Беседа 3

Conversation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Rom 1.18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all wickedness and unrighteousness of men who contain the truth in untruth. Notice the prudence of Paul, how he, starting with something more pleasant, turns his speech to something more terrible. Having said that the Gospel is the cause of salvation and life, the power of God, that it is capable of accomplishing salvation and justification, he now says something that can frighten even the inattentive. Usually most people are attracted to virtue not so much by the promise of benefits as by the fear of sorrows; but the apostle persuades the Romans to do both. So God not only promises the kingdom, but also threatens Gehenna; and the prophets preached to the Jews in the same way, always adding punishments to the benefits. For the same reason, Paul diversifies his speech, and not without reason, but first he offers the pleasant, and then the sad, showing that the first is a matter of the preliminary will of God, and the latter depends on the vicious life of the careless. So the prophet first mentions blessings, saying: “If you are willing and listen to me, you will destroy the good land; if you are not willing, then you listen to me, and you will girdle a sword” (Isaiah 1.19–20). Paul arranges his speech here in the same order. Look, he says, Christ came and brought forgiveness, justification and life, but he does not grant this simply, but through the medium of the cross. But the most important and amazing thing here is not that He only gave this to us, but that He suffered so much. Therefore, if you treat gifts arrogantly, you will be exposed to disasters. And notice how the apostle elevates his speech: “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven,” he says. Where can you see this? If such a question is proposed by a believer, then we will present to him the saying of Christ; and if an infidel and a Greek asked, then Paul himself stops his mouth by speaking subsequently about the judgment of God, citing indisputable proof from the events that happened to the pagans. And what is most surprising is that the apostle proves that those who oppose the truth themselves confirm the teaching of the truth by what they do and say every day. But we’ll talk about this later, and now let’s get to the real subject. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.” Of course, this often happens in real life, for example (the wrath of God is revealed) in famines, plagues and wars, when either everyone is punished individually, or all together. What extraordinary thing will happen then? That the punishment will be greater, general and of a different kind; after all, what happens now serves for correction, and what happens then will be punishment. Pointing precisely to this, Paul said that now “we are punished, lest we be condemned with the world” (1 Cor 11.32). Nowadays it seems to many that many things are happening not as a result of wrath from above, but because of human hostility, but then, when the Judge, sitting on the terrible throne, orders some to be thrown into the cave, others into outer darkness, and others are condemned to other inevitable and unbearable torments, then it will be clear that the punishment is from God. And why did the apostle not say so clearly that, for example, the Son of God will come with tens of angels and demand an account from everyone, but says: “The wrath of God is revealed?” The listeners were still new converts, so the apostle first attracted them by what they themselves recognized. Moreover, it seems to me that this was addressed to the pagans; As a result, the apostle begins with general concepts, and then talks about the judgment of Christ. “For all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in untruth.” Here the apostle shows that the ways of wickedness are many, but the path of truth is one, since error is something diverse, many-sided and mixed, but the truth is one. Having spoken about teaching, the apostle also speaks about life, mentioning the untruth of people. And there are different untruths: one concerns property, when someone offends his neighbor in this, the other - wives - when someone, having left his wife, dissolves the marriage of another, Paul calls this covetousness, saying: “Do not commit covetousness in your brother’s property” (1 Thess. 4.6). Others, instead of a wife and property, steal the honor of their neighbor; and this is also not true, for “a good name is better than great wealth” (Proverbs 22.1). about teaching, but however there is no obstacle to attributing his words to both (that is, to both teaching and life). And what does it mean “containing truth in untruth”, find out from what follows. Rom.1:19. “Before it is possible to understand about God, God is present in them; God has revealed it to them. But the pagans attributed this glory to trees and stones. Just as the one who was entrusted with the royal treasury and ordered to spend it for the glory of the king, and he spends it on evildoers, harlots and sorcerers, luxuriously supporting them with the royal money, is punished as having very seriously offended the king, so the pagans, having received knowledge of God and His glory, and then attributing it to idols, “contained the truth in untruth” ( Rom.1:18), and, through their own fault, they insulted knowledge by using it in the wrong way. Now are the words of the apostle clear to you, or do they need further clarification? Maybe it needs to be repeated again. So, what does what the apostle said mean? God imparted knowledge of Himself to people from the very beginning; but the pagans, applying their knowledge of God to trees and stones, offended the truth, through their own fault, since the truth itself remains unchanged and has unshakable glory. And from what is it clear, Paul, that God gave this knowledge to the pagans? From this, the apostle answers, that “even if it is possible to understand about God, it is manifest in them.” But this is an explanation, not a proof. You must prove to me and convince me that the knowledge of God was revealed to the pagans, but they voluntarily deviated from it. How was it revealed to them? Did they hear a voice from heaven? No, but God did something that could attract their attention more than a voice, namely, He placed His creation before them, which, through one contemplation of the beauty of everything visible, taught the wise man, the uneducated, the Scythian, and the barbarian to ascend in thought to God. Therefore the apostle says: Rom.1:20. His invisible essence, since the creation of the world, has been conceived by created beings and is visible. The prophet confirms the same: “the heavens will tell the glory of God” (Ps 18.1–2). What will the pagans say on the day of judgment? We didn't know You? But haven’t you heard the voice of the sky, perceived by the eye, and the harmonious harmony in everything, sounding louder than a trumpet? Have you not noticed the laws of day and night, always remaining unchanged, the firm and unshakable order of winter, spring and other seasons, the majesty of the sea during a great storm and amidst disturbances? Have you not noticed that everything is in order and proclaims the Creator with its beauty and greatness? Paul expressed this very thing and even more than this in the following words: for His invisible being from the creation of the world was visible to the minds of the created things, and His ever-present power and Godhead, even though they were unrequited (Rom. 1:20). Of course, this is not why God created the world, although this happened. He did not offer this lesson to men in order to deprive them of their justification, but in order that they might know Him; Having turned out to be ungrateful, people themselves deprived themselves of all protection. Then, showing how the Gentiles were deprived of justification, the apostle says: Rom.1:21. Having already understood God, you have not glorified or thanked God. This one sin was very great, but their second guilt was that they worshiped idols, which Jeremiah condemned, saying: “These people have committed two... evils: they have forsaken the fountain of living waters, and dug up for themselves treasures of broken things” (Jer 2.13). Further, as evidence that the pagans knew God and did not use this knowledge as they should, the apostle puts forward the fact that they recognized many gods, which is why he added: “having understood God without having glorified God.” He also indicates the reason why they fell into such madness. What is this reason? The one that they relied on their own thoughts in everything. However, the apostle did not say that, but much more expressively. They become fussy in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts are darkened. Similar to that. just as if someone on a moonless night decides to walk an unknown road or sail on the sea, he not only does not reach his goal, but soon dies, so the pagan, having decided to follow the path leading to heaven, deprived themselves of light, and then, instead of light, abandoning themselves to the darkness of speculation, they began to look for the incorporeal in bodies and the indescribable in images, and thus suffered a terrible crash. In addition to this reason for their error, Paul gives another: Rom.1:22. The verb is to be wise and obyurodesha. Thinking a lot about themselves and not wanting to follow the path prescribed for them by God, they became mired in thoughts of foolishness. Then, pointing out and depicting the destruction of the pagans, how terrible it was and devoid of any justification, the apostle says: Rom.1:23. and changing the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the corruptible image of man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. The first fault of the pagans is that they did not find God; the second is that they were not found, having great and obvious reasons for this; the third is that they called themselves wise; the fourth is that not only were they not found, but the honor that belonged to God was given to demons, stones and trees. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul also denounces arrogance. pagans, but differently than here. There he strikes them with the cross, saying: “Man is wiser than God” (1 Cor 1.25); and here he ridicules pagan wisdom without any comparison, proving that it in itself is stupidity and one manifestation of arrogance. And so that you know that the pagans had knowledge of God, but they themselves destroyed it, Paul said: “changing,” since he who changes something changes with the aim of having something else. The pagans wanted to find something more, but since they were lovers of innovation, they did not stay within these limits, and therefore lost what they had before. This was all Hellenic wisdom. That is why they rebelled against each other, Aristotle rebelled against Plato, the Stoics armed themselves against Aristotle, and in general one was the enemy of the other, so one should not be surprised at them for their wisdom, but disgusted and hated, because as a result of this they themselves became unreasonable. If they had not given themselves over to reflections, proofs and sophisms, they would not have suffered what they suffered. Further, continuing the accusation, the apostle ridicules all the idolatry of the pagans. If in general a change in the glory of God is ridiculous, then a change to such a large extent is beyond any justification. Think about whom the pagans betrayed and to whom they gave glory. One had to think about God that He is the Lord of everything that He has created, that He provides for and cares for everything. This is the glory of God. To whom did the pagans apply it? Not to people, but to “the likeness of the corruptible image of man.” They didn’t even stop there, but descended to animals, or better yet, to images of them. And you will notice the wisdom of Paul, how he presented two extremes: God, who is above all, and reptiles, who are lower than all, or, better said, not reptiles, but their likenesses, in order to clearly show the undoubted madness of the pagans. They applied the knowledge that they should have about a Being who is incomparably superior to everything to that which, without comparison, is lower than everything. But, someone will say, does this have anything to do with philosophers? Yes, everything that has been said primarily applies to them. They have as teachers the Egyptians who invented it. Plato is also proud of this, who seemed more respectable than others; and his teacher was committed to the same idols, since he, precisely, ordered the rooster to be sacrificed to Aesculapius. In paganism one could see images of animals and reptiles, as well as Apollo and Dionysus, revered along with reptiles. And some philosophers even raised calves, scorpions, dragons and all other vanities to heaven, since the devil tried by all means to reduce people to the likeness of reptiles and to subordinate to the most unreasonable of all creatures those whom God wanted to raise above heaven. Not only from here, but also from another, one can see that the head of the philosophers (Plato) is guilty of the above. When he compares poets and says that they must be believed in their teaching about God, since they have exact knowledge, then as evidence he presents nothing more than a collection of fables, and asserts that these ridiculous fictions must be recognized as true. Rom.1:24. In the same way, God gave them over through the lusts of their hearts into uncleanness, so that their bodies became unclean within themselves. Here the apostle shows that wickedness was the cause of the breaking of laws. And the word “betrayed” here means “allowed.” Just as the leader of an army, leaving him and leaving during a hot battle, betrays the soldiers to the enemies, not through his assistance, but by depriving them. His help, so God, having fulfilled everything on His part, left those who did not want to accept His commands and were the first to move away from Him. And consider: God offered people peace instead of teaching, and gave them reason and intellect capable of understanding what they should. But they did not use any of this for their salvation and even distorted what they received. So what was to be done? Is it really possible to attract them by force and captivity? But this does not mean making them virtuous. All that remained was to leave them to their own devices, which is what God did, so that people, having learned through personal experience everything that they had so strongly strived for, would finally flee from shame. After all, if any royal son, to the dishonor of his father, wants to be with thieves, murderers and tomb robbers and prefers the company of such people to his father’s house, then his father, of course, will leave him so that with his own experience he can be convinced of his immeasurable folly. But why did the apostle not mention any other sin, for example, murder, covetousness and other similar ones, but only mentions intemperance? It seems to me that he means contemporary listeners and those who were supposed to receive his message. “Into uncleanness, into the defilement of their bodies within themselves.” Notice how expressive the saying is. The pagans, says Paul, had no need of other offenders, but did to themselves what their enemies could have done to them. Then, returning again to the reason, the apostle says: Rom.1:25. who have changed the truth of God into a lie, and have honored and served the creature more than the Creator. What was especially funny in paganism, the apostle lists by type, and what seems more worthy than others, he speaks about that in general, but through both of them he proves that paganism is the service of creation. And notice how he expressed his thought. He did not simply say: “serve the creature,” but added: “more than the Creator”; With such an increase he increases the guilt of the pagans and deprives them of any excuse. “He who is blessed forever, amen. But this did not in any way damage the glory of God, says Paul, for God is blessed forever. Here the apostle shows that God did not leave the pagans because He was avenging Himself, since He did not suffer anything from this. If the pagans insulted Him, He was not insulted, His glory was not diminished, but He always remains blessed. If a wise person can often not feel insulted at all, then much less God, an immortal and unchangeable Being, immortal and immovable glory. After all, people are like God in this respect when they do not feel at all offended by those who want to harm them, when they are not offended by the insults inflicted on them, do not feel blows when they are beaten, and ridicule when others laugh at them. But is this possible? - someone will ask. It is possible, even quite possible, whenever you are not grieving over what happened. And how is it possible, they ask, not to grieve? And I ask: how can you grieve? Tell me? If you were insulted by your own child, would you really consider this insult to be a real insult? Would you really mourn? No. And if you started to be offended, wouldn’t you be funny then? Let us treat our neighbors in the same way, and then we will not tolerate anything unpleasant (after all, those who offend others are more unwise than children); Let us not demand that we not be offended, but, being offended, we will bear the offense generously, since this is true honor. Why is this so? But because in this you are the master, and in that you are different. Have you ever seen a damaged adamant strike itself? This, you answer, is his nature. But it is also possible for you, by your own free will, to become what he is by nature. So what? Don’t you know that the youths were not burned in the cave, and Daniel did not suffer any harm in the den? And now this can happen. And we are surrounded by lions, anger and lust, having dangerous teeth and tearing to pieces everyone who is attacked (by their attack). Be like Daniel, and do not allow these passions to sink their teeth into your soul. But, you will say, grace helped Daniel in everything. True, but it helped because it was preceded by his own will. Thus, if we also wish to become like him, then grace is now ready to help. No matter how hungry the animals are, they will not touch your rib. If they were ashamed when they saw the body of the slave, will they not be humbled now when they see the members of Christ (and that is what we are - believers)? If they are not pacified, then, of course, it is through the fault of those committed. Indeed, many provide these lions with abundant food by keeping harlots, breaking marriages, taking revenge on their enemies - and that is why they are torn to pieces before they reach the bottom (ditch). But this is not what happened to Daniel, and this is not what will happen to us if we wish, but something greater will happen than what happened before to Daniel. Then the lions did no harm, and if we stay awake, those who offend will also bring us benefit. Thus, Paul became famous due to insults and malefactors, and Job - due to many illnesses and wounds, Jeremiah - due to a dirty ditch, Noah - due to the flood, Abel - due to malicious intent, Moses - due to the fault of the bloodthirsty Jews; So did Elisha, so did each of those great men - they all received brilliant crowns not for a serene and luxurious life, but for sorrows and temptations. That is why Christ, knowing about this method of glorification, told his disciples: “You will be in a world of sorrow: but be of good cheer, [for] I have overcome the world” (John 16.33). So, it will be asked: have not many also fallen under the weight of evils? You fell, but not from the nature of temptations, but from your own negligence. But He who creates “with temptation and abundance, so that we are able ... to bear” (1 Cor 10.13), may Himself help us all and stretch out His hand so that we, solemnly glorified, may achieve eternal crowns, through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, honor, power, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: