On the Gift of Perseverance

Augustine of Hippo, On the Gift of Perseverance. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 5 (Schaff, 1887), public domain.

Passages · 69

On the Gift of Perseverance Introduction — Introduction. by aurelius augustin, bishop of hippo; Being the Second Book, Of the Treatise “On the Predestination of the Saints.” addressed to prosper and hilary. a.d. 428 or 429 ———————————— In the first part of…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 1 — Of the Nature of the Perseverance Here Discoursed of. I Have now to consider the subject of perseverance with greater care; for in the former book also I said some things on this subject when I was discussing the…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 2 — Faith is the Beginning of a Christian Man. Martyrdom for Christ’s Sake is His Best Ending. Chapter 2 [II.]—Faith is the Beginning of a Christian Man. Martyrdom for Christ’s Sake is His Best Ending. This matter being…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 3 — God is Besought for It, Because It is His Gift. But why is that perseverance asked for from God if it is not given by God? Is that, too, a mocking petition, when that is asked from Him which it is known that He does…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 4 — Three Leading Points of the Pelagian Doctrine. Read with a little more attention its exposition in the treatise of the blessed martyr Cyprian, which he wrote concerning this matter, the title of which is, On the…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 5 — The Second Petition in the Lord’s Prayer. What, when we say, “Thy kingdom come,” do we ask else, but that that should also come to us which we do not doubt will come to all saints? And therefore here also, what do…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 6 — The Third Petition. How Heaven and Earth are Understood in the Lord’s Prayer. Chapter 6 [III.]—The Third Petition. How Heaven and Earth are Understood in the Lord’s Prayer. The third petition is, “Thy will be done in…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 7 — The Fourth Petition. The fourth petition is, “Give us this day our daily bread,” where the blessed Cyprian shows how here also perseverance is understood to be asked for. Because he says, among other things, “And we…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 8 — The Fifth Petition. It is an Error of the Pelagians that the Righteous are Free from Sin. Chapter 8 [V.]—The Fifth Petition. It is an Error of the Pelagians that the Righteous are Free from Sin. In the fifth sentence…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 9 — When Perseverance is Granted to a Person, He Cannot But Persevere. Now, moreover, when the saints say, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” what do they pray for but that they may persevere in…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 10 — The Gift of Perseverance Can Be Obtained by Prayer. But you write that “these brethren will not have this perseverance so preached as that it cannot be obtained by prayer or lost by obstinacy.” In this they are…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 11 — Effect of Prayer for Perseverance. But, lest perchance it be said that perseverance even to the end is not indeed lost when it has once been given,—that is, when a man has persevered unto the end,—but that it is…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 12 — Of His Own Will a Man Forsakes God, So that He is Deservedly Forsaken of Him. But, on the other hand, “of his own will a man forsakes God, so as to be deservedly forsaken by God.” Who would deny this? But it is for…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 13 — Temptation the Condition of Man. Chapter 13 [VII.]—Temptation the Condition of Man. If, then, there were no other proofs, this Lord’s Prayer alone would be sufficient for us on behalf of the grace which I am…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 14 — It is God’s Grace Both that Man Comes to Him, and that Man Does Not Depart from Him. Chapter 14.—It is God’s Grace Both that Man Comes to Him, and that Man Does Not Depart from Him. This grace He placed “in Him in…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 15 — Why God Willed that He Should Be Asked for that Which He Might Give Without Prayer. Chapter 15.—Why God Willed that He Should Be Asked for that Which He Might Give Without Prayer. Wherefore, also He willed that He…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 16 — Why is Not Grace Given According to Merit?. Chapter 16 [VIII.]—Why is Not Grace Given According to Merit? But “why,” says one, “is not the grace of God given according to men’s merits?” I answer, Because God is…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 17 — The Difficulty of the Distinction Made in the Choice of One and the Rejection of Another. Chapter 17.—The Difficulty of the Distinction Made in the Choice of One and the Rejection of Another. “But why,” it is said,…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 18 — But Why Should One Be Punished More Than Another?. “But if,” it is said, “it was necessary that, although all were not condemned, He should still show what was due to all, and so He should commend His grace more…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 19 — Why Does God Mingle Those Who Will Persevere with Those Who Will Not?. Let the inquirer still go on, and say, “Why is it that to some who have in good faith worshipped Him He has not given to persevere to the end?”…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 20 — Ambrose on God’s Control Over Men’s Thoughts. And when Ambrose said this, he was speaking in that treatise which he wrote concerning Flight from the World, wherein he taught that this world was to be fled not by the…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 21 — Instances of the Unsearchable Judgments of God. Therefore, of two infants, equally bound by original sin, why the one is taken and the other left; and of two wicked men of already mature years, why this one should be…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 22 — It is an Absurdity to Say that the Dead Will Be Judged for Sins Which They Would Have Committed If They Had Lived. Chapter 22.—It is an Absurdity to Say that the Dead Will Be Judged for Sins Which They Would Have…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 23 — Chapter 23.—Why for the People of Tyre and Sidon, Who Would Have Believed, the Miracles Were Not Done Which Were Done in Other Places Which Did Not Believe. For if we are asked why such miracles were done among those…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 24 — It May Be Objected that The People of Tyre and Sidon Might, If They Had Heard, Have Believed, and Have Subsequently Lapsed from Their Faith. Chapter 24 [X.]—It May Be Objected that The People of Tyre and Sidon Might,…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 25 — God’s Ways, Both in Mercy and Judgment, Past Finding Out. Accordingly, as says the apostle, “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy,” who both comes to the help of such…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 26 — The Manicheans Do Not Receive All the Books of the Old Testament, and of the New Only Those that They Choose. Chapter 26.—The Manicheans Do Not Receive All the Books of the Old Testament, and of the New Only Those…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 27 — Reference to the 'Retractations.'. Finally, in the first book of the Retractations,which work of mine you have not yet read, when I had come to the reconsidering of those same books, that is, on the subject of Free…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 28 — God’s Goodness and Righteousness Shown in All. It is therefore settled that God’s grace is not given according to the deserts of the recipients, but according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise and glory…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 29 — God’s True Grace Could Be Defended Even If There Were No Original Sin, as Pelagius Maintains. Chapter 29.—God’s True Grace Could Be Defended Even If There Were No Original Sin, as Pelagius Maintains. But God’s grace,…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 30 — Augustin Claims the Right to Grow in Knowledge. Therefore it is in vain that it is prescribed to me from that old book of mine, that I may not argue the case as I ought to argue it in respect of infants; and that…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 31 — Infants are Not Judged According to that Which They are Foreknown as Likely to Do If They Should Live. Chapter 31.—Infants are Not Judged According to that Which They are Foreknown as Likely to Do If They Should…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 32 — The Inscrutability of God’s Free Purposes. But now, since we are now treating of the gift of perseverance, why is it that aid is afforded to the person about to die who is not baptized, while to the baptized person…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 33 — God Gives Both Initiatory and Persevering Grace According to His Own Will. From all which it is shown with sufficient clearness that the grace of God, which both begins a man’s faith and which enables it to persevere…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 34 — The Doctrine of Predestination Not Opposed to the Advantage of Preaching. Chapter 34 [XIV.]—The Doctrine of Predestination Not Opposed to the Advantage of Preaching. But they say that the “definition of…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 35 — What Predestination is. Will any man dare to say that God did not foreknow those to whom He would give to believe, or whom He would give to His Son, that of them He should lose none? And certainly, if He foreknew…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 36 — The Preaching of the Gospel and the Preaching of Predestination the Two Parts of One Message. Chapter 36.—The Preaching of the Gospel and the Preaching of Predestination the Two Parts of One Message. Therefore, by…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 37 — Ears to Hear are a Willingness to Obey. Although, therefore, we say that obedience is the gift of God, we still exhort men to it. But to those who obediently hear the exhortation of truth is given the gift of God…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 38 — Against the Preaching of Predestination the Same Objections May Be Alleged as Against Predestination. Chapter 38 [XV.]—Against the Preaching of Predestination the Same Objections May Be Alleged as Against…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 39 — Prayer and Exhortation. Chapter 39 [XVI]—Prayer and Exhortation. There are some, moreover, who either do not pray at all, or pray coldly, because, from the Lord’s words, they have learnt that God knows what is…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 40 — When the Truth Must Be Spoken, When Kept Back. Therefore let the truth be spoken, especially when any question impels us to declare it; and let them receive it who are able, lest, perchance, while we are silent on…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 41 — Predestination Defined as Only God’s Disposing of Events in His Foreknowledge. For either predestination must be preached, in the way and degree in which the Holy Scripture plainly declares it, so that in the…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 42 — Chapter 42.—The Adversaries Cannot Deny Predestination to Those Gifts of Grace Which They Themselves Acknowledge, and Their Exhortations are Not Hindered by This Predestination Nevertheless. And what I said of…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 43 — Further Development of the Foregoing Argument. And in order that I may more openly unfold this for the sake of those who are somewhat slow of apprehension, let those who are endowed with an intelligence that flies in…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 44 — Exhortation to Wisdom, Though Wisdom is God’s Gift. Now, to say nothing more of continency, and to argue in this place of wisdom alone, certainly the Apostle James above mentioned says, “But the wisdom that is from…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 45 — Exhortation to Other Gifts of God in Like Manner. Nor do those on whose account I am saying these things, who cry out that exhortation is checked by the preaching of predestination and grace, exhort to those gifts…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 46 — A Man Who Does Not Persevere Fails by His Own Fault. But it is said, “It is by his own fault that any one deserts the faith, when he yields and consents to the temptation which is the cause of his desertion of the…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 47 — Predestination is Sometimes Signified Under the Name of Foreknowledge. These gifts, therefore, of God, which are given to the elect who are called according to God’s purpose, among which gifts is both the beginning…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 48 — Practice of Cyprian and Ambrose. What, then, hinders us, when we read of God’s foreknowledge in some commentators on God’s word, and they are treating of the calling of the elect, from understanding the same…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 49 — Further References to Cyprian and Ambrose. Wherefore, the above-mentioned most excellent commentators on the divine declarations both preached the true grace of God as it ought to be preached,—that is, as a grace…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 50 — Obedience Not Discouraged by Preaching God’s Gifts. Such doctors, and so great as these, when they say that there is nothing of which we may boast as if of our own which God has not given us, and that our very heart…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 51 — Predestination Must Be Preached. Wherefore, if both the apostles and the teachers of the Church who succeeded them and imitated them did both these things,—that is, both truly preached the grace of God which is not…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 52 — Previous Writings Anticipatively Refuted the Pelagian Heresy. But in respect of their saying “that it was not necessary that the hearts of so many people of little intelligence should be disquieted by the uncertainty…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 53 — Augustin’s 'Confessions.'. And which of my smaller works has been able to be more generally and more agreeably known than the books of my Confessions? And although I published them before the Pelagian heresy had come…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 54 — Beginning and End of Faith is of God. Chapter 54 [XXI.]—Beginning and End of Faith is of God. Therefore that this opinion, which is unpleasing to God, and hostile to those gratuitous benefits of God whereby we are…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 55 — Testimony of His Previous Writings and Letters. And, indeed, in that treatise of which the title is, Of Rebuke and Grace, which could not suffice for all my lovers, I think that I have so established that it is the…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 56 — God Gives Means as Well as End. Wherefore if I am unwilling to appear ungrateful to men who have loved me, because some advantage of my labour has attained to them before they loved me, how much rather am I unwilling…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 57 — How Predestination Must Be Preached So as Not to Give Offence. Chapter 57 [XXII.]—How Predestination Must Be Preached So as Not to Give Offence. And yet this doctrine must not be preached to congregations in such a…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 58 — The Doctrine to Be Applied with Discrimination. Now, therefore, the definite determination of God’s will concerning predestination is of such a kind that some from unbelief receive the will to obey, and are converted…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 59 — Offence to Be Avoided. Neither is what follows by any means to be said,—that is, “But others of you who abide in the delight of sins have not yet arisen, because the aid of pitying grace has not yet lifted you up;”…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 60 — The Application to the Church in General. Moreover, what follows where it is said, “But yet if any of you are not yet called, whom by his grace He has predestinated to be called, you shall receive that grace whereby…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 61 — Use of the Third Person Rather Than the Second. But now I marvel if any weak brother among the Christian congregation can hear in any way with patience what is connected with these words, when it is said to them,…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 62 — Prayer to Be Inculcated, Nevertheless. But I do not think that manner which I have said should be adopted in the preaching of predestination ought to be sufficient for him who speaks to the congregation, except he…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 63 — The Testimony of the Whole Church in Her Prayers. And I wish that those who are slow and weak of heart, who cannot, or cannot as yet, understand the Scriptures or the explanations of them, would so hear or not hear…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 64 — In What Sense the Holy Spirit Solicits for Us, Crying, Abba, Father. And this especially since “we know not what to pray for as we ought,” says the apostle, “but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 65 — The Church’s Prayers Imply the Church’s Faith. These things, therefore, which the Church asks from the Lord, and always has asked from the time she began to exist, God so foreknew that He would give to His called,…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 66 — Recapitulation and Exhortation. Chapter 66 [XXIV.]—Recapitulation and Exhortation. But what more shall I say? I think that I have taught sufficiently, or rather more than sufficiently, that both the beginning of…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 67 — The Most Eminent Instance of Predestination is Christ Jesus. But there is no more illustrious instance of predestination than Jesus Himself, concerning which also I have already argued in the former treatise; and in…vatican.va
On the Gift of Perseverance Chapter 68 — Conclusion. Let those who read this, if they understand, give God thanks, and let those who do not understand, pray that they may have the inward Teacher, from whose presence comes knowledge and understanding. But…vatican.va

Scripture cited · 104 verses

Job 7:1 · Psalm 1:1 · Psalm 2:12 · Psalm 8:2 · Psalm 18:8 · Psalm 25:10 · Psalm 26:2 · Psalm 37:23 · Psalm 40:8 · Psalm 66:9 · Psalm 80:17 · Psalm 80:18 · Psalm 84:5 · Psalm 84:6 · Proverbs 2:6 · Wisdom 8:21 · Sirach 3:21 · Isaiah 6:10 · Isaiah 53:1 · Isaiah 57:16 · Jeremiah 17:5 · Jeremiah 32:40 · Baruch 2:31 · Matthew 6:9 · Matthew 6:11 · Matthew 6:12 · Matthew 6:13 · Matthew 10:22 · Matthew 10:29 · Matthew 11:22 · Matthew 13:11 · Matthew 19:11 · Matthew 20:14 · Luke 1:3 · Luke 8:8 · Luke 9:53 · Luke 10:13 · Luke 18:1 · John 1:1 · John 1:12 · John 6:66 · John 10:30 · John 12:37 · John 14:1 · John 14:28 · John 16:12 · John 18:9 · Romans 3:26 · Romans 5:12 · Romans 8:15 · Romans 8:30 · Romans 9:14 · Romans 9:16 · Romans 9:20 · Romans 9:23 · Romans 10:21 · Romans 11:2 · Romans 11:4 · Romans 11:5 · Romans 11:7 · Romans 11:29 · Romans 11:33 · Romans 14:4 · 1 Corinthians 1:31 · 1 Corinthians 3:1 · 1 Corinthians 3:5 · 1 Corinthians 3:10 · 1 Corinthians 4:7 · 1 Corinthians 7:7 · 1 Corinthians 9:24 · 1 Corinthians 10:12 · 2 Corinthians 3:5 · Galatians 4:6 · Galatians 5:6 · Galatians 6:6 · Ephesians 1:4 · Ephesians 1:5 · Ephesians 1:6 · Ephesians 1:7 · Ephesians 1:8 · Ephesians 1:9 · Ephesians 1:10 · Ephesians 1:11 · Ephesians 5:27 · Ephesians 6:23 · Philippians 1:6 · Philippians 1:13 · Philippians 2:12 · Philippians 2:13 · Philippians 2:29 · Colossians 1:13 · Colossians 3:1 · 1 Thessalonians 3:5 · 2 Timothy 1:8 · James 1:5 · James 1:13 · James 1:14 · James 1:17 · James 3:14 · James 3:17 · 1 Peter 3:17 · 1 John 1:8 · 1 John 2:19 · 1 John 4:7

On the Gift of Perseverance

Passages · 69

Scripture cited · 104 verses

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Fathers and saints · 48