from doing good, and give up love? May the Master never
CLEMENT OF ROME
given by others, just as it was given to our fathers, those holy men. 8 Rashness, willfulness, and boldness belong to such as are cursed by God; mildness, humility, and gentleness are at home with those blessed by God.
31. Let us, then, cling to His blessing, and study the ways and means of securing this blessing. Let us unroll the records of antiquity."
2 For what reason was our father Abraham blessed? Was it not that he did what was right and lived up to the truth, enabled by faith? 3 With confidence because he knew the future, Isaac cheerfully let himself be led to the altar. 4 Jacob was humble enough to leave his country because of his brother, and went to Laban and lived in servitude; and the twelve tribes were given to him.
32. Whoever considers these details without bias will appreciate the splendor of the gifts conferred by Him. 2 For to him all priests and Levites, the men that served the altar of God, trace their origin; to him, too, the Lord Jesus according to the flesh; * to him kings and rulers and princes after Juda; nor are his other tribes in slight esteem, since God had promised: * Thy posterity shall be as numerous as the stars of heaven. 3 Consequently, all were honored and made great, not through themselves or their own works or the holy lives they led, but through His will. 4 So we, too, who have been called by His will in Christ Jesus, are sanctified not through ourselves, or through our wisdom or understanding or piety or any works we perform in holiness of heart, but through the faith ** through which Almighty God has sanctified all men from the beginning of time. 'To Him be the glory forever and evermore. Amen.
— 33. What, then, are we to do, brethren? ®* Shall we rest from doing good, and give up love? May the Master never