518# 坚固确认今日之信仰的人，也在类似的伪善敬拜之中；他们认为，主借十字架受难已经除去了世上一切罪，并且所谓“一切罪”，就是指每一个人的罪，只要他们诵念关于和解与中保的套语即可。
其中有些人能在讲坛上高声宣讲，仿佛怀着炽烈的热忱，倾泻出许多关于悔改与仁义的圣言；然而他们却以为二者对于救恩皆属虚妄。因为他们所谓悔改，无非是口头的告白；所谓仁义，也无非是世俗法庭意义上的善行。他们这样做，不过是为取悦民众而已。
主的这些话所指的，正是这等人：“当那日，必有许多人对我说：主啊，主啊，我们不是奉你的名传道，奉你的名赶鬼，奉你的名行许多异能吗？我就明明地告诉他们说：我从来不认识你们，你们这些作恶的人，离开我去吧！”（太7:22–23）
有一次，在灵界，我听见一个人这样祷告：“我满身疥癣，是长大麻风的，从母腹以来便污秽不堪；从头顶到脚掌，没有一处完全；我不配举目仰望上帝；我是该死、该受永远定罪的人。求你因你儿子的缘故怜悯我；求你用他的血洁净我；万人的得救都在乎你的美意；我恳求你的怜悯。”
旁立的人听见这些话，便问他说：“你从何知道自己是这样的人？”
他回答说：“我知道，因为我听人这样说。”
于是，他被送到负责察验的天使那里；在他们面前，他也说了同样的话。天使作了查问之后，回来报告说：他所说关于自己的话固然都是真的；然而他竟不知道自己里面有哪一种具体的恶，因为他从未省察过自己，并且相信口头告白之后，诸恶在上帝面前便不再是恶；这是因为他认为，上帝既已转眼不看这些恶，又已得了和解。因此，他未曾从任何一种恶中醒悟回转，尽管他是一个蓄意的奸淫者、掠夺者、诡诈的毁谤者，并且是一个炽烈的报复者；而且，他在意志和心里就是这样的人，所以若不是惧怕法律并顾惜名声，他在言语和行为上也必如此。
当查明他就是这样的人以后，他便受到审判，被投入地狱中的伪善者那里。
518# 那些确认当今教会的信仰，即主通过十字架受难除去了世人的一切罪的人处于同样的虚伪敬拜；当今教会的信仰意思是，只要照着关于安抚和调解的公式祷告，每个人的罪都会被除去。他们中的一些人可以从讲坛上以洪亮的声音和燃烧的热情说出许多关于悔改和仁爱的神圣话语或虔诚思考，但他们却认为两者在救赎方面毫无用处；因为他们所说的悔改只是指口头忏悔，所说的仁爱只是指与公共生活有关的仁爱；而他们这样做是为了取悦人们。主的这些话就是指这些人：
当那日，必有许多人对我说，主啊，主啊，我们不是奉你的名说预言，奉你的名行许多异能吗？但那时我必向他们声明，我从来不认识你们，你们这些作孽的人，离开我吧。（马太福音7:22，23）
在灵界，我曾听到一个人这样祷告说：“我从母亲子宫里就浑身是疮，患有麻风病，是不洁的；我从头顶到脚底没有一处完好；我不配举目仰望神；死亡和永恒的诅咒是我应得的。求你为了你的儿子怜悯我吧；用祂的宝血洁净我；所有人的救赎都仰赖您的美意；我祈求怜悯。”那些站在旁边听他如此祷告的人就问：“你怎么知道你是这样的？”他回答说：“我知道，是因为我听说过。”然后他被送到检查天使那里，在他们面前把这些话重复了一遍。经过检查，他们报告说，他指着自己所说的都是真的；然而，他却没有意识到自己身上的一个邪恶，因为他从不省察自己，而是认为口头忏悔后，邪恶在神眼里不再是邪恶，既因为神转眼不看它们，还因为祂已经被安抚了。因此，他从来没有感觉到任何邪恶，或说从未悔改过任何邪恶，尽管他是一个蓄意的通奸者，一个盗贼，一个狡诈的毁谤者，一心想要报复；由于他在内心和意愿中是这样，所以如果对法律和丧失名声的惧怕不约束他，他在言语和行为上也会是这样。他被发现是这样后，就受到了审判，被送到地狱里的伪君子那里。
518. A similarly hypocritical form of worship is found among those who have convinced themselves of the modern-day belief that through his suffering on the cross, the Lord took away all the sins of the world, which they take to mean the sins of anyone who utters formulaic prayers about appeasement and mediation. Some such people are indeed capable of standing in the pulpit and, with a loud voice as if they were ablaze with passion, pouring forth one holy thought after another about repentance and goodwill, even though they themselves view repentance and goodwill as having no value for our salvation. They take "repentance" to mean nothing more than oral confession, and "goodwill" to mean nothing more than acts of public charity. But they preach this way merely to win the favor of the crowd. These are the type to which the following words of the Lord refer:
Many will say to me in that day, "Lord, Lord! Haven't we prophesied in your name, and haven't we done a number of miracles in your name?" But then I will declare to them, "I don't know you. Go away from me, you who practice wickedness. " (Matthew 7:22-23)
[2] On one occasion I heard someone in the spiritual world praying like this: "I am covered with skin disease. I am a leper. I have been disgusting from my mother's womb. There is nothing in me that is whole from my head to the sole of my foot. I am unworthy to lift my eyes toward God. I deserve death and eternal damnation. Have mercy on me for the sake of your Son. Purify me in his blood. The salvation of all is up to you. I beg for your mercy. "
People standing nearby who had heard this asked him, "How do you know this is what you are like?"
"I know this," he replied, "because that is what I have been told. "
Then he was sent to exploratory angels. In their presence he said similar things.
After conducting their investigation they gave their report: "Everything he said about himself is true. Nevertheless, he does not recognize a single evil in himself, because he has never examined himself. He had the belief that after making an oral confession, any evil he had done would no longer be evil in the sight of God, for two reasons: God would turn his eyes away from it, and he would be appeased. Therefore even though this person was a deliberate adulterer and robber, a lying slanderer, and an ardently vengeful person, he did not recover from any of his evils. This is what he was like in his will and his heart, and this is what he would have been like in word and deed if fear of the law and of losing his reputation had not held him back. "
After the discovery that this was what he was like, he was judged and sent off to join other hypocrites in hell.
518. Those who have convinced themselves of the present-day belief, that the Lord by His passion on the cross took away all the sins of the world, engage in the same sort of hypocritical worship. They mean by this that anyone's sins are taken away, so long as he recites the formulas for propitiation and mediation. Some of these people can get up in pulpits and in an excited voice as if burning with enthusiasm pour out a lot of holy thoughts on repentance and charity, while considering neither of them any use for salvation. For by repentance they do not mean anything but verbal confession, and by charity nothing but its public display. They do this to obtain popularity. These are the people meant by these words of the Lord: Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name and performed many feats in your name? But then I shall admit to them, I do not know you; depart from me, you workers of iniquity, Matthew 7:22-23.
[2] Once in the spiritual world I heard someone praying like this: 'I am full of sores, leprous, foul from my mother's womb. There is nothing sound in me from my head to the sole of my foot. I am not worthy to lift up my gaze to God. I am guilty of offences deserving death and eternal damnation. Have mercy on me for the sake of your Son; purify me by His blood. The salvation of all is at your good pleasure. I beg for mercy.'
On hearing this the bystanders asked: 'How do you know you are like that?' 'I know,' he replied, 'because I have been told so.' But he was then sent to the examining angels, and said similar things in their presence. After enquiry they reported that he had told the truth about himself, but he was still not aware of even one of his evils, since he had never examined himself. He had believed that after a verbal confession evils were no longer evils in the sight of God, both because God turns His gaze away from them, and because He has been propitiated. For this reason he had not thought better of any evil he had committed, although he was deliberately committing adultery, theft, and deceitful slander and was desperate to take revenge. This was his nature in will and heart; and he would have been shown so by his utterances and deeds, if not restrained by fear of the law and of losing his good name. When it became known what sort of person he was, he was submitted to judgment and sent away to join the hypocrites in hell.
518. In a like hypocritical worship are those who have confirmed in themselves the faith of the present church, that the Lord by the passion of the cross took away all the sins of the world, meaning thereby the sins of every man, if only they pray according to the formularies about propitiation and mediation. Some of them can pour forth from the pulpit, with loud voices and apparently burning zeal, many holy utterances about repentance and charity, while they deem both of these useless in respect to salvation; for by repentance they mean no other than lip-confession, and by charity that charity only that pertains to public life; but this they do to please the people. It is such who are meant by these words of the Lord:
Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied by Thy name? and in Thy name done many mighty works? But then will I profess unto them, I know you not; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:22, 23).
In the spiritual world I once heard a man praying after this manner: "I am full of sores, leprous, unclean from my mother's womb; there is not a sound spot in me from my head to the sole of my foot; I am not worthy to raise my eyes towards God; I am deserving of death and eternal damnation; have mercy upon me for the sake of Thy Son; purify me in His blood; on Thy good pleasure depends the salvation of all; I implore mercy."
Hearing him pray thus, the bystanders asked, "How do you know that you are such?"
He replied, "I know it because I have heard so."
But he was then sent to angelic examiners, before whom he spoke in the same way; and these, after examination, reported that he had spoken the truth about himself, and yet without knowing a single evil in himself, because he had never examined himself, but had believed that after lip-confession evils were no longer evils in the sight of God, both because God turns His eyes away from them, and because He has been propitiated. In consequence of this he had not come to a sense of any evil, although he was a willful adulterer, a thief, a wily detractor, and intensely revengeful; such he was in heart and will, and therefore would be such in word and deed did not the fear of the law and of the loss of reputation restrain him. After he was found to be such, he was judged and sent away to the hypocrites in hell.
518. Similar hypocritical worship is practiced by those who have confirmed themselves in the faith of the present day, that the Lord, by the passion of the cross, took away all the sins of the world. By this is meant the sins of all men, provided that they use the formal prayers on propitiation and mediation. Some of them from the pulpit, in loud voice and with burning zeal, can utter many pious reflections on repentance and charity, and yet believe that neither is of any avail to salvation; for by repentance they mean only oral confession, and by charity the good works of the merit-seeker; 1 but this they do to gain the favor of the people. These are meant by the Lord's words:
"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?... and in thy name have done many wonderful works? And then I will confess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" Matthew 7:22-23.
Once in the spiritual world I heard a certain person praying thus: "I am full of sores, leprous, unclean from my birth. There is nothing sound in me from my head to the sole of my foot. I am not worthy to lift up my eyes to God; I am deserving of death and eternal damnation. Have mercy on me for the sake of thy Son; purify me by His blood. The salvation of all is in thy good pleasure; I implore thy mercy." Those who stood by and heard him asked: "How do you know that you are such?" He replied, "I know it because I have been told." He was then sent to the examining angels, to whom he repeated the same statements. After examination they reported that what he had said of himself was true; but that he was not conscious of a single evil in himself, because he had never examined himself, and believed that evils, after an oral confession, were no longer evils in the sight of God, both because He turns away His eyes from them, and because He has been propitiated. On this account he had never repented of any evil, although he was a deliberate adulterer, a robber, and a deceitful slanderer, burning with revenge; and because he was such in will and heart, he would, therefore, have been the same in word and deed had he not been restrained by fear of the law and loss of reputation. After this disclosure of his real character, judgment was passed upon him and he was sent to join the hypocrites in hell.
Footnotes:
1. Charitatem non aliam quam forensem. Forensis, forensic, of the law courts; or as here, public, of the market-place.
518. In simili hypocritico cultu sunt illi qui apud se confirmaverunt Fidem hodiernam, quod Dominus per Passionem crucis sustulerit omnia peccata Mundi, et per id intelligunt cujusvis, modo orent formulas de Propitiatione et Mediatione; quidam ex his possunt super Suggestis elata voce et sicut ardente zelo, effundere multa sancta de Poenitentia et de Charitate, ac utramque opinantur vanam ad salutem, nam poenitentiam non aliam intelligunt, quam Confessionem oralem, et Charitatem non aliam quam forensem; sed illud faciunt populi gratia. Hi sunt, qui per haec Domini verba intelliguntur, "Multi dicent Mihi in illo die, Domine, Domine, nonne per Nomen tuum prophetavimus et in Nomine tuo virtutes multas fecimus, sed tunc confitebor illis, non novi vos, discedite a Me operarii iniquitatis," Matthaeus 7:22-23. 1
[2] Quondam in Mundo Spirituali audivi aliquem orantem ita: Sum plenus scabie, leprosus, foedus ab utero matris; non apud me integrum est a capite ad volam pedis; non dignus sum levare oculos sursum ad Deum; sum reus mortis et damnationis aeternae; miserere mei propter Filium tuum; sanguine Ejus purifica me; in beneplacito tuo est salus omnium; imploro misericordiam. Adstantes his auditis quaesiverunt, unde scis quod talis sis; respondit, scio quia audivi; sed tunc missus est ad Angelos exploratores, coram quibus similia loquutus est, et hi post inquisitionem factam, retulerunt, quod veritates de se loquutus sit; sed quod usque non sciat unum malum apud se, quia nusquam exploraverat se, et crediderat, quod mala post oralem confessionem non essent amplius mala coram Deo, tam quia Deus avertit oculos ab illis, quam quia propitiatus est, et quod propterea non resipuerit ab ullo, tametsi esset adulter ex proposito, praedo, dolosus obtrectator, et ardens vindicator, et quod talis esset voluntate et corde, et inde talis foret loquelis et factis, nisi timor legis et jacturae famae illum inde retraheret; postquam compertum est, quod talis esset, judicatus est, et ad hypocritas 2 in Inferno rejectus.
Footnotes: