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obviously, "neither drunkards, nor revilers," and I will add, nor those who have hatred toward any brother or envy, "will inherit the kingdom of God," nor have a part in the joy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you see how every wickedness and sin defiles the garment of the soul and makes us to be cast out of the kingdom?

12. That one ought not, before the working of the commandments and progress in virtue and perfection, to investigate the hidden mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, any of the uninitiated; and that at the second coming of the Lord all the saints will recognize one another. (95)

Therefore let us leave aside vain and unprofitable discussions and not be eager to learn the things of the time before the time, but let us rather obey the Master who says thus: "Search the Scriptures." Search and do not be meddlesome. Search the Scriptures and do not make discussions outside of the holy Scriptures. Search the Scriptures, that you may be taught concerning faith and hope and love; (96) concerning faith, so that you may not be carried about by every wind according to the cunning of unstable men, but you may be strengthened through the right dogmas of the apostolic and catholic Church and "rightly divide the word" of it. And not only this, but you will also be taught to seek the fruit of faith and the benefit from it through the practice of the commandments and, when you are able to find this, then you will also acquire a hope that does not disappoint and you will have in it a complete love for God. For otherwise it is impossible for any person to acquire a perfect love for God except through a pure faith and a sure and unwavering hope. Why then, leaving aside the examining of ourselves concerning these things, and whether indeed we have such a faith toward God as He Himself, who is about to judge, says He will also require of us, do we meddle in things beyond us, and this, when we do not know at all the things at our feet?

And what kind of faith it is that is required of us by God and what sort we ought to have toward Him, He Himself has declared through the gospels, saying thus: "Whoever wishes to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me; for whoever comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and brothers and sisters and yes, even his own soul, cannot be my disciple." And again: "He who finds his soul"—that is, in the things that have been mentioned—"will lose it; but whoever loses his soul for my sake and my gospel's"—that is, for the fulfillment of my commandments—"will find it for eternal life." Have you heard the marks of faith? Are you satisfied with what has been said or do you still have need to be reminded of what follows?

(97) If then you wish to learn that God requires such a faith from us, so as not to be anxious at all about this present life by believing in Him, learn precisely from the Lord Himself who cries out expressly thus: "Do not be anxious about tomorrow what you will eat or what you will drink or what you will wear." And leading on little by little to more perfect things, He says: "If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and to him who wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak also; and from him who takes your goods do not ask them back." And further, going from one excess to an excess of faith, He commands us to pray for and to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us and to pray for those who mistreat us. And He commands us to do many other things by which, obviously, is first shown our faith toward Him, and then it is right to say that we are faithful; for without these things our faith is dead and we are obviously dead.

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δηλονότι, οὔτε μέθυσοι, οὔτε λοίδοροι", προσθήσω δέ οὔτε οἱ μῖσος πρός τινα ἀδελφόν ἤ φθόνον ἔχοντες "βασιλείαν Θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσιν", οὐδέ μερίδα ἔχουσιν ἐν τῇ εὐφροσύνῃ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ὁρᾷς πῶς τό τῆς ψυχῆς ἔνδυμα πᾶσα πονηρία καί ἁμαρτία μολύνει καί ἡμᾶς ποιεῖ τῆς βασιλείας ἐκβάλλεσθαι;

ιβ΄. Ὅτι οὐ χρή πρό τῆς ἐργασίας τῶν ἐντολῶν καί τῆς εἰς ἀρετήν προκοπῆς τε

καί τελειώσεως τά κεκρυμμένα μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐρευνᾶν τῶν ἀμυήτων τινά· καί ὅτι ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἐλεύσει πάντες ἀλλήλους γνωρίζουσιν οἱ ἅγιοι. (95)

Τοιγαροῦν ἐάσωμεν τάς ματαίας καί ἀνωφελεῖς συζητήσεις καί μή τά τοῦ καιροῦ

πρό καιροῦ μανθάνειν σπουδάζωμεν, πειθώμεθα δέ μᾶλλον οὕτω λέγοντι τῷ ∆εσπότῃ. "Ἐρευνᾶτε τάς Γραφάς". Ἐρευνᾶτε καί μή πολυπραγμονεῖτε. Ἐρευνᾶτε τάς Γραφάς καί μή ἔξωθεν τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν συζητήσεις ποιεῖσθε. Ἐρευνᾶτε τάς Γραφάς, ἵνα περί πίστεως καί ἐλπίδος καί ἀγάπης διδάσκησθε· (96) περί πίστεως, ἵνα μή παντί ἀνέμῳ συμπεριφέρησθε κατά τήν κυβείαν τῶν ἀστηρίκτων ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλά διά δογμάτων ὀρθῶν τῆς ἀποστολικῆς καί καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας στερεοῦσθε καί τόν "λόγον ὀρθοτομεῖτε" αὐτῆς. Οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλά καί τόν τῆς πίστεως καρπόν καί τό ἐκ ταύτης ὄφελος διά τῆς πράξεως τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ ἐκζητεῖν διδαχθήσεσθε καί, ὅταν εὑρεῖν τοῦτο δυνηθῆτε, τηνικαῦτα καί τήν ἐλπίδα ἀκαταίσχυντον κτήσεσθε καί τήν πρός Θεόν ἀγάπην ἐν αὐτῇ ὁλικήν ἕξετε. Ἄλλως γάρ ἀδύνατον παντί ἀνθρώπῳ τήν πρός Θεόν ἀγάπην τελείαν κτήσασθαι εἰ μή διά πίστεως ἀκραιφνοῦς καί ἐλπίδος βεβαίας καί ἀδιστάκτου. Τί οὖν καταλιπόντες τό ἀνακρίνειν ἑαυτούς περί τούτων, καί εἰ ἄρα πίστιν ἔσχομεν πρός τόν Θεόν τοιαύτην οἵαν αὐτός ἐκεῖνος, ὁ καί κρῖναι μέλλων, καί ἀπαιτῆσαι ταύτην ἡμᾶς λέγει, τά ὑπέρ ἡμᾶς πολυπραγμονοῦμεν, καί ταῦτα, μηδέ τά ἐν ποσίν εἰδότες ποσῶς;

Ὁποία δέ ἐστιν ἡ πίστις ἥν ἀπαιτούμεθα πρός Θεοῦ καί ποταπή ἥν ὀφείλομεν πρός αὐτόν ἔχειν, αὐτός οὗτος διά τῶν εὐαγγελίων ἐδήλωσεν, οὕτως εἰπών· "Ὁ θέλων ὀπίσω μου ἐλθεῖν ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν καί ἀράτω τόν σταυρόν αὐτοῦ καί ἀκολουθείτω μοι· ὅστις γάρ ἔρχεται πρός με καί οὐ μισεῖ τόν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καί τήν μητέρα καί τούς ἀδελφούς καί τάς ἀδελφάς ἔτι δέ καί τήν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν οὐ δύναταί μου εἶναι μαθητής". Καί πάλιν· "Ὁ εὑρών τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ" ἐν τοῖς εἰρημένοις δηλονότι "ἀπολέσει αὐτήν· ὅς δ᾿ ἄν ἀπολέσῃ τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ καί τοῦ εὐαγγελίου μου" ἤγουν τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν μου ἐκπληρώσεως "εἰς ζωήν αἰώνιον εὑρήσει αὐτήν". Ἠκούσατε τῆς πίστεως τά γνωρίσματα; Ἀρκεῖσθε τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἤ ἔτι χρείαν ἔχετε καί τῶν ἑξῆς ἀναμνησθῆναι;

(97) Εἰ οὖν βούλεσθε μαθεῖν ὅτι τοιαύτην πίστιν ἀπαιτεῖ ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός, ὥστε μηδέ περί τῆς παρούσης ταύτης ζωῆς τό καθόλου φροντίζειν πιστεύοντας εἰς αὐτόν, ἐξ αὐτοῦ μάθετε ἀκριβῶς τοῦ Κυρίου οὕτω διαρρήδην βοῶντος· "Μή μεριμνήσητε περί τῆς αὔριον τί φάγητε ἤ τί πίητε ἤ τί ἐνδύσησθε". Κατά μικρόν δέ ἀνάγων ἐπί τά τελεώτερά φησιν· "Ἐάν τις σε ῥαπίσῃ εἰς τήν δεξιάν σιαγόνα, στρέψον αὐτῷ καί τήν ἄλλην· καί τῷ θέλοντί σοι κριθῆναι καί τόν χιτῶνά σου λαβεῖν ἄφες αὐτῷ καί τό ἱμάτιον· καί τῷ αἴροντι τά σά μή ἀπαίτει". Καί ἔτι καθ᾿ ὑπερβολήν εἰς ὑπερβολήν πίστεως εὔχεσθαι καί ἀγαπᾶν κελεύει τούς ἐχθρούς καί καλῶς ποιεῖν τοῖς μισοῦσιν ἡμᾶς καί ὑπέρ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ἡμᾶς εὔχεσθαι. Καί ἄλλα πλείονα κελεύει ποιεῖν ἡμᾶς ἐξ ὧν πρότερον δηλονότι δείκνυται ἡ πρός αὐτόν πίστις ἡμῶν, καί τότε τό πιστούς ἡμᾶς εἶναι λέγειν χρεών· χωρίς γάρ τούτων νεκρά ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν καί ἡμεῖς νεκροί δηλονότι.