3. Which sentence dishonoreth
the holy Martyrs, nay rather taketh away holy martyrdoms
altogether. For they would do more justly and wisely, according to
these men, not to confess to their persecutors that they were
Christians, and by confessing make them murderers: but rather by
telling a lie, and denying what they were, should both themselves
keep safe the convenience of the flesh and purpose of the heart,
and not allow those to accomplish the wickedness which they had
conceived in their mind. For they were not their neighbors in the
Christian faith, that with them it should be their duty to speak
the truth in their mouth which they spake in their heart; but
moreover enemies of Truth itself. For if Jehu (whom it seems they
do prudently to single out unto themselves to look unto as an
example of lying) falsely gave himself out for a servant of Baal,
that he might slay Baal’s servants: how much more justly,
according to their perversity, might, in time of persecution, the
servants of Christ falsely give themselves out, for servants of
demons, that the servants of demons might not slay servants of
Christ; and sacrifice to idols that men might not be killed, if
Jehu sacrificed to Baal that he might kill men? For what harm would
it do them, according to the egregious doctrine of these speakers
of lies, if they should lyingly pretend a worship of the Devil in
the body, when the worship of God was preserved in the heart? But
not so have the Martyrs understood the Apostle, the true, the holy
Martyrs. They saw and held that which is written, “With the heart
man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation;”2389
and, “In their mouth was found
no
lie:”
2390
and so
they departed irreproachable, to that place where to be tempted by
liars any further they will not
fear; because they will not have
liars any more in their heavenly
assemblies, either for
strangers
or neighbors. As for that
Jehu, by an impious
lie and a
sacrilegious
sacrifice making inquisition for impious and
sacrilegious men for to
kill them, they would not
imitate him, no,
not though the Scripture had said nothing concerning him, what
manner of man he was. But, seeing it is written that he had not his
heart right with
God;
2391
what
profited it him, that for
some obedience which, concerning the utter
destruction of the
house
of
Ahab, he exhibited for the
lust of his own domination. he
received some amount of transitory
wages in a temporal
kingdom?
Let, rather, the
truth-telling sentence of the Martyrs be thine to
defend: to this I
exhort thee, my
brother, that thou mayst be
against
liars, not a
teacher of
lying, but an asserter of
truth.
For, I pray thee, attend diligently to what I say, that thou mayest
find how needful to be shunned is that which, with laudable zeal
indeed towards impious men, that they may be caught and corrected,
or avoided, but yet too incautiously, is thought fit to be
taught.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
