39. 6 Once we reject the idea of a trinity of persons and therefore the idea that there are three gods, and accept in its place that there is one God and that the divine trinity exists within him, we see how wrong the teachings of today’s Christian theology are.
Survey of Teachings of the New Church #68
68. As for evidence that the modern-day church believes there is no bond uniting goodwill and faith, this is found in the following statements from its teachings regarding justification: Faith is attributed to us as righteousness apart from the works we do; see §12 a. Faith actually does not make us just if it has been formed through acts of goodwill; see §12 b. Good works must be completely excluded from any discussion of our justification and eternal life; see §12f. Good works are not necessary for our salvation; any assertion that they are necessary should be clearly rejected by the church; see §12 g, h, i, j. Our salvation and our faith are not preserved or maintained by goodwill or its works; see §12 l, m. Good works that are mixed up in the business of our being justified are harmful; see §14 g. The works of the spirit or of grace that follow faith as its fruits contribute nothing to our salvation; see §14 d and elsewhere [§§11 b, 13 w].
The inescapable conclusion from all these points is there is no bond between goodwill and that kind of faith; if there were such a bond, it would be harmful to our salvation because it would be harmful to our faith, since our faith would no longer be the sole source of our salvation.
As I have shown above in §§47, 48, 49, 50, it is actually true that that faith is incapable of being united to goodwill. Therefore one could say that it is a matter of foresight and predestination that Protestants tossed goodwill and good works so far away from their faith.
If Protestants had paired their faith with goodwill, it would have been like pairing a leopard with a sheep, a wolf with a lamb, or a hawk with a turtledove. (That faith is in fact described as a leopard in the Book of Revelation; see Revelation 13:2 and the explanation of that verse in Revelation Unveiled 572.)
What is a church without faith? What is faith without goodwill? What is a church, then, if it does not recognize the marriage that exists between faith and goodwill (see §48 above)? This marriage is the church itself; it is the new church that is now being established by the Lord.
Survey of Teachings of the New Church #12
12. Particular teachings from the Formula of Concord concerning our being justified by faith apart from the works of the law:
(a) Faith is attributed to us as righteousness apart from the works of the law, because of the merit of Christ that faith brings us (pages 78, 79, 80, 584, 689).
(b) Goodwill comes along only after we have the faith that makes us just. Faith actually does not make us just if it has been formed through acts of goodwill, although Catholics say it does (pages 81, 89, 94, 117, 688, 691; appendix, page 169).
(c) The contrition that precedes, and the renewal, sanctification, and good works that follow, have no part to play in the business of being justified by faith (pages 688, 689).
(d) It is foolish to dream that the works enjoined by the second tablet of the Ten Commandments make us just before God. We follow them in our dealings with other human beings, but not with God. In the process of being justified we must deal with God and placate his wrath (page 102).
(e) Any who believe their sins are forgiven because they do acts of goodwill are insulting Christ; their confidence in their own righteousness is wicked and futile (pages 87, 89).
(f) Good works must be completely excluded from any discussion of our justification and eternal life (page 589).
(g) Good works are not necessary to make us deserving of salvation; they play no part in activating the process of being justified (pages 589, 590, 702, 704; appendix, page 173).
(h) We must reject the proposition that good works are necessary for our salvation. This position takes away the consolation of the gospel, gives us a reason to doubt God’s grace, and strengthens the presumption that we ourselves are righteous. Papists adopted these views in support of a bad cause (page 704).
(i) We reject and condemn the expression that good works are necessary for salvation (page 591).
(j) Statements that good works are necessary for salvation are not to be taught or defended, but should be excluded and rejected by our churches as false (page 705).
(k) Works that do not proceed from true faith are actually sins in God’s sight. That is, such works are tarnished with sin, since a bad tree cannot bear good fruit (page 700).
(l) Our good works do not preserve or maintain faith or salvation in us; they are just a testimony that the Holy Spirit is present and dwelling within us (pages 590, 705; appendix, page 174).
(m) People ought to reject the decree of the Council of Trent [and whatever else is used to support the opinion] that our good works preserve salvation or that our works either completely or only in part preserve and maintain the righteousness received by faith or even faith itself (page 707).
