witness, avarice, evil desire, deceit, vain-glory, boastfulness, and whatsoever things are like unto
these.
1 [ 38 ]: 6 Thinkest thou not that these things are wrong, yea, very wrong," [saith he,] "for the
servants of God? In all these things he that serveth God must exercise temperance. Be thou
temperate, therefore, and refrain from all these things, that thou mayest live unto God, and be
enrolled among those who exercise self-restraint in them. These then are the things from which
thou shouldest restrain thyself
1 [ 38 ]: 7 Now hear," saith he, "the things, in which thou shouldest not exercise self restraint, but
do them. Exercise no self-restraint in that which is good, but do it."
1 [ 38 ]: 8 "Sir," say I, "show me the power of the good also, that I may walk in them and serve
them, that doing them it may be possible for me to be saved." "Hear," saith he, "the works of the
good likewise, which thou must do, and towards which thou must exercise no self-restraint.
1 [ 38 ]: 9 First of all, there is faith, fear of the Lord, love, concord, words of righteousness, truth,
patience; nothing is better than these in the life of men. If a man keep these, and exercise not
self-restraint from them, he becomes blessed in his life.
1 [ 38 ]: 10 Hear now what follow upon these; to minister to widows, to visit the orphans and the
needy, to ransom the servants of God from their afflictions, to be hospitable (for in hospitality
benevolence from time to time has a place), to resist no man, to be tranquil, to show yourself
more submissive than all men, to reverence the aged, to practice righteousness, to observe
brotherly feeling, to endure injury, to be long-suffering, to bear no grudge, to exhort those who
are sick at soul, not to cast away those that have stumbled from the faith, but to convert them and
to put courage Into them, to reprove sinners, not to oppress debtors and indigent persons, and
whatsoever actions are like these.
1 [ 38 ]: 11 Do these things," saith he, "seem to thee to be good?" "Why, what, Sir," say I, "can be
better than these?" "Then walk in them," saith he, "and abstain not from them, and thou shalt live
unto God.
1 [ 38 ]: 12 Keep this commandment therefore. If thou do good and abstain not from it, thou shalt
live unto God; yea, and all shall live unto God who act so. And again if thou do not evil, and
abstain from it, thou shalt live unto God; yea, and all shall live unto God, who shall keep these
commandments, and walk in them."
Mandate 9
1 [ 39 ]: 1 He saith to me; "Remove from thyself a doubtful mind and doubt not at all whether to
ask of God, saying within thyself, "How can I ask thing of the Lord and receive it, seeing that I
have committed so many sins against Him?"
1 [ 39 ]: 2 Reason not thus, but turn to the Lord with thy whole heart, and ask of Him nothing
wavering, and thou shalt know His exceeding compassion, that He will surely not abandon thee,
but will fulfill the petition of thy soul.
1 [ 39 ]: 3 For God is not as men who bear a grudge, but Himself is without malice and hath
compassion on His creatures.
1 [ 39 ]: 4 Do thou therefore cleanse thy heart from all the vanities of this life, and from the things
mentioned before; and ask of the Lord, and thou shalt receive all things, and shalt lack nothing of
all thy petitions, if thou ask of the Lord nothing wavering.
ron
(Ron)
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