(2) Some one says: ‘You have faith and
I have works. Show me your faith without good works and I will show you my
faith by my good works.’ By this he points out that good acts are, as it were,
witnesses to the Christian faith, because, unless a Christian perform good
works he absolutely cannot give proof of his faith. Since he cannot prove that
he has faith, it must be considered as wholly non-existent. That the Apostle
thought that such a faith must be considered as valueless he immediately showed
in his additional words, saying to the Christian: ‘You believe that there is
one God. You do well: the devils also believe and tremble.’
Let us consider the Apostle’s meaning
in this instance. Let us not be angry at the divine testimony, but agree with it.
Let us not contradict it, but profit by it. ‘You believe,’ said the Divine Word
to the Christian, ‘that there is one God. You do well: the devils also believe and
tremble.’ Was the Apostle in error by comparing the Christian faith with the devil?
Certainly not. He wished to point out what has been said above, that without
good works a man in his pride of faith should appropriate nothing to himself.
He means that as the devils, though they believe in God, continue in their
wickedness, so there are men who have a belief like unto the devils’ in that
they keep on asserting their belief in God but do not cease doing evil.
The Apostle also adds for the shame
and condemnation of sinful men that the devils not only believe in the name of
God, but even fear and tremble before Him. This is to say: ‘Why do you flatter
yourself, O man, whoever you may be, for your belief which is as nothing
without fear and obedience to God. The devils have something more. You have
only one thing; they have two. You have belief, you do not fear. They have
belief and also fear.’ Are you surprised when we are punished? Are you
surprised when we are chastised, when we are delivered over to the law of the
enemy, when we are weaker than all others?
Our miniseries, infirmities, destruction,
captivities and the punishment of wicked slavery are proofs that we are bad
servants of a good master. How are we bad servants? Because our suffering is in
proportion to our merit. How are [we bad servants] of a good master? Because He
points out to us what we deserve, but He does not punish us as we deserve. He
prefers to correct us by the most clement and kindly chastisement rather than to
have our perish. But we, insofar as our crimes are concerned, are worthy of the
penalty of death. On the other hand, God, being more merciful than severe, wishes
more to correct us lovingly by tempering His censure than to cut us down with a
stroke of just chastisement.
I know very well that it is unpleasant
for us when we are struck down. Why are we surprised that God scourges us when
we sin, when we ourselves flog our little slaves who transgress? We are unjust
judges. We, little men, do not wish to be flayed by God, when we ourselves whip
men who are of our own status. I do not wonder that we are unjust in this
matter. In us, nature and wickedness are both servile. We wish to sin, but not
to be punished. Herein we have the same attitude as our slaves. We all wish to
sin with impunity. Finally, I call on all men to witness whether I lie. I deny
that there is anybody, no matter how guilty of a great crime, who will admit
that he should be punished.
From this it can be realized how
wickedly and improperly severe we are on others, but how indulgent with
ourselves. We are most harsh to others, most lenient with ourselves. We punish others,
but forgive ourselves for the same crime—an act of intolerable arrogance and presumption.
We are unwilling to acknowledge guilt in ourselves, but we dare to arrogate to
ourselves the right to judge others. What can be more unjust and what are more
perverse? The very crime we think justifiable in us we condemn most severely in
others. Not without reason, therefore, did the Apostle cry out to us: ‘Wherefore
you are inexcusable, O man, whosoever you are who judge. For wherein you judge another,
you condemn yourself. For you do the same things which you judge.’ (Salvian, The
Governance of God, Book 4, 2, in Salvian: The Writings of Salvian the
Presbyter [trans. Jeremiah F. O’Sullivan; The Fathers of the Church 3;
Washington D. C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1947], 92-94)