On Baptism 2.9.0–2.13.2

Question 9. Whether one should have fellowship with those who transgress the law, or with the unfruitful works of darkness, even if such persons are not among those entrusted to me.

Everyone who has not kept the law whole, or who has transgressed even one commandment, is a transgressor of the law. For when even something small is lacking, the whole is endangered: what has almost happened has not happened. Just as one who almost died did not die but lives, and one who almost lived does not live but died, and one who almost entered did not enter, like the five virgins, so one who almost kept the law did not keep it, but is a transgressor. Therefore, in the case of transgressors, even if they seem to be true brothers, one must obey the Apostle, who said at one time, “If anyone who is called a brother is sexually immoral, or greedy, or a drunkard, or a reviler, or a swindler, do not even eat with such a one.” Here one must note that he excluded even from ordinary table fellowship not only the one who is all these things, but also the one who is any one of them, since he did not say “with this one,” but “with such a one.” At another time he said, “Put to death your members that are on the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry, on account of which the wrath of God comes” (for he added it more generally) “upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them”; and again, “that you keep away from every brother who walks in disorder and not according to the tradition that they received from us”; and likewise elsewhere.

As for not having fellowship with the unfruitful works, so that we may know clearly what this is, let us first learn to what kinds of things the name “unfruitful” is applied: whether only to things condemned, or also to things that are praiseworthy but not done from a sound disposition. In the Old Testament the prophet, in the parable of the tree, said of the saints, “which will yield its fruit in its season”; Solomon says, “The works of the righteous produce life, but the fruits of the ungodly are sins”; Hosea says, “Sow for yourselves for righteousness; gather the fruit of life”; and Micah, “And the land shall become a desolation, with those who dwell in it, because of the fruits of their doings”; and other prophets say many other things. But let these shine like a lamp; the true light, the sun of righteousness, our Lord Jesus Christ himself, sets it out more plainly, saying, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit”; and likewise elsewhere. Since, then, the name “fruits” is applied alike to things contrary to one another, let us next learn which trees are unfruitful, and what works the Apostle calls unfruitful. The unfruitful trees are shown to us by John the Baptist, who said to those who had been counted worthy of baptism for the forgiveness of sins and had been cleansed from all filth, “Bear fruit, then, worthy of repentance”; and a little later added, “Every tree, then, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” The Lord teaches more clearly, saying to those standing on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” and showing their good fruits in what follows; but sending those on the left into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. These he charges, not with doing sin, but with idleness in good fruits: “For I was hungry,” he says, “and you gave me no food,” and what follows. This idleness made them belong to the portion of the sinners, who are called angels of the devil by the Lord.

The difference, then, between those who bear contrary fruits and the unfruitful having been made plain, let us next see what in particular the Apostle calls unfruitful works. When I consider it, I find no one between the one who does the commandment lawfully and in a way pleasing to God, the one who does evil, and the one who does neither, except those who do good, but not in a way pleasing to God, failing in some one of the respects set out earlier in the question whether the work of a commandment is acceptable if it is not done according to the commandment; of these the Lord says that they have their reward. Such were the five foolish virgins. The Lord himself testifies of them that they were virgins, that they trimmed their lamps, and that they lit them, that is, they worked like the wise; they went out to meet the Lord, and in every respect showed zeal like the wise; but through the lack of oil in their flasks alone they missed their goal and were shut out from the entrance to the bridal chamber. So too with the ones who were left, of the two who were at the mill and the two on the same bed. In their case the Lord perhaps kept silent about the cause, so as to show that in every matter even a small lack of what is fitting, and above all of sincere love, as the Apostle taught, is not pleasing. Knowing, then, how works come to be unfruitful, let us take care that our lawful contest for pleasing God falls short in nothing, but that in everything we commend ourselves as servants of God. And not only that, but let us also not have fellowship with such people, as Paul, who speaks in Christ, declared decisively, saying, “Do not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of this darkness.” And by adding, “but instead even expose them,” he taught for the present the manner of not having fellowship.

Let us learn what it is to have fellowship, and in how many ways it happens. I recall in Proverbs, “Come with us, share in blood”; in the Apostle, “you are all partakers with me of grace,” and, “having shared in my affliction,” and, “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches”; and, “If you saw a thief, you ran along with him, and you put your portion with adulterers”; and, “You shall surely reprove your brother, and you shall not incur sin because of him”; and, “These things you have done, and I kept silent; you supposed, in lawlessness, that I would be like you; I will reprove you and set your sins before your face”; and such passages. From them I take it that fellowship in deed is when people help one another toward the same goal in action; and fellowship in intention is when someone consents to the disposition of the doer and is pleased with it. But another fellowship, which escapes most people, is shown by the exactness of the divinely inspired Scripture: when a person neither works with the other nor consents to his disposition, but, knowing the wickedness of the intention from which he acts, keeps quiet and does not reprove him. So the passages written above show, and so does what the Apostle said to the Corinthians: “You did not mourn, so that the one who did this deed might be removed from your midst”; to which he added, “A little leaven corrupts the whole lump.” … saying, “Cleanse out the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump.” But one who works at something good with another, with a good intention, not knowing the wickedness of the other’s disposition and aim, will not be charged with fellowship for working with him; rather, by keeping apart from the other’s disposition and guarding himself within the rule of love for God, he receives his own reward according to his own labor, as our Lord Jesus Christ himself made plain to us in the man on the bed and the woman at the mill. The difference between those entrusted to me and those not lies in the obligation of care, not in fellowship in sins. Care is owed by me in a special way to those entrusted to me alone; but fellowship with evil and with unfruitful works is forbidden with regard to all alike.

Question 10. Whether causing others to stumble is always dangerous.

I think it necessary first to know what a stumbling block is; then also the difference among those who cause stumbling, and the means by which they do it; and so to recognize what is without danger and what is dangerous. A stumbling block, then, as I reckon, guided by what is written, is everything that leads to some apostasy from the truth according to godliness, or produces an invitation to error, or builds up toward ungodliness; or, in general, everything that hinders obedience to God’s commandment even unto death itself. If what is said or done is good in its own nature, but the sickness of the one who makes use of the deed or the word causes him harm in using it, then the one who said or did the good thing for the building up of the faith is clear of the judgment on those who are caused to stumble. So it was with the Lord. He said, “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a person,” and he added, to those who were offended, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.” He said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,” and a little later, “No one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father”; and some used these words for their own destruction, as it is written: “And many of the disciples, hearing this word, went back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” For the very words that those who are sound in faith used for the building up of faith and the gaining of eternal salvation, those weak in knowledge or in faith, through their own wickedness, used as an occasion of destruction; as is written of the Lord, “This one is set for the fall and the rising of many”: not because of any contradiction of his with himself, but because of the opposed minds of those who make use of him; as the Apostle too says, “To some a fragrance from life to life, to others a fragrance from death to death.”

But if what is done or said is evil in its own nature, the one who did it or said it bears the judgment both of his own sin and of the stumbling block, even if the one before whom the stumbling block is laid is not caused to stumble. So we learn from the case of Peter, to whom the Lord said, when Peter was hindering him from fulfilling the dispensation of obedience unto death, “Get behind me, Satan; you are a stumbling block to me.” And the brief reason added taught the general marks of a stumbling block: “For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men”; so that we may know that every mind contrary to the mind of God is a stumbling block, and, when it goes forth into action, bears the judgment of a murderer, according to what is written in Hosea the prophet: “The priests hid the way; they murdered Shechem, because they committed lawlessness among the people.” And if it is something permitted in its own nature, but is taken in a harmful way and becomes an occasion of stumbling to those weak in faith or knowledge, the one who did it does not escape the judgment of the stumbling block. For the Apostle says of such people, who do not spare the weak, “Thus, sinning against the brothers and wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.” So, when either what is done, being evil in its own nature, becomes a cause of stumbling, or something permitted …, his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.” We have set this out more fully in the first questions, where the ways in which people are caused to stumble were also examined more clearly. Therefore the Apostle says about permitted things, “It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is weakened”; and though he says elsewhere, “Every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,” still he says, “I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause my brother to stumble.” If such is the judgment about permitted things, what would one say about forbidden things? Therefore he teaches us more generally, saying, “Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please everyone in everything, not seeking my own advantage, but that of the many, that they may be saved.”

Question 11. Whether it is right, or without danger, to decline anything commanded by God, or to hinder one who has been ordered to do it, or to put up with those who hinder; especially if the one who hinders is a true friend, or a plausible reasoning stands against the command.

Since the Lord says, “Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,” it is plain that we are taught all things more securely by remembering our Lord Jesus Christ himself, the only-begotten Son of the living God. When John the Baptist said to him, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”, he answered, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” And with the disciples: when Peter prayed that the trials which the Lord himself had foretold would come upon him in Jerusalem might be averted, the Lord said with some indignation, “Get behind me, Satan; you are a stumbling block to me; for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.” And again, when the same Peter declined the service out of a disposition of honor toward the Master, the Lord again said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” And if the soul needs more help from the examples of those of our own nature, let us recall the Apostle, who said, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Who could seem more glorious than John, or more devoted than Peter, or what reasonings could seem more reverent than those that occurred to them? And I know that neither holy Moses nor Jonah the prophet, when they used reasonings to set aside obedience, remained blameless before God. By these examples we are taught neither to speak against a command, nor to hinder it, nor to put up with those who hinder it. If the word taught us once for all not to put up with these and such things, how much more is it necessary in all the rest to imitate the saints, who said at one time, “We must obey God rather than men,” and at another, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge. For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

Question 12. Whether everyone is under obligation to care for all people in all things, or only for those entrusted to him; and for these according to the gift allotted to him by God through the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, through whom all things were made, visible and invisible, confessed, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”; he said to his own disciples, “As the Father sent me, I also have sent you”; and he commanded them not to go into the way of the Gentiles and not to enter a city of the Samaritans. Only after the prophecy of David had been fulfilled in him, spoken as in the person of God the Father, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession,” did he command his disciples, “Go, make disciples of all the nations.” How much more, then, must each of us keep more exactly the instruction of the Apostle, who wrote, “not to think more highly than one ought to think, but to think so as to be sober-minded, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned,” and to wait for when and what is commanded; as he says again, “Each, brothers, in the state in which he was called, in that let him remain.” And the same Apostle, keeping more exactly what he commands others, says, “They gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcision.”

But if ever there is a need, when love for God or love for neighbor calls one to make up what is lacking, the one who obeys has the reward of voluntary obedience. Love for God and for his Christ calls when it is a matter of fulfilling the commandment of the Lord, who said, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Love for neighbor calls when the one entrusted with oversight needs help, or the company of those in his care needs someone to make up what is lacking; for the Apostle says, “Let no one seek his own, but each that of the other”; for love according to Christ does not seek its own; and elsewhere, “Build up one another, as you are doing.” So if someone has been sent for some purpose and has not fulfilled the preaching in deed and word, he is guilty of the blood of those who did not hear, and has no right to say the same as the Apostle, who solemnly testified to the elders of Ephesus, “I am clean, from now on, of the blood of all of you. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” But if he can do something more than what was commanded, for the building up of the faith in the love of Christ, he has a reward, which the Apostle showed us, saying, “For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if unwillingly, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.”

Question 13. Whether one must endure every trial, even if it carries the threat of death, in order to keep obedience to God, and especially in the care of those entrusted to one.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the living God, through whom all things were made, visible and invisible, who has life just as the Father who gave it to him has it, who received all authority from the Father, went to meet those who came to arrest him for the death on behalf of our righteousness and eternal life with such readiness, saying, “Behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go; behold, the one who betrays me is at hand”; and, as is written in the Gospel according to John, “Jesus, then, knowing all that was coming upon him, went out and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ They answered him, ‘Jesus the Nazarene.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am he’”; and a little later, “I told you that I am he; so if you seek me, let these go.” If he did this, how much more ought we willingly to endure what belongs to our nature? So, conquering through obedience to God the trials brought on us by our enemies, we may glorify God, because we receive with joy, even to death, the painful things that seem to be brought on us by our enemies, having made our own the mind of the one who says, “To you it has been granted for the sake of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake.” The Acts proclaim the struggles of the apostles, recounting that they received insults and deaths with joy for the sake of fulfilling the preaching according to the commandment of the Lord.

The Apostle too teaches us, saying, “Who shall separate us from the love of God? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.’ But in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor authorities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” Love in Christ necessarily, and without omission, includes the keeping of the commandments, as the Lord himself said, “Whoever loves me will keep my commandments; but whoever does not keep my words does not love me”; and, “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.” His new and particular commandment is to love one another; fulfilling it, the Apostle says, “So, longing for you, we were pleased to share with you not only the Gospel of Christ but also our own lives, because you had become beloved to us.” Looking, then, to Christ, let us intensify our zeal by a glorious imitation; and contemplating the saints, let us learn what is possible; so that, made more eager by these, and having kept every commandment of the Lord spotless and blameless until death, we may enter into eternal life and inherit the kingdom of heaven, as our Lord and God Jesus Christ, who does not lie, the only-begotten Son of the living God, has promised.