651# 理性本身也证明，主不可能向任何人行恶，因而也不可能将恶归算于他；因为祂就是爱本身、怜悯本身，因而也是善本身，这些都是祂的神性本质。因此，把恶、或任何属于恶的东西归给主，便是与祂的神性本质相反，因而自相矛盾；这就如同把主与魔鬼、天堂与地狱联结在一起一样，乃是极其亵渎的事。然而在二者之间，“有深渊限定，以致人要从这边过到那边是不能的，要从那边过到这边也是不能的”（路16:26）。
甚至天堂的天使也不能向任何人行恶，因为来自主的善之本质在他里面；反过来，地狱的灵也只能向别人行恶，因为来自魔鬼的恶之本性在他里面。一个人在世上为自己所取为己有的本质或本性，死后不能改变。
请想一想：如果主从忿怒看待恶人，从仁慈看待善人——而恶人与善人的数目都多至千万亿——并且凭恩典拯救善人，凭报复定恶人的罪，又用这样截然不同的眼目看待二者：对善人温和而慈和，对恶人严厉而无情，那么主上帝会成为什么样呢？
凡在教堂讲道中受过教导的人，谁不知道：凡本身为善的一切善，都是从上帝而来；反过来，凡本身为恶的一切恶，都是从魔鬼而来？因此，若有人同时接受善与恶——善从主而来，恶从魔鬼而来——并且二者都出于意志而接受，难道他不会成为既不冷也不热，而是温的，以致按主在启示录中的话，被吐出去吗？“我知道你的行为，你也不冷也不热；我巴不得你或冷或热。你既如温水，也不冷也不热，所以我必从我口中把你吐出去。”（启3:15-16）
651# 一切理性，或理性本身都同意这一点，即：主不能向任何人行恶，因而不能将邪恶归算给人；因为祂是爱本身和怜悯本身，因而是良善本身；这些属于祂的神性本质。因此，将邪恶，或属于邪恶的任何东西归于主，就是违背祂的神性本质，因而是一个矛盾。这就像把主与魔鬼，或天堂与地狱联系起来一样是可憎的；然而，他们之间有一道巨大的鸿沟限定，以致人要从这边过到那边是不能的，要从那边过到这边也是不能的（路加福音16:26）。就连天堂天使也不能向任何人行恶，因为来自主的良善的本质在他里面；而另一方面，地狱灵只能向他人行恶，因为来自魔鬼的邪恶的性质在他里面。任何人在世上归为己有的本质或性质，在死后都不能改变。请想想看，如果主出于愤怒看待恶人，出于怜悯看待善人（恶人和善人都是无数的），并出于恩典拯救善人，出于报复诅咒恶人，或定恶人的罪，以如此不同的眼光看待两者，即温柔而宽容地看待善人，严厉而苛刻地看待恶人，那么主的性质会是什么样呢？在这种情况下，主神会是什么样呢？凡被教会的讲道教导的人，谁不知道，本身为良善的一切良善都来自主，另一方面，本身为邪恶的一切邪恶都来自魔鬼？因此，如果有人真的既接受良善，也接受邪恶（良善来自主，邪恶来自魔鬼），并在意愿中接受这两者，那么他会变得既不冷也不热，而是不冷不热的，因而被吐出去，正如主在启示录（3:15，16）中所说的。
651. Reason, too, affirms that the Lord is not capable of doing anything evil to anyone. This means that he cannot ascribe evil to people, either. He is love itself, mercy itself, goodness itself. These are the attributes of his divine essence. Therefore for evil or anything like it to be an attribute of the Lord would go against his divine essence and would be inconsistent with himself. It would be as atrocious as combining the Lord and the Devil or heaven and hell, when nevertheless "There is a great gulf fixed between them, so that those who want to rise up from here to there cannot, and neither can those who want to cross from there to here" (Luke 16:26). Even the angels of heaven are unable to do anything evil to anyone, because of the essence of goodness they have from the Lord. On the other hand, spirits from hell cannot do anything but evil to others, because of the nature of evil they have from the Devil. (The essence or nature that each individual adopts in the world cannot be changed after death.)
[2] Ponder, if you would, what the Lord would be like if he regarded the evil with anger but the good with mercy. (There have been countless evil people and countless good people.) What if he saved the good because of his grace, but condemned the evil as an act of vengeance against them? What if he had one expression, a soft and lenient look, when he regarded the good, but another expression, a hard and ruthless look, when he regarded the evil? What sort of individual would the Lord God be?
Everyone who has heard sermons in church knows that everything intrinsically good comes from God and everything intrinsically evil comes from the Devil. If any one of us, then, were to accept both good and evil into ourselves willingly - good from the Lord and evil from the Devil - we would surely be neither cold nor hot but lukewarm, and would be spewed out, according to the Lord's words in Revelation 3:15-16.
651. Reason itself offers an additional guarantee that the Lord cannot do evil to anyone, and consequently cannot impute evil to him either; for He is love itself, mercy itself, and so good itself, and these are attributes of His Divine essence. To attribute evil, or anything to do with evil, to the Lord would be to attribute to Him something contrary to His Divine essence, and so a contradiction. This would be as unspeakable as linking the Lord and the devil, or heaven and hell. Yet between these 'there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who wish to pass from here to there cannot, neither can any pass from there to here' (Luke 16:26). Even an angel of heaven is incapable of doing evil to anyone, because the essence of good is put into him by the Lord; and in the opposite case a spirit in hell cannot do anything but evil to another, because of the evil nature put into him by the devil. The essence or nature, which anyone has made his own in the world, cannot be changed after death.
[2] Pray consider this point. What sort of Lord would He be, if He looked in anger on the wicked, but leniently on the good (the wicked number hundreds of millions, and so do the good); and if the Lord were to save one party by His grace and damn the other in revenge, looking on the two groups with such a different gaze, gently and mildly in one case and sternly and unyieldingly in the other? What would this make the Lord God? Everyone who has been taught by sermons in church knows that all good which is essentially good is from God, and on the other hand that all evil which is essentially evil is from the devil. So if a person were to receive both good and evil, good from the Lord, and evil from the devil, in both cases in the will, would he not become neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm, to be spat out, as the Lord's words have it in Revelation (Revelation 3:15-16)?
651. All reason agrees that the Lord cannot do evil to any man, consequently that He cannot impute evil to man; for He is Love itself and Mercy itself, thus Good itself; and these belong to His Divine Essence; therefore to attribute evil or anything belonging to evil to the Lord, would be inconsistent with His Divine Essence, and thus, a contradiction; and would be as abominable as joining together the Lord and the devil, or heaven and hell, when nevertheless,
Between them there is a great gulf fixed, so that they who would pass hence may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to this side (Luke 16:26).
Even an angel of heaven can do no evil to anyone, because the essence of good from the Lord is in him; and on the other hand, an infernal spirit can do nothing but evil to another, because the nature of evil from the devil is in him. The essence or nature which anyone makes his own in the world cannot be changed after death. Consider, I pray you, what sort of a being the Lord would be, if He were to look upon the wicked from anger, and upon the good from mercy (the evil numbering myriads of myriads and the good likewise), and were to save the good from grace, and damn the evil from a feeling of revenge, and were to look upon the two with so different an eye - gentle or stern, mild or severe. In that case, what would the Lord God be? Who that has been taught by preaching in churches does not know that all good that is in itself good is from God, and on the other hand, that all evil that is in itself evil is from the devil? If any man, therefore, were to receive both good and evil, - good from the Lord and evil from the devil - both of them in the will, would he not become neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm, and therefore be spewed out, according to the Lord's words in theApocalypse (3:15, 16)?
651. Reason itself assents to this, that the Lord cannot do evil to any man, and consequently cannot impute it to him; for He is Love itself and Mercy itself, thus Good itself, these being of His Divine Essence. Therefore to attribute evil, or any thing of evil, to the Lord would be contrary to His Divine Essence, and thus contradictory. It would be a heinous thing, like associating the Lord and the devil, or heaven and hell, when yet:
Between them "there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence" Luke 16:26.
Not even an angel of heaven can do evil to any one, because the essence of good from the Lord is in him; and on the other hand, a spirit of hell cannot but do evil to another, because the nature of evil from the devil is in him. The essence or nature which any one has appropriated to himself in the world cannot be changed after death.
Consider, I pray, what the nature of the Lord would be, if He were to regard the evil with anger, and the good with mercy, the evil and the good both in their myriads of myriads; and if He were to save the good by grace and condemn the evil from vengeance, looking on both with an eye so different, at once gentle and stern, mild and severe. What, then, would the Lord be? Every one knows from the instruction he has received in church preaching that all good, which is in itself good, is from God; and on the other hand, that all evil, which is in itself evil, is from the devil. If, therefore, any man should receive both good and evil, good from the Lord and evil from the devil, receiving both in the will, he would become neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm; and he would, therefore, be spewed out, according to the words of the Lord in the Revelation, chapter Revelation 3:15, 18.
651. Ipsa ratio adstipulatur, quod Dominus non possit alicui homini malum facere, proinde nec ei imputare, est enim Ipse Amor, Ipsa Misericordia, ita Ipsum Bonum, et haec sunt Divinae Essentiae Ipsius, quare malum, aut aliquid mali tribuere Domino, forent contraria Divinae Ipsius Essentiae, et sic contradictoria, et hoc foret ita nefandum, sicut 1 est conjungere Dominum et diabolum, ac Coelum et Infernum, cum tamen inter haec hiatus ingens firmatus est, ut qui volunt transcendere abhinc ad illud, non possint, neque abinde huc transire, Luca 16:26. Ne quidem Angelus Coeli potest alicui malum facere, quia essentia boni a Domino illi inest; et vice versa, spiritus inferni non potest nisi quam malum alteri facere, quia natura mali a diabolo illi inest, essentia seu natura, quam aliquis in Mundo sibi appropriavit, post mortem non potest mutari.
[2] Cogita quaeso, qualis Dominus foret, si malos ex ira, et bonos ex clementia aspiceret, sunt mali myriades myriadum, ac boni myriades myriadum numero, et hos ex gratia salvaret, et illos ex vindicta damnaret, ac hos et illos tam dissimili oculo, leni et duro, ac miti et immiti, intueretur; quid tunc Dominus Deus. Quis non a praedicationibus in Templis instructus scit, quod omne bonum quod in se bonum est, sit a Deo, et vicissim quod omne malum quod in se malum est, sit a diabolo; si itaque aliquis homo reciperet et bonum et malum, bonum a Domino, et malum a diabolo, utrumque voluntate, nonne ille fieret nec frigidus nec calidus, sed tepidus qui exspueretur, secundum Domini verba in Apocalypsi 3:15-16.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: licut.