25. 2. If a person thinks and speaks piously, and does not refrain from evils as being sins, his pious thoughts and words are not pious. That is because he is not in the Lord. For example, if he goes to church often, listens devoutly to the sermons, reads the Word and books of piety, takes the sacrament of Holy Supper, pours out prayers daily — even if he thinks a lot about God and salvation — and yet makes light of evils that are sins, such as instances of fraud, adultery, hatred, blasphemy, and the like, then he cannot help but entertain pious thoughts and speak pious words that inwardly are not pious, as the person himself is present in them with his evils. He is, indeed, not aware of this at the time, but still those evils are within, hidden from his sight. For the case is like a spring, whose water is contaminated from its source.
His exercises of piety are either no more than the customary ones observed out of habit, or they are merit-seeking, or they are hypocritical. They rise, indeed, toward heaven, but turn around along the way and sink, like puffs of smoke in the air.
