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he repents, so that by no longer sinning he may flee the coming 39.1108 wrath against sinners. And he asks, "Who warned you?" so that he who genuinely warns to depart from wickedness might say this is not to be done with pretense. But you do this with hypocrisy, coming to be baptized. Therefore you will not be cleansed. For he who truly wishes to be cleansed abstains from sins, and bears the fruit of such repentance, doing the works of the disposition contrary to sin. But you have not done this, having condemned yourselves, by claiming to have Abraham as your father. But this will not benefit you, to think you are children of Abraham, but to be his children, both by faith and by flight from idols. And so if you have ever become children of Abraham, this will not save you. For God is able to make his children even those who are not now his children. So he who is a child of Abraham according to virtue is saved, not he who became his child according to the flesh only, and even if one becomes so, let him not be proud; for such a thing is liable to change. Indeed at any rate even those who do not have it will be able to acquire it. For Paul also says to those whom he has not begotten in the flesh: "For in Christ through the Gospel I have begotten you." But hearing these things do not be contemptuous, as if the wrath against sinners were delayed. For already through the very act of sinning the wicked man has his present punishment, being deserving of punishment. Wherefore know that the axe is already approaching the roots of the trees. And by trees he does not mean perceptible ones, but human beings made according to wickedness. And the root of these trees is the worst disposition, from which fruit that is not edible, but poisonous, is produced. Therefore he spoke of fruit that is not good. And so if the axe signifies punishment, and the bad tree the sinning human, these are not opposing natures; for punishment is threatened for the purpose of changing the trees. For he who threatens sinners, wishes to reform them through the threat itself. If, therefore, through the threat of the axe, which is about to cut down the rotten trees, he persuades them to cease from bearing bad fruit, but rather good fruit; the tree is not evil by nature, nor is punishment evil by nature. But perhaps they will say: If punishment reforms the wicked, it is a good thing; but if punishment is good, and the promise is contrary to it, and contraries cannot both be good at the same time; therefore the promise is evil. But since the promise is not evil, but good, punishment is evil. But if punishment is evil, not God, but Satan inflicts it. But Satan does not inflict punishment on his own; for they are wicked, like himself, and it is necessary that he himself also fall under punishment; therefore he will inflict it on the good. But this is impossible; therefore the evil one does not inflict it, but God. But everything inflicted by God, is inflicted for a useful purpose, 39.1109 being either productive of good, or preventive of evil. Therefore God, wishing to prevent evil, inflicts this; but He would not attempt to prevent evil, unless it were possible for evil to be prevented. But this, being preventable, cannot be by nature and uncreated. And in this too the ignorant have erred, thinking that punishment is contrary to the promise; for each is a recompense, the one bringing a reward to the good, and the other a penalty against those who have voluntarily transgressed the divine laws.

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μετανοεῖ, ἵνα μηκέτι ἁμαρτάνων φεύγῃ τὴν ἐσομέ 39.1108 νην κατὰ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων ὀργήν. Πυνθάνεται δὲ τὸ, Τίς ὑμῖν ὑπέδειξεν; ἵνα εἴπῃ ὁ γνησίως ὑποδεικνὺς κακίας ἀναχωρεῖν, οὐ προσποιήσει τοῦτο γίνεσθαι. Ὑμεῖς δὲ τοῦτο ποιεῖτε μεθ' ὑποκρίσεως, ἐπὶ τὸ βαπτίζεσθαι ἐρχόμενοι. Οὐκ ἄρα καθαρθήσεσθε. Ὁ γὰρ ἀληθῶς καθαρθῆναι βουλόμενος ἀφίσταται ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ τῆς τοιαύτης μετανοίας καρπὸν φέρει, τὰ τῆς ἐναντίας τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἕξεως ἔργα ποιῶν. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν ὑμεῖς οὐ πεποιήκατε, ἑαυτοὺς κατακρίναντες, φάσκοντες πατέρα τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἔχειν. Ἀλλ' οὐ τοῦθ' ὑμᾶς ὠφελήσει, τὸ οἴεσθαι τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ εἶναι, ἀλλὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτοῦ τέκνα, καὶ τῇ πίστει καὶ τῇ ἀπὸ εἰδώλων φυγῇ. Κἂν τοίνυν ποτὲ τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ γεγόνατε, οὐ τοῦτο ὑμᾶς σώσει. Καὶ γὰρ τοὺς νῦν μὴ ὄντας αὐτοῦ τέκνα δύναται ὁ Θεὸς τέκνα αὐτοῦ ποιῆσαι. Ὥστε σώζεται ὁ ὢν τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ τέκνον κατὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν, οὐχ ὁ γενόμενος αὐτοῦ τέκνον κατὰ σάρκα μόνον, κἂν δὲ γένηται, μὴ μέγα φρονείτω· μετάπτωτον γὰρ τὸ τοιοῦτο. Ἀμέλει γοῦν καὶ οἱ μὴ ἔχοντες αὐτὸ κτήσασθαι αὐτὸ δυνήσονται. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Παῦλος, οὓς τῇ σαρκὶ οὐ γεγέννηκεν, λέγει· Ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ διὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς ἐγέννησα. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτ' ἀκούοντες μὴ καταφρονεῖτε, ὡς βραδυνούσης τῆς κατὰ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων ὀργῆς. Ἤδη γὰρ δι' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν ὁ φαῦλος παροῦσαν ἔχει τὴν κόλασιν, κολαστέος ὑπάρχων. ∆ι' ὃ ἴστε τὴν ἀξίνην ἤδη ταῖς ῥίζαις ἐγγίζουσαν τῶν δένδρων. ∆ένδρα δὲ οὐκ αἰσθητὰ λέγει, ἀλλ' ἀνθρώπους κατὰ κακίαν πεποιημένους. Ῥίζα δὲ τῶν δένδρων τούτων ἡ χειρίστη ἕξις, ἀφ' ἧς καρπὸς οὐκ ἐδώδιμος, ἀλλὰ δηλητήριος γίνεται. Αὐτὸν οὖν οὐ καλὸν καρπὸν εἶπεν. Κἂν τοίνυν ἡ ἀξίνη τὴν κόλασιν σημαίνει, τὸ δὲ κακὸν δένδρον τὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα ἄνθρωπον, οὐ μαχόμεναι φύσεις αὗται· ἀπειλεῖται γὰρ ἡ κόλασις ἐπὶ τῷ μεταβαλεῖν τὰ δένδρα. Ὁ γὰρ ἀπειλῶν τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν, δι' αὐτῆς τῆς ἀπειλῆς μεταποιῆσαι βούλεται. Εἰ τοίνυν διὰ τῆς ἀπειλῆς τῆς ἀξίνης, τῆς μελλούσης ἐκκόπτειν τὰ σαπρὰ δένδρα, πείθει αὐτοὺς παύσασθαι τοῦ μὴ κακὸν καρπὸν φέρειν, ἀλλὰ καλόν· οὐ φύσει κακὸν τὸ δένδρον, οὐδὲ φύσει κακὴ ἡ κόλασις. Ἀλλ' ἴσως ἐροῦσιν· Εἰ μεταποιεῖ φαύλους ἡ κόλασις, ἀγαθὸν αὐτὴν εἶναι· εἰ δὲ ἡ κόλασις ἀγαθὸν, ἐναντία δὲ ταύτῃ ἡ ἐπαγγελία, τὰ δὲ ἐναντία οὐ δύνανται ἅμα ἀγαθὰ εἶναι· ἡ ἄρα ἐπαγγελία κακόν. Μὴ κακοῦ δὲ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, ἀλλ' ἀγαθοῦ οὔσης, ἡ κόλασίς ἐστι κακόν. Εἰ δὲ κακὸν ἡ κόλασις, οὐχ ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλ' ὁ Σατανᾶς αὐτὴν ἐπιφέρει. Ἐπιφέρει δὲ ὁ Σατανᾶς τὴν κόλασιν οὐ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ· εἰσὶν γὰρ, ὡς αὐτὸς, πονηροὶ, καὶ ἀνάγκη καὶ αὐτὸν ὑποπίπτειν τῇ κολάσει· τῷ ἄρα ἀγαθῷ ἐποίσει αὐτήν. Ἀλλ' ἀδύνατον τοῦτο· οὐκ ἄρα ὁ πονηρὸς αὐτὴν ἐπιφέρει, ἀλλὰ Θεός. Πᾶν δὲ τὸ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ ἐπιφερόμενον, χρησίμως 39.1109 ἐπιφέρεται, τυγχάνον ἢ ἀγαθοῦ ποιητικὸν, ἢ κωλυτικὸν κακοῦ. Ὁ ἄρα Θεὸς κωλύειν τὸ κακὸν βουλόμενος, ἐπιφέρει τοῦτο· οὐκ ἂν δ' ἐπεχείρει κωλύειν τὸ κακὸν, εἰ μὴ δυνατὸν ἦν κωλύεσθαι τὸ κακόν. Κωλυόμενον δὲ τοῦτο οὐ δύναται εἶναι φύσει καὶ ἀγένητον. Ἐσφάλησαν δὲ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ οἱ ἀμαθεῖς, νομίσαντες ἐναντίον εἶναι τὴν κόλασιν τῇ ἐπαγγελίᾳ· ἑκατέρα γὰρ ἀνταπόδοσίς ἐστιν, ἡ μὲν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς μισθὸν φέρουσα, ἡ δὲ τιμωρίαν κατὰ τῶν ἑκουσίως παραβεβηκότων τοὺς θείους νόμους.