The Doctrine of Charity - Swedenborg Foundation

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CHARITY 286210. (1) To will not to do evil to the neighbor is to love him. For hewho loves another does not do evil to him. And Paul says that hewho loves the neighbor obeys the commandment of the Decalogue.He does not will to commit murder; he does not will to commitadultery with another’s wife; he does not will to steal; he does notbear false witness. Therefore he says that charity is the fulfillment ofthe law. But the question is, which is prior and which posterior?Whether the first thing is to love the neighbor, and from that lovenot to do these evils; or to put away these evils from oneself, and solove the neighbor?This is evident, that he who loves the neighbor does not committhese evils. But the point of inquiry is, how can one love theneighbor? Whether he can do so before he shuns these evils andfights against them? It appears as if this love itself fights. And itdoes fight; but not until a man is in it. It is obvious that he cannotcome into that love until he removes these evils, from the fact thatevery man is by birth in evils of every kind; that he desires nothingbut what is evil; and that if he does not repent of them he remainsin them. These evils stand therefore in the way, so that he cannotlove the neighbor from that spiritual love. Paul therefore says alsothat the flesh is against the spirit; and that the flesh must becrucified, with its lusts; and that the man thus becomes spiritual,and a new creature.From which it may be seen, that insofar as a man crucifies theflesh he lives in the spirit. And therefore, since man is by birth ofsuch a nature, it follows that his spirit cannot love the neighborunless he crucifies his flesh, which is done by repentance. And inproportion as he does this, he is spirit, that is inwardly, loves theneighbor. And to love the neighbor from the heart, before this, isagainst man’s nature. The belief prevails in the Christian world,that whoever has faith loves the neighbor; but that belief iserroneous. No one can have faith in which there is any life unlesshe shuns evils as sins, yea so far as he shuns them. From all thisnow it is plain that the first of charity is not to do evil to theneighbor, for not to do evil to the neighbor is to fight against the
CHARITY 287evils in oneself, and repent of them; and that the second of charityis to do good to the neighbor.Anyone, from the principle that it is Christian not to do evil tothe neighbor, also does not do it. He, however, who from thatprinciple only does not do evil to the neighbor and does good tohim, still does not love him. It is from obedience to the Divine lawsthat he does not do evil to him, and not from an affection of lovetowards the neighbor. No one knows anything of this affection buthe who shuns evils as sins, that is, who does not love evils. Such aman comes into the affection of that love.For it is one thing not to do evil but good from obedience, andanother not to do evil but good to him from an affection of lovetowards the neighbor. The difference is as between nocturnal heatand light from the moon and stars, and the heat and light of day,from the sun. Neither the warmth of that love nor the light of it isin obedience, but in affection. For affection of love is warmth. Andtherefore they that do good from obedience are in the lowest partsof heaven, and in light and heat as of the moon. Even the light oftheir understanding is as shade. They do not see any spiritual truthsin the light.There is also the difference that they who do good fromobedience do it from fear of penalty, and so likewise do theyabstain from doing evils; while they that do good from affection donot do it from any fear of penalty. Yea, they that do good fromobedience are natural, and they that do it from affection arespiritual. And they that do good from obedience are those that arebeing reformed, the state which precedes; while they that do goodfrom affection are being regenerated, which state follows the otherin order.All who believe that man is saved by faith alone, if they live asChristians, confessing that they are sinners, and who do notexamine themselves, do good from obedience and not fromaffection. But they know nothing about faith, nor about love, norabout God, except what they hear from a preacher; yet they do
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ContentsTranslator’s Note1. The f
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CHARITY 221Translator’s NoteThis
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CHARITY 223is to shun them as diabo
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CHARITY 225the man is within it, as
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CHARITY 22713. (1) Not to will to d
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CHARITY 229eternal life, and yet do
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CHARITY 23131. So in a thousand oth
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CHARITY 233(5) The good of the inte
Page 19 and 20: CHARITY 23554. Genuine charity itse
Page 21 and 22: CHARITY 237an essence. Therefore wh
Page 24: CHARITY 240laws, are enacted as for
Page 27 and 28: CHARITY 24392. It is known that suc
Page 29 and 30: CHARITY 245receptacle. So with the
Page 31 and 32: CHARITY 247114. (5) Whatever procee
Page 33 and 34: CHARITY 249123. But this is so with
Page 35 and 36: CHARITY 251130. The general good co
Page 37 and 38: CHARITY 253this, that everyone ther
Page 39 and 40: CHARITY 255151. When therefore a ma
Page 41 and 42: CHARITY 257the Lord as the “door
Page 43 and 44: CHARITY 259continually loves peace.
Page 45 and 46: CHARITY 261He loves the general goo
Page 47 and 48: CHARITY 263accepted by the Lord, an
Page 49 and 50: CHARITY 265177. That such things ar
Page 51 and 52: CHARITY 267within him; and everyone
Page 53 and 54: CHARITY 26911There are diversions o
Page 55 and 56: CHARITY 271diversions vary accordin
Page 57 and 58: CHARITY 273diversions are the only
Page 59 and 60: CHARITY 275(2) No one can have char
Page 61 and 62: CHARITY 277the Lord, he would not d
Page 63 and 64: CHARITY 279far he does good from Go
Page 65 and 66: CHARITY 281himself. And because the
Page 67 and 68: CHARITY 283206. (6) As far as anyon
Page 69: CHARITY 285neighbor does not love h
Page 73 and 74: CHARITY 289213. But that these thin
Page 75: CHARITY 2915. The signs of charity
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The Doctrine of Charity - Swedenborg Foundation

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