Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume IX/The Epistles of Clement/The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians/Chapter 21

Chapter XXI.&#8212;Let Us Obey God, and Not the Authors of Sedition.

Take heed, beloved, lest His many kindnesses lead to the condemnation of us all.&#160; [For thus it must be] unless we walk worthy of Him, and with one mind do those things which are good and well-pleasing in His sight.&#160; For [the Scripture] saith in a certain place, &#8220;The Spirit of the Lord is a candle searching the secret parts of the belly.&#8221; &#160; Let us reflect how near He is, and that none of the thoughts or reasonings in which we engage are hid from Him.&#160; It is right, therefore, that we should not leave the post which His will has assigned us.&#160; Let us rather offend those men who are foolish, and inconsiderate, and lifted up, and who glory in the pride of their speech, than [offend] God.&#160; Let us reverence the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was given for us; let us esteem those who have the rule over us; let us honour the aged among us; let us train up the young men in the fear of God; let us direct our wives to that which is good.&#160; Let them exhibit the lovely habit of purity [in all their conduct]; let them show forth the sincere disposition of meekness; let them make manifest the command which they have of their tongue, by their manner of speaking; let them display their love, not by preferring one to another, but by showing equal affection to all that piously fear God.&#160; Let your children be partakers of true Christian training; let them learn of how great avail humility is with God&#8212;how much the spirit of pure affection can prevail with Him&#8212;how excellent and great His fear is, and how it saves all those who walk in it with a pure mind.&#160; For He is a Searcher of the thoughts and desires [of the heart]:&#160; His breath is in us; and when He pleases, He will take it away.