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| Chapter XVIII. That even good and holy men are not without sin.
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Chapter XVIII.
That even good and holy men are not without sin.
But that no one however
holy is in this life free from trespasses and sin, we are told also by
the teaching of the Saviour, who gave His disciples the form of the
perfect prayer and among those other sublime and sacred commands, which
as they were only given to the saints and perfect cannot apply to the
wicked and unbelievers, He bade this to be inserted: “And forgive
us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.”2287
If then this is offered as a true
prayer and by saints, as we ought without the shadow of a doubt to
believe, who can be found so obstinate and impudent, so puffed up with
the pride of the devil’s own rage, as to maintain that he is
without sin, and not only to think himself greater than apostles, but
also to charge the Saviour Himself with ignorance or folly, as if He
either did not know that some men could be free from debts, or was idly
teaching those whom He knew to stand in no need of the remedy of that
prayer? But since all the saints who altogether keep the commands of
their King, say every day “Forgive us our debts,” if they
speak the truth there is indeed no one free from sin, but if they speak
falsely, it is equally true that they are not free from the sin of
falsehood. Wherefore also that most wise Ecclesiastes reviewing in his
mind all the actions and purposes of men declares without any
exception: “that there is not a righteous man upon earth, that
doeth good and sinneth not,”2288
i.e.,
no one ever could or ever will be found on this earth so holy, so
diligent, so earnest as to be able continually to cling to that true
and unique good, and not day after day to feel that he is drawn aside
from it and fails. But still though he maintains that he cannot be free
from wrong doing, yet none the less we must not deny that he is
righteous.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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