Chapter 18.—26. Nor indeed, is it of heresies alone that the apostle says "that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." But it may be worth while to look for a moment at the things which he groups together. "The works of the flesh," he says "are manifest, which are these; fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."1448
Let us suppose some one, therefore,
chaste, continent, free from
covetousness, no
idolater, hospitable,
charitable to the needy, no man’s
enemy, not contentious,
patient,
quiet,
jealous of none, envying none, sober, frugal, but a heretic; it is of course clear to all that for this one fault only, that he is a heretic, he will
fail to
inherit the
kingdom of
God. Let us suppose another, a fornicator,
unclean,
lascivious, covetous, or even more openly given to
idolatry, a
student of witchcraft, a
lover of
strife and
contention, envious,
hot-tempered, seditious,
jealous,
drunken, and a reveller, but a Catholic; can it be that for this sole merit, that he is a Catholic, he will
inherit the
kingdom of
God, though his
deeds are of the
kind of which the
apostle thus concludes: "Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not
inherit the
kingdom of
God?" If we say this, we lead ourselves
astray. For the
word of
God does not lead us
astray, which is neither
silent, nor lenient, nor deceptive through any
flattery. Indeed, it speaks to the same effect elsewhere: "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor
unclean person, nor covetous man, which is an
idolater, hath any inheritance in the
kingdom of
Christ and of
God. Let no man
deceive you with
vain words."
1449
We have no reason, therefore, to complain of the word of
God. It certainly says, and says openly and freely, that those who
live a wicked life have no part in the kingdom of God.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
