Christian instruction

Without living faith and the fear of God it is impossible to live piously. Living faith is awakened in the human heart from teaching in the word of God and from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must read and listen to the word of God, and pray that God Himself will light the lamp of faith in our hearts. The fear of God is born especially from reasoning about the omnipresence and omniscience of God. God is essentially present everywhere, and wherever we are, He is with us, and whatever we do, say, think and begin, we do everything before His holy eyes, speak, think and begin, and He knows our deeds much better than we ourselves. Think about this, Christian, and listen to this, and with the help of God, the fear of God will be born in you. The fear of God will guard and correct you everywhere and in every deed, turn you away from every evil deed, and encourage you to every good. So day by day you will be the best. Always keep God before your soul's eyes, and you will have the fear of God, imitating the Psalmist: “I have always seen the Lord before me” (Ps. 15:8). What you should do is explained in the following paragraphs. Pay attention and try to do the following: 1. You should not live in idleness, but exercise yourself in blessed labors. Because idleness is the cause of all evil, and whoever lives in idleness continually sins. The exception is the infirm and elderly people who cannot work. 2. Beware of any sin as a deadly poison, since every sin offends and angers the great God, and separates the sinner from God and hinders eternal salvation. Beware of sin, lest it kill you forever. 3. Do not do what your conscience forbids you to do, for what an infallible conscience forbids, the law of God also forbids. A good conscience is in accordance with the law of God. The law of God says: “Do not kill, do not steal,” and so on - you hear the same in your conscience, and it tells you the same. Beware of doing what your conscience forbids, so as not to wound your soul by wounding your conscience. 4. Honor God not with substance and appearance, but with a good conscience, fear, love, obedience, thanksgiving, prayer, and faith. For God is an immaterial Spirit, and therefore is worshiped by nothing other than spirit and truth. 5. Try to please God by faith and obedience, that is, do what He wants and what pleases Him, and do not do what He does not want and what is displeasing to Him. Without obedience, whatever a person does is displeasing to God. 6. Avoid evil and do good for the sake of God, and not for any other reason: because (avoid evil) He forbade it, and (therefore do good) because God commanded it. For everything that is not done for the sake of God is displeasing to God. Let the will of God be the goal in all your deeds, which does not want evil and wants good. 7. Remember the name of God with all respect, fear and reverence, and only there and then, where and when it is necessary to remember, since the name of God is holy and terrible, and those who remember Him with disrespect gravely sin. Give all respect to the name of God as to God himself. You remember the name of the king of the earth with reverence, as it should, how much more should the name of God, the King of Heaven, venerable, kind and sweet to the Angels and holy souls, be remembered with high reverence. 8. The name of God is correctly remembered in prayer, in doxology, in thanksgiving, in praise, in spiritual songs, in conversations and conversations befitting Christians, that is, when the conversation is about the Holy Word of God, about the law and the Gospel, about the coming of Christ into the world, about His life on earth, His suffering and death, accepted for our sake, about death, about the judgment of Christ, about eternal torment and eternal life, and the like this. In other conversations, do not mention him unless absolutely necessary, and if you need to mention him, then remember him with all caution and due respect. 9 . In lies and jokes, be extremely careful not to mention the name of God, so that God’s judgment does not immediately befall you. For our God is a consuming fire. 10. A deity became a custom, extremely indecent for Christians, such as: “by God”, “for this God”, “God is a witness”, “God sees”, “for this Christ” and so on; and these words are repeated by people often and in almost all cases. Such a god is nothing more than a satanic invention, invented to dishonor the name of God and the destruction of man. Beware of swearing like this and like that. 11. When you need to establish the truth, “let your word be according to the commandment of Christ: yes, yes; no no; and anything beyond this is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37). 12. God is the highest good, from Whom flows all the good and bliss that exists and can be. Without God, all bliss is wretchedness and poverty, life is death, joy and sweetness are sorrow. To live with God even in misfortune is happiness, in poverty there is wealth, in dishonor there is glory, in dishonor there is honor, in sorrow there is consolation. Without God there can be no true rest, peace and consolation. Therefore, love Him as your highest good and blessedness, love more than every creature, more than father and mother, more than wife and children, and more than yourself. Cling to Him alone with your heart, and most of all, desire and seek Him alone, because He is your eternal good and bliss, without Whom there is no life and bliss in the present age, and in the future. Every creation of God is good, but the Creator is incomparably better. Love and desire Him as Good itself, as essential, beginningless, infinite, ever-present and unchangeable, from which all creatures are made good. 13. God is your Creator, Redeemer, highest Benefactor and good Provider. Just as He created you, He gives you every good thing, so that you cannot live even a minute without His goodness. You do not see your Benefactor with your bodily eyes, but you see His blessing given to you: you see the sun, the moon and His stars that shine for you; you see a fire that warms you and cooks food for you; you see the garment that covers your naked body; You also see other countless benefits that He gave you for your need and consolation. Seeing and receiving benefits, remember your invisible Benefactor everywhere and always with love and thank Him for all His benefits from a pure heart. His greatest and highest good deed is that by His good pleasure Christ, His Only Begotten Son, came to us, and with His honest Blood and suffering redeemed us from the devil, hell and death. In this great work, the incomprehensible grace of God was revealed to us. We must always look at this great and incomprehensible work of God with faith, and constantly remember it, and God, us unworthy, who so loved, with all our hearts, thank Him, worship Him, praise, sing and glorify with our hearts and lips. “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, that He hath visited His people, and wrought deliverance for them, and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David” (Luke 1:68–69). Always remember this great work of God, and be amazed at it, and thank God from your heart, and live as God, who came into the world to save sinners, wants, so as not to offend Him with your ingratitude. He wants to save you, so He came into the world for you, and suffered, and died in His holy flesh - so fulfill His holy desire, and with all diligence take care of the salvation of your soul, be grateful to Him, and live in the world humbly, lovingly, meekly and patiently, as He Himself lived and as He wants from you. 14. Everywhere and in all things remember with love the Lord your God and His holy love for us. Everything that you see in heaven and on earth and in your house excites you to the remembrance of the Lord your God and His holy love. We are contained in God's love; every creature of God testifies to His love for us. Therefore, seeing God’s creation and using it, say to yourself: all this is the work of the hands of the Lord my God, and it was created for my sake. The heavenly lights - the sun, the moon and the stars - are the creation of the Lord my God: they shine for the whole universe and for me. This land on which I live, which grows fruit for me and my livestock, and everything that is on it is the creation of my Lord. This water, which waters me and my cattle, is the good of my Lord. These cattle that serve me are the creation of my Lord, and they were given to me to serve. This house in which I live is God’s good, and He gave it to me for my rest. This food that I eat is God’s gift given to me to strengthen and comfort my weak flesh. The Lord my God gave me this garment with which I dress to cover my naked body, and so on. This image, the image of Christ, is the image of my Savior, Who for my sake came into a poor world to save me, who was lost, and suffered and died for me, and so redeemed me from sin, the devil, death and hell. I adore His indescribable love for mankind. This image, the image of the Mother of God, is the image of the Most Holy Virgin, Who gave birth to the Lord my God Jesus Christ in the flesh without seed. “Blessed is the Mother who gave birth to God in the flesh among women, and blessed is the fruit of Her womb. Blessed is the womb that bore the Lord my God, and the breasts that nourished Him!” This image of the Forerunner is the image of the great prophet who was sent by God in the face of my Savior Jesus Christ, and announced to people that He had already come into the world, and pointed to Him: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), and was vouchsafed to baptize Him in the streams of the Jordan. This image of the Apostle is the image of the disciple of my Savior, who constantly stayed with Him and saw Himself perform miracles, and heard Him teach, and saw Him suffering for the salvation of the world, and rising from the dead, and ascending into heaven; and was sent by Him into the world to preach His holy Gospel. This image of a martyr is the image of that ascetic who stood to the point of bleeding for the honor of my Savior Jesus Christ, and for His holy name did not spare his life, and established our pious faith as true by the shedding of his blood, and so on. This saying that I hear from the Holy Scriptures is the Word of God, the word of His mouth, the mouth of the Lord spoke this; and now through this word my God speaks to me. “The law of Your mouth is good for me, better than much gold and silver” (Ps. 119:72). God! Give me ears to hear Your holy word. This sacred house, the church in which I stand, is the church of God, in which all the faithful, my brethren, offer prayer and praise to my God. These sacred voices, praise and common prayer send up singing, thanksgiving, praise and glorification to the holy name of my God. This sacred man, bishop or priest, is the closest servant of my God, who proclaims the path of salvation to me and other people, my brethren. This brother of mine, every man, is a dear creation of my God, like me, a creature created in the image of God and in the likeness, and after the fall, redeemed by the Blood of the Son of God, my Savior, like me, and called to eternal life by the word of God. I need to love him as the kind creation of my God, love him as I love myself, and not do anything to him that I don’t want for myself, and do to him what I want for myself. For so my God commanded me. In a word, every occasion and every thing can and should awaken you to the loving remembrance of the Lord your God, and shows His love for you, so that His very punishment comes from His love for us, according to Scripture: “The Lord punishes whomever he loves” (Heb. 12:6). Remember everywhere, and in every case, and in every thing, the name of the Lord your God. Beware of forgetting the Benefactor, being content with His good deeds, lest you appear ungrateful to Him. For forgetting a benefactor is a clear sign of ingratitude. 15. Whatever business you begin, consider whether it is in accordance with your conscience and the law of God, and whether it is truly beneficial for you; if it is in accordance with the law of God, begin and do it, and if it contradicts the law of God, turn away from it, so as not to fall into the snare of the enemy, who is always looking to catch a person in his net. Not everything that seems useful to you is useful, but only what is in accordance with sound reason and the word of God. 16. When starting any task, call on the name of the Lord your God, and begin with prayer, may the Lord help you to begin and complete it. And from this it is clear that a Christian should not begin anything that is contrary to the law of God, but only that which is in accordance with it. 17. When you want to eat or drink, call on the name of the Lord and ask Him to bless your food and drink, saying: “Lord, bless.” And think here that you want to taste and enjoy the good of your Lord. For everything is God’s good, as said above; “The earth is the Lord’s, and all that fills it” (Ps. 23:1). Whoever has property from theft and untruth, this is an oath, not a blessing from God, and therefore it is not appropriate to call on the name of God here. Likewise, those who want to get drunk should not call upon the name of God to do so, for drunkenness is forbidden by God. 18. Love the Word of God, that is, the Scripture handed down to us by the prophets and apostles as God Himself, for God’s Word is the word of the mouth of God. If you love God, then you will certainly love the Word of God. For God’s Word is a message, or God’s letter to us, unworthy, and is His highest gift, given to us for the sake of salvation. If you love the Sender, love the letter He sent to you. The Word of God was given to me, to you and to everyone from God, so that everyone who wants to be saved through it will receive salvation. When the king of the earth writes a letter to you, you love it and read it with love and joy. Moreover, the letter of the Heavenly King, the Word of God, should be loved and read with love and joy. 19. The Word of God was given to us not so that it would lie only on paper written, but so that we would use it spiritually, be enlightened, be guided on the true path and salvation, correct our morals, and live according to its rule in this world, and please God. If you want to be a true Christian, you must certainly try to live by his rule. The Word of God is the seed of heaven: it must grow in us a fruit similar to itself, that is, a holy and heavenly life. Otherwise, it will expose us on the day of the Last Judgment of Christ. Live as the Word of God teaches, and correct yourself according to it. 20. What people do, do not imitate it recklessly; for from such reckless imitation people become corrupted and corrupted, and hour by hour evil increases and piety becomes scarcer - but pay attention only to what the Word of God teaches. 21. About the sacrament of the Most Holy Trinity, the Most Holy Eucharist and other sacraments, also about what is not revealed in the Holy Word of God, and about what is open, but you cannot understand - do not be curious, otherwise you will fall into the devil’s snare, and you will become entangled in it, and you will not be able to get out of it, and so you will perish. For what requires a single faith and which our reason surpasses, is very dangerous to experience. Beware of experiencing what is above you. Believe in everything as the Holy Church believes. This path is safe. 22. True Christians in this world live like travelers, strangers and strangers, and always look to the heavenly fatherland with faith and spiritual eyes, and try to achieve it. Be a stranger and a stranger in this world, and constantly look to the heavenly fatherland, and try to obtain it. Then the world with its charms and lusts will become vile to you. He who seeks and desires eternal bliss, and tries to obtain it, despises everything temporary, so that, while seeking the temporary, he does not lose the eternal. 23. We were created by our Creator for eternal life, and were called to it by the word of God, renewed by holy Baptism, and for this reason Christ the Son of God came into the world to call and bring us there - and therefore only eternal life is necessarily needed. Therefore, let your first effort and concern be to receive eternal life. Without it, everything is nothing, even if you have the whole world in your power. Every sin and addiction to the vanity of this world prevents us from receiving it. Beware of all this, lest you lose eternal life. You take care of temporary life, although you will certainly leave it, but you do everything so as not to lose it, how much more incomparably should you take care of eternal life, and make every effort to not lose it! For everything temporary is nothing compared to the eternal. Seek eternal life as your only true good, and avoid with all care everything that closes the door to it. The philanthropic God wants your salvation, so may your desire for this be done. Then you will certainly be saved. Desire and seek salvation like one who is hungry for food and thirsty for drink, and you will receive what you desire. 24. Those Christians who in this world desire and strive to become rich, ascend to an honorable position and become famous, do not imitate them. Such people forgot that Christ the Son of God suffered and died for them, and opened the door to eternal life through His suffering and death, and called them to it. It is clear that they only desire and strive for what they see, and what they do not see, they do not desire and do not strive for. Every day, like Adam in paradise, they stretch out their hands to the commanded tree, and from there they partake of their misfortune, and so in their hearts they retreat from God. They act like the Israelites, who, having left Egypt, turned their hearts back to Egypt and wanted Egyptian food (Num. 11:5), so the Lord was angry with them. So these Christians, through holy Baptism, were delivered from the slavery of the devil, like the Israelites from Pharaoh’s work, and were called to eternal blessings; but with their hearts they turn aside and cleave to the worldly and visible, and, leaving the eternal, they seek the temporal. Therefore, the Lord will be angry with them, and they will be executed not temporarily, but forever. Do not imitate such Christians, but strive for eternal blessings with faith and heart, for Christian property and heritage, honor and glory, wealth and all treasure are not in this world, but in the next century and in the heavenly fatherland. There all the good things are prepared for them by the Heavenly Father. Seek them with all diligence, and use worldly things carefully and with the fear of God, so as not to anger the Lord your God with excess. Remember what the apostle wrote: “We have brought nothing into the world; It’s obvious that we can’t take anything out of it. Having food and clothing, we will be content with this” (1 Tim. 6:7–8). 25. Compare time with eternity, the present with the future, and living people with dead ones, and so your mind will be enlightened, and you yourself will know and admit that those who “lay up treasures for themselves, and are not rich in God” do bad things (Luke 12:21). All the dead are in peace and they left everything in peace, and you will leave them too, even if you have the whole world in your power. Only piety goes with us for that age, so be pious to the end and have only piety as your true treasure. 26. Remember often death, the judgment of Christ, eternal torment and eternal life, and then the world with all its lusts and delights will certainly become vile to you; you don’t want to get rich, famous and have fun in this world; About this alone you will strive to please God, to die blissfully, not to be put to shame at the judgment of Christ, to avoid eternal torment and to enter the kingdom of God. Truly this is a great and powerful means for a person not to be deceived by the vanity of this world and to be in true repentance and contrition of heart, which is absolutely necessary for every Christian. Truly, the memory of this and the correct reasoning of every person, even the most depraved, can motivate and keep them in fear. This name alone - unhappy or painful eternity - brings a person into awe and horror. That people cling to vanity and sin, it truly happens because they forget about eternity. Oh, eternal torment, how bitter is your memory! It is scary and sad to be caught in eternal torment, but it is scary and sad to lose God and eternal life forever. “Remember your end, and you will never sin” (Sir. 7:39). 27. Beware of luxury, like a pestilence. It greatly relaxes the Christian soul; teaches to steal someone else’s property, to offend people, and to withhold one’s hand from giving alms, which is required of a Christian. Luxury, like a belly, does not know satiety, and like an abyss, it devours all good things. She needs everything and wants to redo everything. It’s not good, they say, my house is, I need to make a new one. My dress is bad, I need to sew it better. I’m ashamed to go out in a simple carriage; I need to buy an English carriage. This food is disgusting to me - I need to cook something better. I can’t drink plain wine; I need to buy wine vodka. It is indecent for me to serve my servants in such and such a dress - I need to dress them better, and so on. So luxury devours everything and relaxes the mind. Beware of luxury. Nature is content with little, but lust and luxury need a lot. 28. Do not decorate your body with dandy clothes, as some who call themselves Christians have a custom, but let you have decent attire corresponding to your rank. Christian clothing is a spiritual garment; Christians should adorn the soul, not the body. The beauty of the soul is the image of God, according to which we are created - seek this beauty, and that’s enough for you. 29. While standing in church, diligently listen to the reading and singing. Then tenderness, true prayer, heartfelt singing and thanksgiving will be born. Beware of standing in church with your body and wandering outside of church with your mind; stand before God in body, but wander in spirit about worldly affairs, so that you are not convicted by the word from Scripture: “This people draws near to Me with their lips, and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8). When you stand in church with your body, stand with your heart and spirit, for you stand before God. 30. Be careful not to go to feasts and banquets. It is very difficult to attend them without hurting your conscience. You will not return to the house the same as you left the house, so beware. There is nothing better and calmer than staying at home. What the eye does not see and the ear does not hear will not strike the heart. Good thoughts and those pleasing to God do not happen anywhere like in solitude and silence. Whatever good you don’t collect in your home and solitude, you will lose everything between people. 31. If you need to leave the house and go to people, pay attention to yourself and guard your heart with all caution. Imagine the Lord your God before you everywhere, and let the holy fear of God, like a candle, illuminate and guide your path. Wherever you go and wherever you are, God is with you, and knows everything about you, and sees the deed, and hears the word. Take care of yourself everywhere. 32. If you have wealth, be careful not to apply your heart to it, so that your heart does not depart from God: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Also, beware of squandering God’s goodness on whim and luxury. It was given to you from God not for your sake alone, but for the sake of other poor people. Remember that you are a manager, not a master of good. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all that fills it” (Ps. 23:1). Be a faithful steward of your Lord, and not a squanderer of the Lord’s property, be content with moderation yourself, and thank the Creator of all good things, and provide for poor people. Those who, like watchmen, guard their property, and those who squander it on whims and luxury will be unrequited and put to shame at the judgment of Christ (Matthew 25:30, 41). Beware of this, lest you be condemned by an evil slave. 33. If you have wealth collected by untruth, squander it on the poor, so that it does not expose you at the second coming of Christ. In this, imitate Zacchaeus the tax collector (Luke 19:8), whom Christ the Lord set as an example to everyone. It is better to live in poverty than in unrighteous wealth. Choose the best, and righteously squander what you have collected unrighteously. If you do this, believe in the Lord that He will not leave you and will give you what you need for your life, He does not leave even the birds and feeds them, and provides for all creatures. 34. Be extremely careful not to offend anyone by word or deed, for this is a grave sin. When a person is insulted, God, Who loves man, is also insulted. For a human insult cannot exist without an insult to God. Whoever sins against man will also sin against God. It's hard, as you can see. If you offend your neighbor, then immediately humble yourself before him and humbly ask him for forgiveness, so as not to fall under the righteous judgment of God. 35. Treat every person without flattery, but simply, just as you treat yourself. As you appear to him on the outside, be so on the inside; and whatever you say to him and is on your lips, must also be in your heart. For flattery and deceit are the works of destructive people, and the devil lives in their hearts, who teaches them flattery and deceit to deceive us. Beware of acting craftily and treacherously towards your neighbor, so as not to give a place in your heart to the devil, and so that he does not take possession of you and lead you as a captive. 36. Beware of testing human affairs. For such a test gives rise to slander, condemnation and other grave sins. What need do you have for people? Know and test yourself. Remember your previous sins, and erase them with repentance and contrition of heart, then you will not look at what people do. Look more often into your heart and experience how destructive evil lies hidden in it - and you will have enough to experience. For we can never test our hearts, but we know for sure that all evil is contained in it. It's good for you to experience it. For from this will be born humility, and fear, and concern for oneself, and sighing, and prayer to God, and the testing of other people’s sins serves as the beginning of all lawlessness, and there is a curiosity that is hated by God and people. Beware of this. 37. If you see or hear someone sinning, beware of slandering and condemning him. You will tell one about him, he will tell another, another will tell a third, a third will tell a fourth, and so everyone will know and be offended, and the one who has sinned will be judged, which is serious, and you will be the cause of all this, since you have made your brother’s sin known to everyone. Slanderers are like lepers who harm others with their evil smell; or like those infected with pestilence, who carry the infection from place to place and destroy others. Beware of slandering your neighbor, so that, having sinned gravely, you do not give others a reason to sin. Also beware of condemning him, because “before his Lord he stands or falls” (Rom. 14:4), and also because you yourself are a sinner. A righteous person should not judge or condemn anyone, much less a sinner. And it is the work of one Christ to judge people; judgment has been handed over to Him from the Heavenly Father, and He will judge the living and the dead, to whose judgment you yourself will appear. Beware of stealing the dignity of Christ for yourself, which is very hard, and of judging people like you, so as not to appear with this disgusting sin at the Last Judgment and be righteously condemned to eternal execution. Turn your eyes and mind to yourself, and examine yourself, and expose yourself, and accuse yourself before God for your sins, which the work of repentance requires, expose and accuse yourself before God, and ask for mercy from Him, like a publican, so that you may be justified by Him. Listen to what Christ the Lord says to the judge: “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not feel the beam in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother: Let me take the speck out of your eye, but behold, there is a beam in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3–5). You see that those who judge and condemn others are hypocrites or false Christians. Such people do not know themselves and their sins, even if they appear to be holy outwardly. 38. Death follows us invisibly, and death befalls us when we don’t drink tea, and there we die when we don’t drink tea, and we die there when we don’t drink tea. Be in constant repentance and at all times and everywhere ready for the outcome. An intelligent servant always watches and waits for his master to call him: and you, too, watch and wait for Christ your Lord to call you. He calls everyone through death, so always be in your life the way you want to be at death. Always live godly, and “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12), act carefully everywhere and always, and beware lest you lose eternal salvation, which Christ our Lord purchased for us with His Blood and Death, and then you will die blessedly. 39. True repentance requires that a person turn away from sins and from the vanity of this world, and turn to God with all his heart, change inside, and become different, not the same as he was before, and so “work out his salvation with fear and trembling,” and not try so hard for anything other than to please God and thus be saved. If you want to be in true repentance and thus be saved, change yourself and be renewed, and become different from what you were before, and do not try for anything other than to please God and be saved, and then you will be a new creature in Christ. For every Christian, if he wants to be a true and not a false Christian, must be a new or renewed man, or “a new creation” (Gal. 6:15). Do not caress your flesh, and do not do everything that it wants (Gal. 5:13, 16-17). You must crucify her “with the passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24) if you want to be a Christian or Christ’s. A lot of work and heroism is required for a person to change and become a good tree, which naturally produces good fruits. Therefore, do not try so hard for anything other than to change, renew and correct yourself, and pray for this often and with all zeal and sigh to Christ the Lord, so that He Himself may renew you and make you good. Without Him, our renewal and correction cannot happen. And when you are renewed and good inside, then your outer life and deeds will be good. 40. In order for you to correct yourself and become a true Christian, or one of Christ, place the holy life of Christ before your spiritual eyes, and look at His life often, and imitate its example; and although your heart, being corrupted, does not want to, force and convince yourself to imitate the wonderful virtues of Christ. You look in the mirror to find out what your face is like, whether there are any flaws on it, and, having seen it, eliminate them - let the immaculate life of Christ be the mirror of your soul. Look into this mirror more often and find out what your soul is like, whether it wants what Christ wants, and whether it does what Christ did while living on earth; and whatever you see in it that is contrary to the life of Christ, cleanse everything like vices with repentance and contrition of heart. Christ the Lord despised honor, glory and wealth in this world, although he could have everything, as the Lord of all - are you not looking for honor, wealth and glory in this world? Christ lived on earth in humility; do you not live in pride and pomp? Christ was loving and merciful to everyone - don’t you hate and be angry with people like you? Christ, being a reproach, did not reproach anyone - do you not reproach a person who somehow reproaches you, and what is worse than that, do you not reproach someone who does not reproach you for anything: you, they say, are such and such, you are a rogue, you are a spendthrift, you are a thief, and so on? Christ was meek towards all blasphemers - do you not blaspheme those who blaspheme you? Christ did not take revenge on anyone, although he could destroy all his enemies in the blink of an eye - are you not taking revenge for your insult? Christ endured everything—do you not grumble and blaspheme in the misfortune and suffering that befalls you? So compare your soul with the life of Christ, and as you place your face in front of a mirror, place your soul before the mirror of the immaculate life of Christ; and whatever you see that is contrary to this, try in every way to correct it and follow His example. If you do this, then I assure you that day by day you will become the best. For it is impossible not to correct oneself who often looks into this immaculate mirror. Truly, those who want to be with Him in eternal life must follow Christ. It is necessary in this life to be conformed to Christ to those who want to be conformed to Him in glory. It was not in vain that Christ said: “I have given you an example, so that you should do the same as I have done to you” (John 13:15); and: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38). Consider these words diligently, and you yourself will learn and admit that one must follow Christ if he wants to be saved and enter His eternal kingdom. Those who want to follow Him into eternal life must follow Christ by faith and love in this life; in other words, those who want to follow Him into His heavenly eternal kingdom must follow Christ’s path—there is no other way there. Note that Christ says: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them; and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life” (John 10:27–28). By sheep here are meant true Christians who obey His holy teaching, and live as He taught, and will follow Him with faith, humility, love and patience - and He brings such into eternal life, since they follow Him. Consequently, those who do not listen to His voice or His holy teaching cannot be called the sheep of Christ, and since they do not follow Him, they will not come after Him into eternal life. This is scary, Christian, but true. Think about these words of Christ yourself, and you will admit that this is so. Beloved Christian! You must follow the safe path if you want to come to eternal life without a doubt. What does it mean to take the safe path? Live in this world following the example of the life of Christ. Live like this and you will be saved. 41. God's grace is the life of our souls. Without the grace of God our soul cannot be alive. For just as our body lives by the soul, so our soul lives by God’s grace. Always pray and sigh to the Lord, so that He will give you His grace and keep you in it. We demand God’s grace every minute, so sigh often from the depths of your heart: “Create a pure heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation, and strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit” (Ps. 51:12–14). 42. Do not place your salvation in anything else but in one Christ Jesus, the Savior of the world. If you truly believe that He suffered and died for you, and that He is your Savior, then love Him with all your heart, listen to Him and please Him as your Savior, and place and confirm all the hope of your salvation in Him alone. We must certainly do good deeds as Christians, but we must ask and expect salvation from Christ alone. 43. If you have committed any sins after Baptism, and are in true repentance, do not despair, but expect God’s mercy. No matter how many there are, and no matter how great and difficult they are, God has even more mercy: as is His majesty, such is His mercy. Just beware of sinning in the future and act according to the points described above. 44. If, as a person, you sin or commit an offense, do not despair, but immediately, having recognized your sin, fall with humility before the merciful eyes of God and ask for mercy in the publican’s voice: “God! be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13) - and your sin will be forgiven. Amen. 45. In order for you to act on the points described above, you need to remember your vows made by you at holy Baptism. For if not you yourself, but your successor or your godfather, in your person, pronounced these vows before God. Then you promised, spitting on Satan, and his pride, and his service, and his evil deeds - you promised, I say, and swore with faith and truth to serve the only Jesus Christ the Lord, your Redeemer, with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Consider, Christian, what vows you made and to whom. It’s hard for a person to lie, how much harder it is to lie to God! “God is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7). If a Christian does not stand by his vows and does not keep them, then what kind of mercy does he expect from God, to whom he lied? If he keeps his vows, then he himself is in God’s mercy and in His kingdom. He remains faithful to God, and God maintains him in mercy and under His protection as His own. This is how we need to understand the words of the Psalmist, with which he addresses God: “You (God) will deal righteously with the righteous, and you will deal with the innocent man according to his innocence, and you will (deal) with the chosen one as if you were the chosen one, but you will turn away from the obstinate” (Ps. 17:26-27). All those Christians who act against the law and against their conscience do not keep their vows. These include fornicators, adulterers, and all sorts of defilers, predators, thieves, robbers, cunning, crafty, deceivers and seducers, scolders and revilers, drunkards, reproaches, haters and evil, living in the pride and pomp of this world, and all who do not fear God. All of these have lied to God and do not keep their vows, and are outside the Holy Church, although they go to churches, and pray, and partake of the Mysteries, and build churches, and decorate them, and show other Christian signs. Therefore, at the judgment of Christ they will be severely tortured, and they will suffer more there than the Turks and idolaters. Beware of such deeds, Christian, and do not imitate the lawless people described above, lest by the righteous judgment of God you be condemned into eternal fire, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:46). But in every way try to live and act as the word of God teaches, as said above. Keep your vows in memory, and this will guide you to Christian living, and keep you from all evil, and teach you to do good. If you notice that you yourself do not keep the vows of Baptism, then repent and begin a new Christian life, so as not to appear in a lie before God and not perish with the liars. “But the fearful, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death” (Rev. 21:8). 46. A strong and effective encouragement to struggle against sin and to a Christian holy life is a discussion of Christ’s suffering. The apostle says about this: “And if you call Him Father, who impartially judges everyone according to their works, then spend the time of your pilgrimage with fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from the futile life handed down to you from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a spotless and spotless Lamb” (1 Pet. 1:17-19). Look, Christian, how you got rid of sin, the devil, hell and eternal death. Not perishable by some substance, but by what? The dearest and priceless Blood of Christ the Son of God. Do you want to sin arbitrarily, and to offend Christ, your benefactor, by sin, and so again plunge yourself into the former disaster, from which Christ delivered you with His bitterest suffering? This is similar to if someone delivered you from fire, or from drowning, or from captivity, or from death, or from prison, or from some other misfortune, loving and regretting you, and you would again voluntarily betray yourself into that misfortune. This is what you do when you sin, and through sin you again give yourself over to the devil and plunge yourself into eternal destruction. Sin is sweet to man, but its fruit is bitter and heavy—eternal death: “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Also, the treasure of eternal salvation was purchased for us by nothing other than the same Blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God. It is more precious than the whole world, heaven and earth and everything that fills them, because it is eternal, and is filled with all eternal and incomprehensible blessings, and was bought with a priceless price. Christ the Lord of glory and God earned it for us with His Blood. Do you want to voluntarily lose such a great and incomprehensible treasure? Christ, as the omnipotent, snatched you from destruction and gave you eternal bliss, like a pearl of great value; hold it by faith and protect it from the enemy the devil, who wants and strives to snatch him from you again and make you his captive. Fight against this enemy. Think about Christ's suffering, and it will teach you everything. 47. Try not to do anything more than to correct your will and inner state. For this is the whole strength of Christian piety. Any appearance without the inner is nothing. What is not present inside, in the heart, is not present in essence itself. Virtue is not true virtue if it is not present in the heart. Correct your heart and will, and you will be good, and your outer deeds will be good. For the internal is the beginning of the external. When there is no evil inside, in the heart, then it will not appear externally. Hands will not do evil, feet will not do evil, tongue and mouth will not speak evil, ears will not hear evil, eyes will not look at evil, and so on, if the will and heart do not want. So clean streams flow from a source if the source itself is clean. Likewise, good deeds will happen from the heart if the heart is good. But without a good heart, there can be no good deeds, just as nothing can flow from a rotten and stinking spring except rotten and stinking water. Correct your heart and will, and you will be good, you will be a true Christian, you will be a new creature. For everyone is either good or evil from his will and heart. If the heart and will are good, then the person is good, and if the heart and will are evil, then the person is evil. A good heart is one that is submissive and in agreement with the will of God, and an evil heart is opposed to the will of God and does not agree with it. Faith makes a willing heart; The parent of good will is faith, as St. Ambrose says, therefore, where there is no good will, there is no faith. Try, Christian, to correct yourself within yourself and be kind, and you will be truly kind; otherwise, as you were, you will always be evil, no matter what outwardly (good) you do. From this you see that faith renews a person and it is the root of good deeds. See also paragraphs 39 and 40 above. 48. You will not be able to correct yourself properly if you do not recognize the evil hidden in your heart and the subsequent disaster. An unknown disease remains incurable. The beginning of health is to know one’s illness, and the beginning of bliss is to know one’s misfortune and wretchedness. For who, having recognized illness in himself, does not seek healing? And who, having recognized his misfortune, does not seek deliverance from it? Recognize the evil hidden within yourself, like a deadly poison, and you will try to get rid of it. And the more you learn, the more diligently you will seek deliverance. The evil hidden in the human heart is arrogance, pride, vanity, self-love, love of glory, self-will, envy, anger, love of money, uncleanness and all kinds of abomination. All iniquities flow from them, like stinking streams from a stinking spring. Look more often into your heart and little by little you will come to know yourself. An incurable disease threatens with death, and hidden evil, which remains without correction, threatens with eternal death. From the knowledge of this evil will follow the knowledge of one’s poverty and wretchedness. From the knowledge of poverty and wretchedness will follow the fear of eternity and humility, sighing, desire and effort to get rid of disaster. “But God gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5), which corrects and renews a person. So a person, knowing himself, begins to correct himself and becomes better and better. Know yourself and you will correct yourself. 49. Temptation and adversity show what lies in the human heart. Temptation is like an emetic medicine. What is hidden in the stomach, the emetic medicine shows, and what is in the inner man, temptation and attack makes obvious. God's Holy Word and other Christian books show the corruption of our nature, but in temptations and misfortunes we know this from our own experience or deed. Thus, the love of fame is recognized in the deprivation of glory, the love of money in the deprivation of wealth, envy in the well-being of one’s neighbor, and anger in vexation. If you fall into various temptations, Christian, all this, by God’s permission, happens for your great benefit, so that you might learn from them what is hidden inside your heart, and so, having known it, you would begin to correct yourself. Many flatter themselves and consider themselves kind, humble, meek, but in temptation they learn the opposite. Do not be discouraged by temptations, but thank God more for the fact that He brings you into the knowledge of yourself and wants to correct and save you. 50. Any of our efforts without the grace and help of God is powerless. A person can easily become corrupted and thus destroy himself, but he cannot correct and save himself without God. He can live comfortably according to the flesh, like a boat sailing down a river, but he cannot stand against the flesh and live spiritually by himself, just as a ship cannot sail against a river current by itself: either rowers are needed, or wind and a sail are needed so that it can move. Likewise, a supernatural and omnipotent power must help a person in spiritual life and the work of salvation. We must conquer ourselves, but how can this be done without the present power of God, which can do everything? So great is the corruption of our nature! In addition, the devil constantly fights a person, and tries to lead him into sin, and to catch him in his net. The temptations of the world surround him and seduce him in every way, and an evil custom or habit attracts him again and again. From this we see that many begin to repent and live righteously, but again they are led astray and corrupted from the good path. Therefore, we cannot begin a good Christian life, live a Christian life, and end our lives like this without God’s all-powerful help. He who has experienced temptation knows all this. Therefore the Lord says: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We demand God’s help at every hour and minute. Therefore, Christian, if you want to live piously and be a true Christian, and thus be saved, constantly pray to God and ask Him for help with zeal. God, in His love for mankind, commanded us to pray and ask Him for all good things, and promised to give us what we asked for, especially what was necessary for our salvation. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8). Know, beloved, that like a bird without wings and a warrior without weapons, so is a Christian without prayer. Pray earnestly to Christ the Lord and give yourself over to His rule, and He, in His love for mankind, will correct and lead you to eternal life and bliss. Just try and be careful. He, seeing your efforts, will help you in everything. Read often with diligence Psalm 119: “Blessed are the blameless,” and so on. 51. Prayer consists not only of standing and bowing with your body before God and reading written prayers, but it is also possible to pray with your mind and spirit at any time and in any place. You can, while walking, sitting, lying down, on the road, sitting at a meal, doing work, in public and in solitude, raise your mind and heart to God and thus ask for mercy and help from Him. For God is everywhere and in every place, and the doors to Him are always open, and access to Him is convenient, not like to a person, and everywhere and always, out of His love for mankind, He is ready to listen to us and help us. So, everywhere and always, and at any time, and in every need and occasion, we can approach Him with our faith and prayer; We can say to Him everywhere with our minds: Lord, have mercy! Lord help me! – and so on. Addendum: “On the mutual Christian office” 52. Chiefs and subordinates. 1) Many Christians desire and seek honorable positions and leadership, but not only Christian books, but also pagan books do not praise such people. He who seeks honor is not worthy of honor. People don't know what they are looking for. Often honor for a person is like a sword for a madman, with which he kills himself and others. A tall tree is subject to every wind, and when it falls, it crushes many small trees standing nearby. Likewise, a leader is subject to many temptations, and his fall can be heard far away, and he gives temptation to (many). The boss will sin, and everyone knows about it. So David, king of Israel, sinned, and we all know it. Do not, beloved, seek honor and authority, but expect a title. See point 24 above. 2) When you are called to an honorary position and leadership, think about whether you are capable of it: a person cannot lift any weight. Not everyone can be in an honorable position or position of authority. First of all, one who wants to own and control others must learn to own and manage himself, and first of all, he himself must do what he wants to order others. A Christian leader needs reason and a good conscience. Without reason, the boss will be mistaken, like a blind man. Without a good conscience, society will be ruined rather than built. Moreover, honor changes human character, but rarely for the better. Many would be saints if they were not in honor. Think about this, Christian, and do not take on a burden greater than your strength. And when God’s calling comes, even though you will run from honor, you will not run away from it. 3) Those appointed to an honorary position and superiors take an oath. The power of the oath is to take care of the benefit of society, to act according to conscience, to seek the truth, to eradicate untruth, to observe and instill the truth, in a word, to provide with all zeal for the common benefit. Many Christians either take an oath for the sake of the ceremony alone, accepting an honorary position, or, having taken the oath and leaving the church threshold, they forget the oath. Such people enter into an honorable position for their own self-interest, and not for the common benefit, and although outwardly they are Christians, they are inwardly godless. Don’t imitate such leaders, lest you suffer with them at the righteous judgment of Christ. “The least deserve mercy, but the strong will be greatly tormented” (Wis. 6:6). Such leaders will endure as much torment as they rage and commit lies here. Their sins and iniquities cry out to heaven and ask for vengeance. Beloved, beware of following such leaders, but, being in an honorable position, remember your oath and act according to your Christian conscience and the power of the oath, remembering the Last Judgment of Christ, for there you will have to answer for everything to the righteous Judge. Be your subordinate, like a father to your children, and take care of them, like a father about your children. 4) Since there are many liars and hypocrites among Christians, do not quickly believe the informers, but listen to the informer with one ear, and leave the other to the defendant. Do not quickly accept anything as truth in such a matter. 5) Seek the truth in every way, but when it is impossible to fully investigate it, leave it and submit it to the judgment of God; there all truth and falsehood will appear. For it is better to leave the guilty without punishment than to punish the innocent. 6) In the matter of judgment, know neither persons, nor friends, nor enemies, neither acquaintances nor strangers, but let it be for you, instead of friend and wife, only truth and righteousness, for you are doing God’s work while sitting in the place of judgment. Look at deeds, not at faces, and give everyone their due. 7) When you need to punish someone in word or deed, proceed with the punishment with reluctance. When you punish with a word, beware of punishing with a defamatory word: you are a rogue, you are a spendthrift, you are a thief, and so on. This is scolding, not punishment. When you punish with action, then punish, not torment. Many bosses express their anger and rage against their subordinates, and, like animals, they torment human flesh, and thus torment them, and do not punish them. You, with regret and for the sake of correction, punish your subordinate. For in this the Christian heart and spirit are manifested, to have compassion for one’s neighbor. Remember that the one being punished is your brother, he has the same flesh and weakness as you. 8) When you feel anger in your heart against your superior, then beware of punishing in word and deed in anger, but wait until the anger is tamed. Because in anger you will not be able to punish in a Christian way, but you will do a lot of obscene and indecent things for Christians, which, although you will regret later, you will no longer return what was done or said. For anger, like a storm, crushes everything, or like fire, consumes everything. In anger a person cannot do any good, but only evil. Beware of punishing in anger. 9) Remember that you are a Christian, you rule over Christians, and Christians are all brothers among themselves. Christ the Lord is not ashamed to call Christians brothers, as we see in Scripture, especially since a simple person, even a leader, should consider Christians brothers and call them that. Beware of despising your subordinates and considering them as your footstool, as some are in the habit of doing. Know for sure that among them there are saints and chosen ones of God, whom it is hard to despise and humiliate, as you yourself see. And although outwardly you must show your rank and superiority in word and deed, think within yourself that you are no better than them. Moreover, it is possible for God to make both a subordinate into a superior and a subordinate out of a superior. Talk about this and you won’t be proud of your superiors. 10) Without God’s help, no good deed or success can happen. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord to help you in your rank and deeds. “About the position of subordinates” 1) Every ruler is appointed by God, according to Scripture: “There is no authority except from God; But the existing authorities have been established by God” (Rom. 13:1). Therefore, honor your boss for God’s sake, and give him worthy honor in everything. 2) Since the boss provides for and cares about the society in which you find yourself, then love him as your father and benefactor, and be grateful to him. 3) Whatever he commands and establishes for the common good, carry out and do according to his regulations. 4) Be careful not to believe slander and evil rumors about your boss, because often false rumors spread about a person, and especially about a boss. Be especially careful not to slander and condemn him, for you will sin gravely. It is a great lawlessness to slander or condemn an ​​ordinary person, and even more so a boss. (See also paragraph 37). Such slander deprives the boss of the respect due to him, and in his subordinates will follow neglect of him and disobedience to him, and all kinds of evil in society. 5) When your boss punishes you in word or deed, endure it without complaint. When you are righteously punished, then you deserve it, you receive it according to your deserts, so why complain? If the punishment is unjust, endure it too, and consider that it is due to you according to your sins that you have sinned before God. 6) Since the boss cares about society, therefore, about you, and for this he needs reason and reinforcement in temptations, then like all your subordinates, you too pray for him, so that the Lord will enlighten him, help and strengthen him. The apostle says about this: “Therefore, first of all, I urge that prayers, petitions, supplications, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and for all those in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and purity” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). The happiness or unhappiness of society depends on the boss, just as the integrity of the whole body depends on the head. Therefore, everyone should pray that the boss is reasonable and kind, and then society will be prosperous. 7) Although Christian leaders should not be expected to order anything contrary to God and God’s law, however, since everything happens in the world, and as we see in stories, when a leader orders something contrary to God, do not listen to him. For conscience itself teaches this, and God’s Word speaks about this: “Judge, is it right before God to listen to you more than to listen to God?” (Acts 4:19). And again: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). In all other respects, be extremely careful not to resist your superior, lest the judgment of God immediately befall you, like Dathan and Abiron and their other like-minded people. 53. About the position of shepherds and the people subordinate to them. By shepherds here we mean bishops and priests. The very name: “shepherd” shows what they should be like, for they do not shepherd dumb cattle, but the verbal sheep of Christ, that is, people created in the image of God and redeemed by the Blood of Christ the Son of God. Heed this, beloved shepherd. 1) You should not seek this rank or honor, but expect a title. 2) When they call you, think about yourself, whether you can lift and carry such a great burden. If you cannot, then do not touch it, lest it weigh you down and plunge you into the abyss. Anyone who wants to correct others must first correct himself. First, those who want to teach others must teach themselves. He must be careful himself if he wants to shepherd and save others. He must be kind himself if he wants to guard and preserve others. Anyone who wants to be a leader, and show the way to others, and lead them to the fatherland, must himself go ahead; one must be the “light of the world” by which everyone is enlightened, the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:14, 13), and so on. He must first be pure and immaculate himself if he wants to be a prayer book to God for others. It is necessary that conscience does not convict itself if it wants to convict others for their sins, so as not to hear him: “Doctor! heal yourself” (Luke 4:23). Reason about this, beloved, and do not touch a burden that exceeds your strength. 3) The shepherd must certainly teach people, lead them to true repentance, plant the fear of God and love in human hearts, frighten fearless and unrepentant sinners with the judgment of God, encourage the confused and doubtful, and those prone to despair with the mercy of God and the consolation of the Gospel; superstitions, schisms and heresies to be eradicated. The shepherd must draw all teaching from the sources of Israel - the holy books of the Word of God, and present it to the people under his command. 4) The place of teaching is a holy church, but the shepherd, wherever there is a meeting, can and should teach teaching on occasion. An example in this for all shepherds is Christ the Savior of the world, who taught not only in Solomon’s temple, but also in houses, and in the desert, and in other places. Opportunity will give the diligent shepherd, who has a sharp mind and reasoning, what and where to say, as we see in the Gospel. While sitting at a meal, he can talk about the meal of the kingdom of heaven, and so on. 5) What you are going to tell people, you must first think carefully and understand correctly yourself, and then offer it to people. The food is first boiled and dissolved with salt, and only then is it presented at the meal and becomes pleasing and useful to those who eat it. Likewise, a shepherd must first digest the food of the Word of God within his heart and dissolve it with the salt of his mind, and only then present a spiritual meal to hungry people, otherwise the shepherd can easily sin in his word. 6) Since people are characterized by extreme opposites: some live fearlessly, while others, crushed by the fear of God’s judgment, hunger for consolation, it is the duty of the shepherd in his word to offer the law of God and the judgment of God to the fearless and thus lead them to true repentance and contrition; To those who are contrite, and sad, and troubled in conscience, give the consolation of the Gospel: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15), and so on. 7) An accusatory word is generally spoken differently to everyone than to one specific person. When speaking at all, one can speak more strictly and sharply, so that listening sinners feel the blow of fear in their hearts and thus awaken from their sinful sleep. We see this in the prophetic and apostolic writings. But when you want to talk to one person and expose him for a sin known to you and to him, then in this case speak carefully, so that, wanting to heal one ulcer, you do not hurt him even more, look for the right time and opportunity for this. There is no better occasion than when he himself confesses his sin to you. Then you can tell him everything, just say it kindly and with regret, and not with anger, so that he knows that you are speaking out of love and sincerely wishing his salvation. 8) When people, no matter what they are, act lawlessly, and you know this for sure, be extremely careful to remain silent, but everywhere denounce their lawlessness in your word, so as not to become like a dumb dog that does not bark, when thieves come into the house and plunder it, and when wolves attack the herd and kill it. Stand here, beloved, and show your shepherding work, even if you had to suffer. In this matter, the prophets, apostles and saints of Christ who lived in ancient times serve as your example. 9) To rich and noble people who live in the pomp and pride of this world, beware of flattering and belittling their vices, or, what’s worse, putting them down for nothing, so as not to become a flatterer instead of a teacher; but directly expose every vice and testify to the truth everywhere and always. For you speak God’s Word as a messenger of God. Let all such people know that you are their shepherd and teacher, and you have to give a word about them to the righteous Judge. 10) Be careful not to speak God’s Word for the sake of human praise and glory, so as not to sin before God by stealing for yourself what is not yours. God's Word was given for the sake of human salvation and glorification of the name of God, and for this purpose it must be preached. When you properly correct your pastoral position, even though you don’t want to, you will receive praise, but not from everyone. The good and those who care about their salvation will love and praise you, but the evil and careless of their salvation will hate and revile you, for not everyone likes everything. 11) What you teach the people subordinate to you, you must first do all this yourself. Then you will teach in word and deed, if your morals and life correspond to your word. You sit in a high place and stand in front of everyone, that’s why everyone looks at you, and they take notice of what you do and say. Teach them good things both by your word and example, so that they hear useful words from your lips, and see the example of your good life, and so use your word and example. Beloved! Be your light and word and life to people, be salt, be a leader to the fatherland, and not a pillar standing in the way. Show them the way, and go ahead yourself. Guard them like a watchman, and guard yourself. Proclaim to them the will of God, but first do it yourself. Call to the great supper of eternal bliss, but go ahead yourself. 12) The efforts and deeds of both the shepherd himself and the people do not improve without God’s help and are not successful. Therefore, the duty of a shepherd is to pray diligently to God for himself and for people, so that he and all people can be helped. What virtues a shepherd should be adorned with, and how careful, is depicted by the Apostle Paul in the first and second Epistle to Timothy and in the Epistle to Titus. Read for yourself and you will see. His word is worthy of attention: “A bishop (the name bishop also means a presbyter) must be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, chaste, orderly, honest, hospitable, teaching, not a drunkard, not a murderer, not quarrelsome, not self-seeking, but quiet, peace-loving, not money-loving, managing his household well, keeping his children in obedience with all honesty” ( 1 Tim. 3:2–4). About the position of people to shepherds 1) Since the shepherd speaks the Word of God, what he teaches, listen diligently, Christian, and do it. The apostle speaks about this: “Obey your leaders and be submissive, for they are vigilantly watching over your souls, as those who are obliged to give an account; so that they do this with joy and not groaning, for this is not profitable for you” (Heb. 13:17). 2) The shepherd is God's messenger, who is sent from God to you, and proclaims to you the way of salvation, and calls you in the name of God into his eternal kingdom. Therefore, honor him as a messenger of God, announcing to you such great blessings, and calling you to them. “Whoever receives you receives Me,” says the Lord (Matthew 10:40). Accept and honor the shepherd as Christ's messenger. 3) Since the shepherd provides for the common good and cares about both everyone and you, so that everyone receives eternal salvation, then love him as your father and benefactor, and be grateful to him. If you call him father, you are doing the right thing, for he revives both everyone and you, not to temporary, but to eternal life. Love him, too, as your father. If you love your father according to the flesh, much more should you love such a father. 4) He cares and provides for everyone and you, so do not leave him in need, and help him with what he needs, and give him what he lacks, so that he has time to care for and provide for the common good. He who cares and provides for everyone must also provide for everyone, so mutual love and charity will not be without success and there will be a common benefit. 5) Since there are many among the people who are unkind, and do not like pastoral reproof, and want to live of their own free will, and they invent and spread a lot of slander against the shepherd, then when you hear any slander against the shepherd, or an evil rumor, do not believe it and stop your mouth so as not to tell anyone else about it. Otherwise, you will sin gravely, since you will repay good with evil, which is great lawlessness. It’s hard to slander and disgrace a simple person, much less a shepherd. Hence, there is great disorder among people, and contempt and disobedience will follow for the shepherd, and his work may become useless. Heed this diligently, and beware of evil rumors about the shepherd, especially beware of spreading evil rumors about him, so as not to recognize the vengeful hand of God on yourself. 6) If you see any weaknesses, which even pious people have, in a shepherd, do not be tempted and do not judge him, but remember that the shepherd is the same person as others, and has the same infirmities as other people. 7) Since the shepherd is subject to many temptations, and especially the devil and his evil servants rebel against him, and therefore requires special God’s help and reinforcement, then both all people and you should pray to God for him, to help him and strengthen him. The well-being of a home depends on a good owner, the well-being of soldiers on a good commander, and the well-being of a sailing ship on a good helmsman. So, pray that the shepherd will be wise and kind, then Christian society will be prosperous. 8) When the shepherd himself does not do what he teaches, but lives contrary to the teaching, listen to the word of Christ, which says about such shepherds: “The scribes and Pharisees sat in the seat of Moses; So whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do; But do not do what they do, for they say and do not do” (Matthew 23:2–3). 54. About the position of husbands and wives, or those in marriage. 1) Both husband and wife must enter into marriage by free will and consent. That is why the priest, at the wedding of both persons, asks: do they enter into marriage by will and with consent? Therefore, a marriage without the consent of both persons cannot be firm. Both parents who forcibly convince someone to marry, and priests who see the disagreement of a person and perform a wedding, are grievously sinning and are subject to proper punishment, for from this all evil will follow in marriage. 2) Those who entered into marriage correctly must maintain love and fidelity to each other until the end of their lives. 3) Neither the husband of his wife nor the wife of her husband should leave her until death, but, as they promised and agreed, they should remain inseparable until death. 4) If a husband from his wife, or a wife from her husband, notices some correct reason for separation, then neither the husband from his wife, nor the wife from her husband should separate on their own, but should report this to their shepherd, the diocesan bishop, for consideration and expect a resolution from him. 5) There is a custom for some husbands to leave their wives, and for wives to leave their husbands under the guise of abstinence, but this is very dangerous, since instead of abstinence, the grave sin of adultery may follow, either in one or both persons. If a husband leaves his wife, and the wife sins with another, then the husband will be guilty of the same sin, since he gave his wife a reason to sin. Likewise, if a wife leaves her husband, and the husband sins with someone else, then the wife is guilty of the same sin for the reason described above. Therefore, when separation occurs for the sake of abstinence, it must be with the consent of both persons and then only for a while until they test themselves whether they can bear such a burden. If they can, good - let them stay that way. And if they cannot, let them come together again, for not everyone is given everything. 6) The Apostle says to the spouses: “The wife has no power over her own body, but the husband does; Likewise, the husband has no power over his body, but the wife does. Do not deviate from each other, except by agreement, for a time, to practice fasting and prayer,” and so on (1 Cor. 7:4-5). The word is clear what the apostle is talking about here. 7) Those living in marriage, and especially priests and deacons, must remember that they are Christians, they profess the holy name of God, they call upon God and pray, they partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and therefore in marriage they must live differently from the way pagans live. The apostle tells them: “Let not Satan tempt you through your intemperance” (1 Cor. 7:5). 8) A husband should not have his wife as a slave, but as a helper, and the wife should obey her husband, as the apostle teaches: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” And a little lower: “Let the wife fear her husband” (Eph. 5:22, 33). And in another place: “Wives, be subject to your own husbands in the Lord, as is fitting” (Col. 3:18). 9) If the husband and wife are equal and good-natured, then the marriage will be prosperous and wonderful, for they will always have like-mindedness, harmony and peace, which is great prosperity. “For what is good or what is beautiful, how can brothers live together?” - says the prophet (Ps. 132:1). But since Satan, the enemy of human souls, tries to break the union of love and harmony in good-natured people, then husband and wife should be lenient towards each other in the event of weaknesses, and endure each other with love, and then harmony and peace will remain. 10) If the husband is good-natured, and the wife is evil, or the wife is good-natured, and the husband is evil, then there cannot be agreement and peace between them, as between a straight and crooked tree of similarity. Therefore, a person of good character must endure constant suffering and the cross. Therefore, in this case, he must learn patience and with patience endure and overcome the evil that happens. 11) We see in stories that many wives corrupted their husbands and led them to destruction. Therefore, husbands should not give their wives any slack and allow them to do whatever they want, but should restrain the desire of their disorderly whims, so as not to suffer like others. The serpent approached Eve and deceived her. Eve, being deceived, deceived Adam and led him to destruction. This is how it happens now. The same ancient serpent approaches a wife, seduces her, and through the wife draws her husband to lawless deeds. Husband, be careful and do not follow your wife’s will and advice in everything, so that she does not begin to possess you and lead you where she wants. Eva always has her own character. Love her until God is disgusted. Let her, according to the apostolic word, fear you, and not you her, and let her obey you, and not you obey her. 55. About the position of parents and children. The most important thing is for parents to raise their children in the fear of God and good morals. Without this, all teaching and education are nothing. A small tree, whichever side it leans towards, will grow; and when the new pot is filled, it will emit such a smell. So small children, as they are raised, will live the same way. Many parents teach their children foreign languages, others teach them the arts, but they do not care about Christian teaching and upbringing: such parents give birth to children for temporary life, but do not allow them to eternal life. Woe to them, for they kill not their bodies, but their souls through their negligence! Christian! Don’t imitate such parents, but try in every way to raise your children in the fear of God and good morals. So, pay attention to the following points and act on them: 1) As soon as the children begin to understand at least a little, then you begin to pour the milk of Christian teaching into their hearts, so that they, like new and idle vessels, will little by little be filled and grow in piety. 2) All Christians are baptized - and your children. Remind them that they were baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the one Trinitarian God, and what the power of holy Baptism is, what vows they made then, how they denied Satan and all his evil deeds, who Satan is and what his evil deeds are. Remind them how they promised to serve faithfully and faithfully Christ the Son of God, who Christ is, and why he came into the world, and what he did while living in the world, and what he requires of us. Also remind us that through Baptism we are reborn and renewed not for this temporary life, not for the sake of the honor, glory and wealth of this world, but we are reborn and renewed for eternal life, which will be in the next century, so that with our hearts they do not cling to the vanity of this world, but strive for eternal life. Remind us of death, the judgment of Christ, eternal torment and eternal bliss. Imagine before their intelligent eyes who the Christian God is, and who created heaven and earth, from whom we receive food, clothing, home and other benefits. Represent to them that our Christian God is everywhere and in every place, although we do not see Him, and sees everything and every deed, and hears every word, and rewards for a good deed, but executes for an evil deed and threatens with eternal torment. Remind small children of all this and other things, and suggest one after another, so that everything deepens in fresh memory. 3) The Law of God, contained in the Ten Commandments, is the rule of Christian life. Word, deed and thought, in accordance with the law of God, are virtue. And every deed, word and thought that is contrary to the law of God is vice and sin. Therefore, all Christians need to know it and live by its rule. Teach your children to study the law of God and to fulfill His commandments. All Christians - and your children - at Holy Baptism promised to fulfill the commandments of God and thus serve Christ the Lord. Remind your children of this so that they get used to good deeds and move away from evil ones, as promised. 4) Holy Baptism means nothing for those Christians who live fearlessly and lawlessly and are negligent of God’s law, but they are like pagans before God and are outside the number of true Christians. Only those who live holy and pious lives will benefit from holy Baptism; The doors of the kingdom of heaven are open for them, but for the lawless and careless they are closed, because they do not keep their vows and have lied to God. Remind your children of this, so that they may live in the fear of God, beware of every sin, like a deadly poison, and learn every good deed. 5) It is useful to know and always keep in mind the rule of natural law, which is also in accordance with God’s law: “What you do not want for yourself, do not do to others.” A short rule, but it contains everything. This means that if you don’t want anyone to offend you in word or deed, then don’t offend anyone yourself. Everything that does not comply with this rule is vice and sin. Remind your children often and explain this rule so that they always keep it in their memory and mind. 6) When they sin or commit an offense, show exactly what someone sinned and what the offense was, so that everyone will recognize their sin and beware of it in the future. 7) Sin left unpunished can be the cause of another sin, as well as the cause of a sinful custom, which is very scary. Therefore, for every offense, punish your children according to the offense, so that they remember what they are being punished for, and so in future they will be afraid to stumble. Many parents, having blind love for their children, regret punishing them for their offense, but later, when they grow up and are faulty, they themselves recognize their mistake in that they did not punish their children while they were small. God Himself punishes His chosen children, as we see in Scripture. Doesn't He love them? It won't happen! “For the Lord punishes whomever he loves; and he beats every son whom he receives” (Heb. 12:6). In this matter, Christians should imitate the Heavenly Father, and love and punish their children. For those who were not punished in their youth, when they come to age, are like uneducated and fierce horses, and unfit for any work. Therefore, Christian, love your children in a Christian way and punish them so that they are correct and kind. Although now, while they are young, they experience physical pain (when punished), but then later you will not have to experience heart pain for them. Although they are crying because of you now, you will not cry for them later. Punish the body so that the soul can be healed. Do not regret (punish) them now, so that later you can rejoice over them. Remember that you will give the answer to God about them. However, moderation in everything is commendable. 8) It is dangerous to let children leave home, because they will see many temptations and reasons for sin. Therefore, do not allow them to leave the house and wander wherever they want. There is nothing more beneficial for them than to stay at home. The walls of temptation cannot give. So, keep them inside the house so that they do not see temptations and your labor about them is not useless. 9) Small children have a rule in the life of their parents: what they see in them is what they do themselves. Hence it happens that when parents live in luxury, their children live like this, and they add more, as we see, and so the parental morals are passed on to the children. Scripture says: “Woe to that man through whom temptation comes” (Matthew 18:7). Therefore, Christian, when you want your children to be good and kind, be good and good yourself, and in every way beware of tempting them. Otherwise, you will not achieve anything, because they listen more to your words, deeds and actions than to your orders and instructions. 10) Any human effort, and especially in such an important matter, is powerless without God’s help. Therefore, pray diligently that God himself will help you to be kind yourself and to instruct your children to be good. 11) Finally, beloved Christian, you managed to give birth to your children; manage to raise them well, then you will be their true father. You are called their father in the flesh, and be a father in spirit. You gave birth to them for temporary life, - in illness, give birth to them for eternal life, so that there with them you can stand before Christ and joyfully exclaim: “Here am I and the children whom You have given me,” Lord (Heb. 2:13). What I sincerely wish for you. May the Lord help you. Amen. 1) Conscience itself convinces a person to honor his parents with love. Even the pagans taught and legitimized the highest honor after God to give to parents. And the Word of God commands to honor parents: “Honor your father and mother” (Ex. 20:12). So, Christian, give all respect to those who gave birth to you, so that it will be good for you. Who should you honor if not your parents? 2) Since your parents are great benefactors, show them worthy gratitude. Remember their illnesses and labors, brought up in your upbringing, and be grateful to them for this. Know for sure that you cannot repay anything for their good deeds shown to you. You owe them a lot, you also owe them a lot - show them heartfelt gratitude for the rest of your life. 3) Show them all obedience: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is what justice requires” (Eph. 6:1). And again: “Children, be obedient to your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord” (Col. 3:20). 4) You should not start anything new for you without their advice and permission, but you should consult with them about everything and ask for their permission, so that they are not offended by your boldness and so that the work you have started is not unsuccessful. 5) Act disorderly in front of them, say obscene words and do deeds, be ashamed and beware, although this is what Christian duty requires of you everywhere and always. 6) Be extremely careful not to offend them with rude words and deeds, but speak and respond to them with all courtesy, so that they know that you have love and respect for them. 7) If you are being punished for something, and you truly know that you are to blame, admit your guilt with humility and endure the punishment with meekness. For you are being punished so that you become good and good. If you know your innocence and your conscience acquits you, then declare your innocence with all courtesy and humility. Let your meekness always be reasonable, so that they will see that you are obedient to them, like their child. 8) In every need and lack, do not abandon them, but help and serve them, and especially in old age. Remember how much they worked around you, repay them with your service. 9) If you see weaknesses in them, which also happen to good people, cover them with silence. But even if you see something tempting, be extremely careful not to judge it or announce it to others. Do not imitate in this Ham, the son of Noah, who, seeing the nakedness of his father and went out, told his brothers, but follow Shem and Japheth, his brothers, who “took a robe and, putting it on their shoulders, went back and covered the nakedness of their father,” and so on (Gen. 9:23). Be as if you were blind, even if you see weaknesses in your parents. 10) If you commit a crime and somehow offend them, and you recognize it in your conscience and notice that they have been offended, do not hesitate, but immediately fall down before them and humbly ask for forgiveness, so as not to fall under the judgment of God. For if we must ask forgiveness from every person offended by us and be reconciled with him, according to the word of Christ, then much more should we do the same with our parents, whom we must love and honor more than other people (Matthew 5:23-25). 11) Even the pagans defined great plagues in their books for children who do not honor their parents. And in the holy law of God, terrible executions are written for such unfortunate children: “Whoever curses his father or his mother must be put to death,” and so on (Ex. 21:17; Deut. 27:16). Such children, or more precisely, degenerates of the human race, are vile to both God and people. It is great ingratitude and grave lawlessness to be a villain towards one’s benefactors and repay evil for good. Therefore, beware, Christian, so that you do not immediately recognize the vengeful hand of God on yourself. After God, there are no greater benefactors for us than our parents - it’s scary to be ungrateful to them. 12) Know for sure that as you are to your parents, so will your children be to you, according to the word of Christ: “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2). 56. About the position of masters and their slaves and peasants. Many masters punish their slaves and peasants in such a way that they torture them more than punish them. It is obvious that such gentlemen have not experienced and do not know what wounds are and how the body hurts from them. No matter how much they flatter themselves, let them know that they are imitating the ancient tormentors who persecuted the Church of Christ, who tormented Christians like beasts of lambs. Christian! Do not imitate such masters, but punish your slaves and peasants when necessary, in moderation, and then with reluctance and regret. Remember that you are a Christian, you punish Christians, and you punish them before the all-seeing God, just as you do everything before Him, and that they have the same flesh as you, which hurts. Such reasoning will not allow you to suffer immeasurable punishment. Many burden their peasants with work or dues so much that because of this the peasants have nothing to eat and clothe, and something to live and rest in. Apparently, such gentlemen believe that the peasants are not the same people as themselves, but seem to have no need for food, clothing, home and peace. When they think sensibly, they will truly know that they are in the ungodly vice of theft and violence. Many of them build and decorate churches of God, some build almshouses, others are generous to strangers. But all this does not bring them any benefit. For what is the use of building churches and almshouses after the abduction of God? And what is the use of taking away from some and giving to others? And beware of imitating such gentlemen, lest you share their deplorable fate. They will receive as much reward from the righteous Judge as they offend His people. It’s hard to offend one person, much less many. God does not accept human faces. All are equal before Him, masters and slaves. For he looks not at faces, but at deeds. Be not only a master to your peasants and slaves, but also a father. So take it from them, so that they themselves will have enough food and clothing. So order them to work for you, so that they have time to work for themselves. Take care of them as a father takes care of his children, so that they call you not only master, but also father. Remember that together with them you will stand before Christ, the Lord of all, at His Last Judgment, and you will repay all the words. What the masters command, the peasants must do, and what taxes they impose, they must give, and what work they command, they must do. And they must do all this without complaint, for the sake of the Lord, for the Lord commanded so. Work, then, O beloved and humble sheep, not for the sake of men, but for the sake of the Lord. You will work for the Lord when you do everything according to His commandments, and you will please not people, but the Lord. Then you will truly be God's servants and free in Christ, although you are called slaves of men. Truly free and truly noble is he who does not sin and this world, but serves and pleases God. This is wonderful work, and sweet freedom, and true nobility! Act according to the commandment of God, and when working for people, please God, then this glorious title (free and noble) will befit you. If something sad and difficult happens to you, think that this is a cross imposed on you, which you must bear and follow Christ the Son of God, who, being the Lord of all and the King of glory, made Himself a servant for our sake. Bear this good yoke, O beloved, and follow the Lord of all, so that in His kingdom you may have a part with Him. The Apostle says to the slaves: “Slaves, obey your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your heart, as to Christ, not with only visible obsequiousness, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul, serving with zeal, as the Lord, and not as men, knowing that everyone will receive from the Lord according to the measure of the good that he has done, whether slave or free. He says to the masters: And you, masters, do the same with them, moderate severity, knowing that both over you and over them there is a Lord in heaven, with whom there is no respect of persons” (Eph. 6:5–9). (See also a similar article about this under number 52). 57.About the positions of the rich and the poor. 1) Wealth is God’s good, given to people, for the earth is the Lord’s and all that fills it (Ps. 23:1). It is given to you, Christian, not for your sake alone, but also for the sake of the poor; be content with it in moderation, and thank God, and make up for the shortcomings of the poor. This is the right use of wealth. Remember that you are a manager, not the owner of wealth, and you will be responsible for everything. 2) God’s Holy Word praises and pleases those who are merciful and generous to the poor: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). “Blessed is he who thinks about the poor and needy” (Ps. 40:1). Works of mercy are extolled before the whole world by the righteous Judge Christ and in other places of Holy Scripture (Matthew 25:33–36). Christian! If you want to be a participant in eternal bliss, be merciful and generous to the poor. You have a lot, give a lot. If you have little, give little, but give with zeal. Alms are judged not by the amount given, but by the zeal of the giver, “for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Now you give into the hands of the poor and needy, but from the hands of Christ you will receive a hundredfold. So, give alms. Fear not, what you have given will not perish, for He who promised is faithful. 3) Many Christians, despite the fact that such great alms receive a reward, either, like watchmen, keep their property, or squander it on whims and luxury. The property that was kept will remain alien, and often falls into the hands of enemies. Estate, squandered on whim and luxury, perishes, as you can see, a person. But such savers and spendthrifts will not only be deprived of bliss, but will also be tortured by the Lord, like evil slaves. Beware of this, Christian. Wealth either harms or benefits a person. There is benefit from it if you spend it according to the will of God, but harm if you do not use it as it should be. Be a faithful steward of the Lord's property, O man, and you will be truly rich. The poor who accept alms should be grateful to God, who shows them His mercy through man, and to man, who gives and helps them in their needs, and to love, honor and remember him as their benefactor and remember him in their prayers. The duty of the rich is to give, the duty of the poor is to gratefully receive and to pray earnestly for the giver. However, even if those who receive alms do not pray for the giver, alms given from a good heart, in itself, pray more than all other people, and constantly intercede with God, and silently ask for mercy from Him to the giver. 58. About the position of those who give and receive loans. Christian love and duty commands us to lend to those who ask, according to the word of Christ: “Give to those who ask you, and do not turn away from those who want to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42). We see that many Christians do not want to lend without interest or interest, but we also see that this will result in many troubles and misfortunes for poor debtors. Many of them fall into extreme poverty and poverty, many sit in prison like villains, and suffer. Christian! Give me a loan, but be careful not to take interest. 1) This contradicts the natural law: “What you do not want for yourself, do not do to others.” Nobody wants to pay interest, so they shouldn’t take interest themselves. 2) Conscience itself forbids taking interest. Why should you take what is not yours? Demand and take what is yours. Taking more than this is extortionate. Be content, Christian, with what is yours, and do not touch someone else’s, and your conscience will be calm. 3) God’s holy word forbids taking interest: “Lend, expecting nothing” (Luke 6:35), says the Lord. 4) Between great sins, interest or interest is assigned, as we see in Psalm 14: “I did not give my money for interest” (Ps. 14:5). Read this psalm diligently and you will see the truth. 5) Nowhere in Holy Scripture do we see that God allows us to take interest or interest. Beware, Christian, of doing what is not permitted by God. 6) Christian love itself is horrified and disgusted by this, and forbids you to take from your neighbor what is his and not yours. Follow the rule of Christian love - and you will not take interest. 7) Decide for yourself what is better and closer to the natural law, love and Christian duty: to take interest or not to take interest? You must admit that it is better and closer not to take than to take. Choose the best. 8) It is safer both before the all-seeing God and before His righteous court not to take it than to take interest. Choose the safest one. 9) Interest brings people into greater squalor and poverty, as stated above. Christian duty commands us to make up for the shortcomings of our neighbor, and not make them even greater, and to help him, and not to ruin him. Beware of ruining your neighbor under the guise of help, and lend, and do not accept anything beyond what is given. 10) Someone will object: I take a percentage from the rich, not from the poor. Answer . Christian love and duty (as stated above under number 57) commands people to give to the poor simply out of mercy, and without return, and to help them in their needs, not to mention to lend and not take interest from them. Whoever takes interest from the poor commits great inhumanity and has lost his last spark of conscience. Beloved! Consider diligently the points described above, and remember the Last Judgment of Christ, and then you will lend, but you will not take interest. I truly assure you of this. 11) When the debtor comes to such poverty and poverty that he really has nothing to give to the creditor, Christian love demands that the creditor either suffer, or, best of all, forgive the debt to the debtor. Christian! Indeed, your debtor is the one who borrowed from you, but you are a debtor to God. He owes you money, and you owe God sins. His debt against your sin is very small, no matter how great it may be. Asking God to forgive you for your many talents, forgive your neighbor a hundred penalties. Spare the poor, so that God may spare you too. Be, man, merciful to man, so that without a twinge of conscience you can pray to God: “God! be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13)! Beware of putting in prison a person like you, or perhaps someone better, so that you do not suffer the same fate that befell the evil gospel servant (Matthew 18:32–34). Remember what is written: “Judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy” (James 2:13). See also paragraph 57 about this. On the obligations of borrowers or debtors Many people ask for a loan and accept it hypocritically, and promise to repay it, but having taken it from the lender’s hands, they forget their promise and no longer think about giving it back. It is clear that they want to give until they receive. And if the truth is told, then they ask and accept so as not to give back what they have taken. Many pretend to be in need and have no means to pay their debt to the lender. All of these are not true, but false Christians, liars and deceivers, in fact, predators and thieves, since they steal other people's property through flattery and deceit. Truly, they are debtors to both God and people, and with their debt they will appear at the Last Judgment of Christ, and their debt, and their insidious plans and deeds will appear before their faces. Such cunning and deceivers do unbearable harm to society, for they take away from human hearts that trust in people, without which society cannot exist. People deceived by such liars no longer trust good people and do not dare to lend. And you can see for yourself what evil will follow from this in society. Christian! When you borrow, try to repay everything in due time, so that what is taken and not given back is not counted as theft to you. Pay everything you owe so that you don’t appear in debt before the judgment seat of Christ. Make amends for your debt while you are on the path of your life. If you really find yourself in such poverty that you have nothing to pay with, as happens in the world, then come with humility to the lender, and declare to him your poverty and poverty, and ask him to either be patient until you return what he owes, or to forgive your debt, or to satisfy him for the debt in some other way. “Make peace with your adversary quickly, while you are still on the way with him, lest your adversary hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the servant, and they throw you into prison; Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last coin,” says the Lord to you (Matthew 5:25–26). 59. About the positions of those who sell and those who buy. Many, when selling their goods, sell their conscience, and with their conscience their soul, and their eternal salvation, and buy themselves eternal destruction. These are the ones: 1) Those who sell a rotten thing for a good one and a bad thing for a good one, such as: a weak animal for a healthy one, which is usually fed so that it seems good to people. 2) Who sell one thing for another, such as: marten for sable, crystal for diamond, and so on. 3) Who sell every cheap thing for an expensive one. 4) Which mix water into wine and sand or anything else heavy into salt for greater weight. 5) This also includes those unscrupulous sellers who demand a higher price for their goods than they are worth, because they are planning in their hearts to deceive the buyer. Even worse and more lawless are those sellers who swear lies and call on the holy and terrible name of God in lies. All of the above-mentioned sellers and others like them sin against the commandment of God: “Thou shalt not steal.” And they steal as much as they sell their goods so shamelessly; and if they do not abandon this evil deed, and do not repent, and do not correct themselves, then they will appear as robbers and thieves at the judgment of Christ and accept them according to their deeds. Be careful, Christian, what and how you sell, so as not to sell your eternal salvation. When you sell anything, keep your conscience everywhere and in everything, so as not to lose your good conscience and not destroy your soul. “Let everyone who confesses the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness” (2 Tim. 2:19). When the seller names the price for the product, the buyer no longer has to reduce it, but give the required price. Both the seller and the buyer must have Christian simplicity and truth, for without it, every deed will be evil and indecent (See also point 3). 60. About the position of those hiring and those hired to work. We see that some hire others to work, but we also see that both those who hire and those who hire sin. Those who are hired sin and are subject to the vice of theft, and are real thieves and predators, if, having taken a decent price, they do not want to work diligently, but work lazily and carelessly, and only spend days and hours. They see for themselves that they take payment in vain, and shamelessly steal other people’s property. Those who hire sin if the mercenaries are either not given at all or not given the full amount of the appointed payment. Such a sin is a sin crying out to heaven and asking God for vengeance. “Behold, the wages that you withheld from the workers who reaped your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts” (James 5:4). Therefore, the mercenary must work diligently and conscientiously so that the payment he receives is not considered theft; and the owner must give the entire bribe to the mercenary, so as not to experience the wrath of God and His righteous judgment (See point 3 even higher). 61. About those who insult and those who are insulted. It happens that those living in society insult each other. This happens either from the cunning of the enemy the devil, who, hating the love between us, incites us to insult our neighbor, or from the weakness of our nature, or from inattention, and often from habit. In this case, reconciliation is absolutely necessary, and thus brotherly love will be preserved. Many, having offended their neighbor, do not care about it, and so they enter the church and pray; but the dangerous state they are in can be seen from the following: whoever sins against a person will sin against God, and whoever offends a person will offend God himself, since God forbade sinning against a person and offending him. So, a person, sinning against his neighbor and offending him, sins and offends God, who commanded him not to do this. Love for one's neighbor is connected with the love of God. When love for neighbor is ruined, then love for God is ruined. He who does not love his neighbor does not love God himself. And from this it follows that whoever wants to be reconciled with God and have peace with God must first be reconciled with his neighbor, and then approach God and pray, and ask for mercy from Him. And from this it is clear that the prayer of those who, having offended their neighbor and not being reconciled with him, approach God in prayer is vain and in vain. The Lord says about this: “If you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make peace with your opponent quickly while you are still on the way with him, lest your opponent hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the servant, and they throw you into prison; Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last coin” (Matthew 5:23–26). Look, Christian, how we need reconciliation with our neighbor. God will not accept our repentance, prayer, or anything else from us until we are reconciled with our neighbor. God values ​​love and peace with our neighbors so dearly! Beware, having offended your neighbor, and neglect reconciliation, but without delay, make peace with him, so as not to be subjected to the righteous wrath of God. You insulted your neighbor with a word - with a word, reconcile yourself, humble yourself before him and ask him for forgiveness. By your deed you have offended your neighbor - by deed, reconcile. Death follows us invisibly and steals us away unexpectedly. What will happen to a person if intransigence and enmity delight him in death? With what he departs from this world, he will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. What is now abandoned and blotted out will not appear there either. So, be reconciled, beloved, with your adversary, “while you are still on the way.” Therefore, take heed to this, Christian. You knew how to insult your neighbor, but know how to be reconciled with him. But don’t hesitate in such an important matter and don’t put it off until the morning, because you don’t know whether you can wait until tomorrow. God promised us, the repentant, His mercy, but He did not promise us tomorrow. Break yourself, crush the idol of pride living in your heart, and bow with humility to your neighbor whom you have offended. And when you bow with your body, bow with your heart. If you ask him for forgiveness with your lips, ask with your heart. If you repent with your tongue, repent and have pity with your heart. You kiss him with your lips, kiss him with your heart. The external without the internal is nothing, for God judges by the internal state. Some people argue this way: should I ask so-and-so for forgiveness? I am noble, and he is a serf. But (you judge that) he is a human being, just like you. With God, the righteous Judge, both the noble and the serf are equal. He equally forbade both a noble slave to insult and a noble slave; and both the noble and the common people will all appear before His righteous judgment. But look at the tombs of your ancestors and you will see your nobility there. Others say this: he is an evil person. It’s not your place to judge him, and it’s not known who is better, you or him. For God judges by the internal, and not by the external state. “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked” (Ps. 10:5). Also, you cannot know how you will die and how he will die. Many people start out well but end up badly, while others start out poorly but end up well. The beginning is not good, but the end is good and it decides everything. Some people also think this way: he will not forgive me, although I will ask for forgiveness. No! Humility has such power that it even bows down the hard-hearted, for God, who loves humility, works through the humble. Just humble yourself before him and see the power of humility. He will certainly hug and kiss you with love and joy. And if he doesn’t do this beyond expectations, then he himself will be to blame for his disaster. Are you saying that he will ascend with your humility? It’s not true, seeing your humility, he himself will humble himself. And if he ascends, he will certainly humble himself, according to the word of the Lord: “Everyone who exalts himself will humble himself” (Luke 14:11). But leave all your excuses, let him do what he wants, and you do what is useful and necessary for you, and commanded by your Lord. The offended person must forgive the offender so that God will forgive him and pray with hope: “Our Father! .. forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” For the Lord says: “If you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins” (Matthew 6:14–15). Do you see, Christian, how terrible it is not to forgive your neighbor’s sins! You forgive a person’s sins, God forgives you too; You don’t forgive, and God doesn’t forgive you. What are you before God, and what is your prayer? Nothing at all. You are angry with your neighbor, and you yourself remain in the wrath of God. But this great disaster of yours is from yourself, for you are angry and do not forgive your neighbor for his sins. Indeed, he sinned before you, but you also sinned and are sinning before God. He is your debtor, but you are also a debtor to God. He asks you for forgiveness, but you also ask God. You pray to God: “Forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors.” If you forgive your neighbor from the heart, then you pray sincerely and truly and unfeignedly say these words to God. If you do not forgive your neighbor from the heart, then you pray only in word and lips, and therefore hypocritically. And then your prayer not only does not benefit you, but also turns into sin. You see where a person’s anger and enmity leads him. Conquer yourself, beloved, and, putting aside your anger, forgive everything to your neighbor. Then you will pray sincerely and unfeignedly: “Father, forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” and forgiveness of your debts will be granted to you. For the Word of God is true, true and untrue. What he says is what he says, and what he promises is fulfilled, and what he threatens us with will come true unless we repent. If we forgive the sins of our neighbors, God also forgives us in His mercy. We don’t forgive, and God doesn’t forgive us either. As we do with our neighbors, so God does with us. So, it depends on you, man, whether your sins will be forgiven or not, and from this comes salvation or destruction. For without the forgiveness of sins there is no salvation. You can see for yourself how scary it is. Again someone will object: should I forgive him: after all, he knows who I am and who he is? Both he and you - every person in himself is poor and wretched; both high and low are all equal sinners. But do you know who you are and who is God, before whom you have sinned and are sinning? Before God, whom you have offended and continue to offend with your sins, the whole world is as nothing (Ps. 40:17). If the whole world is like nothing before God, why are you alone before him, no matter how great and lofty you are before people? So great and infinite is God, before whom you have sinned and are sinning! What are your sins, man, before God? And what is the sin of your neighbor with which he offended you? His sin before you compared to your sins before God is like a rusty penny against a lot of gold, or like “a hundred denarii” against “ten thousand talents” (Matthew 18:24–28), or, better said, like nothing. You don’t want to forgive small, and very small, sins—do you hope to receive forgiveness for your great sins? You do not forgive man to man and sinner to sinner; do you want to receive forgiveness from God, Who is eternal truth and incomprehensible majesty? You don’t have mercy on people like you; what kind of mercy do you want from God? This is how dangerous it is not to forgive your neighbor’s sins! Another says: I am not guilty of anything before him. He insulted me for no reason. Indeed, it happens that people insult us for no reason. But what is God guilty of before us? The Lord is righteous, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. “You, O Lord, have truth, but we have shame on our faces” (Dan. 9:8)! However, we sin madly and shamelessly against Him, and thus offend Him, and we repent and ask for mercy, and we receive mercy. Glory to His love for mankind! Glory to His immeasurable bounties! So, wanting to receive forgiveness from God, forgive the one who sinned against you, before whom you, as you say, are not guilty of anything. Or maybe he is guilty, because it is very difficult for those living in society not to offend each other in some way. We sin before each other, and we must forgive each other. Someone sighs: I did good to him, but he repaid me with evil for good. True, it is hard when they repay evil for good, but who does more good to us if not God? However, despite this, we furiously sin before Him. Thinking about this, cover your face and say heartily: I have sinned, Lord, have mercy on me! I forgive my neighbor, forgive me, Thy indecent servant, who has sinned before You, my Creator and Benefactor. Someone grumbles: I have already suffered a lot from him. – Remember how much you sinned before God from your youth, but the Lord tolerated you. What would happen if God dealt with you in His righteousness? Your soul would have gone to hell long ago. Since God endured you for a long time and dealt with you in His mercy, do the same with your neighbor. You say: I know that God deals mercifully with us, but I am a weak person, I cannot do this. Don’t say that you can’t, but admit that you don’t want to: you can’t walk on water, but what’s the difficulty in forgiving? So what? Do you want to fulfill your anger and take revenge on your neighbor? This is not weakness, but anger. But remember that Christians are commanded: “Imitate God as beloved children” (Eph. 5:1). You say: if I forgive him, will he still do harm to me? – This is unknown. But even if he does evil, let him do what he wants, and you do what you are commanded and need for your salvation. If he does not correct himself, he will accept it according to his deeds: “Let him who offends still offend” (Rev. 22:11). You say: he seriously insulted me? No insult can be greater than that which was inflicted on Christ, your Savior, for He was not only dishonored, cursed, ridiculed, spat upon, struck, scourged, and bound, but also crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross, blasphemed as He passed by, blasphemed, and killed. Whom? Son of God and Lord of glory. Why are you against such a great Person, and what is your insult against Him? Like nothing. They don’t spit on you yet, they don’t hit you on the cheeks, they don’t crown you with thorns, and so on. Christ the Lord endured everything with great meekness and longsuffering. For whom? For me and you, His indecent servants. And not only did he endure, but he also prayed for his enemies: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:31). Look and reason in this mirror of patience, and without a doubt, you will forgive your neighbor every insult. You say: if I forgive, people will laugh at me? Both for the wicked, piety, and for lovers of this world, Christian life and evangelical morality are temptation and madness, but before God they are wisdom. You act as the Gospel teaches, and not as people say. Let those who laugh laugh, and then they will weep bitterly, but it will be too late. Conscience itself will convict them. Beloved Christian! An important matter is spoken of here, in which either eternal salvation or eternal destruction consists. We talk about the forgiveness of sins, about which we sigh to God every day, but sighing and even tears are useless to us if we do not forgive our neighbors the sins. For in this lies the deceit and untruth of the human heart. A person wants to receive mercy from God, but he himself does not want to show mercy to someone like himself. He wants God to forgive his sins, but he doesn’t want to forgive himself. Do you see how deceitful and wrong the heart of such a person is? But is this only commanded to us, Christians? We are told by our Lord: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). It is not enough for a Christian to love himself, for this is also done by the pagans, who do not know the true God and do not accept Christ. Thus says the Lord: “If you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't publicans do the same? And if you greet only your friends, what special are you doing? Do not the pagans also do the same” (Matthew 5:46–47)? Christians must surpass pagans in love, and demonstrate the superiority and perfection (of their faith) in themselves. Since Christians are reborn and renewed through holy Baptism for eternal life and a new holy life, they must love not only their friends, but also their enemies. For from this the true Christian soul is known. This is what the Heavenly Father does: “he commands his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Christians, like children of their father, should imitate him, according to the apostolic exhortation: “Imitate God, as beloved children” (Eph. 5:1). I know that they will object to me: it is impossible, they say, to love enemies and do good to them. Not true. Perhaps it was for David, who wept for his dead enemies - Saul and Absalom (2 Sam. 1:17). For crying over the destruction of enemies is a clear sign of love for enemies. Perhaps it was Saint Stephen, who prayed for his enemies who stoned him: “Lord! Do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Perhaps it was for all the saints. That's why it's possible for you too. You are a person, and they were people. You are weak, and they had the same weakness. Children learning to read first learn letters, then learn to read letters, and then learn to read books. This is what Christians should do in Christian teaching. First, one must learn to repay good for good, that is, to have gratitude; then do not repay evil for evil, annoyance for annoyance, insult for insult, and do not take revenge either in word or deed on the offender; and then to love enemies, and to do good to those who hate, and to repay good for evil. This is the ladder along which Christians ascend to perfection, which consists of love for enemies. Well, Christian, if you are commanded to love your enemies and do good to those who hate you, commanded by the One who created you, and when you died, redeemed with His blood and death, by the One who holds both your death and life in His hand, will you be willing and will you forgive those who offended you? If the earthly king commanded you not only to forgive your neighbor’s offenses, but also to serve him, and otherwise die, what would you rather choose: to die or to forgive and serve your neighbor? I think that you would rather want to forgive and serve your neighbor than to die. The Heavenly King commands not only to forgive those who offend, but also to love enemies and do good to those who hate. Otherwise, eternal death will follow those who do not listen to the commands of the King of Heaven. “Not everyone who says to Me: Lord! God! “He who does the will of My Father in heaven will enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21). True virtue consists in victory over oneself, in doing not what the corrupt nature wants, but what the holy will of God wants; submit your will to the will of God, and overcome evil with good; overcome pride with humility, anger with meekness and patience, hatred with love. This is a Christian victory, and it is more glorious than conquering nations. This is what God requires of us: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). Anger, if not tamed at first, turns into malice. Anger, as we read in stories and see now, causes great troubles and misfortunes, both to those who are angry and to those on whom anger occurs. For the devil, the spirit of evil, possesses such people, and leads them wherever he wants, and does through them what he wants. Therefore, the apostle said: “If you are angry, do not sin; let not the sun go down on your anger; and do not give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:26–27). Beware, Christian, of holding anger against your neighbor, so that it does not turn into anger, and so you do not destroy yourself and your neighbor, but quickly tame your anger and break it (against a stone), like a lawless child, while it is small, so that it does not grow up and destroy you (Ps. 136:9). The holy Apostle exhorts and pleads with all Christians for harmony and peace, and puts forward strong arguments for this, saying: “I urge you to walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and meekness and long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, trying to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you are called to one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all” (Eph. 4:1–6). And again: “Strive to have peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). Reason, Christian, how necessary and necessary peace and harmony are for Christians. That is why it is written about the first Christians: “The multitude of those who believed had one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32). Oh, dear fellowship and dear brotherhood, when many have one heart and soul! It is clear that they were led by the single spirit of their Heavenly Father. For where there is peace, harmony and unanimity, there is the God of peace. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). How good and wonderful it is to have peace and harmony among one another, the holy prophet sang in a special psalm entirely dedicated to this: “This is what is good and what is wonderful - for brothers to live together” (Ps. 133:1), and further: “for there the Lord commanded blessing and life forever” (Ps. 132:3). 1) Everyone is one another’s neighbors: bosses and their subordinates, shepherds and their people, parents and their children, husbands and their wives, gentlemen and their peasants, those who sell and buy, and every person to another person. I am yours, and you are my neighbor. Therefore, every Christian must give to another what God himself demands, and faith in Him, and love, and Christian office, and the written law of God, and conscience itself. For all this comes down to one thing, and strives for one goal, that is, our bliss. 2) If a Christian does not repay his neighbor what he owes, then he sins against his neighbor. When he sins before his neighbor, he also sins before God, since he violates God’s commandment. 3) A person, sinning against his neighbor, harms himself more than him. It harms him physically, but damages his soul. It causes physical and temporary harm to him, but eternal harm to his soul. He is deprived of bodily and visible good, and his soul is deprived of invisible good. He is seduced and deceived, but he himself is already seduced and deceived by the devil. He laughs at him, or scolds him, or slanderes him, but he has already given himself over to ridicule, reproach, and the devil’s slander, and so on. This happens because he violates the eternal and unchangeable law of God, and thus, by sinning before his neighbor, before God himself, the Lawgiver, he sins, about which the devil, as the Christian enemy, tries and rejoices. For this is all he strives to do, to plunge a Christian into sin, and thus to offend God, and to destroy the sinner, and to laugh at him. Look, Christian, where your sin leads you towards your neighbor. A bee, having stung another, is said to die itself. Likewise, when a person harms another, he harms himself more than him. Beware, man, of causing evil and offense to your neighbor, so as not to fall into greater evil yourself. 4) Conscience is similar to the law of God, as we see. What God's law forbids, conscience also forbids. For what the law of God convicts, conscience also convicts. The law of God frightens the sinner with the judgment of God, and the sinner hears the same in his conscience. The law shows and praises the innocence of an innocent person, and he feels the same in his conscience. By sinning against his conscience, a person also sins against the law of God, and by acting in accordance with and similar to his conscience, he acts in accordance with and similar to the law of God. Act, Christian, as your Christian conscience demands, and you will live according to God’s law. And that is why people call a good person conscientious, and an evil person unscrupulous. 5) The rule is similar to conscience and God’s law: “What you don’t want for yourself, don’t do to your neighbor.” Follow this rule, Christian, and you will not sin in your behavior with your neighbor. What this rule forbids, conscience and the law of God forbid. You don’t want anyone to offend you, take away your health and life, steal something from you; you don’t want to be deceived in anything; you don’t want someone to sell you a bad thing for a good one, one for another, a rotten one for a good one, a cheap one for an expensive one; If you don’t want someone to slander you, condemn you, curse you, dishonor you, etc., don’t do this to your neighbor. You don’t want all this for yourself, and he doesn’t want it either. All this is evil for you, and evil for your neighbor. When your neighbor does to you what you don’t want for yourself, you do evil to you, but when you do to your neighbor what he doesn’t want for yourself, you do evil to him. If you sin against this rule: what you don’t want for yourself, and so on, you sin against your conscience and the law of God, and thus you are convicted by your conscience and the law of God as a lawbreaker. On the contrary, if you want your neighbor to help you in your need, to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to welcome and calm the wanderer into your home, and so on, he also wants you to help him in his need. Do for him what you want for yourself. This is required by conscience and the law of God. This is exactly what the Lord says: “So in everything you want people to do to you, do so to them, for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). If you do not do to your neighbor what you want for yourself, you sin against your conscience and the law of God. So, Christian, adhere to this rule: “Whatever you want for yourself, do for your neighbor,” and you will act in accordance with your conscience and the law of God. 6) Whoever acts against his conscience stubbornly and deliberately sins against the law of God, and therefore sins gravely. For he does not want to submit his will to the law of God, therefore such a one is not a true Christian, but a false one. For a true Christian does not want to sin in anything against his conscience, but tries to keep his conscience clean from sin, and prefers to die rather than sin against his conscience and hurt it. “Let everyone who confesses the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness” (2 Tim. 2:19). 7) Whatever a person does in this life will appear at the righteous judgment of Christ, and for all this he will be rewarded, according to the word of Christ: “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2). 8) Pagans who do not know the true God and His holy law will be convicted only by conscience, the natural law, but faulty and unrepentant Christians will be convicted by both conscience and the written law of God. Then they will see for themselves how foolishly and badly they acted (Matthew 11:22). 9) It will be more joyful for the pagans, who do not know the true God and His holy law, on the Day of Judgment than for Christians who committed lawlessness and did not repent (Matthew 12:41–42). 10) God speaks in Holy Scripture not to our body, not to our hands, not to our feet, not to our lips, not to our eyes, but to our soul. What is the use of not stealing with your hands, not killing, not committing fornication with your body, but thinking and doing evil with your heart and soul? Also, what is the use of praying and singing with the tongue and lips, but not praying with the heart and soul; outwardly, exhausting the body, showing humility, but being proud and exalted in the heart; To love with tongue and word, but not to have love inside the heart and soul; bow with your body, but be adamant in your soul and heart; appear good on the outside, but be evil and faulty on the inside; Repent on the outside, but be unrepentant on the inside? Man, correct your soul and heart, and then you will be a true Christian. When the soul is in good order, then the body will do everything in good order. A vessel containing incense emits incense. God says to the soul: believe, love, hope, pray, call on Me, honor your father and mother, do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, and so on - the soul must do this. The body will not do anything bad if the soul does not want to, for the body is the instrument of the soul. Be kind in soul, then you will always do good in your body. See also paragraph 47. “Not everyone who says to Me: Lord! God! “He who does the will of My Father in Heaven will enter into the kingdom of heaven,” says the Lord (Matthew 7:21). “Lord, who dwells in Your habitation, and who will dwell on Your holy mountain?” - asks the prophet and answers: “He who walks uprightly and does righteousness, speaks the truth from his heart, who does not flatter with his tongue, and does not do evil to his neighbor, and does not listen to slander against his neighbors. He despises the wicked, but praises those who fear the Lord. If he swears to his neighbor, he does not break the oath; He did not lend his money at interest, and he did not accept gifts against the innocent. He who does this will never be shaken” (Ps. 14:1–5). “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). “You need patience, so that, having done the will of God, you may receive what was promised” (Heb. 10:36). “If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18–19). “If the master of the house was called Beelzebub, how much more of his household” (Matthew 10:25)? “If we endure (with Christ), we will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:12). “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38). “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). The “Christian Instruction” was written by Saint Tikhon during his stay in Zadonsk, initially for a certain Yelets citizen Rostovtsev. “Christian Instruction,” or, as this work is titled in the original, “Christian Instruction,” initially consisted of 51 §§, but later the saint supplemented this work by adding 10 more §§ “On mutual Christian duties.” You might be interested in: