THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
See how he begins his discourse with reproof and firmness. He says, "It is impossible," that is, do not even hope for what is impossible. He did not say, "It is improper," "unprofitable," or "unlawful," but, "It is impossible." Thus for you, who once were fully enlightened, nothing remains but despair.
Then he continues: "and have tasted the heavenly gift," that is, the remission of sins; "and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God." Here he speaks of the teaching. "And the powers of the age to come." What powers does he mean? Either the powers to work miracles, or the pledge of the Spirit.
"And have fallen away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame." He says, "to renew them to repentance," that is, through repentance. What is this? Is repentance rejected? No, not repentance. Certainly not. Rather, he rejects a second renewal by the laver of baptism.
After saying, "For it is impossible... to renew them to repentance," he did not stop. After the word "impossible," he added, "since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God." "To renew again" means to make new. Only the laver makes new, for it is said, "Your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Ps 102:5).
The work of repentance is this. Those who have been made new, and then through sins have grown old again, it frees from that oldness. It restores them to the state of renewal. Yet it cannot raise them to their former brightness, because there all was the work of grace.
"Since they crucify again for themselves," he says, "the Son of God, and put Him to open shame." The meaning of his words is this. Baptism is a cross, because "our old man was crucified with Him" (Rom 6:6). Again, "we have been united with Him in the likeness of His death." And again, "we were buried with Him through baptism into death" (Rom 6:5, 4).
As it is impossible to crucify Christ a second time, because this would expose Him to shame, so it is impossible to be baptized a second time. If "death no longer has dominion over Him" (Rom 6:9), if He rose and by the Resurrection became conqueror of death, if by death He trampled down death, then to crucify Him again is to make all that went before a fable and a disgrace. Whoever is baptized a second time truly crucifies Him again.
What then does "crucify again" mean? It means nailing Him again to the Cross. As Christ died on the Cross, so we die in baptism. We die not in the flesh, but to sin. See: there is death there, and death here. He died in the flesh, while we die to sin.
In baptism our old man is buried, and a new man rises, conformed to the likeness of His death. Therefore, if one must be baptized again, this new man must die again. Baptism is nothing other than the death of the one immersed and the rising of the new man.
The Apostle rightly said, "they crucify again for themselves." The one who does this acts as though forgetting the former grace. He orders his life carelessly, as though hoping for a second baptism. Therefore we must be attentive and watchful.
What does "have tasted the heavenly gift" mean? It means that they have received remission of sins. To grant such grace belongs to God alone, and this grace is entirely grace. "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not" (Rom 6:1).
If we always hope for salvation by grace alone, we shall never become virtuous. Where there is only grace, we may give ourselves over to carelessness. If we knew that our sins could again be washed away by baptism, would we ever cease sinning? I do not think so.
The Apostle means many gifts here. Listen to what they are. You were counted worthy, he says, of so great a forgiveness. You sat in darkness. You were hostile, an enemy, rejected, opposed to God, and lost. Being such, you were suddenly enlightened. You were granted the Spirit, the heavenly gift, adoption, the kingdom of heaven, ineffable mysteries, and other blessings.
After all this, you did not become better. You were worthy of destruction, yet you received salvation and honor, as though you had accomplished great deeds. How, then, can you be baptized again?
He confirms the impossibility of this matter by two proofs, placing the stronger one after the first. The first is that one counted worthy of such blessings, who has betrayed all that was given him, is unworthy to receive renewal again. The second is that it is impossible to crucify the Son of God again, because this would subject Him to shame.
Thus there is not, absolutely not, a second laver of baptism. If there were, there would also be a third and a fourth. Each later one would always destroy the previous one, and another would destroy it in turn, and so on without end.
Having said, "and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come," the Apostle does not unfold all this. He only hints at it. It is as though he says: to live like angels, to need nothing here, to be certain that adoption by God brings us future blessings, and to hope to enter the unapproachable sanctuary. The Spirit teaches all this.
What does "the powers of the age to come" mean? It means eternal life and the angelic state. We have already received the pledge of this from the Spirit through faith. Tell me, if you were brought into the royal chambers, and everything there were entrusted to you, and then you squandered it all, could it be entrusted to you again?
What then? You will say, is there no repentance? There is repentance, but there is no second baptism. Repentance has great power. If a man has sunk deeply into sins, it can free him, if he wishes, from the burden of sins. When he is in danger, it can set him in safety, even if he has reached the very depth of evil.
This can be seen from many places in Scripture. "Do they not rise again when they fall?" says the prophet. "And when they turn aside from the road, do they not return?" (Jer 8:4). Repentance can, if we wish, form Christ in us again. Listen to what Paul says: "My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you" (Gal 4:19). Only we must set ourselves to repentance.
Behold the love of God for mankind. From the beginning we deserved to be punished with every kind of punishment. We had received the natural law and thousands of blessings, yet we did not know the Master and lived an impure life. Yet He not only did not punish us. He even gave us countless blessings, as though we had performed great struggles.
We fell away again, but even after this He does not punish us. He gave us the medicine of repentance, which can destroy and wipe away all our sins. We need only know what this medicine is and how it must be used.
What, then, is the medicine of repentance, and how is it used? First, it consists in recognizing one's sins and confessing them. "I acknowledged my sin to You," says the prophet, "and I did not hide my iniquity." And again: "I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and You forgave the guilt of my sin" (Ps 31:5). And again: "Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; speak, that you may be justified" (Is 43:26). And again: "The righteous man accuses himself in his first words" (Prov 18:17).
Second, repentance consists in great humility of mind. It is like a golden chain: if you take hold of its beginning, the whole chain follows. So also, if you confess your sins as they ought to be confessed, the soul will be humbled. Conscience torments it and makes it humble.
Something else must be joined to humility of mind, so that it may be the kind for which blessed David prayed when he said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God" (Ps 50:12). And again: "A broken and humbled heart God will not despise" (Ps 50:19).
A broken heart is not agitated and does not give offense. It is always ready to endure suffering, and it does not rise up. This is the breaking of the heart: though it is itself insulted and suffers evil, it remains calm and is not stirred to revenge.
After humility of mind, we need fervent prayers and abundant tears day and night. "Every night," says the prophet, "I wash my bed; I water my couch with my tears" (Ps 6:7). And again: "I eat ashes like bread and mingle my drink with tears" (Ps 101:10).
After such earnest prayers, great mercy is needed. Mercy especially strengthens the medicine of repentance. In medical remedies, though a medicine may contain many herbs, one is principal. So in repentance, mercy is such a healing herb. Indeed, everything depends on it.
Listen to what divine Scripture says: "But give alms of what you have, and behold, all things are clean for you" (Lk 11:41). And again: "Redeem your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by mercy to the poor" (Dan 4:24). And again: "Water quenches a flaming fire, and almsgiving cleanses sins" (Sir 3:30).
Further, one must not be angry, must not remember wrongs, and must forgive all their sins. "A man bears anger against a man," says the Wise One, "and yet he asks forgiveness from the Lord" (Sir 28:3). "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Mt 6:14).
One must also turn the brethren away from error. "When you have turned again," says the Lord, "strengthen your brethren," so that your sins may be forgiven you (Lk 22:32). Again, one needs sincere dealings with priests. "And if he has committed sins," it is said, "they will be forgiven him" (Jas 5:15). One must defend the wronged, not be angry, and bear everything meekly.
Before you learned that sins are forgiven through repentance, were you not troubled and despairing in yourselves, knowing that there is no second laver of baptism? Now that we have learned how repentance and remission of sins are accomplished, and that we can escape everything if we choose to use it properly, can we receive forgiveness if we do not think upon our sins?
If we practiced this, everything would be accomplished. As one who has entered through the door is already inside, so it is with one who thinks on his own sins. Whoever thinks on them daily will certainly attain their healing. But whoever merely says, "I am sinful," without setting his sins before himself one by one, and without saying, "In this and in that I have sinned," will never cease sinning. He will confess often, but he will never think of his correction.
One need only begin, and all the rest will surely follow, if only the first step is taken. In everything, the beginning and first approach are difficult. Let us lay this foundation, and everything will be easy and manageable.
Let us begin repentance, I exhort you. Let one begin with fervent prayers, another with abundant tears, a third with contrition. Even the last, small as it may be, is not useless. "I have seen his ways," says the Lord, "and I will heal him; I will guide him and comfort him" (Is 57:18).
In general, let us all begin with mercy, with forgiving our neighbors their sins, with forgetting injuries, and with refraining from resentment and vengeance. Thus we shall humble our souls. If we constantly remembered our sins, nothing external could arouse pride in us. Neither wealth, nor power, nor authority, nor glory could do so. Even if we sat on a royal throne, we would still weep bitterly.
Blessed David was a king, yet he said, "Every night I wash my bed; I water my couch with my tears" (Ps 6:7). Neither purple nor diadem harmed him at all, nor stirred up pride in him. He knew that he was a man. He had a broken heart, and therefore he wept.
What are human affairs? Ash and dust, chaff before the wind, smoke and shadow, leaves and flowers carried off by the wind, a dream, a vision, a fable, an empty stirring of air, easily moved, a feather tossed up, an unstable stream, and anything still more worthless than these.