“The Lord God Jesus Christ reigns, whose kingdom shall be for ages of ages.” - True Christian Religion §791
Kempton New Church

Week 1
Day 1

    Listen:

Piety and Charity
External Worship and the Worship of Life

That to do good is to worship the Lord, appears from the Lord’s words: Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a prudent man who built his house on the rock. (Matthew 7:24; NJHD 127)

What is a religious life?

And when you pray, do not speak on and on as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be hearkened to for their many words. Do not be like them, therefore; for your Father knows what things you need before you ask Him. (Matthew 6:7–8)

Piety

NJHD 123. It is believed by many that spiritual life, or the life which leads to heaven, consists in piety, in external holiness, and in the renunciation of [giving up, having nothing to do with] the world. But piety without charity, and external holiness without internal holiness, and a renunciation of the world without a life in the world, do not constitute spiritual life. Instead, piety from charity, external holiness from internal holiness, and a renunciation of the world with a life in the world, constitute spiritual life.

NJHD 124. Piety consists in thinking and speaking piously, in devoting much time to prayers, in behaving humbly at that time, in frequenting temples and listening devoutly to the preaching there, in receiving the Sacrament of the Supper frequently every year, and in performing the other parts of worship according to the ordinances of the church.

But the life of charity consists in willing well and doing well to the neighbor, in acting in every work from justice and equity, from good and truth, and in like manner in every office. In a word, the life of charity consists in performing uses.

Divine worship primarily consists in the life of charity, but secondarily in piety. Therefore, a person who separates one from the other, that is, who lives the life of piety and not at the same time the life of charity, does not worship God. He indeed thinks about God, but not from God, but from himself. For he thinks continually about himself, and nothing of the neighbor. And if he thinks of the neighbor, he holds him in low estimation, if he is not also similar to himself. And likewise he thinks of heaven as a reward, so in his mind there is merit, and also the love of self. There is also contempt or neglect of uses and thus of the neighbor. At the same time, he cherishes a belief that he is blameless. Hence it may appear that the life of piety, separate from the life of charity, is not the spiritual life that should be in Divine worship. (Compare Matt. 6:7, 8 [above].)

NJHD 125. …People who place the whole of worship in external holiness are for the most part empty, that is, without knowledges of good and truth. And yet goods and truths are the real holy things that are to be known, believed and loved, because they are from the Divine, and the Divine is in them.

Internal holiness, therefore, consists in loving good and truth for the sake of good and truth, and justice and sincerity for the sake of justice and sincerity. So far also as man loves them in this way, so far he is spiritual, and so is his worship, for so far also he wants to know them and to do them…. External worship without internal may be compared with the life of the respiration without the life of the heart; but external worship from internal may be compared with the life of the respiration conjoined to the life of the heart.

NJHD 128. From this it is now clear that a life of piety has strength and is accepted by the Lord so far as a life of charity is conjoined to it, for the life of charity is the primary, and such as this is, such is the life of piety.

Also, external holiness has strength and is accepted by the Lord so far as it proceeds from internal holiness, for such as the internal holiness is, such is the external holiness.

And also, the renunciation of the world has strength and is accepted by the Lord so far as it is practiced in the world. For they renounce the world who remove the love of self and the world, and act justly and sincerely in every office, in every business, and in every work, from an interior, thus from a heavenly origin. This origin is in that life when man acts well, sincerely, and justly, because it is according to the Divine laws.

Questions
  1. Can you think of present-day examples of people who make a big point of piety, external holiness, or renunciation of the world? This approach to religion does not seem very popular in American culture today.
  2. Looking at the beginning of NJHD 124, how would you rate yourself on the practices of piety? Would it help you to do a little more?
  3. Much more important, how would you rate yourself in the practice of charity, described in the second paragraph of NJHD 124?
  4. Do you find it hard to fit in the practices of piety in your busy life? When you do fit in time to go to church, to pray, or to read the Word, do you usually find it strengthens your practice of charity and supports you in fulfilling your uses?
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