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HIS LETTER TO DR. MENANDER. 229
in whom dwelleth the Father, and through whom only
can the Father he approached and worshiped ; moreover,
the common mode of supplicating the Father for the sake
of the Son, involves a clear and distinct idea of three gods,
and gives rise to the belief that the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit are three separate and distinct divine beings ;
if also it is asserted that by the Son His Humanity is
understood, then concerning the Lord a divided idea is
entertained, or an idea of two distinct beings. V. The
assertion that man is justified by this faith alone, provided
he have it with assurance and confidence, is absolutely
false ; a plain proof of this, without adducing any others,
may be seen in Romans ii. 10. In such a faith there is
neither truth nor goodness, and consequently nothing of
the church, nor of religion ; for it is the truth of doc
trine which makes the church, and the good of life
which constitutes religion. VI. They say, moreover,
that good works, or the goods of charity, are the fruits of
this faith, whilst, at the same time, not a single writer on
theology has ever yet found the connexion which this
faith has with good works ; yea, it is positively asserted,
that good works cannot even preserve or support this faith,
and that they are only moral and civil actions, which do
not in the least contribute to the salvation of the soul.
VII. That the saying of Paul, in Romans iii. 28, on
which the theology of the present day, as to salvation, is
founded, is falsely understood, I have clearly demon
strated in The Apocalypse Revealed, 417 .
6
"Besides these enormous errors, there are also an
infinity of others, which I omit to mention here, by
which it clearly appears, that if any one produces the
fruits of such a faith, he really produces the cockatrice’
eggs,’ mentioned in Isa. lix. 5. For it is taught in the
doctrines of the New Church that faith can never produce
the goods, or good works of charity, as a tree produces
its fruits, but that the truths which are called the truths
offaith teach us how we ought to think of God, and
how we ought to act towards our neighbour, and that
charity receives these truths in good works, as the fruit
receives the sap and juices of the tree; consequently,
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