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(1) Let no one dare to think that it is possible to be saved by faith alone, without doing good works. 1. If we wish, my beloved brethren, to gain the kingdom of God, then we must have every attention and diligence, every zeal and effort, and not think in any way that in order to be saved, it is enough for us only to believe in the true God and be Orthodox Christians, citing as justification for such an opinion the word spoken by the Lord: whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved; and those who do not have faith will be condemned (Mark 16:16). On the contrary, for this very reason we must strive and be zealous to walk worthy of the calling to which we are called, as the Apostle Paul says, that is, to do deeds worthy of Christ, from Whom we received the name and are called Christians, knowing that we will receive greater condemnation if, despite such a name, we live in laziness and negligence. Therefore, do not think, my brother, that you will be saved by faith alone. What good is it if someone says to have faith and not do deeds? Food faith can save him? – teaches the holy Apostle James (James 2:14). Listen to what the Lord Himself says: 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). The divine Paul also inspires the same thing, saying: They confess God, but His works are averted; they are scoundrels and disobedient, and unskillful in every good work (Titus 1:16). Do you see, beloved, how impossible it is for anyone to be saved with faith alone without works? If we were saved by faith alone, then all people would be saved and none of us would perish, because there is no person who does not believe that there is a God. Even evil demons believe that there is a God. Listen to what they themselves say: we know You who You are, the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24). And again in another place they spoke about the Apostles: these men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim the way of salvation (Acts 16:17). Do you see that demons also believe that there is a God? And yet, these believers that there is a God are condemned to hell fire for their evil deeds. So, faith is good if you also achieve works. Otherwise, just as a body without a soul is motionless and ineffective, so faith without works is dead. And listen, after the above words, what good is it for a person, even if someone says to have faith, but not to do works? Food can faith save him? - says Saint James, the brother of God: if a brother or sister is naked and deprived of daily food, someone from you says to them: go in peace, be warmed and filled, but will not give them the requirements of the body: what is the use? Likewise, faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself... Show me your faith by your works, and I will show you my faith by my works (James 2:14-18). Hearing this, my brother, leave your great negligence and take care to do things with faith. He who has faith along with works is better than even he who does signs and wonders. For what is the profit and what is the benefit of miracles and signs for the one who performs them, if he is expelled from the kingdom of heaven and inherits Gehenna with unquenchable fire? Can he who does signs be saved for the sake of these signs and healings only, if he does not have works that make him righteous? No way. And listen to what the Lord says: many will say to Me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and in Your name we have cast out demons, and in Your name we have done many mighty powers? And then we will confess to them that I know you no more; Depart from Me, you who practice iniquity (Matthew 7:22–23). Do you see that those who perform signs and have the gift of prophecy will not receive any benefit from it without works? He who truly believes will not collect money, for he is confident that God does not leave those who believe in Him without provision, but takes care of them, as the Lord said: My heavenly Father knows that you require all of them. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:32–33). He who believes gives away his money to the poor, for he is sure that he will receive a hundredfold for it and will inherit an eternal life. Listen to what is said about those who truly believe: all who believed were together, and the name was all in common. And I will sell the acquisitions and possessions, and give them to all whoever requires them (Acts 2:44–45). And one more thing: the lord of the village or house byahu sells the offering to the price of those sold. And the Apostle lay at his feet; given to anyone, whatever you demanded (Acts 4:34-35). He who believes is not proud, but, imitating the Lord, he laboriously seeks humility, just like the Lord. He who believes does not laugh, but weeps and weeps over his sins, for he hears that those who laugh in this life will weep and weep in the next. Those who believe are not angry and contentious, but remain meek, imitating the Lord, who says: Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29). Therefore, he pleases such people, saying: Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). He who believes hates unrighteousness and loves righteousness, because God loved righteousness and hated unrighteousness (Ps. 44:8), and because, as it is written, he who loves unrighteousness hates his own soul (Ps. 10:5). Those who believe not only do not quarrel among themselves, but also pacify those who quarrel, imitating the Lord, because He did the same when He reconciled us, our enemies, with His consubstantial Father (Col. 1:21). The believer endures every temptation without grumbling, being confident that for such patience he will receive an incorruptible crown, as the Apostle James, the brother of the Lord, says: Blessed is the man who endures temptation, having been tempted, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12). He who believes is not angry, but is patient, keeping the commandment of the Lord, who commands not to be angry at all (Matthew 5:22). Whoever believes maintains chastity and does not defile himself with fornication, adultery, or other impurities, but maintains purity and chastity, for he is confident that those who defile their bodies will not be saved, as it is written: But God will judge the fornicator and the adulterer (Heb. 13:4). The believer does not resist his brother, but serves everyone, and does not complain, but remains in the patience of God, believing that he will receive a greater reward, as the Lord says: whatever He willed to be in you, let him be your servant. And whoever wants to be first in you, be your servant (Matthew 20:26–27). He who believes does not break an oath and does not utter any oath with his lips, obeying the Lord, Who said: I tell you not to swear in any way (Matthew 5:34). He who believes is not lazy in prayer, and does not neglect church services, but always listens to himself and prays unceasingly. The believer does not condemn anyone, believing that we are all in penance, that God has to judge everyone, and that with whatever judgment he judges others, he himself will be judged. He who believes does not follow the wide and spacious path that leads to the destruction of those who follow it, but follows the narrow and sorrowful path, believing that, having grieved a little along it, he will rejoice forever with the Lord and all the saints. A believer does not love the world, nor worldly things, nor parents or brothers, nor wife or children, nor anything else, but loves the only Lord and, having taken up His cross, will follow Him. He who believes does not remain unrepentant of his sins, but even if he sins, like a man, he repents, laments and cries for his sins, trying not to sin again. The believer does not like to walk and does not enjoy drinking wine, shameful drinking and fornicating drunkenness and songs, but always remembers death, the terrible day of judgment and, remembering this, he prays, fasts, abstains from everything and, before death, hastens to prepare how to answer and give an account before the King of glory. A believer loves the Lord and hates all evil that is contrary to Him. Those who believe do not harbor enmity and hatred against their brother and do not repay evil for evil, but love those who hate them, do good to those who do evil to them, bless those who curse them, endure those who harm them and rejoice when they are reviled, do not take into account any evil, because they have genuine, pure, true love - such as St. Paul had, who testified about himself: I say the truth about Christ, I do not lie, my conscience obeys me through the Holy Spirit, for my sorrows are great, and my heart never ceases: I prayed, for I myself was excommunicated from Christ according to my brethren, my relatives in the flesh (Rom. 9:1-3), - which was also revealed by the Prophet Moses, who said to the people: you have sinned, a great sin, and now I will cry out to God, that I may pray your sin. And Moses returned to the Lord and said: I pray to you, Lord, that people have sinned this great sin and created for themselves gods of gold. And now, if you forgive them their sin, forgive it; Otherwise, blot me out of Your book, You have written me down (Ex. 32:30–32). David had the same disposition, for he says: be peaceable with those who hate peace (Ps. 119:6). Do you see what kind of love those who had true faith had? He who believes does not do anything with hypocrisy, but does all his deeds for the Lord and as before the Lord, for he has the eyes of his soul riveted to Him, and from Him alone he believes to receive reward for his deeds. The believer loves those who rightly believe in the Lord, and those who wrongly believe in Him, he turns away from them, cannot tolerate them and drives them out of his sight. He who believes does not listen to divine words, but, as a faithful worker of God, readily performs every deed indicated by them. He who believes does not flatter and does not look upon persons, but also converses and does everything else in truth and in uprightness of heart, for he believes what the Prophet said: woe to those who say good in evil, and woe to those who put evil before darkness, who put light in darkness, and light in darkness, who put bitter sweet and sweet bitter (Is. 5:20). Those who believe, are not proud and do not become arrogant, being carried away by praise and flattering speeches, knowing that the Lord says through the Prophet: My people, your blessed ones flatter you, and trouble the paths of your feet (Is. 3:12). Whoever believes and for the sake of the Lord turns away from the world, he no longer becomes entangled with anything worldly, heeding the word of the Apostle, who says: no one who has been a warrior obliges himself to purchase the purchases of this life, so that he will be pleasing to the commander. Even if someone strives, he will not get married, but if he struggles unlawfully (2 Tim. 2:4-5). He who believes does not approve of anything evil, but even to death stands for Christ and the truth, without fear, since those who, seeing evil and lawless deeds happening before their eyes, allow them to do so, are similar to those who create them, and will perish with them, just as the high priest Eli perished along with his lawless sons, whom he condoned; The prophet called these dogs dumb. He who believes does not love those who believe wrongly, as David says: Have they not hated you, O Lord, even in all your ways? I hated with complete hatred: I became my enemies (Ps. 139:21-22). He who believes always speaks the truth, and no lie comes from his mouth, for those who speak lies are infidels and sons of the devil. He who believes does not covet, but rather is compassionate and shows mercy, believing that the merciful will be shown mercy, and the covetous will be handed over to the never-ceasing worm in hell. He who believes does not unworthily partake of the Most Pure Mysteries, but cleanses himself from all filth, from gluttony, from rancor, from evil deeds and shameful words, from disorderly laughter, from nasty thoughts, from all impurity and from every sinful movement within, - and thus receives the King of glory; on the contrary, in those who unworthily partake of the Most Pure Mysteries, the devil quickly breaks in and enters their heart, as happened with Judas when he partook of the Lord’s Supper; which is why the divine Paul says: let man tempt himself, and let him eat of the bread, and let him drink of the cup. He who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment without considering the body of the Lord. For this reason, there are many weaknesses and sicknesses in you, and they are filled with grief (1 Cor. 11:28-30). He who believes does not slander or condemn his Christian brothers, but rather praises them, because those who praise others will be praised by the holy Angels in the kingdom of heaven, but alas and woe to those who condemn and revile others as if they were evil, because they will be cast by evil demons into utter darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He who believes follows the right path of God’s commandments, not deviating in the slightest or in the slightest, and does not corrupt anyone with his wickedness, because he who corrupts others is worse than the devil; That’s why God says through the mouth of the Prophet Habakkuk: woe to him who drinks his girlfriend with muddy corruption! (Hab.2:15). He who truly believes does not believe only with his lips and tongue, but with his heart, and such deeds are obvious to everyone, for a hail cannot be hidden on top of a standing mountain (Matthew 5:14). He who truly believes from the heart fulfills the commandments of the Lord, but he who believes only in words and not in his heart is empty of good deeds. The Lord speaks of such through the Prophet: these people draw near to Me with their lips... but their heart is far from Me (Is. 29:13). So, my brother, when you see that you are abundantly rich in all kinds of bad deeds, but meager and empty of good, tell me, how can you call yourself faithful? In this case, you, as I think, are worse than any infidel, because even the pagans, not having the law, create by the lawful nature (Rom. 2:14). Why, if you believe, flee from sin, and groan and cry with a cry, condemning yourself, leave the evil deeds in which you have lived until now, and embrace the feat of repentance and correction, so that with good deeds you may appear before the King of glory on that terrible day of judgment, on which He will reward everyone according to their deeds. The Apostle says: if anyone builds on this foundation, gold, silver, honest stone, wood, hay, reeds, every work will be revealed; The day will reveal it before fire, and fire will tempt everyone’s work as it is. And even if his work endures, he will accept a reward again, but his work will be burned, lost; He himself will be saved as by fire (1 Cor. 3:12–15). Think, brother, about this terribly terrible sacrament and tremble because of what you hear. For if fire has to test all people, then where will you appear? And how do you dare to approach him when you have created within yourself such a heavy and unbearable burden of hay, and reeds, and any other bad substance? Alas for me! What will I do then? This dry wood burden of my evils will burn from this unquenchable fire, but I will remain intact to forever burn in this eternal fire for my evil and crafty deeds. Why, my beloved brother, having taken this to heart, anticipate the time, leave all the bad deeds that you have done since your youth, and awaken from the sleep of carelessness and negligence. Go inside yourself and correct your great and countless vices. Drive out sinful and passionate dispositions. Throw away carnal lusts through the fulfillment of God’s commandments and acquire pure and true faith in God, so that you will be worthily crowned by Him, and be worthy of the kingdom of heaven, which may be granted to all of us by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: