III. О СУЩЕСТВЕ И УСЛОВИЯХ САМОГО ОСВЯЩЕНИЯ ЧЕЛОВЕКА БЛАГОДАТИЮ БОЖИЕЮ

Rejecting the error of Protestants, who, under the name of justification or sanctification of a person by grace, mean only the forgiveness of a person’s sins, although in fact they remain in him, and only the external imputation of the righteousness of Christ to him, although in fact he is not made righteous, and recognize only faith on the part of a person as a condition for justification and sanctification, the Orthodox Church teaches: a) that the sanctification of a person consists in the fact that he is actually cleansed from sins by the grace of God and with its help made righteous and holy; b) that faith is only the first condition on the part of a person for his sanctification, and, consequently, salvation, but - c) that, in addition to faith, good deeds are required from a person for this (Right. Confession, Part 1, answer to Question 103; Post. Eastern Patr. on Right. Faith, Part. 9. 13. 16). § 196. The sanctification of a person consists in the fact that he is actually cleansed from sins by the grace of God and made righteous and holy I. The justice of this thought. and at the same time the injustice that, during the justification and sanctification of a person, his sins are only forgiven and the righteousness of Christ is only externally imputed, while in reality he remains in sins, the St. represents it very separately. Scripture, - 1) When he says - a) about the purpose of the suffering of Christ the Savior: Christ loved the Church, and gave it to himself for her sake, and sanctified it, cleansing it with the washing of water in the verb: let him present to himself a glorious Church, not having filth or vice, or anything from such, but let her be holy and blameless (Eph. 5:26-27); b) about the fruits of His death on the cross: the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7), and that cleansing is for our sins, not for ours specifically, but also for the whole world (- 2:2); c) about pre-election in Christ: just as God chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love (Eph. 1:4). How can we understand these sayings if the whole purpose of God’s economy in Christ is limited to the fact that our sins should only be forgiven to us for the sake of the Redeemer’s merits, and not destroyed in us? 2) When it is expressed about Christians who have truly assimilated the redemption accomplished by the Savior, that they: a) were cleansed from sins through repentance and conversion to Christ: repent therefore and turn, that you may be cleansed from your sins (Acts 3:19); Even if the blood of a goat and a heifer, and the ashes of a young child, sprinkling the desecrated, sanctifies the purity of the flesh, how much more the blood of Christ, which you offered yourself without blemish to God by the Holy Spirit, will cleanse our conscience from dead works, so that we may serve the living and true God (Heb. 9, 13. 14; carried down by Isa. 1, 18; Acts 15:9; 1Sol. 5:23); b) were born again from the Holy Spirit and constitute a new creation in Christ: according to his mercy (God) saved us by the washing of rebirth, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, who was poured out on us richly, Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might be heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:3-7; taken down by John 3, 5. 7); for He desired to give birth to us by the word of truth, so that we might have a firstfruits by His creation (James 1:18); If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17; demolished Gal. 6:15; Eph. 2:10); c) washed, sanctified, justified: and these (i.e. great sinners) not without being, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11); d) they put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man, created by God in righteousness and perfection of truth (Col. 3:9.10; Eph. 4:22-24); e) became sons of God, uninvolved in sin: the little ones received him, and gave them the power to become children of God, believing in his name, who were not born of blood, nor of carnal lust, nor of manly lust, but of God (John 1:12, 13); everyone who is born of God does not commit sin, for its seed abides in him: and cannot sin, for he is born of God (1 John 3:9); f) partakers of the divine nature: for all of his divine powers, including life and godliness, are given to us by the mind of him who called us to glory and virtue: in the image of which honorable and great promises were given to us, that for these sake you will be partakers of the divine nature, having fled the lustful aphids even in the world (2 Peter 1, 3. 4). These passages of Scripture could not be accurately explained if it were assumed that the sanctification of a person consists in the mere remission of his sins, in the mere external imputation of the righteousness of Christ to him. 3) When, finally, he testifies that in people who have been reborn, cleansed of sins, who have become partakers of the divine nature, dwells - a) God the Father: of this we understand that we abide in him, and that in us, because of his Spirit he has given us to eat (1 John 4:13; 3:24); b) God the Son: I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you (John 14:20; taken down. Rom. 8:10); c) God the Holy Spirit: don’t you know that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19). It is impossible for the Most Holy of Holies to dwell in people in whom sins remain intact, although they have been forgiven: there is some communion of righteousness with iniquity; or some kind of communication between light and darkness (2 Cor. 6, 14. 15)? I. The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church believed the justification and sanctification of man in the actual cleansing of him from sins and the imparting to him of righteousness and holiness. So, for example, they say: St. Barnabas the Apostle: “He who renewed us in the remission of sins gave us another image (τύπον), so that we have an infant soul, and He, as it were, created us again”... 789. St. Basil the Great: “The Spirit is not a creature, but the image of God’s holiness and the source of holiness for everyone. We are called into the holiness of the Spirit, as the Apostle teaches (2 Thess. 2:13). He renews us and creates us again in the images of God; By the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit we are adopted as sons of God. The creature that partakes of the Spirit is new again” 790. “The assimilation of the Spirit with the soul is not a local rapprochement (for can the incorporeal approach in a bodily way?), but the elimination of passions that subsequently entered the soul from its attachment to the body and alienated it from its affinity with God. Therefore, whoever has cleansed himself from the dullness that he has caused himself through sin, has returned to natural beauty, and through cleansing has, as it were, returned the ancient appearance to the royal image, he alone can approach the Comforter” 791. St. Gregory the Theologian: “He (the Holy Spirit) creates in spiritual rebirth; of which may what has been said assure you, that no one can see or receive the kingdom unless one is born again by the Spirit (John 3:3.5), and from the first birth, which is the mystery of the night, is not purified by the daytime and light re-creation (Ps. 139:16), by which each individual is recreated” 792. “The grace and power of baptism does not drown the world, as in ancient times, but cleanses sin in every person, and completely washes away all uncleanness and filthiness introduced by damage” 793. St. John Chrysostom: “The Jewish priests had the power to cleanse bodily leprosy, or more precisely, not to cleanse at all, but only to testify to those who had been cleansed... These (Christian priests) received the power not of bodily leprosy, but of the uncleanness of the soul, not to testify when it was cleansed, but to completely cleanse (απαλλάττε and ν παντελώς )" 794. St. Macarius of Egypt: “the soul, which the Spirit, preparing it for Himself as a throne and dwelling, deigns to partake of His light, and shines with the beauty of His ineffable glory, becomes all light, all face, all eye; there is not a single part left in it that is not filled with spiritual eyes, that is, nothing dark remains in it, but all of it becomes light and spirit."... 795. "People who are completely united with the Spirit of God become like Christ himself, constantly retaining the powers of the Spirit in themselves, and showing spiritual fruits for everyone: for when by the Spirit they are made inside pure and immaculate, it is impossible that outside they themselves bore evil fruits; but the fruits of the Spirit always appear in everything” 796. St. Cyril of Alexandria: “Christ is imagined in us (Gal. 4:19), when the Holy Spirit communicates to us a certain divine image through sanctification for justification. Thus, this is exactly how the image of the hypostasis of God the Father is imprinted on your souls (Heb. 1:3), that is, when the Holy Spirit transforms you through sanctification” 797. III. The teaching that the justification and sanctification of a person consists in the mere remission of his sins, and not in the cleansing of them, and in the mere external imputation of the righteousness of Christ to man, is not consistent: 1) With the concept of God. To think that God, in the matter of justifying a person, only forgives his sins, and does not actually cleanse them, means to assume that God either cannot or does not want to cleanse a sinner with his omnipotent grace. But both are equally unworthy of God. And if the All-Seer would recognize the justified and sanctified as saints, when in fact they are not holy; if He did not consider them sinners when they remain in sins, then it would follow that He is not true. 2) With the concept of our Restorer, Jesus Christ, as the new Adam, as the Head of the Church. The Word of God teaches us that Christ is the new Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), and that just as from the first Adam sin and death spread to all his descendants, so in the same way from the second Adam righteousness and life spread to all who are born of Him (1 John 2:29). But sin and death from the first Adam were actually communicated to all his descendants and infected our very nature; track. in the same way, righteousness and life are actually communicated to us from the second Adam and purify our very nature. In the same way, the Word of God teaches that God has given him (Jesus Christ) the head above all the Church, which is his body, fulfilling all things in everyone (Eph. 1:22.23), and that all of us who believe in Him are living members of His body (Eph. 5:30). But from the head life flows naturally and truly into all the members of the body; track. it is impossible that from the Lord Jesus His life, righteousness and holiness should not be communicated as naturally and truly to all who truly believe in Him. 3) With the concept of redemption or restoration. The restoration of man is nothing more than his elevation to the primitive state in which he was before the fall. But before the fall, man was truly innocent, righteous and holy. Consequently, he must return to exactly the same state through restoration. Otherwise, if those restored and justified still remain in sins, without righteousness and holiness, but only receive forgiveness of sins and are covered from the outside with the righteousness of Christ: in this case, there is actually no restoration, and it is just a ghost or an apparent restoration 798 . § 197. Faith is the first condition on the part of man for his sanctification, and so on. salvation The grace of God, which accomplishes our sanctification, although it extends to all people, does not act on them against their will - and in fact sanctifies a sinner, and then saves him, only under conditions known on his part. The first of these conditions is faith. 1. By the name of faith in general here we mean the free acceptance and assimilation by man, with all the powers of the soul, of those truths that God was pleased to reveal to us in Christ for our sanctification and salvation 799. This acceptance and assimilation is called faith because revealed truths, for the most part, are incomprehensible to our minds and inaccessible to knowledge, and can only be assimilated by faith. This concept of faith follows: a) from the words of the Savior, who, sending his disciples to preach worldwide, said to them: go into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature, and directly added: whoever has faith (that is, whoever accepts and assimilates everything that will be preached) and is baptized will be saved: and whoever does not have faith will be condemned (Mark 16, 16. 16); b) from the words of St. John the Theologian, who, finishing his Gospel, remarked; And Jesus did many other signs before his disciples, which are not written in these books; This was written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that you who believe may live in his name (John 20:30, 31); c) from the words of other apostles, who call the very Revelation of God or the entire Christian teaching faith (Gal. 1:23; Rom. 1:5; Acts 6:7; 24:24), the law of faith (Rom. 3:27), and the followers of this teaching - faithful (Eph. 1:1; 1 Cor. 7:14; 1 Tim. 4:12). 16), believers (Rom. 3:22; 1 Cor. 2:21). And since revelation, in accordance with the three main powers of the human soul: mind, will and feeling, by which revelation must be accepted and assimilated, contains three kinds of truths: dogmatic, moral and promises, then the faith of a Christian manifests itself in three particular forms: a) as faith in the narrowest sense, by which dogmatic truths are accepted and assimilated; b) as love, by which moral truths are accepted and assimilated, and c) as hope, by which promises are accepted and assimilated. That's why St. The Apostle, defining the essence of faith by which Christians are guided in their earthly wanderings, expressed: now abides faith, hope, love, these three (1 Cor. 13:13) 800. 2. Faith, understood in a general sense, is essential for our sanctification and salvation, according to the testimony of the Word of God. It is the first condition on the part of man: a) For his entry into the kingdom of Christ’s grace: whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved; and whoever does not have faith will be condemned (Mark 16:16). b) For a person to receive the Holy Spirit: I want to take this away from you, whether you received the Spirit from the works of the law, or from the hearing of faith (Gal. 3:2)? Give you therefore the Spirit, and make power work in you, whether by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith; as Abraham believed in God, and imputed to him as righteousness. Understand, therefore, that these are of faith, these are the sons of Abraham (-5-7). Let Abraham be blessed among the nations through Christ Jesus, so that he may receive the promise of the Spirit by faith (-14). c) For the justification and cleansing of a person from sins by the grace of the Holy Spirit: we think that by faith a person will be justified, without the works of the law (Rom. 3:28). For there is only one God, who will justify circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision by faith (- 30; taken down Gal. 2:16). Having been justified by faith, peace imams to God by our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we have found this grace by faith, in which we stand (Rom. 5:1.2). Let us be justified by his grace, by the deliverance that is in Christ Jesus, which God hath ordained cleansing through faith in his blood (Rom. 8:24.25). God, the knower of the heart, testified to them (the Old Testament), giving them the Holy Spirit, as he did to us: and judge nothing between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith (Acts 15:9). d) For abiding and progressing in spiritual life and piety: the truth of God appears in him (in the believer) from faith to faith, as it is written: the righteous will live by faith (Rom. 1:17; demolished: Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38). We are companions of your joy, for by faith you stand (2 Cor. 1:24). You were broken off by unbelief, but you stand by faith (Rom. 11:20). e) To please God: without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Everything that is not from faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). f) To achieve eternal salvation: from childhood you knew the sacred scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through the faith that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:15). For salvation comes by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). 3. In the same way, the Word of God teaches that for the sanctification and salvation of a sinner, the following are necessary: a) Faith in the closest sense, by which we assimilate the dogmatic truths of Revelation, such as: the truth about the existence of God, about His unity in essence and trinity in Persons, about Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, and others. Without faith it is impossible to please God: faith is fitting for one who comes to God, as he is, and he is a rewarder of those who seek him (Heb. 11:6). This is the eternal life, that they may know the one true God, and whom Jesus Christ sent (John 17:3). Go and teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19); He who has faith and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not have faith will be condemned (Mark 16:16). He who believes in the Son will have eternal life: but whoever does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36; 6:29; 8:24; 1 Peter 1:8). And we have faith in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faith of Christ (Gal. 2:16; demo. Rom. 10:9; John 3:16). b) Love by which we assimilate the moral truths of Revelation, namely love for God in general, for the Lord Jesus and for our neighbors. Even if an imam leaves all faith, like even mountains, but he is not an imam for love, he is nothing (1 Cor. 13:2). In Christ Jesus there is neither circumcision, nor uncircumcision, but faith promoted by love (Gal. 5:6). God is loving, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (1 John 4:16; ref. Matt. 22:37; Luke 7:47). If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be cursed (1 Cor. 16:22; taken down. Matt. 10:37; John 13:34). We know that we have passed away from death into the belly, because we love our brethren: if you do not love your brother, he remains in death (1 John 3:14). c) Hope by which we assimilate divine promises. Beloved, we are now children of God, and even though we were not revealed, we will be: but we know that when He appears, we will be like him: for we will see him as he is. And everyone, having this hope, cleanses himself, just as he is clean (John 3:2.3). By hope we are saved (Rom 8:24). Christ is like the Son in his house: of whose house we are, if we hold the boldness and praise of hope even to the end (Heb. 3:6; demolished 6. 11. 12). Let us keep our unwavering confession of hope: for he who promises is faithful (Heb. 10:23). 4. The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church unanimously recognized both faith in general and faith, hope and love in particular as essential for the sanctification and salvation of man. For example: St. Clement of Rome: “we, who have been called by the will of God in Christ Jesus, will be justified not by ourselves, nor by our wisdom, or reason, or piety, or the deeds we do in purity of heart, but by faith, by which the Almighty God has justified everyone from the beginning of the age” 801. “The height to which love raises is indescribable. Love connects us with God; love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:2);... through love all God’s elect have achieved perfection; without love there is nothing pleasing to God” 802. St. Polycarp: “By delving into them (the epistles of St. Paul), you can receive edification in the faith given to you, which is the mother of you all, being accompanied by hope, and directed by love for God, for Christ and for your neighbor. Whoever remains in these has fulfilled the commandment of righteousness. For whoever has love is far from all sin” 803. St. Basil the Great: “This is perfect and complete praise of God, when a person is not exalted by his righteousness, but knows that he does not have true righteousness, and is justified by faith in Christ alone” 804. “No work can be properly done without godly faith in Christ” 805. “It (love) by its power embraces and brings into action every commandment” 806. St. Gregory the Theologian: “Confess Jesus Christ, and believe that He has been raised from the dead; and you will be saved. For justification is to believe only, but perfect salvation is to confess and add boldness to knowledge” 807. St. John Chrysostom: “Having said that the world has become guilty before God, that everyone has sinned and that it is impossible to be saved except through faith, the Apostle tries to prove that to be saved in this way is not at all shameful, but on the contrary, very glorious” 808. “The Apostle proves that faith is not only not superfluous, but is so necessary that without it it is impossible to be saved” 809. “That you may know what kind of heart a believer should have, the Apostle said; and we glory in the hope of the glory of God. He must not only be undoubtedly confident in the benefits bestowed upon him, but also regard future ones as if they had already been granted. For you can boast about what you already have in your hands. since the hope for future blessings is just as firm and undoubted as the hope for given blessings: then the Apostle says that we also boast in the hope for the future” 810. St. Cyril of Jerusalem: “the remission of sins is given equally to everyone, but the communion of the Holy Spirit is given according to the measure of each person’s faith” 811. “If we maintain such faith, then we will be innocent before God, and we will adorn ourselves with all the birthmarks of virtues... Faith has such power that not only the believer is saved, but others are saved for the faith of others” 812. “The root of every good work is the hope of resurrection. For the expectation of reward strengthens the soul for good activity” 813. They also taught: St. Ignatius the God-Bearer 814, St. Irenaeus 815, St. Ambrose 816, St. Macarius of Egypt 817), St. Cyril of Alexandria 818, blessed. Theodoret 819, blessed. Augustine 820 and others 821. 5. The necessity of faith for our sanctification and salvation is also understandable for reasons of reason. Without faith, we cannot assimilate the truths of Divine Revelation; Consequently, we will not know either what God did for our salvation, or what we are obliged to do. And thus Revelation, together with the entire economy of salvation, will remain alien to us, and we will be alien to Revelation and salvation. Believing in Christ the Savior and His revealed word, we, so to speak, open our souls to all the saving actions of God in us; and not believing, we imprison ourselves for these actions and push away divine help. That is why, although faith is aroused in us by prevenient grace and is at first a gift of God, as soon as it is born in us, with our free consent, it becomes on our part the very first instrument for the actual reception into our souls of saving grace or all divine powers, including life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3); the very first condition for our regeneration, sanctification and salvation by grace. 6. The dignity of faith and its sanity are clear from the fact that, although faith begins in us by the prevenient grace of God, it then depends on us, as free obedience to the voice of grace calling us to Christ, free submission of our mind and all the powers of the soul to revealed truths and everything established by God, the order of our sanctification, free surrender of ourselves to the leadership of Christ. “Natural birth,” says the blessed one. Theodorite, has no need for the participation of the one being born; but the birth of faith requires the consent of both the one giving birth and the one being born. For at least he who preaches truly believes; but if the listener accepts his sermon without faith, then there will be no correspondence with the preacher” 822. And St. John Chrysostom says the following about the very dignity of faith in the matter of our salvation: “(St. Apostle Paul) proved that salvation through faith has to a much greater extent everything that salvation through works could boast and reassure itself of. He who boasts in his deeds will exhibit his own works; and whoever credits himself with the fact that he believes in God provides a much better pretext for praise; because he glorifies and magnifies the Lord. By faith in God, recognizing as true what the nature of visible things had not revealed, he thereby proved his sincere love for God, and solemnly proclaimed His power; and this means a most grateful heart, a wise way of thinking and a high mind. Not to steal, not to kill is the most ordinary thing, but to believe that God is able to do the impossible, this requires a great spirit, firmly committed to God - this serves as a sign of true love. Although he who fulfills the commandments honors God; but he is much more honored who is wise by faith. The former is submissive to God, and the latter has acquired the proper understanding of God, glorified and honored Him more than one can honor with deeds. The first praise belongs to the ascetic himself; and the latter glorifies God and belongs entirely to Him... Just as deeds require strength, so does faith. In business, labor is often shared by the body, but faith is the work of a single soul; and since no one shares her exploits, then her work is more significant... Just as believing is characteristic of an exalted and great soul: so unbelief serves as a sign of an unreasonable, rude soul, degraded to the point of stupidity of beasts of burden” 823. § 198. In addition to faith, for the sanctification and salvation of a person, good deeds are also required from him However, no matter how great the dignity of faith, which embraces, in a broad sense, both hope and love, and although this faith is the very first condition for a person to assimilate the merits of Christ; but it alone is not sufficient for the purpose. By faith alone, a person can receive justification and be cleansed of sins in the sacrament of baptism, when he has just entered the kingdom of Christ’s grace; can then receive gifts of grace through other sacraments of the Church. But so that he could, upon entering the kingdom of grace, preserve the righteousness and purity he acquired in baptism; so that he can take advantage of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which he will receive through other sacraments; that he may be strengthened in the Christian life and gradually rise in Christian holiness; could, finally, after completing his earthly career, appear justified and sanctified at the Last Judgment of Christ - for this, in addition to faith, good deeds are also required, i.e. such deeds in which faith, hope and love, dwelling in the soul of a Christian, would be expressed externally, as in their fruits, and which would serve as the exact fulfillment of the will of God, taught to us in the law of the Gospel. 1. In the word of God it is clearly preached - a) That faith alone without works is not sufficient to save a person. This was witnessed by - aa) Christ the Savior himself: not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but do the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21; 26:27); bb) Apostle James: a person is justified by works, and not by faith alone (James 2:24); c) Apostle John: He says, “I knew him, but he did not keep his commandments; there is a lie, and in this there is no truth” (1 John 2:4); d) Apostle Paul: It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the creators of the law; these will be justified (Rom. 2:13). b) That a Christian is obliged to show his faith, hope and love in good deeds. Faith, if you do not have works, is dead about yourself..., show me your faith from your works... Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead (James 2, 17. 18. 26). Everyone who has hope (in the Lord Jesus) cleanses himself, just as he is pure (1 John 3:3). Having my commandments and keeping them, that is love me (John 14:21). My children, we do not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and truth (1 John 3:18). c) That this is why people are called into the kingdom of Christ’s grace, to do good deeds. For this we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God first prepared, that we might walk in them (Eph. 2:10). The grace of God, saving all mankind, has appeared, punishing us, so that, having rejected ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live chastely and righteously and piously in this present age: waiting for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ: who gave himself food for us, that he may deliver us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a chosen people, zealous for good deeds ( Tit. 2, 11–14). d) That, finally, the Lord will reward people not by faith only, but by deeds in the future life. For the Son of man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then he will reward everyone according to his deed (Matthew 16:27; 25:34-36). If anyone does any good, he will receive it from the Lord (Eph. 6:8), and he will reward everyone according to his deeds (Rom. 2:6). For it is fitting for us all to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that everyone may receive either good or evil for what they have done with the body (2 Cor. 5:10; demolished 9:6). Or you don’t know that non-righteous women will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9; demolished Gal. 5:19.20; Heb. 12:14). 2. In the writings of St. The Fathers and Teachers of the Church present the same truth with no less clarity. Let's point out the words: St. Clement of Rome: “So,” he asks, saying that we will be justified by faith, “what should we do, brethren? Should we not lag behind virtue and love? Not at all, God forbid that we do this; on the contrary, let us hasten with all our effort and readiness to do every good deed... A good worker boldly receives bread for his labor; the careless and careless one does not dare to look at the one who hired him. And we must be zealous in virtue, for all things come from Him. This is what the Prophet says to us: Behold the Lord, and his reward is before him, to repay each according to his work (Isa. 40:10). By this He encourages us to turn to Him with all our hearts and not to be careless or careless in any good deed” 824. And in another message: “He himself says: Whoever confessed me before men, I will also confess him before my Father (Matthew 10:32). This is our reward for confessing Him through whom we are saved. But how do we confess Him? If we fulfill His words and do not disobey His commandments, honoring Him not only with our lips, but with all our hearts and all our thoughts... We should not be content only with calling Him Lord: this will not save us, because He Himself says: not everyone who says to me: Lord, the Lord, will be saved, but do righteousness (Matthew 7:21). Therefore, brethren, let us confess Him by our deeds, by maintaining mutual love, not by adultery, not by slandering one another, not by envy, but by self-control, mercy, kindness of heart; we need to be compassionate towards each other, and not lovers of money. We must confess God by these deeds, and not by those contrary to them” 825. St. Cyril of Jerusalem: “The image of reverence for God lies in these two accessories, in an accurate knowledge of the dogmas of piety and in good deeds; dogmas without good deeds are not favorable to God, and He does not accept deeds if they are not based on the dogmas of piety. For what is the use of knowing well the doctrine of God, and shamefully committing fornication? On the other hand, what good is it to be as I should, I will abstain, and it is wicked to blaspheme” 826. St. Basil the Great: “We have repeatedly noticed that everyone’s deeds and spiritual fruits are called children. For it is said: He will be saved for the sake of childbearing if he continues in faith and love and in holiness with chastity (1 Tim. 2:16). For the soul will be saved, like the wife of a groom who has not fallen into deception, when with the help of words she bears fruit in good deeds, if only she remains in good habit and is not darkened by any subsequent sins” 827. St. Gregory the Theologian: “Just as work without faith is not acceptable, because many do good for the sake of glory and according to a natural disposition: so faith without works is dead (James 2:26) ... So show faith from works, show the fertility of your land: was it really in vain that I sowed” 828. St. John Chrysostom about: “I beg you, let us make great efforts to ensure that we remain firm in the true faith and lead a virtuous life. For if we do not unite a worthy life with faith; then we will be subjected to the most severe punishment... And Christ himself confirmed it in the Gospel when he said that some people who cast out demons and prophesied would be condemned to execution. And all His parables, such as the parable of the virgins, the net, the thorns, and the tree that bears no fruit, demand that we be virtuous in practice. The Lord rarely talks about dogmas (for it is not difficult to believe them), but about a virtuous life very often, or better yet, always: for in this field there will always be battle, and therefore work. And what am I saying about the complete disregard of virtue? Even negligence about the slightest part of it exposes you to great disasters. Thus, neglect of giving alms plunges the one who neglects this into Gehenna... I will say much more: it is not only the neglect of any one virtue that makes heaven for us; but even if we fulfilled it, we did not do it with due diligence and zeal, and this produces the same consequences” 829. “Neither baptism, nor remission of sins, nor calling, nor participation in the sacraments, nor the sacred meal, nor eating the body (of the Lord), nor the communion of blood and nothing else of these can bring us any benefit if we do not have a right and wondrous life, and clean from all sin” 830. “Faith without works is, so to speak, just a ghost without life” 831. Blazh. Theodoret: “Faith is not sufficient for salvation, but works are also necessary for perfection” 832. “We need not only faith, but good activity” 833. “The main thing and the true basis of good deeds is knowledge of God and faith in Him: for what the eye is to the body, so is faith in God and knowledge of Him for the soul. But faith also needs active virtue, like the eye in the hands and feet and other members of the body” 834. It would be unnecessary to cite the testimony of many other teachers of the Church who unanimously repeat the same truth, such as: St. Ignatius the God-Bearer, St. Barnabas, St. Irenaeus, St. Theophilus of Antioch, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius of Caesarea, St. Gregory of Nyssa 835, St. Isidore Pelusiota 836, St. Ambrose, blessed Jerome, blessed Augustine, St. John of Damascus 837. 3. Unjustly minded people refer to certain passages of Scripture, which apparently say the opposite, for example: Having learned that man is not justified by the works of the law, but only by the faith of Jesus Christ, let us also who believe in Christ Jesus be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for all flesh will not be justified by the works of the law (Gal. 2:16). We think that by faith a man will be justified without the works of the law (Rom. 3:28). To the one who does not do it, but believes in the one who justifies the wicked, his faith in righteousness is imputed (4, 5). For salvation comes by grace through faith: and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8). We must remember that St. Paul in his doctrine of justification - a) He means those who thought to be justified before God by the works of the law, without faith in Christ the Savior, that is, the pagans who boasted of their good deeds performed in the light of the natural law, and especially the Jews who relied on their good deeds in accordance with the Law of Moses. And, therefore, arguing on the contrary that a sinner, whether he is a Jew or a pagan, is justified only by faith in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, is justified by tuna, by the grace of God, and not by his own works and merits, St. The Apostle actually understands the deeds performed by a person in paganism or Judaism, without faith in Christ the Savior and before turning to this faith, and by no means those deeds that are performed by a person after turning to Christianity, which are based on faith, and are sanctified by faith, and are, as it were, the natural fruits and manifestations of it. b) In particular, speaking against the Jews, he means matters not of the moral law, but mainly of the ritual law, in the execution of which the pagans could not participate, and as a result of which the Jews only acquired the right to justification for themselves, to the exclusion of the pagans. Thus, having said against the Jews: We think that man may be justified by faith, without the works of the law, the Apostle immediately continues: Or is the God of the Jews only, and not of the tongues; her and languages. For there is only one God, who will justify circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision by faith (Rom. 3:28-30). c) By the name of justification he means the justification that every sinner, pagan and Jew, receives upon turning to Christianity in the sacrament of baptism and which is really given to us only through faith in Christ, which has not yet been revealed in the works of the law; but not the justification that every Christian desires to receive, after completing his earthly feat, in the face of the heavenly Judge, who, according to the testimony of the same Apostle, will reward everyone according to his deeds (Rom. 2:6). d) under the name of faith, which justifies without the works of the law, committed by man in paganism or Judaism, he means not the cold consent of reason, but living faith, accompanied by love. In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision can do anything nor uncircumcision, but faith hastened by love (Gal. 5:6). e) Let's say, finally, in general; that St. Paul does not reject good works that follow faith in Christ and are born from it; on the contrary, he considers them necessary for Christians - all his epistles testify to this, where he so often urges believers to train themselves for godliness (1 Tim. 4:7), to be rich in good works (6:18), to be abundant and fruitful in every good work (2 Cor. 9:8; Col. 1, 10; taken down Gal. 6, 10; 2 Titus 3, 1; 4. We can do good deeds only with the assistance of divine grace, which is why they are called the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). But since our free will also needs to participate in doing good deeds; since through this free participation in good deeds we express our faith, love and hope in God; since this participation often costs us great deeds and labors (Luke 13:24; 2 Cor. 6:4-6; 2 Tim. 3:12) in the fight against the enemies of our salvation - the world, the flesh and the devil: then the Lord God is pleased to credit us with our good deeds. And, firstly, as we progress in piety with the assistance of grace, He deigns to increase spiritual gifts in us (Matt. 25, 21. 28. 29) 838 so that with their help we can ascend from strength to strength, from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18). And secondly, he promised the righteous: rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven (Matthew: 5, 12). Each one will receive his reward according to his labor (1 Cor. 3:8). § 199. Moral application of dogma 1. Grace is absolutely necessary for our salvation, so that, without its help, we can neither turn to God, nor believe in Christ the Savior, nor perform truly good, spiritual deeds: let us learn, in the feelings of our own weakness and powerlessness, to humble ourselves before God and people; let us learn to humbly pray to the Lord to grant us this saving power, to humbly keep it within ourselves, to use it with humility, remembering the words of the Apostle: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). 2. Grace is given to us tuna, for the sake of the merits of our Redeemer: therefore, let thanksgiving be to God, our Benefactor, always in our hearts, on our lips, and throughout our whole life, for his inscrutable gift (2 Cor. 9:15)! Thanks be to God the Father, who gives us his all-holy Spirit (Matthew 7:11); thanksgiving to the Lord Jesus, who acquired for us with his blood such great, invaluable gifts; thanksgiving to the Holy Spirit, who pours out abundantly into our hearts and bears fruit in us for eternal life! 3. Grace extends to all people, and not only to those predestined to eternal glory, not only to the righteous. And therefore, no matter how deeply we have fallen, no matter how grave and numerous our sins may be, we will never despair of our salvation; on the contrary, let us hasten only to turn to the Heavenly Father, who is patient with us, not that some may perish, but that all may come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9); Let us cry out for gracious help to the Lord Jesus, who comes into the world to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13), and let us not cease to pray from the depths of our souls to the Holy Spirit: “Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filthiness, and save, O Good One, our souls.” 4. Grace, no matter how powerful and effective, does not constrain our freedom, does not irresistibly attract us to good, but only calls us to repentance and turning to God, excites us to a pious life, helps us in all good things, sanctifies and saves us when we do not resist it, obey it and actively participate in what it does in us and through us. Let us learn to listen to the voice of grace, to follow its suggestions, to use the powers that it imparts to us, to do the good to which it excites us, which it helps us to accomplish, which it itself even produces in us. 5. The sanctification of man by grace consists in the fact that it truly cleanses the sinner from sins, and makes him completely immaculate and innocent, as our forefather Adam came from the hands of the Creator: what a great duty and motivation for all the sanctified, that is, for all Christians, to guard themselves from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, and to guard the duty given to them in the midst of all temptations! 6. For sanctification and, subsequently, for the salvation of a person by the grace of God, two essential conditions are required on the part of the person himself: faith and good works. Let us approach the throne of grace with a true heart in the declaration of faith, let us hold an unwavering confession of hope, and let us encourage one another in encouraging love and good works (Heb. 10:22-24), firmly remembering that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), and that faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). Against Eunom. book V, in TV. St. Father VII, 192. About the Holy Spirit Ch. 9, also 266. The Word about Pentecost, in TV. St. Father IV. 19. The word for baptism, in Creation. St. Father 111, 277. In Is. lib. IV, or. II, t. II, p. 691, ed. Aibert. Of our domestic theologians, the Orthodox concept of justification against Protestants was very thoroughly revealed by the Reverend. Stefan Yavorsky - in the treatise on good deeds, part II, chapter. 7 (see Kam. Vera part III, pp. 451–474, St. Petersburg 1840). “Faith is undoubted consent to what is heard with confirmation of the truth of what is preached, by the grace of God” (St. Basil's message on faith, in the Holy Father IX, 28). “The word: faith is one in its name, but it is divided into two kinds. The first type includes teaching faith, when the soul agrees to something. And it is good for the soul, as the Lord says: listen to my word. and believe the one who sent me, he will have eternal life: and he will not come into judgment (John 5:24)... Another kind of faith is that which is given by grace by Christ: to one is given the word of wisdom by the Spirit, and to another the word of understanding, about the same Spirit: to another faith, by the same Spirit, to another the gift of healing (1 Cor. 12:8.9). So, this faith, bestowed by grace by the Holy Spirit, is not only teaching, but also acting beyond human strength. For whoever has this faith says to this mountain: “Get away from here, and it will pass away (Matthew 17:20)” (St. Cyril. Jerusalem. Chapter V, paragraph 10. 11, pp. 92. 93). “Faith is twofold. Faith comes from hearing (Rom. 10:17). By listening to divine Scripture, we believe the teaching of the Holy Spirit. This faith comes to perfection through the fulfillment of everything legislated by Christ, that is, when we truly believe, live piously and keep the commandments of Him who renewed us. For whoever does not believe in accordance with the tradition of the Catholic Church, or through bad deeds communicates with the devil; that one is unfaithful. There is also faith, the knowledge of things that are hoped for, the revelation of things unseen (Heb. 11:1), that is, firm and undoubted hope in the promises given to us from God and in receiving what we ask for” (St. John. Damascus. Accurate exposition of the right faith, book IV, chapter 10, p. 140). Last to Corinth. 1, p. 31, in Chr. Thurs. 1814, XIV, p. 369. Sent. to Philip. paragraph 3, in Chr. Thurs. 1821, 1, 119. Conversation about humility, in TV. St. Father VIII, 313. Tolkov. on Is. Ch. 1, same VI, 65. Rules, space stated, rep. to the question 2, in TV. St. Father IX, 99. A word about compliance. good order, the same III, 150. On the last to Rome conversations VIII, neg. 155, Moscow, 1844. On the last to Rome conversations VIII, p. 168. there are conversations there. IX, p. 191. Ogl. instructive I, paragraph 5, page 12. Ogl. instructive V, paragraph 7. 8, pp. 90. 91, Ogl. instructive XVIII, no. 1, p. 405. Epist. ad Philad. n. VIII. IX; ad Trall. VIII. Adv. haeres. IV, 15, n. 1. De Cain. et Abel. II, 1, n. 8. “Believing Almighty God, let us approach with a pure heart, free from all worldly cares, to the One who grants to all the communion of the Holy Spirit according to the measure of faith” (Conversations XXXVYA; demo. XLIV, paragraph 5; XLI, paragraph 2). “Because of our unbelief, because of our lack of zeal, because we do not love God with all our hearts and do not truly believe in Him, we have not yet received spiritual healing and salvation. So, so that He will quickly grant us true healing, let us approach Him with true faith” (Conversations XX, paragraph 8). In Jon. lib. V, T. IV, p. 539, ed. Aubert. In Hebr. X, 39; in Eph. III, 17. A fide incipit homo, sed quia et daemones credunt, necesse est addere spem et charitatem (Serm. XVI de verbis Apostoli; cfr. de Spir. et litt. XI, n. 26). Origen. in Num. homil. XXVI, no. 2; Clem. Alex. Strom. V, 1; VII, 1; Hilar. comm. in Math. c. XX, n. 7; in Ps. LX, n. 3; de Trinit. VIII, 12; John. Damascus. Accur. izl. right faith centuries IV, ch. II, pp. 141–142. In Tit. 1, 4; ό δέ τής πίστεως τόκος καί του γεννώντος καί του γεννωμένου τήν συμφωνίαν ζητεΐ. Conversation on the last, to Rom. VIII, pp. 157–158. 174, 175. Last to Corinth. 1, paragraph 33. 34, in Chron. Thurs. 1824, XIV, 270. 271. Last to Corinth. II, ch. 3.4, in Chr. Thurs. 1842, II, 46. 47. Ogl. instructive IV, paragraph 2, p. 58. Plot. on Is. Ch. 14, in TV. St. Father VI, 400. A word about myself, in TV. St. Father II, 296. On Ev. Matt. conversations LXIV, pp. 102. 103. 104. In dictum Paulï nolo vos ignore. n. 6. In II Tit. homil. VIII, no. 1. In Exod. quaest, LХVIII; cfr. in Ps. XLVIII, 1. Ignat. ad Ephes. n. IV; Barnab. epist. n. XIX; Iren. adv. haer. 1, 6, n. 2; Theophil. 11, 27. 37; Clem. Alex. Strom. V, 1; VI, 14.15; Euseb. Hist. eccl. III, 27; Greg. Nyss. Catech. XXIX. Όυκ ένον άπο πίατεως μόνον σωθήναι. Lib. IV, Epist. 65. Ambros. de Cain. et Abel. II, 2, n. 8; Hieron. in Jes. c. XXVÏ non enim sufficit murum habere fidei, nisi ipsa fides bonis operibus confirmetur; Augustin. contr. 2 Epist. Pelag Ι II, 5, n. 14: quä (fides) sine operibus neminem salvat; John Damascus. Exact. exposition of rights faith book IV, ch. 9, p. 237. “Whoever forces himself to prayer alone, but does not force himself to humility, love, meekness and other virtues and does not strive for them, is sometimes given, at his request, the grace of God: since God, being good, lovingly gives to those who ask what they ask for. But because such a person did not practice virtues. did not accustom himself to fulfilling them: either, falling into pride, he is deprived of the grace that he received, or he does not acquire anything more from it and does not grow in it” (St. Macarus. great words on freedom of mind, paragraph 19; conversation XIX, paragraph 6). You might be interested in: