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Therefore I beseech 31.689 and beg, that you cease from curious questioning and unseemly disputes about words, and be content with what has been said by the saints and by the Lord Himself, but to think things worthy of the heavenly calling; and to live worthily of the Gospel of Christ, in the hope of eternal life, and of the heavenly kingdom, which is prepared for all who keep the commandments of God the Father, according to the Gospel of our blessed God, Jesus Christ our Lord, in the Holy Spirit and in truth. Having been reminded by your reverence to dictate these things in these last days, and to make our own mind manifest to you and through you to the brothers in Christ, for the full assurance of you and of them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have considered it necessary and incumbent upon us, so that the mind of some may not be carried about in any way by the difference in things set forth by us at different times, as we are always forced to resist the proposition introduced by those who oppose the truth, nor indeed that any should be disturbed by the opposition of those among us who wish to proclaim alien things, or even those who often falsely represent their own passions as our way of thinking in order to carry away the more simple; whom it is necessary for you to guard against, as being alien to the evangelical and apostolic faith and love; and to remember the Apostle who said: But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, let him be accursed; so that, observing also that which says, Beware of false prophets; and this, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that they received from us, we may walk according to the rule of the saints, as having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus our Lord Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is God who calls you, who also will do it, if we keep His commandments, by the grace of Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Considering that what concerns sound faith has been sufficiently stated for the present in the 31.692 preceding sections, from this point let us endeavor to fulfill the promise concerning morals, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, as many things as we find in the New Testament, for now, that are either forbidden or approved in a scattered way, these we have endeavored to gather together, as far as we were able, into summary rules, for easy comprehension by those who wish; placing beside each rule also the number of the scriptural chapters included in it, whether from the Gospel, or from the Apostle, or from the Acts; so that one who has read the rule, and seen the first, as it may be, or the second number placed beside it, then taking up the Scripture itself, and seeking the chapter of the aforementioned number, may thus find the testimony to which the rule has been made. I wished, therefore, first to set down alongside the rules the things from the Old Testament that are said in agreement with each of the things in the New; but since the need was pressing, with the brothers in Christ now especially more earnestly demanding from us what was long ago promised, I remembered him who said: Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser. So it is possible for the one who wishes, having received a sufficient starting point from what is set forth, to take up the Old Testament, and to recognize for himself the harmony in all the divinely inspired Scriptures, especially since one voice is sufficient for the faithful and for those fully convinced of the truth of the Lord's words. Therefore I considered it sufficient to set forth not all the things in the New Testament, but a few from all.

5

∆ιόπερ παρακαλῶ 31.689 καὶ δέομαι, παυσαμένους τῆς περιέργου ζητήσεως καὶ ἀπρεποῦς λογομαχίας, ἀρκεῖσθαι τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου εἰρημένοις, ἄξια δὲ τῆς ἐπουρανίου κλήσεως φρονεῖν· καὶ ἀξίως τοῦ Εὐαγ γελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ πολιτεύεσθαι, ἐπ' ἐλπίδι τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς, καὶ ἐπουρανίου βασιλείας, τῆς ἡτοιμα σμένης πᾶσι τοῖς φυλάσσουσι τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς, τὰς κατὰ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ μακαρίου Θεοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ. Ταῦτα ὑπομνησθέντες παρὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας εὐλαβείας ὑπαγορεῦσαι ἐν τοῖς τελευταίοις, καὶ τὸ ἑαυτῶν φρόνημα φανερὸν ποιῆσαι ὑμῖν τε καὶ δι' ὑμῶν τοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ ἀδελφοῖς, εἰς πληροφορίαν ὑμῶν τε καὶ αὐτῶν ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰη σοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀναγκαῖον καὶ ἡμῖν ἐπιβάλλον ἡγη σάμεθα πρὸς τὸ μηδαμῶς περιφέρεσθαί τινων τὸν νοῦν ἐν τῇ διαφορᾷ τῶν ἄλλοτε μὲν ἄλλως παρ' ἡμῶν ἐκτε- θέντων, ἀεὶ δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἐπεισαγομένην παρὰ τῶν ἀντιδιατιθεμένων τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ὑπόθεσιν ἀναγκαζομένων ἡμῶν ἐνίστασθαι, μήτε μὴν διασαλεύεσθαί τινας ἐν τῇ ἐναντιότητι τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν τὰ ἀλλότρια ἐπιφημίζειν θελόντων, ἢ καὶ τὰ ἴδια πάθη πολλάκις ἐπὶ τὸ συναρπάσαι τοὺς ἁπλουστέρους τοῦ ἡμετέρου φρονήματος καταψευδομένων· οὓς καὶ ὑμῖν φυλάξασθαι, ὡς ἀλλοτρίους τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς καὶ ἀποστολικῆς πίστεώς τε καὶ ἀγάπης, ἀναγκαῖον· μεμνῆσθαι δὲ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου εἰπόντος· Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐὰν ἡμεῖς, ἢ ἄγγελος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ εὐαγγελίζηται ὑμῖν παρ' ὃ εὐηγγελισάμεθα ὑμῖν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω· ἵνα τηροῦντες κἀκεῖνο τὸ, Προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν· καὶ τὸ, Στέλλεσθαι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ παντὸς ἀδελφοῦ ἀτάκτως περιπατοῦντος, καὶ μὴ κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν, ἣν παρέλαβον παρ' ἡμῶν, στοιχῶμεν τῷ κανόνι τῶν ἁγίων, ὡς Ἐποικοδομηθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν, ὄντος ἀκρογωνιαίου αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐν ᾧ πᾶσα οἰκοδομὴ συναρμολογουμένη αὔξει εἰς ναὸν ἅγιον ἐν Κυρίῳ. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης ἁγιάσαι ὑμᾶς ὁλοτελεῖς, καὶ ὁλόκληρον ὑμῶν τὸ πνεῦμα, καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ, καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀμέμπτως ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τηρηθείη. Πιστὸς ὁ Θεὸς ὁ καλῶν ὑμᾶς, ὃς καὶ ποιήσει, ἐὰν τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τηρήσωμεν, χάριτι τοῦ Χρι- στοῦ ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ.

Τὰ περὶ τῆς ὑγιαινούσης πίστεως ἐν τοῖς 31.692 πρὸ τούτων αὐτάρκως εἰρῆσθαι πρὸς τὸ παρὸν λογιζόμενοι, ἐντεῦθεν τὴν περὶ τῶν ἠθικῶν ἐπαγγελίαν ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ πληρῶσαι σπουδάσωμεν. Ὅσα τοίνυν εὑρίσκομεν κατὰ τὴν Καινὴν τέως ∆ιαθήκην σποράδην ἀπηγορευμένα ἢ ἐγκεκριμένα, ταῦτα, κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἡμῖν, εἰς ὅρους κεφαλαιώδεις πρὸς τὸ εὔληπτον τοῖς βουλομένοις ἐσπουδάσαμεν συναγαγεῖν· παραθέντες ἑκάστῳ ὅρῳ καὶ τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῶν ἐμπεριειλημμένων αὐτῷ γραφικῶν κεφαλαίων, εἴτε ἐκ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, εἴτε ἐκ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου, ἢ τῶν Πράξεων· ἵνα ὁ ἀναγνοὺς τὸν ὅρον, καὶ ἰδὼν παρακείμενον αὐτῷ τὸν πρῶτον, εἰ τύχοι, ἢ τὸν δεύτερον ἀριθμὸν, εἶτα ἀναλαβὼν αὐτὴν τὴν Γραφὴν, καὶ ἀναζητήσας τὸ κεφάλαιον τοῦ προειρημένου ἀριθμοῦ, οὕτως εὕρῃ τὴν μαρτυρίαν πρὸς ἣν ὁ ὅρος πεποίηται. Ἐβουλόμην μὲν οὖν τὰ πρῶτα καὶ ἐκ τῆς Παλαιᾶς ∆ιαθήκης τὰ πρὸς ἕκαστον τῶν ἐν τῇ Καινῇ συμφώνως εἰρημένα παραθεῖναι τοῖς ὅροις· ἐπειδὴ δὲ κατήπειγεν ἡ χρεία, τῶν ἐν Χριστῷ ἀδελφῶν νῦν μάλιστα σπουδαιότερον ἀπαιτησάντων ἡμᾶς τὰ πάλαι ἐπηγγελμένα, ἐμνημόνευσα τοῦ εἰπόντος· ∆ίδου σοφῷ ἀφορμὴν, καὶ σοφώτερος ἔσται. Ὥστε ἔξεστι τῷ βουλομένῳ ἀφορμὴν αὐτάρκη ἐκ τῶν παρακειμένων εἰληφότι ἀναλαβεῖν τὴν Παλαιὰν ∆ιαθήκην, καὶ γνωρίσαι ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἐν πάσαις ταῖς θεοπνεύστοις Γραφαῖς συμφωνίαν, ἄλλως τε καὶ μιᾶς φωνῆς ἀρκούσης τοῖς πιστοῖς καὶ πεπληροφορημένοις τὴν ἀλήθειαν τῶν τοῦ Κυρίου ῥημάτων. ∆ιὸ καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ Καινῇ ∆ιαθήκῃ οὐ πάντα, ὀλίγα δὲ ἐκ πάντων παραθέσθαι αὔταρκες ἐλογισάμην.