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Contra Faustum Manichaeum libri triginta tres

9.

Sicut Cain sacrificium ex terrae fructibus reprobatur, Abel autem sacrificium ex ovibus et earum adipe suscipitur, ita novi testamenti fides ex innocentia gratiae deum laudans veteris testamenti terrenis operibus anteponitur, quia etsi ante Iudaei recte illa fecerunt, in eo tamen infidelitatis rei sunt, quia Christo veniente iam tempus novi testamenti a tempore veteris testamenti non distinxerunt. Dixit enim deus ad Cain: Si recte offeras, recte autem non dividas, peccasti. Qui si obtemperasset deo dicenti: Quiesce; ad te enim conversio eius, et tu dominaberis illius, ad se convertisset peccatum suum sibi hoc tribuens et confitens deo ac sic adiutus indulgentiae gratia ipse peccato suo dominaretur, non illo sibi dominante servus peccati fratrem occideret innocentem. p. 337,28 Sic et Iudaei, in quorum haec figura gerebantur, si quiescerent a sua perturbatione et tempus salutis per gratiam in peccatorum remissione cognoscentes audirent Christum dicentem: Non est opus sanis medicus, sed male habentibus; non veni vocare iustos, sed peccatores in paenitentiam, et: Omnis qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati, et: Si vos filius liberaverit, tunc vere liberi eritis, ad se convertissent peccatum suum in confessione, sicut in psalmo scriptum est, medico dicentes: Ego dixi, domine, miserere mei; sana animam meam, quoniam peccavi tibi, et eidem peccato, quamdiu esset adhuc in eorum mortali corpore, per spem gratiae liberi dominarentur. p. 338.10 Nunc autem ignorantes dei iustitiam et suam volentes constituere, elati de operibus legis, non humiliati de peccatis suis non quieverunt; et regnante peccato in eorum mortali corpore ad oboediendum de desideriis eius offenderunt in lapidem offensionis et exarserunt odio adversus eum, cuius opera videntes deo accepta esse doluerunt illo, qui caecus natus iam videbat, sibi dicente: Scimus, quia peccatores deus non exaudit, sed qui eum coluerit et voluntatem eius fecerit, hunc exaudit, tamquam hoc eis diceret: Super sacrificium Cain non respicit, sed super sacrificium Abel respicit. Itaque occiditur Abel minor natu a fratre maiore natu: occiditur Christus, caput populi minoris natu, a populo Iudaeorum maiore natu; ille in campo, iste in Calvariae loco.

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Reply to Faustus the Manichaean

9.

As Cain's sacrifice of the fruit of the ground is rejected, while Abel's sacrifice of his sheep and the fat thereof is accepted, so the faith of the New Testament praising God in the harmless service of grace is preferred to the earthly observances of the Old Testament. For though the Jews were right in practising these things, they were guilty of unbelief in not distinguishing the time of the New Testament when Christ came, from the time of the Old Testament. God said to Cain, "If thou offerest well, yet if thou dividest not well, thou hast sinned." ¹ If Cain had obeyed God when He said, "Be content, for to thee shall be its reference, and thou shalt rule over it," he would have referred his sin to himself, by taking the blame of it, and confessing it to God; and so assisted by supplies of grace, he would have ruled over his sin, instead of acting as the servant of sin in killing his innocent brother. So also the Jews, of whom all these things are a figure, if they had been content, instead of being turbulent, and had acknowledged the time of salvation through the pardon of sins by grace, and heard Christ saying, "They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance;" ² and, "Every one that committeth sin is the servant of sin;" and, "If the Son make you free, ye shall be free indeed," ³ --they would in confession have referred their sin to themselves, saying to the Physician, as it is written in the Psalm, "I said, Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee." ⁴ And being made free by the hope of grace, they would have ruled over sin as long as it continued in their mortal body. But now, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and wishing to establish a righteousness of their own, proud of the works of the law, instead of being humbled on account of their sins, they have not been content; and in subjection to sin reigning in their mortal body, so as to make them obey it in the lusts thereof, they have stumbled on the stone of stumbling, and have been inflamed with hatred against him whose works they grieved to see accepted by God. The man who was born blind, and had been made to see, said to them, "We know that God heareth not sinners; but if any man serve Him, and do His will, him He heareth;" ⁵ as if he had said, God regardeth not the sacrifice of Cain, but he regards the sacrifice of Abel. Abel, the younger brother, is killed by the elder brother; Christ, the head of the younger people, is killed by the elder people of the Jews. Abel dies in the field; Christ dies on Calvary.