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."

3. If this had been said of faith, it would have been said without foundation. In faith all must be equal, because faith is one; And in the affairs of life, not everyone is the same. Faith is neither worse nor better, but it is the same for all true believers; but in life some are more zealous, others more careless, some more orderly, others more careless, some do more, others less, some sin more heavily, others more easily. That is why the Apostle said: "Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw. Everyone's work will be revealed." Here He speaks of works. "Whoever has the work he built will receive a reward. And whoever burns down will suffer loss." If this were said of disciples and teachers, then the teachers should not have suffered punishment if the disciples did not listen to them. That is why He says: "Everyone will receive his reward according to his work," not at the end of the work, but according to the work. What did he need if his listeners did not listen? And from this it can also be seen that it speaks of works. And the meaning of the words is as follows: whoever leads a bad life with the right faith, faith will not protect him from punishment when the work burns. If it burns, it means that it will not endure the power of fire. If anyone with golden weapons crossed the river of fire, he would cross it with glory; and if, on the contrary, anyone crosses it with hay, he will not only have no success, but will also destroy himself: so it is with deeds. In saying this, the Apostle does not mean the actual burning of people, but wishes to inspire the strongest fear and show that the one who lives wickedly is in danger. That is why he says: "He will suffer loss": this is the first punishment. "He himself will be saved, but as out of fire": this is the other thing. These words mean the following: he himself will not perish as he works, he will not turn into nothing, but will remain in the fire. This is what the Apostle calls salvation; therefore he did not simply say, "He will be saved," but added, "As if out of fire." In the same way, we usually say: they are preserved in fire, about such things that do not burn up and do not suddenly turn to ashes. Therefore, when you hear about fire, do not think that those who are burned will turn into nothing. Do not be surprised that the Apostle calls such torment salvation; he often uses good expressions about unpleasant things, and bad ones about pleasant things. For example, the word captivity means a bad object; but Paul uses it in a good way, saying: "We take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). Also, speaking of evil, he uses a good expression in the following words: "sin reigned" (Romans 5:21); meanwhile, the word reign sounds rather good. So here, when he says, "He will be saved," he expresses nothing else but the continuation of punishment, and as if he were saying, "He himself will be tormented continually." Then he says: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God?" Having previously spoken of those who divided the Church, he now touches upon the incestuous man, alluding, though vaguely and indefinitely, to his depraved life, and showing the greatness of his sin from the grace bestowed upon him. In the same way, He admonishes others by the very things they have already received. In this way he directs the future and the present, the sorrowful and the pleasant, towards the same goal; future: "For the day will show, because in fire it is revealed"; the present: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will punish him." Do you see what the power of speech is? However, as long as the face (of the one being rebuked) is not revealed, until then the reproof is not so severe, because everyone shares the fear of reproach. God will punish him, that is, He will give him over to destruction. Here the Apostle does not curse, but predicts. For the temple of God, he says, is holy, and adds: but this temple is you. Let no one deceive himself. And this (applies) to him, since he considered himself something important and boasted of wisdom. And in order not to strike him too much, the apostle, having caused him to fear and tremble, again offers a general rebuke and says: "If any of you thinks to be wise in this world, let him be foolish that he may be wise" (v. 18). He rebukes them with great power, as one who has already sufficiently enlightened them. Though he be rich, though noble, he will be more contemptible than the contemptible, if he falls into the power of sin. As a king, if he becomes a slave of barbarians, is the most miserable of all, so does sin. Sin is a barbarian who, having once taken captive the soul, does not spare it, but torments it to the destruction of those who have fallen under its power.

4. Truly, nothing is so reckless, nothing is so senseless, foolish, and impudent as sin. Wherever he invades, everything is corrupted, upset, and destroyed; he is ugly in appearance, obnoxious and disgusting. If any painter had wished to depict him, it seems to me that he would not have sinned in depicting him as a woman beast-like, barbarous, fire-breathing, ugly, and black, as the outward (pagan) poets depict Scylla. Sin grips our thoughts with a thousand hands, invades unexpectedly and tears everything apart, like dogs biting suddenly. But what is the use of a pictorial image for us, when we can imagine (the people themselves) like him? Whom then shall you depict beforehand? Is it not a covetous and robber? Indeed, what can be more shameless than his eyes? What is more shameless than he is, and more like dogs? The dog does not approach as impudently as he does when he steals the property of others. What is worse than his hands? What is more abominable than his mouth, which devours all things, and is not satisfied? Do not take his face and eyes for human eyes: human eyes do not look like that. He does not look at people as at people, does not look at heaven as at heaven, does not direct his eyes to the Lord, but sees money in everything. Human eyes, seeing those depressed by poverty, usually shed tears; and the eyes of the robber, seeing the poor, express brutality. Human eyes do not look at what is not theirs, do not covet what belongs to others, but give away their own to others; and the eyes of the covetous do not rest until they have stolen everything from others, because they look not like human beings, but like beasts. Human eyes cannot see their own body naked, for it is their own for them even when it outwardly belongs to others, and the eyes of a covetous man are not satisfied until he has completely uncovered someone and hidden everything in his own house, or, rather, they are never satisfied. Therefore, the hands of such people can be called not only brutal, but also much more ferocious and dangerous than those of animals. Bears and wolves, having had enough, retreat from food, but they are never satisfied. Meanwhile, God has given us hands so that we may help others, and not harm them, but if we use them for the latter, it would be better to cut them off and remain without them. You grieve when the wild beast tears the sheep to pieces; and when you yourself do the same with your fellow countryman, do you not consider this matter terrible? What kind of person are you? Do you not know that we call human a deed that which is full of mercy and love for mankind, and that we call a coarse and cruel deed inhuman? In this way, we depict the character of man by works of mercy, and the character of the beast by works contrary to this, and we often say: is he a man, and not a beast or a dog? People tend to alleviate poverty, not increase it. Greedy people also have mouths that are bestial, or worse than them; they utter words which, by their poisonousness, cause death much more quickly than the teeth of beasts. And if we were to count everything, then it would be clearly seen how inhumanity makes people beasts. And whoever tests the soul of such people will call them not only beasts, but even demons. They are filled with extreme cruelty and enmity towards their neighbors: there is no desire for the kingdom, no fear of hell, no shame before men, no mercy, no compassion, but shamelessness, insolence, and contempt for the whole future; God's proclamations of (future) torments seem to them a fable, and threats a laughing stock. Such is the soul of the greedy! But if they are demons on the inside, and beasts on the outside, and even worse than beasts, then tell me, who shall we consider them to be? That they are worse than beasts is evident from the following: beasts are such by nature, and they, having received meekness from nature, try to adopt the qualities of beasts contrary to nature. The demons themselves make unintentioned people their accomplices, since if the latter were not their accomplices, then most of their intrigues against us would remain unsuccessful; and they try to oppress those who assist them in their unrighteous deeds. Moreover, the demon is hostile to man, and not to demons like him; but the greedy man tries in every possible way to do harm to both his neighbor and his relatives, not being ashamed of nature itself. I know that many people are indignant with me for these words; but I am not angry with them, but pity and cry that they are in such a state. If they even wanted to beat me, and I would gladly endure it, if only they would give up their atrocity. And not only I, but the prophet with me excludes such people from the number of people: "man," he says, "who is honorable and foolish, is like an animal" (Psalm 48:21). Let us try to be men: let us look up to heaven, "put on the image" (of Him who created us) (Col. 3:10) and not humble ourselves, so that we may be vouchsafed good things to come, through 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.

DISCOURSE 10

"Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks to be wise in this world, let him be a fool that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God" (1 Cor. 3:18-19).

Paul's method of denouncing the incestuous man. — Condemnation of external wisdom. — Condemnation of the pride of priests. — How to use wealth.

1. Having begun to rebuke the incestuous man beforehand, as I have said above, having done it secretly and in brief words, and having awakened his conscience, the Apostle again turns to the refutation of external (pagan) wisdom and to the denunciation of those who, proud of it, divided the Church, in order that, adding what still remained to be said, and having completely finished this subject, he might direct his speech against the incestuous man, which he had touched before. The words: "Let no man deceive himself" are directed especially against him, in order to reason and frighten him; it is also especially alluded to in the word "reed," and in the words, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?" Usually, there are two motives that most restrain us from sin: when we imagine the punishment that follows sin, and when we reflect on our own worthiness. In the same way, the Apostle frightens us with his speech about hay and the reed, and by pointing out our worthiness he shames, correcting the former who are more insensitive, and the latter the more meek. "Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks to be wise in this world, let him be a fool." As he commands to be dead to the world (Col. 2:20), and this deadness not only does not harm, but also benefits by becoming the source of life, so now he commands us to be foolish to the world, showing us true wisdom in this. He is mad to the world who despises external wisdom and is convinced that it does not help him in the least to accept faith. Therefore, just as poverty according to God leads to riches, humility to greatness, contempt of (earthly) glory to glory, so this folly makes a person wiser than everyone else, because with us everything is the opposite. And why did he not say, Let him forsake wisdom, but, Let it be? In order to humiliate external scholarship as much as possible. It is not the same thing to say: abandon your wisdom, or be mad. On the other hand, he teaches us not to be ashamed of our ignorance, presenting everything external as worthy of ridicule. He is not ashamed of names, because he relies on the power of works. As the cross, a thing apparently reproachful, has become the source of innumerable blessings, the cause and author of ineffable glory, so seeming madness becomes for us the guilt of wisdom. Just as he who has learned something badly, if he does not forsake everything, does not blot it out of his soul, and does not present it pure to him who wishes to teach it again, will not clearly know sound teaching, so with outward wisdom, if you do not abandon everything, purify your mind, and do not give yourself over to faith, like a commoner, then you will not know anything good in a proper way. In the same way, those who have poor eyesight, if they close their eyes and do not entrust themselves to others, but are guided by their own corrupt eyesight, will wander much more than those who see absolutely nothing.