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On the Judgment of God

St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925

Chapter 1

Thanks to the kindness and mercy of the good God shown in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, I was delivered from the deceitfulness of the tradition of those outside, having been brought up from the very beginning by Christian parents. With them I learned from a babe the Holy Scriptures,² which led me to a knowledge of the truth. When I became a man,³ being often away from home⁴ and, as was natural, engaged in many business affairs, in other arts and branches of knowledge I was noticing the great harmony among themselves of those who made an exact study of each. Whereas in the Church of God alone, for which Christ died and on which He poured out the Holy Spirit richly, I saw a great and exceeding discord on the part of many men both in their relations with one another and their views about the divine Scripture. And, what was most horrible of all, I saw its very leaders differing so much from one another in sentiment and opinion, and so hostile to the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so mercilessly rending the Church of God, and unsparingly agitating His flock, that now, if ever, when the Anomoeans⁵ had sprung up, was fulfilled the saying: ‘From among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

Seeing these and such-like things and wondering, moreover, what and whence was the cause of so great an evil, first of all I lived as it were in profound darkness and was inclining, as it ‘were on scales, first in this direction and then in that. Now one man would attract me, now another, as is the established custom with mankind; then again they would repel me because of the truth I recognised in the divine Scriptures. When this had been for a long while my position and I was anxiously considering the cause I have just mentioned, I remembered the book of Judges which tells how each did what was right in his own eyes and gives the reason by saying: ‘In those days there was no king in Israel.”⁶ So having remembered this, I considered this also about the present situation, which indeed is perhaps fearful and strange to speak of, but is most true if you look into the matter—that perhaps even now, because of the neglect of the one great true and only King and God of all, such great dissension and strife take place among Churchmen, each man deserting the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and arbitrarily claiming the right to arguments and definitions of his own, and wishing to rule over against the Lord rather than be ruled by Him.

Considering these things and perturbed at the excessive amount of impiety, I carried my investigation further. I was the more convinced, even from the affairs of this life, that the above-mentioned cause was the true one. For I beheld on the one hand all the good order of the multitude that prevails so long as the common obedience of the others towards a single head is preserved; and on the other hand all the disagreement and division, even mob-rule, which proceeds from lack of obedience to rulers. I once saw⁷ a swarm of bees flying in military formation according to the law of their nature and following their king in good order.⁸ And I both saw and heard many examples of this principle. But those who have studied these matters know still more, so that from investigation what I have said is shown to be true. For if those who obey one command and have one king are characterised by good order and agreement, then all discord and division is a sign that there is no one to rule. In the same fashion such disagreement as regards both the commandments of the Lord and one another, if found in our midst, lays us open to the accusation that we have either deserted our true King (as Scripture says, ‘“Only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way”’⁹), or else have denied Him —“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.”¹⁰ As a sign or proof of which he adds: ‘They are corrupt and have become abominable in their works.”

Here then Scripture has shown the visible wickedness that is as it were a mark of inward impiety of this kind lurking secretly in the soul. Indeed the blessed apostle Paul, eagerly trying to induce the abandoned to fear God’s judgments, defines this as their punishment, that those who have neglected the true knowledge of God are in consequence condemned. Ior what does he say? ‘“And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malicious, full of envy, etc.”¹¹ And I think the apostle formed this judgment not of himself (for he had Christ speaking within him) but led by that utterance of Christ¹² in which He says that He spoke to the multitude in parables for this reason, that they should not understand the divine mysteries of the Gospel, because they had already closed their eyes and heard heavily with their ears and their senseless heart became gross; in order that they might have to endure as their penalty loss of sight in regard to greater things, since they had previously chosen to be darkened, having been blinded in the eye of the soul. This is what David feared might befall, when he said: ‘“Enlighten mine eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death.”¹³ From these and similar considerations I reckoned it obvious, that —generally speaking—the baseness of passions introduces, through ignorance about God, a reprobate understanding. And in particular there arises dissension of the many with one another, because we render ourselves unworthy of the attention of the Lord. But as for the consideration of such a life—if indeed I should ever decide to consider it—1I should be unable to measure the greatness of such stupidity, madness, or folly, so excessive is its wickedness. For if even among dumb animals we find mutual harmony successfully maintained, thanks to their amenability to their leader, what can we say when we are discovered having such difference between one another and such antagonism to the commands of Christ 2 Must we not think that all these examples in nature are put forth now by the good God for our instruction and warning, but in the great and terrible day of judgment they will be produced for the shame and condemnation of those who do not receive correction at the hands of Him Who said once and is ever saying: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know me, and my people hath not understood me¹⁴—and many such-like things? Then there is that which the apostle said: “Whether one member suffereth, all the members suffer with it: or one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it.”¹⁵ And, “That there should be no schisms in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another,”¹⁶ being moved, no doubt, by the one indwelling Spirit. Why has it been thus arranged? I think, that such order and discipline may be preserved far more in the Church of God, to which it has been said: “Ye are the body of Christ and severally members thereof,¹⁷¹⁸ since the one and only true head, that is Christ, clearly holds and unites each to the other with a view to the production of harmony. But where no harmony is preserved, no bond of peace kept,” no meekness in the spirit treasured,¹⁹ but division and strife and jealousy²⁰ are found —it would be very presumptuous to call such men members of Christ, or to say they are ruled by Him. But a frank mind would say boldly, that the mind of the flesh²¹ is ruler and king there, in accordance with the apostle’s words, when he speaks definitively and says: “To whom ye present yourselves servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey.”²² He describes clearly the characteristics of such a state of mind, as when he says: “Where there are among you jealousy and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal 2?²³²⁴ At the same time he teaches clearly the serious consequences of these things and their incompatibility with piety, when he says: ‘“The mind of the flesh is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be.”²⁵ Because “no man,” saith the Lord, “can serve two masters,”

Again, when the only-begotten Son of God, our Lord and God Jesus Christ, through Whom all things were made, Himself cries: “I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of the Father that sent me,”²⁶ and “I do nothing of myself,”²⁷ and “I have received a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak”²⁸—and when again the Holy Spirit distributes great and marvellous gifts and works all things in all men, and speaks nothing of Himself, but whatever things He hears from the Lord that He speaks,²⁹—how is it not much more necessary that the whole Church of God should strive earnestly to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace,³⁰ to fulfil that which was spoken in the Acts: The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul”³¹; no one, that is, maintaining his own desire, but all in common seeking in the one Holy Spirit the will of the one Lord Jesus Christ, Who said: “I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of the Father that sent me”³²? To Whom He says: “Not for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word, that they all may be one.”³³ On the strength of these passages and many others which I have passed over in silence, I was so clearly and unanswerably convinced of the necessity of harmony on the part of the whole Church of God together, according to the will of Christ in the Holy Spirit, and of the danger and destructiveness of disobedience towards God shown in mutual dissensions (‘for he that obeyeth not the Son,” He says, “shall not see life, but the wrath of God will abide on him”)³⁴, that I thought it followed that I should investigate this problem further —namely, what manner of sins can have pardon with God, and for sins of what magnitude and quality a man becomes liable to the penalty of disobedience.³⁵³⁶

I find, then, when I take up the divine Scriptures, in the Old and New Testaments, that disobedience towards God is plainly judged to lie not in the multitude of sins nor their magnitude, but in the mere transgression of any one command, and that there is a common judgment of God against all disobedience. In the Old Testament I read that terrible end of Achan,³⁷ or the tale of the man who collected sticks on the Sabbath day,³⁸ neither of whom is ever recorded at any time to have sinned against God or wronged man in any other way, great or small. But the one for his first and only collection of wood pays the inexorable penalty, having found no place of repentance. For by the commandment of God he is at once stoned by all the people. And the other, because he had merely filched an article from the devoted things which had not yet been brought into the assembly nor even received by those who had been entrusted with such things, became the cause of destruction, not to himself alone, but also to his wife and children and moreover to his very tent with all his belongings. And the punishment of sin was already about to seize upon all the people as well, like a flame, (and that, too, though they knew not what had happened, nor had they even excused the sinner,) and it would have done so if the people had not been smitten with compunction immediately after the slaughter of the men who were killed, perceiving the wrath of God; and if Joshua the son of Nun had not fallen to the ground together with the elders, sprinkling dust on his head, and if the guilty man discovered thus by lot had not paid the penalty described.

But someone may object that these men may well be suspected of other sins besides, on account of which they were caught in these, but that the Holy Scripture mentions these only, as more serious and worthy of death.

But however bold one may be in adding to or subtracting from Scripture, will he then accuse Miriam the sister of Moses of a mass of sing, whose virtue is, I think, known to every one of the faithful? When she had merely said something against Moses by way of condemnation—and that true enough (for ‘he has taken to himself an Ethiopian wife,”³⁹ she said)—she experienced such anger on the part of God, that not even Moses’ intercession secured to her the remission of the penalty of sin. So when I see Moses himself, the servant of God, that great hero, counted worthy of such great and wonderful honour from God, Who often bears witness to him so that he is told: “I know thee before all and thou hast found grace before me”’⁴⁰—when I see him at the water of gainsaying, for no other reason than that he merely said to the people grumbling for lack of water:⁴¹ Shall we draw you water out of this rock 2’⁴²—merely for this at once receiving a threat that he should not enter into the land of promise, which was at that time the sum of all the promises to the Jews. When I see him beseeching and yet receiving no concession; when I see so many virtuous acts of his following that one short word in no way availing to win forgiveness; then verily I see the severity of God, as the apostle terms it,⁴³ and am verily persuaded of the truth of the saying, “If the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?⁴⁴ And why do I say this? When I hear that terrible declaration of God, which He makes even against the man who has transgressed one commandment in ignorance, I am unable adequately to fear the greatness of His wrath. For it is written: “And if a soul sin and do any one of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and has not known, and has sinned, and incurred sin; he shall bring a lamb without blemish out of the flock, at its money value, for a guilt-offering unto the priest: and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning the sins which he has committed in ignorance, and he himself knew it not, and it shall be forgiven him, for he is certainly guilty before the Lord.” And if against sins committed in ignorance the Judgment is thus inexorable, and the sacrifice is necessary to expiate them, which also righteous Job is recorded as offering for his sons,⁴⁵ what would anyone say concerning those who sin in knowledge, or who keep silence while others sin? And lest we should seem to be deducing God’s indignation against these men merely with the help of plausible guesswork, it is necessary to quote once more the actual inspired Scripture, which is able p to set before us the judgment of such men at once, even by a single passage. ‘“The sons of Eli the priest,” it says,⁴⁶ were sons of Belial.”⁴⁷ Because Eli their father had not rebuked them vigorously he stirred up such anger against them in the longsuffering of God, that, when the Philistines attacked, those sons of his were killed in the battle on one day, and the whole people were defeated, and many of them were slain, and there befell also concerning the holy ark of God’s Covenant such things as had never before been heard, that the ark which it was unlawful for Israelites, and even all the priests themselves, even to touch, nor could any ordinary place receive it, this ark was carried away by impious hands at different times from various places, and put in idols⁴⁸ temples instead of in the holy place. In consequence of which it is easy to guess what laughter and ridicule occurred among the Philistines, even against the very name of God. As a further consequence it is recorded that ἘΠῚ himself suffered a most pitiable end, having first received the warning that his seed should be removed from the priestly dignity—which actually happened.

Such were the great disasters that befell the people; such, owing to the iniquity of his sons, were the sufferings of the father, who, so far as his own life went, was never accused of anything. Nor did he countenance their conduct by silence, but he often admonished them, that they should no longer persist in such sins, saying: “No, my sons, no; the reports which I hear of you are not good.” And enlarging on the greatness of their sin, he put the danger before them as very formidable. “For if a man sin against another man,” he said, ‘“they shall pray for him to the Lord. But if he sin against God, who shall pray for him?” Nevertheless, since, as I said, he did not show fitting zeal against them, what I have described came to pass.

So I find very many judgments of this kind in the Old Testament against all disobedience. But when again I pass to the New Testament I find our Lord Jesus Christ, while not absolving from punishment sins committed in ignorance, yet extending His warning more sternly against those who possess knowledge, when He says: ‘That servant which knew his master’s will,. and made not himself ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.”⁴⁹

When 1 find such declarations on the part of the only-begotten Son of God, and the indignation of the holy apostles against sinners, and when I consider the sufferings, so serious and so numerous, of those who have committed even one single sin, not less than those described in the Old Testament, but rather more, then I learn the severity of His judgment. For “to whom they have committed much, from him they will ask more.”⁵⁰ Note also what the blessed Paul says, showing at once the dignity of our calling and God’s anger against every sin. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”⁵¹ And not only this, but “being in readiness to avenge all disobedience.” In this passage, if one examine carefully each word of what is said, he may perceive accurately the intention of the divine Scripture, how that it has not left the soul of each of us to go astray with erroneous notions, thinking that some sins are avenged and others left unavenged. But what does it say? “‘Casting down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God,” so that every sin because it despises the divine commandment is called a high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, which also is declared plainly in the Book of Numbers. For when God had enumerated the involuntary sins and ordained the sacrifices appropriate to them, and was now about to decree what was fitting for the people in regard to the voluntary sins, He begins thus: “And the soul which shall act with a high hand”—by high hand He means the daring of those who sin voluntarily, what the apostle calls a high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God. “The soul,” He says, “which shall act with a high hand, whether he be home-born or one of the proselytes, he will stir up God’s anger, and that soul shall be destroyed from the midst of its people. Because he hath despised the word of the Lord and hath broken His commandments, that soul shall be utterly cut off, its sin is in it.”

At this point we must notice that, unless that soul be utterly cut off, its sin does not remain in it alone, but infects also those who have not manifested zeal for good, as is written in many places and has often happened. And that we may learn from lesser examples what fear we should have in greater matters, let us consider what anger is shown in Deuteronomy against a disobedient priest or judge.

It says: “The man that doeth presumptuously in not obeying the priest that standeth to minister in the name of the Lord thy God or the judge that shall be in those days, even that man shall die, and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. And all the people shall hear and fear and no more be impious.”⁵² Surely we should conclude that anyone reflecting on this would be affected accordingly and be seized with terror.

Then it says:⁵³ and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ ’—every thought, not this or that one— “and being in readiness to avenge ’—here again not this or some one, but “all disobedience.”⁵⁴ Assuredly bad custom⁵⁵ has led us astray; great evils have been brought upon us by the perverted tradition of men, which indeed avoids some sins, but chooses others freely, and feigns violent indignation against some, such as murder and adultery and so forth⁵⁶: but judges others not deserving even bare rebuke—I mean anger or slander or drunkenness or over-reaching, and many similar sins, against all of which in other passages too Paul, speaking in Christ, pronounced the same sentence, saying: ‘“They who practise such things are worthy of death.”⁵⁷ But where every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God is brought down, and every thought is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and every disobedience in similar fashion is punished, then nothing remains not brought down, nothing is left unavenged, nothing remains outside the obedience of Christ. For the apostle Paul showed us a common and serious impiety inherent in every disobedience when he said: ‘Thou who gloriest in the law, through thy transgression of the law dishonourest thou God?⁵⁸ Perhaps these are merely words with no backing of fact 2 Consider this then. In Corinth the man that had his father’s wife, though accused of nothing else except this only, is not only himself handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh until he should correct his sin by worthy fruits of repentance, but involves the whole Church together in those accusations because it had taken no proceedings against the sin. ‘“What will ye? Shall I come against you with a rod?”⁵⁹ and a little later: And ye are puffed up and did not rather mourn, that he that had done this work might be taken from among you.”⁶⁰

And what of Ananias in the Acts⁶¹? What other evil thing do we find him doing, besides just this one? How then does he seem to deserve such anger? Having sold his own property, he brought the money for it and laid it at the feet of the apostles, taking something from the price—for this reason, that very hour he with his wife is judged worthy of death. He was not even counted worthy to learn the words which teach repentance for sin, for he found no time for compunction, at least for this sin, nor was he given the space appointed for repentance. But he who was the agent of such a great judgment, the minister of so great anger of God against the sinner, I mean the blessed Peter, who was set over all the disciples and alone, more than the others, received a testimony and felicitations and was entrusted with the keys of the kingdom of heaven —when he was told by the Lord, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me,”⁶² would not such a man importune his heart, however stony, till it had a fear and trembling before God’s judgments? And remember, he had given no indication of any sin or contempt, but had rather received surpassing honour as regards his Master and had shown the reverence befitting a servant and disciple. For seeing the God and Lord of himself and all men, the King, Master, Teacher, Saviour, all in one, in the form of a servant girding Himself with a towel and desiring to wash his feet, then at once, as if coming to a perception of his own unworthiness and astounded at the dignity of Him Who approached, he cried out: “Lord, dost thou wash my feet⁶³” and again: ‘Thou shalt never wash my feet.” Whereupon he received so grave a warning that if he had not at once recognised the truth of the Lord’s words and hastened to correct by obedience his former opposition, none of his former achievements, none of his virtuous acts, none of the blessings and gifts and promises from the Lord, not even the very revelation of the great and glorious good pleasure of the God and Father towards the only-begotten Son,⁶⁴ would have sufficed to make up for his present disobedience.

However, if I would narrate all that I find in the Old and New Testament, time would soon fail me as I expounded it. But when I come to the actual words of our Lord Jesus Christ & in the Gospel, the utterance of Him Who is about to judge the living and dead, which have more weight with the faithful than all other narratives and arguments, I see in them the great necessity, if I may say so, of obeying God in all things, and again, in the case of each commandment, absolutely no pardon left to those who do not repent of their disobedience, since one can hardly venture a different opinion, or even let it enter the mind, in the face of such open, clear and unqualified declarations. “For heaven”’ He says “and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”⁶⁵ There is no difference made in this passage, no discrimination, no reservation whatever made. He says not “these words”’ or ‘those”⁶⁶ but “My words.” For it is written: “The Lord is faithful in all his words”⁶⁷ —whether forbidding anything, or commanding, or promising, or threatening, whether B He refers to the doing of what is forbidden, or to the leaving undone what is commanded. For that leaving of good works undone is punished equally with perpetrating evil works, shown and proved sufficiently to any soul not afflicted with complete unbelief by the aforesaid judgment in the case of Peter. He had not done anything forbidden, nor had he left anything undone of the sort that condemns the slackness or contempt of the man responsible, but merely because he shrank from receiving the service and honour rendered by the Master, he received such a warning of a penalty which he would not have escaped, unless, c as I said before, he had forestalled the wrath by the speed and vigour of his reformation. For since the good and compassionate God has thought fit, out of His long-suffering towards us, to show us the same thing often and by many examples, in order that by their frequency and constant recurrence at last with difficulty (as when joints are set with a lever and bathed with fomentations) the soul may be able to break the long-continued habit of wrong-doing, it is necessary for the present to mention those only who stand at the left hand of our Lord Jesus Christ in the great and terrible day of judgment; to whom He spake, Who received from the Father all authority to judge, Who comes to bring to light the secret things of darkness and to make manifest the counsels of the hearts:⁶⁸ Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels.’ And He added the cause, not saying: “Because ye committed murder or fornication, or lied, or wronged any man, or did any other of the forbidden things, even the least.” But what was it? Because ye neglected good works. For He says: “I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.”⁶⁹

These and such things I have learned in the inspired Scriptures by the grace of the good God, Who wishes all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth and teaches man knowledge. And I have noticed the most horrible cause of the serious dissension of the many both with one another and with the commandments of the Lord, and have been instructed in that terrible judgment which is incurred by so great transgression, and taught that every disobedience of every decree of God is avenged in equal fashion. Further I have learned that fearful judgment which falls upon those who have not sinned, but nevertheless participate in the wrath because they have not shown earnest zeal against sinners, and yet in many cases they have not even been aware of the sin. I thought it necessary late in the day, because I was always awaiting those who have undertaken the same contest of piety and because I had no confidence in my unaided efforts—but not I hope inopportunely—now at any rate to remind by selections from the inspired Scriptures those who are engaged in the contest of piety what things are displeasing to God and what things He is pleased with, and to put them before you to the best of my power according to the general wish. In order that we may be counted worthy by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the teaching of the Holy Ghost to spring away from our accustomed desires and the observance of men’s traditions and walk in the Gospel of the blessed God Jesus Christ our Lord. And in the present time that we may live in a way well pleasing to Him by the more vigorous avoidance of what is forbidden and the more earnest observance of what is approved, so that, in the future age of immortality, we may be able to escape the wrath that comes upon the sons of disobedience and be found worthy of eternal life and the heavenly kingdom promised from the Lord Jesus Christ to all “who keep his covenant and remember his commandments to do them.”

I remember the apostle’s words:⁷⁰ In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.”⁷¹

I deem it appropriate and necessary that I should now expound the sound faith and godly tenets concerning the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and then add the Morals.⁷²

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