The Deception of the Presumptuous

He found for himself a name capable of stunning the simpletons, using the power of God. His disciple Gemellus, having preached a renunciation, caused an apostasy.

Perhaps you, following your teachers, promise these things in word while being sufficient in works; for you say, 'I love God, I love my neighbor, and I am self-controlled.' First, if you had desired to be self-controlled, you would have done as you wished; for by this you would have benefited both yourself and your neighbor; for we find in the Scriptures that the righteous were granted to sinners, and the sinners were simultaneously condemned as righteous. There is much to be said about these things, but let us grasp what is at hand.

Whom do you call neighbor? The one you love? Certainly, according to the word of the Lord, every man is your neighbor; for this the Gospel declares. If then you loved your neighbor, you would not have escaped the church by abandoning everyone at once, imitating the Pharisee and suffering from his blindness, condemning everyone with your own word and regarding only yourself as righteous.

For he, having ascended into the temple, prayed thus: 'I thank you, God, that I am not like the rest of men, robbers, unjust, adulterers, or like this tax collector; I fast twice a week, I tithe all that I possess' (Luke 18:11-12). He did not lie about these things, but even if it seemed to him to speak truths, he is condemned; not because he believed or tithed what was his, but because he condemned all humanity with his own word.

But the tax collector, the sinner, beating his breast, the fountain of thoughts, not counting the entitlements of the belly like the Pharisee, nor even daring to lift his eyes to heaven, said: 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner' (Luke 18:13). To this the Lord said: 'Amen I say to you, that the tax collector descended justified rather than that Pharisee' (Luke 18:14). And so that no one might think these things were said to him regarding the two persons, he added, saying: 'For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted' (Luke 14:11).

Do you see how the confession of sins justified the tax collector, and how the counting of entitlements condemned the Pharisee? Moreover, if anyone examines strictly, even that Pharisee was more impious if...

Thus those who have departed into the supposed self-control. For he indeed, even if he humbled men, yet he came to the temple and with all the people performed the worship to God; but these the devil has enticed to such an extent, that even the church of Christ itself was defiled.

And what will they answer on the day of judgment? For surely the Lord will say to them: 'I ate with tax collectors and sinners (Matt 9:10), and reclining with them I did not become a sinner, but you despised all my people as sinners. Perhaps none of you was in righteousness; you found no one equal to yourselves, you entered into the hearts of all, you read the thoughts of all. You know that God is a tester of hearts, not a weigher of bellies (1 Sam 16:7); and even if you condemned my people as sinners, you did not store up the judgment for me, but you yourselves were condemning all before the time. And of my church, what did you know? What sin will you accuse it of? And the altar, what injustice did it do to you? And this you left behind.'

But what will they do? For impiety has reached the judge; for they rose up not only against all the people, but also against the lordly creation; for they say that even that is a sinner. For as long as they had themselves, as long as they guarded the things given by the grace remaining in the church of Christ, the holy things were holy and he sanctified them through the participation. But when he turned away from them and raised up their heart, the holy things became unclean and their love became unclean; for this was the word: Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). You did not judge your neighbor; this is your self-control, to say to the bitter demon: I call you more ungrateful to the church of Christ and to its holy mysteries, being crowded by certain evil spirits, and to those who are children of the church, having this gift, rebuking the demons. And if they see the unclean spirit hardening toward departure, they name nothing else but the holy and fearful name of Christ, and thus they drive out the bitter demon; demons hearing the name of Christ shiver and not...