Romans 13:11–14:4

Paul says that the time has come when we must hasten to obtain our reward. This is what it means to wake up from sleep—to do good as if it were day, i.e., openly.… It is clear that if we live well after baptism and strive for love we are not far from the reward of the promised resurrection. For the good life of a Christian is the sign of future salvation. For when a person is baptized he is forgiven but not rewarded. Later, as he walks in newness of life, he is near to eternal life.

This relates to Corinthians [:]: "Behold, now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation." Paul means by this the time of the gospel and the opportunity to save all those who believe in God.

This relates to 2 Corinthians [6:2]: "Behold, now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation." Paul means by this the time of the gospel and the opportunity to save all those who believe in God.

"For blessed are those that have seen the Lord," according to the apostle; "for it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light." By day and light he designates figuratively the Son, and by the armour of light metaphorically the promises.

When we realized what the advantages of good works are, the message of salvation became easier to understand than it was when we first believed. For when we believed in Christ we did not immediately acquire an exact understanding of what we should be doing, nor was it clear to us what we should stop doing and what we should continue doing.

Every day the end comes closer, and we are already on the threshold of the resurrection.

Since he had given them what commands were fitting, he again thrusts them on to the performance of good works, in consideration of what was pressing upon them. For the time of judgment, he means, is at the doors. So too he wrote to the Corinthians also, "The remaining time is short." (1 Cor. vii. 29.) And to the Hebrews again, "For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry." (Heb. x. 37.) But in those cases it was to cheer those in trouble, and to solace the toils of their closely successive temptations, that he said those things: but in the passage before us he does it to rouse those that are asleep, this language being useful to us for both the purposes: and what is that which he says, "Now it is high time to awake out of sleep?" It is, that near is the Resurrection, near the awful Judgment, and the day that burneth as a furnace, near. Henceforward then we must be free from our listlessness; "for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." You see how he puts the Resurrection now close by them. For as the time advances, he means, the season of our present life is wasting away, and that of the life to come waxes nearer. If then thou be prepared, and hast done all whatsoever He hath commanded, the day is salvation to thee; but if the contrary, not so. For the present however, it is not upon alarming grounds that he exhorts them, but upon kindly ones, thus also to untie them from their fellow-feeling for the things of this present world. Then since it was not unlikely, that in the beginning of their early endeavors they would be most earnest, in that their desire was then at its full vigor, but that as the time went on, the whole of their earnestness would wither down to nothing; he says that they ought however to be doing the reverse, not to get relaxed as time went on, but to be the more full of vigor. For the nearer the King may be at hand, the more ought they to get themselves in readiness; the nearer the prize is, the more wide awake ought they to be for the contest, since even the racers do this, when they are upon the end of the course, and towards the receiving of the prize, then they rouse themselves up the more. This is why he said, "Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."

It is the hour for you to strive for that which is more perfect and complete, for you should not always be children and infants.… Let us together rise from the sleep of idleness and ignorance, for now the knowledge of Christ shines forth. With the increase of knowledge our salvation is nearer than it was when we first believed.

"Our salvation" means the general resurrection on the last day, for it is then that we shall enjoy true salvation.

You must, he says, value love very highly, and through it — all the other virtues. Such is the time. The day of resurrection is near, the judgment is near, and we must awaken from the sleep of negligence and be ready for deeds worthy of the resurrection.

Probably they at the beginning, upon their conversion, were most zealous, but then, with the passage of time, grew cold. Therefore he says: now we are closer to the future age; for this is what he means by "salvation," having called it so from its better side, because for sinners it is not salvation, but perdition. And as we draw near to the future life, we must intensify our attention. This is what he shows further.

After showing how man should behave in a pious manner toward God by using his gifts properly and paying his neighbor the debts owed him, the Apostle now shows how he should act with probity in regard to himself. With respect to this he does two things: first, he proposes the suitability of the time; second, he exhorts them to virtuous works, at let us therefore cast off. In regard to the first he does three things: first, he mentions the suitability of the time; second, he assigns the reason, at for now our salvation is nearer; third, he employs a figure of speech, at the night is passed.

First, therefore, he says: we have stated what you should do. And you should do it not only for the reasons already given, but also because knowing this time, i.e., you ought to consider the nature of the present here, because as it says in Ecclesiastes: every matter has its time and way; even the stork in the heavens knows her times (Eccl 8:6); and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming; but my people know not the ordinance of the Lord (Jer 8:70).

He shows what the time is suitable for, when he says: because it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. This is not a reference to the sleep of nature, sometimes called death, as in 1 Thessalonians: we would not have you ignorant concerning those who are asleep (1 Thess 4:13), and sometimes the repose of the animal powers, as in John: if he is asleep, he will recover (John 11:12). Nor is it a reference to the sleep of grace, sometimes called the repose of eternal glory, as in a psalm: in peace I will lie down and sleep (Ps 4:9) and sometimes the rest of contemplation even in this life: I slept, but my heart was awake (Song 5:3). But it is a reference to the sleep of guilt, as in Ephesians: awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead (Eph 5:14), or to the sleep of negligence, as in Proverbs: how long will you lie there, O sluggard? (Prov 6:9).

Therefore, it is full time now to wake from the sleep of guilt by doing penance: awake after you have rested (Ps 127:2) and from the sleep of negligence by taking care to act properly: arise, O princes, oil the shield! (Isa 21:5); let not the hour for rising sadden you (Sir 32:15).

Then when he says, for salvation, he assigns the reason for what he had said, saying: for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The Apostle is referring to the salvation of eternal life about which it is said: my salvation will be for ever (Isa 51:8).

Man is ordained to this salvation, first of all, by faith: he that believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16). But man gets closer and closer to it by good works and increased love: draw near to God and he will draw near to you (Jas 4:8).

This, therefore, is what the Apostle says: it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep, for now, when we have made progress by good works and increased love, our salvation, namely of eternal life, about which Isaiah says: my salvation will be forever (Isa 51:8), is nearer than when we believed, i.e., than when we originally received the faith.

This nearness can be understood in two ways. First, in regard to time, by which holy men, as they make progress in good works, draw closer to the end of this life, after which they receive their reward. The other is the nearness of preparation, because by increased love and good works performed, a man is prepared for that salvation: those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast (Matt 25:10).

But inasmuch as the Church reads these words during Advent, they seem to refer to the salvation which Christ worked during his first coming. Accordingly, we can understand the Apostle speaking in place of all believers since the beginning of the world. For as the time of Christ's Incarnation drew near, and the predictions of the prophets grew in number, it could be said: our salvation, namely, Christ, is nearer than when we believed, i.e., when men in the very beginning started to believe in the future coming of Christ: soon my salvation will come and my deliverance be revealed (Isa 56:11).

They can also be taken to refer to the time of mercy, when one begins willing to depart from past sins. For at that time he is closer to his salvation than previously, when he had a dead faith: resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you (Jas 4:7).

"Night" means the old man, who is renewed through baptism. Paul says that he has passed away like the night and that the day is near, i.e., the sun of righteousness, by whose light the truth appears to us so that we may know what to do. For before we were in the dark, being ignorant of Christ. But when we learned of him the light rose on us and we passed from the false to the true.The "darkness" refers to carnal sins, which are done by worldly enticements.… But to "put on the armor of light" is to do good deeds.

Paul said this, yet look at how many years have passed since then! Yet what he said was not untrue. How much more probable it is that the coming of the Lord is near now, when there has been such an increase of time toward the end!

And so, these virtues without form or clothing are those of the philosophers, while ours are clothed. But they must be clothed with the gold of love, for all the walls of the temple were covered with gold. Also, with the oil of unction, because all the vessels were sanctified by the oil of unction. And so, they are not divided. The night is far advanced; the day is at hand. Let us therefore put on the armor of light, that is, the four virtues originated by faith, lifted up by hope, and fulfilled by charity. These four virtues, clothed in such a manner, are symbolized by the four rivers of paradise, the four sides of the city, and the four ornaments of the tabernacle, in so far as they are originated, endowed with form, and stabilized.

For if people occupy their time with pipes, and psalteries, and choirs, and dances, and Egyptian clapping of hands, and such disorderly frivolities, they become quite immodest and intractable, beat on cymbals and drums, and make a noise on instruments of delusion; for plainly such a banquet, as seems to me, is a theatre of drunkenness. For the apostle decrees that, "putting off the works of darkness, we should put on the armour of light, walking honestly as in the day, not spending our time in rioting and drunkenness, in chambering and wantonness." Let the pipe be resigned to the shepherds, and the flute to the superstitious who are engrossed in idolatry. For, in truth, such instruments are to be banished from the temperate banquet, being more suitable to beasts than men, and the more irrational portion of mankind.

"For blessed are those that have seen the Lord," according to the apostle; "for it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light." By day and light he designates figuratively the Son, and by the armour of light metaphorically the promises.

And therefore, beloved brethren, the Lord, taking thought for this risk, that none should fall into the snare of death through jealousy of his brother, when His disciples asked Him which among them should be the greatest, said, "Who soever shall be least among you all, the same shall be great." He cut off all envy by His reply. He plucked out and tore away every cause anti matter of gnawing envy. A disciple of Christ must not be jealous, must not be envious. With us there can be no contest for exaltation; from humility we grow to the highest attainments; we have learnt in what way we may be pleasing. And finally, the Apostle Paul, instructing and warning, that we who, illuminated by the light of Christ, have escaped from the darkness of the conversation of night, should walk in the deeds and works of light, writes and says, "The night has passed over, and the day is approaching: let us therefore cast away the works of darkness, and let us put upon us the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in lusts and wantonness, not in strifes and jealousy." If the darkness has departed from your breast, if the night is scattered therefrom, if the gloom is chased away, if the brightness of day has illuminated your senses, if you have begun to be a man of light, do those things which are Christ's, because Christ is the Light and the Day.

The "day" is the time of this life which remains to us, in which we can do good works. The "night" is the future, in which it will no longer be possible to work. Then we shall lie in the darkness, having lost the chance to do good works.

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand."

If then this is upon ending, and the latter is drawing near, let us henceforth do what belongs to the latter, not to the former. For this is what is done in the things of this life. And when we see the night pressing on towards the morning, and hear the swallow twittering, we each of us awake our neighbor, although it be night still. But so soon as it is actually departing, we hasten one another, and say It is day now! and we all set about the works of the day, dressing, and leaving our dreams, and shaking our sleep thoroughly off, that the day may find us ready, and we may not have to begin getting up, and stretching ourselves, when the sunlight is up. What then we do in that case, that let us do here also. Let us put off imaginings, let us get clear of the dreams of this life present, let us lay aside its deep slumber, and be clad in virtue for garments. For it is to point out all this that he says,

"Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."

Yes, for the day is calling us to battle-array, and to the fight. Yet fear not at hearing of array and arms. For in the case of the visible suit of armor, to put it on is a heavy and abhorred task. But here it is desirable, and worth being prayed for. For it is of Light the arms are! Hence they will set thee forth brighter than the sunbeam, and giving out a great glistening, and they place thee in security: for they are arms, and glittering do they make thee: for arms of light are they! What then, is there no necessity for thee to fight? yea, needful is it to fight, yet not to be distressed and toil. For it is not in fact war, but a solemn dance and feast-day, such is the nature of the arms, such the power of the Commander. And as the bridegroom goes forth with joyous looks from his chamber, so doth he too who is defended with these arms. For he is at once soldier and bridegroom. But when he says, "the day is at hand," he does not even allow it to be but near, but puts it even now beside us. For he says,

"Let us walk becomingly, as in the day." For day it already is. And what most people insist upon very much in their exhortations, that he also uses to draw them on, the sense of the becoming. For they had a great regard to the esteem of the multitude. And he does not say, walk ye, but let us walk, so making the exhortation free from anything grating, and the reproof gentle.

This may be understood in both a universal and in a particular sense. In the first instance, the light is dawning everywhere, and the reign of darkness over the world is rapidly coming to an end.… In the second instance, if we have Christ in our hearts he gives us light. Therefore if the reason of knowledge drives away our ignorance and if we turn away from unworthy deeds and do what is right, we are in the light and are walking honestly as if in the day.

Paul likens knowledge to the day and ignorance to the night, in accordance with what Hosea says: "I have likened your mother to the night; my people have become as those who have no knowledge." Let us therefore cast off the works of ignorance and put on the armor of light, that is, works of light.

Nay, but this whole world is the one house of all; in which world it is more the heathen, who is found in darkness, whom the grace of God enlightens, than the Christian, who is already in God's light. Finally, it is one "straying" which is ascribed to the ewe and the drachma: (and this is an evidence in my favour); for if the parables had been composed with a view to a Christian sinner, after the loss of his faith, a second loss and restoration of them would have been noted.

By "day" Paul means the time since the coming of Christ, for his appearing has made it much easier to tell the difference between good and evil. "Night" refers to the time before his coming.

"Night" refers to the time of ignorance, whereas "day" refers to the time after the Lord's coming.

That is, the night will soon end. For example: let us suppose that the night consists of twelve hours. When ten hours have passed, we say that the night is far spent (προέκοψεν), meaning: it has passed, it is near its end. He calls the present age night, because in it many are in darkness and the life of each person is covered in darkness; and he calls the future age day, both because of the brightness of the righteous, and because then the secrets of all will be revealed. In the Gospel, however, the present age is called day because during it one must work, and the future age is called night because then no one can work (Jn. 9:4).

He called sinful actions "works," as something laborious, accompanied by great difficulties, subject to a thousand dangers even in the present age; and he called virtuous actions "armor of light," for they place the one who possesses them in safety, as armor does, and make him radiant, as armor of light. By the words "let us cast off" and "let us put on," he showed the ease of both—that is, both of departing from evil works and of turning to virtue. Just as it is not difficult to take off one garment and put on another, so it is possible to depart from vice and embrace virtue.

Then when he says, the night is passed, but the day is at hand, he uses a figure of speech to clarify his proposition. The import is that the entire time of the present life is compared to night on account of the darkness of ignorance with which the present life is encumbered. We are swallowed up in darkness (Job 33:4). Isaiah says of this night: my soul yearns for you in the night (Isa 26:9).

But the state of future happiness is compared to day on account of God's splendor with which the saints are enlightened: the sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night, but the Lord will be your everlasting light (Isa 60:19). This day is referred to in a psalm: this is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps 118:24).

It can also be understood that the state of guilt is being compared to night on account of the darkness of guilt. About this darkness a psalm says: they have neither knowledge nor understanding; they walk about in darkness (Ps 82:5). About this night Wisdom says: over those men alone heavy night was spread, an image of the darkness that was destined to receive them (Wis 17:21).

But the state of grace is called day on account of the light of spiritual understanding which the just have, but the wicked lack: light dawns for the righteous (Ps 97:11); the light of justice did not shine on us (Wis 5:6).

Or it can be understood that the time before Christ's Incarnation is being compared to night, because it was not yet clear but wrapped in darkness: we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place (2 Pet 1:19). About this night it says in Isaiah: watchman, what of the night? (Isa 21:11). Hence, just as shadows appear at night, so during that time the practices of the law were in vogue, but these were only a shadow of what is to come (Col 2:17).

But the time after Christ's Incarnation is compared to day on account of the power of the spiritual sun in the world: but for you who fear my name, the sun of justice shall shine (Mal 4:2). Hence the Lord says: I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day (John 9:4); then he adds: as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

The saying, the night is passed, can be taken for any of the three nights mentioned. For a large part of the life span of those to whom he was writing was already far gone; the night of guilt had passed, as had the period of the law before Christ.

But it seems that the saying, but the day is at hand, must be understood as referring to the day of future glory, which was at hand for the believers in Christ to whom he was writing, although it had not yet arrived for them.

In keeping with the foregoing explanation, the time of Christ's grace, although it had already arrived as regards the passage of time, is nonetheless described as drawing near through faith and devotion; just as it also says in Philippians: the Lord is near (Phil 4:5), and in a psalm: the Lord is near to all who call upon him (Ps 145:18).

It can also apply to those who begin to repent of their sins; for such persons the day of grace is at hand.

Then when he says, let us, therefore, cast off, he concludes the exhortation to an honorable life. First he gives the exhortation; second, he clarifies it, at not in rioting. In regard to an honorable life he touches on three things.

First, the removal of vices, as he concludes: If the night is passed, let us cast off the works of darkness, because, as it says in Ecclesiastes: every matter has its time and way (Eccl 8:6). Hence, when the night is gone, the deeds of the night should cease.

Here the works of sin are called works of darkness: first, because in themselves they lack the light of reason with which man's works should be illumined: the wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness (Eccl 2:14); second, they are performed in the dark: the eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight (Job 24:15); third, because by them a person is brought to darkness: cast them into the darkness outside (Matt 22:13).

Second, he summons them to put on the virtues. As if to say: since the day is at hand, be dressed as suits the day and put on the armor of light, i.e., the virtues, which are called armor because they protect us: put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Eph 6:11).

They are called the armor of light, because they are decorated and perfected by the light of reason; hence it says in Proverbs: the path of the just is like the light of dawn (Prov 4:18); and because they are tested by light: he who does what is true comes to the light (John 3:2); and because others are enlightened by virtuous acts: so let your light shine before men (Matt 5:16).

It is true that people do not sin in public, so let us behave as if we were constantly in the public eye. For there is nothing more public than the truth.…Crimes are hatched in large supplies of wine, and many kinds of lust are stirred up. Therefore banquets of this kind are to be avoided.… Debauchery is another result of this sort of thing. Paul was right to warn them against quarreling and jealousy, because both of these things lead to enmity.

We shall, however, treat of prayer in due course by and by. But we ought to have works that cry aloud, as becoming "those who walk in the day." "Let thy works shine," and behold a man and his works before his face. "For behold God and His works." For the gnostic must, as far as is possible, imitate God.

Let us live our lives in the same way now as we are going to live in the day, that is, in the future world.

"Not in rioting and drunkenness." Not that he would forbid drinking, but the doing it immoderately; not the enjoying of wine, but doing it to excess. As also the next thing he states likewise with the same measure, in the words,

"Not in chambering and wantonness;" for here also he does not prohibit the intercourse of the sexes, but committing fornication. "Not in strife and envying." It is the deadly kind of passions then that he is for extinguishing, lust, namely, and anger. Wherefore it is not themselves only, but even the sources of them that he removes. For there is nothing that so kindles lust, and inflames wrath, as drunkenness, and sitting long at the wine. Wherefore after first saying, "not in rioting and drunkenness," then he proceeded with, "not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying." And even here he does not pause, but after stripping us of these evil garments, hear how he proceeds to ornament us, when he says...

These are the works of darkness, which are also called the "works of the flesh," in which people bind their flesh to luxury and uncleanness rather than to holiness or the Lord. "Reveling" refers to dishonorable and extravagant banqueting, which inevitably is prone to sexual immorality.… "Quarreling and jealousy" are really acts of the mind, but like everything else here, they are called acts of the flesh.

Just as the light of day keeps everyone from doing what he would freely do at night, so too, knowledge keeps us from ignoring the commands of the law. A revel is a luxurious banquet, but we have a spiritual feast. Moreover, that drunkenness is ruinous and an occasion for debauchery is further proved by the fact that Paul has added "licentiousness." That quarrelling and jealousy are also objects of reproach is demonstrated both here and by many other examples.

Whether, moreover, the apostle had any acquaintance with xerophagies-(the apostle) who had repeatedly practised greater rigours, "hunger, and thirst, and fists many," who had forbidden "drunkennesses and revellings" -we have a sufficient evidence even from the case of his disciple Timotheus; whom when he admonishes, "for the sake of his stomach and constant weaknesses," to use "a little wine," from which he was abstaining not from rule, but from devotion-else the custom would rather have been beneficial to his stomach-by this very fact he has advised abstinence from wine as "worthy of God," which, on a ground of necessity, he has dissuaded.

Appendages, as we all know, of appetite are lasciviousness and voluptuousness. Which alliance the apostle withal was aware of; and hence, after premising, "Not in drunkenness and revels," he adjoined, "nor in couches and lusts."

Above he said: "the day has drawn near," but now he shows that it is already arriving, and teaches to conduct oneself in it with decorum. With decorum he attracts those who greatly respected public opinion; and he did not say: conduct yourselves, — but "let us conduct ourselves," making his exhortation bearable. For nothing is so unseemly as sin, and nothing so imparts comeliness as virtue.

He does not prohibit drinking, but drinking without measure; not the use of wine, but drunkenness. "Reveling" is called the state of being drunk combined with insults, which is also called disorderly conduct in a drunken state.

Having spoken before about drunkenness, he now speaks of the evil that comes from it; for debauchery comes from drunkenness, and here he cuts off not association with women, but fornication.

Having extinguished the evil born from lust, he now suppresses also that evil which comes from anger. For nothing so kindles lust and inflames anger as drunkenness and disorderly conduct in a drunken state. From envy comes strife or quarreling, because the one who envies another goes so far as quarrels. Therefore, having removed quarreling, he ascends also to its origin — envy. He mentions strife and envy together with debauchery because from the latter come conflicts and the ruin of households.

Third, he urges them to use the virtues and make progress when he says: let us walk honestly, as in the day. For these two things seem suited to the day: first, becoming conduct, for in the day everyone tries to present himself becomingly before others. But not so in the night. Hence, it says in 1 Thessalonians: for those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober (1 Thess 5:7). Hence it says in 1 Corinthians: let all things be done decently and in order (1 Cor 14:40).

Second, man walks in the day, not at night; hence it says in John: if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles (John 11:10). Therefore, because it is day, we should walk, i.e., advance from good to better: walk while you have the light (John 12:35).

Then when he says, not in rioting, he explains what he had said. First, he explains how the works of darkness are to be cast off. These are sinful works, some of which he mentions. First, he mentions those which pertain to the corruption of the concupiscible appetite, whose corruption is intemperance in regard to pleasures of touch and to food. First, therefore, he excludes intemperate use of food when he says: not in rioting: be not among wine bibbers or among gluttonous eaters of meat (Prov 23:20). This, of course, can be a mortal sin from the fact that according to the law one is condemned to death for this sin. For it is said of a stubborn son: this our son is stubborn and rebellious: he is a glutton and drunkard. Then they shall stone him to death with stones (Deut 21:22).

One is said to pass the time in reveling, not if he eats with the magnificence that accords with his state, as King Ahasuerus commanded a splendid banquet to be prepared in honor of Esther, when she was made queen (Esth 2:18), but when he does this beyond the limits of his state, and especially if his main interest centers on this, as those about whom it is said: such persons do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly (Rom 16:18); their god is their belly (Phil 3:19).

Second, he excludes intemperance in drink, when he adds: and drunkenness, which refers to excessive drinking, which places a man outside the bounds of reason: wine created to make men glad, not drunk (Sir 31:27).

It should be noted that drunkenness is a mortal sin by its genus, namely when a person gets drunk on purpose, because he seems to prefer the pleasure of wine to the full use of reason. Hence it says in Isaiah: woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink (Isa 5:22). But if one gets drunk unintentionally, for example, because he was not aware of the strength of the wine or because he did not suspect he would get drunk on such wine, it is not a mortal sin, because he did not get drunk on purpose but accidentally. However, this cannot happen with persons who get drunk frequently. Hence, Augustine says in a sermon on Purgatory that drunkenness is a mortal sin, if it is a frequent occurrence. The Apostle thus significantly uses the plural number: not in riotings and drunkenness.

Third, he excludes intemperance in regard to bodily rest when he says: not in chambering, i.e., not in excessive sleep, which he fittingly forbids after rioting and drunkenness, because it follows from them. Furthermore, there can be mortal sin in this, when for the sake of bodily rest and sleep, a person neglects what he ought to do and is inclined to commit evil deeds: woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil upon their beds! (Mic 2:1).

The Apostle's words can also refer to the trappings of lust. Hence the harlot is quoted as saying: I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon (Prov 7:17). Because you went up to your father's bed, and did defile his couch (Gen 49:4).

Therefore, fourth, he fittingly excludes intemperance in regard to sex when he says: and impurities, i.e., venereal actions which are called shameful, because they do not avoid what is especially shameful and worthy of confusion: both because all pleasures of touch, gluttony and lust are common to us and brutes, so that one who pursues them inordinately becomes bestial. Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding (Ps 31:9). And because it is especially in venereal acts that man's reason is totally absorbed by pleasure to such an extent that he cannot understand, as the Philosopher says in the Ethics. Hence it says in Hosea: harlotry and drunkenness and wine take away the understanding (Hos 4:11); they did not repent over their licentiousness and fornication and uncleanness (Rev 9:21).

Then he excludes those sins which pertain to the corruption of the irascible appetite when he says: not in contention. Contention, as Ambrose says, is an attack on the truth, performed with confident shouting. It is also possible that these words forbid all quarreling, not only in words but also in deeds, which very frequently begin with words: it is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife (Prov 20:3).

Contention generally arises from envy; therefore he adds: and envy. Hence it says in James: where jealousy and selfish ambitions exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice (Jas 3:16).

Paul wants everything the law forbids not to be desired, or if it is desired, to be overcome.… To put on Christ means to cut oneself off from every sin and wickedness, so that at the wedding banquet one will not be found without a new garment and be shamefully thrown out into the darkness.

Provision for the flesh is not to be condemned if it has to do with the needs of bodily health. But if it is a question of unnecessary delights or luxuries, a person who enjoys the delights of the flesh is rightly chastised. For in that case he makes provision for the desires of the flesh, and "he who sows in the flesh will reap corruption in the flesh."

Let the women wear a plain and becoming dress, but softer than what is suitable for a man, yet not quite immodest or entirely gone in luxury. And let the garments be suited to age, person, figure, nature, pursuits. For the divine apostle most beautifully counsels us "to put on Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the lusts of the flesh."

This means that we should imitate Christ in what we do and show him to others in the way we behave.

May I have joy of you in the Lord! Be ye sober. Lay aside, every one of you, all malice and beast-like fury, evil-speaking, calumny, filthy speaking, ribaldry, whispering, arrogance, drunkenness, lust, avarice, vainglory, envy, and everything akin to these. "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." Ye presbyters, be subject to the bishop; ye deacons, to the presbyters; and ye, the people, to the presbyters and the deacons. Let my soul be for theirs who preserve this good order; and may the Lord be with them continually!

"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ."

He no longer speaks of works, but he rouses them to greater things. For when he was speaking of vice, he mentioned the works of it: but when of virtue, he speaks not of works, but of arms, to show that virtue putteth him that is possessed of it into complete safety, and complete brightness. And even here he does not pause, but leading his discourse on to what was greater, a thing far more awestriking; he gives us the Lord Himself for a garment, the King Himself: for he that is clad with Him, hath absolutely all virtue. But in saying, "Put ye on," he bids us be girt about with Him upon every side. As in another place he says, "But if Christ be in you." (Rom. viii. 10.) And again, "That Christ may dwell in the inner man." (Eph. iii. 16, 17.) For He would have our soul to be a dwelling for Himself, and Himself to be laid round about us as a garment, that He may be unto us all things both from within and from without. For He is our fulness; for He is "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph. i. 23): and the Way, and the Husband, and the Bridegroom;-for "I have espoused you as a chaste virgin to one husband," (2 Cor. xi. 2): and a root, and drink, and meat, and life;-for he says, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me;" (Gal. ii. 20) and Apostle, and High-Priest, and Teacher, and Father, and Brother, and Joint-heir, and sharer of the tomb and Cross;-for it says, "We were buried together with Him," and "planted together in the likeness of His Death" (Rom. vi. 4, 5): and a Suppliant;-"For we are ambassadors in Christ's stead" (2 Cor. v. 20): and an "Advocate to the Father;"-for "He also maketh," it says, "intercession for us:" (Rom. viii. 34) and house and inhabitant;-for He says, "He that abideth in Me and I in him" (John xv. 5): and a Friend; for, "Ye are My friends" (John xv. 14): and a Foundation, and Corner-stone. And we are His members and His heritage, and building, and branches, and fellow-workers. For what is there that He is not minded to be to us, when He makes us cleave and fit on to Him in every way? And this is a sign of one loving exceedingly. Be persuaded then, and rousing thee from sleep, put Him on, and when thou hast done so, give thy flesh up to His bridle. For this is what he intimates in saying,

"And make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." For as he does not forbid drinking, but drinking to excess, not marrying, but doing wantonness; so too he does not forbid making provision for the flesh either, but doing so with a view "to fulfil the lusts thereof," as, for instance, by going beyond necessaries. For that he does bid make provision for it, hear from what he says to Timothy, "Use a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and thine often infirmities." (1 Tim. v. 23.) So here too he is for taking care of it, but for health, and not wantonness. For this would cease to be making provision for it, when you were lighting up the flame, when you were making the furnace powerful. But that you may form a clearer notion what "making provision" for it "to fulfil the lusts thereof" is, and may shun such a provision, just call to mind the drunken, the gluttonous, those that pride themselves in dress, those that are effeminate, them that live a soft and relaxed life, and you will see what is meant. For they do everything not that they may be healthy, but that they may be wanton and kindle desire. But do thou, who hast put on Christ, prune away all those things, and seek for one thing only, to have thy flesh in health. And to this degree do make provision for it, and not any further, but spend all thy industry on the care of spiritual things. For then you will be able to rouse yourself out of this sleep, without being weighed down with these manifold desires. For the present life is a sleep, and the things in it are no way different from dreams. And as they that are asleep often speak and see things other than healthful, so do we also, or rather we see much worse even.

We have often said that Christ is wisdom, righteousness, holiness, truth and all the other virtues. Therefore anyone who has acquired these has put on Christ. For if all these are Christ, then the person who has them must of necessity have Christ as well. Whoever has them will not bother about the flesh. The apostle speaks here with some care, because he knows that we must take some thought for the needs of the flesh. It is the excesses and lusts of the flesh, not its basic needs, which must be avoided.

The Lord Jesus Christ himself … is said to be the clothing of the saints.

Christ alone should be seen in us, not the old self, for "one who says he abides in Christ should walk as he walked."

Those, therefore, who imitate Christ, imitate Him earnestly. For those who have "put on Christ" [Romans 13:14] in truth, express His likeness in their thoughts, and in their whole life, and in all their behaviour: in word, and in deeds, and in patience, and in fortitude, and in knowledge, and in chastity, and in long-suffering, and in a pure heart, and in faith, and in hope, and in full and perfect love towards God. No virgin, therefore, unless they be in everything as Christ, and as those "who are Christs," [Galatians 5:24] can be saved.

On the ground of continence the priests likewise of the famous Egyptian bull will judge the "infirmity" of Christians. Blush, O flesh, who hast "put on" Christ! Suffice it thee once for all to marry, whereto "from the beginning" thou wast created, whereto by "the end" thou art being recalled! Return at least to the former Adam, if to the last thou canst not! Once for all did he taste of the tree; once for all felt concupiscence; once for all veiled his shame; once for all blushed in the presence of God; once for all concealed his guilty hue; once for all was exiled from the paradise of holiness; once for all thenceforward married.

Paul wants to say that by the regeneration of baptism we have been conformed to Christ and become members of the one body of the church, of which he is the head, and so we must put him on in the understanding of what we are expecting, in that we hope to share in his resurrection.

Having stripped from us the garment of sin, He finally adorns us, clothing us no longer in the armor of light, but, what is even more awe-inspiring, making the Master Himself our garment. Whoever is clothed in this garment possesses every virtue.

He does not forbid care for the body, but "lusts." Take care, he says, of the body for health, not for licentiousness. For it would not be care if you were to kindle a flame and heat the furnace to your own harm. Strive only to have a healthy body, and beyond that, do not be concerned, and do not kindle the lusts of the body, but direct all your diligence toward the spiritual.

Second, he explains how we should put on the armor of light, saying: but put on the Lord Jesus Christ in whom all the virtues were present most abundantly, according to Isaiah: seven women shall take hold of one man (Isa 4:1).

We put on Jesus Christ, first, by receiving the sacrament: all you who have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ (Gal 3:27).

Second, by imitation. Stripping yourselves of the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new (Col 3:9); and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth (Eph 4:24). For a person who imitates Christ is said to put on Christ, because, just as a man is covered by a garment and is seen under its color, so in one who imitates Christ the works of Christ appear. Therefore, we put on the armor of light, when we put on Christ.

Third, he explains what it is that we should walk honestly, as in the day, when he says: make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscences. For the beauty of becoming conduct lies in the fact that man does not prefer the flesh to the spirit but the spirit to the flesh: we are not debtors to the flesh that we should live according to the flesh (Rom 8:12).

It should be noted that he does not say make not provision for the flesh absolutely, because everyone is bound to take care of the body in order to sustain nature: no one hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it (Eph 5:29); but he adds, in its concupiscences, so that we do not follow the disorderly desires of the flesh: walk by the Spirit and do not gratify the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16).

As I mentioned in my prologue to the epistle, those who led the Romans to faith had mixed it up with the law because they were Jews, which is why some of them thought that they should not eat meat. But others, who followed Christ apart from the law, thought otherwise, that it was permissible to eat meat, and for this reason there were disputes among them. The apostle tried to solve these disputes by arguing that the person who abstained from eating gained no advantage in the sight of God, nor did the one who ate lose anything thereby. He says that the person who is afraid to eat because the Jews had forbidden it is weak. He wants this person to be left to his own judgment, so as not to be hurt and depart from that love which is a mother of souls.

As far as matters of indifference are concerned, Paul says that it does not matter whether we do them or not, but when it comes to loving our neighbor, they cease to be matters of indifference. Any regulation concerning food is a matter of indifference, because everything has been sanctified by the power of Christ. But not everyone is so strong in his faith that he is in no danger of being corrupted by these things. Whether we injure such a person or do not injure him is not to be regarded as a matter of indifference, but we are to take great care to ensure that no one loses his soul by eating something which he thinks it might be wrong to eat.

Paul says that we should receive the weak man in order that we might support his weakness by our strength. Neither should we criticize his opinions by daring to pass judgment on someone else's heart, which we do not see.

But what a thing it is, to assert and contend that they who are not born in the Church can be the sons of God! For the blessed apostle sets forth and proves that baptism is that wherein the old man dies and the new man is born, saying, "He saved us by the washing of regeneration." But if regeneration is in the washing, that is, in baptism, how can heresy, which is not the spouse of Christ, generate sons to God by Christ? For it is the Church alone which, conjoined and united with Christ, spiritually bears sons; as the same apostle again says, "Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify it, cleansing it with the washing of water." If, then, she is the beloved and spouse who alone is sanctified by Christ, and alone is cleansed by His washing, it is manifest that heresy, which is not the spouse of Christ, nor can be cleansed nor sanctified by His washing, cannot bear sons to God.

Who would be so inhumane as to lay aside any sympathy for the weak and trample on them, not even offering them the help they need in adversity? Paul makes this an absolute command and accompanies it with the teaching that the law and all the behavior it entailed has been abolished in Christ. Yet he was conscious that the ethnic heritage weighed more heavily on the Jew, who felt that he would be sinning against his brothers if he went against the law.

I Am aware that to most what is here said is a difficulty. And therefore I must first give the subject of the whole of this passage, and what he wishes to correct in writing this. What does he wish to correct then? There were many of the Jews which believed, who adhered of conscience to the Law, and after their believing, still kept to the observance of meats, as not having courage yet to quit the service of the Law entirely. Then that they might not be observed if they kept from swine's flesh only, they abstained in consequence from all flesh, and ate herbs only, that what they were doing might have more the appearance of a fast than of observance of the Law. Others again were farther advanced, and kept up no one thing of the kind, who became to those, who did keep them, distressing and offensive, by reproaching them, accusing them, driving them to despondency. Therefore the blessed Paul, out of fear lest, from a wish to be right about a trifle, they should overthrow the whole, and from a wish to bring them to indifferency about what they ate, should put them in a fair way for deserting the faith, and out of a zeal to put everything right at once, before the fit opportunity was come, should do mischief on vital points, so by this continual rebuking setting them adrift from their agreement in Christ, and so they should remain not righted in either respect: observe what great judgment he uses and how he concerns himself with both interests with his customary wisdom. For neither does he venture to say to those who rebuke, Ye are doing amiss, that he may not seem to be confirming the other in their observances; nor again, Ye are doing right, lest he should make them the more vehement accusers: but he makes his rebuke to square with each. And in appearance he is rebuking the stronger, but he pours forth all he has to say against the other in his address to these. For the kind of correction most likely to be less grating is, when a person addresses some one else, while he is striking a blow at a different person, since this does not permit the person rebuked to fly into a passion, and introduces the medicine of correction unperceived. See now with what judgment he does this, and how well-timed he is with it. For after saying, "make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof," then he proceeds to the discussion of these points, that he might not seem to be speaking in defence of those who were the rebukers, and were for eating of anything. For the weaker part ever requires more forethought. Wherefore he aims his blow against the strong, immediately saying as follows, "Him that is weak in the faith." You see one blow immediately given to him. For by calling him weak, he points out that he is not healthy. Then he adds next, "receive," and point out again that he requires much attention. And this is a sign of extreme debility. "Not to doubtful disputations." See, he has laid on a third stroke. For here he makes it appear that his error is of such a nature, that even those who do not transgress in the same manner, and who nevertheless admit him to their affection, and are earnestly bent upon curing him, are at doubt. You see how in appearance he is conversing with these, but is rebuking others secretly and without giving offence. Then by placing them beside each other, one he gives encomiums, the other accusations. For he goes on to say, "One believeth that he may eat all things," commending him on the score of his faith. "Another who is weak, eateth herbs," disparaging this one again, on the score of his weakness.

A man who is weak in his faith is to be accepted and not rejected. For it is one thing to be weak in faith but quite another to be an unbeliever altogether. An unbeliever has no faith at all, but one who is merely weak has doubts about certain aspects of the faith.

From here on Paul indirectly begins to upbraid those who thought they were strong and who therefore ate meat without restraint. Paul tells them not to judge others according to their opinions when the law does not judge them.

The weak were those who continued to observe the law.

Many of the Jews who had believed, even after their conversion, observed distinctions in foods, abstained from pork, and did not dare to depart entirely from the law. Then, lest they be exposed as abstaining from pork alone, they abstained from all meat in general and ate only vegetables. Others were more mature, observed nothing of the sort, and were reproached by those who did observe such things. Paul feared that the mature, by rebuking the immature untimely and improperly, might turn them away from the faith of Christ. Therefore he approaches the matter wisely, caring for the benefit of the other side as well. He did not venture to say to those who reproached: you do wrong — lest he confirm the immature in their observance of rituals. Nor did he venture to say to the rebukers: you do well — lest he make them more aggressive in their attacks. On the contrary, he offers an exhortation adapted to both sides. His rebuke is directed, it would seem, more against the stronger side, but in reality its full force falls upon the weaker. For immediately by the expression "the weak" he showed the sickness of such people. And when he says "receive," he indicates the need for great care toward them, which is itself a sign of their extreme weakness. "Without disputes over opinions." That is, do not condemn him for his weakness, do not take offense, do not be troubled by many thoughts, but by all means endeavor to heal him as one who is weak.

After showing how one ought to become perfect, the Apostle now shows how the perfect should act toward the imperfect. First, he shows that they ought not scandalize or judge them; second, that they ought to uphold them, at we that are stronger (Rom 15:1). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he forbids improper judgments; second, he forbids placing stumbling blocks before the weak, at but judge this rather (Rom 14:13). In regard to the first he does three things: first, he gives an admonition; second, he explains it, at for one believes; third, he assigns a reason, at for God has taken him to him.

In regard to the first it should be noted that in the early Church some of the Jews converted to Christ believed that the practices of the law must be observed along with the Gospel, as is clear from Acts (Acts 15:1). These the Apostle calls weak in the faith of Christ, as though not yet perfectly believing that faith in Christ is sufficient for salvation. He calls those perfect or strong in faith who believed that the faith of Christ was to be observed without the practices of the law. And there were some of both types among the believers in Rome.

Therefore, the Apostle addresses the perfect in faith, saying: We have said that you should put on the Lord Jesus Christ, take unto you, i.e., join to yourselves in a spirit of charity and support, the man who is weak in faith, to whom can be applied the words of Wisdom: I am a man who is weak and short-lived, with little understanding of judgment and laws (Wis 9:5); welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you (Rom 15:7); help a poor man for the commandment's sake (Sir 29:9). But not for disputes of opinions, i.e., not discussing the fact that one's opinion is contrary to another's. For those who observed the practices of the law considered as violators those who did not observe them; and those who did not observe them despised as errant and ignorant those who did observe them: their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them (Rom 2:15).

The faithful reader of Scripture will not doubt that everything which is given for human use is fit to be eaten, for it says in Genesis that everything which God created is good. Therefore nothing is to be rejected, for neither Enoch, who was the first to please God, nor Noah, who alone was found righteous at the time of the flood, nor Abraham, who was the friend of God, nor Isaac nor Jacob, both righteous men and friends of God, nor even Lot, nor any other righteous men are said to have abstained from these things.If someone thinks it right to be a vegetarian he is not to be persuaded to eat meat, because if he ignores his own principles and eats with reluctance he will appear to be sinning.

At that time many people who were strong in their faith and who knew the Lord's teaching, that it is what comes out of the mouth which defiles a man, not what goes into it, were eating whatever they liked with a clear conscience. But some weaker ones abstained from meat and wine, so as to avoid unknowingly eating foods which had been sacrificed to idols. At that time the Gentiles sold all sacrificed meat in the butcher shops, poured out the first fruits of the wine as a libation to their idols and even made some offerings in the wine presses.

"Now the weak eateth herbs," according to the noble apostle.

Given that the law of Moses says nothing about eating vegetables, it is clear that the apostle has a deeper meaning in view here. What he is really talking about is the food of the Word of God. The man who is weak in faith is one who cannot fully accept what the Word of God teaches. Compare what the apostle says elsewhere: "Solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil." … Thus the man who believes that he can eat anything is not stuffing himself with food … but is showing himself able to understand the secret things of the Spirit, which because of his faith he believes he can eat through grace.

Some people have a faith so strong that it is not disturbed. Some are worn out by abstinence, or else they are elderly. Others are weak because of their youth or the lusts of the flesh. Paul is not speaking here of the Jews, as some suppose, but of those who abstain, for the Jews do not eat meats even if they are clean according to the law, but only vegetables.Another possible interpretation is this: If you become fainthearted because you know another person who has decided to eat only vegetables and you hesitate to eat meat because of his faith, do not judge the other man's decision or ask him what has been left to individual discretion. But if you take offense and do not want to eat meat, set a limit for yourself and do the better thing—eat only vegetables—so that everyone may be stirred to abstinence by your agreeableness in this matter rather than be annoyed and offended and thereby merely strengthened in their resolve to go on eating meat. For you cannot condemn someone if he is acting in faith or does it because of his health or old age.

Those who would eat anything were obviously Gentiles. Some people say that converted Jews shamed these Gentiles not only into abstaining from meat which had been sacrificed to idols but from any kind of meat whatever.

He makes a comparison between the perfect and the imperfect and says that the perfect, being bold in faith, eats everything without distinction, while the imperfect, being weak, eats vegetables. Therefore the latter deserves healing, not defeat.

Then when he says, for one believes, he explains what he had said: first, he shows who are weak in faith; second, how disputes over opinions are to be avoided, at let him who eats.

In regard to the first it should be noted that among the observances of the law one dealt with distinguishing among foods, because some foods were forbidden in the law, as is clear from Leviticus 11:2 et seq.; and indeed every day it was necessary to apply this observance or not. Therefore, the Apostle mentions this in particular, saying: for one believes, namely, the one perfect in faith, that he may eat all things, since he does not consider himself bound to the observance of the law: not what goes into the mouth defiles a man (Matt 15:11); everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving (1 Tim 4:4).

It was not because they were naturally unclean that certain foods were forbidden in the old law. For just as in the case of words, the word 'fool' signifies something not good, although the word itself is good, so in the case of animals, some animal is good according to its nature but evil in what it signifies, as a pig which signifies uncleanness. Therefore, the ancients were forbidden to eat its flesh, for in avoiding it they signified avoidance of uncleanness. For the entire life of that earlier people was centered on figures. But with the coming of Christ, who is the truth, the figures ceased.

He adds in regard to the weak: but he who is weak, let him eat herbs. As if to say: he eats those foods which involve nothing unclean forbidden in the law. For among the classes of animals, say of land, sky, and water, some classes were permitted and some forbidden; but no herbs or trees were forbidden, as is clear in Leviticus (Lev 11). There can be two reasons for this: one is that the produce of the earth had been granted man to eat from the beginning: behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food (Gen 1:29). But the first permission to eat flesh seems to have been granted after the flood. Hence it says in Genesis: as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything (Gen 9:3), i.e., types of animals. The other reason is that in Paradise man had transgressed the first prohibition about abstaining from certain fruits of the earth, as is clear in Genesis 3; for this reason a similar prohibition was not repeated.

But since the practices of the law ceased during the passion of Christ, it seems out of place for the Apostle to permit those weak in faith to abstain from foods forbidden in the law, a practice no longer granted to Christians by the Church. But according to Augustine, three periods of time respecting the practices of the law must be distinguished. The first is the time before Christ, when the practices of the law were in full vigor and still alive. The second is the time after the passion of Christ but before the spreading of the Gospel, when the practices were dead, because no one was bound by them; and when they were practiced, no one benefited by them. Although dead, they were not death-dealing, because the Jews converted to Christ could practice them without sin. It is to this time that the Apostle refers here. The third is the time after the spreading of the Gospel, when the practices of the law were not only dead but death-dealing, so that whoever practiced them sinned mortally.

The Gloss explains this in another way, namely, that the weak person is the one prone to fall into sensual vices. Such a person should be advised to eat vegetables, i.e., mild and meager foods, which do not foment vices, and to abstain from foods which stimulate sensual desire. But a stronger person believes that he can eat anything without danger. This difference appears between Christ's disciples, who did not fast because they were strengthened by Christ's presence, and the disciples of John the Baptist, who fasted. Hence, too, those who perform penances abstain from certain foods, not because they are unclean, but in order to restrain sensual desire.

What we eat or do not eat is a matter of personal choice and therefore it should not become a matter for argument.

The apostle instructed those who ate such food with a clear conscience not to despise the weakness of those who abstained.… And he told the weak not to condemn as polluted those who consumed such meat and wine.… For the strong insisted on despising the weak, and the weak did not hesitate to condemn the strong.

Paul wanted to keep the balance, by which scandals are avoided, between those who fast on Saturday and those who do not, so that the one who eats would not despise the one who does not eat, and the one who fasts would not judge the one who eats.

Temperance referred not specially to drink, but to all pleasures; and it meant not abstaining, but going the right length and no further. It is a mistake to think that Christians ought all to be teetotallers; Mohammedanism, not Christianity, is the teetotal religion. Of course it may be the duty of a particular Christian, or of any Christian, at a particular time, to abstain from strong drink, either because he is the sort of man who cannot drink at all without drinking too much, or because he is with people who are inclined to drunkenness and must not encourage them by drinking himself. But the whole point is that he is abstaining, for a good reason, from something which he does not condemn and which he likes to see other people enjoying. One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting every one else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons — marriage, or meat, or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning.

We are not, then, to abstain wholly from various kinds of food, but only are not to be taken up about them. We are to partake of what is set before us, as becomes a Christian, out of respect to him who has invited us, by a harmless and moderate participation in the social meeting; regarding the sumptuousness of what is put on the table as a matter of indifference, despising the dainties, as after a little destined to perish. "Let him who eateth, not despise him who eateth not; and let him who eateth not, not judge him who eateth."

"Let not him that eateth, despise him that eateth not."

He does not say, let him alone, nor does he say, do not blame him, nor yet, do not set him right; but do not reproach him, do not "despise" him, to show they were doing a thing perfectly ridiculous. But of this he speaks in other words. "Let not him which eateth not, judge him that eateth." For as the more advanced made light of these, as of little faith, and falsely healed, and spurious, and still Judaizers, so they too judged these as law-breakers, or as given to gluttony. And of these it is likely that many were of the Gentiles too. Wherefore he proceeds, for God hath received him. But in the other's case he does not say this. And yet to be despised was the eater's share, as a glutton, but to be judged, his that did not eat, as of little faith. But he has made them change places, to show that he not only does not deserve to be despised, but that he can even despise. But do I condemn him? he means. By no means. For this is why he proceeds, "for God hath received him." Why then speakest thou to him of the law, as to a transgressor? "For God hath received him:" that is, has shown His unspeakable grace about him, and hath freed him from all charges against him; then again he turns to the strong.

Paul wants harmony to prevail in the church between those who are more mature and those who are less.

These people took offense at each other. Those who did not eat judged those who ate as carnal, and those who ate ridiculed those who did not eat as fools and considered them to be superstitious. But God called the one, just as he called the other.

And again, when the Apostle Paul is read, and he heareth from him, "Everything which was created by God is holy, and nothing is to be rejected if it be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer;" or another verse, "The belly for meats, and meats for the belly;" or that also which he spake, "Let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth." And in the other things like unto these which are written in the doctrine of Paul, the fool rejoiceth, and receiveth them gladly, without understanding the reason of the words.

And the glutton is not pleased to hear the other things which have been written by Paul upon fortitude and asceticism, either when he recounteth his numerous fastings, or when he crieth out to his disciples, saying, "Ye are dead unto the world," or when he writeth, "It is good for a man not to eat flesh, and not to drink wine," or his exhortation, "Through many tribulations it is meet for a man to enter into the kingdom of God," or his saying, "God shall bring both the belly and the food to nought;" and the reading of these and such like passages the glutton considereth unnecessary, and he is not pleased even to hear them.

And Saint Paul, standing upon the height of this freedom, said, "Let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth," neither let him that eateth because of his freedom despise him that eateth not because of the bondage of the law, because he whom the law leadeth is yet a servant, and hath not yet arrived at the perfect freedom of Christ. See then therefore, and think not that thou standest in the freedom of Christ whilst thou still servest in bondage, and dost eat everything without being permitted so to do.

Those who ate everything, being perfect, looked down on those who did not eat, as people of little faith still attached to Judaism. On the other hand, those who did not eat condemned those who ate everything as lacking self-control. Since among them many were from the Gentiles, he says: "God has accepted him," that is, He showed him His ineffable grace. Why then do you argue with him about the law, when Christ has justified him?

Then when he says, let him who eats, he explains how to avoid differences of opinion.

First, in regard to the perfect he says: let him who eats, namely, with a secure conscience or even without danger of sensual desire, despise not him who eats not from certain foods, as weak in faith or prone to sensual vices: woe to you, despiser, will you not be despised in turn? (Isa 33:1); he who rejects you rejects me (Luke 10:16).

Second, in regard to the weak, saying: and he who eats not from certain foods, either because he is weak in faith, about which the Apostle speaks, or because he is prone to sensual desire, let him not judge him who eats as though he were a transgressor of the law or as rushing headlong into sensual vices: judge not that you may not be judged (Matt 7:1); you have no excuse, O man, when you judge another (Rom 2:1).

Then when he says, for God has taken him to him, he assigns three reasons why we should abstain from false judgment. The second is given at his master; the third at you who judge. The first reason is based on the authority of the one judging, hence: first, he shows that this authority belongs to God; second, he concludes that judgment does not belong to men, at who are you.

First, therefore, he says: I have been correct in saying that one who eats should not judge him who does not, for God has taken him to him, namely, as a servant to be judged by him: I took two rods, i.e., two peoples (Zech 11:7); he drew me out of many waters (Ps 18:16). But the one who is drawn to the judgment of a superior should not be judged by an inferior.

The servant is not guilty whether he eats or not, as long as he does what he does in a spirit of devotion.

Paul says this so that, when something might be done with either good or bad motives, we should leave the judgment to God and not presume to judge the heart of someone else, which we do not see. But when it comes to things which obviously could not have been done with good and innocent intentions, it is not wrong if we pass judgment. So in the matter of food, where it is not known what the motive in eating it is, Paul does not want us to be judges, but God. But in the case of that abominable immorality where a man had taken his stepmother, Paul taught us to judge. For that man could not possibly claim that he committed such a gross act of indecency with good intentions. So we must pass judgment on things which are obviously wrong.

These men were of a mind to pass judgment with regard to things which may indeed be done with a bad intention but which may also be done with an upright, simple and magnanimous motive. Although they were men, they wanted to judge the secrets of the heart—secrets of which God alone is the judge.

What pleased me most about a Greek Orthodox mass I once attended was that there seemed to be no prescribed behaviour for the congregation. Some stood, some knelt, some sat, some walked; one crawled about the floor like a caterpillar. And the beauty of it was that nobody took the slightest notice of what anyone else was doing. I wish we Anglicans would follow their example. One meets people who are perturbed because someone in the next pew does, or does not, cross himself. They oughtn't even to have seen, let alone censured. "Who art thou that judgest Another's servant?"

Moreover, we do not prejudge when the Lord is to be the judge; save that if He shall find the repentance of the sinners full and sound, He will then ratify what shall have been here determined by us. If, however, any one should delude us with the pretence of repentance, God, who is not mocked, and who looks into man's heart, will judge of those things which we have imperfectly looked into, and the Lord will amend the sentence of His servants; while yet, dearest brother, we ought to remember that it is written, "A brother that helpeth a brother shall be exalted; " and that the apostle also has said, "Let all of you severally have regard to yourselves, lest ye also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ; " also that, rebuking the haughty, and breaking down their arrogance, he says in his epistle, "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall; " and in another place he says, "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth; yea, he shall stand, for God is able to make him stand." John also proves that Jesus Christ the Lord is our Advocate and Intercessor for our sins, saying, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Supporter: and He is the propitiation for our sins." And Paul also, the apostle, in his epistle, has written, "If, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us; much more, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

That we must not rashly judge of another. In the Gospel according to Luke: "Judge not, that ye be not judged: condemn not, that ye be not condemned." Of this same subject to the Romans: "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. But he shall stand; for God is able to make him stand." And again: "Wherefore thou art without excuse, O every man that judgest: for in that in which thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou doest the same things which thou judgest. But dost thou hope, who judgest those who do evil, and doest the same, that thou thyself shalt escape the judgment of God" Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians.: "And let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." And again: "If any man thinketh that he knoweth anything, he knoweth not yet in what manner he ought to know."

A servant of Christ is anyone whom Christ has accepted. He is then no longer under the law. Who are you, therefore, to judge someone by the law when he is a stranger to it?

The impostor Callistus, having ventured on such opinions, established a school of theology in antagonism to the Church, adopting the foregoing system of instruction. And he first invented the device of conniving with men in regard of their indulgence in sensual pleasures, saying that all had their sins forgiven by himself. For he who is in the habit of attending the congregation of any one else, and is called a Christian, should he commit any transgression; the sin, they say, is not reckoned unto him, provided only he hurries off and attaches himself to the school of Callistus. And many persons were gratified with his regulation, as being stricken in conscience, and at the same time having been rejected by numerous sects; while also some of them, in accordance with our condemnatory sentence, had been by us forcibly ejected from the Church. Now such disciples as these passed over to these followers of Callistus, and served to crowd his school. This one propounded the opinion, that, if a bishop was guilty of any sin, if even a sin unto death, he ought not to be deposed. About the time of this man, bishops, priests, and deacons, who had been twice married, and thrice married, began to be allowed to retain their place among the clergy. If also, however, any one who is in holy orders should become married, Callistus permitted such a one to continue in holy orders as if he had not sinned. And in justification, he alleges that what has been spoken by the Apostle has been declared in reference to this person: "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? " But he asserted that likewise the parable of the tares is uttered in reference to this one: "Let the tares grow along with the wheat; " or, in other words, let those who in the Church are guilty of sin remain in it. But also he affirmed that the ark of Noe was made for a symbol of the Church, in which were both dogs, and wolves, and ravens, and all things clean and unclean; and so he alleges that the case should stand in like manner with the Church. And as many parts of Scripture bearing on this view of the subject as he could collect, be so interpreted.

"Who art thou that judgest another man's servant?"

Whence it appears that they too judged, and did not despise only. "To his own Master he standeth or falleth." See here is another stroke. And the indignation seems to be against the strong man, and he attacks him. When he says, "Yea, he shall be holden up," he shows that he is still wavering, and requireth so much attention as to call in God as a physician for this, "for God," he says, "is able to make him stand." And this we say of things we are quite in despair about. Then, that he may not despair he both gives him the name of a servant when he says, "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant?" And here again he secretly attacks him. For it is not because he does things worthy to exempt him from being judged, that I bid you not judge him, but because he is Another's servant, that is, not thine, but God's. Then to solace him again he does not say, "falleth," but what? "standeth or falleth." But whether it be the latter or the former, either of these is the Master's concernment, since the loss also goes to Him, if he does fall, as the riches too, if he stand. And this again if we do not attend to Paul's aim in not wishing them to be rebuked before a fitting opportunity, is very unworthy of the mutual care becoming for Christians. But (as I am always saying) we must examine the mind with which it is spoken, and the subject on which it is said and the object he would compass when he says it. But he makes them respectful by no slight motive, when he says this: for what he means is, if God, Who undergoeth the loss, hitherto doth nothing, how can you be else than ill-timed and out of all measure exact, when you seize on him and annoy him?

What authority do you have to judge someone whom the law does not judge? This is why James says: "He who judges his brother judges the Law"; in other words, he judges himself to be wiser than the law. Nevertheless, Paul himself judged those who broke the commandments and gave others the power to judge. A man either lives or dies according to his own master.

For `to his own lord a man standeth or falleth; who art thou, to judge another's servant? ' `Remit, and remission shall be made to thee.

He says this to the perfect one, dissuading him both from contempt and from judgment, for the perfect ones, doing both, both despised and judged the imperfect. However, in a hidden manner the rebuke falls here also upon the imperfect. I do not forbid you to judge, he says, because the conduct of the other does not deserve judgment, but because he is another's servant, that is, not yours, but God's. For although he is weak, he has not ceased to be a servant; wherefore one must not despair concerning him. And encouraging the weak one, he did not say "falls," but "stands or falls." Whether one or the other happens to him, it belongs to the Lord to judge both concerning the loss of the one who falls and the gain of the one who stands. By the words "he will be raised up" he shows that he is so shaken and has fallen so far that only God can raise him up. We say this about people who are utterly hopeless.

Therefore, he concludes, who are you, i.e., of what authority and power are you, who judges another man's servant? That is, your neighbor, who is a servant of God? For a judge must have authority, as it says in Exodus: who made you a prince and a judge over us? (Exod 2:14). Man, who made me a judge or divider over you? (Luke 12:14).

But from this reasoning it seems to follow that a man's judgment about another man is illicit. The answer is that a man's judgment is licit, as long as he acts with divinely granted authority. Hence, it says in Deuteronomy: hear them and judge what is righteous (Deut 1:16), and later he adds, judgment is God's, i.e., passed with God's authority. But if someone desires to usurp judgment over matters not divinely granted him to judge, the judgment is rash, just as if a judge delegated by the Pope wished to go beyond the limits of his mandate. But God has reserved to himself the judging of hidden things, which are mainly the thoughts of the heart and the future. Therefore, if anyone presumed to judge about these matters, the judgment would be rash. Hence Augustine says in The Lord's Sermon on the Mount: a judgment is rash in these two cases, since there is uncertainty about the intention with which something was done, or uncertainty about the future of one who now seems to be good or evil.

Then when he says: to his own lord he stands or falls, he presents the second reason, which is taken from the end of merit or demerit. For one could say that although a man has no authority to judge, he should involve himself in the judgment of another on account of the harm or benefit that comes from it. But the Apostle says here that this pertains to God rather than to man. And so even for this reason we should leave to God judgments about our neighbor, unless we are acting in his stead in judging by authority committed to us. In regard to this he does three things: first, he states his proposition; second, he gives an example, at for one judges between day and day; third, he proves the proposition, at he that regards the day.

In regard to the first he does two things: first, he proposes that whatever happens to man pertains to God when he says: to his own lord he stands, i.e., by doing right: our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem (Ps 122:2), or falls, i.e., by sinning: fallen, no more to rise is the virgin Israel (Amos 5:1). He presents it as a disjunctive, stands or falls, on account of the uncertainty, for many seem to fall who stand, and vice versa, as it says in Ecclesiastes: then I saw the wicked buried; they used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city, where they had done such things (Eccl 8:10). But the Apostle is speaking here in terms of a likeness to a human servant, to whose master pertains everything done in regard to him. Nor should we suppose that God is harmed or benefited, if a man stands or falls. For it says in Job: if you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? If you are righteous, what do you give him? (Job 35:6). But in relation to men acts of justice look to God's glory: that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven (Matt 5:16). The fact that we fall by sinning is for men the occasion for blaspheming God: the name of God is blasphemed among the gentiles (Rom 2:24). Or the words to his own lord he stands or falls should be explained as regarding the judgment of his master: the one who judges me is the Lord (1 Cor 4:4).

Second, he shows that it pertains to God to judge a man, saying, and he will be upheld. As if to say: even though someone now falls by sinning, it is possible that he will stand again. And this will certainly happen, if he has been predestined: will he not rise again from where he lies? (Ps 41:8); rejoice not over me, O my enemy, when I fall, I shall rise (Mic 7:8). For this reason if we see someone obviously sinning, we should not despise him and rashly judge that he will never rise again; rather, we should presume that he will stand again, not considering the human condition but God's power. Hence, when he says: for God is able to make him stand, we should presume that he will make him stand again on account of his goodness: the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet (Ezek 3:24), just as Paul said earlier: and even the others, if they do not persist in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again (Rom 11:23).