525. Having a Concept of Sin and Then Looking for Sin in Ourselves Is the Beginning of Repentance

It is impossible for anyone in the Christian world to lack a concept of sin. Everyone in Christianity from early childhood on is taught what evil is, and from youth on is taught which evils are sinful. All adolescents learn this from their parents and teachers, and also from the Ten Commandments, which for all who grow up in Christianity is the first book they own. As they get a little older, they are further taught this by the preaching they hear in church, by instruction they receive at home, and most thoroughly by [their own reading of] the Word. Beyond that, they are also exposed to it by the civil laws of justice, which teach much the same things as the Ten Commandments and the other injunctions in the Word.

The evil that is sinful is simply evil against our neighbor; and evil against our neighbor is also evil against God, which is what sin is.

Nevertheless, having a concept of sin does nothing for us unless we examine the actions we have taken in our lives and see whether we have either openly or secretly done any such thing.

Before we take this action, everything about sin is just an idea to us; what the preacher says about it is only a sound that comes in our left ear, goes out our right ear, and is gone. Eventually it becomes a subject relegated to vague thoughts and mumbled words in worship, and for many it comes to seem like something imaginary and mythical.

Something completely different occurs, however, if we examine ourselves in the light of our concepts of what is sinful, discover some such thing in ourselves, say to ourselves, "This evil is sinful," and then abstain from it out of fear of eternal punishment. Then for the first time we receive the instructive and eloquent preaching in church in both of our ears, take it to heart, and turn from a non-Christian into a Christian.

450. There Are Such Things as Illegitimate Goodwill, Hypocritical Goodwill, and Dead Goodwill

Genuine, living goodwill does not exist unless it accompanies faith and unless both goodwill and faith jointly focus on the Lord. These three - the Lord, goodwill, and faith - are the three essential elements for salvation. When they are united, goodwill is goodwill, faith is faith, and the Lord is in them both and they are in the Lord (see 363-367, 368-372 above). When these three elements are not united, goodwill is illegitimate, hypocritical, or dead.

From the time Christianity was first established, various heresies have arisen; some are still in existence today. Even these heresies have all recognized these three essential elements: God, goodwill, and faith. Without these three elements there is no religion.

As for goodwill in specific, it can be attached to any heretical faith - Socinian faith, faith in one's own divine inspiration, Jewish faith, even idolatrous faiths. People in these faiths believe that they have goodwill since it looks the same in outward form; nevertheless, goodwill changes its quality depending on the faith it is attached or united to. (This point is clarified in the chapter on faith [367].)