31. “But now do ye also,”
saith he, “put down all;”1927
and he makes mention of
several more evils of that sort. But what is it, that it is not
enough for him to say, “Do ye put down all,” but that he added
the conjunction and said, “ye also?”
save that lest they should
not think that they did those evils and lived in them with impunity
on this account, because their
faith set them free from
wrath,
which cometh upon the sons of
unbelief, doing these things, and
living in them without
faith. Do ye also, saith he, put down those
evils, on account of which cometh the
wrath of
God on the
children
of
unbelief; nor
promise yourselves impunity of them on account of
merit of
faith. But he would not say, “put ye down,” unto those
who had already laid down so
far as that they consented not to such
faults, nor were yielding their members to them as
weapons of
sin,
save that the
life of
Saints stands in this past
deed, and is still
engaged in this
work, so long as we are
mortal. For, so long as the
Spirit lusteth against the
flesh, this
business proceeds with great
earnestness, resistance is offered unto
evil delights,
unclean
lusts,
carnal and shameful motions, by the sweetness of
holiness,
by the
love of chastity, by
spiritual vigor, and by the
beauty of
continence; thus they are laid down by them who are dead to them,
and who
live not in them by consenting. Thus, I say, they are put
down, whilst they are weighed down by continued continence, that
they rise not again. Whosoever, as though
secure, shall cease from
this laying aside of them, straightway they will
assault the
Citadel of the
mind, and will themselves put it down thence, and
will reduce it into
slavery to them, captive after a base and
unseemly fashion. Then
sin will
reign in the
mortal body of man to
obey its desires; then will it yield its members
weapons of
unrighteousness unto
sin:
1928
and the last
state of that man
shall be worse than the former.
1929
For it is much more tolerable not
to have begun a contest of this kind, than after one hath begun to
have left the conflict, and to have become in place of a good
warrior, or even in place of a conqueror, a captive. Whence the
Lord saith not, whoso shall begin, but “Whoso shall persevere
unto the end, he shall be saved.”
1930
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