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.

6. What I, in my inability, have tried to prove concerning repentance, namely, that it is to be received once and for all, is true of all those who have entrusted themselves to the Lord, for they all seek salvation by pleasing God. But this is especially true of those converts who, as soon as they have begun to nourish their ears with divine speeches, crawl uncertainly, like blind newborn puppies, and say that they renounce their former life and accept repentance, but do not try to obtain its fulfillment. In this they are hindered, by forcing them to desire the former, a certain limit to desire. This can be likened to fruits that have already begun to spoil and become sour or bitter, but are still able to delight with some remnant of their pleasantness. In addition, the sin of delay and evasion in relation to repentance also creates a wrong idea about baptism. For being sure of the undoubted forgiveness of sins, they lose time and remain in sin, instead of reforming themselves and sinning no more. What an absurdity it is to expect the forgiveness of sins without repentance. This is the same as pulling your hand for a purchase without paying. After all, this is the price that the Lord set for forgiveness: He invited us to restore innocence by paying repentance. And just as a merchant sees to it that the coin he receives in payment is not cut, scraped, or counterfeit, so we believe that the Lord, who promises to give us such a great reward as eternal life, first tests our repentance. But let us be silent for now about true repentance! Is it possible, I think, that our correction will become clear only when we are declared innocent? By no means. But when punishment is sought for us, and there is still no certainty of forgiveness, when we have not yet earned freedom, but can only deserve it, when God still threatens us, and not when He forgives us. For what slave, after he has come out of slavery to freedom, will impute to himself his theft and his escapes? What soldier, exempt from military service, will worry about the misdeeds he has committed? Before forgiveness, the sinner must mourn himself, for the time of repentance is a time of threat and fear.

I do not deny that divine beneficence, that is, the annihilation of sins, is salvific for those who enter the water of baptism, but it is necessary to work to achieve it. For who will sprinkle you, a man of such uncertain repentance, with the most ordinary water? It is not difficult to sneak up and mislead the baptizer with your assurances. But God cares for His treasure and will not allow the unworthy to get to Him. What does He Himself say? There is nothing hidden that is not revealed (Luke 8:17). No matter how dark you may be covering your works, God is light. Some believe that God can be forced even by the unworthy to give what He has promised, and His freedom is turned into slavery. If He has to forgive us our mortal duty, He does it against His will. But who will not agree that everything allowed by God against his will is short-lived? Do not many fall away afterwards? Is not this gift taken away from many? These are those who have crept in, and, admitted to faith through repentance, build their house on the sand, which is destined to collapse. Therefore, let no one delude himself that it is lawful for him to sin, since he is counted among those who are beginning to learn. As soon as you know God, you must have fear; as soon as you look at Him, you should feel reverence. What is the use of your knowledge if you give yourself up to the same thing as before, when you knew nothing? What is the difference between you and a perfect servant of God? Do the baptized have one Christ, and the catechumens [123] another? Are the hope and reward offered to the one and the other different, is the fear of the Judgment different, is the need for repentance different? This washing is the sealing of faith, and faith begins and is evidenced by faith in repentance. We are baptized not in order to stop sinning, but because we have already stopped, already washed in our hearts. This is the first baptism of the listener — in reckless fear. From this, since you know God, come a sound faith and a conscience turned to repentance. If we cease to sin only after baptism, then we do not put on the garment of innocence voluntarily, but out of necessity.

If anyone thinks so, then I do not know whether the baptized person is not more grieved that he has ceased to sin than he rejoices that he has escaped sin.

Thus, catechumens should desire baptism, but not anticipate it. For he who wills honors, and he who anticipates reveals pride. In one is humility, in the other – insolence. One cares, the other neglects. One wants to deserve, the other appropriates for himself as something due. One receives, the other captures. Whom do you consider more worthy, if not the one who is more perfect? And who is more perfect than the fearful, who, consequently, has been imbued with true repentance? For he is afraid to sin, lest he be unworthy of baptism. And the other, who anticipated it, is not afraid, because he has appropriated it to himself and is therefore safe. But he did not fulfill repentance, for he is deprived of the means of repentance, that is, fear. To receive something prematurely is a property of audacity; it fills the beggar with pride and contempt for the giver. Therefore, it is often misleading, since it promises before what is due, as a result of which the giver is always offended.

7. How good it would be, O Christ Lord, if Thy servants were to hear only the instruction that it is not fitting for catechumens to sin, and that they did not know repentance at all and did not need it. as if we admit that there is still time for sin. Let no one interpret this teaching as if the possibility of sin is open to him even now (since there is still an opportunity to repent), and let not the abundance of heavenly meekness awaken the lust of human folly. Let no one become worse because God is infinitely good, and let him not sin as many times as he is forgiven. And the one who does not stop sinning will see that he can no longer be saved. Once we escaped punishment; but if we avoid it again, we will find ourselves in great danger. Many people, having escaped from shipwreck, then part forever with both the ship and the sea, and they honor the blessing of God, that is, their salvation, with the memory of the danger they have experienced. I praise their fear, I love modesty: they do not want to trouble divine mercy again, they are afraid to show disregard for what they have received. Undoubtedly, their anxiety is good, with which they avoid re-experiencing what they have once learned to fear. Such restraint and caution are evidence of fear. Well, to man for fear, to God for honor.

However, this most stubborn enemy never calms down in his anger. On the contrary, he is especially furious when he sees a person completely free; it is especially inflamed when it is powerless. He has to grieve and lament that, with the forgiveness of sins, so many works of death have been destroyed in man, so many signs of his former condemnation have been blotted out. He grieves that he and his angels will be judged by the servant of Christ, the former sinner [124]. Therefore he guards, attacks, besieges, whether it is not possible to wound the eyes with carnal lust, or to entangle the spirit with the charms of this world, or to abolish faith by fear of earthly powers, or to divert from the right path by false teachings: he has no lack of temptations and temptations. Foreseeing this harm of his, God, when the door of condescension was closed and the bolt of baptism was drawn, deigned to reveal to us something else. He placed a second penance on the threshold in order to open the door to those who knocked on it, but to open it only once, for the attempt is made a second time, and never to open it again, because the previous attempt failed. Wouldn't this attempt be enough? You are given again what you do not deserve, because you have lost what you have received.

If God's forbearance enables you to regain what you have lost, then be grateful for this repeated blessing, especially since it is a great blessing, for to give again is more than just giving, as it is a greater misfortune to lose than not to have at all. However, one should not immediately weaken and lose heart from despair, if the need arises for a second repentance. One should be ashamed of a new sin, and not of a new repentance; one should be ashamed of a new risk, not a new liberation. Let no one be ashamed! If the disease recurs, repeated treatment is necessary. You will be grateful to the Lord if you do not reject what the Lord gives you. You have offended me, but you can still reconcile. You have One Who will willingly forgive you.