The following quotations from the Didache comes from Kirsopp Lake's translation:
The Salvific Efficacy of Almsgiving
Give to everyone that asks thee, and do not
refuse, for the Father's will is that we give to all from the gifts we have
received. Blessed is he that gives according to the mandate; for he is
innocent. Woe to him who receives; for if any man receive alms under pressure
of need he is innocent; but he who receives it without need shall be tried as
to why he took and for what, and being in prison he shall be examined as to his
deeds, and "he shall not come out thence until he pay the last
farthing." But concerning this it was also said, "Let thine alms
sweat into thine hands until thou knowest to whom thou art giving. (1:5-6)
Of whatsoever thou hast gained by thy hands
thou shalt give a ransom for thy sins (δώσεις λύτρωσιν ἁμαρτιῶν σου). (4:6)
Commenting
on the atoning effect of charity in the Didache, Daniel Downs
wrote:
Particularly
striking is the Didachist’s exhortation—“If you have [something] through [the
work] of your hands, give a redemption for your sins” (4.6)—for this statement
reflects an early expression of the concept of atoning almsgiving. In this
case, the term “redemptive almsgiving” would be appropriate because the metaphor
suggests that sins are redeemed through giving away the fruit of one’s manual
labor. The verb διδωμι (“give”) is
used four times in Did. 4.5-8, and the participle τον
ενδεομενον (“the one who has need”) in verse 8 indicate
that the object of one’s giving is a brother or sister in material need. Thus,
according to the logic of 4.6, the act of giving to a disadvantaged brother or
sister is “a redemption for your sins.” The construction δωσεις
λυτρωσιν αμαρτιων σου is unusual, however, since the noun λυτρωσις in
redemption imagery typically denote the experience or act of
being released from bondage, not the thing or price given to secure redemption.
In the LXX and other early Jewish literature, it is the noun λυτρον that
that usually designates the price of payment of the ransom, and thus it might
be expected that the direct object of the verb διδωμι would
be λουτρον instead of λυτρωσις.
The entire phrase δωσεις λυτρωσιν αμαρτιων σου in Did.
4.6 is also atypical because, depending on how the genitive αμαρτιων
σου is
understood, the passage either implies that a redemption-price is to be given
for the sake of one’s sins, or perhaps more likely, that sins themselves are
redeemed.
For
these reasons, Th Dan 4:27 suggests itself as an intriguing intertextual parallel
to the phrase δωσεις λυτρωσιν αμαρτιων σου in Did.
4.6. In Th Dan 4:27 the λυτρ-word
is the verb λυτροω, and the dual objects of λυτροω are τας
αμαρτιας σου (“your sins”) and τας
αδικιας σου (“your injustices”):
δια
τουτο βασιλευ μου αρεσατω σοι και τας αμαρτιας σου εν ελεημοσυναις
λυτρωσαι και τας αδικιας σου εν οικτιρμοις πενητων.
Therefore,
O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you, and redeem your sins with acts of
mercy and your injustices with compassion to the poor.
The
phrasing in Th Dan 4:27 is itself unusual because, according to the normal
biblical image of redemption, the verb λυτροω typically
refers to the redemption of some person(s) or thing(s) in bondage, not to the
redemption of an abstract noun like “sin.” With the exception of Th Dan 4:27,
when the biblical image of redemption is used, as a soteriological metaphor in
connection with sins or transgressions, it is sinners who are redeemed, not
sins (cf. Isa 44;22; Col 1;14). This dynamic is nicely captured in LXX Ps
129:8: “[God] will redeem Israel from all his [i.e., Israel’s] iniquities” (αυτος
λυτρωσεται τον Ιραηλ εκ πασων των ανομιων αυτου). In fact, Th Dan
4:27, Did. 4.6, and Barn. 19.10 represent a rare
combination of texts in early Jewish and/or Christian literature in which αμαρτιαι (“sins”)
are “redeemed.”
The
language and metaphors in Th Dan 4:27 and Did. 4.6 are, therefore,
distinctly similar: in Th Dan 4:27, Nebuchadnezzar is instructed to redeem his
sins by mean of merciful acts, and in Did. 4.6 giving to the needy
is a redemption payment for sins. In both passages it is sins themselves that
are redeemed by merciful practice on behalf of the needy and not, as the image
of redemption would typically be used, sinners. In neither passage is there any
indication of what might be holding sins in bondage and in need of redemption,
but the image of redeeming sins (as opposed to sinners) is so unusual that it
is highly likely that Th Dan 4:27 underlies the tradition preserves in Did.
4.6. (David J. Downs, Alms: Charity, Reward, and Atonement in Early
Christianity [Waco, Tex: Baylor University Press, 2016], 237-39)
Clearly,
the Didache clearly shows us that Sola Fide was
unknown in early Christianity, being a late first-century document.
Subordinate Christology (Post-Ascension) and
how, ultimately, all glory goes to the Father alone (cf. Phil 2:9-11)
First concerning the Cup, "We give
thanks to thee, our Father, for the Holy Vine of David thy child, (τοῦ παιδός
σου; alt. your servant) which, thou didst make known to us through Jesus thy
child; to thee be glory for ever." And concerning the broken Bread:
"We give thee thanks, our Father, for the life and knowledge which thou
didst make known to us through Jesus thy child (τοῦ παιδός σου; alt. your
servant). To thee be glory for ever (σοὶ [dative singular] ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας).
(9:2-3)
"We give thanks to thee, O Holy Father,
for thy Holy Name which thou didst make to tabernacle in our hearts, and for
the knowledge and faith and immortality which thou didst make known to us
through Jesus thy Child (διὰ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ παιδός σου). To thee be glory for ever.
Thou, Lord Almighty, didst create all things for thy Name's sake, and didst
give food and drink to men for their enjoyment, that they might give thanks to
thee, but us hast thou blessed with spiritual food and drink and eternal light
through thy Child (διὰ τοῦ παιδός σου). Above all we give thanks to thee for
that thou art mighty. To thee be glory for ever (σοὶ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.).
(10:2-4)
There are sins believers will not be forgiven
of
Do not test or examine any prophet who is
speaking in a spirit, "for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall
not be forgiven." (11:7)
The Necessity of Post-Conversion Repentance
and how it Affects Salvation
On the Lord's Day of the Lord come together,
break bread and hold Eucharist, after confessing your transgressions that your
offering may be pure (ὅπως καθαρὰ ἡ θυσία ὑμῶν ᾖ [the use of ὅπως, “in order
that/by what means” shows that, if one does not
repent while celebrating the Eucharist, one will not remain “pure”); (14:1)
