ACC ~ John 15 v22

THE AGE OF REASON

ORIGEN: That declaration in the Gospel, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin,” makes it clear to all who are rational just how long a time a person is without sin and just when he is liable to sin. By participating in the word or reason, people are said to have sinned, that is, from the time they are capable of understanding, from the time that the reason implanted within them suggests to them the difference between good and evil. After they have begun to know what evil is, they are liable for any sin they commit.

This is the meaning of the expression that “people have no excuse for their sin,” namely, that from the time the divine word or reason has begun to show them internally the difference between good and evil, they ought to avoid and guard against evil: “For to the one who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” [1] ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1.3.6. [2]

[1] Jas 4:17.

[2] ANF 4:254*; GCS 22(5):57.

JESUS REFERS TO THE SIN OF UNBELIEF

AUGUSTINE: Christ spoke to the Jews only, not to any other nation. In them then was that world that hated Christ and his disciples. And not only in them, but even these latter [i.e., the Gentiles] were shown by him to belong to the same world. What, then, does he mean by the words “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they would not have sin”? Were the Jews then without sin before Christ came in the flesh, because Christ had not spoken to them? Only the greatest fool would think so. By sin here he means not every sin but a certain great sin which includes everyone and which alone hinders the remission of other sins, that is, the sin of unbelief. They did not believe in Christ, who came that they might believe in him. This is the sin, then, they would not have had if Christ had not come. His advent has become as much fraught with destruction to unbelievers as it is with salvation to those who believe. …

“But now they have no excuse for their sin.” If those to whom Christ had not come or spoken had no excuse for their sin, why is it said here that these had no excuse, because Christ had come and spoken to them? If the first had excuse, did it do away with their punishment altogether or only mitigate it? I answer that this excuse did not cover all their sin but only this one, that is, that they did not believe in Christ. But they are not of this number to whom Christ came by his disciples and to whom he spoke by them, as he also does at present. For by his church he has come, and by his church he speaks to the Gentiles. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 89.1-2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:357-58**; CCL 36:548-49.

THOSE WHO HAVE NOT HEARD THE GOSPEL HAVE NO EXCUSE

AUGUSTINE: It remains for us to inquire whether those who, prior to the coming of Christ in his church to the Gentiles and to their hearing of his gospel, have been or are now being overtaken by the close of this life—can they have such an excuse? Evidently they can, but this is no reason for them to escape damnation. “For as many as have sinned without the law, shall also perish without the law. And as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law.” [1] … Such an excuse not only brings them no help but even becomes an additional aggravation. For those who excuse themselves because they did not hear are the ones who “shall perish without the law.”

Paul’s discourse was not distinguishing between unbelievers and believers, but between Jews and Gentiles, both of whom are most certainly lost if they do not find salvation in the Savior who came to seek what was lost. [2] Although, one might say that some will have lighter, others more severe punishments in their damnation. Whoever is punished with an exclusion from that happiness that is given to the saints is lost to God. But there is as great a diversity of punishments as there is of sins—although how this is settled is a matter known only to divine Wisdom, something too deep for human conjecture to examine or express. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 89.3-4. [3]

[1] Rom 2:12.

[2] Lk 19:10.

[3] NPNF 1 7:358**; CCL 36:549-50. See also his Sermon 143.2 (WSA 3 4:426).

IGNORANCE IS NO EXCUSE

AMBROSE: The mystery of Christ is so great that even angels stood amazed and bewildered before it. This is why, then, it is your duty to worship him and, as a servant, this is why you should not detract from your Lord. You cannot plead ignorance because establishing your faith is why he came down in the first place. If you do not believe, he has not come down for you or suffered for you. “If I had not come,” says the Scripture, “and spoken to them, they would not have sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also.” Who, then, hates Christ, if not the one who speaks to his dishonor? For just as it is love’s part to render honor, so it is hate’s part to withdraw honor. The one who hates calls into question Christ’s honor; the one who loves, pays reverence. ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 4.2.27. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 10:265**; CSEL 78:165 (On the Christian Faith 4.2.26). See also Jacob and the Happy Life 1.4.14; FC 65:129).