12. When, therefore, you hear
it said, “Sin shall not reign over you;”1851
have not thou
confidence of
thyself, that
sin reign not over thee, but of Him, unto Whom a
certain
Saint saith in prayer, “Direct my paths after Thy Word,
and let no
iniquity have
dominion over me.”
1852
For lest haply, after that we had
heard, “
sin shall not
reign over you,” we should lift up
ourselves, and lay this to our own
strength, straightway the
Apostle saw this, and added, “For ye are not under the
Law, but
under
Grace.” Therefore,
Grace causeth that
sin reign not over
you. Do not thou, therefore, have
confidence of thyself, lest it
thence
reign much more over thee. And, when we hear it said, “If
by the Spirit ye shall
mortify the
deeds of the
flesh, ye shall
live,”
1853
let us not
lay this so great good unto our own spirit, as though of itself it
can do this. For, in order that we should not
entertain that
carnal
sense, the spirit being dead rather than that which putteth others
to
death, straightway he added, “For as many as are led by the
Spirit of
God, these are sons of
God.”
1854
Therefore that by our spirit we
may mortify the works of the flesh, we are led by the Spirit of
God, Who gives Continence, whereby to curb, tame, overcome
lust.
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