[1] Brethren, we must think of Jesus Christ as of
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God, as of
the Judge of the living and the dead and we must not think little of our salvation,
[2] for if we think little of him we also hope to obtain but little. And those who listen as though it were a little matter are sinning, and we also are sinning, if we do not know whence and by whom, and to what place we were called, and how great sufferings Jesus Christ endured for our sake.
[3] What return, then, shall we make to him, or what fruit shall we offer worthy of that which he has given us? And how great a debt of holiness do we owe him?
[4] For he gave us the light, he called us
son, as a Father, he saved us when we were perishing.
[5] What praise, then, or what reward shall we give him in return for what we received?
[6] We were maimed in our understanding, worshipping
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stone, and wood, and gold, and silver, and copper, the works of men, and our whole life was nothing else than death. We were covered with darkness, and our eyes were full of mist; but we have received our sight, and by his will we have cast off the cloud which covered us.
[7] For he had pity on us, and saved us in his mercy, and regarded the great error and destruction which was in us, and our hopelessness of salvation save from him;
[8] for he called us when we were not, and it was his will that out of nothing we should come to being.
The Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. Clement of Rome. Kirsopp Lake (Translator). London. 1912.
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