John Chrysostom, On Repentance

we may receive perpetual confidence of this salvation, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory, and the power, for ever and ever. Amen.

A DISCOURSE ON REPENTANCE and compunction, and that God is swift unto salvation and slow unto punishment; in which also [is] the marvelous

story.

Homily 7. 1. The divine Apostle always uses a divine and heavenly tongue, and with great knowledge weaves the evangelical word; not speaking simply from his own opinion, but from his royal authority bringing forth the doctrines; but he uses this knowledge especially, when he introduces the word of repentance to sinners; and concerning this very topic I will remind you all. You heard, therefore, so that I may touch in part on what was said, how that noble and marvelous man, speaking recently to the Corinthians, said: Lest when I come I shall mourn for many of those who have sinned before, and have not repented. This great teacher was a man by nature, but a servant of God by purpose; for this reason, just as he uses a heavenly tongue, and speaks as if from the very heavens, so too he threatens sinners, and promises propitiation to the repentant. But when I say these things, I do not ascribe the authority to Paul's tongue, but I refer everything to the grace of God, about whom he himself just said: Do you seek proof of Christ speaking in me? He therefore proposes to sinners the medicine of beneficence, and repentance unto salvation. And today the evangelical authority of the Savior coincided with the apostolic reading, bestowing the remission of sins abundantly. For the Savior, healing the paralytic, said, as you have just heard: Son, your many sins are forgiven you; and remission of sins is a fountain of salvation and the prize of repentance; for repentance is a hospital that abolishes sin; it is a heavenly gift, a marvelous power, by grace conquering the sequence of the laws. For this reason it does not cast off the fornicator, nor scare away the adulterer, nor turn away the drunkard, nor abominate the idolater, nor drive out the reviler, nor pursue the blasphemer, nor the boaster, but it transforms all; for repentance is a crucible of sin. But it is necessary first to recognize the purpose of God, not imposing our own ideas on this contemplation, but demonstrating the truth testified from the divine Scriptures themselves. God's purpose in being long-suffering with sinners is twofold for gracious salvation; wooing for them salvation from repentance, and for their descendants who are going to advance in virtue, storing up the 49.324.10 beneficence. And to take up the argument again, God is long-suffering, so that the sinner may repent, and that He may not shut off salvation to those born from him. For even if the sinner himself should sin unrepentantly, He often spares the root, in order to preserve the fruits; often indeed He also changes the root itself, as I have already said; but when it falls into complete wickedness, God usefully postpones the punishment, awaiting the salvation of those who repent; and how, listen. Terah, the father of Abraham, was a worshipper of idols, but he did not pay the penalty for his impiety here; and reasonably so. For if God, acting beforehand, had cut off the root, from where would so great a fruit of faith have sprung up? What is more wicked than Esau? Consider with me also the subject of another act of love for mankind. What is more shameless than that wickedness? not

εἰς παῤῥησίαν διηνεκῆ τῆς σωτηρίας ταύτης ἀπολάβωμεν, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα, καὶ τὸ κράτος, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΛΟΓΟΣ ΠΕΡΙ ΜΕΤΑΝΟΙΑΣ καὶ κατανύξεως, καὶ ὅτι ταχὺς ὁ Θεὸς εἰς σωτηρίαν καὶ βραδὺς εἰς τιμωρίαν· ἐν ᾧ καὶ περὶ τῆς Ῥαὰθ παράδοξος

ἱστορία.

Ὁμιλία ζʹ. αʹ. Πάντοτε μὲν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος θείᾳ καὶ οὐρανίῳ κέχρηται γλώττῃ, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ἐπιστήμης τὸν εὐαγγελικὸν ὑφαίνει λόγον· οὐκ ἐξ οἰκείας γνώμης ἁπλῶς φθεγγόμενος, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς βασιλικῆς αὐτοῦ αὐθεντίας προφέρων τὰ δόγματα· ἐξαιρέτως δὲ ταύτῃ κέχρηται τῇ ἐπιστήμῃ, ὅταν τὸν τῆς μετανοίας εἰσάγῃ λόγον τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι· περὶ δὲ αὐτοῦ τοῦ κεφαλαίου πάντας ὑμᾶς ὑπομνήσω. Ἠκούσατε τοίνυν, ἵνα ἐκ μέρους ἅψωμαι τῶν εἰρημένων, ὡς ἀρτίως διαλεγόμενος τοῖς Κορινθίοις ἔλεγεν ὁ γενναῖος ἐκεῖνος καὶ θαυμάσιος ἀνήρ· Μήπως ἐλθὼν πολλοὺς πενθήσω τῶν προημαρτηκότων, καὶ μὴ μετανοησάντων. Ἄνθρωπος μὲν ἦν τῇ φύσει ὁ μέγας οὗτος διδάσκαλος, Θεοῦ δ' ὑπηρέτης τὴν πρόθεσιν· διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ οὐρανίῳ κέχρηται γλώττῃ, καὶ ὡς ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν οὐρανῶν φθεγγόμενος, οὕτω καὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἀπειλεῖ, καὶ τοῖς μετανοοῦσιν ἱλασμὸν ἐπαγγέλλεται. Ὅταν δὲ ταῦτα εἴπω, οὐ τῇ Παύλου γλώττῃ τὴν αὐθεντίαν ἐπιγράφω, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριν τὸ πᾶν ἀναφέρω, περὶ οὗ νῦν αὐτὸς ἔλεγεν· Εἰ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ; Ὑποτίθεται τοίνυν τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι φάρμακον εὐεργεσίας, καὶ μετάνοιαν εἰς σωτηρίαν. Συνέδραμε δὲ σήμερον τῇ ἀποστολικῇ ἀναγνώσει καὶ ἡ εὐαγγελικὴ τοῦ Σωτῆρος αὐθεντία, ἁμαρτιῶν ἄφεσιν ἀφθόνως χαριζομένη. Τὸν γὰρ παραλυτικὸν ὁ Σωτὴρ ἰώμενος ἔλεγεν, ὡς ἀρτίως ἀκηκόατε· Τέκνον, ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου αἱ πολλαί· ἄφεσις δὲ ἁμαρτιῶν πηγὴ σωτηρίας καὶ ἔπαθλον μετανοίας· ἰατρεῖον γάρ ἐστιν ἀναιρετικὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἡ μετάνοια· δῶρόν ἐστιν οὐράνιον, δύναμις θαυμαστὴ, χάριτι νικῶσα τὴν τῶν νόμων ἀκολουθίαν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐ πόρνον ἀποσείεται, οὐ μοιχὸν ἀποσοβεῖ, οὐ μέθυσον ἀποστρέφεται, οὐκ εἰδωλολάτρην βδελύσσεται, οὐ λοίδορον ἀπελαύνει, οὐ βλάσφημον ἀποδιώκει, οὐκ ἀλαζόνα, ἀλλὰ πάντας μεταποιεῖ· χωνευτήριον γάρ ἐστι τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἡ μετάνοια. Ἀναγκαῖον δὲ πρῶτον γνωρίσαι τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν σκοπὸν, οὐκ ἐξ ἡμετέρων ἐννοιῶν ἐπιβάλλοντας ταύτῃ τῇ θεωρίᾳ, ἀλλ' ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν θείων Γραφῶν μεμαρτυρημένην ἀποδεικνύντας τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Σκοπὸς τῷ Θεῷ μακροθυμεῖν τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι διπλοῦς ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἵλεως· μνηστευόμενος αὐτοῖς τὴν ἐκ μετανοίας σωτηρίαν, καὶ τοῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπογόνοις τοῖς εἰς ἀρετὴν ἐπιδιδόναι μέλλουσι ταμιευόμενος τὴν 49.324.10 εὐεργεσίαν. Καὶ ἵνα πάλιν ἀναλάβω τὸν λόγον, ὁ Θεὸς μακροθυμεῖ, ἵνα καὶ ὁ ἁμαρτάνων μετανοήσῃ, καὶ τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ τικτομένοις μὴ ἀποκλείσῃ τὴν σωτηρίαν. Κἂν γὰρ αὐτὸς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων ἀμετανόητα πταίῃ, φείδεται πολλάκις τῆς ῥίζης, ἵνα φυλάξῃ τοὺς καρπούς· πολλάκις μὲν οὖν καὶ αὐτὴν μεταβάλλει τὴν ῥίζαν, ὡς ἔφθην εἰπών· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὰν εἰς παντελῆ κακίαν ἐκείνη πέσῃ, ὁ Θεὸς ὑπερτίθεται χρησίμως τὴν τιμωρίαν, ἀναμένων τῶν μετανοούντων τὴν σωτηρίαν· καὶ ὅπως, ἄκουε. Θάῤῥα ὁ πατὴρ Ἀβραὰμ εἰδώλων ἦν προσκυνητὴς, ἀλλ' οὐ δέδωκεν ἐνταῦθα τῆς ἀσεβείας τὴν δίκην· καὶ εἰκότως. Εἰ γὰρ προλαβὼν ὁ Θεὸς ἀπέτεμε τὴν ῥίζαν, πόθεν ὁ τοσοῦτος καρπὸς τῆς πίστεως ἀνεδίδοτο; Τί τοῦ Ἡσαῦ μοχθηρότερον; Σκόπει μοι καὶ ἑτέρας φιλανθρωπίας ὑπόθεσιν. Τί τῆς κακίας ἐκείνης ἀναιδέστερον; οὐ