saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. For whosoever heareth me, and doeth my sayings, heareth Him that sent me. And many will say unto me, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten and drunk in Thy name, and done wonders? And then will I say unto them, Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. Then shall there be wailing and gnashing of teeth, when the righteous shall shine as the sun, and the wicked are sent into everlasting fire. For many shall come in my name, clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but inwardly being ravening wolves. By their works ye shall know them. And every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire."[1] And as to those who are not living pursuant to these His teachings, and are Christians only in name, we demand that all such be punished by you.
Chap. xvii.—Christ taught civil obedience.
And everywhere we, more readily than all men, endeavour to pay to those appointed by you the taxes both ordinary and extraordinary,[2] as we have been taught by Him; for at that time some came to Him and asked Him, if one ought to pay tribute to Cæsar; and He answered, "Tell me, whose image does this coin bear?" And they said, "Cæsar's;" And again He answered them, "Render therefore to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and to God the things that are God's."[3] Whence to God alone we render worship, but in other things we gladly serve you, acknowledging you as kings and rulers of men, and praying that with your kingly power you be found to possess also sound judgment. But if you pay no regard to our prayers and frank explanations, we shall suffer no loss, since we believe (or rather, indeed, are persuaded) that every man will suffer punishment in eternal fire according to the merit of his deed, and will render
- ↑ Matt. vii. 21, etc.; Luke xiii. 26; Matt. xiii. 42, vii. 15, 16, 19.
- ↑ φόρους καὶ εἱσφοράς. The former is the annual tribute; the latter, any occasional assessment. See Otto's Note, and Thucyd. iii. 19.
- ↑ Matt. xxii. 17, 19, 20, 21.
