THE NET OF FAITH

by Peter Chelčický

translated by Rev. Enrico Molnár

CHAPTER 1

THE MIRACULOUS FISHING

Now when Jesus had ceased speaking, he said to Simon Peter, “Push out into the deep and let down your nets for a haul.”  And Simon answering said, “Master,[240] we tolled all night and caught nothing.  Nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net.”  And when they had done this, they enclosed such a great shoal of fish that their net began to break.

These words written in the Gospel are the foundation of those matters that ought to be profitably taught, to some for usefulness, to others for irritation, provocation, ill will, and disfavor.  In this respect, however, we will, with God’s help, deal with nothing else but that we of the latter day desire to see the first things, and to take hold of them, if He will let us do so.  For the worst time has come, the time of storm, the time of crying and moaning, the time of all sorts of deception, which makes it possible that every one to the last man be deceived by signs and miracles performed by false Christs.  And none would be able to withstand them were it not that God has shortened these times for His chosen people.

Thus we of the latter day are like after the burning out of a house which has fallen down making a pile of ruins; here and there we see by some signs that there stood a chamber before – but everything fell onto the foundation (which, buried,) is grown over by a forest where animals graze and dwell.  Who will then find the buried foundation of the burned house that is in ruins and which is deeply covered (with debris) and the top of which has long since been overgrown by defiant weeds?

The whole matter of finding the true foundation is made all the more difficult because these defiant weeds which have sprung upon it are called the true foundation by many; they, pulling to themselves the growth on top of the house ruins, declare, “This is the foundation and the way, all should follow it.”  And with many of them we see that their new foundation sinks into soft ground, the floor settling at different levels.  This shows the difficulty of finding the true foundation…

There are many who would like to dig in order to find the original foundation, in the like manner as Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, and the prophets have done, when, after seventy years of their Babylonian captivity, they returned and built the Temple of the Lord which had been burned down by the Edomites.  And they had a great difficulty in rebuilding the city and the Temple on the charred ruins.[241]  Now there are also spiritual ruins long ago covered up (by weeds); these, too, shall be mended and rebuilt, and for this no one can give a true foundation save Jesus Christ[242] from whom many have run away to other gods, building themselves new foundations, denying and covering up Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by a (layer of) falsehood.

CHAPTER 2

INTERPRETATION OF THE MIRACULOUS FISHING

We have before us the words of the Gospel about which we wish to speak; we would like especially to comment on these three points:

Having written out these words, let us look at their spiritual meaning, especially since these words have a different connotation spiritually than (what they imply) physically.

The wearisome but fruitless fishing, an activity at which Peter spent a whole night wading in the water without catching anything, is a symbol and an example of the spiritual night in which all human effort is without result; no one can catch any heavenly reward.  It is thus with profit that we are told:

The night is far-gone; the day is at hand.  Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day.[244]

The night is pagan ignorance and Jewish blindness which passed away when Christ, the Son of God, the True Light, came into the world in order to illumine those who lived in the shadow of death.

Therefore, let us look at the meaning and practicability of the aforesaid quotation.  First of all, during a night of spiritual blindness, any human work is without result for those who have not attained to the light of Christ, a light brighter than day.  And here we touch upon the most important part to which a Christian ought to pay his first attention.  For every human generation is preoccupied with difficult enterprises, expecting early returns from them, and many even hoping for external gains, yet they labor at night only.  Therefore wise men, who believe that now is the time for work deserving eternal joys, ought always to watch that their labor be not done during the night of ignorance and blindness – for all such effort is in vain.  And one shall recognize the evil and uselessness of such vain deeds when one will move to the other world with empty hands.  What can then such a person expect when it is said, “What shall I do?  I cannot dig, and I am ashamed to beg.”[245] For there a rich man cannot have a single drop of water nor beg a single crumb.  What can there be worse than to fall into an eternity of poverty with empty hands?

Such things are bound to occur to lazy people who waste their useful time because of their sluggishness; they did not want to work in summer, therefore they shall beg in winter, and nothing shall be given to them.[246]  And the others are bound to obtain eternal poverty with empty hands; we have already said of them that although they work much expecting heavenly reward for it, they shall not catch that which they hope to fish out, because they live in a night of sin and blindness.  Therefore the foremost necessity of a careful servant is to insist that, when he works, the work be done in daylight.

Enough has been said about the unsuccessful fishing and the working at night.  Saint Peter’s speech is a sufficient answer when he said, “Nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net.”  It is here that the power of Christ’s words is demonstrated because, what night could not have, His words have multiplied into abundance.  For His words are so perfect and so powerful that not only those things which are made can become useful, but even those which are not made; this is in accordance with the Scripture which says:

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth their entire host.  Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.  For he spoke and it was!  He commanded and it stood fast![247]

These words speak for themselves, demonstrating their power to command such happenings on earth and to introduce the laws of the heavens with their (manifold) fullness.  That is why the writer of this passage says, “Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.”  If He can command all the heavens and the world in its entire beauty and perfection, how much more can he give orders to you, earthen people, who are like mosquitoes before him, like drops of water running spilled on the ground!

Perhaps (you think) the words of Jesus are not so powerful.  Saint Paul says about the power of His words,

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power…[248]

He upholds all things, and creates those that were not.  For through Him the world was made; His words are full of power.  It is with regard to this strange power that Saint Peter says, “Nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net.”  After working all night without success Peter thinks that, spreading the net at the command of His word, he shall enclose many fishes.  Here is the foundation on which the thoughts of the wise men should rest, namely, that only in the words of Christ are the works good and sufficient for salvation.  For only His words are able to bring about good acts, and to empower them with validity and usefulness.

Secondly, His words are sufficient to the establishment of good acts since His words are a light in themselves, in accordance with the Scripture which says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, O Lord God.”[249]  That is, wherever I should go in the light of your word, I shall see, even though standing in the midst of darkness; I shall be able to direct my feet in such a way as not to fall and not to walk astray.  And the light of God’s word shows not only a path to good works, but it also reveals by what means man ought to accomplish his good works, in order to be glorified with them.  For who fights in battle shall not be crowned except he fight a good fight.[250]

Thirdly, His words are sufficient to the establishment of good works because God loves and likes nothing except that which He chooses and wills to love.  Therefore He loves nothing except that which He orders, commands, and teaches.  Therefore He Himself found first in His own person those things He loves.  These he desires and commands, and to them He gives His words, so that they, doing His will, may fulfill it.  And it is imperative not only to fulfill His will, but also to find out – and we know this from His words – in what ways and by what means this will is to be fulfilled.  And if, perchance, they departed in the least from His will, by the understanding of His words they would be made to know that they had succumbed to mortal sin.

That is why the word of God is good to the perception and fulfillment of His will.  Thus, no matter what acts of great holiness man performs, they are not fulfilling and pleasing the Will of God if they do not spring from the truth of Christ’s words.  For there is not one man in all mankind who has an insight into God’s counsel,[251] there is not one (in the position) to ask about good deeds and to show to people a better way than the one which God has found in Himself, and which He has chosen; and that way He has published in the words of His commandments which are known to all who want to do His will and to find His grace.  If they disdain His words, they shall draw upon themselves His wrath and carry it eternally with rebellious devils.  This is the implication of faith to man.

In this sense the reply of Peter is to be understood when he says, “Nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net.”  He gives us a lesson of the true benefit of pursuing good works; we should not try to let down the nets for spiritual results except in obeying the words of Christ.  Otherwise the work will be in vain.  Our present world is full of such vain works, because it acts in accordance with ancient fancies and respectable renowned hypocrites; it looks to them for salvation and everyone seeks God on his own terms, as he likes and when he likes and where he likes, not giving much heed to whether God likes it or not.

The third implication[252] of the story is this: “And when they had done this, they enclosed such a great shoal of fish that their net began to break.”  These words portray the physical miracle (resulting) from the power of Christ’s words.  Through (these words) they caught so many fish that Peter’s net began to break.  These external physical manifestations can throw light on other spiritual realities: on Peter’s spiritual ‘fishing,’ on his spiritual nets, and on spiritual spreading of the net.  For it is apparent in this reading as well as in other passages that our Lord Jesus, calling him from (the profession of) catching physical fish, had said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers (sic) of men.”[253]  So, because he made Peter and other apostles into fishers of men, he gave them also nets for this different kind of fishing.  And these nets are first of all Christ’s, then Peter’s, and they are the work of Christ or his law, as well as the Holy Scripture given out by God, from which men willing to learn can be instructed.

Thus the Holy Scriptures are woven and prepared like a physical net, one knot tied to another, until the whole great net is made; similarly, there are tied one to another the different truths of the Holy Scripture, so that they can enclose a multitude of believers (and every single believer with all his spiritual and physical gifts in order that, surrounded by the net, he might be drawn out of the ocean of this world).  And this net is capable of pulling out everyone from the sea of deep and gross sins.[254]

Now we can understand that this net began to break not so much for the multitude of things caught – like Peter’s net – but, just as in a physical sea, a great number of other repellent things get caught in the net, so also a number of lost souls, heretics and offenders, enter the net of faith (sometimes outwardly being of the faith but later – in times of temptation – reverting to abominations and heresies).  Such (people) tear the net, and the more evil-doers enter the net; the more the latter is torn and ripped.  The faith in God and the words of God perish between them; for they profess God and our Lord Jesus Christ with their lips only, holiness remaining an outward thing with them.  And the devil goes slyly about with these erring people, seeking how to help them to enter the net falsely.  And then they tear it (the devil always doing it in such a way as to have at least some parts of the net on his side – for instance holy baptism and other sacraments – so that he would not appear quite as naked as a pagan.  But otherwise he tears all the truths of the Holy Scripture).

Yet this net is capable of encompassing a great multitude of believers and of the elect, even though they were countless thousands, their multitude does not tear the net that is made of many truths of the Holy Scripture.  For faith does not weaken nor suffer from great numbers of believers.  It thrives and becomes stronger because of them, since every one of the believers strengthens and broadens faith (because he lives by faith which in turn becomes a help and an example to others).  If one of them should perchance weaken in his faith, the others will immediately seek to help.  Therefore a multitude of believers is the power and the strength of faith.

This net can draw out of the sea of (our) world and its depths of sins only those who to the end remain in the net, not tearing a single part of it.  For wherever they would damage the net by breaking one of the truths out of which it is knotted together, they would be unable to remain within, and would drown in the depth of the sea.  Only he can be drawn out who is willing to let himself be pulled out where the fishermen intend it; if he resists the net (or the direction), he cannot be pulled out.

CHAPTER 3

INTERPRETATION OF THE MIRACULOUS FISHING (CONCLUSION)

But here is a doubt as to who are the true fishermen of Christ.  For there are many of whom it is thought that they are Christ’s, but they put down their nets for a haul in the sea at night, and they do it for a year, for two years, for ten and even more years, without catching anything, because they fish at night and because their nets are torn; indeed, the nets are a patchwork of rotten strings, mixed up with reasonings of different people, unsteady.  (And there are those who weave their nets out of such materials).

And many might say, “We have been fishing night after night, and yet we cannot be sure that we have caught a single soul to repentance.”  Many of them catch a whole community for their own advantage, feeding their bellies on the produce of other people’s estates, shearing wool and getting the cream of the milk,[255] and abandoning the weakest cattle to rapacious animals.  Woe to them and their fishing.

Peter’s net, however, is his faith in Christ, established on his words, by which man can be drawn out of the deep sea of this world and its wickedness.  Just as in a real physical sea, there are fish dwelling in dark hollow depths, so in this world of ours there are people living as if in a thick darkness, unable to see either overhead nor in front of them, distinguishing nothing on their left and nothing on their right, unable to put their feet forward with one step of certainty, but always afraid lest a fall, an accident, or an error overtake them.  Peter’s net is therefore the only thing left to man in order to save his life from such a danger; to it he can cling in the darkness of the marine depths and eschew the evil which surrounds man everywhere…

For a gorged and surfeited man is driven to and fro by the mighty currents like a boat, relentlessly tossed with no respite; his desires move him constantly on, and bring to him more and new desires, yearnings after change, licentiousness, roguery, and loose living; he is irritated by trifles, powerless in his anger, constantly harassed and afraid of something; sometimes hysterically rejoicing, yet at the same time burdened and insecure within himself.  And so, moved by this or the other evil, he stands in the midst of the world and its devils who are ready to devour him.  (They find a way to him either through evil passions, material gain, anger, hate, shame, false modesty, pride, daring, fear, doubt, or some other transgression from the path of God).  And all this is apart from the other snares running through the world as temptations and visible injustices.  That is why Peter’s net of faith is so necessary; with it he has pulled many out of the depth of the sea, out of the dangerous onslaughts of devilish waves.

Who is in the net and who lets himself be pulled out of the depths of the sea?  No one else can be thought of but he who thinks and desires but to live by faith in every phase of his life, (and who desires) to know when and where the devil is pulling; (it can be only he) who rests to consult the Scripture[256] just as blind men stop in darkness, not daring to go on unless someone take them by their hand to lead them into safety.  Such is the character of faith that we can call nothing right or wrong unless we look at it through faith; and faith will tell us whether it is right or wrong.  In the same way, we cannot judge things spiritual and divine except by faith, as was said by Saint Paul,

Faith is (the assurance) of things unseen, in which we have hope.[257]

We believe that God is the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit; one God, Creator of heaven and earth, and that Christ the Son of God is truly God and truly man, begotten by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary and born of her; we believe also in other things spiritual and heavenly and future, in the resurrection of the (dead, both the) good and the wicked.  We can touch upon these things which are distant and invisible only through a faith based on the words of God, because we are placed in complete darkness as it were, far away from those things which we can neither ascertain nor see except by faith, and that dimly.

Thus faith is necessary for all things, for without faith no man can please God.[258]  Wherever man moves without faith it is as if he jumped into a dark abyss; in that very moment his own error catches him.

CHAPTER 4

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW

This useful knowledge about faith presupposes a foundation on the words of God.  When a man believes in God he believes also in His words.  And believing that He is the unchangeable God, he also believes that His words cannot change that which they affirm, that is: whoever fulfills them has the grace of God (upon him) and is blessed in everything he possesses; and whoever transgresses the words of God (commits) mortal sin and incurs the wrath of God and is cursed in everything he possesses.  This aspect of faith could bring about much good for people as well as an obligation to avoid falling under the wrath of God because of the guilt of mortal sin; by keeping His word they do His will and stand in His grace, and His blessing is only upon those who believe and act (in accordance with their faith).  These things are (valid) for those whose faith is full of wisdom and life, in whom dwell the fear and the love of God; a dead or blind faith cannot have these things.

Saint Paul says about faith that it comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of (the words of) Jesus Christ.[259]

The sense of this is[260] that, even though faith is founded on every word of God, it is valid for us Christians only if it agrees with the original intention of Christ.  For the Jewish law has an insufficiency (when judged by) the law of Christ since it observes material sacrifices and other physical requirements that the old law showed them in material parables.  And as these parables foreshadowed Christ, they became true in Christ.

Judging from this point of view, we can understand that many divine words of the first law[261] do not bind us (for instance) to follow the lambs[262]; but because lambs symbolized Christ the true sacrifice for sins, we must accept them as such, since Christ brought to us this more suitable faith.  It is therefore right that faith comes from hearing the word of Jesus Christ and that the Scripture should be understood and obeyed in accordance with the words of Christ and his truth.  His words are for our edification and they will confirm the infallibility of his teaching.

Jewish as well as other human scriptures can be based pretentiously and falsely on Christ’s words and his examples; these false scriptures are added to Christ and his words in order to lie more successfully and acceptably ‘through Christ.’  It is indeed imperative to judge any teaching by the words of Christ and by his life, to see whether it agrees with his examples and words.  A wise man, considering all these things and establishing their agreement with the teaching of Christ, will have true faith.

CHAPTER 5

FAITH AND SUPERSTITION

There are many things attributed to faith or said to be of faith that are not faith, nor do they resemble it.  For the worst time has come, a time in which people know so little about faith that they hold Christian faith to be a heresy, while heresies they often parade around as faith.  And this is the great division of the people today; there are two parties that anathematize one another.[263]  The straying away from faith has long since become a great movement, and the people are so much steeped in errors that they accept dead, erroneous, and man-made customs introduced as faith.  And they are so ignorant that true faith appears to them as a foul heresy.  Battles and disputes, murders, arson, and many other evils – these are the sins that the people have brought upon themselves.  And evil men became all the more hardened with a deep hatred against the true faith.  For this reason they now recognize faith with difficulty, as it has been all befouled by heresies, animosities, and ignominies committed in her name.

It is necessary to maintain the sense of ancient wise men in such chaotic conditions in which heresy is honored as faith in order to be ready to believe that which God desires, and to disbelieve what God does not want…

Whoever harbors any doubt in this matter and says, “I do not know what He believed or disbelieved,” should use right reasoning; for, if it could not be known, nobody could ever have believed.  There have been many, however, who have believed the way He desired it; many have been the followers of the faith once given to the saints by its author and perfecter, Jesus Christ.[264]  His will is that one should believe His law which he left through His apostles and those parts of the older Scriptures which can reveal other truths in Christ.  This, then, is faith divine and Christian, for faith is necessary for all things that have been commanded for observance.  Nobody could be faithful to them unless he first believed in God and His words – they guide and teach man.  Observing these things as Christ has commanded him in his law, man shall live by faith.[265]  And all information about faith is preserved in the law of God; therein we find what we must believe and what we must not believe.  And just as faith given by God can be insulted by one who is contemptuous of it or unwilling to submit to it with acts of obeisance, so it can also be outraged by him who pays obeisance to strange things contrary to the faith of God.  And, since He has given to His saints only one faith which is sufficient, it is clear that any other faith of which He is not the author is contrary to His will.  He does not want any believing contrary to His own faith.  For Lord Jesus said, “Have faith in God.”[266]

(In consequence of the fact) that so many heterodox and foreign beliefs have long ago been disseminated and a multitude of peoples forced by threat of anathema to follow them, it is all the more necessary for conscientious people to study and examine their faith in God and His law, to rededicate their hearts to it, and to analyze the other faiths in order to see where these are leading their followers.  For the Pope requires that his person, his letters, and his laws be given credence as the law of God.  He writes, for instance, letters to countries and regions, sending them on (paper) sheets his forgiveness of all sins and remission of all suffering in exchange for money.  And anyone who would disbelieve these letters and doubt their authority he would burn.  And what is more, the Pope regards his letters and laws far superior to those of God; for he punishes the transgressions of his laws, not the transgressions of God’s laws.  On the contrary, he burns those who obey God’s laws.

And there are not only heterodox beliefs but, in addition to them, all sorts of books which are clearly against the divine law, yet they are honored as if they were of the true faith.  What a lot of fraudulent miracles there are in passion books of the saints and other annals, venerated by misguided people!  And what uncertain conjectures and untruthful, vague reasonings are held by men as faith!  And they have mixed up even true faith with these conjectures and reasonings to such an extent that this medley is put on a pedestal as real faith, while the living faith is thrown into darkness and violated.  It is of necessity therefore that the apostle says:

I appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints.  For admission has been secretly gained by some whom long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly persons who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness.[267]

He admonishes and appeals to them to contend for the one and true faith which was given to the saints, the reason for it being – as he says – that admission has been secretly gained by ungodly persons who perverted the grace of our God into licentiousness, conjectural thinking, and who denied our Lord Jesus Christ.  Such persons have harmfully distorted our faith.  And if someone today would try to find out what it was that these deniers have discovered by their multiple distortions and confusion of faith (so that they are even unable to detect its beginning or end), he would certainly have ample reason to say, “Contend for the one holy faith which was given to the saints!”

But against whom should they contend for a faith that they not only deny but also even dominate – just as they try to dominate people?  He who does not incur suffering from the deniers on account of faith will be a rare person indeed,[268] for they are powerful enemies of faith underneath the skin of faith.  If you are a man of no account, do not pick up a quarrel with them lest you meet their challenge.  However, do not interpret this contending for faith as a sort of gambling wager; but whosoever is able to overcome the unwise enemies by truth, without querulous censoriousness, let him do so.  In such a contending for faith we can gain advantage, because we must resist all such who tear the net of faith, everyone who tries to drag the net in his own direction forcing everyone else to go his way, and all those who try to rule over others inflicting upon them their faith which they have twisted and fixed up to fit their own needs.  Do not give in to the fabricators of faith and to those who sow confusion.  Who, knowing true faith, would want to follow perfidy?

[240] Instead of the NT word master the original has the expression “prikazateli,” meaning “you who commands,” “commander.”

[241] 1 Esdras 4:45 & 5:73sq.

[242] 1 Corinthians 3:11.

[243] In the original, “Přikazateli,” i.e. “Commander.”

[244] Romans 13:12-13 RSV.

[245] Luke 16:3 KJV.

[246] Proverbs 20:4.

[247] Psalm 33:6,8-9 AT.

[248] Hebrews 1:3 KJV.

[249] Psalm 119:105.

[250] 1 Timothy 6:12.

[251] The Czech sentence is idiomatic here: Nebo nižádný člověk ze všech lidí nebyl jest v radě božie… .”Not one man in all mankind ‘is in’ on the Divine counsel…”

[252] In the original, stránka. literally “side.”

[253] Matthew 4:19 RSV.

[254] In the original, these words are added: “if one lets himself be dragged by the net.”

[255] In the original, “milking the milk.”

[256] In the original an unclear circumlocution.

[257] Hebrews 11:1.

[258] Hebrews 11:6.

[259] Romans 10:17.

[260] Literally, can be.

[261] i.e., the Old Testament.

[262] The translator took the liberty to paraphrase this sentence somewhat since the original displays a considerable circumlocution.

[263] Utraquists and Táborites?

[264] Hebrews 12:2.

[265] Romans 1:17.

[266] Mark 11:22.

[267] Jude 3-4, RSV.

[268] The original is difficult here; a literal translation would read, “shall have a short strife with them.”