Thou hast seen how man is honored by God. Know for sure that a man, so honored by God, dishonors God, if fearlessly violates His holy law, according to the testimony of the Apostle: "By transgressing the law you dishonor God" (Romans 2:23). This word was spoken to the wicked Jews, but now it befits Christians who have taken the place of the Jews, and have received the law of God, and boast in the knowledge of God, but they are not afraid to violate His holy law shamelessly and fearlessly. Therefore, the wrath of God will come upon them, if they do not truly turn to God.

Oh, if a man were to consider how God has honored him, and how he dishonors God, Who has honored him, he would incessantly sigh, weep, and weep. But, blinded, he does not see it. He insults his Father according to the flesh, and laments over it, weeps and weeps often, but he constantly insults and angers God, his Creator, and does not feel it. Beware, beloved, of such insensibility, and... pray for me.

Save yourself.

Fifth Letter

You still want to know how God honored man. I praise your desire and diligence and wish that it would take root in your heart. For from this will be born true sorrow for God's sake, which is necessary for repentance, because, according to the Apostle, "He worketh unfailing repentance unto salvation" (2 Corinthians 7:10). Therefore, with God's help, I will offer the same thing even more extensively and clearly.

Thou hast seen that God, desiring to save man, came Himself for this, and made salvation Himself, and not through anyone else. He was born of a pure Virgin in the flesh, so that we, worn out by the wickedness of demons, might be reborn in spirit. He became the son of man in order to make us sons of God. On earth He lived and labored to raise us, who had fallen away, to heaven. He labored and labored to give us eternal rest. He hungered and thirsted, so that he could feed and drink us with bread and drink of eternal consolation. He endured reproach in order to take away from us eternal reproach. He endured sorrow and illness in order to vouchsafe us eternal joy. He was dishonored and mocked, in order to honor us with eternal glory. He endured terrible and terrible sufferings, in order to take away from us eternal sufferings and give us eternal cooling in His kingdom. He died on the Cross in order to revive us, the dead, and so on.

See how He honored us. In His death our life consists. His sicknesses and wounds, ours, heal sicknesses. Our honor and glory depend on His dishonor. From His birth our spiritual and new birth will follow. His sorrow gave birth to joy. Through His labors we find eternal rest. Through His sufferings we are delivered from eternal sufferings. By His pilgrimage during His life on earth, we inherit the heavenly fatherland. Through His hunger and thirst we receive eternal cooling. In a word, the entire essence of bliss that a person acquires is attributed to Him alone, and should be ascribed. If He had not sought us, we would have been in perdition forever. If He had not come to us, we would always have been in captivity to the devil, who took us captive from paradise. If He had not suffered for us, we would have suffered forever in hell. If He had not died for us, we would have been buried in eternal death.

Thus His death became our life, His dishonor our glory, His wounds our healing. Thus, from His coming, suffering and death, as from the source, all our spiritual and eternal bliss flows. Those who receive eternal life receive everything by His grace and love for mankind. Read about this the Holy Scriptures, the teaching of the Holy Fathers, the teachers of the Church, and church songs and poems, and you will see for yourself. In this lies all our hope, joy, praise, consolation, glory and all blessedness, that Christ the Son of God, crucified and resurrected, and sitting at the right hand of God, and interceding for us, is our Saviour, Intercessor and refuge. For if He is for us, who is against us? Draw from this living spring, and in the heat cool your soul, and remember me, a sinner, and pray.

Спасайся.

Письмо шестое

Надеюсь, что еще хочешь знать о том же и лучше уяснить, что убедило Сына Божия Гос­пода нашего прийти в мир, воплотиться, по­страдать и умереть за нас, – и я хочу о том по­размышлять и написать тебе, чтобы и у меня, размышляющего, и у тебя, слышащего, всегда великое сие дело обращалось перед душевны­ми глазами. Ибо всегда должны мы о сем ве­ликом деле помнить и за это Бога нашего от сердца благодарить.

Известно из Святого Писания, что все лю­ди, сколько их ни было, – и есть, и будет, – согрешили пред Богом. Все согрешили и лише­ны славы Божией (Рим 3:23). Всех Писание за­ключило под грехом (Рим 3:9). А написано: про­клят всякий, кто не исполняет постоянно все­го, что написано в книге закона (Гал 3:10). Сле­довательно, все люди подверглись прокля­тию, как законопреступники (Гал 3:10), и сле­довало всем, в силу проклятия, вечной казни и мучению преданным быть, ибо этого требу­ет закон, проклинающий беззаконников.