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Reward and punishment are incentives to fulfill God's law and avoid sin, based on beneficial or harmful consequences resulting from the fulfillment or violation of God's law. Question How are rewards and punishments divided? Rep. They happen either in this life or in the future life. The reward in this life is all earthly blessings. If you walk in My commandments, and keep My commandments, says the Lord God (Lev. 26:3-8): And I will give you rain in its season, and the land will yield its fruit, and the trees of the village will yield their fruit... and you will eat your bread to be satisfied... and the army will not pass through your land, and I will give peace to your land, and they will marry from you five hundred... In particular, health, long life and praise from pious people. Honor your father and mother, that you may prosper and live long on earth (Eph. 6:2–3). Do you want to not be afraid of power? Do good, and you will have praise from him (Rom. 13:3; 1 Pet. 3:10, 11). Question What are the punishments in life here? Rep. In the book of Leviticus (Lev. 26:14 etc.) the temporal punishments of God are calculated gradually. If you do not listen to Me, says God, follow these commandments of Mine... and I will do this to you: and I will bring upon you poverty and beauty and yellowness that hurts your eyes... and you will sow your seed in vain, and I will devour your adversaries, and you will fall before your enemies, and you will marry those who hate you, and run away, I will persecute you to no one... and I will make your heaven like iron, and your earth like copper... The Lord Jesus Christ threatened the wicked with great misfortune (Luke 13:5): unless you repent, you will all perish likewise. The usual consequences of a sinful life, or natural punishments, are: illness (John 5:14), disgrace (Luke 14:8, 9), premature death (1 Cor. 11:30), judgment and condemnation from earthly authorities. But St. Scripture primarily points the Christian to eternal rewards and eternal punishments in order to excite him to virtue and keep him from sin. This can be seen especially in the Savior’s sayings about bliss: blessed are the poor in spirit, for for them is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is many in heaven (Matthew 5:3, 12). And the Apostle Paul speaks to the negligent about his correction: because of your cruelty and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God: sorrow and distress for every soul of man who does evil (Rom. 2:5, 9). That, in addition to present punishments and temporary rewards, there are future ones, St. Chrysostom says this: “Our real life and the consequences of the deeds we have committed in it do not end with it, and this is proven by the very temptations. For God would never have allowed those who suffered such and such many misadventures, and spent their whole lives in temptations, not to be rewarded for this with incomparably greater rewards... God prepared another, incomparably more pleasant and superior to the real one - life. For if this had not happened, He would never have allowed many wicked people to have fun throughout their lives, while many righteous people were exhausted in adversity. But since another age is prepared for everyone, in which everyone, one for crime, and another for virtue, must receive reward: then in this life he allows one to suffer, and another to drown in luxury... From this it is clear that we should praise and take in imitation not those who live in peace, but those who are dejected and embittered for the sake of God, and who honor virtue and piety ( to Antioch. people, p. 11)". Question What should one notice about the motivations of fear and hope? Rep. According to St. Basil the Great, love for God requires that we do good for the sake of good itself... rejoicing that we have been honored to serve such a glorious and good God; and in this case we have a filial disposition... However, St. The fathers always recognized the necessity of both the motivations of fear and hope. For anyone who begins to live pleasingly, says Simeon, the new Theologian, it is useful to have the fear of torment and the sadness that arises from it. Whoever dreams of starting a business without this sorrow only lays the foundation of his work not on sand, but in the air - without any foundation he thinks to build a building, which is completely impossible (Acts 66). And not only for beginners, but also for those who have perfected the feat of virtue, fear is necessary. The fear of a person who has risen to the heights of love makes him trembling and fearful, so as not to fall from the heights of Divine love and not be plunged into terrible torment (Philokalia).” Saint Tikhon greatly revives Christian hope in us and confirms it by looking at a kokosh or a chicken. We see, he says, that the kokosh gathers little chicks under its wing and warms them: so Christ, our Lord, wants to gather sinners under the wing of His grace and warm them, as He Himself says to Jerusalem: Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how much did your fellow children desire, as the kokosh gathers its chicks under the wing, and did not desire (Matt. 23:37). I say, Christ the Lord wants to gather sinners together. And how can He who created us in His image and likeness not want to? How does the One who sympathizes and sympathizes with our misfortune not want? Why does He who sends prophets to us not want to call us to Himself? How can the One who Himself came to us, lived on earth, worked, suffered and died for us not want? As such, our lover does not want to gather us under His krill? O sinner! wants, wants, and, having extended His grace to the wing, awaits us: come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Question What else is said in the works is holy. Tikhon about hope? Rep. (Bk. VI, ch. 8, §225). Not everyone has the same hope: some hope in princes and sons of men, others in wealth, others in honor, others in their reason, others in their strength, others in other things. The only true Christians, having abandoned everything else, place their hope in God alone. And just as these alone have true hope, so all others have false hope, and therefore they are mistaken. Both patience and hope are learned in adversity. Many people think that they have hope in God; but the coming trouble reveals in whom they trust. From whom anyone seeks help and deliverance in adversity, he places his hope in him... One should not place one’s hope in man or any other creature. For 1) he who hopes for creation sins against the first commandment: I am the Lord Thy God (Ex. 20:2), which (commandment) commands that the only God should be known, revered, loved, feared, trusted in Him, and resorted to Him in their needs... It is not possible to believe in God, but hope in His creation... 2) Those who hope for creation are under an oath: cursed is man, like him. trusts in man and establishes the flesh of his arm upon him (Jer. 17:5). 3) It is impossible for such people to pray correctly. You cannot pray without faith and hope. God does not accept half of the heart, which wants to cleave to both creation and God, and to be divided into two, but He requires the whole heart from us. One must trust in one God. For 1) God is eternal, unchangeable; for hope in Him is firm and unshakable. 2) God is omnipotent, Who, just as He created everything out of nothing, can do everything, although our minds do not understand what. 3) God is wise and knows how to help, deliver and save. Where there is no way of salvation, God finds a way; and where there is no way, there the way is found. 4) God is most kind and merciful, and cannot help but do good to us, and wants to have mercy and deliver us. 5) God is true, and cannot lie in His promise; for the hope in Him is undoubted and firm, and cannot fall, even if the winds and rivers strike it: for it is founded on rock (Matthew 7:25). This hope is nourished and strengthened with God’s help: 1) by reading or listening to St. Scripture (Rom. 15:4). 2) By reflection. They trusted in God: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and God delivered them. Joseph trusted and was delivered. Israel trusted in Egypt, and was miraculously freed from the work of Egypt (Ps. 21:5)... He had mercy on them and many others who prayed and trusted, and will have mercy on us. Their hope did not put them to shame, and it will not put us to shame: for there is no respect for the eyes of God (Rom. 2:11). But we must remember this: trust and do goodness (Ps. 37:3). It is in vain that he hopes in God who resists God; in vain he expects mercy from God, who never ceases to irritate Him with his unrepentant disposition; in vain does one stretch out his hands and eyes to God if his heart turns away from Him and turns to mammon... God listens to sinners, but to those who stop sinning and to those who repent. He heard Manasseh, but with humility confessing his sins (2 Chronicles 33); heard the Ninevites, but understood the preaching of Jonah. I heard Zacchaeus, but he repented... Even so, wake us up too! Question How holy. Tikhon discusses the purpose of a person? Rep. You asked me, he says (letter 1, part 14): what is our first task, or purpose? To this I answer you, you reason and listen: 1) we were created, and those who fell were redeemed to eternal life: renewed by holy baptism and called to eternal life by the word of God; St. We have the Scripture given to us by God to obtain eternal life. The Son of God Jesus Christ came into the world, and lived, suffered and died in the world so that we would receive eternal life. We see that the first and most necessary Christian work is eternal salvation. We need clothing, food, a home, etc.; but eternal salvation is so necessary that without it everything is nothing. He who has salvation has everything; He who does not have salvation has nothing, even if he had the whole world under him (Matthew 16:26). This is the only thing needed (Luke 10:42). Everything we have in this world is from us; wealth, honor, glory, friendship, etc. will be taken away; but the salvation of the soul, once achieved, will never be taken away; it will go with the soul for this age and will not be separated from it forever and ever. 2) The very first concern, effort, labor and feat must be about the primary task or about achieving our destination, so that it comes to perfection. A warrior’s first job and purpose is to be brave in battle, to stand against enemies and defeat them. A slave’s first task and purpose is to serve and please his master. The student’s first task and purpose is to study and study everything that the teacher teaches him. The boss has a first job and purpose - to manage his subordinates and keep them in order. The shepherd’s first job and purpose is to graze the cattle entrusted to him. A Christian has the first task - the work of salvation... Satan strives to take away from him this treasure, acquired by the blood of Christ; but let the Christian strive to hold on to it and keep it... The first and most necessary work of a Christian is salvation; always and everywhere his first concern should be about himself; farming and everything related to the world is his last concern; therefore, care about it should be the last; and let the very first concern for spiritual salvation be! This should be in his mind and heart, in the morning, during the day, at night, everywhere, at all times and in all actions and deeds and occupy him. Let this thought, like a burning light, in all deeds and undertakings, always and everywhere, come to him and show him what he must do so as not to lose salvation. Is a Christian a judge? This is how one must judge so as not to fall under the eternal judgment of God. Is the boss a Christian? This is how he must lead so that he does not lose his eternal salvation. Is he a shepherd of Christ's flock? Thus he must feed the sheep of Christ, so as not to destroy himself and them. Is it a teacher? This is how I must teach people in order to save myself and them. Is it sir? So he must rule so as not to destroy himself and his slaves. Are you the father? This is what you must do with your children in order to save them and yourself... In a word: every Christian, in every rank and rank, must have primary care and concern for this, so as not to be deprived of eternal salvation; without this everything is nothing. Whoever has such a thought and diligence, every title and every rank will contribute to salvation. Question How holy. Tikhon warns Christians against ingratitude towards God? Rep. 1) A person shows ingratitude to God when he forgets good deeds, in the likeness of the Israelites, about whom it is said: forgetting His good deeds and His miracles, even showing them (Ps. 77:11). This happens when a person enjoys the blessings of God, and does not feel: he is illuminated by light, preserved by air, warmed by fire, filled with bread, watered with water, covered with clothes, kept from invisible enemies by God's power, not immediately executed for sins, and other blessings of God are received from the right hand of God - and does not recognize them and does not understand them (Ps. 91:7). What would happen to us if God, in His truth, for our ingratitude took away even a single element - air? Everyone should definitely die immediately. 2) Most importantly, then, a person shows ingratitude to God when he forgets the great deed of the human race, that for his sake God himself came to earth, became incarnate, lived on earth with people, suffered and died, and thus arranged salvation for him... If someone came to someone drowning in water, or mired in mud, and, stretching out his hand, wanted to take him out of there, or someone came to a prisoner and wanted to free him from captivity, but he himself does not want to get rid of his misfortune: would he not be insane and ungrateful to his benefactor? This is what an unrepentant sinner does... God wants to have mercy on him, to give him eternal life, but he despises God’s favor, and turns away from Him, and willingly goes into destruction, like a blind man into a ditch... 3) Ingratitude to God is that a person experiences God’s goodness not only every day, but also at every hour, but does not love Him as his benefactor. He does not love because he does not honor, he does not honor because he does not listen, he does not listen because he does not fulfill His commandments. Hence, every sin and lawlessness by which the Lord God, the highest benefactor, is angered and offended... 4) From here we see how sin blinds a person. Our benefactor man, although whatever we receive from him is God’s, we love, honor and glorify... Every creature of God praises and glorifies God, its Creator. The heavens will tell the glory of God (Ps. 18:2): the sun, moon and stars glorify God with their light; and the birds fly in the air, sing and glorify the Lord; the earth with its fruits, the sea with those who live in it and those who move, praise the Lord. Man, on whom God's goodness was poured out further and immeasurably more than on any creature, does not want to praise and thank the Lord, his creator and benefactor... Oh, how great is the blindness of man! And how wonderful is the goodness of God, which through our ingratitude does not withhold His sun from evil and good (Matthew 5:45)!.. 6) Our ingratitude does not harm God, but harms us ourselves. Just as the sun, whether it is blasphemed or praised, shines equally and emits its rays, neither diminished by blasphemy nor increased by glorification: so we do not give glory to God, whether we love Him, honor Him and thank Him, but this is beneficial to us. Also, when we do not love, do not honor and do not thank, we do not take away His glory, but we greatly harm ourselves... God deprives the ungrateful by His righteous judgment of grace and help... Hence it happens that ungrateful Christians are more evil than the pagans themselves, because political pagans (i.e., well-educated) run away from those sins that fearless Christians dare to commit, such as robbery, theft, untruth in courts, deceit, impurity, etc.... Such is the fruit of ingratitude, the fruit of insensibility and destruction!.. Question How does our holy father Tikhon portray a man unregenerate and reborn by grace? Rep. Saint Tikhon depicts the unregenerate, or carnal, or, which is the same, the old man, in contrast to the reborn man, or the new, spiritual man, in this way, on the basis of the Holy. Scripture: “in a person who has accepted the Christian faith and baptism, there are two births - the old or carnal and the new or spiritual. From these two births, a battle between spirit and flesh arises in him, or, more simply, a double inclination, a double movement, motivation and encouragement. For these two births are opposed to each other... The Apostle speaks about this: the flesh (the side unregenerated by grace) lusts against the spirit, but the spirit, that is, what is regenerated in man, blessed, lusts after the flesh: these are opposed to each other (Gal. 5:17). Carnal birth inclines to carnal wisdom, spiritual birth - to spiritual wisdom. The carnal, or unregenerate, moves towards the search for honor, glory, and earthly wealth; the spiritual is turned away from this and is encouraged to seek eternal blessings, glory and eternal bliss. The carnal is driven towards pride and arrogance, the spiritual – towards humility. A carnal, or unregenerate, person is quick to anger, rage, and revenge; the spiritual person turns away from this and tries to remain in patience, quietness, kindness and meekness... In short: a carnal, unregenerate person is devoted to self-love, fulfills only his own will, pleases himself; and the spiritual, reborn, is led and governed by love for God and love for neighbors: he listens to God and His saints. does his will... The whole feat of a Christian until the end of his life is to free himself from everything that is characteristic of unregenerate man, that is, we do not what we will (Gal. 5:17) - but what the will of God, the law of God and the new birth wants. And this is: to crucify the flesh with passions and lusts; raking oneself from the lusts of the flesh, which war upon the soul (1 Pet. 2:11), - do not indulge in carnal desires in lust (Rom. 13:14), - put aside after the first life the old man, which is decaying in the lusts of the flesh (Eph. 4:22), - do not mortify the deeds of the flesh with the spirit (Rom. 8:13), - do not To walk in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom. 8:1), does not live for oneself, but for Christ who died for us and rose again (2 Cor. 5:15). Question Another bl. Tikhon asks: what is a spiritual or regenerated person, and what is an unregenerate person? Rep. A spiritual person is one who philosophizes spiritually, mortifies carnal deeds and shows the fruits of the new birth, although he also has a wife, gives birth to children, carries a gun, and is adorned with cavalry. A carnal or unregenerate person is one who lives according to the flesh, does carnal deeds, even if he is covered with a hood, cassock and mantle (that is, he was a monk) or adorned with an external cross. For it is not dress and other appearance that makes a Christian and a spiritual person, but living faith, adorned with fruits, as well as unbelief with lawless deeds make a carnal, unregenerate person... So we see that there is a false Christian, unregenerated by grace. This is the one who, although he confesses God and Christ and is baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, by his deeds, like an evil tree with evil fruits, he places himself not among the Christians, but among the pagans. From St. Tikhon we find the most touching examples of how, firstly, Christ calls a sinful, unregenerate person to conversion and rebirth, and secondly, how an unregenerate sinner, awakening from a sinful sleep and, having heard the call of Christ, responds to the voice with two sighs. I. Here is the voice of Christ, calling to unregenerate, wandering man: “Why have you, O man, abandoned Me? Why did you turn away from your Beloved? Why did you again stick to My enemy? Remember that I came down from heaven for your sake. Remember that for your sake the flesh was born of a virgin, and became an infant for your sake. Remember, for your sake I humbled myself, for your sake I became impoverished. Remember that for your sake I endured persecution, was imputed with the lawless, and for your sake I died a blasphemous death... Are you despising this love of mine? Instead of Me, you love sin; instead of Men, do you work for passions? And what did you find in Me that is worthy of disgust? Why don’t you want to approach Me?.. Don’t you dare to approach Me? But who is the most convenient attack? Are you afraid to ask? Whose request have I refused? Do sins keep you out? I died for sinners. Does the multitude of sins bother you? I have more mercy (Matthew 11:28).” II. The first sigh of a sinful, unregenerate, but awakening soul for rebirth: “bring my soul out of prison to confess to Your name. Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me. Attract me, let me come to You. I am imprisoned, O Lord, and darkness surrounds me; bound by many iron ties, and there are no weakening. Break the bonds, so that I will be free. Destroy the darkness so that I may see Your light. Bring me out of prison, so that I can come to You. Give me ears to hear You. Give me eyes to see You. Give me a taste - taste You. Give me a scent - give you a fragrance. Give me the opportunity to come to You. Give me lips to speak about You. Give me a heart to fear and love You. Guide me, O Lord, on Your path, and I will walk in Your truth. For you are the way, and the truth, and the life. Take what is mine from Me, and let me do Your good will. Take away the old and give us the new. Give me an eye, so that I may see Your humility and follow it. Give me an eye, so that I may see Your meekness and patience, and follow them. Rtsy word, and everything will be. For Your word is your work. I believe, Lord: help my unbelief.” III. The second sigh of one awakened to rebirth by the grace of God: “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.” Be the food and drink of my soul. Be the source of my thirsty soul. Be the light of my darkened soul. Be joy in my sorrow, joy in my sorrow. Be a deliverance against my corruption. May there be peace and tranquility against my evil conscience. Be wisdom against my madness. Be an intercessor against my slanderers. Be an excuse against my sins. Be sanctified against my uncleanness. May we be victorious against my enemies. Be a shield against my persecutors. Be an intercessor against the wrath of God. Be a sacrifice for my sins. Be a strength in my weakness. Be strong against my death. Be the light against my bewilderment. Be strength against my weakness. Be my sir, the Eternal Father. Be a judge against those who insult me. Be a king against the kingdom of the devil, Be a leader on my path. Be an intercessor at the hour of my death. Be a patron after my death. May you have eternal life after my resurrection. Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me! Give glory to Your name, but to me eternal salvation." Oh Lord! Lord! Lord! I wish and pray and fall down crying: grant that from my sinful and not regenerated, but desiring and yearning for a gracious rebirth, this sigh may flow forth in a power reaching to the throne of Your almighty goodness; - it was worn out here, when there is still room for repentance, and not where all repentant sighing is useless and untimely!.. Amen. Question How does St. Tikhon portray the unregenerate regarding the soul and its powers? Rep. Judge for yourself, he writes (see Book VII), how is it possible to rejoice in someone who contains an incurable disease within him and is clearly in danger of death? The evil of our forefathers’ sin incurably infected our soul with all its powers, so that man became blind in mind, disobedient in will, and turned away from God in heart. From this it follows that he cannot distinguish between good and evil and often chooses evil instead of good, virtue as vice, and calls vice virtue. He rejoices over what is evil and harmful to him; he grieves over what is good for him. So much darkness has enveloped the human mind! The heart and will of an unregenerate man conceives and desires nothing else but opposition to the will of God: a man’s mind is set on evil from his youth (Gen. 8:21). Notice this evil on your little child, how this evil seed (of natural corruption) grows its evil fruits in it. What pride, anger, rage, envy and enmity are manifested in him! How he screams and rages in anger! These are the fruits of the serpent's seed, sown on the human (unregenerate) heart. Who could know evil if it did not manifest itself through external signs? The more an unregenerate person grows according to age, the more evil arises from his heart, and as years increase, soul-destructive passions and carnal lusts multiply and rise. Here there appears fornication, covetousness, pride, pomp, conceit, arrogance, malice, love of fame, love of money. Here hypocrisy, lies, deceit, flattery, cunning, pretense, theft and all untruths are shown... The Law was given from God to curb this evil and to restrain man going to eternal destruction; but he only showed human weakness, and did not help; sin showed, but sin did not take away; He threatened execution, but did not release him from execution... No one could free himself from this grave debt by himself in any way. For God, grieved, angry and dishonored by human sin, is Infinite... and none of the people (unborn) could please God on their own, for every one is born by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3, 4). The Law of God, which must be completely fulfilled, no one could and cannot fulfill completely, bowed and drawn to all evil by forefathers’ sin. Even the most regenerate feel this evil within themselves (Rom. 7:18–24). Where even the saints, torn and instigated by this evil, fell into grave sins, as we read in sacred and church history... From here, note that since great evil is evil that we cannot mourn until death, Adam’s sin, the seed of the serpent, poisonous and deadly, scattered throughout all the powers of soul and body, since great, I say, evil lies in the heart unregenerate! It is described fearfully and pitifully in St. Scripture is a man who is St. Not born of the spirit. The speech is mad in his heart: there is no God. Having become corrupted and disgusted in your undertakings, do no good. The Lord came from heaven to see the sons of men, if they understood, or sought God. All who have turned aside together, without being the keys, do not do goodness, not even one (Ps. 13:1-3). And again: the coffin was opened with their throats, their tongues with their tongues: the poison of asps is under their lips; their lips are full of oaths and sorrows; their feet are quick to shed blood; Contrition and bitterness are on their paths, and they have not known the path of peace. There is no fear of God before their eyes (Rom. 13:18). The Apostle used the same gloomy colors to describe the Jews, who had the law of God handed down to them, but lived lawlessly (Rom. 3:11). If these iniquities and corruptions are made known about those who had the law of God and boasted in God, what can we say about the pagans who, like wild animals, lived and did only what pleased their senses, and what their unreasonable hearts imagined and lustted? The terrible darkness of delusion covered and enveloped hearts unregenerated by grace! Question What was the best way to express this? Rep. It was not enough for them, pagans, people outside the Church and former grace, to honor the sun, moon, stars and other creatures of God instead of God: they deified the very passions: uncleanness, drunkenness, anger, rage, ferocity. All this evil and abomination from original sin, in the heart of the unregenerate living, occurred and spilled out... Silver, gold, wood, animals are the creation of God, and arranged for the benefit of the Creator; but it becomes an abomination before God, and turns into man’s destruction, not from himself (for goodness is the greatest creation of God (Gen. 1:31), but from the heart of human will, because a natural, unregenerate man gives to him as to God, and devotes his heart... The heart of an unregenerate man is a vile church, filled with idols and abominations. It conceived all kinds of evil, and in the very act produced... And until it is purified by faith and regenerated by grace, nothing else conceives and gives birth but evil and ungodly fruits. Question What does the wise Saint Tikhon notice about the virtues of an unregenerate person? Rep. Although many, not purified by faith and not born in the spirit, show themselves to be good on the outside, but on the inside they are evil: they are like a drowned tomb, which on the outside are red, but on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27). God judges according to the heart and inner state... Now, adds Saint Tikhon, consider, Christian, that there is an unregenerate man in himself, without Christ, without His grace, when you can neither think, nor want, nor do anything pleasing to God without His grace, as Christ himself said: without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5), that is, like a withered rod, only fit for burning... Unregenerate man is nothing else before God than abomination and stench, from which His most holy eyes turn away... Adam brought us into such evil and disaster with his fall; but Christ, the Son of God, came into the world to deliver us from this evil, giving birth and renewing us through rebirth, that is, St. baptism. The saint of God Tikhon depicts the spiritual weakness of the unregenerate and his plight in his Spiritual Treasure, under the articles: a) captives and their liberator, and b) a man in wounds: a) It happens that people from their fatherland are captured on a foreign side, and there they suffer all kinds of evil from the tormentor (this is the situation of the human race). The good king, being merciful and pitying his people who have fallen into such misery, sends to them a liberator who either redeems them with silver or frees them in some other way. So the eternal King, the heavenly Father, pitying us captive (by sin and the devil), sent His only begotten Son to us to deliver us from bitter captivity... For when our first parents in paradise listened to the advice of the serpent, and transgressed God’s commandment: then they became captives of the devil with the entire human race, and he triumphed and raged over them, like an evil one. giant and tormentor, and did with them what he wanted. It was not enough for people to honor the sun and other heavenly bodies instead of God; they revered animals, livestock, potions... It is shameful to even speak of other deeds with which they fulfilled the will of the enemy who had captured them (Eph. 5:12). The poor man was caught in such bitter captivity! God was known in Judah: His name was great in Israel (Ps. 76:2). But even in this smallest corner of the world - how many times has the wily enemy tried to destroy true worship of God! How many times has Israel been led to idolatry (Ps. 105:37, 38)! No one was found who would free us from his tormenting hands. It was necessary for the strongest and strongest, more than him, to come and free us. How can anyone sneak into the house of a strong man and plunder his vessels, unless he first binds the strong man, and then his house is plundered (Matthew 12:29)? Christ, the Son of God, seeing that we had no helper, and that we on our own were completely powerless, by the good pleasure of His heavenly Father, stood up for us, as He Himself says through the Prophet: and I looked, and there was no helper; and I have thought, and protect no one: and I have delivered My arm (Isa. 63:5). About this - about this one and only our intercessor, the conqueror of death and hell, Jesus - we dare and say: if He is for us, who can be against us? Strengthened by His strength, we step on the serpent, and on the scorpion, and on all the power of the enemy, and we triumph, exclaiming: where is the sting of death? where is the hell, victory? Thanks be to God, who has given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:55, 57)! b) The powerlessness and disastrous state of the unregenerate, natural man is equally clearly depicted in the article: a man in wounds. We see in the world that there are many different diseases in people, among which we see that a person is covered in wounds and ulcers. As wounds and ulcers are to a man, so are sins and iniquities to the soul. The body is wounded and covered with wounds: the soul of a sinful person is wounded and wounded by sins. Ulcers and wounds of the body sometimes stink and rot: so the ulcers and wounds on the soul of sin stink and rot (Ps. 37:6). It happens that a person is completely covered in ulcers and wounds from head to toe: so the soul, which remains in sins and adds sins to sins, is completely covered in ulcers and wounds, as the prophet Isaiah puts it: from feet to head there is no wholeness in him (Is. 1:16). Wounds and ulcers of the body - the more they rot, the more they stink: so the sinful soul - the more it sins, the more it is wounded and wounded, and the scabs of sin irritate... Enough, poor sinner, to be wounded!.. So the wounds of your soul stink and rot!.. It’s time to be treated!.. It’s time to apply a penitential plaster to the ulcers and wounds! We heal the sick body; the whole soul is exhausted from wounds and ulcers, and we are careless. Let us resort with faith to Jesus Christ, the physician of souls and bodies, and, not daring to approach Him, because of the rotting and stinking wounds (and these wounds and ulcers are: pride, envy, malice, impurity, love of money, etc.), although from afar, let us stand and lift up the voice of the ten lepers from the depths of our hearts to Him: Jesus, Master, have mercy us. There are no such fierce wounds and ulcers that He would not want and could not heal with a single word... He healed mortal and corruptible bodies, as St. Gospel: will not the souls of immortals desire to be healed and resurrected? He will truly heal if we come to Him with faith, and with zeal we ask for healing from Him... Heal me, Lord, for I have sinned against You! Heal me, and I will be healed, for You are my God (Jer. 17:14). God! I am not worthy, but come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my child (my soul) will be healed (Matthew 8:8). I am the image of Thy ineffable glory, even though I bear the ulcers of sins: be gracious to Thy creation, O Lord, and cleanse with Thy benevolence and grant me the longed-for fatherland, making me an inhabitant of paradise again. The unregenerate is blind. As sensual light is to our eyes, that is grace to our soul... As darkness is to our bodily eyes, that is sin to the human soul... Therefore the unregenerate is blind 1) in regard to duties to God; 2) blind in responsibilities towards one’s neighbor, 3) blind in relation to oneself. I. All creation: the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth and its fulfillment, like lips, will tell the glory of God; but the blinded sinner does not feel the majesty of His glory and does not tremble. The city and the palace - its architect, the house of its owner are shown and brought to everyone's knowledge... This visible world is like a beautiful city, created not by hands, but by the Word of God, like wise art, God, like an architect, builder, provider and owner of its own, as it shows with a finger; and, as a wonderful, wise, good creature, he proves a wonderful, good, wise and omnipotent Creator; but a blind sinner does not know. The son knows his father, the servant knows his master; but the sinner does not know God, his Lord and Father, from whom he was created, from whom he is preserved, nourished, clothed. The dog of his master, the ox of the one who acquired it, knows; but a sinner, gifted with reason, does not know his Creator, acquisitive and guardian, as God Himself speaks through the prophet Isaiah (Is. 1:3). The ox knew the man who acquired it, and the donkey knew his master's manger; Israel does not know Me, and My people do not understand. Sin strikes the human heart with such disastrous blindness! From sowing blindness comes fearlessness, from fearlessness all lawlessness arises... II. Not only in his office towards God, but also in his office towards his neighbor, that is, towards every person, the carnal man is blind and unenlightened by grace. We see that a person does evil to his neighbor that he does not want for himself, and does not do good that he wants for himself; - how indignant he is, angry at the one who offends him, slander him, etc.; but he himself is also not ashamed to do evil, and does not feel it. He wants his neighbor to have mercy on him and not leave him in need, for example. He fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty... but he himself does not want to do other kindnesses to his neighbor. We see this evil - pride, untruth and blindness in Christians who either silently pass by their neighbors in need and seem not to see them, or are not ashamed to answer about them: what need do I have for him? Man is blind in his duty to his neighbor because he does not heed his duty to God, and in it he becomes blind and errs. For the duty to one's neighbor is inseparable from the duty to God, and this cannot be fulfilled without it. He who leaves his duty to his neighbor does not honor God; He who does not love his neighbor does not love God, according to the word of St. John: if anyone says that I love God but hates his brother, it is a lie (1 John 4:20)... III. The carnal and unregenerate is blind to himself. Think about it, continues Saint Tikhon of God, wouldn’t it be great madness if a person, being in a foreign country and soon having to return to his home, began to build rich houses there, which he would soon have to leave?.. Truly, everyone would call him senseless. This is how those who build rich and superfluous buildings in this world act senselessly and blindly, and collect great treasures, knowing that all this should soon be left in this country and go to their own place without all this. For we have brought nothing into this world, for we see that we can bear it below (1 Tim. 6:7)... And although everyone sees every day that the rich and the poor, the glorious and the ignorant, the honorable and the simple, are equally admired and pass on to another age, and are admired differently, and what they see in others, they expect for themselves: however, they try as hard to become rich and famous on someone else’s side as if they had been for many thousands of years, or They had to live here forever. Mist and darkness lie on the spiritual eye of such people, and it blinds... If a person does not get rid of this disastrous blindness and is not enlightened by the light of God’s grace; then it will lead him to a disastrous state, and a late, but useless repentance, described in the book of Wisdom: having gone astray from the path of truth and righteousness, the light did not shine upon us, and the sun did not rise to us (Wis. 5:6. On the blindness of man. part, V, ch. 3, §§51, 52, 54, 55, 57. abbreviated). Question How does Saint Tikhon explain the purpose of a damaged person for correction by the power of God's grace? Rep. 1) It happens that when a person, through negligence, tastes poison or something else harmful and feels illness in his stomach: he does not hesitate, but immediately resorts to a doctor and seeks healing. Immediately, O man, having tasted through negligence and the action of the devil, the poison of sin, do not hesitate, but seek healing; resort by faith to Christ, the physician of souls and bodies; ask Him for the healing of your soul; declare to Him the plague with which your enemy has wounded you; declare, although he knows it, fall before Him, and with contrition of heart admit your illness; don't be ashamed and don't be afraid. Before your confession, He knows your illness, but He requires your self-willing and voluntary confession, so that you declare yourself before Him and do not cover up your sin. Speak to Him and confess your iniquities that you have sinned, Lord, have mercy on me! Heal me, Lord, for I have sinned against You. The children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt and walked in a certain wilderness, were bitten by serpents. God, having mercy on them, commanded Moses to lift up a copper serpent on a high tree, so that people who were bitten would look at that serpent for the sake of their healing, and they, looking, were healed (Numbers 21:6). We are going to the promised land, to the heavenly fatherland promised to us, and, passing through the desert of this world, we suffer a lot from the hellish serpent the devil. Having felt its soul-harming poison in our soul, let us lift our eyes to Christ, the Son of God, who sits at the right hand of God the Father, who was once ascended on the tree of the cross for our sins, crucified and died. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness: so it is fitting for the Son of man to be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3:14). O Jesus, our strength and hope, seated in glory at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us, whom you have redeemed with your honest Blood (v. Do not touch: there is poison here). 2) It happens in this world that a person turns back another walking person, shouting after him: do you hear? Turn back: you went the wrong way. So God speaks and cries out to man in his conscience (and through his Guardian Angel): come back, man, you are going the wrong way. Avoid evil... And what your conscience says to you, also speaks to you in St. speaks His word. An infallible conscience and the word of God agree with each other. What conscience suggests, God’s word also suggests; What conscience holds back and turns away from, God’s word turns away and holds back; For what conscience reproaches, for that is also God’s word, and for what conscience praises, for that is God’s word. For example: he denounces the conscience for theft, and for this he denounces God’s word; He praises his conscience for the mercy he has shown to his neighbor, and he also praises God’s word: the blessings of mercy. Therefore, when conscience turns away and holds back a person: behold, there is the voice of God crying within us. Let us listen to the voice of God, let us turn away from evil and turn to God, according to the admonition of the Holy Spirit: today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts (Ps. 95:7, 8). Question How does Saint Tikhon of God describe the change in man through rebirth brought about by grace, and the signs of grace-filled rebirth? Rep. He explains this in the article: Coming out of darkness, from prison, from captivity... (Part 10, v. 53) in this way. As one who came out of darkness into the light: so one who turned from lawless living to God (or what is also - from unregenerate one who became reborn by the grace of Christ). For this one, in his lawless life, turned as in darkness, wandered, and touched, just as those who walk in darkness wander and touch like the blind. Like one who came out of prison, who left an ungodly and godless life and is in true repentance. For this one too was in a godless life, as if in prison, with sins and iniquities, as if he were bound with chains, and could not walk freely. As one who has been freed from captivity, so one who has escaped and freed himself from sinful and unclean life and works for the Lord with a free spirit. For this one too was in captivity to a tormentor, not a man, but the devil, and he worked for him and fulfilled his evil will. Like one who has crawled out of a ditch in a safe way, so one has come to repentance from an unrepentant life and remains in it (being reborn). For this one too was in the ditch, not in body, but in soul. As one who was saved from drowning and came to dry land: so (by the grace of rebirth) one ceased from sins and began a new Christian life. For this one too drowned in sins, as in the depths of water, and nothing else followed him but eternal death. Like one who walked to a pit and saw it and returned back: so one who walked in a lawless life and recognized his spiritual misfortune and turned to true repentance. For this one too went into the pit of eternal destruction, but returned from it. Happy is he who comes out of darkness into the light, because he began to see the light and beauty of this world; Far happier is he who emerges from the darkness of sin: for it is not the light of this world that illuminates him, but the light of God: if you walk in Me, do not have to walk in darkness, but have the light of life (John 8:12). Happy is the one who came out of prison and freed himself from the bonds: far happier is the one who freed himself from the prison of unrepentant life and the bonds of sin, that is, he was reborn by grace. Happy is he who is freed from the captivity of the body; but much happier is he who is freed in soul from the captivity of the devil. Happy is he who has been delivered from the visible ditch; but far happier is he who has been delivered from the sinful ditch through rebirth. Happy is the one who walked towards the pit and was about to fall into it, but, seeing it, turned back: incomparably happier is the one who walked towards the pit of eternal destruction, and, seeing it and turning away, hurries back along the path of rebirth. Happy is he who is saved from the drowning of water: but far happier is he who is saved from the drowning of sin and the depths of evil. If anyone is such and has been worthy of such happiness, that is, from unregenerate has become regenerate: I congratulate him, and I proclaim from God’s word that the angels in heaven rejoice over him (Luke 15:10). But, O beloved, stand in what you have begun; remember Lot's wife and do not look back at Sodom and Gomorrah. No one lays his hand on the head, and in vain turns back, is ruled in the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). And remember what is written: if you begin to work for the Lord God, prepare your soul for temptation (Sir. 2:1). The devil with his machinations, from whose work you have freed yourself, will marry after you, like Pharaoh - after Israel, and will try again to subjugate you into his work: stand, do not be afraid, calling on the all-powerful deliverer of our souls Jesus - and you will see His salvation and with a joyful spirit you will sing to Him: helper and protector be my salvation; This is my God, and I will glorify Him (Ex. 15:2). Complete the work, with the help of Christ, that you began. Happy are you that you have made such a beginning; but you will be completely happy when you finish happily. For many begin, but few finish: many are the callings, but few are the chosen (Luke 14:24). Therefore, the author of our salvation and the finisher of Jesus says to you: Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life (Apoc. 2:10). This is the advice that the high zealot of the Orthodox faith and piety, Saint Tikhon, gave to one brother who was being seduced by schismatics and freethinkers - advice in the discussion of faith about the resurrection of the dead! I hear that you live between people, like iron between a hammer and an anvil; and schismatics and atheists surround you, and so, running away from the lions, you were caught between asps and basilisks. Woe, woe, woe to those who live on earth and want to save their souls! For Satan, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking someone to devour. And through those he has already devoured, he wants and strives to consume those who have not been devoured. Beware of this lion, and those who are consumed from him - through unbelief and freethinking, through heresies and schism. Consider what I am writing. 1) Beware of Raskolnikov like fire, and have no communication with them. At least they fasted for a week, and always prayed and showed other things, run away from them! 2) Believe in the Resurrection of the dead, the judgment of Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal torment as you see yourself and other people. So this is true, just as it is true that yesterday was and today is. God announced this to us in the Holy Scriptures. 3) About the resurrection of the dead, read these places (1 Cor. 15:1; 1 Thess. 4:13 to the end of the chapter. Matt. 22:23-33; Mark 12; Luke 20; John 5:25-29, - and in other places. About the judgment of Christ - Matt. 25). About the Kingdom of Heaven and about eternal torment in the same place: these go into eternal torment, but the righteous - into eternal life, and so on. (Matthew 25:46). 4) Know that those who do not believe in the resurrection of Christ, the judgment of Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal torment are obvious atheists, and no matter how much they caress you or flatter you, run away from them, lest you perish with them. This is their sign that such people, no matter how they appear to be, have a bestial life. 5) I advise you, living among such people, if you cannot avoid them, to stick to your cell; and only go to one mass, and read Matins and Vespers at home, but you will be dumb and deaf. Then more often you will hear our Savior Himself teaching you inside. Living this way, you will inevitably have a lot of bitterness; but endure and endure everything, so that you may be saved (part 1. instructions of the mon. art. 8). Question What are the signs of disbelief? Rep. 1) Depraved, fearless life and contrary to the law of God (Ps. 5:10; 7:15, 16; 58:2–8; Rom. 1:21; 1 Tim. 1:3, 10. 2 Tim. 3:2, etc.). 2) Addiction to temporary and worldly things - honor, wealth, luxury. For the love of this world is enmity to God... 3) Hypocrisy is also a sign of unbelief. For hypocrisy is a pretense of piety and holiness: holy faith does not exist in appearance, but in the heart... and the hypocrite pleases people, and not God, seeks glory and praise from people, and not from God, and this is contrary to faith: how can you believe, you accept glory from one another, and do not seek glory that is from the only God? (John 5:44). 4) A clear sign of unbelief is despair in the mercy of God - despair, which reveals itself either by a very depraved life and depraved words (Eph. 4:19), or by immeasurable sadness, which often leads to suicide, as for example Judas the traitor and Cain the fratricide, who, after killing his brother Abel, said to the Lord: “My greatest guilt is forsaken.” mi. (Gen. 4:13). 5) Contempt and abandonment of Christian virtues is also a sign of unbelief. For where there is no fruit of faith, i.e. good deeds, there is no faith itself. Faith is idle and cannot be fruitless (Book VII, on faith §286). The loving and gentle Saint of God Tikhon speaks about hatred and malice from Saint Chrysostom. Such a thing is malice and hatred, that if someone does not stop it at the very beginning, then it multiplies immensely, like fire acquiring new substances. Malice is not born from nature, but from the will (conversation 19 on Matthew). Such a thing is malice that it cannot be corrected by any word or deed; but it always contains its own poison, and nothing makes people mad more than anger and hatred (conversation 41 on John). There is nothing more shameless and insolent than malice (conversation 13 on Acts). Question And how does Saint Tikhon himself talk about hatred? Rep. It’s a difficult thing, to admit, he says, a difficult thing for our corrupted nature to retain the feeling of hatred and love the enemy; but this is what the Christian position requires... Here are the reasons why we should love our enemies. First: our only true enemy is the devil, who teaches people to persecute us, and he, for the most part, is the cause of our bitterness, not people... and we must hate him, and sympathize with people for listening to him. Second: enemies persecute or revile us, but not without God’s permission, and are like a scourge with which God punishes us, as the story of St. David. Third: the enemies who persecute and embitter us do more good than evil; for although they embitter the body, they do good to the soul. For they humble us, pride, and overthrow vanity and conceit, bringing us to the knowledge of ourselves and our weaknesses. Fourth: our sins are cleansed when, casting away hatred, we endure persecution with thanksgiving. Fifth: our enemies lead us to patience, which is a virtue that cannot be learned without works, and make us skilled in the Christian calling; they cause sorrow, and sorrow, according to the Apostle, wears out patience. Sixth: love for enemies makes one bold in prayer: forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors. Seventh: our conscience and heart are calmer when, driving out hatred, we do not take revenge on our enemies, but rather do them good; for hatred and revenge are evil and contrary to the law of God. Eighth: just as fire is not extinguished by fire, so anger is not overcome by anger, but rather is kindled; and through meekness, even the most ferocious enemies often bow down, are softened and reconciled. Ninth: this is a high virtue - not to hate, but to love: this is how a person conquers himself, triumphs over himself; Thus, with the spirit of humility, pride is conquered; kindness and meekness drive out malice; Thus the spirit of wickedness in high places with all its evil hordes is put to shame. For this there is joy in heaven before the angels of God; Christ the Son of God looks favorably on this from heaven, and sends a beautiful crown to the conqueror. Who will say: how can I love someone who embitters and quarrels with me? 1) Hate the enmity, not the person; drive away anger, not man; destroy his hatred with love and patience. 2) Think about him, not as your ravine, but think that he is your brother, God’s creation, a man created in the image of God, redeemed by the blood of the Son of God, instigated by the devil... 3) Do not talk about what he is doing to you, but about what the law of God tells you to do with him and for him. In misfortune, patience is most needed. And this is what Saint Tikhon offers from the holy and golden-speaking lips of St. John, who valiantly endured exile, about patience in misfortune. “Patience is joy and refuge (on Ps. 4). Humility is patience, and patience gives birth to humility (on Ps. 9). Patience, having freed the soul from anxiety and evil spirits, provides, as it were, a quiet refuge (Conversations 84 on Matt.). A glorious victory, when we overcome with patience. The more severe the troubles we endure, the stronger we will be (Conversations 84 on Matt.). Patience of adversity - alms and other virtues - is much superior. There is nothing equal to patience." And that's why St. John Chrysostom had the custom, at a certain hour of the morning, to send up this prayer for patience: Lord! give me patience, generosity and meekness (Morning Prayer). Question Where does Saint Tikhon represent true misfortune or grief? Rep. Woe, he says, to that place in which there is no light: there people wander like blind people; there the harmful is not distinguished from the beneficial, and often there is a stumbling block, then there is a fall. Most of all, grief and misfortune are for those souls in whom there is no Christ, the heavenly light of truth. There is nothing there except one darkness, the shadow of death, disaster, damnation and destruction (John 12). Woe to a house that does not have a prudent owner: there is all sorts of disorder there. But most of all, grief and misfortune are for those souls in whom the Lord Christ does not dwell. There is all sorts of disorder and the dwelling place of all kinds of evil spirits. Woe to that ship that has no good helmsman; he is near drowning. Woe above all and misfortune to the soul floating on the sea of ​​this world, in which there is no wise ruler - Christ. If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he is not His (Rom. 8:9). Woe to the people who do not have bread and water: for from hunger and thirst they melt and die. Most of all, grief and misfortune are for those souls who are deprived of animal bread, Jesus Christ. The body is satisfied with bread and watered; without bread and water it becomes exhausted and dies. The true food and drink of the soul is Christ. With this food and drink she revives and lives; without this food and drink he becomes exhausted and dies. I am the bread of animals (and so on. John 6:48). If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not have Christ either. In whom Christ lives, in him the life of Christ is shown, in him his humility, love, patience and meekness are revealed. For Christ’s dwelling cannot be idle, but will inevitably be revealed through deeds pleasing to Christ, just as the rising sun is shown through rays, or like a furnace warmed by fire through warmth, or like a good tree through sweet fruits. Intolerance in the work of Faith 10 is an important and great illness. But in the present age of enlightenment it is very noticeable and in a significant number of private individuals. Oskude venerable (Ps. 11:2). And there are even fewer zealots, that is, zealots according to the faith. Everything and everyone is mixed up... In relation to the Faith, with weeping and with sorrow of heart we meet modern vices - the following: The first is godlessness, unbelief, or, as one venerable modern hierarch recently spoke in the hearing of everyone, a deep decline of faith. “In the people of our time, almost everywhere, the fear of God, trust in God, love for God and the memory of God are disappearing more or less. In our time, many live and act in such a way that they clearly do not care at all about the Orthodox faith, and they are ready to prefer it, perhaps even the Mohammedan one. The largest part of today's people think primarily about themselves, rarely about others, and even less often about God and His holy commandments. Many forget God as if He did not exist at all, and as if they were put on earth so that they could live as anyone knows how, can and wants.” The second, in relation to Faith, important sin of our time is the greatest disrespect for the true Christ, that is, our Orthodox Church. The first completely visible side of this sin is a willful violation of Church rules. In the past, no one dared to break the rules of St. Churches: everyone remembered the Lord’s word: if anyone disobeys the Church, he will be treated like a pagan and a tax collector (Matthew 18:17). They remembered this and were afraid. Then, little by little, in some places, crimes against the rules of the Church began to be committed against St. fasting, however secretly, they were still ashamed of their neighbors. But in our time, in relation to St. fast, in many places all shame, all action of conscience is lost. Some official or rich person (let us add: if only one, two, three in the region - no, many, many) forces a reverent peasant to chop and cook chicken for himself in his hut during Lent. The peasant is struck with fear and does not know what to do; but he turns to threats that are grave for him. The chicken is slaughtered, cooked, and he eats it in front of his reverent, barely standing family... With such people, can St. spread and flourish? Orthodox Church of Christ? The other, also obvious side of the said sin, that is, disrespect for the true Church of Christ, is schism. The schism previously declared itself to be an avowed enemy only of the Orthodox Hierarchy, and, presenting Patriarch Nikon to the people in various letters as the Antichrist, i.e., an avowed enemy of the salvation of the human soul, hid only behind Nikon, and willfully committed outrages, apparently only against the Church Hierarchy established by the Lord. But in our time, the schism in some places has already thrown off this old, cunningly taken place; he has already left Nikon and walks around in his own form (Interview, published at the Kazan Spiritual Academy, 1855. Book 3).” The third is heresy, when people mix opinions contrary to Divine truth into the teachings of the Faith. The fourth sin, contrary to the Faith, is apostasy, when the true Faith, which was previously professed, is renounced, either out of human fear, or for worldly benefits. The fifth sin, contrary to Faith, is magic, when, abandoning faith in the power of God, they believe in the secret and mostly evil forces of creatures, and especially evil spirits, and try to act with them. This is the magic of the newest kind, accepted among educated people, known under the name of spiritualism, or, so to speak, spirit divination. The sixth sin, contrary to true Faith, is superstition, when they believe some ordinary thing as if it had a Divine special power, and instead of God they hope for it or fear it. The seventh sin against the true faith is schism, that is, willful deviation from the unity of worship of God and from obedience to the Orthodox Church of God. Schism is also a superstition, because it relies most, if not exclusively, on the old book, on the old icon. Question Where is St. Tikhon talks about moral damage? Rep. I. In the article: a person who fell into the hands of robbers and was wounded by them. It happens, he reflects here, that a person falls into the hands of robbers, and is exposed and greatly wounded by them. We see this evil in the world. So the entire human race, after departing from God and committing the crime of St. His commandments, fell into the hands of the devil, and from him the holy and godly robes were laid bare, and he was unspeakably wounded, and lay on the path of this world - wounded. His sores were so strong that no one could heal them. God's law was sent to him from heaven: but it only convicted him and showed him his wounds, but did not help him. Prophets were sent, but they did not accomplish anything. The poor human race lay unhealed, - it lay wounded, tortured, dishonored, cursed by the robber - the devil - it lay barely alive. Ah, God's dearest creation, man! Where is your most beautiful kindness with which your Creator fertilized you? Where is your honor with which I honored you at the beginning? Where is the image of God and the likeness of God, by which you are exalted?.. We have known good and evil through experience; deprived of good, and have known evil; they desired the honor of God and lost the image of God. And man, in honor, not in understanding, is likened to foolish cattle (Ps. 48:13). The wounds and wounds with which our enemy incurably wounded us are: pride, arrogance, immeasurable self-love, wanton lust, vanity, ignorance of God and negligence about Him, hatred, envy, anger, malice, impurity, etc., etc. For what does man, unrenewed by the grace of God, conceive and desire, but what is more than evil and vanity? Just as only evil will comes from a stinking source, so from the human heart, unrenewed by the power of God, nothing comes except evil. This evil is all the more dangerous because it is hidden deep within a person and is only revealed to those who examine their inner state with all diligence and find themselves in various temptations. It was necessary for the Creator himself to come to his creation, wounded by the enemy and defeated in the path of this world, and to heal it Himself, by no other incurable power... “I sing to Thee, O God and to my Creator! I heard it by ear and was horrified. You came before me, looking for the lost one. In this way I glorify Your condescension for me, O Many-Merciful One (Part 11)! II. In the article: deaf (part 10). Physically deaf to every word, bad and good, the prisoner has hearing; but mentally, the deaf is not like that. He has an open ear for everything bad: slander, worthless fables, nasty and seductive songs, the whispers of the devil, stories about the desires of the flesh and the world; on the contrary - to hear the word of God, His wonderful works and His glory, the ear has a closed ear. If someone says to him: such and such a person has acquired quite a fortune for himself in such and such a way; such and such a governor or such and such a secretary has collected so many thousands of money, and bought so many souls: he immediately begins to think within himself, how can he achieve the same? And when God’s word is preached and calls to him: repent, correct yourself, begin a new Christian life, fear God and His righteous judgment, beware of sin, love virtue: then he listens to this just as a physically deaf person listens to songs. Truly great spiritual deafness! What is worse than eternal death? And what is more desirable than an eternal belly? God in His Scripture thunders menacingly through His prophets: He will rain upon sinners snares: fire, and bogeymen, and a stormy spirit, part of their cup (Ps. 10:6; Rev. 21:2). But the poor soul does not hear this powerful voice of God, and remains without repentance. God calls: turn to Me, your soul, and be saved, and you will live forever. But the soul does not hear God’s calling, and it goes and strives for destruction, as it strived... O Jesus, our strength and hope! open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf; open the ears of our souls, that we may hear Thy divine word; Tell also our sinful soul Ephbeah, who is there, to be opened, and her ears will be opened (Mark 7:34). Saint Tikhon vividly explains moral carelessness in his Spiritual Treasure, collected from the world (Part XII), under the title: I will come tomorrow. We hear this word from people: I will come tomorrow. This is what a person says when someone else calls him; then he, either busy with some business or for some other reason, answers the one calling him: I will come tomorrow. Christ calls us to himself, and calls us always and unceasingly: come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28), - Christ calls us to repentance and through repentance to Himself. But many Christians, out of carelessness and insensibility, put off repentance and, as it were, refuse Christ, answering not with their lips, but with their hearts: tomorrow I will come... The fornicator, adulterer and lover of uncleanness says: tomorrow I will come. The drunkard and the sensualist speaks; he who lives in the pride, pomp and vanity of this world says: I will come tomorrow. Every sinner who lives in sins and does not correct himself says: I will come tomorrow. And many put off their repentance until illness, many put off their repentance until their death... There are those who don’t even think about this... O poor sinner! Why do you promise yourself the morning, which is not in yours, but in God’s power? What if you can't wait for tomorrow? What if the Royal Decree comes to you immediately, and through it the King of Heaven, the Lord, calls you, no longer to repentance, but to an answer?.. Death follows everyone along an invisible road, and delights a person when he does not care, and where he does not care, and how he does not care. What if she comes to you with such thoughts and shouts to you without a voice: go, man: the Lord Almighty is calling you? What will you say then? Will I come tomorrow? No, although you don’t want to, you will go... But with what hope? Don't know. Sinful soul! God promised us His grace and mercy, but He did not promise us the morning. And the Holy Spirit says: today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts (Ps. 94:7, 8; Heb. 3:7, 8). The preachers of Christ know that they preach repentance and proclaim to sinners: repent and come to Christ. But the sinful and careless soul answers in its heart: I will come tomorrow. Blind and careless sinner! judge and look around, to whom are you denying your heart like this: will I come tomorrow? God and your Lord, your creator, the king of kings and the Lord of lords, calls you; the generous and merciful, long-suffering Lord calls; Jesus, your Redeemer, who suffered and died for your salvation, calls kindly; calls, let us not fall into eternal destruction and death; calls you to your eternal kingdom and bliss. But you answer Him with a thought, an unrepentant disposition and a faulty heart: I will come tomorrow. It is shameless for the king of the earth and even for the lower ruler to refuse and say: I will come tomorrow. How hard and shameless it is for the heavenly King to refuse and answer: I will come tomorrow! It’s hard and shameless, but also scary! There will be a time when sinners will desire to come to Him, but the doors will be closed. Then they will hear: I did not know you... I called you long enough and did not listen; and stretched out words, and did not heed, but swept away My advice and did not heed My reproofs: for I will laugh at your destruction... (Prov. 1:24-26). For this reason he says: today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. Do not hesitate, sinner, to turn to the Lord, lest, instead of God’s mercy, you experience God’s judgment on yourself. We come to Christ not with our feet, but with our hearts, not by changing our place, but by changing our character and will for the better. He who changes within himself and leaves behind evil customs, cleanses himself through repentance, avoids every sin, and pleases the will of Christ: he goes to Christ, and no longer says: I will come tomorrow, but says with the Prophet: my heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready (Ps. 107:2). I rise up and go to my Father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned in heaven and before you; and Thy son is no longer worthy to be called: make me as one of Thy hired servants (Luke 15:18, 19). Moral, or internal slavery, Saint Tikhon sufficiently explains in his Spiritual Treasure, in the article: Mud, or dirt at the bottom of the spring (part 11). We see that although there is clean water in the spring, there is mud or dirt at the bottom of it: so in the depths of the human heart there is all sorts of uncleanness. Like stinking mud and stench, there lies pride and arrogance, there is love of money, there is anger, malice and envy, or bestial uncleanness and other passions that keep a poor and weak heart in slavery and power. The presence of impurity in a key is recognized when a rod or other instrument strikes the bottom of it; then, from the mud or dirt lying at the bottom, all the water in the spring becomes disturbed and becomes cloudy: this is how the power and power of passions and evil dispositions, hidden in the depths of the human heart, are recognized during temptations and temptations. Who would know that at the bottom of the key there is mud and dirt if it did not come from the stress and show itself? So, how would we know that in the depths of the human heart lies so much abomination and uncleanness, if it did not reveal itself as an external act during temptations? We see how a person sometimes rages, shouts, blasphemes and exhibits other disorderly actions: then it acts in him and excites him to such outrages - anger is in his heart, like a poison, hidden and, in the case of temptation and offense, revealed. We see how much a person collects for the sake of this poor and mortal body, which is content with a small piece of bread and some clothing; how much, I say, he collects, although he knows that he will leave everything at death: the love of money and a fierce passion for wealth are active in him. We see how a person exalts himself, what methods he does not invent so that people would know, praise, glorify and honor him, how he despises his own kind and has them as a footstool; how he judges and re-judges their cases, although he himself is the same; how he strives to excel everywhere and to rule over others: then the pride that nestles in his heart and dominates acts in him. Prodigal uncleanness, hiding inside a person, through what and if stingy, if vile deeds it exerts its dominance and enslavement, it is shameful to eat and speak! (Eph. 5:12). Plunge, man, into the depths of your heart, examine and recognize what a stinking mire and how many passions that keep you in slavery lie hidden there! The more often you delve into it and examine it, the more you will understand it. The more you know your heart, the more vividly you will feel your moral, spiritual slavery and the evil hidden within you. The more you recognize your evil and slavery; the more you will recognize your poverty and wretchedness. The knowledge of poverty, wretchedness and enslavement will convince you to humble yourself, seek help and deliverance from Christ, Who can do everything, and from evil - good, and from a slave of passions and sin - to make free. If the Son frees you, you will be free indeed. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (John 8:36; 2 Cor. 3:17). From the Voronezh pulpit, where Saint Tikhon apostolically preached the word of truth, one of the current preachers, over the relics of St. Mitrofan, the first bishop of Voronezh, expressed himself this way about moral ignorance. “Despite the fact that the present age is distinguished by the desire for enlightenment, what pitiful ignorance regarding the objects of faith is noticeable almost everywhere! Many have thoroughly studied the laws and regulations of various states; but they do not know the laws and decrees of the Lord Himself and His Apostles. How many of us are there like the newly enlightened Ephesians, who, when asked by St. Apostle Paul: did they receive the Holy Spirit when they believed? They answered: “We haven’t even heard if there is a Holy Spirit!” (Acts 19:2). How many of us are there about whom, together with the righteous David, we must say: they have not learned the most essential things, they have not understood, they walk in darkness (Ps. 82:5); those who would not know what to say if the Savior himself asked them: Who do you say that I am, the Son of man? Who do you say I am (Matt. 16:13) (Orthodox conversation. Book 4, 1855)? Question Like bl. Tikhon talks about moral ignorance? Rep. This is what he says about human blindness (Part V, Chapter 3), or about moral ignorance: “What sensual light is to our eyes, that is grace to our soul... What darkness is to our bodily eyes, that is sin to the human soul. Scripture presents us with a terrible image of blindness in the old Israel. The Lord performed great miracles before them in the land of Egypt (see Ex. Ps. 105:28–36, etc.). But the Holy Prophet confesses to the Lord: Our fathers did not understand Your wonders, O Lord (Ps. 106:7)! A similar blindness is seen in many Christians, who confess through the mouth of God that they lead, but the works are put aside (Titus 1:16). Called to the eternal life and the kingdom of heaven, as to the promised land, boiling with honey and milk; but they want and try to become rich in this world, become famous and reign, and, if possible, to remain forever: this is evident from the insatiable desire of their wealth, honor, glory and superfluous buildings... For such people, darkness and darkness lies on the spiritual eye and blinds it. Although they are rich, they do not see their poverty; although they are strong, they do not see their baseness; although they are wise, they do not see their foolishness and blindness; although they consider themselves blessed, they do not see their wretchedness. As long as a person is in such blindness, he thinks of himself that he is doing everything right and wisely; but in the thing itself, all his actions, intentions and undertakings mean a single error... And this blindness is not only noticeable in simple and illiterate people, but also in the wise and reasonable of this age, who dream highly of themselves. Christ the Lord is our light. Anyone who wants to receive enlightenment from Christ must inevitably acknowledge his blindness from the heart: otherwise, as he was, so he will always be blind, although he will know all the Holy Scriptures by heart, that is, he will know the writing, but will not understand the power... I came into this world for judgment, says Christ, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see will be blind (John 9:39), i.e., those who recognize their blindness - By the light of Christ they will be enlightened and see; but those who do not recognize and consider themselves wise will remain in their former blindness, and will become even more darkened for ingratitude and pride. Pride and arrogance, like the work of the devil, darkened him himself, and turned the light-bearing angel into darkness, and makes the people who follow him like him. Just as Christ justifies only those who recognize themselves as sinners, and heals those who recognize their illness, so He enlightens only those who admit their blindness (Matthew 9:12). And so, if we want to be enlightened, we admit our blindness, and Christ will enlighten us... (Abridged). The word: intolerance here is understood in the sense of impoverishment of faith and various ailments and sins against it.