Life25.⑵如果一个人思想并言说虔诚的事，却不避恶如罪，那么他所思所说的这些虔诚事都不虔诚。这是因为他并不在主里面。例如，如果他常去教会或礼拜的场所，虔诚地听道，阅读圣言和宗教经籍，领受圣餐，天天献上祷告，哪怕大量思想神和救恩，却不思想为罪的邪恶，如欺诈、奸淫、仇恨、亵渎等等，那么他所思所说的这些虔诚事内在根本不虔诚，因为这个人自己与他的邪恶在它们里面。那时，他的确没有意识到这些邪恶；然而，它们仍深深存在于里面，藏在他看不见的地方。因为他就像一个源泉，这泉水从源头开始就是肮脏的。在这些时候，他的虔诚行为无非是养成习惯的例行公事，要么是高估自己，要么是自我邀功或伪善的结果。诚然，他们朝天堂上升，但还没到达天堂就返回去，并像空气中的烟一样落下来。
25. 2. If we think and speak devoutly but do not turn our backs on evil deeds because they are sins, our devout thoughts and words are not devout. This is because we are not in the Lord. For example, if we attend church regularly, listen reverently to the sermons, read the Word and religious literature, take the Holy Supper, offer our prayers every day, and give a great deal of thought to God and salvation, if we think nothing of evils that are sins - fraud, for example, or adultery, hatred, blasphemy, and the like - then the only devout thought and speech we are capable of is thought and speech that inwardly are not devout at all, because we ourselves with all our evils are within them. We are not aware of this when these acts are happening, but our evils are still in there and are hiding from our sight. It is like a spring whose waters are impure from their source.
At those times our devotional practices are nothing but a routine that has become habitual; or we are thinking highly of ourselves; or we are hypocritical. They do rise up toward heaven, yes, but along the way they turn back and come down the way smoke does in the air.
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.
25. 2. IF A MAN THINKS AND SPEAKS PIOUS THINGS, AND DOES NOT SHUN EVILS AS SINS, THE PIOUS THINGS [WHICH HE THINKS AND SPEAKS] ARE NOT PIOUS. This is because he is not in the Lord. For example: if he frequently visits places of worship, listens devoutly to the preaching, reads the Word and books of piety, partakes of the sacrament of the Supper, and daily pours forth prayers; indeed, even if he thinks much concerning God and salvation, and yet makes light of evils which are sins, such as fraud, adultery, hatred, blasphemy and the like, then all the pious things which he thinks and speaks can be no other than such as are inwardly not pious: for the man himself with his evils is in them. This indeed he does not know at the time; but nevertheless they are there, lying hidden from him; for he is as a fountain whose water is impure from its source. His exercises of piety are either merely customary from habit, or they are merit-seeking, or they are hypocritical: they ascend indeed towards heaven, but they turn back in their course and fall down, like smoke in the air.
25. (2) If a man thinks and speaks pious things while not shunning evils as sins, the pious things are not pious. This is because he is not in the Lord. If for example he frequents places of worship, listens devoutly to the preaching, reads the Word and books of piety, goes to the sacrament of the Supper, pours forth prayers daily, and even if he thinks much about God and salvation, and yet regards as of no moment the evils which are sins (such as fraud, adultery, hatred, blasphemy, and other like evils), he then cannot do otherwise than think and speak such pious things as inwardly are not pious, because the man himself is in them with his evils. At the time indeed he is not aware of them, yet they are present within deeply hidden out of his sight; for he is like a spring the water of which is foul from its source. His performances of piety are either mere customs of habit, or else are the outcome of self-merit or hypocrisy. They do indeed rise up toward heaven, but turn back before they get there, and settle down, like smoke in the atmosphere.
25. (ii.) Quod si homo pia cogitat et loquitur, et non fugit mala ut peccata, pia non sint pia, est quia non est in Domino. Ut si frequentat templa, devote auscultat praedicationes, legit Verbum et pietatis libros, obit sacramentum Cenae, cottidie fundit preces; immo si multum cogitat de Deo, et de salute, et tamen mala, quae sunt peccata, nihili facit, (ut fraudes, adulteria, odia, blasphemias, et similia alia,) tunc non potest aliter cogitare et loqui pia, quam quae intus non pia sunt, nam ipse homo cum malis suis est in illis. Haec quidem tunc nescit, sed tamen inibi sunt, et coram illo latent; est enim sicut fons, cujus aqua est impura ex vena. Exercitia pietatis ejus vel sunt modo solennia ex habitu, vel sunt meritoria, vel sunt hypocritica: ascendunt quidem versus caelum, sed reflectunt se in via et decidunt, sicut fumi in aere.