Thus, according to what has been said above, nowhere is it permitted for a Christian to do anything like this, because our Lord has abolished all this, and, having trampled down the devil who taught this, delivered us out of his hands, saying: "I am the good Shepherd" (John 10:11). Come unto Me (Matt. 11:28). I am the way (John 14:6). Come unto me, all of you" (Matt. 11:28). I am the truth. Come unto me. I am life: Come unto me, all of you. I am the light of the world (John 8:12). Come unto me, all of you; Deny Satan, reject his teachings. Come unto me, all of you. Having put off the old man with his deeds. And having put on the new (Col. 3:9-10). Come to me, all of you. The ancient mimoidosha, behold, is all new (2 Corinthians 5:17). The law was given by Moses: but grace and truth were Jesus Christ (John 1:17). All who are justified by the law: you fall away from grace (Gal. 5:4). Come unto me, all of you. For he that cometh unto Me I will not cast out (John 6:37).

Oh, the immeasurable goodness of God! She calls everyone! Everyone wants to be saved! Glory to God's love for mankind! Therefore, brethren, no longer be justified by the law, for the shadow (line) of the law has passed away. Those who are under the law are under an oath, but Christ our Saviour has redeemed us from the lawful oath. Do not make excuses by law. Let us not crown the vestibules, let us not compose faces, singing demonic songs, let us not be deceived by pipes and harps. Let us no longer justify ourselves by the law, lest we fall away from grace, lest we be under an oath. Christ redeemed us from the oath of the law. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

Question: Why is it written about heretics: "Do not they that hate Thee, O Lord, hate Thee" (Psalm 138:21). In another place it is said: hate them as enemies of God. And again in another place it says: "Thou shalt not hate thy brother" (Lev. 19:17)?

Answer: The Scriptures call heretics, as blasphemers and enemies of God, not men, but dogs, wolves, swine, and antichrists, as the Lord says: "Thou shalt not give the saint a dog" (Matt. 7:6). And John says: "Now the Antichrists are many" (1 John 2:18). And they are not to be loved or nourished, nor to pray, nor to eat with them, nor to receive them into one's home, nor to welcome them, lest they take part in their evil deeds.

Question: What sin is unforgivable?

Answer: Sin against the Holy Spirit. This is the sin of every heretic, because heretics have blasphemed and blaspheme the Holy Spirit. There will be no remission for them, either in this age or in the next, according to the word of the Lord (Matt. 12:32), for they have resisted God Himself, from Whom is deliverance. And who will help them?

Question: Which sin, apart from heresy, is the most grievous?

Answer: As love is above all virtues, so it is heavier than all sins to hate one's brother; for if you hate your brother, you are a murderer, as the Apostle said (1 John 3:15). Whoever hates his brother hates God Himself. Thou shalt hate thy brother, for he is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and he hath no tidings, where he goeth, for darkness hath blinded his eyes (1 John 2:11). This is how many evils hatred is the cause of. And love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8). Envy is incurable, and it is completely incurable. Any unrepentant sin is a sin unto death; moreover, homosexuals, sorcerers, poisoners, prophets, and anyone who withholds the wages of a hireling, and who hates his brother, is severely condemned on a par with murderers.

On the Remembrance of Death, on Virtue, and on Riches

I must obey him who says, "Comfort one another, and build up" (1 Thess. 5:11). I must not because I am able to teach and I can do it with my diligence. On the contrary, I know (the truth from) him who said: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. Comfort us in all our afflictions, that we may be able to comfort those who are in all afflictions, the consolation whereby we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Wherefore I thought it necessary to write to you about all that I have learned from the Divine Scriptures, in which I have been instructed by pious men, and in which I have learned by my own experience, so that I may not resemble those envious artists who, through ill-will, conceal much in art from their students. I believe him who said: "For God is at work in us, and willeth and works for good will" (Phil. 2:13).

Virtue is not diminished if many take it up and many succeed in it, as one of the saints said. The acquisition of virtue is such that even if all were to enter into the share, its wealth would not be exhausted. It is not like earthly acquisitiveness, in which those who divide into shares add as much to one part as they subtract in another, and the excess of one is an impoverishment for the other partner. It is because of this, out of hatred of belittlement, that people quarrel for more. But whoever acquires virtue does not arouse envy by increasing his acquisition, but he who admires virtue more will not do any harm to him who desires to have acceptability (less), but is only filled with good desire; but the riches of virtue are not exhausted by those who have warned (intended) to prevail over it.

And so, let us begin (the narration) which we have assumed, with the help of the grace of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Negligence for the sober is the cause of many evils, little by little distracting them from the spiritual life, cooling the fervor of faith and accustoming them to serve pleasures as masters, for they do not allow themselves to think of future recompenses after their departure from this life. The negligent one, even if he hears the Scriptures announcing future punishments after death, accepts them without any feeling that the punishments are assigned to someone else, and he himself is not subject to accusation.