Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume IV/Commodianus/The Instructions of Commodianus/Chapter 26

XXV.&#8212;They Who Fear and Will Not Believe.

How long, O foolish man, wilt thou not acknowledge Christ?&#160; Thou avoidest the fertile field, and castest thy seeds on the sterile one.&#160; Thou seekest to abide in the wood where the thief is delaying.&#160; Thou sayest, I also am of God; and thou wanderest out of doors.&#160; Now at length, after so many invitations, enter within the palace.&#160; Now is the harvest ripe, and the time so many times prepared.&#160; Lo, now reap!&#160; What! dost thou not repent?&#160; Thence now, if thou hast not, gather the seasonable wines.&#160; The time of believing to life is present in the time of death.&#160; The first law of God is the foundation of the subsequent law.&#160; Thee, indeed, it assigned to believe in the second law.&#160; Nor are threats from Himself, but from it, powerful over thee.&#160; Now astounded, swear that thou wilt believe in Christ; for the Old Testament proclaims concerning Him.&#160; For it is needful only to believe in Him who was dead, to be able to rise again to live for all time.&#160; Therefore, if thou art one who disbelievest that these things shall be, at length he shall be overcome in his guilt in the second death.&#160; I will declare things to come in few words in this little treatise.&#160; In it can be known when hope must be preferred.&#160; Still I exhort you as quickly as possible to believe in Christ.