#69 The First Apology of Justin - Part 5
By Justin Martyr, from The Ante-Nicene Fathers
Chapter 16 - About Patience and Not Swearing
About being patient with wrongs, ready to serve everyone, and free from anger, He said: "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
We should not fight. He did not want us to imitate wicked people but to lead everyone to turn from shame and evil through patience and gentleness. This is proven by the case of many who once thought as you do but changed their violent and cruel ways. They were won over by the steady lives of their neighbors, the unusual patience they saw in fellow travelers who were cheated, or the honesty of those they did business with.
About not swearing and always telling the truth, He commanded: "Swear not at all; but let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
About worshiping God alone, He persuaded us this way: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve," and "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." When someone came to Him and said, "Good Master," He answered, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God."
Those who do not live as He taught should not be considered Christians, even if they claim to follow Christ's teachings. Those who do the works, not just those who talk, will be saved. He said: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. He that heareth me, and doeth them, heareth him that sent me. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, and the wicked are cast into everlasting fire. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."
As for those who are Christians in name only and do not live by these teachings, we ask that you punish them.
Chapter 17 - Christ Taught Obedience to Government
Everywhere we try harder than anyone to pay our taxes - both regular and special - as He taught us. Once, some people came to Him and asked whether they should pay taxes to Caesar. He answered, "Shew me the tribute money." And they brought unto Him a penny. And He saith unto them, "Whose is this image and superscription?" They say unto Him, "Caesar's." Then saith He unto them, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."
So we worship God alone, but in other matters we gladly serve you, acknowledging you as rulers of people. We pray that along with your royal power you also have sound judgment. But if you ignore our prayers and honest explanations, we will not be harmed. We believe that everyone will be punished in eternal fire according to what they deserve and will answer to God according to the abilities God gave them. Christ indicated this when He said, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required."