Romans 12:9 – The Spiritual Meaning

“Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good” (Romans 12:9)

Abstract: We will use a section from the book “Divine Providence” by Emanuel Swedenborg, paragraph #33. We will attempt to show how the follower of the Christian faith should react to the call to “Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good”. I have added my emphasis in italic parentheses to illustrate a simple English text for the beginner of the spiritual meaning of the Bible for people such as myself. 

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“Hence (so) it is evident that, so far as one shuns (does not do them) evils as of the devil and as obstacles to the Lord’s entrance (opens the door for the Lord to come in), he is more and more nearly conjoined (joined to) to the Lord, and that he (they) is the most nearly conjoined who abominates (to despise, to find sin sickening). Hence it is evident (easy to see) that, so far as one shuns (does not do them) evils (a decision not to do something bad) as of the devil and as obstacles (things that stop) to the Lord’s entrance (to be together with His follower), he is more and more nearly (closer and closer) conjoined (joined to) to the Lord, and that he (or she) is the most nearly (closely to the Lord) conjoined who abominates (to despise, to find sin sickening) them as so many dusky (dark red) and fiery devils; for evil and the devil are one, and the falsity (the lies) of evil and satan are one.

Since the influx (His spirit coming in) of the Lord is into the love of good (looking forward to doing the Lord’s instructions) and into its affections (inside their hearts they do it all for the glory of the Lord), and through these into the perceptions (believing the Lord’s teachings) and thoughts (always wanting to do the good and right thing), which all derive the fact that they are truths (there are no lies within it) from the good (love to the Lord) in which the man is (these born-again Christians who already love the Lord).

So (in the opposite way) the influx (temptations to sin) of the devil, that is, of hell, is into the love of evil and into its affections which are lusts (for the evil person the love of evil is already there so any temptations he feels is welcome like an open door to come into their lives), and through these into the perceptions and thoughts (it makes them think that evil is good), which all derive the fact that they are falsities (lies) from the evil in which the man is (from birth people are nothing but evil and must be born again into a life for heaven instead) them as so many dusky (dark red) and fiery devils; for evil and the devil are one, and the falsity (lies) of evil and satan are one.

Since the influx (His spirit coming in) of the Lord is into the love of good (looking forward to doing the Lord’s instructions) and into its affections (inside their hearts they do it all for the glory of the Lord), and through these (when the Lord speaks to them) into the perceptions and thoughts (they understand and happily do what the Lord instructs them), which all derive the fact that they are truths from the good in which the man is (the Christian is doing the will of their Lord).

So (the opposite thing is) the influx (temptations to sin) of the devil, that is, of hell, is into the love of evil and into its affections which are lusts (a burning desire to do bad things), and through these into the perceptions and thoughts (they obey the evil thoughts and commit evil sins), which all derive the fact that they are falsities (lies) from the evil in which the man is” (since he is not born again into the Lord’s family he runs into sin like an old friend).

“And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5)

For the adherent of the New Emerging Church on the earth, we can see that God has established rules of morality and conduct. Being a born-again Christian is only the beginning. It is a life-long process to leave the evil behind and to choose life. This process of spiritual “regeneration” or renewing and reconstituting the human spirit with improvements or removal of character defects is done by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the primary focus of our lives and makes us able to become good citizens of heaven when we leave the earth and acquire our spiritual bodies.

We call it here the “New Church” for the reason that the current teachings of the Christian churches are that salvation is once saved always saved by faith. This is a grave error in church doctrine. Jesus Christ came to earth and showed us the perfect example of how to live a successful life. He suffered greatly beyond imigination while in the body. He replaced the sinful evil nature found in his human mother and made it divine. We also are called to make wise choices to “Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good” 

“And being in an agony [of mind], He prayed [all the] more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great clots of blood dropping down upon the ground” (Luke 22:44 AMP) 

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