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Matthew 7

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1 Be not judges of others, and you will not be judged.

2 For as you have been judging, so you will be judged, and with your measure will it be measured to you.

3 And why do you take note of the grain of dust in your brother's eye, but take no note of the bit of wood which is in your eye?

4 Or how will you say to your brother, Let me take out the grain of dust from your eye, when you yourself have a bit of wood in your eye?

5 You false one, first take out the bit of wood from your eye, then will you see clearly to take out the grain of dust from your brother's eye.

6 Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, or put your jewels before pigs, for fear that they will be crushed under foot by the pigs whose attack will then be made against you.

7 Make a request, and it will be answered; what you are searching for you will get; give the sign, and the door will be open to you:

8 Because to everyone who makes a request, it will be given; and he who is searching will get his desire, and to him who gives the sign, the door will be open.

9 Or which of you, if his son makes a request for bread, will give him a stone?

10 Or if he makes a request for a fish, will give him a snake?

11 If you, then, being evil, are able to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who make requests to him?

12 All those things, then, which you would have men do to you, even so do you to them: because this is the law and the prophets.

13 Go in by the narrow door; for wide is the door and open is the way which goes to destruction, and great numbers go in by it.

14 For narrow is the door and hard the road to life, and only a small number make discovery of it.

15 Be on the watch for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are cruel wolves.

16 By their fruits you will get knowledge of them. Do men get grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?

17 Even so, every good tree gives good fruit; but the bad tree gives evil fruit.

18 It is not possible for a good tree to give bad fruit, and a bad tree will not give good fruit.

19 Every tree which does not give good fruit is cut down and put in the fire.

20 So by their fruits you will get knowledge of them.

21 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will go into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the pleasure of my Father in heaven.

22 A great number will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, were we not prophets in your name, and did we not by your name send out evil spirits, and by your name do works of power?

23 And then will I say to them, I never had knowledge of you: go from me, you workers of evil.

24 Everyone, then, to whom my words come and who does them, will be like a wise man who made his house on a rock;

25 And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house, but it was not moved; because it was based on the rock.

26 And everyone to whom my words come and who does them not, will be like a foolish man who made his house on sand;

27 And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house; and it came down and great was its fall.

28 And it came about, when Jesus had come to the end of these words, that the people were surprised at his teaching,

29 for he was teaching as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

   

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True Christian Religion # 347

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347. As for the formation of faith, this takes place by a person approaching the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living by them. First: faith is formed by a person approaching the Lord, because faith which is real faith, that is, the faith which saves, is from the Lord and directed to the Lord. The Lord's words to His disciples show plainly that it comes from the Lord:

Remain in me, and I in you, because without me you can do nothing, John 15:4-5.

It is plain that it is faith directed to the Lord from the numerous passages which have been cited (337-338), stating that one must believe in the Son. Now since faith is from the Lord and directed to the Lord, it can be said that the Lord is faith itself, for its life and essence are in the Lord, and so come from Him.

[2] Secondly: the reason why faith is formed by a person learning truths from the Word is that faith essentially is truth; for all the ingredients of faith are truths. Thus faith is nothing but a collection of truths casting light in a person's mind. For truths teach not only that one should believe, but in whom one should believe and what one should believe. Truths must be taken from the Word, because it contains all the truths which lead to salvation; and they are effective because they have been given by the Lord, and are as a result imprinted upon the whole heaven of the angels. When therefore a person goes on to learn truths from the Word, he comes into communion and association with angels, without being aware of it. Faith devoid of truths is like seed devoid of kernel, which if milled produces only bran. But faith derived from truths is like good seed, which if milled produces flour. In short, the essentials of faith are truths; if these are not contained in it and compose it, faith is no more than the sound of a whistle; but when truths are contained in and compose faith, then it is the sound of something that brings salvation.

[3] Thirdly: faith is formed by a person living by truths, because spiritual life is living in accordance with truths, and truths do not really come alive until they are realised in deeds. Truths unconnected with deeds belong merely to a person's thinking; if they are not also accepted by the will, they merely stand at a person's door and so are not within him. For the will is the person himself, and thought is a person to the extent that it joins the will to itself, and the nature of thought is determined by this joining. A person who learns truths without putting them into practice is like someone scattering seeds over a field and not harrowing it; then the rain makes the seeds swell so that they become empty husks. But a person who learns truths and puts them into practice is like someone who sows seed and ploughs the seed in; then the rain makes the seeds grow into a crop, and they become a useful source of food. The Lord says:

If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them, John 13:17.

and in another passage:

The person who sows on good ground is the one who hears the Word and pays attention to it, so that he brings forth and produces fruit, Matthew 13:23.

Also:

Everyone who hears my words and acts upon them, I will compare to a prudent man, who built his house upon a rock; but everyone who hears my words and does not act upon them will be compared to a foolish man who built his house upon sand, Matthew 7:24, 26.

The Lord's words are all of them truths.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.