and the love of desiring and doing evil; this latter is infernal and the other is heavenly; for all hell is in the love of doing evil, and all heaven in the love of doing good. Since then, man is born into all kinds of evil, and therefore from birth inclines to what pertains to hell, and since he cannot enter heaven unless he is born again or regenerated, it is necessary that evils, which belong to hell, should be removed before he can desire goods, which are heavenly. For no one can be adopted by the Lord until he is separated from the devil. But how evils are removed and man is brought to do good, will be shown in the two chapters, on Repentance, and on Reformation and Regeneration.
[3] That evils must be put away, before the good that a man does becomes good in the sight of God, the Lord teaches in Isaiah:
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; [cease to do evil], learn to do well, then though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah.1:16-18).
The following, in Jeremiah, is similar:
Stand in the gate of Jehovah's house, and proclaim there this Word, Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings; trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, is this [that is, the church]. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear through falsehood, and then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, We are delivered, when ye are doing all these abominations? Is this house become a den of robbers? Behold, even I have seen it, saith Jehovah (7:2-4, 9-11).
[4] That before washing or purification from evils prayer to God is not heard is also taught in Isaiah:
Jehovah saith, Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, they have gone away backward. When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear (1:4, 15).
That love and charity follow when by shunning evils what is commanded in the Decalogue is done is evident from the Lord's words in John:
Jesus said, He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father; and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him: and We will make our abode with him (14:21, 23).
By commandments here the commandments of the Decalogue are particularly meant, which are that evils must not be done or lusted after, and that the love of man to God and the love of God toward man then follow as good follows when evil is removed.
329. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF THE DECALOGUE CONTAIN EVERYTHING RELATING TO LOVE TO GOD, AND EVERYTHING RELATING TO LOVE TOWARDS THE NEIGHBOR.
In eight commandments of the Decalogue, the first, the second, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, the ninth and the tenth, nothing is said of love to God and love towards the neighbor. It is not said that God is to be loved, or that the name of God is to be hallowed, or that the neighbor is to be loved, and thus that he should be dealt with sincerely and uprightly, but only, "Thou shalt have no other god before me; thou shalt not take the name of God in vain; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; thou shalt not covet what is thy neighbor's." Thus it is said in general that evil must not be willed, thought, and done against God, nor against the neighbor. Such things as relate directly to love and charity have not been commanded, but only such things as are opposed to them have been forbidden, because in so far as a man shuns evils as sins, he desires the good of love and charity. That the first principle of love to God and of love towards the neighbor is to shun evil, and the second is to do good, will be seen in the chapter on Charity.
[2] There are two opposite loves, the love of willing and doing good, and the love of willing and doing evil; the latter is infernal, and the former heavenly, for all hell is in the love of doing evil, and all heaven is in the love of doing good. Now since a man is born into evils of every kind, and consequently from his birth inclines to such things as belong to hell and as he cannot enter heaven unless he is born again, that is, regenerated, it is necessary that evils, which are of hell, must be removed before he can will the good which is of heaven; for no one can be adopted by the Lord until he is separated from the devil. How evils are removed, and man is led to good, will be shown in the two chapters on Repentance and Reformation.
[3] That evils must first be removed, before the good which a man does becomes good in the sight of God, is thus taught by the Lord in Isaiah:
"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes... learn to do well... Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 1:16-18.
Similar to this is the following passage in Jeremiah:
"Stand in the gate of JEHOVAH'S house, and proclaim there this word... Thus saith JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings... Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of JEHOVAH, The temple of JEHOVAH, The temple of JEHOVAH (that is, the Church) is here (A.V., are these). Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely... And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered, while ye do (A.V., to do) all these abominations? Is this house... become a den of robbers? Behold, even I have seen it, saith JEHOVAH" 7:2-4, 9-11.
[4] That prayer to God is not heard before there is washing or purification from evils, is also taught is Isaiah:
Jehovah saith, "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity... they are gone away backward... When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear" 1:4, 15.
That love and charity follow when a man keeps the commandments of the Decalogue, by shunning evils, is evident from these words of the Lord in John:
Jesus said, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him... and we will make our abode with him" 14:21, 23.
By commandments are here meant especially the commandments of the Decalogue, which are that evils must neither be done nor lusted after; for then follow the love of man to God and the love of God towards man, just as good follows when evil is removed.
329. Quod Decem Praecepta Decalogi contineant omnia quae amoris in Deum, et omnia quae amoris erga 1 proximum sunt.
In octo praeceptis Decalogi, in Primo, Secundo, Quinto, Sexto, Septimo, Octavo, Nono et Decimo, non dicitur aliquid quod est amoris in Deum, et amoris erga proximum, non enim dicitur quod Deus amandus sit, nec quod Nomen Dei sanctificandum, neque quod proximus amandus sit, ita non quod sincere et recte cum illo agendum sit, sed modo quod non erit Deus alius coram faciebus meis, non sumes nomen Dei in vanum, non occides, non moechaberis, non furaberis, non false testaberis, non concupisces illa quae proximi sunt; ita in genere quod malum non volendum, cogitandum, et faciendum, contra Deum, nec contra proximum. Sed causa, quod non talia quae directe amoris et charitatis sunt, mandata sint, sed modo talia quae illis opposita sunt quod non facienda sint, est quia quantum homo fugit mala ut peccata, tantum vult bona quae amoris et charitatis sunt. Quod Primum amoris in Deum et amoris erga proximum sit non facere malum, et quod secundum illorum sit facere bonum, videbitur in capite de CHARITATE.
[2] Sunt duo Amoris sibi oppositi, amor volendi et faciendi bonum, et amor volendi et faciendi malum; hic amor infernalis est, et ille amor coelestis est; totum enim Infernum in amore faciendi malum est, et totum Coelum in amore faciendi bonum est: nunc quia homo natus est in mala omnis generis, proinde a nativitate inclinat ad illa quae Inferni sunt, et quia nisi denuo nascitur, hoc est, regeneratur non possit venire in Coelum, necessum est, ut primum removeantur mala quae Inferni sunt, antequam potest velle bona quae Coeli sunt; non enim quis potest adoptari a Domino, antequam separatur a Diabolo: quomodo autem removentur mala, et homo fertur ad faciendum bona, in binis Capitibus, uno de POENITENTIA, et altero de REFORMATIONE ET REGENERATIONE, demonstrabitur.
[3] Quod primum amovenda sint mala, antequam bona, quae homo facit, fiunt bona coram Deo, docet Dominus apud Esajam, "Lavate vos, purificate vos, removete malitiam operum vestrorum a coram oculis meis; discite bonum facere; tunc si fuerint peccata vestra sicut coccinea, sicut nix albescent; si rubra fuerint sicut purpura, sicut lana erunt," Cap. 1:16-18. Huic simile est hoc apud Jeremiam, Sta in porta Domus Jehovae, et proclama ibi verbum hoc, sic dixit Jehovah Zebaoth, Deus Israelis, bonas reddite vias vestras, et opera vestra, ne confidite vobis super verbis mendacii, dicendo, Templum Jehovae, Templum Jehovae, Templum Jehovae hic (hoc est, Ecclesia), num furando, occidendo et moechando, et jurando per mendacium, deinde venietis et stabitis coram Me in Domo hac, super qua nominatur Nomen meum, et dicetis, erepti sumus, dum facitis omnes abominationes has; num spelunca latronum facta est Domus haec, etiam Ego ecce vidi, dictum Jehovae, Cap. 7:2-4, 9-11.
[4] Quod ante lavationem seu purificationem a malis, preces ad Deum non audiantur, etiam docetur apud Esajam, Dicit Jehovah vae genti peccatrici, populo gravi iniquitate, abalienaverunt se retrorsum; unde quando expanditis manus vestras, occulto oculos meos vobis, imo si multiplicaveritis orationem, Ego non audio, Cap. 1:4, 15. Quod [illi] 2 qui facit praecepta Decalogi, fugiendo mala, amor et charitas sequantur, constat ex his Domini verbis apud Johannem, Jesus dixit, qui habet praecepta mea et facit illa, ille est qui amat Me, qui vero amat Me, amabitur a Patre meo, et Ego amabo illum, et manifestabo illi Meipsum, et mansionem apud illum faciemus, Cap. 14:21, 23: 3 per Praecepta ibi intelliguntur in specie praecepta Decalogi, quae sunt quod mala non facienda nec concupiscenda sint, et quod sic amor hominis in Deum, et amor Dei erga hominem, sequantur, sicut bonum postquam remotum est malum.
Footnotes: