Epistle of Barnabas on the Way of Light Around 70-130CE Pt. 2

Never be in a hurry to speak, for the tongue is a fatal snare. For your soul’s sake, be as pure as you can. Do not be one of those who stretch out their hands to take, but draw back when the time comes for giving. Cherish as the apple of your eye anyone who expounds the word of the Lord to you.

Day and night keep the Day of Judgment in mind. Seek the company of God’s people every day; either laboring by word of mouth – that is to say, by going among them for the purposes of exhortation, and striving to save souls by the power of speech – or else working with your hands, to earn a ransom for your own sins.

Never hesitate to give; and when you are giving, do it without grumbling; you will soon find out Who can be generous with His rewards. Keep the traditions you have received, without making any additions or deductions of your own. Never cease to detest evil. Make your decisions fairly and uprightly. … And make confessions of your own faults; you are not to come to prayer with a bad conscience. That is the way of light.

Epistle of Barnabas on the Way of Light Around 70-130CE Pt. 1

There are two ways of teaching, and two wielders of power; one of light and the other of darkness. Between those two ways there is a vast difference, because over the one are posted the light-bearing angels of God, and over the other the angels of Satan; and one of these two is the Lord from all eternity to all eternity, while the other stands paramount over this present age of iniquity.

First, then, for the way of light … love your Maker; fear your Creator; give glory to Him who redeemed you from death. Practice singleness of heart, and a richness of the spirit. … Abhor anything that is displeasing to God, and hold every form of hypocrisy in detestation. Be sure that you never depart from the commandments of the Lord.

Do not exaggerate your own importance, but be modest at all points, and never claim credit for yourself. Cherish no ill-natured designs upon your neighbor. … Commit no fornication, adultery, or unnatural vice. … If you have to rebuke anyone for a fault, do it without fear or favor. Keep calm and mild; reverence the words you have heard, and bear no resentment towards a brother.

Never be in two minds as to whether something is or is not to be. Never make free with the Name of the Lord. Never do away with an unborn child, or destroy it after its birth. … Do not cast covetous eyes on a neighbor’s possessions. Do not be greedy for gain. Do not set your heart on being intimate with the great, but look for the company of people who are humble and virtuous.

The Epistle of Barnabas on Holiness Around 70-130CE

Since I last spoke to you, there is a great deal that I have come to understand; for on my pilgrimage towards holiness I have had the companionship of the Lord. … The divine principles are three in number. Faith begins and ends with Hope, hope of life; judgment begins and ends with Holiness; and the works of holiness are evidenced by Love, and joy and gladness it brings. …

We must set our faces against any unprofitable trifling, and have a rooted aversion to the way of wickedness and its works. All the same, you are not to withdraw into yourselves and live in solitude, as though God had already pronounced you holy. Come and take your full share in the meetings, and in deliberating for the common good. Scripture says, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and knowledgeable in their own sight.”

Let us be men of the Spirit, then; let us make ourselves into the real temple of God. … Let us devote ourselves to practicing the fear of God and trying earnestly to keep His commandments; and then His ordinances will be our delight. … What a good thing it is to have learned the precepts of the Lord, as they are set forth in Scripture, and to put them into practice. For the man who does this, there will be glory in the kingdom of God.