Redemptive Almsgiving
Redemptive almsgiving would
answer the question of atonement for sins committed after baptism, though, in
each instance in the Apostolic Fathers, it is said nearly in passing. Redemptive
almsgiving appears in 2 Clement, Didache, Polycarp’s To the Philippians,
and Barnabas. In 2 Clement, “Almsgiving is better than both prayer and fasting,
for it covers a multitude of sins” (2 Clem. 16.4). The Didachist gives a veiled
Ference: “If you earn something by working with your hands, you shall give a
ransom for your sins” (Did. 4.6). Barnabas suggests that you “work with your
hands for a ransom for your sins” (Barn. 19.10). And for Polycarp, “giving
charity . . . can deliver one from death” (Pol. Phil. 10.2). Although
the doctrine is never developed in these writings, the seeds were planted for
how to deal with post-baptismal sin that would blossom as time went on. (Brian
J. Arnold, “Soteriology in the Apostolic Fathers,” in The Apostolic Fathers,
ed. Paul Foster [Ancient Literature for New Testament Studies 4; Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Zondervan Academic, 2025], 343)
