Monday in Whitsun Week
Send, we beseech thee,
Almighty God, thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that he may direct
and rule us according to thy will, comfort us in all our
afflictions, defend us from all error, and lead us into all truth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the same Holy
Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen.
O GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful
people, by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us
by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and
evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of
Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the
unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end.
Amen.
Jeremiah xxxi. 31
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Acts x. 34
THEN Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) that word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.St. John iii. 16
GOD so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.HOMILY
John Chrysostom
Homily XXVIII.
John iii. 17 .
3179 words
"For God sent not His Son to condemn the world,
but to save the world."
[1.] Many of the more careless sort of persons, using the
lovingkindness of God to increase the magnitude of their sins and
the excess of their disregard, speak in this way, "There is no
hell, there is no future punishment, God forgives us all sins." To
stop whose mouths a wise man says, "Say not, His mercy is great, He
will be pacified for the multitude of my sins; for mercy and wrath
come from Him, and His indignation resteth upon sinners" ( Ecclus.
v. 6 ): and again, "As His mercy is great, so is His correction
also." ( Ecclus. xvi. 12 .) "Where then," saith one, "is His
lovingkindness, if we shall receive for our sins according to our
deserts?" That we shall indeed receive "according to our deserts,"
hear both the Prophet and Paul declare; one says, "Thou shalt
render to every man according to his work" ( Ps. lxii. 12 , LXX.);
the other, "Who will render to every man according to his work." (
Rom. ii. 6 .) And yet we may see that even so the lovingkindness of
God is great; in dividing our existence into two periods, the
present life and that which is to come, and making the first to be
an appointment of trial, the second a place of crowning, even in
this He hath shown great lovingkindness.
"How and in what way?" Because when we had committed many and
grievous sins, and had not ceased from youth to extreme old age to
defile our souls with ten thousand evil deeds, for none of these
sins did He demand from us a reckoning, but granted us remission of
them by the washing of Regeneration, and freely gave us
Righteousness and Sanctification. "What then," says one, "if a man
who from his earliest age has been deemed worthy of the mysteries,
after this commits ten thousand sins?" Such an one deserves a
severer punishment. For we do not pay the same penalties for the
same sins, if we do wrong after Initiation. And this Paul declares,
saying, "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two
or three witnesses; of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall
he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,
and hath counted the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing, and
hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" ( Heb. x. 28, 29 .)
Such an one then is worthy of severer punishment. Yet even for him
God hath opened doors of repentance, and hath granted him many
means for the washing away his transgressions, if he will. Think
then what proofs of lovingkindness these are; by Grace to remit
sins, and not to punish him who after grace has sinned and deserves
punishment, but to give him a season and appointed space for his
clearing. For all these reasons Christ said to Nicodemus, "God sent
not His Son to condemn the world, but to save the world."
For there are two Advents of Christ, that which has been, and that
which is to be; and the two are not for the same purpose; the first
came to pass not that He might search into our actions, but that He
might remit; the object of the second will be not to remit, but to
enquire. Therefore of the first He saith, "I came not to condemn
the world, but to save the world" ( c. iii. 17 ); but of the
second, "When the Son shall have come in the glory of His Father,
He shall set the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His
left." ( Matt. xxv. 31, 46 .) And they shall go, these into life;
and these into eternal punishment. Yet His former coming was for
judgment, according to the rule of justice. Why? Because before His
coming there was a law of nature, and the prophets, and moreover a
written Law, and doctrine, and ten thousand promises, and
manifestations of signs, and chastisements, and vengeances, and
many other things which might have set men right, and it followed
that for all these things He would demand account; but, because He
is merciful, He for a while pardons instead of making enquiry. For
had He done so, all would at once have been hurried to perdition.
For "all," it saith, "have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God." ( Rom. iii. 23 .) Seest thou the unspeakable excess of His
lovingkindness?
Ver. 18 . "He that believeth on the Son, is not judged; but he that
believeth not, is judged already."
Yet if He "came not to judge the world," how is "he that believeth
not judged already," if the time of "judgment" has not yet arrived?
He either means this, that the very fact of disbelieving without
repentance is a punishment, (for to be without the light, contains
in itself a very severe punishment,) or he announces beforehand
what shall be. For as the murderer, though he be not as yet
condemned by the decision of the judge, is still condemned by the
nature of the thing, so is it with the unbeliever. Since Adam also
died on the day that he ate of the tree; for so ran the decree, "In
the day that ye eat of the tree, ye shall die" ( Gen. ii. 17 ,
LXX.); yet he lived. How then "died" he? By the decree; by the very
nature of the thing; for he who has rendered himself liable to
punishment, is under its penalty, and if for a while not actually
so, yet he is by the sentence. Lest any one on hearing, "I came not
to judge the world," should imagine that he might sin unpunished,
and should so become more careless, Christ stops such disregard by
saying, "is judged already"; and because the "judgment" was future
and not yet at hand, He brings near the dread of vengeance, and
describes the punishment as already come. And this is itself a mark
of great lovingkindness, that He not only gives His Son, but even
delays the time of judgment, that they who have sinned, and they
who believe not, may have power to wash away their
transgressions.
"He that believeth on the Son, is not judged." He that "believeth,"
not he that is over-curious: he that "believeth," not the busybody.
But what if his life be unclean, and his deeds evil? It is of such
as these especially that Paul declares, that they are not true
believers at all: "They profess that they know God, but in works
they deny Him." ( Tit. i. 16 .) But here Christ saith, that such an
one is not "judged" in this one particular; for his works indeed he
shall suffer a severer punishment, but having believed once, he is
not chastised for unbelief.
[2.] Seest thou how having commenced His discourse with fearful
things, He has concluded it again with the very same? for at first
He saith, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the Kingdom of God": and here again, "He that
believeth not on the Son, is judged already." "Think not," He
saith, "that the delay advantageth at all the guilty, except he
repent, for he that hath not believed, shall be in no better state
than those who are already condemned and under punishment."
Ver. 19 . "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light."
What He saith, is of this kind: "they are punished, because they
would not leave the darkness, and hasten to the light." And hence
He goes on to deprive them of all excuse for the future: "Had I
come," saith He, "to punish and to exact account of their deeds,
they might have been able to say, 'this is why we started away from
thee,' but now I am come to free them from darkness, and to bring
them to the light; who then could pity one who will not come from
darkness unto light? When they have no charge to bring against us,
but have received ten thousand benefits, they start away from us."
And this charge He hath brought in another place, where He saith,
"They hated Me without a cause" ( John xv. 25 ): and again, "If I
had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin." ( John
xv. 22 .) For he who in the absence of light sitteth in darkness,
may perchance receive pardon; but one who after it is come abides
by the darkness, produces against himself a certain proof of a
perverse and contentious disposition. Next, because His assertion
would seem incredible to most, (for none would prefer "darkness to
light,") He adds the cause of such a feeling in them. What is
that?
Ver. 19, 20 . "Because," He saith, "their deeds were evil. For
every one that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the
light, lest his deeds should be reproved."
Yet he came not to judge or to enquire, but to pardon and remit
transgressions, and to grant salvation through faith. How then fled
they? Had He come and sat in His Judgment seat, what He said might
have seemed reasonable; for he that is conscious to himself of evil
deeds, is wont to fly his judge. But, on the contrary, they who
have transgressed even run to one who is pardoning. If therefore He
came to pardon, those would naturally most hasten to Him who were
conscious to themselves of many transgressions; and indeed this was
the case with many, for even publicans and sinners sat at meat with
Jesus. What then is this which He saith? He saith this of those who
choose always to remain in wickedness. He indeed came, that He
might forgive men's former sins, and secure them against those to
come; but since there are some so relaxed, so powerless for the
toils of virtue, that they desire to abide by wickedness till their
latest breath, and never cease from it, He speaks in this place
reflecting upon these. "For since," He saith, "the profession of
Christianity requires besides right doctrine a sound conversation
also, they fear to come over to us, because they like not to show
forth a righteous life. Him that lives in heathenism none would
blame, because with gods such as he has, and with rites as foul and
ridiculous as his gods, he shows forth actions that suit his
doctrines; but those who belong to the True God, if they live a
careless life, have all men to call them to account, and to accuse
them. So greatly do even its enemies admire the truth." Observe,
then, how exactly He layeth down what He saith. His expression is,
not "He that hath done evil cometh not to the light," but "he that
doeth it always, he that desireth always to roll himself in the
mire of sin, he will not subject himself to My laws, but chooses to
stay without, and to commit fornication without fear, and to do all
other forbidden things. For if he comes to Me, he becomes manifest
as a thief in the light, and therefore he avoids My dominion." For
instance, even now one may hear many heathen say, "that they cannot
come to our faith, because they cannot leave off drunkenness and
fornication, and the like disorders." "Well," says some one, "but
are there no Christians that do evil, and heathens that live
discreetly?" That there are Christians who do evil, I know; but
whether there are heathens who live a righteous life, I do not yet
know assuredly. For do not speak to me of those who by nature are
good and orderly, (this is not virtue,) but tell me of the man who
can endure the exceeding violence of his passions and (yet) be
temperate. You cannot. For if the promise of a Kingdom, and the
threat of hell, and so much other provision, can scarcely keep men
in virtue, they will hardly go after virtue who believe in none of
these things. Or, if any pretend to do so, they do it for show; and
he who doth so for show, will not, when he may escape observation,
refrain from indulging his evil desires. However, that we may not
seem to any to be contentious, let us grant that there are right
livers among the heathen; for neither doth this go against my
argument, since I spoke of that which occurs in general, not of
what happens rarely.
And observe how in another way He deprives them of all excuse, when
He saith that, "the light came into the world." "Did they seek it
themselves," He saith, "did they toil, did they labor to find it?
The light itself came to them, and not even so would they hasten to
it." And if there be some Christians who live wickedly, I would
argue that He doth not say this of those who have been Christians
from the beginning, and who have inherited true religion from their
forefathers, (although even these for the most part have been
shaken from right doctrine by their evil life,) yet still I think
that He doth not now speak concerning these, but concerning the
heathen and the Jews who ought to have come to the right faith. For
He showeth that no man living in error would choose to come to the
truth unless he before had planned for himself a righteous life,
and that none would remain in unbelief unless he had previously
chosen always to be wicked.
Do not tell me that a man is temperate, and does not rob; these
things by themselves are not virtue. For what advantageth it, if a
man has these things, and yet is the slave of vainglory, and
remains in his error, from fear of the company of his friends? This
is not right living. The slave of a reputation is no less a sinner
than the fornicator; nay, he worketh more and more grievous deeds
than he. But tell me of any one that is free from all passions and
from all iniquity, and who remains among the heathen. Thou canst
not do so; for even those among them who have boasted great things,
and who have, as they say, mastered avarice or gluttony, have been,
most of all men, the slaves of reputation, and this is the cause of
all evils. Thus it is that the Jews also have continued Jews; for
which cause Christ rebuked them and said, "How can ye believe,
which receive honor from men?" ( c. v. 44 .)
"And why, pray, did He not speak on these matters with Nathanael,
to whom He testified of the truth, nor extend His discourse to any
length?" Because even he came not with such zeal as did Nicodemus.
For Nicodemus made this his work, and the season which others used
for rest he made a season for hearing; but Nathanael came at the
instance of another. Yet not even him did Jesus entirely pass by,
for to him He saith, "Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the
angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." ( c.
i. 51 .) But to Nicodemus He spake not so, but conversed with him
on the Dispensation and on eternal life, addressing each
differently and suitably to the condition of his will. It was
sufficient for Nathanael, because he knew the writings of the
prophets, and was not so timid either, to hear only thus far; but
because Nicodemus was as yet possessed by fear, Christ did not
indeed clearly reveal to him the whole, but shook his mind so as to
cast out fear by fear, declaring that he who did not believe was
being judged, and that unbelief proceeded from an evil conscience.
For since he made great account of honor from men, more than he did
of the punishment; ("Many," saith the Evangelist, "of the rulers
believed on Him, but because of the Jews they did not confess"- c.
xii. 42 ;) on this point Christ toucheth him, saying, "It cannot be
that he who believeth not on Me disbelieveth for any other cause
save that he liveth an unclean life." Farther on He saith, "I am
the Light" ( c. viii. 12 ), but here, "the Light came into the
world"; for at the beginning He spoke somewhat darkly, but
afterwards more clearly. Yet even so the man was kept back by
regard for the opinion of the many, and therefore could not endure
to speak boldly as he ought.
Fly we then vainglory, for this is a passion more tyrannical than
any. Hence spring covetousness and love of wealth, hence hatred and
wars and strifes; for he that desires more than he has, will never
be able to stop, and he desires from no other cause, but only from
his love of vainglory. For tell me, why do so many encircle
themselves with multitudes of eunuchs, and herds of slaves, and
much show? Not because they need it, but that they may make those
who meet them witnesses of this unseasonable display. If then we
cut this off, we shall slay together with the head the other
members also of wickedness, and there will be nothing to hinder us
from dwelling on earth as though it were heaven. Nor doth this vice
merely thrust its captives into wickedness, but is even co-existent
with their virtues, and when it is unable entirely to cast us out
of these, it still causeth us much damage in the very exercise of
them, forcing us to undergo the toil, and depriving us of the
fruit. For he that with an eye to this, fasts, and prays, and shows
mercy, has his reward. What can be more pitiable than a loss like
this, that it should befall man to bewail himself uselessly and in
vain, and to become an object of ridicule, and to lose the glory
from above? Since he that aims at both cannot obtain both. It is
indeed possible to obtain both, when we desire not both, but one
only, that from heaven; but he cannot obtain both, who longs for
both. Wherefore if we wish to attain to glory, let us flee from
human glory, and desire that only which cometh from God; so shall
we obtain both the one and the other; which may we all enjoy,
through the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom and with whom, to the Father and the Holy Ghost, be glory for
ever and ever. Amen.