§ 8. The word of God, being the truest and most perfect rule of piety, as has been said, is necessary for all Christians, but especially for pastors, that is, bishops and priests: for they have taken the key of understanding (Luke 11:52), which is the word of God, and by this they must open the door to Christ the Living God and the source of life, and to eternal bliss, which was opened by His death. The holy Apostle wrote to Timothy, and in his person to every pastor: Take heed to thyself and to the teaching; Do this continually: for by doing so, you will save yourself and those who hear you. And a little higher: "Be occupied with reading, with instruction, with teaching" (1 Tim. 4:16, 13). Consequently, those pastors are defective in their calling who do not heed, according to the apostolic admonition, the reading of the Holy Scriptures. How can such a pastor teach others if he himself is ignorant? How can He enlighten others, if He himself is in darkness and blindness? How can he instruct others if he himself is mistaken? Christ likens such shepherds to blind leaders: They are the blind leaders of the blind; but if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit (Matt. 15:14).

§ 9. The Word of God, both to everyone in general and to each in particular, to me, and to you, and to others, has been equally transmitted and written. For God does not look at persons, but wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). For this reason He commanded that His holy word be written for the sake of all and everyone, so that everyone who reads or hears it may receive eternal salvation. As God says to me in His word, I am the Lord your God; thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, and so on, so also saith unto thee (Lev. 19:18). And Christ commands everyone to search the Scriptures: Search the Scriptures. And the Apostolic Epistles are addressed to all Christians, as everyone can see from those epistles. And the holy Apostle John wrote in his epistle: "I write to you, fathers, I write to you, young men, I write to you, youths, and so on" (1 John 2:13).

He wrote to the fathers, young men and youths, therefore:

1) Everyone and everyone, and people of every rank and rank, that is, sanctified and unconsecrated, noble and simple, men and women, can and should read and listen to it;

2) obliges everyone and every rank of people to obedience, that is, to avoid evil and do good;

3) those sin who believe and teach that the Holy Scriptures should not be read by ordinary people, but only by priests and other sanctified persons. And indeed, this opinion is a fiction and the intrigue of the devil, who leads people away from this soul-beneficial reading, so that, without reading the Holy Scriptures, they do not have true and living faith and thus would not be saved.

§ 10. Since those who do not only hear the word of God are blessed, but those who hear and keep it, as Christ says: "Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it" (Luke 11:28), then we must strive both to hear and to observe what we hear with God's help. That is why the Apostle exhorts Christians: Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For whoever hears the word and does not do it is like a man who examines the natural features of his face in a mirror: he looked at himself, went away, and immediately forgot what he was (James 1:22-24). For God did not declare His word to lie only outside, on the charter, like a dead mark, but that within, in our hearts, it might have its fruit. For the Word of God is a living, divine seed, which must germinate on the earth of our hearts with spiritual fruits.

What is the use of a seed sown in the ground if it bears no fruit? In the same way, the word of God, preached and heard, will not benefit us if it does not bear fruit in our hearts, that is, if we do not try to correct our lives according to its rule. A royal decree is published so that his subjects know and execute his will. In the same way, the word of God is published so that we may correct our lives according to his rule. There is no benefit in hearing the word of God, but not living according to its rule, moreover, the word of God heard and not kept will be in increased condemnation, as will be said below.

§11. God in His holy word says to the soul of man: I am the Lord thy God, and so forth; He says to the soul: Turn away from evil and do good; believe, humble yourself, love, endure, and so on. The soul must listen to the voice of God, obey, repent, believe, love, endure, and so on. And when evil thoughts arise, do not accept them, but when good advice is felt inside, follow it.

Therefore:

1) It is of no use to appear to be in good order outwardly, but to be defective inwardly; to humble oneself in one's body, but to be proud of one's soul; On the tongue to have faith and love, but in the heart – unbelief and its fruits. All this is hypocrisy.

2) Any sin first appears in the soul, and then manifests itself externally and bodily and is committed through the body. For example, murder, theft, fornication, and so on happen in the soul. For the hand will not kill, steal; the tongue will not slander or slander; The eye will not look, the ear will not hear the indecent, the belly will not overeat, the feet will not walk to evil, if the soul does not want to. Likewise, every virtue must be in the soul, and on occasion it must be outwardly manifested and manifest its action. For example, faith must be in the soul and on occasion show itself by confession; Love must be in the soul and on occasion manifest itself through works of mercy, and so on. Whoever has true love for his neighbor will not refuse him who asks. And God, when He says to a man: "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal," He does not speak to the hands, but to the soul, from which murder and theft proceed and are committed through the hands; In the same way, He does not say to the tongue, "Thou shalt not bear false witness," but to the soul that uses the tongue to bear false witness, and so on. That is why the Apostle calls the bodily members instruments of righteousness or instruments of unrighteousness (Romans 6:13). They are instruments of righteousness when the soul does righteousness with them; instruments of unrighteousness, when the soul uses them to create unrighteousness.

3) Not only the murderer, or the predator, or the adulterer, etc., who sins by deed, does evil, but also the one who wants to do evil. A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit, nor a bad tree bring forth good fruit, says Christ (Matt. 7:18). Therefore, in God's word, murder is attributed not only to the one who kills a person by deed, but also to the one who hates a person. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, says St. John (1 John 3:15). Likewise, fornication is called fornication by Christ. Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:28). And although the civil court does not put evil lusts to death, the judgment of God will execute them, since they are committed against His holy and eternal law: Thou shalt not covet. God judges not only external sins, but also internal ones, at least outwardly, they did not manifest themselves before people.

§ 12. God, commanding to turn away from evil, also commands to do good: Turn away from evil and do good (Psalm 33:15); forbidding stealing, stealing, He also commands to give: "Give to him who asks of you" (Matt. 5:42).