Bible

 

Matthew 7

Studie

   

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and the measure which ye give, shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thy own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thy eye; and behold, a beam is in thy own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thy own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

6 Give not that which is holy to dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you:

8 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, the door shall be opened.

9 Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask bread, will give him a stone?

10 Or if he shall ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11 If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

12 Therefore all things whatever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in by it.

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth to life, and few there are that find it.

15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits: Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles:

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them,

21 Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out demons? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24 Therefore whoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine.

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

True Christian Religion # 375

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 853  
  

375. (ii) Charity and faith are merely unstable mental concepts unless, when possible, they are realised in deeds and come into existence together in them.

Does not man possess a head and a body, which are linked by a neck? Does not the head contain a mind which wills and thinks, and the body a potentiality which performs and executes actions? So if a person merely had a good will, or thought from charity without doing good and performing useful deeds as a result of charity, would he not be like an isolated head or mind, which lacking a body could not continue in existence alone? Who from this can fail to see that charity and faith are not charity and faith, so long as they are only in the head and mind, and not in the body? Then they are like birds flying through the air without anywhere to rest upon the ground; and also like birds carrying eggs without nests to lay them in, so that their eggs would be discharged into the air or on a branch of a tree, and so would fall to the ground and be broken.

[2] There is nothing in the mind which does not have a corresponding part in the body, and this corresponding part can be called the embodiment of what is in the mind. Charity and faith therefore, so long as they are in the mind, have no embodiment in the person, and they can then be likened to an airy phantom, what is called a ghost, much as Fame was depicted by the ancients with a laurel wreath around her head and a horn of plenty in her hand. Since they are such ghosts, though still able to think, they cannot help being excited by fantastic ideas, a result also produced by reasoning from various sophistries; very much as reeds in marshes are shaken by the wind, while on the bottom below them lie shells and on the surface frogs croak. Can anyone fail to see that such are the results of merely knowing some things from the Word about charity and faith without practising them? The Lord also says:

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 or on ground without a foundation, Matthew 7:24, 26; Luke 6:47-49.

Charity and faith together with their invented ideas, when a person does not put them into practice, can also be compared with butterflies on the wing, which a sparrow on seeing swoops on and swallows. The Lord also says:

A sower went out to sow; and some seeds fell on the hard path, and the birds came and ate them up, Matthew 13:3-4.

  
/ 853  
  

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