By Ignatius of Antioch
None of these things is hid from you, if you
perfectly possess that faith and love towards Christ Jesus which is the
beginning and the end of life. For in the
beginning is faith, and at the very end is love. Now these two, being
inseparably connected together, are of God, while all other things which are necessary
for a holy life follow after them. No man that truly makes a profession of faith
sins; nor does he that possesses love hate any one. The tree is made visible by
its fruit; so those that profess themselves to be Christians will be recognized
by their conduct. At this time there is
no demand for one to make a mere profession of faith, but he must be found
living in the power of faith to the very end.
None of the devices of the devil will be
hidden from you, if, like Paul, you perfectly possess that faith and love
towards Christ which are the beginning and the end of life. The beginning of
life is faith, and the end is love. And these two being inseparably connected
together makes perfect the man of God; while all other things which are necessary
to a holy life follow after them. No one making a profession of faith sins, or
one possessed of love hates his brother. For He that said, “You shall love the
Lord thy God,” said also, “and thy neighbor as thyself.” Those that profess
themselves to be Christ’s are known not only by what they say, but by what they
do. “For the tree is known by its fruit.”
From the Letter to the Ephesians, Chapter XIV—Exhortations to Faith and
Love
Saint Ignatius of Antioch (b. 35 – d. 110) was
bishop of Antioch. He may have known the
Apostle John directly. En route to his
martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved
and are examples of the theology of the earliest Christians.
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