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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

A Tree is Known by its Fruit

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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