Quotes From the Early Christians
Origen:
“He who has not denied himself, but denied Christ, will experience the saying ‘I also will deny him.’”
Origen:
“The soul that . . . is neither holy nor blameless because of wickedness . . . is not part of the church that Christ builds upon the rock. But if anyone wishes to embarrass us in regard to these things because of the great majority of those of the church who are thought to believe, it must be said to him that ‘many are called, but few chosen.’ . . . ‘Many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in and will not be able.’ You will understand that this refers to those who boast that they are of the church, but who live weakly and contrary to the Word.”
Origen:
“The apostolic teaching is that the soul, . . . after its departure from the world, will be recompensed according to its deserts. It is destined to obtain either an inheritance of eternal life and blessedness (if its actions will have procured this for it) or to be delivered up to eternal fire and punishments – if the guilt of its crimes will have brought it down to this.”
Origen:
“The Son of God, . . . taking the form of a servant, was made obedient unto death so that He might teach obedience to those who could not obtain salvation other than by obedience.”
Origen:
“It is those who not only believe, but also enter upon the life that Jesus taught. This life elevates everyone who lives according to the commandments of Jesus. It elevates them to friendship with God and communion with Him.”
Origen:
“We do not teach concerning the unrighteous man that it is sufficient for him to humble himself on account of his wickedness. Rather, God will accept him only if – after passing condemnation upon himself for his past conduct – he walks humbly on account of it and in a righteous manner for his remaining days.”
Origen:
“It is our responsibility to live virtuously. God asks this of us as being our own doing – not as being dependent on Him, nor on any other, nor on Fate (as some think). The prophet Micah proves this when he says: ‘If it has been announced to you, O man, what is good, or what does the Lord require of you, except to do justice and to love mercy?’ [Mic. 6:8] Moses too, said: ‘I have placed before your face the way of life and the way of death. Choose what is good and walk in it’ [Deut. 30:19].”
Origen:
“The result of all the preceding remarks is to show that all the occurrences in the world . . . are not indeed brought about by God. Yet, neither do they happen without Him. For He not only does not prevent those wicked and opposing powers who are desirous to bring these things about, but He even permits them to do so. . . . Therefore, Holy Scripture teaches us to receive all that happens as though sent by God, knowing that without Him no event occurs.”
Papias:
“If, then, anyone who had attended on the elders came, I asked minutely after their sayings, what Andrew or Peter said, or what was said by Philip, or by Thomas, or by James, or by John, or by Matthew, or by any other of the Lord’s disciples: which things Aristion and the presbyter John, the disciples of the Lord, say. For I imagined that what was to be got from books was not so profitable to me as what came from the living and abiding voice.”
Polycarp:
“Into this joy, many persons desire to enter. They know that ‘by grace you are saved, not of works,’ but by the will of God through Jesus Christ. . . . But He who raised him up from the dead will raise up us also – if we do His will, and walk in His commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness.”
Tertullian:
“No one is a Christian but he who perseveres even to the end.”
Tertullian:
“The world returned to sin . . . and so it is destined to fire. So is the man who after baptism renews his sins.”
Tertullian:
“Some think that God is under a necessity of bestowing even on the unworthy what He has promised [to give]. So they turn His liberality into His slavery… For do not many afterwards fall out of [grace]? Is not this gift taken away from many? These, no doubt, are they who… after approaching to the faith of repentance, build on the sands a house doomed to ruin.”
Tertullian:
“God had foreseen… that faith – even after baptism – would be endangered. He saw that most persons – after obtaining salvation – would be lost again, by soiling the wedding dress, by failing to provide oil for their torches.”
Tertullian:
“The more often we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow. The blood of Christians is seed…”
Tertullian:
“By the confession of all past sins, they may express the meaning even of the baptism of John. For the Scripture says: ‘They were baptized, confessing their own sins.’ To us, it is a matter for thankfulness if we now do publicly confess our iniquities or our depravities. For, by mortification of our flesh and spirit, we make satisfaction for our former sins. At the same time, we lay in advance the foundation of defenses against the temptations that will closely follow.”
Tertullian:
“All these commandments had been given carnally, in previous times, to the people of Israel. So it follows that afterwards there was to supervene a time when the commandments of the ancient Law and of the old ceremonies would cease. There would come the promise of the new law, and the recognition of spiritual sacrifices, and the promise of the New Covenant.”
Tertullian:
“Repentance is the price for which the Lord has determined to award pardon. . . . Sellers first examine the coin with which they make their bargains to see if it is cut, scraped, or counterfeit. Likewise, we believe that the Lord, when about to grant us such costly merchandise – eternal life – first tests our repentance.”
Tertullian:
“We ought indeed to walk so holily, and with so entire substantiality of faith, as to be confident and secure in regard of our own conscience, desiring that it may abide in us to the end. Yet, we should not presume [that it will]. For he who presumes, feels less apprehension. He who feels less apprehension, takes less precaution. He who takes less precaution, runs more risk. Fear is the foundation of salvation. Presumption is an impediment to fear. . . . More useful, then, is it to apprehend that we may possibly fail, than to presume that we cannot. For apprehending will lead us to fear, fear to caution, and caution to salvation. On the other hand, if we presume, there will be neither fear nor caution to save us.”
Tertullian:
“Where diversity of doctrine is found, there, then, must be corruption both of the Scriptures and the explanations of them. . . . One man perverts the Scriptures with his hand, another their meaning by his exposition. For although Valentinus seems to use the entire volume [of Scripture], he has nonetheless laid violent hands on the truth only with a more cunning mind and skill than Marcion. Marcion expressly and openly used the knife, not the pen, since he made such an excision of the Scriptures as suited his own subject-matter. Valentinus, however, abstained from such excision, because he did not invent Scriptures to square with his own subject-matter, but adapted his matter to the Scriptures; and yet he took away more, and added more, by removing the proper meaning of every particular word, and adding fantastic arrangements of things which have no real existence.”