25. However, enough has been said about the present subject. For I believe that the proof has already been built up that the flesh in Christ is human and born of a Virgin. It would be possible to confine oneself to a simple explanation of this, without entering into a contest with various contrary opinions. Yet we have stirred up this controversy also, giving in abundance the arguments of our adversaries, and the passages of Scripture which they use, in order to establish, by what we have proved, contrary to all heretics, what the flesh of Christ was, and whence it was, and what it was not. But since the conclusion, as well as the general introduction, deals with the resurrection of our flesh (which we intend to defend in another book), let it find its preparation here, for it is already clear what was the resurrection in Christ.

On Repentance

Lane. Y. Panasenko.

1. That race of people to which we ourselves once belonged, blind and deprived of the light of the Lord, consider repentance to be a state of mind that is suffering by nature, arising from the disapproval of any of its former opinions. However, they are as far removed from the understanding of repentance as they are from the Creator of reason, for reason is the work of God, since God, the Creator of all things, foresaw, arranged, and arranged everything according to reason, and did not want anything to be considered and understood without the help of reason. Therefore it inevitably turns out that those who do not know God do not understand His works either, for no treasure is revealed to outsiders. Therefore, sailing through life without the rudder of reason, they are unable to escape the storm that threatens our world. And how unwisely they act in repentance is evident from the fact that they apply it even to their good deeds. They repent of faith, of love, of simplicity, of patience, of compassion, if any of these have had an unfavorable outcome. They curse themselves for having done a good deed, and teach their souls to repent of good works, trying with all their might to fix it in their memory, lest they do anything good again. On the contrary, in repentance for the evil they have committed, they are not so zealous. So in their repentance they sin rather than do right.

2. If they had acted with the consciousness of their partaker of God, and through Him of reason, they would have first of all appreciated the importance of repentance, and would never have used it for the purpose of perverse correction; moreover, they would restrain repentance accordingly, because they would refrain from transgressions for the fear of God. For where there is no fear, there is no correction, and where there is no correction, repentance is necessarily in vain, for it is devoid of the fruit for which God planted it, that is, the salvation of man. For after so many great sins of human folly, which began with the ancestor Adam, after condemning man to the hardships of this world, expelling him from paradise and subjecting him to death, God immediately again propitiated himself, and even then carried by wrath, and promised forgiveness to His creation and image. That is why He chose a people for Himself and generously endowed them with the gifts of His Goodness, and when this people so many times proved ungrateful, God always called them to repentance. It was He who opened the mouths of all the prophets to prophecy, promising afterwards the grace with which He was to enlighten the whole world through His Spirit at the end of time, and He instituted the baptism of repentance, in order that by submission to repentance He might first prepare those whom by grace He had called to the promise appointed to the descendants of Abraham.

John declares: "Repent yourselves" (Matt. 3:2), for the salvation of the nations is already at hand, for there is the Lord who brings the second promise of God. As the Forerunner of the Lord, he ordained repentance for the purification of minds, so that all repentance, defiled by ancient error, stained in the heart of man by unbelief, would be cleansed, boldly and cast away, thus preparing for the Holy Spirit a pure dwelling place of the heart, into which He willingly descends with heavenly blessings. The purpose of these blessings is the same – the salvation of man, after the ancient sins have been destroyed. This is the reason for repentance: it provides for the care of Divine mercy. What is useful to man serves God. In general, according to the true understanding of repentance, which we learn through the knowledge of the Lord, good deeds or thoughts should never be approached by some hand that limits them. For God cannot blame good works, since He is their author and defender; therefore He accepts them, and if He accepts them, He also recompenses for them. So you should not pay attention to people's ingratitude, because it encourages repentance for good deeds, or to their gratitude, because counting on it does not encourage good deeds. For both are earthly and transitory things. What good is it if you do good to the grateful? Or what kind of loss, if to the ungrateful? God is the debtor for a good deed, as well as for an evil one, since the judge is also the rewarder in every deed. And if God, as Judge, sees to it that justice is exercised and preserved, if in it He sanctifies the totality of His doctrine, can there be any doubt that in all our works, as well as in matters of repentance, we must be just before God? And this can be fulfilled if repentance is done only in relation to sins. Only a bad deed can be called a sin, and no one sins by doing good. But if a person does not sin, then why does he resort to repentance, which belongs exclusively to sinners? Why does he add to his kindness that which is the duty of an evil man? And so it happens that if something takes place where it should not be, it is neglected where it is necessary.

3. It is time to explain when repentance is lawful and obligatory, that is, what is to be considered a sin, although it may seem superfluous. For, having come to know God, the spirit, on which the gaze of its Creator is directed, rises to the knowledge of the truth, and, having attained the commandments of the Lord, immediately understands from them that which God forbids should be considered sin. For if God is the highest possible good, then good certainly hates nothing else but evil, since no agreement is possible between opposites. It will not be superfluous, however, to note that some of the sins are carnal, that is, bodily, and others are spiritual. Since man is composed of the union of these two substances, he sins only through that of which he is composed. But they do not differ from each other in that the body and the spirit are independent of each other; on the contrary, being together a single being, they are all the more similar to each other. Therefore it is not necessary to distinguish sins according to the difference of matter, therefore considering some sins lighter, others heavier. Both flesh and spirit belong to God: the one is created by His hand, the other is brought about by His breath. Therefore, since they equally belong to God, they equally offend God by their sin. Do you not distinguish between the actions of the flesh and the spirit, which are so united and partakers in life, and in death, and in resurrection, that they will be equally resurrected, either to life or to condemnation, because they have sinned in the same way or lived innocently?

We have said this from the beginning, so that it may be clear that if anyone has sinned, repentance is no less necessary for one part than for the other. A common transgression for both, and the Judge, that is, God, is common, and consequently the means of healing is repentance. Sins are called spiritual and bodily because every sin is either realized or thought, so that that which is realized is corporeal, for what is realized, like the body, can be seen and touched. And spiritual sin forms that which is in the spirit, for the spirit can neither be seen nor grasped. From this it is clear that it is necessary to avoid not only the sins of the deed, but also the sins of the will, and to be cleansed from them by repentance. For if human limitation judges only what has been done, since the recesses of the spirit are inaccessible to it, this does not mean that we can neglect the sins of the will before God. For God, all things are possible. No transgression is hidden from His sight, and since He knows everything, He omits nothing in His Judgment. His perspicacity does not allow for deception and hypocrisy. What, if not will, lies at the basis of an action? It does not matter that some actions are to be attributed to chance, necessity, or ignorance: except for this, the sins of the will remain. For the will is imputed to itself, and it is not excused by failure in its realization, since everything that depends on it has already been accomplished. In what ways does the Lord show that He has completed the Law? It is He who forbids us the sins of the will [120]. For He calls an adulterer not only the one who has desecrated another's marriage, but also the one who has defiled it with a lustful look. Although the soul is aware of the danger of forbidden acts, under the influence of the will, it recklessly decides to do them. Such is the meaning of the will, that even if its desire is not fulfilled, it is still considered to have already been fulfilled, and therefore it is punished. What is the use of saying: "Yes, I willed, but I did not do it!" or you should not have desired it, since you did not do it. Your conscience itself inclines you to such a confession. For if you had a strong desire for good, you would strive with all your might to realize it, and if you do not do evil, you should not desire it. Wherever you turn, you are worthy of condemnation, since you either desired evil or did not do good.

4. Consequently, God, who determined the punishment by the Judgment for all sins, both flesh and spirit, both sins committed and sins of the will, promised mercy through repentance, saying to the people: "Repent, and I will save you" (cf. Ezek. 18:21; 23). And again the Lord says: I am alive and desire repentance rather than death (33:11). Consequently, repentance is life, since it is opposed to death. Have repentance, then, sinner like me (nay, less than I, for I am conscious of my superiority in sins), cling to it as a shipwrecked man grasps at a board of salvation! It will lift you, flooded with the waves of sins, and bring you to the pier of Divine mercy. Take advantage of the opportunity of unexpected happiness, so that you, who appear before God no more than a drop in a bucket (Isaiah 40:15), dust in the square, and a potter's vessel [121], will henceforth become that tree which, being planted by the waters, always retains its leaves, bears fruit in due time, and will see neither fire nor axe [122]. Repent of your sins, having found the truth; repent that you have loved what God does not love, for we also cause our slaves to hate what we ourselves abhor. For the basis of obedience is in the similarity of souls.

To enumerate the blessings of repentance is a vast subject, requiring great eloquence. But we, in our inability, can proclaim only one thing: that which God has commanded, that is, the good, and the highest good. I consider it impertinent to argue about the good of the Divine commandment. For we must obey it, not because it is good, but because it is commanded by God. For obedience, the greatness of the Divine authority is most important; the importance of the commander exceeds the benefit of the obedient. Is it good to repent or not? What are you thinking? God commands. But He not only commands, but also calls. He urges with the reward of salvation and resorts to an oath, saying: "I live" (Ezek. 33:11). He wants to be believed. Oh, how blessed are we, for whom God swears! Oh, how miserable we are if we do not believe in the Lord who swears! And so, that which God prescribes with such insistence, that He, following human custom, testifies even under an oath, we must surely accept and faithfully preserve, so that, being constantly established in Divine grace, we may also be able to remain constantly both in its fruits and in its profit.

5. I will say that repentance, indicated and commanded to us by the grace of God, is again called to the grace of the Lord, and once known and accepted, it must never be rejected by a repetition of sins. No longer any cover of ignorance excuses you for the fact that, having come to know the Lord and accepted His commandments, and finally, through repentance, having been freed from sins, you again give yourself over to them. Therefore, the more you move away from ignorance, the more you sink into stubbornness. If you repented of your sins because you began to fear the Lord, then why else could you want to destroy what you did out of fear, if not because you ceased to be afraid? For there is no other reason that casts out fear than stubbornness. If even those who do not know the Lord cannot be saved from punishment by any excuse, for it is impermissible not to know God, who is revealed to all and known at least from the very blessings bestowed by heaven, then how audacious is he who despises what God knows! And he who despises Him is who, having received from Him the knowledge of good and evil, returns again to that which he has learned to avoid and has already avoided, and thus puts to shame his knowledge, that is, the gift of God. He rejects the giver, neglecting the giving; denies the benefactor, not honoring the beneficence. How can he be pleasing to Him whose gift is displeasing to him? Thus, in relation to the Lord, he is not only disobedient, but also ungrateful.

Further, a considerable sin against the Lord is committed by the one who, having renounced in repentance the envious of God, the devil, and thereby subdued him to God, again exalts him by his fall and makes himself the object of his joy, so that the evil one, having once again returned his booty, rejoices in defiance of God. It is terrible even to utter it, but it is necessary for edification: he prefers the devil to God! As far as can be judged, he who has come to know both of them makes a comparison and in the end recognizes as the best one to whom, after reflection, he wishes to belong again. Thus, whoever through repentance of sins has decided to do what is pleasing to God, through another repentance — about his repentance — does what is pleasing to the devil, and will be the more hateful to God, the more pleasing to His enemy. But some say that it is enough for God if He is honored in the heart and soul, and it is not necessary to manifest this in deeds. Thus, it is possible to sin without violating the fear of God and faith, it is possible to defile a marriage and preserve chastity, it is possible to prepare poison for a parent and remain a respectful son. But so they themselves will be cast into hell, while preserving mercy, as they sin without violating the fear of God. Here is a vivid example of perversity: they sin, although they are afraid. I suppose they would not have sinned if they had not been afraid. So he who does not wish to offend God, let him not fear Him at all, if fear covers the offense. But these wise men usually come from the seed of hypocrites, whose friendship with the devil is indissoluble, and their repentance is never sincere.