(17) But if any now will excuse himself for sin, by refusing to take what is evil unto himself, and laying the guilt thereof upon the Evil Spirit, and thus make himself out to be quite pure and innocent (as our first Parents Adam and Eve did while they were yet in paradise; when each laid the guilt upon the other), he hath no right at all to do this; for it is written, “There is none without sin.” Therefore I say; reproach, shame, loss, woe, and eternal damnation be to the man who is fit and ready and willing that the Evil Spirit and falsehood, lies and all untruthfulness, wickedness and other evil things should have their will and pleasure, word and work in him, and make him their house and habitation.

(43) And what is done of sin, such as lies, fraud, injustice, treachery, and all iniquity, in short, all that we call sin, cometh hence, that man hath another will than God and the True Good; for were there no will but the One Will, no sin could ever be committed. Therefore we may well say that all self-will is sin, and there is no sin but what springeth therefrom. And this is the only thing which a truly Godlike man complaineth of; but to him, this is such a sore pain and grief, that he would die a hundred deaths in agony and shame, rather than endure it; and this his grief must last until death, and where it is not, there be sure that the man is not truly Godlike, or a partaker of the divine nature. Now, seeing that in this Light and Love, all Good is loved in One and as One, and the One in all things, and in all things as One and as All, therefore all those things must be loved that rightly are of good report; such as virtue, order, seemliness, justice, truth, and the like; and all that belongeth to God is the true Good and is His own, is loved and praised; and all that is without this Good, and contrary to it, is a sorrow and a pain, and is hated as sin, for it is of a truth sin. And he who liveth in the true Light and true Love, hath the best, noblest, and worthiest life that ever was or will be, and therefore it cannot but be loved and praised above any other life. This life was and is in Christ to perfection, else He were not the Christ. And the love wherewith the man loveth this noble life and all goodness, maketh, that all which he is called upon to do, or suffer, or pass through, and which must needs be, he doeth or endureth willingly and worthily, however hard it may be to nature. Therefore saith Christ: “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”46 This cometh of the love which loveth this admirable life. This we may see in the beloved Apostles and Martyrs; they suffered willingly and gladly all that was done unto them, and never asked of God that their suffering and tortures might be made shorter, or lighter or fewer, but only that they might remain steadfast and endure to the end. Of a truth all that is the fruit of divine Love in a truly Godlike man is so simple, plain, and straightforward, that he can never properly give an account of it by writing or by speech, but only say that so it is. And he who hath it not doth not even believe in it; how then can he come to know it?

(62) Thus behold, thou false Oppresser of Christ, and Author of all Uproars, Mischief, and Disturbance upon Earth, how many ignorant silly People are there under this thy reproachful Blaspheming, which thou many Times causest to lay Aspersions upon a holy Soul? Behold, now if that persecuted Soul shall cry to God for Deliverance, then it all comes to be a Substance, 1 and an Essence before God. And now if those poor Souls many Times (which thus ignorantly have slandered a holy Soul) come before God, and would fain be saved, then if Christ now had not taken all these false Reproaches and Aspersions upon him, and reconciled his Father in himself with his Love, where would you poor Sinners abide? Therefore Christ commands us to forgive Or in Remembrance before God. [others,] as his Father in him has forgiven us; if we do not so, the same Measure that we meet to others, we shall have measured to us. The Gate of a poor Sinner.

(63) And in the day of our suffering and tribulation He saves us not, And we find no respite for confession That our Lord is true in all His works, and in His judgements and His justice, And His judgements have no respect of persons.

(99) I have sworn unto you, ye sinners, by the Holy Great One, That all your evil deeds are revealed in the heavens, And that none of your deeds of oppression are covered and hidden.

(3) Jesus said unto his disciples: "Rejoice and exult, for your sins are forgiven and your iniquities blotted out, and ye are reckoned with the kingdom of my father." And when he said this, the disciples rejoiced in great joy.

(3) For if it so were that there were no perfect cause to be meeked under, but in seeing and feeling of wretchedness, then would I wit of them that say so, what cause they be meeked under that never see nor feel—nor never shall be in them—wretchedness nor stirring of sin: as it is of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, our Lady Saint Mary, and all the saints and angels in heaven. To this perfection, and all other, our Lord JESUS CHRIST calleth us Himself in the gospel: where He biddeth that we should be perfect by grace as He Himself is by nature.

(25) The second test of sincerity is that a man should be willing to sacrifice his will to God's, should cleave to what brings him nearer to God, and should shun what places him at a distance from God. The fact of a man's sinning is no proof that he does not love God at all, but it proves that he does not love Him with his whole heart. The saint Fudhail said to a certain man, "If anyone asks you whether you love God, keep silent; for if you say, 'I do not love Him,' you are an infidel; and if you say, 'I do,' your deeds contradict you."

(165) When there is someone, while you speak the truth, even if you lie there is no sin.

(9) We should mark and know of a very truth that all manner of virtue and goodness, and even that Eternal Good which is God Himself, can never make a man virtuous, good, or happy, so long as it is outside the soul; that is, so long as the man is holding converse with outward things through his senses and reason, and doth not withdraw into himself and learn to understand his own life, who and what he is. The like is true of sin and evil. For all manner of sin and wickedness can never make us evil, so long as it is outside of us; that is, so long as we do not commit it, or do not give consent to it. Therefore although it be good and profitable that we should ask, and learn and know, what good and holy men have wrought and suffered, and how God hath dealt with them, and what He hath wrought in and through them, yet it were a thousand times better that we should in ourselves learn and perceive and understand, who we are, how and what our own life is, what God is and is doing in us, what He will have from us, and to what ends He will or will not make use of us.

(9) Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(16) For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

(2) "'1. Why doth the mighty [one] boast himself in his wickedness? "'2. Thy tongue hath studied unrighteousness all the day long; as a sharp razor hast thou practised craft. "'3. Thou lovedst wickedness more than goodness; thou lovedst to speak unrighteousness more than righteousness. "'4. Thou lovedst all words of submerging and a crafty tongue. "'5. Wherefor will God bring thee to naught utterly, and will uproot thee and drag thee out from thy dwelling-place, and will root out thy root and cast it away from the living. (Selah.) "'6. The righteous will see and be afraid, and they will mock at him and say: "'7. Lo, a man who made not God for his helper, but trusted to his great riches and was mighty in his vanity. "'8. But I am as a fruit-bearing olive-tree in the house of God. I have trusted in the grace of God from all eternity. "'9. And I will confess unto thee, for thou hast dealt faithfully with me; and I will wait on thy name, for it is auspicious in the presence of thy holy [ones].' "This then is now, therefore, my Lord, the solution of the eleventh repentance of Pistis Sophia. While thy light-power hath roused me, I have spoken it according to thy desire."

(96) Woe to you, sinners, for ye persecute the righteous; For ye shall be delivered up and persecuted because of injustice, And heavy shall its yoke be upon you.

(1) It came to pass, when Jesus had finished saying these words unto his disciples, that he said unto them: "Who is sober among you, let him proclaim their solution." James came forward, kissed the breast of Jesus and said: "My Lord, thy spirit hath sobered me, and I am ready to proclaim their solution. Concerning them indeed thy power hath prophesied aforetime through David in the thirty-fourth Psalm, saying thus concerning the ninth repentance of Pistis Sophia: "'1. Give sentence, O Lord, on them who do me injustice, and fight against them who fight against me. "'2. Lay hand on weapon and shield and stand up to help me. "'3. Draw forth a sword and conceal it [ sic ] from my oppressors. Say unto my soul: I am thy salvation. "'4. Let them be put to shame and abashed who strive after my soul; let them fall back and be put to shame who imagine evil against me. "'5. Let them be as chaff before the wind, and let the angel of the Lord pursue after them. "'6. Let their way be darkness and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord oppress them. "'7. For without cause have they hid a snare for me for their own spoiling, and they have mocked at my soul in vain. "'8. Let a snare come upon them which they know not, and let the net which they have hid for me, catch them, and let them fall into this snare. "'9. But my soul will exult in the Lord and rejoice in its salvation. "'10. All my bones shall say: O Lord, who can be like unto thee?--thou who settest free the wretched from the hand of him who is stronger than him; and thou savest a wretched and poor [one] from the hands of them who spoil him. "11. Unjust witnesses came forward and have asked me that which I knew not. "'12. They have requited me evil for good and childlessness for my soul. "13. But when they molested me, I clothed me in a sack and humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer will return into my breast. "'14. I was pleasing unto thee, as unto my neighbour and as unto my brother; and I humbled myself as one in mourning and as one who is sad. "'15. They have rejoiced over me, and they are put to shame. Scourges have gathered themselves together against me and I knew not; they were cut off and were troubled. "'16. They have brought me to trial and mocked me with mocking; they have ground their teeth against me. "'17. O Lord, when wilt thou look upon me? Restore again my soul from their evil works and save my only one from the hands of the lions. "'18. I will confess to thee, O Lord, in the great assembly, and I will sing praises to thee in the midst of a countless people. "'19. Let not them who unjustly treat me as a foe, rejoice over me, who hate me without a cause and wink with their eyes. "'20. For indeed they discourse with me with words of peace, though they plot wrath with craft. "'21. They opened their chops wide against me and said: Well indeed, our eyes have filled our sight with him. "'22. Thou hast seen, O Lord. Keep not silence, O Lord, withdraw not thyself from me. "'23. Arise, O Lord, and give heed to my vindication, give heed to my vengeance, my God and my Lord. "'24. Judge me, O Lord, according to thy justice; let them not rejoice over me, my God. "'25. And let them not say: Well done, our soul. Let them not say: We have consumed him. "'26. Let them be put to shame and be scorned, who rejoice at my mischance. Let them be clothed with shame and disgrace who speak boastingly against me. "'27. Let them who desire my justification, exult and rejoice and let them who desire the peace of his slave, say: May the Lord be great and arise. "'28. My tongue will exult over thy justification and over thy honour all the day long.'"

(14) And there then the Judgment is set, and all Men (both the Living and the Dead) must stand there, every one in his own Body. And the angelical Choir of the holy Men (who have been killed for the Witness of Jesus) is set; there stand the holy Patriarchs of the Tribes of Israel, and the holy Prophets, with their Doctrine; and all that they have taught is made manifest and revealed, and stands before the Eyes of the Wicked; they must give an Account of all their Murderings of the Saints; for they that have been murdered for the Truth's Sake stand before the Eyes of their Murderers, whose Lives the Murderers must give an Account for, and yet have no Excuse to make, but stand Speechless; all a Man's slandering Reproaches which he has cast upon the Righteous stand there before him in Substance, and is a Substance, about which the Law is there read to him.

(4) After we left from our home and came down to this world and came into being in the world in bodies, we were hated and persecuted, not only by those who are ignorant but also by those who think that they are advancing the name of Christ, since they were unknowingly empty, not knowing who they are, like dumb animals. They persecuted those who have been liberated by me, since they hate them—those who, should they shut their mouth, would weep with a profitless groaning because they did not fully know me. Instead, they served two masters, even a multitude. But you will become victorious in everything, in war and battles, jealous division and wrath. In the uprightness of our love we are innocent, pure, and good, since we have the mind of the father in an ineffable mystery.

(1) It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished saying these words unto his disciples, that Mary came forward and said to the Saviour: "My Lord, will then a righteous man who is perfected in all righteousness, and that man who hath no sin at all, will such an one be tormented in the chastisements and judgments or not? Or will rather that man be brought into the kingdom of heaven or not?"

(31) Look upon Saint Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, who converted three Thousand Souls at one Sermon, he spoke not from the Appointment of the Pharisees, but out of the Spirit of Moses and the Prophets, out of the Temple of the Holy Ghost, that pierced through and enlightened the poor Sinners. But thou teachest Persecution only, consider thereby whence thou didst grow, viz. out of that first Stock, where they fell from the Temple of Christ to human Conceits and Inventions; where they sent forth Teachers according to Man's itching Ears, for a fair Show, that thereby thou mightest grow great in thy Pride; and because thou hast sought nothing else, therefore God has suffered thee to fall into a perverse Sense, so that out of thee there come those that blaspheme the true Doctrine of Christ.

(105) Be not godless in your hearts, and lie not and alter not the words of uprightness, nor charge with lying the words of the Holy Great One, nor take account of your idols; for all your lying and all your godlessness issue not in righteousness but in great sin.