Didascalia Apostolorum

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DIDASCALIA. 85 the righteous answer and say, ' Lord, when saw we Thee hungry, and fed Thee ; or thirsty, and gave Thee to drink ; or naked, and we clothed 38 sic Thee ; or sick, and we visited Thee ; or a stranger, and we gathered 39 sic Thee in ; or in prison, and we came unto Thee ? ' And he shall answer *o and say unto them, ' that all that ye have done to My little brethren, ye have done it unto Me.' Then shall the righteous go unto eternal life." 46 But if there be a man who is called a Christian, and he should stumble, Ap. con. and be tempted by Satan, and be reproved for wicked works, either theft or murder, keep away from any that are such ; lest one of you be tempted by those who belong to him. For if a heathen should lay hold of thee, and ask thee and say to thee ; Thou art also a Christian like that man, thou canst not deny that thou art a Christian, but thou confessest, and thou art not condemned as a Christian, but art punished as an evil-doer, for thou wast asked if thou wert like that man, and thy confession is in vain to thee ; if thou deniest, thou hast denied the Lord. Therefore keep away from them, that ye may be without offence. But help with much zeal those believers, your members, who are in the bond of iniquity as evil-doers and are imprisoned, and free them from the hand of the wicked1, f. 595 For if some one approach those who are imprisoned for the name of the Christ our Lord, and is laid hold of along with them, blessed shall he be that he has been thought worthy of all this companionship. Receive and refresh those who are persecuted on account of the Faith, Ap. con. v. ill. who migrate from city to city according to the Lord's command, rejoicing that ye are partakers of their persecution ; for our Lord spake about you in the Gospel, "Blessed are ye when they persecute you, and upbraid Matt.v. 11 you for My name" ; because when a Christian is persecuted, and killed because of the Faith, 2he is a Martyr of God2; (S. + and henceforth he will not be persecuted by any one, for he is known of the Lord). But if he deny Ap. Con. V. iv. that he is a Christian, he will be called a [cause of] offence ; he will not3 be persecuted by men, but he will be rejected by God because of his denials (S. + and henceforth he will have no part with the saints in the everlasting kingdom, and according to the promise of the Lord ; but his inheritance shall be with the wicked), for the Lord God hath said, " Whosoever denieth Me, or is ashamed of Me and of My words, I Matt. x. will deny him before My Father which is in heaven, when I come (S. + with strength and glory) to judge the quick and the dead." Again it is written, " Every one who loveth his father and mother more than 37 1 S. +But if any one joins himself to them, and is taken along with them, and is confined, being innocent, for the sake of his brother ; blessed is he that he is called a Christian, that he has acknow- ledged the Lord, and that he will live before Him 2 S. he becomes a man of God 3 S. om. not