Living before God

More than anyone else, we are your helpers and allies for peace, because we hold that it is impossible for a wrongdoer, a greedy person, a plotter, or a virtuous person to escape God’s notice, and that each goes to eternal punishment or salvation according to the worth of his deeds. If everyone knew this, no one would choose wickedness even for a short time, knowing that he was going to eternal condemnation by fire. Instead he would restrain himself in every way and adorn himself with virtue, so that he might receive God’s good things and be freed from punishments. People who do wrong do not try to escape notice because of your laws and penalties; they know you are human beings and that it is possible to escape your notice, and so they do wrong. But if they learned and were convinced that nothing can escape God—not only what is done, but even what is planned—they would live decently in every way because of the penalties that hang over them, as you yourselves will agree. Yet you seem afraid that everyone might act justly and you would no longer have anyone to punish. Such a concern belongs to executioners, not to good rulers. We are convinced, as we said before, that these things are brought about by evil demons, who demand sacrifices and service from people who live without reason. But we have not supposed that you, who aspire to piety and philosophy, would do anything irrational. If you too, like fools, honor customs before truth, do what you can. But rulers who honor reputation before truth have no more power than robbers in a wilderness. The Logos shows that you will not prosper; after God who begot him, we know no ruler more kingly or just than he. Just as everyone shrinks from inheriting a father’s poverty, sufferings, or disgrace, so a sensible person will not choose whatever the Logos tells us not to choose. Our teacher, Jesus Christ, who is the Son and Apostle of God, the Father and Lord of all, foretold that all these things would happen; from him we have received the name Christians. Therefore we become all the more confident about everything he taught, because whatever he foretold beforehand is seen to happen in fact. It is God’s work to say something before it happens and then show it happening as it was foretold. We could stop here and add nothing more, considering that what we ask is just and true. But because we know that a soul held by ignorance is not easily changed all at once, we have chosen to add a little more for the sake of persuading lovers of truth, knowing that when truth is set before people, ignorance can be put to flight.