to you what was said by the Apostle: "Commit these to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (II Tim. ii, 2).
OF OUR HOLY FATHER BASIL, ARCHBISHOP OF CÆSAREA IN CAPPADOCIA, ON BAPTISM: BOOK ONE.
BCAPUT I. That one must first be imbued with the teaching of the Lord, and then be initiated into holy baptism.
1. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the living God, after his resurrection from the dead, having received the promise from God the Father, who says through the prophet David, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you; ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession" (Ps. ii, 7, 8), and having taken his disciples to himself, C first declares to them the power given to him by the Father, saying: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. xxviii, 18). And then he sends them, saying: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matt. xxviii, 19, 20).
Since, therefore, when the Lord gave the command first, "Teach all nations," and then added, "Baptizing them," and what follows, you indeed passed over the former and demanded from us an explanation of the latter; and since we reasoned that we would be acting against the command of the Apostle if we did not answer immediately, given that he says: "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason" (I Pet. iii, 15), we have delivered the doctrine of baptism according to the Gospel of the Lord, which is more excellent than the baptism of the blessed John, although we have brought forward only a few out of the many things said about it in the Holy Scriptures. Nevertheless, we have thought it necessary to recur to the order handed down by the Lord, so that you might first be taught the force and meaning of this word, "Teach," and then afterwards
A you might receive the instruction concerning that most glorious baptism, [(30)] and thus be guided toward perfection, learning to observe all things that the Lord commanded his own disciples, as it is written. Therefore, having heard him say, "Teach," it is now necessary to make mention of the things said elsewhere concerning such a command, so that by first securing a disposition pleasing to God, and then by maintaining the becoming and necessary order, we might not depart from the attainable goal, according to the purpose of pleasing God. For it is customary for the Lord to deliver clearly, through what is said in other places, that which was previously commanded in a definitive manner; as is the case in, "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." B For having spoken here simply, he clarifies in another place how this ought to be done, when he says, "Sell your possessions and give charity; make for yourselves bags that do not grow old, an unfailing treasure in heaven." And many other things in like manner.
2. A disciple, then, as we learn from the Lord himself, is anyone who approaches the Lord so as to follow him — that is, to hear his words [(31)], to believe, and to obey him as Master, and King, and Physician, and Teacher of truth, in the hope of eternal life, provided that one remains in these things, as it is written: "Jesus said, therefore, to the Jews who had believed him: If you remain [(32)] in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." By this he means, clearly, C the freedom of the soul from the bitter tyranny of the devil, in being rescued from the oppression of sins; "For everyone," he says, "who commits sin is a slave of sin," and is held under the condemnation of death; just as also the Apostle Paul delivered to us, saying: "For he who knew no sin, he made to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him;" and again, "For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous." But he who believes in the Lord and presents himself as suitable for discipleship must learn, first of all, to desist from every sin; D and then also to withdraw from everything which, for many reasons, draws one away from the obedience owed to the Lord, even if these things appear respectable. For it is impossible for one who commits sin, or who is entangled in the affairs of this life, or who is anxious about even the necessities of life, to be a slave of the Lord—let alone a disciple of him who did not say to the young man, "Come, follow me," before he commanded him to sell his possessions and give to the poor. Indeed, he did not command even this before he himself had confessed...
"All these things have I kept." A For one who has not yet received 33 the forgiveness of sins, and has not been cleansed from them in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, but serves the devil and is held captive by the sin that dwells within him, is unable to serve the Lord, who has given an irrevocable sentence, saying: "Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin; the slave does not remain in the house." 75 Paul, who speaks in Christ, also testifies to this, writing: "For the slave of sin is free from righteousness." And again the Lord says: "No one can serve two masters," 77 and what follows. By the things he taught, he showed definitively and in many ways that those who are anxious about the necessities of life are not able to serve God, much less to be taught as disciples. 34 Whence the Apostle, having contemplated this more broadly, learned to say: "What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?" 78 And again definitively: "The flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do." 79 And furthermore, 35 to instruct us more sharply, let us recall what he said: "For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." 80 And having pursued this same contemplation at greater length, that it is impossible for the one who is held captive by sin to serve the Lord, he makes manifest to us the one who redeemed us from such tyranny by saying: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord." 81 And after a few words he adds: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh." 82 36
3. That what is said in another place also makes clear the great benefit of the kindness of God through the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, he shows by his words, saying: "For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." 83 And in another place, considering the kindness of God in Christ and that it is even more admirable,
A he says: "For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him." It is therefore absolutely necessary, from what has been mentioned and from similar texts, unless we have received the grace of God in vain, that we should first be delivered B from the dominion (37) of the devil, who leads the one held under sin into evils which he does not want; and then, having renounced all present things and oneself, and having retreated from the pursuit of this life, that we be discipled to the Lord, just as he himself said: "If anyone comes to me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me," which is to say, let him become my disciple (38). He transmits the same thing more broadly, more demonstrably, and more emphatically in the Gospel according to Luke, which we shall mention shortly. We are all delivered C from such condemnation of sins, those of us who believe in the grace of God through his only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who said: "This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." But the Apostle also testifies to this, when he writes at one time: "Love one another, as Christ also loved us, and gave himself an offering and a sacrifice to God;" and at another time: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law." And many things like these. When, therefore, forgiveness of sins has been granted, then man receives freedom from sin D from him who redeemed us, Jesus Christ our Lord, so as to be able to approach the Word. And even then, no one is yet worthy to follow the Lord (I say this again), who did not first say to the young man, "Come, follow me," before he had said, "Sell what you have, and give to the poor." Nay, he did not even command this before he had confessed himself to be pure from every transgression, saying that he had done all that had been said by the Lord. Wherefore, in this matter too, it is necessary to maintain the order. For we are taught to disregard not only those things which we possess in any way, and which are necessary for the use of life; but we are also taught to disregard the rights and duties 39 which have been established among us both by law and by nature, in accordance with our Lord Jesus Christ saying: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me," and likewise regarding the rest of our nearest kin (40)—it being evident that this applies even more so to those who are more distant and are strangers to the faith. To these he adds: "He who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me," which the Apostle, having accomplished, writes to instruct us: "I have been crucified to the world, and the world to me."
And I live now not I, but Christ lives in me." A
4. It is helpful, moreover, to remember the Lord, who, when speaking to each person face to face—to the one saying, "Permit me first to go and bury my father," he answered: "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God"—and to the one who had said, "Permit me first to go and set in order those things at my house," he replied more severely and with a more vehement threat. He said, namely: "No one who has put his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." B Thus, every human duty which brings even a slight delay to the yoke of obedience due to the Lord, even if it seems reasonable, is alien to him who wishes to be a disciple of the Lord, and it is judged worthy of more serious threats. He determines this more generally when he says: "If anyone comes to me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
But if we recall to memory the words of the Lord to him who said: "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God," C we learn of a more terrifying judgment of wrath and severity, and that it alienates such people from every good hope. He speaks thus: "A certain man made a great supper and invited many. And he sent his servant at the hour of the supper to say to those invited: Come, for all things are now ready. And they all began at once to make excuses. The first said: I have bought a field, and I must needs go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused. And another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them; I pray you, have me excused. And another said: I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. And the servant returned and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant: Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the blind, and the lame. And the servant said: Lord, it has been done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the master said to his servant: Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you that none of those men who were invited D shall taste of my supper."
Again, the Only-begotten Son of the living God himself, who was sent by the Father, not to judge the world, but that he might save the world, remaining consistent with himself, and fulfilling the will of God and his good Father, while bringing forth a sentence of severity, adds a teaching that renders us worthy to become his disciples, and says: "If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own soul also, he cannot be my disciple." By hate, clearly, he does not mean the cultivation of malicious schemes, but a virtue of piety practiced through A listening to those who would draw us away, while fulfilling the will of the good God and Father. "And whoever," he says, "does not carry his own cross, and follow after me, cannot be my disciple." This is what we seem to have agreed upon through the baptism in water, confessing that we have been crucified together, have died together, have been buried together, and the rest, as it is written.
5. Moreover, considering our infirmity, and by examples, B He deigned to confirm our hearts in the conviction of the truth and to make us readier for obedience, when He says: "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it, lest, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying: 'This man began to build and was not able to finish?' Or what king, going to engage in battle against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not renounce all that he possesses, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." C If we believe these things, having been freed first from the tyranny of the devil, in that we abstain from every thing that is pleasing to the devil, by the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ—if, that is, we have not received such a grace in vain—and then, having renounced not only the world and its desires, but also the mutual rights and duties and even our own life, if any of these things draws us away from the attentive and swift obedience owed to God, only then are we deemed worthy to become disciples of the Lord; being instructed thereafter by Moses and the prophets, by the evangelists and the apostles, concerning the creation of all things visible and invisible at the beginning by God through His only-begotten Son, our Lord and God Jesus Christ; and we are taught D also the things narrated in the divinely inspired Scriptures regarding the goodness and severity of God in His great patience, for the manifestation of His righteousness and for our education; and the prophecies
A regarding the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the events that then concurred with one another; and regarding the glorious resurrection from the dead and the ascension, and the most glorious appearance at the consummation of the age; and those dogmas of pure piety according to the Gospel and acceptable to God, in the love of Christ Jesus our Lord, in the hope of eternal life and of the heavenly kingdom; and the judgments of just recompense, both for those who commit forbidden things or reject what is approved, unto eternal punishment, and for those who have lived worthily of the Gospel of God in sound faith, which works through the love of Christ, in the hope of eternal life and of the heavenly kingdom, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
BOOK II
How one is baptized with the baptism that is commended in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Since our Lord Jesus Christ commanded us to love one another, as He Himself loved us, and teaches us through the Apostle Paul to "bear with one another in love," I accepted with a ready mind the command of your piety in Christ regarding the most glorious baptism according to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, not as one who is able to speak worthily of the matter, but so that, after the example of the widow who cast in B the two mites, I might make my own contribution. And in this matter, I also have need of the prayers of those who love the Lord, so that by the grace of the good God and of His Christ, the holy and good Spirit, reminding and teaching us what He may have heard from the Lord, may direct our mind into the way of peace, and our sound word unto the edification of faith, so that what is written may be fulfilled in both us and you: "Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be even wiser." However, it must be known that one must first be made a disciple, and thus be deemed worthy of the most wonderful baptism. For so did the Lord Himself and our God Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the living God, command His own disciples. We have therefore necessarily handed down to you privately the things spoken by the Lord Himself concerning those who wish to become disciples of Christ, having recorded at least a few out of many. And since to be born from above is promised in order to "see the kingdom of God," C and to be born of water and the Spirit is promised in order to "enter into the kingdom of God," I think it necessary to set forth a few out of the many things that have been said about the kingdom of heaven, so that we may not in any way fall short of it. For it is no small matter in life that one is not far from it, as some of our own have
A said, and as is manifest to most from the very things themselves. But it is possible to be more firmly convinced of this from the accurate consideration of the priests and of the animals offered for sacrifice; in which, if some slight blemish was found, or mutilation not of an entire member, but, as it is written, of some part, such as the tip of an ear, neither was the man chosen for the priesthood, nor was the animal admitted for sacrifice; since the Apostle said, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come," and the Lord openly showed the excellence and superiority thereof in saying, "In this place is one greater than the temple," and showed yet more clearly B that we must exercise more diligent care of the soul, in saying, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required."
2. Therefore, let us make mention of the kingdom of heaven. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when He went up into the mount and began His teaching with the beatitudes, proclaimed as the first that beatitude which promises the kingdom of heaven. For He said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And in the eighth beatitude He says: "Blessed are they which are C persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And again, prophesying the future blessing at the time of the recompense through the parable of the shepherd, He says: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat," and so forth. And in the Gospel according to Luke, at another time and place, as the scriptures themselves indicate, he again set forth the beatitudes, saying: "Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God"—though reading again, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And again: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not." D These things, therefore, and others of the same kind, are those by which one is made worthy of the kingdom of heaven. But concerning those things without which no one can enter into the kingdom of heaven, the Lord pronounces this sentence in the Gospel of Matthew, and says: "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." And again: "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." And again: "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God vel-"
A as a little child, he shall not enter therein." And in the Gospel according to John, He says to Nicodemus: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." And again: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
3. But concerning these matters, one judgment has been pronounced; and indeed the danger is equal for all, if but one thing is lacking. For if the Lord says, "One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled," how much more is this true of the Gospel, when the Lord Himself B says: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away"? Whence the apostle James, being confident, pronounced, saying: "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." And he learned to say this from those things which the Lord, after the beatitudes, and after testimonies surpassing human condition, and after the promises made to Peter, threatened, when He spoke thus: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." But the apostle C Paul, filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ for his body's sake, which is the Church, speaking in Christ, declares those things for which a man is most especially not counted worthy of the kingdom of heaven, and falls under the judgment of death; sometimes speaking definitively, that "they who do such things are worthy of death." But why did he not say, "They who do these things," but rather, "They who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven"? And again, more generally, that D "the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God," and elsewhere similarly. And our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in the Gospel according to Luke, pronounced the judgment, using these words: "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." It must, however, be necessarily observed here, that such a dreadful and inevitable judgment is pronounced not for many sins, but for one, and that even in matters permitted and lawful, if one should delay—even for a short time—the obedience necessarily due to the Lord for many reasons, which obedience ought to be, without any excuse, both most swift and most attentive. From all these things and similar ones, we are taught that it is necessary, having fulfilled all things entirely and lawfully, to which the promise of the kingdom of heaven is proclaimed, and without which the gift of the kingdom is denied, and having avoided all things by which no one becomes an heir of the kingdom of heaven, so at last to expect to be made worthy of the promise. For it is necessary that the contest which is for the sake of pleasing
A God consists not only in being removed from all malice, but also in being whole and blameless in every word of God, since the apostle Paul, after contemplating the great and ineffable love of God and of his Christ toward us, on behalf of our justice and salvation, adds: "Giving no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God."
4. For just as he who is poor in spirit, unless he has been born of water and the spirit, cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven because of the broad decree; so again, "Unless his righteousness shall abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees," or if anything else of this kind be lacking, because of a similar decree he is not held worthy of the kingdom. For it is written: "To present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." And there are many such things which, if anyone reads them more diligently, he will be more vehemently confirmed in the conviction that he must fulfill all things, in order to be made worthy of the kingdom of heaven. Moreover, that he who abounds in righteousness, or has been born anew, has fulfilled the perfection of all the virtues together—in which the beatitudes are comprised—as well as the rest, and that it is acknowledged that these and other things of the same kind are performed by him, the discourse to be held presently, God willing, concerning the second generation will demonstrate. B Since, however, the command of your piety, as was said before, has requested of us that we should discourse upon the most wondrous baptism of the Gospel, after those things which have already been said concerning the kingdom of heaven, I think it is consequent that we should also briefly learn what the difference is between the baptism of Moses and that of John, and so at last, by the grace of God, be made worthy to understand the most excellent dignity of the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in its incomparable magnitude of glory. For the only-begotten Son of the living God declared that something greater than the temple is here, and something greater than Solomon is here, and something greater than Jonah is here. And the Apostle, when he had already explained to the Jews the inaccessible glory of Moses in the ministry of the law, testifies to this, adding: "For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth." And John the Baptist, than whom C no greater among those born of women exists, declares the same, while at one time he says: "He must increase, but I must decrease"; and at another time, "I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance: but he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire"; and many such things. For as much as the Holy Spirit excels water, by so much, evidently, does he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit excel him who baptizes in D
A water; and this is true of the baptism itself. Thus, John himself—so great and such as he was, and so well testified to by the Lord—could say without shame: "I am not worthy to unloose the latchet of his shoe."
5. Since the preeminence of the baptism according to the Gospel of Christ is manifest to all, even if we cannot comprehend it according to its worth, it is nevertheless pious and useful to declare it to the best of our ability, according to the strength which God grants us, from the very Scriptures themselves. The baptism delivered through Moses, first of all, recognized the distinction of sins; for not all sins possessed the grace of forgiveness. Furthermore, it required various sacrifices, demanded a thorough purification, separated the impure and polluted from the rest for a time, and established an observance of days and B times; only then was the baptism received, as a seal of purification. But the baptism of John had an advantage in many respects. For it made no discrimination of sins, it did not seek for a diversity of sacrifices, it did not require diligence in purification, nor did it have an observance of days or times. And since there was no delay whatsoever—as soon as anyone approached to confess his sins, whatever they might be and of whatever sort—he was baptized in the river Jordan and immediately received the forgiveness of sins. But the baptism of the Lord possesses a discourse superior to all human understanding, and a glory higher than every human desire and prayer, and an abundance of grace C and power greater than that by which the sun excels the stars. Nay, rather, the aforementioned utterances of the saints more forcefully demonstrate that incomparable preeminence. Yet, for this reason, one must not remain silent, but it is necessary for us to speak, using the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ as guides, and as if led through a mirror and in a riddle, not that this glory should be diminished by our interpretation—on account of the weakness of the body and our abject speech—but that in this also we may marvel at the magnitude of the forbearance and philanthropy of the good God, in that He suffers those who stammer of the magnificence of the love and grace which is in Christ Jesus.
6. Our Lord Jesus Christ having said: D "Unless one be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God"; and again: "Unless one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God"; and after the resurrection from the dead (the prophecy delivered through David in the person of God and the Father being fulfilled in Him, where He said: "You are my Son, this day have I begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and your possession..."
A the ends of the earth," which has indeed come to pass and is before the eyes of all, He then gives instruction to his own disciples, as if contrasting it with the first commandment by which He had forbidden them to go into the way of the Gentiles, saying: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." I consider it necessary for one to understand and discern the power of each saying through faith, and to speak insofar as a word may be given to us, according to our common prayers, in the opening of our mouth. For it is written: "Unless you believe, you shall not understand," and again: "I believed, therefore have I spoken." Since I am persuaded that the use of names and words and things in Holy Scripture is not received from custom, nor used simply and rashly, as is wont to happen, neither by God, nor by His Christ, nor by the holy prophets, nor by the evangelists or the apostles, but examined in the Holy Spirit, toward the goal of pious thought—and this not wholly, but in part, and according to what each thing contributes to the set purpose of sound doctrine, both that one may think piously and that one may direct the mind toward the contemplation of the judgments and dogmas of piety—it is necessary that we, too, should accurately and diligently attend to each saying, and select the meaning according to the goal of the high calling. And this we shall perform, if only Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the living God, strengthens us through common prayers, that it may be brought about also in us, as the Apostle said: "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me."
7. Furthermore, I think it incumbent to show the emendation C of the generation which has occurred in the filth of sins, when Job says: "No one is clean from filth, not even if his life be but one day," and David laments and says: "In iniquities I was conceived, and in sins did my mother conceive me," and the Apostle testifies: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood." Therefore, the forgiveness of sins is given to those who believe, the Lord Himself saying: "This is my blood, of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins," just as the Apostle testifies again, saying: "According to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise..." D
A of the glory of His grace, in which He has graced us in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which He caused to abound toward us." [1 EPhes. I, 5-8.] Just as a statue, broken and crushed, having lost the excellent form of the king, is fashioned anew by a wise craftsman and good maker, who restores the glory of his own work and brings it back to its pristine splendor, so also we, who have been badly affected on account of the transgression of the commandment—just as it is written: "Man, being in honor, did not understand, he was compared to the senseless beasts, and became like them" [2 Psal. XLVIII, 13 (LXX 48:13).]—are recalled to the pristine glory of the image of God. For, he says, "God made man according to the image and likeness of God." [3 Gen. I, 27.] And how this has been accomplished, the Apostle Paul taught, saying: "Thanks be to God that you were servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart to that form of doctrine to which you were delivered." [4 Rom. VI, 17.] For just as wax, when applied to the mold of an engraving, is fashioned exactly to the form existing in the engraving, so also we, having B delivered ourselves unto the mold of the instruction according to the Gospel, are fashioned in the inner man, fulfilling what has been said by Him in the form of a command. For he says: "Putting off the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him" [5 Col. III, 9, 10.]; and many such things.
8. Paul, who speaks in Christ, dogmatically delivers the manner and reason by which it is necessary to be born of water, saying: "Or do you not know, brethren, that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection; knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer serve sin. For he who has died has been justified from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." [6 Rom. VI, 3-11.] From all of which the C principle of the birth from above is also considered by way of a certain likeness. But it was impossible to be born from above D
A without the grace of God preceding, as the same Apostle shows from both the preceding and the subsequent chapters concerning baptism. For, beginning from the passage: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life,” he clearly and magnificently demonstrates the great and ineffable kindness of God in the gift of the forgiveness of sins, and the power and strength of those things which, for the glory of God and of his Christ, are accomplished in the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. By whom, he says, “As by one offence judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” And when he has set forth what follows in the manner of dogmas, he then says: “Know you not, brethren, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” Why? So that, with grace preceding, we might bring in the things owed by us according to faith, acting through love, and so the good pleasure of the divine love in Christ might be perfected in us. Therefore, there is need for a great struggle, and a lawful one at that, so that we do not receive such and so great a grace of the love of God in Christ in vain, for the same Apostle says: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” But that C “unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required,” the Lord has consistently declared. And this comes to pass even blamelessly, if both those things which are adjoined to what has been said before, and those things which have been said jointly concerning the same argument of baptism, are diligently kept, and if we faithfully receive, in the power of the same grace of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord in the Holy Spirit, the things that cohere with these, so that as believers we may understand through the grace of God, and perform in the love of Christ the things which we have been deemed worthy to understand, since he said: “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” For “a good understanding to all that do thereafter,” as the Prophet testifies. Indeed, even the only-begotten D
Son of the living God sets forth a fearful and inevitable judgment when he says: “He who knew the will of his Lord and did not do it, shall be beaten with many stripes.” A Nay, He did not even leave the one who erred through ignorance unpunished.
10. And that, as was said before, we may be led through clearer words and matters to the understanding of the salutary teaching B pertaining to baptism, let us diligently apply our mind with an indubitable persuasion of the truth to the things signified, and adapt every sentiment to the goal of piety. We have been baptized, he says, so that from this we may learn that, just as wool, when immersed in a dye, undergoes a change in color; or rather, that we may be led by John the Baptist, who uttered that prophecy concerning the Lord, C “He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire,” so that we may be illuminated by the light of knowledge toward the understanding of that great light, let us say this: that just as iron, immersed in fire fanned by the wind, is more thoroughly explored whether it has any vice within itself, and is rendered more ready for purification, and not only is its color changed, but its hardness and resistance are also D transformed into softness, and it becomes more suitable for the work of the craftsman’s hands and is duly adapted to the will of the master; and, having left behind its blackness, becoming brighter than itself, it not only catches fire and glows, but also illuminates and warms those things that are near it: so it is consistent and necessary that he who has been baptized in the fire, that is, in the word of doctrine—which both reproves the malice of sins and demonstrates the grace of justifications—should hate and execrate injustice, as it is written; and should desire to be purified through faith in the power of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, since He Himself says: “This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins,” and the Apostle thus testifies: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins,” so that he may be purified not only from all iniquity and sin, but also from all defilement of flesh and spirit; and then finally, having been baptized into the death of the Lord, be disposed toward that death, which is to be dead to sin, to oneself, and to the world, so that, living according to the incarnation, and having been fashioned and formed in heart, and word, and deed—like wax receiving the sculpture—by the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ, he may fulfill what is written: “Thanks be to God, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart unto that form of doctrine, into which you have been delivered,” and thus become worthy to keep what is joined to this: “We are buried therefore with him by baptism into death.”
Why so? That, as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. For it is necessary that he who has died should be buried, and that he who has been buried in the likeness of death should arise through the grace of A God in Christ, and no longer through sins have the face of the inward man like the soot of a pot, but, the sins having been revealed in the fire and forgiveness having been received through the blood of Christ, henceforth to shine forth through the newness of life with the righteousnesses that are in Christ, more [precious] than any precious stone.
11. Therefore, let us put away the hardness of disobedience and exhibit tractability and obedience in the commandments, and being fervent in spirit, let us shine forth, and be delivered from the power of darkness which drags B us down to death: “For the wages of sin is death,” that it may come to pass in us also that which was said by the Apostle: “Death is swallowed up in victory! O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” But obeying the Lord, the Sun of righteousness, let us be enlightened by Him and be found worthy of understanding and power, so that we may be justified in Him; and not only may we ourselves be made brighter than snow (for true is the God who promised, saying: “If your sins are as scarlet, I will make them white as snow”), but let us also enlighten those who draw near to us; C at one time, hearing the Lord saying, “You are the light of the world,” and at another time, hearing and doing this: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Then, certainly, the Apostle also will bear witness to us, saying: “Among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life for my glory in the day of Christ.”
But how would the newness of life not be more radiant, not only by comparison with the Gentiles and the men of the world, but even by a comparison far D more excellent than with those who are commended as just according to the law? When we not only do not crave increase and something more, as worldly men are wont to do, but we do not even lay claim to what is already attained and our own; nay rather, transcending the law, we desire to bestow things themselves as benefits upon the needy: for we do good not only to our neighbors, but we extend our kindness even to our enemies and the wicked, doing so according to the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Be merciful, as your Father who is in heaven is merciful.” How then do we not walk in newness of life, and [exceed] in righteousness more than the scribes and Pharisees?
[PG 31, 1545] we complete, when we comply with the Lord saying: "It was said to the ancients: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, not to resist evil; but whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And to him who wishes to go to law with you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two" (Matt. v, 38-41). For we do not merely refrain from avenging upon ourselves the faults previously committed against us, as the Scribes and Pharisees instruct, while the Law given through Moses permits it; but we even demonstrate a greater forbearance of evils, setting forth a readiness to endure the same or even more grievous things. And in this way both are accomplished for us: death, in that we are not moved to indignation against the one who inflicted the first blow upon us; and the newness of life in the Lord, in that we offer ourselves even for the other.
12. But who is he who is dead to the law, who does not avenge what is taken away? [PG 31, 1546] And how does he not live in Christ, who lets go his cloak as well? In the same way, we are taught to transcend all legal justice. Moreover, that we must be crucified not only to the world, but also that we must die to the law, we may learn dogmatically from the same Apostle. For sometimes he says: "I have been crucified to the world, and the world to me. And I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me" (Galat. vi, 14; ii, 20). And at other times, after he had boasted much of his high standing once achieved in the law, he says: "But indeed I even consider all things to be dung, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Jesus Christ, the righteousness from God in faith, to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Philipp. iii, 8-11). And a little later, teaching us to think the same as he, he says more explicitly: "Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded."
13. And in another place, more vehemently, as if setting forth a necessary dogma, he says: "Therefore you also have been made dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you should belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins, which were through the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit unto death; but now we have been released from the law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. For the letter," that is, the law, "kills; but the spirit,
that is, the word of the Lord, "gives life." As He Himself says, "The flesh profits nothing; it is the spirit that gives life. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." And that eminent one among the apostles also bears witness to this, where he says, "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." If we keep this in the certain persuasion of the truth with more diligent care, we shall be able to escape that fearsome judgment written by Moses in a threatening and A prophetic manner: "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you." And it shall be: "Every soul that will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from the people." But by John the Baptist, than whom there is none greater among those born of women, it has been said in a more terrible and definitive way: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who is disbelieving toward the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him."
And that such a death in baptism, and such a burial therein, may not cause sorrow out of an expectation of corruption and destruction—but rather that the newness of life, which establishes the hope of a glorious resurrection, may surpass the seed that has been sown—he B subjoins, saying: "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be of His resurrection." For if, having died in such a likeness of death and being buried together with Christ, we walk in newness of life, we shall not expect the corruption of mortality, but we imitate burial and, as it were, the planting of seeds; and putting ourselves to death with regard to forbidden works, and showing forth faith which works through love, we are rendered worthy, as being supported by the hope of these same things, to say the same thing as the Apostle: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." And so we shall always be with the Lord, C since our Lord Jesus Christ Himself petitions the Father and says: "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am," and He truly announces and promises the same thing to us when He says: "Whoever serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also." Paul the Apostle, who also prophesied in Christ, adds his testimony where he writes thus: "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive D and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep."
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord." A
14. For thus it is kept in those who now preserve that which is written: "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death," then that promise will be fulfilled: "We shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection," just as he says elsewhere: "For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him; if we suffer, we shall also reign with him." Now the Apostle, not unaware that repetition is more profitable for those who hear it for the sake of assurance, and that it makes the conviction of the truth more certain through the reiteration of the same things. For we hear him saying of himself: "To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe." Just as we have learned also from Joseph, who interpreted the dream twice to King Pharaoh; thus also, imitating the story of the dream, he transmits the same dogma of baptism, B similar to the prior considerations, saying: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Therefore, from these words too we are taught that he who is baptized into Christ is baptized into his death; and he is not only buried and planted together with Christ, but is first crucified together with him, so that we may be instructed in this also: that just as the one who is crucified is alienated from the living, so also he who is crucified together with Christ in the likeness of C his death is altogether alienated from those who live according to the old man; while the Lord commands to beware of false prophets, and the Apostle says: "Withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which they received from us." For the old man, whom he calls by name, signifies all the individual sins and pollutions taken together, as if they were his own members.
15. And just as he who is crucified, having received the sentence of death, has separated from those who once lived with him, having become higher than those who creep upon the earth, so also he who is crucified with Christ through D baptism is severed from all those living together in this age, having raised his own mind to the heavenly conversation
A so that he may be able to say with truth and boldness that which is in Christ: "For our conversation is in heaven" (Phil. iii, 20). And again he brings in: "For he that is dead is justified from sin" (Rom. vi, 7), that is, he has been set free, has been delivered, has been cleansed from all sin—not that which is in deeds and words alone, but also that which is situated in the thought moving the passions and affections. And in another place he uttered a judgment, writing: "And they that are Christ’s Jesus, have crucified the flesh, with the passions and lusts" (Gal. v, 24). We are crucified, evidently, we who are baptized in water; which is a likeness of the cross and the death, and of the burial and of the resurrection from the dead, as it is written. And again: "Mortify," he says, "your members which are upon the earth" (at least, keeping henceforth B the pacts of baptism entirely), "fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is the service of idols, for which things the wrath of God cometh" (Col. iii, 5, 6); and not only these did he say, but more generally he added: "upon the children of unbelief." So that henceforth not even a brief pleasure—polluting the mind—should infest him who has been planted together with Christ in the likeness of death, but by that very fact should demonstrate the purity of heart, in that he has hatred for and detests all malice, even unto the very thought which moves the passions and affections, just as David says: "A perverse heart hath not cleaved to me; the malignant turning from me, I knew not" (Ps. c, 3, 4); since, to be sure, he did not even turn when he approached. But being planted C together in the likeness of the death, we are altogether raised up with Christ (for the meaning of "planted" is consistent with this): now indeed, according to the measure of the incarnation, fashioning the inner man in the newness of life, and in obedience even unto death, in the integral persuasion of the truth of His words, so that we may become worthy to say with truth: "And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. ii, 20). But for the future, as the same Apostle confirmed with these words: "For if we be dead with him, we shall live also with him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with him" (II Tim. ii, 11, 12). And in like manner he induces us to apply faith to these things, when he says: "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, in like manner we shall be also of his resurrection" (Rom. vi, 5). And again, D the same dogma of such a baptism, teaching us in a more persuasive and more compelling manner, he adds, saying, that "Christ rising again from the dead, dieth now no more, death shall no more have dominion over him. For in that he died, he died to sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. So do you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus" (Rom. vi, 9-11).
A 16. The Apostle, by adding the dispensation of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning the remission of our sins, which progressed even unto death through His incarnation, instructs us more impressively and compellingly that we are to be dead, strictly speaking, to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus; so that, just as Christ, having died for us and risen from the dead for us, dieth no more, so also we, having been baptized into death in His likeness, may die to sin, and through the ascent from baptism, as if risen from the dead, may live to God in Christ Jesus, and die no more—that is, may sin no more; for "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." And as death hath no more dominion over Him, so also may sin no more have dominion over us; that is, let us no longer practice it. And since "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin," and we have been alienated from such slavery in every way, as the Apostle indicated by saying: "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts," let us live to God in Christ Jesus, who hath set us free, as it is written: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." B And far more powerfully are we freed from sin, plainly by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, as it is written: "For as by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Stand fast therefore, he says, and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage." And just as He Himself died to sin once, but in that He liveth, He liveth to God; so also we, in the baptism of water, which bears the likeness of the cross and death, having died to sin once, let us guard ourselves, and never again return to sin. But let us continue to live to God in Christ Jesus, who said: "If any man serve me, let him follow me," by keeping first that commandment of the Lord Himself, saying: C "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven," and then also the admonition of the Apostle, who writes: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Each of these is accomplished if, thinking things worthy of the heavenly calling, we live in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ, and are able to say truthfully: "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and he died for all, that they which live should not D henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again." And thus it comes to pass: "Abide"
in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept the commandments of my Father, and abide in his love," A in order that the ministry be not blamed; but as the ministers of God in all things approving ourselves, we show the promise of baptism to be sincere and true, while we keep what was said by the Apostle in an encouraging way to those who have been planted together with Christ and raised together with Him, as follows: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield you your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." And again: "If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." And in my judgment, by these few things that have been related, the Apostle sets forth to us that great, prevenient, and incomparable grace of the immense kindness of God, in the love of Christ Jesus our Lord, whose obedience even unto death became, as it is written, our redemption of sins, deliverance from the death that has reigned in sin from the age, reconciliation with God, the power by which we are made pleasing and acceptable to God, the gift of righteousness, fellowship of the saints in eternal C life, the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, and the prize of ten thousand other good things. And he also wisely and powerfully, by the things that are appended, has handed down to us the reason for the baptism of water, which is done into the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. By these things he has instructed us to secure ourselves, that we may not receive so great and such a grace in vain, by saying what I have already mentioned: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield you your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead; and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God," and so forth.
18. Removing us altogether from every sin and from the righteousness according to the law, and leading us onward to the righteousness according to God more vehemently through more dreadful threats and through a good and most desirable promise, D
A by adding these words: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. vi, 23). He teaches us to imitate the Lord again, and to become superior to the legal righteousness, and he subjoins: “Or do you not know, brothers (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man for as long a time as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to the living husband; but if the husband dies, she is released from the law of the husband. Therefore, while the husband is alive, she will be termed an adulteress if she is joined to another man; but if the husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress if she is joined to another man. So, my brothers, you also have been put to death to the law through the body of Christ, so that you should belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins which were through the law were operating in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been released from the law, having died to that by which we were held, so that we should serve in newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” (Rom. vii, 1-6), and so forth. By these words, we are instructed to marvel at the ineffable philanthropy of God in Christ Jesus, and to purify ourselves with more fear from every defilement of flesh and spirit.
19. B He shows the difference that exists between the spirit and the letter in another place, when, making a comparison between the law and the Gospel, he demonstrates it through a decision, saying: “For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life” (II Cor. iii, 6). By “letter,” he means the law, as is made clear through what has been written above and what follows; and by “spirit,” the teaching of the Lord, as the Lord Himself says: “My words are spirit and they are life” (Joan. vi, 64). But if the righteousness according to the law, when diligently observed, judges as adulterers certain ones who in baptism had vowed themselves to God, promising no longer to live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again for them (II Cor. v, 15), as has been clearly demonstrated by the aforesaid statements, what then might one say about human traditions? Regarding the righteousness according to the law, the same Apostle C pronounces a more vehement judgment, saying: “Yet indeed I also count everything as loss for the sake of the surpassing knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ Jesus, the righteousness which is from God” (Philipp. iii, 8, 9). D The judgment regarding human traditions is manifest from the words of the Lord; but as for personal plans that are made from human wisdom, he undertakes a more laborious refutation of them.
A For the Apostle taught, saying: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. X, 4, 5). Or, in general, concerning the justice that is manifest to each person, even if it is zealously performed for God’s sake, B of which the same Apostle says again: “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God” (Rom. X, 2, 3). So from these and similar things, the judgment of those who wish to act cunningly regarding the judgments of God is manifest. For it is written: “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isa. V, 21), while the Lord has declared more clearly that whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter into it (cf. Matt. XVIII, 3). C Therefore, it is necessary to be pure from all things at once—alike from the desires of the devil, from the distractions of the world, from human traditions, and from personal wills, even if they appear more specious and are supported by the patronage of the law, if they cause even a short delay in the owed and most rapid execution of the commandments of God. This is so that those who have confessed in such a baptism that they have been crucified with Christ, have died with Him, have been buried with Him, have been grafted into Him, and have been raised from the dead with Him, may have the confidence to say with truth: “I have been crucified to the world (and much earlier to the devil), and the world to me. I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. II, 20). D By these things He teaches a justice more perfect than the legal justice, so that we may be accounted worthy of the kingdom of heaven.
20. It is time for us to proceed to consider something else, and through faith in Christ to gain understanding (27), and to know what it is to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. For, in the first place, it is necessary to know individually the glory and majesty of each of the names of Him who is named; then to know that the Lord Himself explains what it is to be baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit, saying: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John III, 6), so that, taking the sequence of birth according to the flesh as an example, we might be taught the dogma of piety clearly and truly from a more familiar matter (28). Knowing and being thoroughly persuaded that, just as that which is generated from something according to the flesh is such as is that from which it was generated, so also we are necessarily required, being generated from the Spirit, to become spirit—not spirit according to that great and, to the human mind, incomprehensible glory of the Holy Spirit, but according to that which is in the division of the gifts of God through Christ Himself
A to each one for his profit, and the operation of all these things is seen through an enigma; and similarly in other statements, not by recalling to memory the precepts of God which were announced through our Lord Jesus Christ, and teaching them—since our Lord Jesus Christ Himself says: "He will teach you, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you"—but furthermore, the Apostle hands down more fully by what dispositions someone is made spirit, when he writes at one time: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience," and what follows, having previously said: "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law"; and elsewhere: "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit"; and at another time: "Having gifts according to the grace of God that is given to us, differing, whether prophecy, according to the rule of faith, or ministry in ministering," etc.
21. Through these and similar things, the Lord says that those who are born of the Spirit become spirit. The Apostle likewise bears witness to the same, saying: B "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." If then we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit, and thus becoming capable of the Holy Spirit, we shall be able to confess Christ; for no one can say that Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit. Thus, therefore, the Lord, both through Himself and through the Apostle, taught that those born of the Spirit become spirit. C And in this, again, we shall imitate the birth according to the flesh: first, by changing our place and transforming our manner of life, in that the inner man is strengthened by the Spirit, so that we may be able to say: "For our conversation is in heaven," carrying our body on earth as a shadow, but keeping our soul dwelling together with the heavenly beings; then also by changing those who live with us on earth, as David says: "Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off. Him that hath a high look and a proud heart I will not suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. D He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight," and in other things similarly; but the Apostle denounces something more serious: "If any man that is called a brother..."
be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one no not to eat." A
22. And often the same [Apostle], when he has laid down such things regarding vices of this kind, having premised a certain discourse concerning the immense and glorious grace of the kindness of Christ, clearly and diligently makes known with whom and with what kind of people we ought to live, while he says: "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and breaking down the middle wall of partition, the enmity in his flesh: making void the law of commandments in decrees, that he might form the two in himself into one new man, making peace; and might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross, killing the enmity in himself. And coming, he preached peace to you that were afar off, and peace to them that were nigh: because through him we have access both in one Spirit to the Father. Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners; but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and the domestics of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Chris himself being the chief corner stone: in whom all building, being framed together, groweth into an holy temple in the Lord." B That by this means, being engrafted into Christ in the likeness of his death, and baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit, and generated anew according to the inner man in the renewal of the mind, and built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, we may so be made worthy to be baptized in the name of the only-begotten Son of God, and may deserve the great gift of which the Apostle makes mention in these words: "For whosoever of you have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." C
23. It is necessary and a logical consequence that he who is born should also be clothed: only [with this condition], that if, just as a tablet, of whatever material it may consist, having laid aside its unevenness and had its roughness scraped away, thus at length puts on the painting of the king's image—and then the excellence of the image is not estimated by the difference of the wood, or of the gold, or of the silver; but by the accurate likeness to the exemplar, duly expressed with great diligence according to the precepts of art, it hides the difference of the material, even if there be a very great distance and distinction in it, and leads its beholders to admire its own dignity, and becomes more excellent than any principality or power—so also he who is baptized, whether he be Jew or Greek, whether male or female, whether bond or free, whether
A Scythian, or barbarian, or called by any other name indicating a difference of race, having once put off the old man with his deeds in the blood of Christ, and having put on the new man in the Holy Spirit through His teaching—created according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth, being renewed unto knowledge according to the image of Him who created him—is made worthy to attain to the good pleasure of God, which the Apostle set forth saying: "For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."
24. For then, as having put on the Son of God, he is judged worthy of the perfect degree, and is baptized into the name of the Father of his Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the testimony of John, who gave power to become children of God, God saying: B "Come out from among them, and be separate, and do not touch the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty," by the grace of Him, our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the living God, "in whom neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love," as it is written; through which, for us, that which was added in conjunction with the command of baptism by the same Lord of ours, Jesus Christ, is successfully accomplished, when He said: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." C The Lord Himself declared the keeping of these to be the proof of our love toward Him, saying: "If you love me, keep my commandments," and again: "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me," and again: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and My Father will love him." And even more vehemently and persuasively He says: "Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love." But if the necessary proof of love is the keeping of the commandments, it is greatly to be feared that without love, even the glorious gifts, and the highest powers, and the supreme efficacy of faith itself, and the commandment that makes men perfect, are unprofitable—as the Apostle Paul, who speaks in Christ, says: D "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all
knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I distribute all my goods as food for the poor, and if I deliver my body that I may be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing: A which I believe the Apostle has said definitively, mindful of the Lord saying: "Many will come in that day, saying, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out demons, and in thy name done many mighty works, and did we not eat in thy presence, and drink, and did you not teach in our streets?" And He answers them: "I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity."
25. Wherefore it is manifest and evident that, apart from B love, even if commands and justifications are fulfilled, and the mandates of the Lord are kept, and great spiritual gifts are exercised, they shall be considered as works of iniquity; not by the nature of the gifts and justifications themselves, but by the purpose of those who use them for their own wills, the Apostle saying at one time: "of those who suppose that godliness is a way to gain," and at another time: "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of good will: the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds"; and elsewhere: "For we are not, he says, as the many, who corrupt the word of God." And again, he says by way of negation: "For neither at any time were we found in word of flattery toward you, as you know, nor in cloak of covetousness, God is witness: nor seeking glory from men, neither from you, nor from others, when we might have been a burden as the apostles of Christ." By these things and such as these is clearly shown the justice of the Lord's answer: "Depart from me, you workers of iniquity," C because you manipulate the gifts of God for your own wills, as if anyone were to use medical instruments and specific remedies, which were made for the healing of ailments and for the care of health and salvation, for the purpose of murder, and not observe the commandment of the Apostle, who says: "Whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." By every means, therefore, the care of the inner man is necessary, so that the mind may be attentive and, as it were, bound to the mark of the glory of God, that they may observe the commandment of the Lord, saying: "Make the tree"
good, and his fruit good" A; and again: "Pharisee, blind one, cleanse first the inside of the cup, and then the outside of it shall be clean also." Let us bring forth fruit from the abundance of a good heart, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold, whether by deeds or by words, for the glory of God and of his Christ, guarding ourselves everywhere not to grieve the Holy Spirit; and in this way let us flee the judgment of the same Lord, who says: "Woe to you, because you are like whitened sepulchres, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."
26. Therefore, before baptism, those hindrances to discipleship must first be removed, and thus we must prepare ourselves to be suitable for instruction, since our Lord Jesus Christ himself by examples confirms the foregoing judgment, and again brings it in after the manner of a dogma: "So every one of you who does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be my disciple." And again, with authority: "If any man comes to me, B let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." And again, definitively: "He who does not take up his cross daily and follow me is not worthy of me." From these and similar burning words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said: "I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I, if it be already kindled?" C when the malice of sins is made manifest, and the virtue of those things which are rightly performed for the glory of God and of his Christ shines forth, then we fully desire and confess what was said by the Apostle: "Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord," who said: "This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins," as the Apostle testifies in saying: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins." And then we come to the baptism in water, which is the likeness of the cross, of death, of burial, and of the resurrection from the dead; making and keeping the D covenants which the Apostle sealed in that place, where he treats of such baptism, when he said: "Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, no longer dies; death no longer has dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once; but in that he lives, he lives unto God. So also you
reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but living unto God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts, nor present your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but present yourselves unto God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God, and so forth.
27. Then whoever is worthy in the name of the Holy Spirit to be baptized, and being born again, changes both his place and his manner of life and his companions, that walking in the Spirit we may become worthy to be baptized in the name of the Son, and to put on Christ. For it is necessary that he who is born should also be worthy to be clothed, as the Apostle B said: "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." And again: "Putting off the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new man, who is renewed unto knowledge according to the image of him who created him, where there is neither Gentile nor Jew." But having put on the Son of God, who gives the power to become children of God, we are baptized in the name of the Father, and are proclaimed children of God, for He has commanded and promised, as the prophet said: "Wherefore come out from among them, and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." C — "Having therefore these promises," says the Apostle, "beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." And again, admonishing in these words: "Do all things without murmurings and disputings, that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life to my glory in the day of Christ." And again: "If then you be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory," D which is promised by the Lord himself, where He said: "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun."
BOOK III. A
That he who has been regenerated through baptism must henceforth be nourished by the participation in the divine mysteries.1. By the grace of the good God, through the memory of the words of the only-begotten Son of the living God, and of His holy evangelists and prophets, and of the Apostle, who have sufficiently clarified for us the doctrine concerning the baptism according to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have been instructed that the baptism in fire is, on the one hand, a refutation of all malice, and on the other, a receptacle for the righteousness which is according to Christ; for it produces hatred of vice just as it does desire for virtue. And through faith we have been cleansed from all sin by the blood of Christ, and having been baptized in water into the death of the Lord, we have, as if by a written confession, laid it down that we are dead to sin and to the world, but made alive to righteousness. And thus, being baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit, we have been begotten from above; and having been begotten, and baptized in the name of the Son, we have put on Christ; and having put on the new man, created according to God, we have been baptized in the name of the Father, and have been proclaimed children of God. B There is, therefore, a need henceforth to be nourished with the bread of eternal life, which the same only-begotten Son of the living God has again delivered to us, at one time saying: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. IV, 4). And how this comes to pass (60), He taught by saying: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, the Father" (Joan. IV, 34). And again, by adding the "Amen" for the second time for the confirmation of what follows, and for the persuasion of those hearing, He says: "Amen, amen I say unto you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed (61), and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him" (Joan. VI, 54-57). C And a little later it is written: "Many therefore of his disciples hearing it, said: This saying is hard, and who can hear it? But Jesus, knowing in himself, that his disciples murmured at this, said to them: Doth this scandalize you? If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I have spoken to you, are spirit and life." D
A But there are some among you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed, and who it was that should betray him. And he said: Therefore I have said to you, that no man can come to me, unless it be given him by my Father. From this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Jesus therefore said to the twelve: Will you also go away? Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life; and we have believed and have known, that thou art the Christ the Son of the living God.
2. And toward the end of the Gospels it is written: B “Jesus therefore taking bread, and giving thanks, broke, and gave to the disciples, and said: Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you; do this in commemoration of me. And, taking the chalice and giving thanks, he gave to them saying: Drink ye all of this; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many unto the remission of sins; do this in commemoration of me.” And the Apostle confirms these things with his testimony, saying: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke, and said: This is my body, which shall be delivered for you; do this for the commemoration of me. In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood; do this in commemoration of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come.” What gain, then, do these words have? That, both eating and drinking, we might always be mindful of him who died and rose again for us, and so learn necessarily to keep before God and his Christ the dogma delivered by the Apostle, where he says: “For the charity of Christ presseth us: judging this, that if one died for all, then all were dead: and he died for all, that they also who live may not now live to themselves, but unto him who died and rose again for them.” For he who eats and drinks, clearly to the indelible memory of Jesus Christ our Lord, who for us died and rose again, yet does not fulfill the account of the memory—namely, of the obedience of the Lord even unto death—according to the teaching of the Apostle, as it was said before: “For the charity of Christ presseth us, judging this, that if one died for all, then all were dead (which we confessed in C baptism), and he died for all, that they who live may not now live to themselves,
baptism), and died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again for them;» A he gains no benefit, according to the judgment of the Lord who said: «The flesh profits nothing.»
3. Furthermore, one who is of such a character brings upon himself the judgment of the Apostle, who says: «He who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.» For not only is the judgment fearful for him who approaches the holy things unworthily while in the defilement of flesh and spirit—for by approaching, he becomes B guilty of the body and blood of the Lord—but also for him who eats and drinks idly and unprofitably, since he does not keep the saying through the memory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for us, that «the love of Christ constrains us, having judged this, that if one died for all, then all died,» and what follows. For just as by acting without conscience and unprofitably, he makes void such a great and such a kind of good, and just as by approaching such a mystery ungratefully, he brings upon himself the judgment of idleness—since the Lord did not permit even those who utter an idle word to go unjudged, but declares the judgment for idleness more vehemently in the case of him who kept the talent intact in idleness—and since the Apostle has handed down to us that even he who utters a good word, but does not dispense it for the building up of faith, grieves the Holy Spirit: in this way we ought to consider the judgment of him who eats and drinks unworthily.
And if even he who causes his brother grief on account of food has fallen from charity, without which even the works of great gifts and justifications profit nothing, what C should one say of him who dares to eat the body and drink the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ idly and unprofitably, and for this reason grieves the Holy Spirit even more, and dares to eat and drink without possessing that constraining love, so that he does not live for himself, but for Christ Jesus our Lord, who died and rose again for us? Therefore, he who approaches the body and blood of Christ in remembrance of Him who died and rose again for us, must not only be clean from every defilement of flesh and spirit, so that he may not eat and drink unto judgment, but must also actively D show forth the memory of Him who died and rose again for us, in being dead to sin, to the world, and to himself, and living unto God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
BOOK TWO
A QUESTION I.
Whether everyone who is baptized with the baptism that is delivered in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, is bound to be truly dead unto sin, but to live unto God in Christ Jesus.
ANSWER.
1. If as many of us as desire the kingdom of God equally and necessarily seek after and need the grace of baptism, according to the decree of the Lord, saying: «Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God» (John III, 5), then we are all alike bound to follow the same rationale of baptism, since the Apostle says generally to all who are baptized: «Know ye not, brethren, that so many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life» (Rom. VI, 3, 4), and so on. And in another place he delivers this same doctrine to us in a manner more apt to incite shame, and more clearly, saying: «For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus» (Galat. III, 27, 28). Just as he says again to all: «In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith» (Coloss. II, 11, 12). Whoever, therefore, is baptized with the baptism of the Gospel, ought to live according to the Gospel, also because of what he said elsewhere: «For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law» (Galat. V, 3). B
2. Therefore it is plainly established that whoever has been baptized with one baptism, as it is written, according to the manner of Him who died and rose again for us, is equally bound to fulfill that which was written by the Apostle himself: «For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again» (II Cor. V, 14, 15). For if he who is circumcised in some part of the body, according to the circumcision of Moses, is bound to keep the whole law, how much more is he who has been circumcised according to the circumcision of Christ, by reason of putting off the whole body of the sins of the flesh, as it is written, C bound ... the baptism in the Gospel. D
A It is necessary to fulfill what the Apostle said: "I have been crucified to the world, and the world to me; and I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Therefore, he who has truly been baptized into the death of Christ, according to the word of the Apostle, has mortified himself both to the world, and much more so to sin, in accordance with what is said by the Apostle in the discourse on baptism: "Our old man has been crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer serve sin." He has entered into an inviolable covenant to follow the Lord in all things, which is to live for God entirely, fulfilling throughout all that was said by the Apostle; at one time, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, your reasonable service," and the rest; at another time, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof; neither yield you your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but present yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." And, in regard to these and similar dogmas, he says again: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus," so that we all, as one, may be worthy to hear: "Well done, good servant; you have been faithful in a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord." B We shall be accounted worthy of this if each of us, wherein he was called and appointed, multiplies by greater diligence and tireless zeal C the grace distributed to him, as it is written.
QUESTION II. Whether it is without danger for one who is not purified in heart from an evil conscience, or impurity, or defilement, to exercise the priesthood.
ANSWER. Moses indeed, while providing a pattern to those of that time for our instruction, writes in the law given by God: "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: Speak unto Aaron, saying, Any man from your seed in your generations who has a blemish in himself shall not approach to offer the gifts to his God; for every man in whom there is a blemish shall not approach." And afterwards he interprets the blemish. It is not if members of others are mixed in, nor if some one member is crushed, not only if a part of his own members is impaired, D hindering him from performing his duty easily and readily, but if it harms the decorum or integrity. The Lord
A saying, "Something greater than the temple is here," teaches us that he who dares to serve as priest regarding the body of the Lord—who gave himself up for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a fragrant aroma—is so much the more impious, in proportion as the body of the only-begotten Son of God is superior to rams and bulls; which is said without comparison, for this excellence is incomparable. Now, however, a blemish or mutilation is not considered in the members of the body, but is recognized in the justifications of Gospel piety, namely, when the commandment is fulfilled in some small part, or not integrally, or not in such a way as is pleasing to God, so that human counsel appears in the commandment like a kind of scar or leprosy. It is therefore necessary always, but especially in the time of such a great and such a kind of mystery, to keep the precept of the Apostle, who says: B "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God; giving no offense to any man, that the ministry be not blamed, but as the ministers of God commending ourselves in all things." Thus one may become worthy to perform the sacred service of the Lord's mystery according to the Gospel of God.
QUESTION III.
Whether any person, when he is not pure from all pollution of flesh and spirit, may safely and securely eat the body of the Lord and drink the blood.RESPONSE.
C Since God in the Law decreed the ultimate penalty against him who dared to touch holy things while in uncleanness—for it was written typically for them, but for our admonition—it is thus written: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and let them beware of those things which the children of Israel have sanctified, and let them not defile my holy name in those things which they offer to me. I am the Lord. Say to them: Whosoever of all your posterity, to all your generations, that approacheth to those things which are consecrated, and which the children of Israel have offered to the Lord, in whom there is uncleanness, he shall perish before the Lord. I am the Lord." If threats of this kind are held against those who approach rashly things that have been sanctified by men, what shall one say against him who does not fear to approach so great and such a kind of mystery? D For in proportion as He who is here is greater than the temple, according to the voice of the Lord, so much heavier and more formidable is it to dare to eat the body of Christ impurely than to eat rams or bulls, whenthe Apostle says: A “Therefore whosoever shall eat the bread, or drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” B And in order to present the judgment at once more forcefully and more terribly by means of repetition, he says: “But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.” If then he who has merely been in a state of uncleanness—and we learn the definition of uncleanness typically from the Law—is subject to so dreadful a judgment, how much more shall he who is in sin, and who dares to approach the body of the Lord, draw upon himself a heavier judgment? Let us therefore cleanse ourselves from all defilement (the difference between defilement and uncleanness is manifest to those who are wise), and thus let us approach the holy things, that we may escape the judgment of those who slew the Lord, namely, “Whosoever shall eat the bread, or drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord”; C but let us possess eternal life, as the truthful Lord and our God, Jesus Christ, promised, if only as we eat and drink we are mindful of Him who died for us, and keep the judgment of the Apostle who says: “For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again,” concerning which we made a pact in baptism.
QUESTION IV.
Whether one must believe and obey every word of God, so that what is said is held to be most certainly true, even if some word or deed of the Lord Himself or of the saints should be found which appears to be contrary thereto.RESPONSE.
1. This question, although it is entirely unworthy of anyone who has engaged to confess our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the living God, through whom all things were made, both things visible and invisible, who spake those words which He heard from the Father, yet it is necessary to respond, in obedience to the Apostle who wrote: “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” And that we may not, by saying something of our own, produce ambiguity in D those who hear,A let us make mention of the Lord Himself, saying, “Amen, amen, I say unto you, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matt. v, 18); and again: “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail” (Luke xvi, 17). But if One greater than Solomon is here, and One greater than Jonah is here (Matt. xii, 41, 42), it is consequent to say that One greater than Moses is here—the Apostle having, after he recounted the glory of Moses which was inaccessible to the Israelites, compared it with the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and subjoined: “For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is in glory” (II Cor. iii, 10, 11). Thus, even if we have learned from the passages we have brought forward to recognize and confess with firm, indubitable faith the things said in the Gospel, yet let us again bring into the midst these words of the Lord Himself: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. xxiv, 35). Thus, the words of the Lord were more than enough for all B to strengthen our souls in the Holy and ruling Spirit, so that we might indubitably and firmly receive every word proceeding out of the mouth of God; but yet, that we may aid the weakness of some, it would be fitting to adduce the testimony of one or two from among many. David therefore says: “All his commandments are sure; they stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness” (Psal. cx, 7, 8); and again: “The Lord is faithful in all his words, and holy in all his works” (Psal. cxliv, 13), and many things of this kind. And Jehu, in the books of Kings, said: “See that no word of the Lord shall fall to the ground” (IV Reg. x, 10). C
2. As for those things which seem to be in some way contrary to one another, it is better for each person to pass judgment against himself, as one who has not yet come to the understanding of the “depth of the riches of the wisdom” (Rom. xi, 33), and to admit that it is difficult to attain to the “unsearchable judgments” of God (Job xxxiv, 18), rather than to become liable to the judgment of audacity and obstinacy, and to hear: “It is ungodly to say to a king, Thou doest iniquity,” and, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect?” (Rom. viii, 33). Although, in the judgment of many, many things seem to have a clear solution, yet in those which seem to be contrary to each other, we ought to observe that when an utterance or an act seems contrary to a precept, it is necessary for each person to obey the precept, and not to rail at the D depth of the riches and wisdom, or to concoct excuses for sins; for we have learned from the divinely inspired Scriptures that this is pleasing to God and free from danger. But when one precept seems to be contrary to another, in order that, having studied the underlying reasons, and the whole passage...
in its proper place, we may thus finally recognize that there is nothing contradictory, and may observe what is suitable to each according to the scope of the heavenly calling—toward which scope both precepts tend, A partly healing a sickness, partly bringing about such progress as leads us to please God perfectly—since the Lord says at one time, "No one, when he has lit a lamp, hides it under a bushel, but puts it on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house; so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven"; and at another time, "When you do an act of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."
3. And you might find many such things among the Evangelists and the Apostle. But if a commandment is given, yet how it is to be done is not added, let us obey the Lord, who says, "Search the Scriptures," and let us imitate the apostles, who asked B the Lord himself for the interpretation of the things spoken by him, and let us learn the truth and the saving instruction from those things that were said by him in another place; as in the case of, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." We are instructed by the things commanded to the young man, the Lord himself saying, "Sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven," and from the things said to those desiring to inherit the kingdom of heaven: "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with moneybags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail." C But if danger also accompanies the keeping of the commandment, which is our boasting, let us remember the Apostle saying, "It is better for me to die, than that anyone should empty my boast"; and elsewhere more fully, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" and what follows. By these things we are more strongly taught to keep the commandments, and to give greater proof of our love toward the Lord, saying, "He who loves me will keep my commandments," and often likewise; and in the rest, to imitate the Apostle, and to say, "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind D of the Lord," who descended from heaven, and declared to us the words of the Father; and it is necessary and saving to believe, just as children
A to their parents, and boys to their teachers, according to the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who said: "Unless one receives the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter into it."
QUESTION V
Whether failing to obey any word whatsoever is worthy of wrath and death, even if the threats are not individually joined to each one.ANSWER
1. This matter was indeed discussed more fully in the Epistle on Concord, namely, whether failing to obey any word is worthy of wrath and death; but, that we may now allege one or two testimonies out of many, let us hear John the Baptist, saying: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; B but he who does not believe the Son (and that which is not defined, encompasses all things) shall not see life, but the wrath of God shall remain upon him"; and the Lord himself, as a lawmaker, declaring: "One iota, or one little stroke shall not pass from the law, until all things are fulfilled." And if the things of the Law are so, how much more the things of the Gospel? As the Lord himself has often confirmed. But regarding whether, even if threats are not individually joined to each thing, it is so, I judge it to be sufficient for believers if they remember the Lord himself, who, in the place where he delivers his teaching after the Beatitudes, enumerated many prohibitions, and to some indeed he joined threats, with these words: "Whoever is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; but whoever says, 'Raca,' shall be liable to the council; but whoever says, 'Fool,' shall be liable to the hell of fire," C and many such things; but to others he added no threats: for example, when he says: "Everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart"; likewise, "But I say to you, do not swear at all"; and a little later: "But let your word be, Yes, yes; no, no; and whatever is more than these is from the evil one." And having spoken many other things of this kind, without adducing the specific penalty for each, he passed a more general sentence against all, having first said: "Unless your righteousness abounds more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." But toward the end, he infers: D "Everyone who hears these words of mine, and does not do them, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and they beat against that house, and it fell, and great was its fall."2. And in other places, having made mention of many sins, he did not add the penalty destined for each one.
A Since, however, the weaker stand in need of help, let us also make mention of the Apostle. For he too, imitating the Lord, at one time said: "If any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one do not so much as eat"; at another time: "Lie not one to another"; and elsewhere: "Let all bitterness, and anger, and indignation, and clamor, and blasphemy, be put away from you, with all malice." And having often said many such things without adding the threat, elsewhere he more generally adds the punishment as well, saying: "Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God." B And elsewhere he writes again more fully: "And as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all iniquity, fornication, wickedness, avarice, malice, full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity, whisperers, detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, arrogant, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, foolish, dissipated, without affection, without fidelity, without mercy. Who, having known the justice of God, that they who do such things, are worthy of death; not only do them, but also consent to them that do them. For thou art inexcusable, O man, every one of you who judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself: for thou doest the same things, thou that judgest." C And in many places similarly. From which it is shown that, even if in particular cases the threat of punishment is not attached to each kind of sin, we must necessarily recognize that he who transgresses even one commandment is subject by inevitable necessity to the general sentence; since our Lord Jesus Christ has declared: "He that despiseth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day," and what follows in a more formidable manner; and John the Baptist, than whom no one is greater, provides this testimony by way of defining the matter: "He that believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." D For this is customary in the divinely inspired Scripture, and in the Old Testament as well. For indeed through Moses, who wrote many of the things in the Law, without adding the threat against the one who transgresses or is negligent, he brought a general curse upon all, which is the preliminary of the most severe punishment, saying: "Cursed be every one that does not...
continue in all things which are written in the book of the law." And elsewhere: "Cursed," he says, "is he that does the work of the Lord negligently." If then he who does it negligently is cursed, of what punishment is he worthy who does not do it at all?
QUESTION VI
Whether disobedience consists in doing something forbidden, or also in omitting something commanded.RESPONSE
1. When our Lord Jesus Christ confirmed this judgment more powerfully, both to abolish the error that had prevailed and to establish our hearts in the sound faith, He saw fit to teach us the fear of the judgments, not only through words but also through examples: since the realities themselves are more persuasive in bringing the conviction of truth. And first He says: "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." And after the whole passage of His teaching, He added a sentence along with an example, saying: A "Everyone who hears these words of mine, and obeys them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." And again: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. And he says to the dresser of the vineyard: Lo, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why does it even encumber the ground?" And elsewhere He explains this judgment more clearly, saying: B "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels." And He adds not some crime committed from among those things which are prohibited, but the omission of the commanded works, saying: "For I was hungry, and ye gave me no food: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink," and so forth. Indeed, many similar things can be found from which it can be shown that not only those who commit evil are worthy of death, for whom also the unquenchable fire is prepared—with whom those also who remain idle from good works are condemned—but also those who do good things C negligently. For it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does the work of the Lord negligently."
2. But it would be timely also to remember John, speaking to those who had received the forgiveness of sins through baptism: "Generation of vipers D..."
who1597 hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. A And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." These things individually do not show that some evil has been committed, but that the duty of piety has been neglected. For if everyone who does the works of the Lord negligently is cursed, because he did not do them B with the becoming zeal, how much more cursed are those who do not even endure to do the good in any way? And justly they hear: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." As is clear from all this, it is necessary to perform the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ with greater speed and unslothful zeal, with good desire and without distraction, so that we also may become worthy of the beatitude, as our Lord Jesus Christ himself, the only-begotten Son of the living God, said: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."
QUESTION VII.
Whether it is possible, or pleasing, or acceptable to God for one who serves sin to perform an act of righteousness according to the rule of piety of the saints.ANSWER.
Since God in the Old Testament says, C "The sinner that sacrificeth a calf unto me, is as if he cut off a dog's neck; and he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood," and decreed such great strictness concerning the things offered for sacrifice, and established a terrible judgment against the one who transgressed; and since in the New Testament our Lord Jesus Christ himself said in the Gospels, that "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin"; and, "No man can serve two masters"; and, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon"; and laid down the most manifest dogma, saying, "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple": if such a judgment is passed concerning middle things, what shall one say concerning those that are forbidden? And since through the Apostle he says, D "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?"—it is declared that the proposed matter is in no way permitted, and is displeasing to God.A Therefore I exhort that, as the Lord teaches, we make the tree good and its fruit good, and let us cleanse first the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will be clean in its entirety. And being instructed by the Apostle, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of flesh and spirit, and then let us perfect sanctification in the love of Christ, so that we may become pleasing to God and acceptable to the Lord B for the kingdom of heaven.
QUESTION VIII
Whether a work of commandment is acceptable to God if it is not done in accordance with the commandment of God.RESPONSE. We learn a certain rule for every such matter from the Old Testament, where it is said as if from the person of God: "If thou offerest rightly, but dost not rightly divide, thou hast sinned. Be silent; towards thee is its recourse." C Thus, it is shown not only that what is not offered legitimately is unaccepted, but also that it is imputed to the one offering it in such a way as a sin: nay, even according to the similitude brought forward by the Apostle, one may learn by a human example that the rule of piety is generally inviolable in all things, where he says: "For if also one contends, he is not crowned unless he contends legitimately." Moreover, it is permitted to remember with greater fear the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who sets forth the manner and rule in these words: "Blessed is that servant whom, when the Lord comes, He shall find doing so." D For by using this word "so," He showed that he who does not do "so" has fallen away from blessedness, as we can be accurately taught and most certainly convinced from many accounts and sayings in both the Old and the New Testament. Now, that "not so" occurs when anything is done either in an improper place, or at an improper time, or in respect to an improper person, or concerning an improper thing, or in an improper manner, or beyond what is orderly, or finally when it is not done with the intention that befits it.
2. But let us see how something can be done in an improper place. The Apostle, surely, in order to set forth the matter more clearly and to help those who hear what befits piety, makes use of those things which have obtained by custom, when he says: "Does not nature itself teach you that if a man nourishes his hair, it is a disgrace to him, but if a woman nourishes her hair, it is a glory to her?" etc. It would be right, therefore, for us also to use those things which have obtained in nature for the necessities of the present life. For although life is sustained by food and drink, who among the wise would wish to eat and drink in the marketplace? Or who would wish to cast seeds upon rocks, so that he loses both those very seeds and the expected fruits? And you might find many things done in an improper place dangerously, or
A even vitiated. Again, being mindful of the Apostle who said: "These things happened to them by way of example; but they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come;" let us see whether those things which were ordained by God for piety, and which have a unity among themselves, kept their distinction in an inviolable manner. For some things were assigned to Jerusalem, and those who did them outside were in danger: but others—and these were more numerous—were chosen for the cult of God both in the temple itself, and at the altar, and in Jerusalem itself, and in other places; and no one dared to do in other places of Jerusalem what was done in the temple and at the altar, nor were things that were done in other places permitted to be done in the temple. There is also a danger B that we might perform the ordinance outside the prescribed place; especially if we perform the mysteries of the priesthood in profane places, since such an act would show contempt on the part of the celebrant, and would be an occasion of stumbling for another because of some other varied affection, due to the diverse weakness of many in the knowledge of these things.
3. But if someone should say: Why then did the Apostle say: "I desire therefore that men pray in every place," it is because the Lord gave the power of worship in every place, in the words: "Neither in Jerusalem, nor in this mountain shall you worship the Father." It is possible to say that the word "every" does not include C places destined for human needs and unclean and abominable activities, but it expands the worship from the circuit of Jerusalem to every place in the whole world, and according to the prophecy of the sacrifice, to that place which is obviously zealously dedicated to God for the celebration of the sacrifice of the glorious mystery. For even if we have heard the prophet saying: "You shall be called the priests of God;" yet we do not all usurp the power of such a priesthood or ministry, nor can another take to himself the grace given to another, but every one of the faithful remains within the proper limits of the gift of God, as the Apostle teaches us, when he says to all indeed: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service: And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God;" and to each one he clearly distinguishes D the ministry appropriate to each, and forbids invading an alien order, where he says: "For I say, through the grace
of God A given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think so as to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." And through the mutual and necessary ordering of the bodily members, which tends toward elegance and security, he regulates that mutual state of ours, so that we may please God in the love of Christ Jesus in the diversity of gifts. Indeed, he says: "For as in one body we have many members, but all the members do not have the same function; so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members of one another; having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering," B etc.
4. But if those who work together toward that one goal, of how they might please God, and who have such a conjunction of fellowship among themselves in the love of Christ, are not permitted to exceed the proper place of the gift they have received, how much more then ought we not to separate from holy things those places assigned to alien and contrary matters? For from all C that has been recounted from the divinely inspired Scripture, and from such other things, and from the aforementioned examples, we ought to learn that a work performed out of its proper place tends toward an end contrary to the proposed goal. But concerning that which is performed at the wrong time, we may hear the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who says: "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish, took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was made: Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, D saying, Lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us: but he
A responding said to them: Amen I say to you, I know you not. Watch therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour.
5. Wherefore, knowing that a warning about the same judgment, when frequently repeated, moves the soul more strongly and is more readily believed, I shall add what has been stated to the same effect in another place. The Lord himself says: "Many will seek to enter and will not be able. But when the master of the house shall have entered, and shall have shut the door, and you begin to say, Lord, Lord, open to us, then he responding will say: I know you not whence you are. Therefore I say to you, be ready, because at the hour you think not, the Son of man comes"; and many things elsewhere B in like manner. And if it is necessary to summon the Apostle also into testimony, let us hear him repeating the words of the prophet: "In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped thee"; and subsequently inferring from himself: "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation"; and again: "Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good, to all indeed, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith." If, however, there is need of another testimony, let us remember David, who says: "For this shall every holy one pray to thee in a seasonable time"; and Solomon likewise, who pronounced universally, "All things are made good in their time."
6. In the Old Testament, for instance, in the case of Core and those who dared to invade the priesthood not entrusted to them, and who fell under the severity of wrath into destruction and C a more horrible perdition, we see how grave a thing it is to do anything beyond one's station; but from the Lord himself we are instructed to be cautious, since he said to his disciples: "I was not sent except to the sheep that have perished of the house of Israel"; and to the woman: "It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs." That anything done beside the purpose is wrong, we learn from the Old Testament, where, when a commandment had been given that a sacrifice should be made from clean and whole and unblemished things, it was yet not offered from such; concerning which God said, "Offer it to your prince, if he will accept it, if he will receive thy person." And from the New Testament we are taught this same thing by our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who brings forward the prophecy of Isaias against the Jews in this way: D "Well did Isaias prophesy of you, saying: This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me: and in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines, the commandments of men"; and likewise by the Apostle, who bears witness to the conscience of the Jews, yet convicts them in the difference of their justice. He writes indeed
A thus: "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of the justice of God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted themselves to the justice of God." For this reason the Apostle, who was genuinely concerned with pleasing God, after relating the justifications he had long since performed under the Law, adds this: "Yea, indeed, I deem all things to be loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them to be dung, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having my own justice, which is of the Law, but that which is by the faith of Christ Jesus, the justice which is of God by faith, to know him," and so forth. By these and similar things he instructs us B to be much more on our guard never to graft human justice onto the rule proposed by our Lord Jesus Christ for pleasing God.
7. But as for that which is done beyond measure, I think it suffices to remember our Lord Jesus Christ, to distinguish the measure of the old love (for it is written, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself"), who said: "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love than this no man has, that one lay down his life for his friends." And in summary, one may learn this same thing concerning all justifications together from the Lord Himself, when He defined it thus: "Unless your justice shall abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." But it is contrary to order and the sequence of things when someone treats what is first in the second or third place, and thinks that those things which are placed in the third place should be the beginning of those which were placed first. Just as when the Lord gave this commandment to him who had said, "All these things I have kept from my youth": "Sell what you have, and give to the poor, and take up your cross, and come, follow me," if someone C who had performed none of those things which were laid out first were to enjoin the command, "Follow me" (which comes later); and just as when the Lord says again: "If any man comes to me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me," if someone were to place the command of following before the prior ones. And again, when the Lord after many things adds, "So every one of you who does not renounce the things he possesses, cannot be my disciple," if someone were to believe himself to be a disciple before he had kept the things previously stated. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the precept of the Apostle who says: "Let all things be done D decently and according to order."
A
8. Likewise, this happens when one does not act with the proper intention, as when the Lord speaks of those who, for the sake of pleasing men, perform almsgiving or engage in any other righteous work, that they may be seen by men: "Amen I say to you, they have received their reward" (Matt. VI, 5). Moreover, He sets forth the wickedness of those who perform the Lord’s precept because of human passion even more severely, showing that he who performs a commandment not out of piety, but out of a desire to please men, or for the sake of some other pleasure, or out of greed, or for business—things which the Apostle also condemns—is not only deprived of a reward but is also deserving of punishment. Indeed, the Lord himself, condemning such people with greater severity, says: "Many will come in that day saying, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and do many mighty works, and eat with you, and drink, and did you not teach in our streets?' And then I will answer them, saying: 'Depart from me, I do not know you from where you are, you workers of iniquity'" (Matt. VII, 22, 23; Luc. XIII, 26, 27). B From these and similar things, it is evident that even if someone exercises spiritual gifts, or performs the commandments, if he does not do them with the disposition and the aim which the Lord taught by saying: "Thus let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. V, 16); and which Paul the Apostle, speaking in Christ, handed down when he said: "Whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (I Cor. X, 31); he will deservedly and rightly hear what the Lord answered. Hence the Apostle learned to say: "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries, and if I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I profit nothing." And elsewhere, more generally and more vehemently, he says: "If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Gal. I, 10). C
9. But if you also seek out the testimony of the Old Testament to confirm with certainty a judgment of this kind, Moses says: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your strength; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Deut. VI, 5). To these the Lord adds: "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matt. XXII, 40). The Apostle also bears witness to this same thing, saying: "Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. XIII, 10). D
A That those who do not fulfill these [commandments], and the ordinances subject to them, are not left unpunished, but are liable to penalties, Moses himself cries out, saying: « Cursed is everyone who does not remain in all things which are written in this book. » And David says: « If I regarded iniquity in my heart, let not the Lord hear me. » And elsewhere: « There they shall fear a fear, where there was no fear, because God has scattered the bones of those who please men. » There is need, therefore, of great diligence and wakeful care, lest by failing in any of the things mentioned above as we perform the commandment, we not only lose such and so great a reward, but also become liable to such horrendous threats.
QUESTION IX
Whether it is proper to have association with the wicked, or to be a participant in the fruitless works of darkness, even if such persons are not among those entrusted to me.B ANSWER. 1. The wicked person is anyone who has not kept the whole law, or has violated even one commandment. For if even a small part is missing, the whole is endangered. For what is almost done is not done. Just as he who is nearly dead is not dead, but lives; and he who has nearly lived does not live, but is dead; and he who almost entered did not enter, like the five virgins: so he who has kept the law "almost" has not kept it, but is wicked. Therefore, it is necessary regarding the wicked, even if they seem to be brothers or relatives, to obey the Apostle who says at one time: « If any man who is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such a one do not even eat. » C It must be observed here, however, that he has cut off not only the one who offends in all these things from even ordinary daily food, but also the one who sins in any one of these, since he did not say, "With him," but, "With such a one." And at another time: « Mortify your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things' sake the wrath of God comes » (and indeed he added more generally, "upon the sons of disobedience"). D « Be not therefore participants with them. » And again: « That you withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks inordinately, and not according to the tradition which they received from us. » And elsewhere likewise.
2. But so that we may accurately understand what it is not to be a participant in fruitless works, let us first consider carefully the things to which the name "fruitless" is applied; whether it is applied to the reprobate only,
A but also to things which are indeed laudable, but are not done with a sound disposition of soul. In the Old Testament, therefore, the Prophet, taking a comparison from a tree, spoke concerning the holy: "Which shall bring forth its fruit in its season." And Solomon says: "The works of the righteous make life; but the fruits of the wicked are sins." Hosea, likewise, says: "Sow for yourselves to righteousness, reap the fruit of life." And Micah says: "And the land shall be for a desolation with those that dwell in it, from the fruits of their pursuits." And other prophets have said many other things; but these let shine like a lamp. But the true light, that sun of righteousness, our Lord Jesus Christ himself, sets the matter forth more clearly, saying: "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruits, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth B good fruits." And similarly elsewhere. Since, therefore, we have the name of "fruits" applied equally to contrary things, let us now consider what trees are fruitless, and what works the Apostle calls fruitless. Fruitless trees, then, are made clear to us by John the Baptist, who said to those who were deemed worthy of baptism for the remission of sins, and were cleansed from every defilement: "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance." And a little later he adds: "Every tree, therefore, that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire." The Lord teaches us yet more clearly, saying to those who stand on the right hand: "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," and indicating their good fruits by the things that follow. But those who are on the left, he sends into C the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; whom he blames not because they committed sin, but because they lacked good fruits. "For I was hungry," he says, "and you gave me nothing to eat," and what follows; which inertia made them become of the portion of sinners, whom the Lord calls angels of the devil.
3. Since, therefore, the difference between those who bring forth contrasting fruits and those who are fruitless has been made manifest, let us now see what those things are which the Apostle principally calls fruitless works. For my part, while I ponder these things with myself, I find no one between him who performs the commandment lawfully and in a manner pleasing to God, and him who performs evil, and him who does neither, unless it be those who indeed do what is good, but D not in such a way that it is acceptable to God, for some reason or other from among those we mentioned earlier in that question where we discussed whether the work of a commandment is pleasing if it is not done according to the commandment: concerning whom the Lord says, that they have received their reward, as the five foolish virgins, who are testified to by the Lord himself as being both virgins and as having their lamps...
A trimmed, and because they lit them—that is, they showed the same zeal as the wise virgins, and went out to meet the Lord, and in every respect alike showed the same diligence—yet for the sole lack of oil in their vessels, they missed their goal, and were excluded from the entrance to the bridal chamber. And as to the two who are at the mill and on the same bed, of whom one is taken and the other left, in whose case the Lord perhaps kept silent about the reason, in order to show that in every matter—even by a small 58 lack of what is proper, and especially of sincere charity, as the Apostle taught—one may show that which is not pleasing to God: let us recognize, then, how that which is called "unfruitful in works" 59 comes to pass, and let us be on guard that we do not strive for the lawful contest of pleasing God in vain, but in all things commend ourselves as ministers of God. B And not only this, but also let us not have communion with such persons, as Paul, who spoke in Christ, definitively declared, saying: "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness." But by adding, "But rather even reprove them," he taught the manner in which we ought not to have fellowship.
4. But let us examine in how many ways this fellowship occurs. For it comes to my mind what is said in Proverbs: "Come with us, be a partaker of blood," and in the Apostle: "Being all of you partakers 60 of my grace," and "Partaking with me in my affliction," and "Let him who is catechized in the word share with the one who catechizes him in all good things," and that: "If you saw a thief, you ran with him, and placed your portion with adulterers," and that: "By reproof you shall reprove your brother, and you will not receive sin on his account," and that: "These things you did, and I kept silent; you suspected unrighteousness, that I shall be like you; I will reprove you and set them before your face." C I account these and suchlike instances of communion to be, regarding the work, when persons join together for the same goal in order to bring about an action; and regarding the intent [of the heart], when one agrees with the disposition of the person acting and delights with him. But another kind of communion, which escapes many, is revealed by the accuracy of the God-breathed Scripture: when one has neither worked together, nor agreed with the disposition, but knowing the malice of the intent from which the person acts, keeps silent and does not reprove—according both to what was written above and what was said by the Apostle to the Corinthians, that "You have not mourned that D he who has done this deed might be removed from your midst," to whom he added: "A little leaven..."
corrupts the whole lump." Let us fear, therefore, and obey him who says: "Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump." A He who does good together with someone else with a good intention, but is unaware of the malice of the other’s disposition and purpose, will not have the guilt of communion in the act of collaborating, but inasmuch as he is separated from the other’s disposition, and keeps himself within the rule of love toward God, he will receive his own reward according to his own labor, just as the one in the bed, and she who is found at the mill, were indicated to us by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But the difference between those who are entrusted to us and those who are not lies in the debt of diligence and care, not in the participation of sins. For I owe care properly and specifically to those alone who are entrusted to me; but participation in evil and fruitless works is forbidden equally among all.
QUESTION X.
Whether it is always dangerous to give scandal.RESPONSE.
1. I think it is necessary, first of all, to know what scandal is; then also the difference between those who give scandal, and the things by which they cause scandal; and in this way to recognize what is free of danger and what has danger in it. C Scandal, therefore, as I opine, being guided by the Scriptures, is anything that leads to some defection from the truth which is according to piety, or induces an invitation to error, or builds up into impiety, or, in sum, anything that hinders us from obeying the commandment of God even unto death itself. Therefore, if that which is said or done is good in itself, but the infirmity of the one who uses the work or the word brings detriment to that thing in its use, he who has said or done the good for the edification of the faith is pure from the judgment of those who have been scandalized, D just as it happened to the Lord when He said: "Not what enters into the mouth defiles a man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles a man"; and when He added with regard to those who had been scandalized: "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up"; likewise, when He said: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life"; and shortly after: "No one can come to me, unless it has been given to him by my Father."A For those to whom the disciples, having heard this teaching, went back and no longer walked with Him. Jesus therefore said to the twelve: "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered Him: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have known that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." For the same words which those whose faith was sound used for the edification of faith and the acquisition of eternal salvation, those whose knowledge or faith was weak, because of their own malice, abused as an occasion for destruction, just as it is written concerning the Lord, that "He is set for the fall and rising again of many"; B not that He Himself is contrary, but because of the contrary disposition of the minds of those who use Him, just as the Apostle says: "To the one the savor of death unto death, and to the other the savor of life unto life."
2. If that which is done or said is evil by its own nature, he who did or said it undergoes the judgment for his own sin and for the scandal, even if he for whose sake the scandal arises has not been scandalized—as we learn from Peter, to whom the Lord, forbidden to complete the ministry and dispensation of obedience unto death, said: "Get behind me, Satan, you are a stumbling block [scandalum] to me." And the stated reason, though expressed in a few words, teaches the general properties of scandal: "Because you do not savor the things that are of God, but the things that are of men." C From this we can know that every sentiment contrary to the sentiment of God is a scandal, and when it has progressed to the point of a deed, it becomes liable to the judgment of a murderer, as it is written in the prophet Hosea: "The priests have hidden the way, they have murdered Sichem, because they have committed iniquity in the people." But if something is legitimate by its own nature, yet is taken as a source of harm, and becomes an occasion of scandal to those who are weak in faith or knowledge, he who did it does not escape the judgment of the scandal, since concerning those who allow such things and do not spare the weak, the Apostle says: "But when you sin against the brothers, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ." D Therefore, when what is done is the cause of an offense because it is evil when considered in itself, or if something out of things permitted and within our own power becomes an offense to anyone weak in faith or knowledge, then it has a manifest and inevitable judgment—that is, the terrible one which was pronounced by the Lord Himself in this way: "It is better for him that a millstone were hung about the
neck of him, and he be cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble." A We have explained these things more broadly in the first questions, where the modes of those who are scandalized were also examined more clearly. Wherefore the Apostle also says regarding things permitted: "It is good not to eat meat, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything by which your brother stumbles, or is scandalized, or is weak." And again, saying elsewhere that: "Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving," nevertheless he says: "I will not eat meat forever, lest I scandalize my brother." If then such is the judgment regarding things permitted, what would one say regarding things forbidden? B Therefore, he instructs us more generally, saying: "Be without offense, both to the Jews and to the Greeks, and to the Church of God, as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but that of the many, that they may be saved."
QUESTION XI
Whether it is fitting or safe to refuse anything of those things which have been commanded by God, or to forbid him to whom it has been commanded to do this very thing, or to tolerate those who forbid it—especially if he who forbids is a relative or an acquaintance, or if some plausible reasoning stands against the commandment.ANSWER
Since the Lord says, "Learn of me, because I am meek and humble in heart," it is clear C that all things are more certainly learned by us when we are mindful of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the only-begotten Son of the living God; who, when John the Baptist had said to Him, "I have need to be baptized of thee, and thou comest to me?" replied, "Suffer it to be so, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." And also before His disciples, when Peter was deprecating those temptations which the Lord Himself had predicted He must undergo in Jerusalem—namely, that they themselves might not be led into them—then with greater indignation He said, "Get behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me; for thou savorest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men." And again, when that same Peter, moved by an affect of reverence toward the Lord, refused the D ministry, the Lord again said, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." If, however, the soul needs to be further assisted by the examples of those who are of the same kind as us, let us remember the Apostle who said: "What do you, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." But who would be more glorious and more renowned than John, or more sincere than Peter? Or what reasonings—A should those who fall into such things appear more religious? But I know that neither holy Moses, nor Jonas the prophet, who used reasonings to refuse obedience, remained blameless before God. By these we are taught neither to contradict, nor to forbid, nor to endure those who forbid. But if Scripture has thoroughly taught us not to tolerate these things and others of the same kind, how much more is it necessary for us in other matters to imitate the saints, who sometimes said: "We must obey God rather than men," B and at other times: "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."
QUESTION XII. Whether each person ought to undertake the care of all things in all matters, or only of those which have been entrusted to him, and this according to the gift bestowed upon him by God through the Holy Spirit.
ANSWER. 1. When our Lord Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, through whom all things were made, both visible and invisible, confesses that "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," C and says to His disciples, "As the Father has sent me, so I also send you," and yet commands, "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans"; and after the prophecy of David, which spoke as if from the person of God and Father, was fulfilled in Him—"You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession"—and then at last He commands His disciples, "Go, therefore, and teach all nations"; how much more D ought each one of us to be more diligent in keeping the commandment of the Apostle, who wrote: "Do not think more highly than you ought to think, but think to think soberly, as God has divided to each one the measure of faith," and to wait for when and what might be commanded, as he also says again: "Each one in that in which he was called, brethren, in this let him remain." But the same Apostle also, while more accurately observing what he commands others, says: "They gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision."
2. But if some necessity of love, the love of God or of one's neighbor, calls for the supply of what is lacking, he who obeys will have the reward of voluntary obedience. But that love calls, whenever the love of God and of Christ Himself...
A is at stake, to fulfill the commandment of the Lord, who says: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Love for one’s neighbor is invoked whenever he who is entrusted with oversight has need of help, or the company of those being cared for is in need of someone to supply what is lacking, as the Apostle says, “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth” (1 Cor. 10:24); for the love of Christ “seeketh not her own” (1 Cor. 13:5), and elsewhere, “Edify one another, even as also ye do” (1 Thess. 5:11). Wherefore, he who has not fulfilled the preaching to which he was sent, by work and by word, is guilty of the blood of those who have not heard; nor can he say B the same things that the Apostle Paul declared to the elders of the Ephesians, that “I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:26-27). But if he is able to do anything more than what is commanded for the edification of the faith in the love of Christ, he has a reward, which the Apostle demonstrated to us, saying: “For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me” (1 Cor. 9:17).
QUESTION XIII.
Whether one ought to endure every temptation, even if it carries the threat of death, for the sake of keeping obedience to God, and especially in the care of those who have been entrusted to us.
ANSWER.
1. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the living God, through whom all things were made, both visible and invisible, possessing life just as the Father who gave it to Him possesses it, and having received all authority from the Father, when those who were to seize Him for the death that was to be undergone for our righteousness C and eternal life were approaching, went to meet them with such readiness, saying: “Behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me” (Mark 14:41-42). And as it is written in the Gospel according to John: “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he” (John 18:4-5); and a little later: “I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way” (John 18:8). How much more, then, ought we to endure D willingly what happens by nature? So that, by overcoming the temptations brought upon us by enemies for the sake of obedience to God, we may glorify God, in that we receive with joy, even unto death, the painful things that seem to be inflicted by our enemies, having attained the sentiment of Him who said, “Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ"