John Chrysostom, On Timothy

Of God is the saving grace. Those who have God for their teacher, how could they not reasonably be such as I have just described, having found release from countless sins? For you know that, among other things, this also not in a casual way shames and humbles the soul: that though liable for countless sins, it should not pay the penalty, but receive pardon and countless good things. For if someone, tell me, having taken a servant who had offended in countless ways, should not stretch him out with thongs, but should grant pardon for those offenses, and for the future demand an account from him, and command 62.689 him to be on his guard, so as not to fall into the same things, and should honor him with great gifts; who, hearing of so great a grace, do you think would not be shamed by it? But do not think that grace stops at the forgiveness of former sins, but it also secures us for the future; for this too is of grace. Since if it were not to punish those who are always doing evil, the matter is no longer grace, but an incitement to ruin and corruption. For the grace of God has appeared, he says, training us that, having denied ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, justly, and godly in the present age, awaiting the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. See how with the prizes he also places virtue. This too is of grace, to be delivered from worldly things, to be led to heaven. He shows here two appearings; for there are two, the first of grace, the second of retribution and of justice. That, having denied, he says, ungodliness and worldly desires. Behold, the foundation of all virtue. He did not say, That we should flee, but, That, having denied. The denial shows great separation, great hatred, great aversion; with as much disposition, with as much earnestness as they turned away from idols, with so much also should we turn from wickedness itself and worldly desires, he says. For these too are idols, worldly desire and covetousness, and this he names idolatry; and whatever things are useful to us for the present life, are worldly desires; all things whatsoever that are dissolved together with the present life, is a worldly desire. Let us therefore have nothing to do with these. Christ came, that we might deny ungodliness. By ungodliness he means doctrines, and by worldly desires the profane life. We should live soberly and justly and godly in the present age. 2. Do you see that, as I always say, temperance is not only to abstain from fornication, but also to be free from the other passions? Therefore also the lover of money is not temperate. For as the one loves bodies, so does this one love money; rather, this one is more intemperate, inasmuch as he does not have so great a force impelling him. For that charioteer would especially be called unrestrained, not the one who cannot control a harsh and stubborn horse, but the one who is unable to subdue the gentler and more manageable one. But what? he says. Is the desire for money less than that for bodies? It is surely clear to everyone, and this is shown from many things; and first, that the desire for bodies has come to be of necessity; and it is clear that what has come to be of necessity is also set right with much labor, since it was also sown in our nature. Secondly, that among the ancients there was not much discussion of money, but much of women for the sake of temperance; and no one would blame a man who has relations with a woman according to law, even up to old age, but everyone would blame one who amasses wealth. And many of the pagan philosophers despised money, but not women; so much more tyrannical is the latter than the former. But since our discourse is to the Church, let us not bring our examples from those outside, but from the Scriptures. This, then, this blessed one lays down almost in the form of a command 62.690, saying thus, Having

Θεοῦ ἡ σωτήριος. Οἱ Θεοῦ διδασκάλου τυγχάνοντες, πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἶεν εἰκότως τοιοῦτοι, οἵους ἄρτι διῆλθον ἐγὼ, μυρίων ἁμαρτημάτων λύσιν εὑρόντες; Ἴστε γὰρ ὅτι μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ τοῦτο οὐχ ὡς ἔτυχεν ἐντρέπει καὶ συστέλλει ψυχὴν, τὸ μυρίων ἁμαρτημάτων οὖσαν ὑπεύθυνον, μὴ δίκην δοῦναι, ἀλλὰ συγγνώμης τυχεῖν καὶ μυρίων ἀγαθῶν. Εἰ γάρ τις, εἰπέ μοι, τὸν μυρία προσκρούσαντα οἰκέτην λαβὼν, μὴ κατατείνοι ἱμᾶσιν, ἀλλ' ἐπ' ἐκείνοις μὲν συγγνώμην παράσχοι, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν μελλόντων αὐτὸν ἀπαιτοίη εὐθύνας, καὶ φυλάττεσθαι παρα 62.689 κελεύοιτο, ὥστε μὴ τοῖς αὐτοῖς περιπεσεῖν, καὶ δωρεαῖς μεγάλαις τιμήσειε· τίνα οὐκ ἂν οἴεσθε ἐντρέψαι τὴν τοσαύτην χάριν ἀκούοντα; Ἀλλὰ μὴ νομίσῃς, ὅτι ἡ χάρις μέχρι τῆς τῶν προτέρων συγχωρήσεως ἵσταται, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τὸ μέλλον ἡμᾶς ἀσφαλίζεται· καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο χάριτος. Ἐπεὶ εἰ μέλλοι ἀεὶ κακῶς πράττοντας μὴ κολάζειν, οὐκέτι τὸ πρᾶγμα χάρις ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ προτροπή τις εἰς λύμην καὶ διαφθοράν. Ἐπεφάνη γὰρ, φησὶν, ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ παιδεύουσα ἡμᾶς, ἵνα ἀρνησάμενοι τὴν ἀσέβειαν καὶ τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας, σωφρόνως καὶ δικαίως καὶ εὐσεβῶς ζήσωμεν ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι, προσδεχόμενοι τὴν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα καὶ ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς δόξης τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ὅρα πῶς μετὰ τῶν ἐπάθλων τίθησι καὶ τὴν ἀρετήν. Καὶ τοῦτο χάριτος, τὸ ἀπαλλάξαι τῶν βιωτικῶν, τὸ πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀγαγεῖν. ∆ύο δείκνυσιν ἐνταῦθα ἐπιφανείας· καὶ γὰρ εἰσὶ δύο, ἡ μὲν προτέρα χάριτος, ἡ δὲ δευτέρα ἀνταποδόσεως καὶ τοῦ δικαίου. Ἵνα ἀρνησάμενοι, φησὶ, τὴν ἀσέβειαν καὶ τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας. Ἰδοὺ πάσης τῆς ἀρετῆς ἡ ὑπόθεσις. Οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἵνα φευξώμεθα, ἀλλ', Ἵνα ἀρνησάμενοι. Ἡ ἄρνησις πολλὴν δείκνυσι τὴν διάστασιν πολὺ τὸ μῖσος, πολλὴν τὴν ἀποστροφήν· μεθ' ὅσης διαθέσεως, μεθ' ὅσης σπουδῆς τὰ εἴδωλα ἀπεστράφησαν, μετὰ τοσαύτης καὶ τὴν κακίαν αὐτὴν καὶ τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας, φησί. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα εἴδωλα, κοσμικὴ ἐπιθυμία καὶ πλεονεξία, καὶ ταύτην εἰδωλολατρείαν ὀνομάζει· καὶ ὅσα πρὸς τὸν παρόντα βίον ἡμῖν χρησιμεύει, κοσμικαί εἰσιν ἐπιθυμίαι· πάντα ὅσα ἂν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ συγκαταλύεται, κοσμική ἐστιν ἐπιθυμία. Μηδὲν τοίνυν πρὸς ταύτας ἔχωμεν. Ἦλθεν ὁ Χριστὸς, ἵνα ἀρνησώμεθα τὴν ἀσέβειαν. Ἀσέβειαν τὰ δόγματά φησι, καὶ κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας τὸν βίον τὸν ἐναγῆ. Σωφρόνως καὶ δικαίως καὶ εὐσεβῶς ζήσωμεν, ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι. βʹ. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι, ὅπερ ἀεὶ λέγω, σωφροσύνη οὐ τοῦτο μόνον ἐστὶ, τὸ πορνείας ἀπέχεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τῶν λοιπῶν παθῶν ἐκτὸς εἶναι; Ἄρα καὶ ὁ χρημάτων ἐρῶν, οὐ σώφρων. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος σωμάτων, οὕτω καὶ οὗτος χρημάτων· μᾶλλον δὲ οὗτος ἀκολαστότερος, ὅσῳ οὐδὲ τοσαύτην ἔχει βίαν τὴν ὠθοῦσαν αὐτόν. Καὶ γὰρ ἡνίοχος ἐκεῖνος ἀκρατὴς μάλιστα ἂν λέγοιτο, οὐχ ὁ τὸν τραχὺν καὶ δυσήνιον μὴ κατέχων ἵππον, ἀλλ' ὁ τὸν ἠρέμα ἐπιεικέστερον μὴ δυνάμενος ὑποτάξαι. Τί δὲ, φησίν; ἡ τῶν χρημάτων ἐπιθυμία τῆς τῶν σωμάτων ἐλάττων; Παντί που δῆλον, καὶ πολλαχόθεν τοῦτο δείκνυται· καὶ πρῶτον μὲν, ὅτι ἀναγκαίως γέγονεν ἡ τῶν σωμάτων ἐπιθυμία· τὸ δὲ ἀναγκαίως γεγονὸς δῆλον ὅτι καὶ μετὰ πολλοῦ κατορθοῦται τοῦ πόνου, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐνεσπάρη τῇ φύσει. ∆εύτερον, ὅτι χρημάτων μὲν οὐ πολὺς τοῖς παλαιοῖς λόγος, γυναικῶν δὲ πολὺς σωφροσύνης ἕνεκεν· καὶ γυναικὶ μὲν συγγενομένῳ κατὰ νόμον οὐδεὶς ἂν μέμψαιτο μέχρι γήρως, χρηματιζομένῳ δὲ πάντες. Καὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν φιλοσόφων πολλοὶ χρημάτων μὲν κατεφρόνησαν, γυναικῶν δὲ οὐκέτι· οὕτω τοῦτο ἐκείνου τυραννικώτερον. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ πρὸς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος, μὴ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔξωθεν φέρωμεν τὰ ὑποδείγματα, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τῶν Γραφῶν. Τοῦτο μὲν οὖν καὶ ἐν ἐπιτάγματος σχεδὸν μέρει 62.690 τίθησιν ὁ μακάριος οὗτος οὕτω λέγων, Ἔχοντες