Chapter III.
To be taught moderation, wisdom, and discipline by the Lord; that following this is an exhortation to study; also, that our faults should be attributed solely to our own will, by which we either serve sin or righteousness; and finally, which servitude should be preferred over the other.
However, the Lord Himself teaches her, and Scripture testifies to wisdom and discipline. Concerning temperance, it is mentioned in the Law (Exodus XX, 4, and elsewhere): and regarding other matters, it is written in the book of Job: Is not the Lord the one who teaches understanding and discipline (Job XXXIII, 16)? And in the Gospel, the Lord Himself says: Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart (Matthew XI, 29). And elsewhere, He says to His disciples: Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew XXVIII, 19). But where were the disciples called? Or what else did they learn from Christ except to practice the precepts of virtue? Lastly, David says: Come, children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord (Psalm 111:10). Surely the fear of God is among the virtues; for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, through which one acquires the proper form of doctrine, of which Paul says: But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:17-18). Therefore, teaching enables us to attain righteousness. Therefore, righteousness can be acquired through learning. Let us therefore strive to conform to the teachings of the Gospel. The smallest amount of study is often considered the greatest. For in study, everything is present, through which obedience is employed, which either leads to sin or adds to grace. This drew us to death in the first Adam, and called us to life in the second Adam.
10. There is no reason why we should attribute our troubles to anyone else but our own will. No one is subject to blame unless they have deviated from their own will. Those who resist do not commit a crime: only voluntary acts follow the envy of crimes, since we attribute them to others. Christ has chosen a voluntary soldier for himself, while the devil auctions a voluntary servant for himself. No one possesses anyone bound by the yoke of servitude, unless they have first sold themselves to the debt of sins. Why do we accuse flesh as if it were weak? Our limbs are weapons of injustice, and weapons of justice. You have seen a poor man receiving injustice, you have protected him; your limbs are weapons of compassion, by which you have avenged the poor man from injustice. You have seen a needy man, you have bestowed gifts upon him, your right hand has pushed death away from your chest. You have seen him who is led to death, you have rescued him, for it is written: Rescue those who are being led to death (Prov. 24:11): your limbs are weapons of justice, if you have not allowed a man to perish unjustly. You saw a woman, chastised your body, mortified desires, turned away from the seductive eyes of a prostitute, deserted her, your limbs are the weapons of chastity. On the other hand, if your eye saw a woman to desire her, you opened a wound, impressed a weapon on your body, your limbs are the weapons of sin. You saw the possessions of orphans, and you expelled them from their paternal seats, you moved the boundaries that your fathers had set, your limbs are the weapons of injustice. Therefore, the mind is the author of sin, but the body is the servant of the will. Therefore, let not our will sell us.
The Apostle proclaims: Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as servants for obedience, you are servants of the one whom you obey, whether of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness (Rom. 6:16)? Therefore, if we serve either sin or righteousness, let us consider in which part servitude is more tolerable, and which part brings forth more fruit. But what fruit can there be in death? For the wages of sin is death; and therefore, there is no fruit in it, but rather a loss of dignity; for the things we have done, we are ashamed of. But to serve justice is freedom. For he who is called a servant in the Lord is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise, he who is called free is a servant of Christ (1 Corinthians 7:22). Both conditions are excellent, to be under Christ, under whom there is precious servitude and glorious freedom. Precious servitude, as if compared to the price of so great blood: but glorious freedom, which no servitude of guilt, no bonds of sins, no burdens of crimes, no dealings of degenerate vices, add to the yoke of slavery.
12. Learn humility, O man, and recognize the power of apostolic authority. If you call yourself a slave, you are free; if you boast of being free, you are a slave. For even he who is redeemed as a slave has freedom, and he who is called as a free man should recognize it as a good thing to be a servant of Christ, under whom slavery is safe and freedom is secure. Who, as it were, asserts that Paul is a fool in this matter? For he knew how to distinguish between a freedman and a free man, and therefore he did not merely skim over it, but he stated specifically: For he who is called as a slave in the Lord is a freedman of the Lord; likewise, he who is called as a free man is a servant of Christ. Indeed, we are all Christ's freedmen, no one is free. For all are born in servitude. Why do you assume the arrogance of freedom in a slave-like condition? Why do you claim noble titles, a servile inheritance? Do you not know that the fault of Adam and Eve has enslaved you? Do you not know that Christ has redeemed you, not bought you? You have not been redeemed with gold or silver from your empty way of life inherited from your fathers, but with the precious blood of the Lamb (I Pet. I, 18 and 19). The Apostle Peter exclaims. Therefore, you are redeemed by the Lord. You are a servant who was created, you are a servant who was redeemed, and you owe servitude to the Lord and to the Redeemer. Do not consider the freedom under Christ as inferior to freedom. It is equal in dignity, superior in protection, equal in favor, more cautious against falling, more safeguarded against pride. In this way, you have received freedom so that you should remember your emancipator and know that proper obedience must be given to your patron, lest your freedom be revoked by an ungrateful person. What could be happier for you, who reign under the Lord and serve under a patron?