1. Survey of Teachings of the New Church Meant by the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation

[Author’s Preface]

AFTER publishing, within the span of a few years, several larger and smaller works on the New Jerusalem (which means the new church that the Lord is going to establish), and after unveiling the Book of Revelation, I resolved to publish and bring to light the teachings of the [new] church in their fullness, and thus to present a body of teaching that was whole. But because this work was going to take several years, I developed a plan to publish an outline of it, to give people an initial, general picture of this church and its teachings. When a general overview precedes, all the details that follow, of however wide a range, stand forth in a clear light, because they each have their own place within the overall structure alongside things of the same type.

This briefing does not include detailed argumentation; it is shared as advance notice, because the points it contains will be fully demonstrated in the work itself.

First, however, I must present the teachings concerning justification as they exist today, in order to highlight the differences between the tenets of today’s church and those of the new church.

106. Brief Analysis

When the leaders and priests of the Roman church are ordained into the ministry, they swear to uphold the decrees of the Council of Trent. This is clear from the papal bull issued by the Roman pope Pius IV, on November 13, 1564, which presents the formula to be followed when declaring a sworn profession of faith:

I with a firm faith believe and profess all and every one of the things contained in that creed which the holy Roman Church makes use of. I likewise undoubtingly receive all other things delivered and declared by the sacred Canons and ecumenical Councils, and particularly by the holy Council of Trent — so help me God.

In that same oath they constrain themselves to believe and profess the specific teachings sanctioned by the Council of Trent regarding the assigning of Christ’s merit to us and our justification by faith in that, as is clear from the following words in that same papal bull:

I embrace and receive all and every one of the things which have been defined and declared in the holy Council of Trent concerning original sin and justification.

The contents of those teachings can be reviewed in the material collected from the Council of Trent in §§3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 above.

These principles established in the Council of Trent lead to the following conclusions.

Roman Catholics before the Reformation had exactly the same teachings as Protestants did after it regarding the assigning of Christ’s merit to us and our being justified by faith in that; the only difference was that Catholics united this faith to goodwill or good works (see §§19, 20 above).

The leading reformers — Luther, Melanchthon, and Calvin — retained the Roman Catholic dogmas regarding the assigning of Christ’s merit to us and our being justified by faith. They kept those views as they had been, and still were at the time, among Roman Catholics. The reformers separated goodwill or good works from that faith, however, and declared that faith alone saves, for the purpose of clearly differentiating themselves from Roman Catholics with regard to the essentials of the church, which are faith and goodwill (see §§21, 22, 23 above).

The leaders of the Protestant Reformation do indeed describe good works as an appendage to faith and even an integral part of faith, but they say we are passive in the doing of them, whereas Roman Catholics say we are active in the doing of them. There is actually strong agreement between Protestants and Catholics on the subjects of faith, works, and our rewards (see §§24– 29 above). Clearly, then, these beliefs used to be as important to Roman Catholics as they are now to Protestants.

11. Teachings on justification by faith. The general teachings of the volume are as follows.

(a) Through the Word and the sacraments the Holy Spirit is given, who produces faith where and when he wills in those who hear the gospel.

(b) Contrition, justification by faith, renewal, and good works follow each other in sequence. It is of great importance to differentiate between them, however. Contrition and good works contribute nothing to our salvation; faith alone saves.

(c) Justification by faith alone is the forgiving of our sins, absolution from damnation, reconciliation with the Father, and adoption as his children. This is accomplished through the assignment to us of the merit or righteousness of Christ.

(d) Therefore faith is the righteousness itself by which we are considered to be just before God. Faith is confidence and trust in grace.

(e) Our renewal, which follows our justification, is our being brought to life, regenerated, and sanctified.

(f) Good works follow this renewal. They are the fruits of faith, and are actually works of the Spirit.

(g) We lose this faith if we commit serious evils.

The following are general teachings concerning the law and the gospel:

(h) It is important to differentiate between the law and the gospel, and between the works of the law and the works of the Spirit, which are the fruits of faith.

(i) The law is the teaching that shows us we have sins and are therefore in a state of damnation and under the wrath of God; this terrifies us. The gospel is the teaching about how we are ritually purged from sin and damnation by Christ; it is the teaching that comforts us.

(j) The law has three functions: to restrain the ungodly; to lead people to recognize their sins; and to teach the reborn the rules of life.

(k) The reborn live and walk in the law, but they are not under the law; they are under grace.

(l) The reborn should practice following what the law teaches, because as long as they are still living in this world, they are urged by their flesh to sin; after death, however, they become pure and perfect.

(m) Even the reborn struggle with the Holy Spirit and resist it in various ways. Nevertheless, they willingly obey the law and therefore live in the law as children of God.

(n) In those who are not reborn, the veil of Moses remains in front of the eyes and the old Adam is dominant. In those who are reborn, the veil of Moses is taken away and the old Adam is repeatedly put to death.