Browse statements from Christian writers and witnesses closest to the apostolic era. The collection is ordered by attribution and divided into manageable pages.
Irenaeus:
“The Lord will say, ‘Depart from me, you cursed ones, into everlasting fire.’ These persons will be condemned forever. However, to others He will say, ‘Come, you blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom…
Irenaeus:
“Because man is possessed of free will from the beginning, and God is possessed of free will (in whose likeness man was created), advice is always given to him to hold fast to the…
Irenaeus:
““[The Marcionites, a Gnostic group] say, ‘But God hardened the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants.’ Now those who allege such difficulties do not read in the Gospel the passage where the Lord…
Irenaeus:
“When, however, they [the Gnostics] are confuted from the Scriptures, they turn around and accuse these same Scriptures as if they were not correct. . . . But, again, when we refer them to…
Justin Martyr:
“And let those who are not found living as He taught, be understood to be no Christians, even though they profess with the lip the precepts of Christ; for not those who make profession,…
Justin Martyr:
“I hold further, that those of you who have confessed and known this man to be Christ, yet who have gone back for some reason to the legal dispensation [i.e., the Mosaic Law], and…
Justin Martyr:
“We who used to value the acquisition of wealth and possessions more than anything else now bring what we have into a common fund and share it with anyone who needs it. We used…
Justin Martyr:
[Addressed to Jews:] “If they repent, all who wish for it can obtain mercy from God. The Scripture foretells that they shall be blessed, saying, ‘Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does…
Justin Martyr:
“We are no longer purified by the blood of sheep and goats, by the ashes of a heifer, or by the offerings of fine flour. Rather, we are purified by faith through the blood…
Justin Martyr:
“‘Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin’ [Ps. 32:2]. That is, having repented of his sins, he can receive remission of them from God. But this is not as…
Justin Martyr:
“Righteousness is not placed in Jewish rites, but in the conversion of the heart given in baptism by Christ. By reason, therefore, of this laver of repentance and knowledge of God, which has been…
Justin Martyr:
“We have learned from the prophets, and we hold it to be true, that punishments, chastisements, and good rewards, are rendered according to the merit of each man’s actions. Now, if this is not…
Justin Martyr:
“I have proved in what has been said that those who were foreknown to be unrighteous, whether men or angels, are not made wicked by God’s fault. Rather, each man is what he will…
Justin Martyr:
“If the Word of God foretells that some angels and men will be certainly punished, it did so because it foreknew that they would be unchangeable [i.e., would remain wicked]. However, this is not…
Lactantius:
“He sent his Son as an ambassador to men, so He could turn them from their unholy and vain worship to the knowledge and worship of the true God. He also sent Him so…
Lactantius:
“He Himself is virtue and He Himself is righteousness. Accordingly, He descended so that He could teach these things and mold the character of man.”
Lactantius:
“God especially desires for men to be cleansed from their sins. Therefore, he commands them to repent. Yet, to repent is nothing else than to profess and to affirm that one will sin no…
Lactantius:
“Let no one be disheartened. Let no one despair concerning himself if he has turned aside to the way of unrighteousness because he was overcome by passion, impelled by desire, deceived by error, or…
Lactantius:
“By walking in the way of righteousness and following his Teacher, man can attain to eternal life.”
Lactantius:
“A son . . . who deserts his father in order not to pay him obedience is considered deserving of being disinherited and of having his name removed forever from his family. How much…
Lactantius:
“We believe that our children have been corrected when we see that they repent of their errors. And though we may have disinherited them and cast them off, we again receive, cherish, and embrace…
Lactantius:
“Let no one imagine that souls are immediately judged after death. For all are detained in one and a common place of confinement – until the arrival of the time in which the great…
Methodius:
“Man was made with a free will . . . on account of his capacity of obeying or disobeying God. For this was the meaning of the gift of free will.”
Methodius:
“Man received power and enslaved himself – not because he was overpowered by the irresistible tendencies of his nature. . . . For if he had been made as any of the elements of…