3. In what sense does the apostle call Christ "a minister for the circumcised" (Romans 15:8)? There he speaks of His dispensation according to the flesh, and not in the sense in which we now speak; there, by the word minister, we mean the doer, and not that He does not impart good things from Himself. He did not say, "Who brought you to faith," but, "Through whom you believed," so that again he might render due to the believers, and show who the ministers were. If (teachers) served others, can they arrogate to themselves any merits? Note, however, that he nowhere condemns them as arrogating to themselves, but speaks against those who ascribe it to them; The cause of the division was the people, so that if they had not caused confusion, they would have ceased also. In this way the Apostle acted doubly wisely: he eradicated sin where it should have been, and in others he did not arouse indignation in himself and did not give them cause for verbal disputes. "For the Lord has given to each." And this small deed did not depend on themselves, but on God, who gave them a gift. So, he says, but it is necessary to know to what extent; their work is not from themselves, but from God, Who gave them: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God grew" (1 Cor. 3:6), i.e. I was the first to sow the word; and in order that the seeds might not wither from temptations, Apollos added something on his part; but everything was the work of God. "Therefore both he who plants and waters is nothing, but God who grows" (v. 7). Do you see how he softens his speech, so that they will not become hardened, if he said, "Who is so-and-so?" Both are unpleasant, i.e., whether to say, "Who is so-and-so," or to say, "And he who plants and waters, is nothing." How does he soften these words? By taking humiliation on his own person: "Who is Paul, who is Apollos?", and by referring everything to God, Who gave everything: having said that he planted and that he who plants is nothing, he adds: "but God who grows." He does not stop there, but for the same purpose he adds the following: "But he who plants and he who waters are one" (v. 8). At the same time, he inspires them not to exalt themselves before each other. One calls them in the sense that they can do nothing without a growing God. With these words he does not allow those who have labored hard to exalt themselves before those who have done less, and the latter to envy the former. But in order not to give cause for negligence by the thought that all, both those who labor much and little, are one, he further, see how he warns this: "But everyone," he says, "will receive his reward according to his labor." As if he were saying, "Do not be afraid, when I say that they are one; they are one in relation to the work of God, but not one according to their labors, but "each will receive his own reward." Having suggested what he wanted, he then softens his speech still more and lovingly says pleasant things to them as much as possible. "For we are God's fellow-workers, [and] you are God's field, God's building" (v. 9). Do you see how he ascribes to them (teachers) no small work, having proved beforehand that everything belongs to God? He always exhorted obedience to the leaders; therefore he does not despise the teachers too much. "You are God's field." Having said: "I planted", he continues the metaphor. But if you are God's field, then you should not bear the name of those who cultivate, but of God's, since the field is not called by the name of the farmer, but of its master. "You are God's building." Likewise, the building does not belong to the builder, but to the master. But if you are a building, you must not fall apart; otherwise there will be no structure. If you are a field, then you must not be divided, but fenced yourself with one stronghold of like-mindedness. "I, according to the grace given me by God, as a wise builder, have laid the foundation" (v. 10). Here, calling himself wise, he does not exalt himself, but sets an example for them and shows that it is characteristic of a wise man to lay down one foundation. And see how he observes modesty here too. Calling himself wise, he did not ascribe this to himself, but gave himself over to God beforehand, and then he called himself so: according to the grace, he says, of God, given to me. At the same time, he inspires that everything is God's, and that grace consists in this in a special way, not to be divided, but to be established on the same foundation. "And another buildeth upon [it]; but see how each one builds." Here, it seems to me, he turns them to the feats in life, after he has united them and made them one. "For no one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (v. 11). He cannot, as long as he is a (true) builder; and if he does, then he is no longer a builder.

4. You see how he proves the proposed idea with worldly considerations. His words mean the following: I have proclaimed Christ, I have given you a foundation; See how you build on it, is it not with vanity, is it not with the purpose of turning away disciples from Him and drawing them to people? Let us not be carried away by heresies: "no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid." Let us build on this foundation and hold on to it as a branch on a vine, and let there be no separation between us and Christ, for if we are separated from Him, we will immediately perish. A branch draws in sap because it is connected to the vine, and a building stands because it is connected; and what is torn away perishes, because it does not rest on anything. Therefore, let us not simply hold on to Christ, but cleave to Him: if we separate, we will perish. "Those who distance themselves from Thee perish," says the Scriptures (Psalm 72:27). Let us cleave to Him, and cleave to Him in works, because "he who fulfills," He says, "abides in Me" (John 14:20-21). He inspires us with unity with Him by many comparisons. Look: He is the head, we are the body; Can there be any distance between the head and the body? He is the foundation, we are the building; He is the vine, we are the branches; He is the bridegroom, we are the bride; He is the shepherd, we are sheep; He is the way, we who go; we are the temple, He is the dweller; He is the firstborn, we are brethren; He is the heir, we are joint heirs; He is life, we who live; He is the resurrection, we who are resurrected; He is the light, we are enlightened. All this means unity and does not admit of any separation, not even the slightest, since he who has separated himself a little, will then be separated a lot. Thus, the body, having received even a small wound from the sword, deteriorates; the building, having split even a little, collapses; and a branch, having broken off from the root even a little, becomes worthless. Thus, this little is no longer small, but almost everything. Therefore, when we sin in something small, or feel lazy, let us not despise this small thing, because, if left in neglect, it will soon become great. Thus, clothes, if they begin to tear and are left neglected, are all torn; and the roof, if it is exposed of a few tiles and is neglected, destroys the whole house. Therefore, imagining this, let us never despise small sins, so as not to fall into great ones; but if through negligence we fall even into the abyss of evil, then even then let us not despair, lest we lose clarity of mind. It is no longer easy for one who does not watch carefully over himself, not only because of the depth of this abyss, but also because of the very situation. Sin is an abyss that draws you into the depths and oppresses you. As those who have fallen into a well cannot come out quickly and have need of others to pull them out, so also is he who has fallen into the depths of sins. Let us then lower the rope to them and bring them out of there; or rather, it is not only others who are needed here, but also ourselves, so that we ourselves may gird ourselves and rise not as much as we have fallen, but, if we will, much higher. God Himself is a helper, because He does not want the sinner to die, but "that he should be converted and live" (Ezek. 18:23). Therefore, let no one despair, no one should be subjected to this disease of the wicked, to whom this sin is peculiar: "When the wicked reach the depths of evil, it is said, he is negligent" (Proverbs 18:3).

Thus, despair does not arise from a multitude of sins, but from an impious mood of the soul. Therefore, even though you have fallen into all kinds of vices, say to yourself: God loves mankind and desires our salvation: "If," He says, "your sins shall be as scarlet, as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18), i.e., I will change them into the opposite state. Let us not despair; it is not so dangerous to fall as to lie down when you have fallen; It is not so frightening to be wounded as it is to not desire to be healed, because "Who can say, 'I have cleansed my heart, I am clean from my sin'?" (Proverbs 20:9). I say this not to make you more careless, but to keep you from despair.

5. Do you want to know how good our Lord is? A publican, guilty of innumerable vices, came to Him, and having only said: "Be merciful to me, a sinner!", he left justified (Luke 18:13). And through the prophet God says: "Because of his sin I grieved him a little, and I saw that he was grieved, and walked troubled, and I healed his ways" [13] (Isaiah 57:17-18). What can be compared with such philanthropy? Only because, he says, because he was grieved, I forgave his sins. And we do not do even this, and by doing so we especially anger God. He, who is propitiated by little, when he does not see even this, is justly angry and subjects us to great punishment, because we show extreme negligence. Who has ever grieved over sins? Who sighed? Who struck his forehead? Who lamented? I don't know anyone. People constantly weep for dead slaves, for the loss of property, and when they destroy their souls every day, they do not even think about it. How can you propitiate God, even if you do not know that you have sinned? True, you say, I am a sinner; but you speak this in one language; speak with your heart and at the same time sigh, so that you may always be in a good mood. For if we were to grieve over sins, if we sighed for sins, then nothing else would grieve us, because this sorrow drives away all sorrow. In this way, we would receive another benefit from the confession of sins, that we would not lose heart in the sorrowful circumstances of the present life, nor be haughty in joyful ones; and through this they would propitiate God much; yet now we offend Him by our deeds.

He wants us to punish ourselves for our sins, and then He no longer punishes. For this reason He threatens with punishment, in order to destroy negligence in us by fear; and when we are afraid of one threat, He no longer allows us to experience it in reality. See what He says to Jeremiah: "Do you not see what they are doing? The children gather wood, and the fathers make fires, and the women knead dough" (Jeremiah 7:17-18). I am afraid that the same thing will not be said of us: do you not see what they do? No one seeks anything from Christ, but everything seeks his own. Their sons give themselves over to debauchery, their fathers to covetousness and theft, their wives to the vanity of life, not only not restraining their husbands, but also encouraging them. Stand in the marketplace, ask those who are leaving and coming, and you will see that no one cares about spiritual things, but everyone is chasing after carnal things. How long will we not wake up? How long will we be embraced in a deep sleep? Have we not yet had enough of evil? Without words, however, experience itself can sufficiently teach us that everything present is low and insignificant. People who were occupied with external (pagan) wisdom and knew nothing of the future, having understood the complete insignificance of present things, distanced themselves from them. How then can you receive forgiveness, who crawl on the earth and do not despise the small and transitory things for the great and eternal, you who have heard from God Himself, who has revealed and inspired these things in you, and have received such promises from Him? That these things are not worth affection is proved by those who left them without hope of greater blessings. In fact, what kind of riches did they choose poverty? No; They knew very well that such poverty is better than wealth. What kind of life, hoping for them, did they abandon luxury and indulge in a strict life? No; they, having come to know the nature of things, understood that from this there is great benefit both for spiritual wisdom and for bodily health. Therefore, imagining these things and constantly thinking about the good things to come, let us cease to cling to the present, so that we may be vouchsafed those future blessings, by the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONVERSATION 9

"If anyone builds on this foundation of gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, the work of each will be revealed; for the day will show, because in fire it is revealed, and the fire will test the work of each one as it is. Whoever has the work that he built endures will receive a reward. And whoever burns up will suffer loss; nevertheless he himself will be saved, but as out of fire" (1 Cor. 3:12-15).

The torment of sinners has no end. — The depiction of sin in general and greed in particular.

1. Here we are presented with a question that is not unimportant, but concerns the most necessary subject and is investigated by all people: Will the fire of Gehenna have an end? Christ revealed to us that this fire has no end: "their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:46). I see that you shudder when you hear this; But what to do? God commands us to proclaim this without ceasing: "Show it," he says, "to My people" (Isaiah 58:1). We are placed in the service of the word, and therefore it is necessary to say what is unpleasant to the hearers; Although against your will, but it is necessary. However, if you like, it will not be unpleasant for you. If you do good, says (the Apostle), do not be afraid (Romans 13:3). Hence, you can listen to us not only without fear, but also with pleasure. Thus, Christ revealed that the fire of Gehenna has no end; and Paul affirms that the torment will be endless when he says that sinners "will be punished, eternal destruction" (2 Thess. 1:9); and again: "Do not be deceived: "Neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor minors shall inherit the Kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9-10). And to the Jews he says: "Strive to have peace with all, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). Likewise, in response to the words: "In Thy name we have done many miracles," Christ will say: "Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity: I know you not" (Matt. 7:22-23). And the virgins, for whom the doors were shut, could no longer enter; and of those who did not nourish Him, He says: "They shall go away into everlasting punishment" (Matt. 25:46).

Do not say to me: where is justice, if the torment will have no end? When God does something, obey His decrees and do not subject them to the reasoning of men.

Whoever insults a person who has done him no harm is subject to punishment according to the law of righteousness; but if anyone does not owe him anything, but has shown him innumerable blessings, the sole author of his existence, and moreover God, Who breathed into him a soul, who bestowed a thousand blessings on him, and who wanted to raise him up to heaven, if such a (benefactor), after such blessings, not only offends, but grieves him every day with his deeds, then what forgiveness will he deserve? Do you not see how (God) punished Adam for one sin? He, you say, gave him paradise and vouchsafed him his great favor? But it is not the same thing to sin while enjoying prosperity, or to spend one's life in great sorrow. That is why it is grievous that you sin, being not in paradise, but in the midst of the innumerable calamities of the present life, and that you are not admonished by misfortunes; it is as if one were to do evil while being bound. (God) has promised you blessings greater than paradise; I have not yet given them, so that you do not become lazy during your labors, but you do not keep silent about them, so that you do not weaken in your labors. Adam, having committed one sin, brought death upon himself; And we commit thousands of sins every day. If, having committed one sin, he brought upon himself so much evil and brought death into the world, then what will not we, who constantly live in sins, although waiting for heaven instead of paradise, be subjected to? This word is heavy and sorrowful for the listener. I know this from the feeling that I myself experience: my heart is troubled and shudders, and the more I am convinced of the certainty of hell, the more I tremble and am filled with fear. But we need to talk about this so that we do not fall into hell. Not paradise, not trees and plants, but heaven and heavenly blessings. But if he who has received the lesser is condemned and nothing could justify him, how much more will we, who are called to the higher and sin more than he, be subjected to intolerable torments. Imagine how long our race remains under the dominion of death for one sin. Five thousand years or more have passed, and death has not yet ceased for one sin. Moreover, we cannot say that Adam listened to the prophets, that he saw the punishments that befell others for their sins, that he could therefore come to fear and be enlightened by these examples; he was then the first and only, but he was punished. You cannot imagine anything of the sort, who becomes worse after such examples, who has been vouchsafed such gifts of the Spirit, and who commit not one, not two, not three, but an innumerable multitude of sins. Do not look at the fact that sin is committed in a short time, and do not think that therefore the punishment will be short-lived. Do you not see how people who have committed theft or adultery once and in one minute, often spend their whole lives in prisons and mines, being subjected to incessant hunger and innumerable kinds of death? And yet no one justified them, nor said that since the sin was committed by them in a short time, the punishment must continue for a time corresponding to the sin.

2. But, you say, do people do this, and God loves mankind? First, people do this not out of cruelty, but out of love for humanity; and God punishes in this way because He loves mankind; according to the greatness of His mercy is great also His chastisement. Therefore, when you say that God loves mankind, how much more do you prove the justice of punishment, if we sin against such a (Being). That is why Paul said: "It is fearful to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). Consider, I exhort you, by the power of these words; Perhaps you will get some comfort from here. Who among men can punish as God punished, Who caused the flood and the destruction of the human race, and a little afterwards rained fire from heaven and destroyed all (the inhabitants of Sodom) to the ground? What kind of human punishment can be compared with such a punishment? Do you not see here an almost endless punishment? Four thousand years have passed, and the punishment of the Sodomites remains in force to this day. As great is God's love for mankind, so is His punishment. Moreover, if God had commanded something –

Can't you give away all your possessions? You can, as those who have done this show; but God did not command even this, but commanded not to steal what was not theirs, and to give of his property to the needy. If anyone says that he cannot be satisfied with one wife, he deceives and deceives himself, of which he is rebuked by those who preserve chastity even without a wife. Can't you help talking backbiting, can't you help swearing? On the contrary, it is more difficult to do it than not to do it. What excuse do we have when we do not do what is so easy and convenient? We can't imagine any. From all that has been said, it is obvious that the torment will be eternal. But it seems to some that Paul's saying contradicts this; Therefore, let us turn to its explanation. Having said: "Whoever has the work that he built endures, he will receive a reward. And whoever burns down will suffer loss," he added: "However, he himself will be saved, but as if from fire." What can I say about this? Let us consider, first, what is a foundation, what is gold, what are precious stones, what is hay and straw. He himself clearly called Christ the foundation: "no one can lay another foundation," he says, "except that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ"; And the building, it seems to me, means deeds. True, some assert that it speaks of teachers and disciples, and of impious heresies; but the meaning of the speech does not admit of this. For if this is so, how will the work perish, and the one who edifies will be saved as from the fire? The culprit should have perished all the more, but here the greater punishment will be the one who was edified. If the teacher was the author of evil, then he deserves a greater punishment: how can he be saved? But if he is not guilty, and the disciples have become so through their own corruption, then he who edifies well does not deserve punishment or any harm: how then is it said that he will suffer loss? From this it can be seen that we are talking about deeds here. Intending to speak about the incestuous person, the Apostle makes an introduction to this in advance and long before that. Usually, when he discusses some object, in this very reasoning he hints in advance at another subject to which he intends to pass. For example, reproaching the Corinthians for not waiting for each other at the supper, he made an introduction to the discourse on the sacraments. So here, too, intending to speak of the incestuous person, and having spoken of the reason, he added: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will punish him" (vv. 16-17). With these words he already frightened and shook the soul of the incestuous man. "Does anyone build on this foundation of gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw?" After faith, edification is needed; wherefore also in another place he says: "Comfort one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:18). Both the artist and the student participate in the edification; That is why he says: "But see how each one builds."