Homilies on Second Timothy 5

'For if we died with him, we shall also live with him;

if we endure, we shall also reign with him;

if we shall deny him, he also will deny us;

if we are faithless, he abides faithful;

for he cannot deny himself.'

'Of these things put them in remembrance, solemnly charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words, to no profit, to the subverting of the hearers.'

Many of the weaker sort of men give up before the labor that faith requires, and cannot endure the deferring of their hope;

they seek the things present, and from these they form their judgment of the things to come.

Since then the things here were death, tortures, and chains,

while he himself says that they shall come to eternal life, no one would have believed it, but would have said, 'What do you mean? While I live, I die; and when I die, I live? You promise me nothing on earth, yet you bestow it in heaven? You do not give the small things, and yet you offer the great?' That no one therefore might reason thus, he makes the proof of this beyond dispute, laying it down beforehand and already giving evidences (for the words, 'Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead,' mean this—that after death he rose);

and now, declaring the same thing again, he says:

'Faithful is the saying'—that he who has attained the heavenly life shall attain also the life eternal.

Whence is it faithful? 'For if,' he says, 'we died with him, we shall also live with him.'

For tell me, do we share with him in the sorrowful things and in those full of toil, and no longer in the good? Why, not even a man would act so—that one who had chosen to die with him and be afflicted with him should, if ever he came into ease, be denied a share of fellowship with him.

But where did we die with him? He means this death: both that which comes through the laver, and that which comes through sufferings.

For he says, 'Bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord;'

and, 'We were buried with him through baptism;'

and, 'Our old man was crucified with him;'

and, 'We have grown together with him in the likeness of his death.'

But here he speaks also of the death that comes through trials;

for indeed he was in the midst of trials when he wrote these things.

If we died for his sake, shall we not live for his sake? This is beyond all dispute.

'If we endure,' he says, 'we shall also reign with him.' He did not simply say, 'We shall reign with him;'

but, 'If we endure,' showing that it is not enough to die once (this blessed man died daily);

but there is need of much endurance—which Timothy especially had need of.

'For tell me not,' he says, 'of the first beginnings, but whether it continues throughout.'

Then he exhorts also from the other side—not from the blessings only, but also from the evils.

For if the wicked also were destined to share in the very same things, this would be no encouragement.

And if those who endure were to reign together with Him, while those who do not endure were to suffer only this—not to reign with Him—this too would indeed be terrible; yet it is not enough to sting the multitude.

Therefore he states the more fearful thing:

If we deny Him, He also will deny us.

So then, the recompenses are found not only in the good things, but also in their opposites.

But as for the one who is denied in His kingdom, consider what he is likely to suffer.

Whoever shall deny Me, He says, I also will deny him.

The retribution is not on equal terms, even though, put in this way, it may seem so.

For we who deny are men, but He is God;

and how great is the distance between God and men—what need is there to say? (2)

But in another way: by this we injure ourselves, whereas Him we injure in no way at all, nor are we able to.

For this reason he added the words that make the same point plain:

If we are faithless, He remains faithful;

for He cannot deny Himself.

That is to say, if we disbelieve that He is risen, He is in no way injured thereby;

He is true, He is steadfast, whether we affirm it or do not affirm it.

If, then, He is in no way injured by us who deny Him, it is for no other reason that He requires our confession, save only for our own benefit.

For He Himself remains the same, whether men deny Him or do not deny Him.

For He cannot deny Himself—that is, He cannot cease to be.

We say that a thing is not, even when the matter is not really so.

It is not in His nature not to be; it is impossible.

that is, for Him to pass into non-existence.

He abides forever, His subsistence exists forever.

Let us not, then, be disposed as though we were doing Him a favour, or as though we were doing Him harm.

Then, lest anyone should suppose that Timothy stood in need of these things, he added:

Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord not to wrangle about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

This is a fearful thing—to speak with God as witness.

For if no one would dare to set aside what is called a man's testimony, how much more that of God?

If someone making agreements or drawing up covenants wishes to call trustworthy witnesses, will anyone then dare to refer those matters to some outsider? By no means;

and even if he should wish to, he refrains, fearing the trustworthiness of the witnesses.

What is the meaning of 'charging'? He calls God to witness the things said and the things done.

Not to wrangle about words to no profit.

Not only this, but also: To the subverting of the hearers.

Not only is there no gain from this, but also much harm.

These things, then, put them in remembrance;

and even if they despise them, God will judge them.

Why on earth does he also exhort them not to wrangle about words? He knows that the thing is enticing, and that the human soul always wishes to contend and to wrangle about words.

In order, then, that this may not happen, he does not simply say 'do not wrangle about words,' but, making his word more fearful, he added: To the subverting of the hearers.

Be diligent to present yourself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Everywhere, that need not be ashamed.

Why on earth does he show so much diligence concerning shame? Because it was likely that many were ashamed both of Paul himself, since he was a tentmaker, and of the preaching, as being that of...

For Christ was crucified, this man was to be beheaded, Peter was crucified head downward, and these things they suffered at the hands of abominable and insolent men.

Since, then, these men held sway, 'Be not ashamed,' he says—that is, be in no wise ashamed to do anything that pertains to godliness, even if it be necessary to serve as a slave, even if it be necessary to suffer anything whatsoever.

But how does one become approved? By being a workman that need not be ashamed.

The workman is ashamed to do nothing;

so too the workman of the Gospel.

Rightly dividing the word of truth.

for many drag it away on every side and pull it aside;

And he did not say 'straightening it out,' but 'rightly dividing';

that is, Cut away the spurious things, and press upon such things and cut them off with great vehemence;

just as upon a strap, with the sword of the Spirit cut away on every side whatever is superfluous and alien to the preaching.

But shun profane babblings of novelty.

For they will not stop even at this point.

For whenever some novelty is introduced, it ever begets further innovations;

and boundless is the wandering of him who has departed from the calm harbour, and he will nowhere come to a stop.

For they will advance to further ungodliness, he says, and their word will spread like a gangrene.

An uncontrollable evil, no longer able to be checked by any remedy, but it corrupts the whole.

He shows that novelty of speech is a disease, or rather more grievous than a disease.

Here he indicates that they are incorrigible, and that they went astray not simply, but willingly;

wherefore these especially are incorrigible.

Of whom, he says, are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have missed the mark, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they overthrow the faith of some.

Well did he say, 'They will advance to further';

for this alone seems to be the terrible thing;

but behold how many things are begotten from it.

For if the resurrection is already past, we are damaged not only in this, that we have been deprived of that great glory, but also in that the matters of the judgment are done away, if it has already come to pass, and the matters of recompense too;

for if the resurrection has already taken place, the recompense has also taken place.

So then, the good did not reap the benefit of their afflictions and pains;

nor are the wicked punished—and rightly so, those who live in great luxury!

It were better to say that there is no resurrection, than that it has already taken place.

And they overthrow, he says, the faith of some.

For if there is no resurrection, the very things of the faith are overthrown as well.

If there is no resurrection, our preaching is empty, and neither has Christ risen.

And if He did not rise, then neither was He born, nor did He ascend into the heavens.

Do you see how, while it seems to oppose only the doctrine of the resurrection, it in fact drags along with it many dreadful consequences?

What then, he says? Must nothing be done on behalf of those who are being overthrown? 'Nevertheless,' he says, 'the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal:'

'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone that names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.'

He shows that even before they were overthrown they were not steadfast.

For otherwise they would not have been overthrown at the first assault—just as Adam, before the commandment, was steadfast.

For those who are firmly fixed not only suffer nothing at the hands of the deceivers, but are even admired.

'Both firm,' he says, 'and a foundation.'

Thus ought one to hold fast to the faith.

'Having this seal:'

'The Lord knows those who are His.'

What is this? He took it from Deuteronomy.

That is to say, the firm souls stand fixed and immovable.

And from where are they made evident? From bearing these letters upon their deeds, from being recognized by God and not perishing together with the rest, and from standing aloof from iniquity.

'And let everyone,' he says, 'that names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.'

These are the marks of the foundation.

It is shown to be, as it were, a firm foundation.

As one might inscribe upon a stone, so that the letters may serve as a sign;

and these letters are shown forth through works.

'Having,' he says, 'this seal fixed fast upon it.'

'Let everyone,' he says, 'that names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.'

So that whenever anyone is unrighteous, he does not belong to the foundation.

So that this too is part of the seal: not to do unrighteous things.

Let us not, therefore, put off the royal seal and mark, that we may not be unsealed, that we may not be rotten, that we may be foundations—and firm foundations—that we may not be carried about;

this shows those who are God's—those who depart from iniquity.

For how can anyone belong to God, who is righteous, when he does unrighteous things, fighting against Him through his works and insulting Him through his deeds? Again we are inveighing against injustice, and again we have many who are set against us.

For like some tyrant, this passion has laid hold of the souls of all;

and the dreadful thing is that it holds them not by necessity nor by force, but by persuasion and gentle allurement, and they are even grateful for this slavery.

For this is what is truly dreadful;

since, if they were held by force and not by love, they would quickly have withdrawn.

And how does the matter seem to be sweet, when it is exceedingly bitter? And how is righteousness bitter, when it is exceedingly sweet?

It is because of our organs of perception.

Thus indeed some have even reckoned honey to be bitter, and have with pleasure taken in some other harmful thing.

And the cause lies not in the nature of things, but in the distortion of those who are diseased.

Consider the judgment-faculty of our soul.

Since even a balance, if it has its beam shaken loose, does not judge rightly the things weighed, being carried about.

And the soul too, if it does not have the beam of its own reasonings fixed and firmly nailed to the law of God, will not be able to judge things well, but is carried about and dragged down.

For if anyone should examine it carefully, he will see the great bitterness of injustice—not for those who suffer it, but for those who commit it, and for these more than for the others.

And not yet concerning things to come, but for the present let us discourse of things here: does it not entail strife and lawcourts, condemnation and envy and slander? What is more bitter than these? Is it not enmities? Is it not wars? Is it not accusations? Is it not the conscience that scourges us continually and gnaws at us? I could wish, were it possible, to draw the soul of the unrighteous man out of his body, and you would see it pale, trembling, ashamed, in anguish, condemning itself.

For even if we fall into the very depth of wickedness, the judgment-faculty of the mind is not corrupted, but stands incorruptible;

and no one, calling injustice good, pursues it, but he fashions pretexts and does everything so as to strip off the charge, at least in words;

but he will not be able to do so from his conscience as well.

For here indeed elegance of words, and the corruption of rulers, and crowds of flatterers can throw a shadow over what is just;

but within, in the conscience, none of these things happens: no flatterers are present, no money is there to corrupt the judge;

for the judgment-faculty is implanted in us by nature, from God;

and what comes from God could suffer no such thing.

But also unpleasant sleep and phantasms, and the evil deed continually coming to memory, ruin our repose.

For instance, someone unjustly took away another's house;

not only does the one defrauded groan, but also the one who defrauded, if indeed he is persuaded concerning the judgment;

for if anyone is so persuaded, he groans and laments even vehemently;

and if he does not believe in the things to come, even so he blushes, being ashamed.

Rather, there is no man—be he Greek, be he Jew, be he heretic—who does not dread concerning judgment;

and even if he does not philosophize concerning things to come, yet he fears and trembles at things here, lest he be repaid the more grievously in his goods, or in his children, or in his household, or in his very life;

for God indeed does many such things.

For since the doctrine of the resurrection is not strong enough to bring all men to their senses, even here He furnishes us with many proofs of His righteous judgment and sets them in our midst;

such a one, being greedy, had no children; such a one fell in war; another was maimed in body.

These things he ponders, these things he imagines, he lives in continual fear.

Do you not know how much those who do injustice suffer? Or are not these things bitter? And even if there be nothing of this kind, do not all condemn him? Do not all hate him? Do not all turn away from him? Do not all declare him to be more irrational than the beasts—even the unjust themselves? For if they condemn themselves, much more do they condemn another, calling him a robber, a covetous man, a destroyer.

What then does it have that is sweet? Nothing else than to have laid upon oneself the greater care for guarding those things, to worry and be anxious the more.

For the more money anyone wraps about himself, the more he works for himself a stronger sleeplessness.

And what of the curses of those who are wronged, of their pleadings? And what if sickness also should fall upon him? For it is impossible—impossible—for one who has come into sickness, even if he be the most godless of all men, not to be anxious about those things and not to be troubled, when he can do nothing.

For as long as we are here, the soul, living in pleasure, does not endure grievous things;

but when it is about to leap away from the body, then a greater fear grips it, inasmuch as it has come to the very portals of the judgment-seat.

Since even robbers, while they are living in the prison, live without fear;

but when someone brings them and stations them beside the curtain, they are undone with fear.

For when the fear of death comes upon it, cutting off all those things like fire, it compels the soul to be sober-minded and to be anxious about the things of that world;

no longer does the desire of money possess it, no longer the love of covetousness, no longer that of bodies.

Just as, then, when these clouds have passed by, it leaves the judgment-faculty clear—and when grief has come in and softened what was hard.

For nothing is so opposed to the love of wisdom as luxury and self-indulgence, just as, on the contrary, affliction is well suited to it.

Consider with me what the covetous man will be at that time.

For 'the hour of affliction,' Scripture says, 'brings forgetfulness of much delight.'

What will he be when he thinks upon those he has plundered, those he has wronged, those he has defrauded? What will he be when he sees others enjoying the fruits of his rapacity, while he himself is about to pay the penalty? For it cannot be, it simply cannot be, that one who has fallen into such a state should not also suspect these very things.

Often the very soul is turned upside down from within, in anguish and trembling.

How great a bitterness is this, tell me?

For these things must needs come to pass with every sickness.

But if he should also see men being punished, and even dying, what will he not suffer? And these things happen here.

As for the things yonder, it is not even possible to tell how great the punishment is, how many the torments, how many the tortures, how many the racks.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

We speak continually about these things, not because we wish to speak of them continually, but because we are compelled to.

For we could have wished that no necessity of such discourses should ever have arisen for us at all.

But if that were not possible, then at least, once you had been freed from the disease by a little treatment, to lead you back to health.

But while you remain in your infirmity, it would betoken a slack and base soul, and cruelty and savagery, to desist from the method of healing.

For if we exhort the physicians who have given up hope of the body, saying, 'Do not be negligent, but even to the very last breath do not cease to apply your own efforts,' shall we not far more exhort ourselves?

For perhaps, even after coming to the very gates of Hades and to the porch of wickedness itself, a man may be able to come to his senses, to recover, to be strengthened, and to lay hold of eternal life.

How many, from a tenth hearing, gained not even a perception, yet afterward were converted from a single one? Or rather, not from a single one.

For even if they were insensible during the ten, nevertheless they gained something, and afterward displayed the fruit all at once.

For it is as with a tree: it has received ten strokes and has not fallen under the ten, but afterward, when a single one is added, the whole is brought down.

Yet it did not come about by that single stroke; rather, the accomplishment belongs to the ten.

And he that looks to the root knows this, but he that examines it from above, from the trunk, is able to discern nothing of the kind.

So too with physicians: often, when many have applied many remedies and no benefit has come, afterward one who comes in achieves the whole cure.

But the work is not that man's alone; it belongs also to those who had already been dealing with the disease.

So that, even if we do not give the fruits of our hearing now, we shall give them afterward.

For that we shall give them, I am firmly persuaded.

For it cannot be, it simply cannot be, that so great a love of hearing and so great a longing should come to nothing.

But may we all, having become worthy of the exhortations of Christ, attain to the eternal good things.