Petr Chelčický

“ The day is evil when the heart becomes puffed up because of good in the face of evil, experiencing the good things given by God’s grace, overflowing in boasting because of it, and looking at itself evilly because of God’s gift. Such a person keeps glancing back in the mirror, is pleased with himself for the adornment of God’s gift, and fails to notice his filth and sin, fixing his eyes on God’s gift. Who will stand in that evil day and who has the armor of God and great humility so that he does not rob God, boasting in His gift? ”

“ Who comes along today, discovers the devil’s garment, and gets inside his mouth to recognize those people’s and the devil’s secret motivations, what he engages in, and the end it leads to? It is clear that the devil has spread gold out under his feet like mud–gold lives soiled in blood, thievery, and other heinousness by those people who have abominably marred the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Son of God beneath beautiful and glorious speeches about great faith and a good life, but all of it done deceitfully. ”

“ Who would not like his office and power, when he can easily receive salvation because of it? But speaking according to truth, we spot that most awful deception. It is the most cunning devil dressed up so that, not being known, he has deceived many nations with such a hidden lie so that, in ignorance, they repeat that lie to many people, grandly glorifying God with their falsehood. That strange clothing is here–bright like the sun before the face of man and delightful to the eyes, but actually an undreamed of darkness in which people fumble. ”

“ Faith discerns good and evil and is an ever present and immovable light to us. It is a shield for us to hold back all the fiery blows of the cruel devil, who the apostle calls an unpitying scoundrel. Shooting with fiery darts, the devil does not think to burn down cottages but to enflame the heart and the entire body with such blows–with debauchery, fury, various delusions, and imperceptible deceptions. He seeks to burn down everything good a person has this way, enflaming a person with wicked desires and wanting him to burn so long that he would come into the eternal flame with him. ”

“ Who discovers that garment when many holy masses, beautiful singing, grand churches, immaculate decorations, and many other honorable things are seen where service to God occurs? Therefore, seeing such things, who can judge it in any other way than being man’s salvation and the great praise of God? People with darkened understanding scarcely believe that it is sin to kill a person, scarcely agree that ugly murder is evil, and only look for salvation in sublime but superficial religion. They fail to consider such things to be evil or to recognize the devil in them. ”

“ People do not judge this with mournful sorrow as if they were walking in the dark, but instead celebrate the glitter of the acclaim of this world’s grandiosity. They rejoice that their daughters marry rich sons-in-law so that their honor is great, and the sons gather heirs of great wealth around themselves so that their praise does not wane. For that reason, the darkness is not odious and they do not hear that it is called darkness; among all those who live that way it is unhampered and uncorrupted vision. ”

“ Just as the apostle taught how the feet of desire should be shod, he then also teaches that they take faith as a shield. But faith is about unseen spiritual things and the future. It is like light, so that the understanding is enlightened by it. It is like a shield that holds back every fleshly snare and every powerful, spiritual, and unseen blow. ”

“ The devil has yet another temptation for such people, being hypocrisy, which has its roots in evil insincerity–in other words, straying according to the freedom of God in the license of the flesh, acquiescing to one’s will, slackening in good things, and losing the heart’s integrity. Because a person does not easily speak about the ends of hypocrisy, I say here that the devil is diligent to approach and corrupt with it gradually and imperceptibly, as with evil leaven, so that ardent love and endeavoring for good works with a whole heart for God fade away. ”

“ For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. Stand firm then, buckling your loins in truth, and clothe yourself in the breastplate of righteousness, shoeing your feet in the readiness of the gospel of peace ”

“ They do not destroy others with their strength, but suffer intensely in the destruction of their own lives. The devil could be defeated with that long-suffering as with a sling stone, but it all turns back into chaff when vain praises blow in with the wind; it lifts that heart up like meaningless chaff. That is why that longsuffering will not harm the devil, because it turns into chaff when such trifling praises destroy it. ”

“ It is truly written, “For the corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things. And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth: and with labour do we find the things that are before us. But the things that are in heaven, who shall search out? And who shall know thy thought, except thou give wisdom, and send thy Holy Spirit from above.” ”

“ That is why the shield of faith is necessary for us, so that we are not led about or lured by some temptation standing in the midst of such delectable, beautiful, and honorable things. Through faith we make use of them for our needs or avoid some of them. May we always employ faith in everything and not be moved in any intention or work without faith, for whatever is not of faith is sin. If we will not be alive through faith, we will slip deeply into darkness and we will not know where we are going. Faith is the boundary line and measure of everything. ”

“ Others are valiant, of a stout heart for goodness without idleness and aware of the devil’s malevolence from afar off. These are against him like with a lance. Others shine with God’s wisdom like rays of sunshine. Others are like tried gold in purity and other virtues. ”

“ When such depravity is in the human heart and such cunning is in the devil, it is no wonder that Satan spreads gold people under himself like mud and tramples rays of sunshine under foot. There are few unpretentious people and hearts with God’s gifts such that they do everything sincerely for God, look to Him in everything, do everything for His praise, anticipate rewards from Him, intentionally avoid boasting in everything, and therefore eschew the affections of proud people, positions, and flatterers. ”

“ Such desires are helped by almost the whole world, which tantalizes them and eggs them on in our flesh. They are dear and beautiful things, colors, costumes, robes, scents, tastes, masterly works, the softness of a gown, good lodging, and the beauty of people–women to men and men to women. The difficult battle with such bloody and corrupt flesh is limitless and beyond our strength, and there is never peace in it either, because everything is apart from God. That is why great faith must be in the person who wants to engage truly in this battle against the flesh. ”

“ In this battle our cowardice, laziness, neglect, and foolishness are his strength against us. When we abandon ourselves to the pleasure of something, or weaken in and fear something, we give ourselves up to the enemy’s swords in that thing. Our security, pleasures, repose, and affections are the enemy’s shield against us. Our ignorance in this battle is his hope in our death. That is why God commands us to stand perfectly in all diligence, labors, integrity of heart, actions, and long-suffering, because longsuffering has a perfect work and the greatest blamelessness is necessary. ”

“ It is strange and awful how long he has existed, how grandly he has been raised up, how virtuously clothed with seeming holiness and spiritual power he has been, and with such an office and power that he could give forgiveness of all sins, free a person from hellish torment, give the power to be a priest to whoever will give enough money, and divest someone of the priesthood with whom he is dissatisfied. ”

“ They have not only done those evil things, but have also carried out other evil things, not repenting of old sins, adorning themselves like good people with virtuous works, and unworthily accepting praise from people. But the devil stamps out that which shone like gold in the eyes of people like mud under his feet. And the last things will be worse than the first for those people. The first sins were overt and the last will be hidden in hypocritical delusion. The first wickedness was wrought through ignorance and the last through veiled cunning. ”

“ I am saying that God’s armor does not always suffice against such cruel and cunning hatred. It does not suffice because of our inadequacy in that we are not completely clothed in that armor at all times. It also cannot suffice because no person’s goodness here on earth has the power to stand against the devil’s cruel power, but God’s highest power itself guards a person against the devil’s cruel wickedness.
Therefore, neither understanding nor being able to enter into the battle by ourselves, we should pray to God, always asking for wisdom, strength, and help. ”

“ That is why the most difficult battle is with the flesh, because its desires cling to the heart and grip it forcefully and delightfully in its wickedness. It latches onto the heart with its falsehood so that power and the judgment of truth depart from a person because he is caught and carried away from himself. ”

“ I am saying that according to the truth, as mundane good things matter to the most insignificant person. But evil, avaricious, and unloving people behave differently. When they grieve and hurt others, they also say they want the same from others, but they are liars in that. It cannot be that people would fulfill those words the other way around, doing despicable things to others and saying that they also want that for themselves from others. A person will hardly find even enough goodness within them such that, when they do evil, they allow themselves to be punished for it. ”

“ Who discovers the face of his garment in such honorable and salvific things, when he clothes himself and blinds people so that they are enamored with those good things, observing them without a pure and whole heart for God and without the certainty of a good conscience? ”

“ But, because the devil does not approach us in such a way that he is exposed, he does his hateful work secretly. When he sees that a person knows scripture but neglects it or does not understand it, the devil approaches him with it cunningly and hands him some pleasant desire hidden by that scripture. The person then grabs hold of it as if finding some useful truth and the devil deceives him, injuring him while his sword is sheathed. The devil pulls that out of the word, injures him, and leads him to violate scripture by it. ”

“ That cunning devil, looking down on all who are haughty, also sees their adulterous hearts, which lead them to love themselves and care about being praised in everything. They demand that everything be reckoned to them as goodness and that that which would be to their disgrace be brushed off and hidden so that no one knows about it. They avenge themselves on anyone who is not kind to them, and spurn anyone who does not think highly of them. ”

“ He is able to stir up that filth which lies deeply in the crooked heart, so that it is not enough for it to come to know God’s narrow way and go along it to eternal life, but it inquires after the width and depth of God endlessly. It walks broadly in that which is beyond its strength, pointing the way to every scripture and prescribing laws for all things, but not submitting to the law of truth. ”

“ By sling stones, rattling lances and rays of sunshine, the Lord God means wise, strong, earnest, pure, blameless, and devout people of a courageous heart and great understanding, which are like gold. And because all such people do not stand their ground against Satan’s incalculable cunning and great strength, here again we can understand that God names gold and rays of sunshine differently. Some are gold according to testing and others are radiant according to appearances, attractive to look at like gold that shines. ”

“ Above all, clear understanding awakens in the person who has the fear of God within him. Such a person sees this entire world full of all evil like an instrument of sin and delusion.
The parts of our bodies that are the clothing of sin are not evil by themselves, for it is not evil to see or hear or speak. It is the heart and the vain world, which are there in the midst of those parts, that corrupt them. ”

“ Diligence is also necessary in everything because of the devil, so that we do not give him any grounds against us by forsaking goodness and doing good things abominably. That way, he will not identify insincere halfheartedness in us, or see that we are doing God’s works as a debt. The devil understands how he has access to us, because we betray ourselves to him through laziness and doing God’s works abominably. He understands what things he can accomplish in a person who he finds so half-hearted in battle. The devil afflicts him as soon as he catches sight of the nearest cause for evil. ”