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.

24. 1. If a person wills and does good before he refrains from evils as being sins, the good that he does is not good. That is because he is, prior to that, not in the Lord, as we said above. So for example, if someone gives to the poor, aids the needy, contributes to churches and shelters, is of service to the church, the country, and his fellow citizens, teaches the gospel and makes converts, is just in his judgments, honest in his business dealings, and upright in what he does, and yet regards evils as being hardly sins, such as instances of fraud, adultery, hatred, blasphemy, and the like, then he cannot help but do good that has evil within it; for he does those things of himself and not from the Lord. Thus he himself is in the deed, and not the Lord, and every good that has the person himself in it is defiled with his evils and has regard to himself and the world.

On the other hand, those same deeds recounted above are inwardly good if a person refrains from evils as being sins, such as instances of fraud, adultery, hatred, blasphemy, and the like; for he does those deeds from the Lord, and they are called deeds “done in God” (John 3:19-21).