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God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live together with him».

Therefore, when you hear ‘sons of light’ and ‘sons of day,’ beloved, do not say in your heart that, as many of us as have been baptized into Christ and believe in him and worship him as God, have also put him on and are certainly, without perceiving it, sons of day and sons of light, and not of night nor of darkness. Do not say this or suppose it, and pass the remaining days of your life in negligence and carelessness, only thinking and imagining you are something, when you are nothing; but look and understand yourself accurately and say: «If all people who are in the world and see this perceptible sun are in darkness, certainly, since I see nothing more than the others, I too am in darkness with them. For just as when it sets each day night comes, and I see nothing more than this, so, when I die, I will nowhere behold light, but I will be in lightless and sunless darkness for ages and I will no longer see through my eyes this visible light; for people, when separated from the body, are at once separated from all perceptible things. If therefore I am in darkness now, I will also be in darkness after death; certainly the day of the Lord will come upon me like a thief in the night and like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and I will not be able to escape».

For our salvation is not in the baptism of water, but also in the Spirit, nor in the bread and wine of communion alone is the forgiveness of sins and participation in life given, but also in the divinity that accompanies and is mingled (297) mystically and without confusion with these things. And it is called mystical because it is not revealed to all, but to those worthy of eternal life, and it makes those who see it sons of light and day; for those who do not see the light, even if it shines clearly, nevertheless sit in darkness. Let no one deceive you, brothers, with empty words, nor let anyone trust in faith in Christ alone. For «Christ,» it says, «will be of no advantage to you if you are circumcised,» and again: «Faith without works is dead.» For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. For those who confess that Christ is God, but do not keep his commandments, will be reckoned not only as denying, but also as dishonoring him; and not only so, but they will be justly condemned more severely than those who circumcise their own bodies, as those who mutilate the commandments of God. For how will one who dishonors the father be reckoned a son? How could one who is separated from the light live in it as in the day? By no means, brothers.

But if someone should say that he is not able to keep all the commandments, let him know that he slanders God and condemns him as one who commanded impossible things to us; such a one will not escape the inevitability of justice, but like the one who said: «I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering from where you did not scatter,» this one also will be condemned, and he will be likened to the serpent that said to Adam: «God knows that in the hour you eat from the tree you will be like him, for this reason he commanded you not to eat from it». For such a one calls God a liar and a deceiver and full of envy; a liar, because when He said: «My yoke (298) is easy and my burden is light,» this one declares it not only not light, but even unbearable; a deceiver, because He came down promising many things and wishing to give us nothing, but rather, envying our salvation, He commanded impossible things for us to do and to keep, so that when we are unable to fulfill them, taking a seemingly plausible pretext, He might deprive us of those good things. But woe to those who say these things, unless they repent; for our Master and God commanded nothing burdensome, nothing grievous, but rather all things are at once both gentle and easy, just as -

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οὐκ ἔθετο ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός εἰς ὀργήν, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς περιποίησιν σωτηρίας, ἵνα εἴτε γρηγοροῦμεν, εἴτε καθεύδομεν, ἅμα σύν αὐτῷ ζήσωμεν».

Υἱούς οὖν ἀκούων φωτός καί υἱούς ἡμέρας, ἀγαπητέ, μή εἴπῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ὅτι, ὅσοι εἰς Χριστόν ἐβαπτίσθημεν καί εἰς ἐκεῖνον πιστεύομεν καί Θεόν αὐτόν προσκυνοῦμεν, αὐτόν καί ἐνδεδύμεθα καί υἱοί ἡμέρας καί υἱοί φωτός ἀνεπαισθήτως πάντως ἐσμέν καί οὐχί νυκτός οὐδέ σκότους. Μή τοῦτο εἴπῃς ἤ ὑπολάβῃς καί ἐν ἀμελείᾳ καί ἀμεριμνίᾳ τάς ὑπολοίπους τῆς ζωῆς σου διέλθῃς ἡμέρας, δοκῶν μόνον καί οἰόμενος εἶναί τι, μηδέν ὤν· ἀλλά σκόπησον καί κατά σεαυτόν ἀκριβῶς κατανόησον καί εἰπέ· «Εἰ πάντες ἄνθρωποι οἱ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ὄντες καί τόν ἥλιον τοῦτον αἰσθητῶς βλέποντες ἐν τῷ σκότει εἰσί, πάντως, ἐπεί οὐδέν πλέον τῶν ἄλλων ὁρῶ, καί ἐγώ σύν αὐτοῖς ἐν σκότει εἰμί. Ὥσπερ γάρ δύνοντος αὐτοῦ καθ᾿ ἑκάστην νύξ γίνεται καί οὐδέν πλέον τι τούτου ὁρῶ, οὕτως, ἀποθανόντος μου, οὐδαμοῦ φῶς θεάσομαι, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ἀφεγγεῖ σκότει καί ἀνηλίῳ εἰς αἰῶνας ἔσομαι καί οὐκέτι διά τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν βλέψω τό ὁρώμενον τοῦτο φῶς· τοῦ γάρ σώματος οἱ ἄνθρωποι χωριζόμενοι, τῶν αἰσθητῶν εὐθύς πάντων ἀποχωρίζονται. Εἰ οὖν ἐν σκότει εἰμί νῦν, καί ἐν σκότει μετά θάνατον ἔσομαι· πάντως καί ἐπ᾿ ἐμοί ἡ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτί ἐπελεύσεται καί ὡς ἡ ὠδίν τῇ ἐν γαστρί ἐχούσῃ καί οὐ μή δυνηθῷ ἐκφυγεῖν».

Οὐ γάρ ἐν τῷ τοῦ ὕδατος βαπτίσματι ἡ σωτηρία ἡμῶν ἐστιν, ἀλλά καί ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι, οὐδέ ἐν τῷ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ καί τῷ οἴνῳ τῆς μεταλήψεως ἡ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἄφεσις καί ἡ τῆς ζωῆς μετουσία δίδοται, ἀλλά καί ἐν τῇ συνεπομένῃ καί ἀνακεκραμένῃ (297) μυστικῶς καί ἀσυγχύτως τούτοις θεότητι. Μυστικῶς δέ λέγεται διά τό μή πᾶσιν, ἀλλά τοῖς ἀξίοις ζωῆς αἰωνίου, ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι καί υἱούς φωτός καί ἡμέρας ποιεῖν τούς ὁρῶντας αὐτήν· οἱ γάρ τό φῶς μή ὁρῶντες, εἰ καί λάμπει τρανῶς, ἀλλ᾿ οὖν ἐκεῖνοι ἐν σκότει κάθηνται. Μηδείς ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, κενοῖς λόγοις ἐξαπατάτω μηδέ εἰς τήν πίστιν τήν εἰς Χριστόν μόνην θαρρείτω τις. «Χριστός»γάρ, φησίν, «ἐάν περιτέμνησθε, οὐδέν ὑμᾶς ὠφελήσει», καί πάλιν· «Ἡ πίστις δίχα τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν». Ὥσπερ γάρ τό σῶμα ψίχα ψυχῆς ὑπάρχει νεκρόν, οὕτω καί ἡ πίστις δίχα τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν.Οἱ γάρ Θεόν εἶναι τόν Χριστόν ὁμολογοῦντες, τάς δέ ἐντολάς αὐτοῦ μή φυλάσσοντες, οὐχ ὡς ἀρνούμενοι μόνον, ἀλλά καί ὡς ἀτιμάζοντες αὐτόν λογισθήσονται· οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλά καί μειζόνως ὑπέρ τούς τά ἴδια σώματα περιτέμνοντας, ὡς τάς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολάς ἀκρωτηριάζοντες, ἐνδίκως κατακριθήσονται. Ὁ τόν πατέρα γάρ ἀτιμάζων, πῶς υἱός λογισθήσεται; Ὁ τοῦ φωτός χωριζόμενος, πῶς ἐν αὐτῷ ὡς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ διάξειεν; Οὐδαμῶς, ἀδελφοί.

Εἰ δέ λέγοι τις ὅτι δύναται τηρῆσαι πάσας τάς ἐντολάς, γινωσκέτω ὅτι τόν Θεόν ἐνδιαβάλλει καί κατακρίνει ὡς ἀδύνατα ἡμῖν ἐπιτάξαντα· ὅς οὐκ ἐκφεύξεται τό τῆς δίκης ἄφυκτον, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ὁ εἰπών· «Ἤδειν σε ὅτι σκληρός εἶ, θερίζων ὅπου οὐκ ἔσπειρας καί συνάγων ὅθεν οὐ διεσκόρπισας», καί οὗτος κατακριθήσεται, καί τῷ εἰπόντι τῷ Ἀδάμ ὄφει· «Γινώσκων ὁ Θεός ὅτι ᾗ ὥρᾳ φάγεσθε ἀπό τοῦ ξύλου ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἔσεσθε, τούτου χάριν ἐνετείλατο ὑμῖν μή φαγεῖν ἐξ αὐτοῦ», ὁμοιωθήσεται. Ψεύστην γάρ καί πλάνον καί φθόνου μεστόν τόν Θεόν ὁ τοιοῦτος ἀποκαλεῖ· ψεύστην μέν, ὅτι ἐκείνου εἰπόντος· «Ὁ ζυγός (298) μου χρηστός καί τό φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν», οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐλαφρόν οὗτος, ἀλλά καί ἀβάστακτον αὐτό ἀποφαίνεται· πλάνον δέ, ὅτι κατῆλθε πολλά ὑποσχόμενος καί μηδέν δοοῦναι θέλων ἡμῖν, μᾶλλον δέ φθονῶν τῇ σωτηρίᾳ ἡμῶν ἀδύνατα ἐπέταξεν ἡμῖν, ποιῆσαι καί φυλάξαι, ὅπως ἐκπληρῶσαι ταῦτα μή δυναμένους, προφάσεως δῆθεν εὐλόγου λαβόμενος, τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἡμᾶς ἐκείνων ἀποστερήσῃ. Ἀλλ᾿ οὐαί τοῖς ταῦτα λέγουσιν, ἐάν μή μετανοήσωσιν· οὐδέν γάρ φορτικόν, οὐδέν ἐπαχθές ὁ ∆εσπότης ἡμῶν καί Θεός ἐνετείλατο, μᾶλλον μέν οὖν ῥᾴδιά τε ὁμοῦ πάντα καί εὔκολα, καθά -