Eternal salvation is promised not only under the particular name of repentance, of which the blessed apostle Peter says, Repent and be converted that your sins may be forgiven.^[1] John the Baptist and the Lord himself said, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.^[2] The burden of our sins is also overwhelmed by the affection of love, for love covers a multitude of sins.^[3] In the same way, by the fruits of almsgiving a remedy is also provided for our wounds because as water extinguishes fire, so does almsgiving extinguish sin.^[4] So also the washing away of offenses is gained by the shedding of tears, for every night I will wash my bed; I will water my couch with tears.^[5] Finally, to show that they are not shed in vain, he adds, Depart from me all you who work iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.^[6] Moreover, by means of confession of sins, their absolution is granted, for I said, I will confess against myself my sin to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my heart,^[7] and again, Declare your iniquities first, that you may be justified.^[8] Forgiveness for crimes committed is obtained also by afflicting the heart and body, for he says, Look on my humility and my labor, and forgive me all my sins.^[9] This is especially true when considering the amendment of one’s life. Take away, he says, the evil of your thoughts from my eyes. Stop doing evil; learn to do good. Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the orphan, defend the widow. And come, reason with me, says the Lord, and though your sins were as scarlet, yet they shall be as white as snow, though they were red as crimson, they shall be as white as wool.^[10]

The apostle calls people to contrition; I only to a cure. He affirms that riches are a fire;^[1] I desire to extract from them water that helps to extinguish the blaze. This is precisely why it is written, Water extinguishes a lit fire; alms extinguish sins. The apostle attests that damnation is the punishment for riches improperly packed away; I desire to obtain eternal life through these very riches that he says cause eternal damnation to all. Not that I believe that riches will enable anyone who has always lived among the pleasures of the flesh to obtain eternal life if he persists in such sin even up to death—even if he bequeaths all he has when he is at death’s door—unless, in fact, he has previously bid farewell to his sins and taken off his filthy clothes, filled with the filth of his profligacy, and puts on the new robe of repentance, of holiness, from the hands of the apostle who admonishes him.

The wisest of people understands the avarice and pride of human nature. He considers the nature of poverty and its terrible power to depress even the most generous spirit and to induce it often to act without shame. And so, in order that a person should not be irritated when accosted or be provoked by the continual placing of demands on him so that he becomes an enemy when he ought to bring help, such a person is instructed to be affable and accessible to the one who is asking him for things by the words, Incline your ear to the poor, and answer him peaceably and gently. And passing over the case of one who succeeds in exasperating—for what can one say to him who is overcome?—he addresses the person who is able to bear the other’s infirmity, exhorting him before he bestows his gift to correct the suppliant by the gentleness of his countenance and the mildness of his words.

The divine voice admonishes each one of us through the language of the holy Scriptures, Honor the Lord with your belongings.^[1] In another passage it says, Pay your debt.^[2] God is a tender and mild master. He invites us to spend the goods of our earthly belongings! He says, Honor the Lord with your belongings.^[3] Everything that is given to us is his, and yet, he affirms that it is ours so that we can give it away. Thus, he calls the ownership of these possessions ours so that there may be a greater reward for work since we spend more time and effort on possessions that belong to us, and in this way the worker necessarily receives a considerably greater reward for his labor.

The Lord has said that the ownership is ours. However, in order that our soul not become too proud, he adds, Pay back your debt.^[4] If a person is not induced to be generous from his devotion, however, he will be constrained to pay from necessity. If faith is of no help to persuade a saint to operate, that which obliges him to satisfy his debt will motivate him. First he says, Honor the Lord with your possessions,^[5] and then, Pay your debt,^[6] so that, if you are devoted, you should give as though it belonged to you; if you are not, provide restitution as though it were not yours. Thus, God has rightly fixed in the law both the will to give and the necessity to pay.

He wants to say to everyone, You are invited with persuasive words or constricted by contracted debt to do holy deeds. Give, if you want; provide restitution in the contrary case. The apostle also provided similar teaching when he ordered the rich not to be proud, not to put hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God, who, he says, gives us everything in abundance, which we can enjoy in the will to do good works.’^[7] It is one phrase, but with this the apostle teaches us who is the benefactor and what is the reason for the possessions that have been given.