The Bible

 

Luke 18

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1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

28 Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.

29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,

30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.

32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:

33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

35 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:

36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.

37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.

38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

40 And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,

41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.

42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.

43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christian Religion #384

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384. (ii) All those in the Christian world have no faith who reject the Lord and the Word, although they live moral lives, and talk, teach and write rationally, even about faith.

This follows as the conclusion to be drawn from all that has been said before. For it was shown that the true and only faith is in the Lord and comes from the Lord, and that faith which is not in Him and from Him is not spiritual, but natural faith; and a purely natural faith does not contain in itself the essence of faith. Moreover, faith is from the Word and from no other source. This is because the Word is from the Lord and so the Lord Himself is in the Word; which is why He says that He is the Word (John 1:1-2). From this it follows that those who reject the Word also reject the Lord, since they make an indissoluble whole. It also follows that those who reject one or the other of these also reject the church, because the church is from the Lord by means of the Word; and further, that those who reject the church are outside heaven, because the church is the way into heaven. Those who are outside heaven are among the damned, and these have no faith at all.

The reason why those who reject the Lord and the Word have no faith, although they live moral lives and speak, teach and write rationally, even about faith, is that they have no spiritual, but only natural moral life, and no spiritual but only a natural rational mind; and morality and rationality which are wholly natural are in essence dead. So, being dead, these people cannot have any faith. A person who is wholly natural, who is dead so far as faith is concerned, can certainly talk and teach about faith, charity and God, but not under the impulse of faith, charity or God.

[2] The following passages prove that faith is possessed only by those who believe in the Lord, and that the rest have none:

He who believes in the Son is not judged; but he who does not believe has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God, John 3:18.

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him, John 3:36.

Jesus said, When the Spirit of truth comes, He will try the world concerning sin, for not believing in me, John 16:8-9.

And addressing the Jews:

If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins, John 8:24.

For this reason David says:

I will bring news of a decree, said Jehovah. You are my son, to-day have I begotten you. Kiss the son, so that he may not be angry and so that you do not perish on the way. Blessed are all who trust in him, Psalms 2:7, 12.

The Lord predicts in the Gospels that at the ending of the age there will be no faith, because there will be none in the Lord as the Son of God, God of heaven and earth and one with the Father; the ending of the age means the final period of the church, when He says that the abomination of desolation will come about, and affliction such as has never been nor shall be; and that the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky (Matthew 24:15, 21, 29). Also in Revelation, that Satan when released from his imprisonment will go out to lead astray the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, and whose number is like the sand of the sea (Revelation 20:7-8). Because the Lord foresaw this, He also said:

Yet when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith upon the earth? Luke 18:8.

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