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Answers for South African Greek Orthodox Christians
ORTHODOX — THE TRUE FAITH AND HOLY TRADITION
2 Thes 2.· 15 "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the tradition which ye have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle."
2 Thes 3.·6 “Now we command you, bÃetheç, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us."
Deut 32.· 7 "Ask thy faith and he will show thee thy elders, and they will tell thee."
É Cor 11.·2, Cï12.·8 human tradition
Note.· The meaning of the word tradition (paradosis) has changed from, unwritten body of beliefs handed down from generation to generation, to the word teaching.
INTERPRETATIONS OF THE BIBLE
Acts 8:38 -31 "Do you understand what you are reading. How can É unless someone explains it to me."
É Cor 1:18 all speak the same thing
john 1 7.· 11 that they be one as we are
Eph 4.3 - ü One body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all.
Note. Orthodox refer only to the interpretations of the Church Fathers, who were the great authorities of earlier tradition, and witnesses of the early Faith. We cannot accept personalised interpretations or traditions as they may conflict with the original Apostolic paradosis.
IMPERFECTION OF THE CLERGY
St. Chrysostom says, "The Holy Spirit does not ordain all men, but it acts through all men." Christ chose twelve disciples, yet one was a traitor -nevertheless he possesed all the gifts that the others had received.
All sacraments are valid when performed by canonically acting priests under the authority of the Archbishop of the diocese.
Rev 1.·ÉÏ-20
John 18:7 - 12
THE ECUMENICAL SYNODS
The Ecumenical Synods fought those who disputed the truths delivered to them by the Holy Apostles.
Acts 16:4 they
delivered them the decrees to keep
É Cor 5:4 - 5
gathered together, and my spirit
1. 325 AD - Nicea - the first Ecumenical Synod dogmatized the divinity of the Son.
2. 381 AD - Constantinople - dogmatized the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
3. 431 AD - Ephesus - confirmed the first and second synods.
4. 451 AD - Chalcedon - dogmatized Christ as a double nature but single substance.
5. 553 AD - Constantinople, excommunicated Origen, father of heresis.
6. 680 AD - Constantinople - rejected single will and single activity in Christ.
7. 787 AD - Nicea - pronounced judgement against the impious and anti-Christian iconoclasts.
Synod: World council attended by all the spiritual leaders of the Church.
Dogma: Luke 2:1 - Royal decree or ecclesiastical decision taken by the seventy scholars who translated the Old Testament to the Greek - The Septuagint. As well as decisions taken by the seven Ecumenical Synods 325 AD to 787 AD which were the Christian Truths and referred to the practical life of the Christian.
INFANT BAPTISM
Acts 16:15 baptized, as well as all her family
Mark 10:14 "Suffer the little children to come unto me, ~nd forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God" - how can a person then enter God’s Kingdom if he is not baptized - how can he die to this world and be resurrected in Christ!
How can one participate in the Church, in the sacraments - partake in
Christ’s Holy body and blood if he is not cleansed of Adam’s sin!
1 Cor É1.·28-29
Matt 3:6 - and they were baptized in Him in the Jordan, confessing their sins
Romans 6:3 - ÉÉ - at our Baptism - Epistle.
Matthew 28.· 16 - 28 "Baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit" - at our Baptism - Gospel.
P.S. Remember - we enter the Church of Christ through the sacraments of the Church, by God’s grace - we don’t have to do anything but accept that grace.
Sacrament: The action of the Holy Spirit, during the mystery or relegious rite.
THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE
Matt 19:6 what therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder
Eph 5:31 the mystery is great
- that is why marriage is a sacrament.
Marriage Service: Epistle reading Ephesians 5:28-33 the husband is the head
Husbands love your wives, as Christ loves the Church and gave himself up for her
Gospel reading: John 2:1 - ÉÉ - The changing of water into wine was the first miracle performed by Christ at the marriage in Cana in Galilee. His presence at the wedding gave it God’s grace.
VENERATION OF THE SAINTS
2 Kings 2:15 and bowed themselves to the ground in homage before him
Gen 33:3 bowed seven times
Paying veneration to saints is worshipping the God in that person.
Acts 18:25 fell down at his feet and oaid him homage, Cornelius to Peter.
Heb 13.· 7 remember them who were your leaders, who spoke with you the word of God imitate their faith
CoI 1:4 and of the love which he has for all the saints.
ps 150:1
Saints are canonised by the Church only after factual evidence by witnesses -they used their spiritual gifts and talents on earth, as there is no spiritual death, they continue their work after physical death.
Veneration: Looked up to with respect.
THEOTOKOS OR MOTHER OF CHRIST
Luke 1:30-34 fear not Mary
Mary was a virgin, before she gave birth, at the time, and after giving birth, still remained a virgin.
Matt 2:13 mother of the Lord, not the wife of Joseph.
Christ had no brothers. John 19:27 the disciple took her home -
no other brothers.
PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD
Tim 2.· 1 É exhort therefore, first of all, that supplication, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men that is to say for both the living and the dead.
Rom 14:8 both dead and living
É Pet 4.8 love ties the living to the dead
2 Cor 1.· 11 helping together on our behalf by your supplication.
Memorial services - in memory of .............
John 12:24 unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit - hence KOLIVA.
FASTING
Gen 2.· 17 for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die
Acts 13.·2-3 fasted and prayed
Acts 10.·30 fasting until this hour
2Cïc 6:5
Rom 13:14 gluttony — and make not provision for the flesh Éï fulfil the lusts thereof.
Rom 14:1 7— not food and drink, but peace and joy
Christ fasted for 40 days before He began His world ministry — to set us the example.
NOTES ON FASTING
Fasting foods is intended as spiritual preparation for an experience of deeper communion with God. Each person is a unity of body and soul. Áright spiritual diet and a discipline of fasting go together and strengthen each other. Just as prayer benefits not only the soul but also the body so also fasting from foods benefits not only the body but also the soul. Fasting and prayer make us more sensitive to God’s personal presence. At important times of their lives the Prophets fasted and prayed. So did Jesus, the Apostles, Saints and Church Fathers.
Fasting must be undertaken willingly and not by compulsion. God doesn’t need our fasting. We don’t fast as a kind of personal punishment for our sins. We cannot pay God back for our sins but we can only confess them to Him to receive forgiveness. Fasting with a willing spirit and not just with an attitude of fulfilling a religious obligation means that we keep the purposes of fasting always before us which is to develop self-control and to remember God and His Kingdom. That way we fast not only in what we eat but also in how much we eat. Fasting is simplicity of eating. We leave the table not with loaded stomachs. Being a little hungry during the day becomes a constant reminder of God, of our dependence on Him, and of the fact that the Lord alone can give us "food that lasts for eternal life" (in 6.·27). In fasting and prayer, He reveals Himself to us as our true food and drink.
VENERATION OF HOLY ICONS
God commanded Moses to make Sacred golden images of the cherubim.
Exodus 25.· 19 — Make one cherub on the one end and one cherub on the other end, of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim in its two ends."
Exodus 25.· 18 two cherubim of gold
Exodus 26.·31 " fine twine liner
Numbers 21.·9 Moses made a bronze serpent
1 Kings 9:3 É have consecrated this house
Ôï deny the physical icon of Christ is tantamount to denying the incarnation, that is why we have these reminders in our homes and Churches.
THE HOLY CROSS
Ñs99.·5 " pay homage at his footstool" — meaning the cross.
Cen 48.· 14
Mark 18.·35,37
Matt 28.·20-21
Cross: Roman symbol of disgrace but it is the symbol of the triumph of Life over Death for the Christian hence its importance.
WORSHIPPING IN CHURCH
Prepare for Liturgy through fasting and prayer ready to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.
Luke 24:53 " and were continually in the temple blessing God."
Acts 28.· 7
É Cor 14:23
The incense used in the churches signifies spiritual cheer and gives expression to our internal worship, which is directed to the Lord above.
Luke 7:37
Ps 141 .·2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before thee, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice
Ex 30.· 7 burn fragrant incense
Ex 48.·27
Luke É.·9
Incense in the censor symbolises the gifts offered by the wise men to the infant Jesus. Censoring is done to express the desire that the prayers of the worshippers may ascend to heaven. When the priest swings the censor, which is called censoring, it expresses his prayer that God may gather the prayers of all assembled and send his blessing down upon the worshippers.
CANDLES AND OIL
Ex 25:34 — "candlestick like almonds"
Leviticus 24:2-3 olive oil
Acts 28.·8
INTERIOR OF CHURCH
Ex 38.· 1-27
The structure of the Orthodox Church is exactly how it was instructed Éï be by the Lord.
By His Eminence Archbishop Seraphim.
One bishop when asked the question, "Have you been saved?" replied, "I have.~~ "on a Friday aflernoon at three 0’ clock in the spring of year 33 A.D. on a hill outside the City of Jerusalem." That is when we were all saved, but God will not force this salvation on us. We must-each of us-accept it personally as a great gift of God’s love. We were saved in baptism which is our personal Golgotha. Baptism is the tomb where " we were baptized into his death” (Rïm.6: 3); it is also the womb from which we were born anew receiving within us the life of Christ.
We were saved at baptism but we must continue to "work out" our salvation for the rest of our lives by daily serving, loving, obeying, and following Jesus. When you stand before God’s alter to be married, you are pronounced man and wife in the Lord. You are married right there and then. Íï one can argue that point. But it is equally true that you will work out your marriage from that moment on till the end of your life together. As two wills seek to become one, your becomes what God ordained it to be. In Jeremiah 3:14 the Lord said to his people, "I am married to you." Our relationship to God is like a marriage relationship. More than anything else God wants our love, our heart. He wants us! In the Christian life, as in marriage, two wills are involved; God’s will and ours. Jesus constantly yielded His will to the Father. It is the last thing He did before He went to the cross. That kind of obedience is not easy. And it is not something we can do ones and forget. It is a way of life-a constant yielding of our will to God’s will daily. Each time we chose God’s will we are working out our salvation. In the words of St. Paul, "Therefore my beloved ... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling"(Phil. 2:12).
The great saints of the Church were humble men and women who radiated grace and love. They were not converted once. Nor did they repent just once. Their life was a daily conversion and a constant repentance. They were saved once on the cross of Golgotha, but they were been saved daily in the yielding of their will to Jesus. Daily they sinned and daily they repented. Daily they fell and daily they rose. We have been saved but we are being saved. "For the word of cross is folly to those who are perishing but to us who
are being saved it is a power of God" (1 Cor. 1:
18). In the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, the proud Pharisee thought he was saved. His prayer was , “Thank God, É have made it ! É am where É am supposed to be. Everyone else is below me on the ladder somewhere. É am not like other men. Would that they were all as good as É am.” it was that kind of spiritual pride that condemned the Pharisee.The poor tax collector, on the other hand, was on a much lower level of spirituality and virtue, and he knew it. He acknowledge his sinfulness and, realizing the unlimited possibilities for growth, he moved on.
In Orthodox theology salvation is not static but dynamic; It is not a completed state, a state of having arrived, a state of having made it, but a constant moving toward theosis, toward becoming like Christ, toward receiving the fullness of God’s life.
The more the great saints of the Church grew m their knowledge of Jesus, the more they realize their imperfection and sinfulness. When a saint was told, "You are a thief," he would agree that he was. "you are a liar." He would agree that he was. "You are a fornicator." He would agree that he was. The saints realize that we can lie, steal and fornicate in thought as well as in deed. Like the sinful tax collector they prayed the Jesus Prayer constantly: "Lord Jesus, Son of God, be merciful to me a sinner." They were saved at Golgotha, having died and risen with Christ in baptism. And they been saved daily though repentance and the yielding of their niind, heart and will to God. And they looked forward to their glorification - with Jesus at the Second Coming.
People today are running to Church with the question:(What must a do to be saved?” But when they rõi~ to psychiatrists, when they take large doses of drugs, when they down themselves with alcohol; when they to resign from the human race, when they complain that life is not worth living and try to commit suicide, what are they doing but confessing a need-a need to be saved from themselves, from the sin and death of their daily existence.
The salvation we are looking for is not to be found in education, or politics, or economist but in Christ. It is a spiritual, an inner salvation, which in turn produces an outer salvation. Changed people produce a changed society. The
insecurity, the fear of death. God does not remain aloof in the heavens while men suffer and die. He takes on a body and by His death destroys our death so that now death becomes a doorway through which we must all pass to enter the splendor of His glorious presence.
Salvation is:
Liberation from evil,
The defeat of the devil,
The transfiguration of man,
Living authentically,
Putting on Christ,
The restoration of the image of
God in man,
Participating in the life of God,
Restoration of communion with God
In corruption,
Receiving the Holy Spirit,
Becoming temples of the Holy
Spirit,
Forgiveness of sins,
Ascending to the throne of God,
Participating in the kingdom of
God’ Being by Grace what God
is by nature, The destruction of
death, Seeing the light’
Being in a progress of growth that
never ends,
Living life the way God meant it
to be, This is the salvation the
Lord Jesus offers us.
The Orthodox Church has always emphasized the more positive aspect of salvation. Salvation for the Orthodox Church has not meant only justification or forgiveness of sins: it means also the renewing and restoration of God ‘s image in man, the lifting up of fallen humanity through Christ in to the very life of God. Christ forgives man and frees him from sin that he may proceed to fulfil this destiny, which is to become like God. Christ came to save us from sin for participation in the life of God. This exalted vision of the Christian life was expressed by St. Peter when he wrote that we are invited "to become partakers of the Divine Nature" (2 Peter 1: 4). It was also affirmed by St. Basil the Great when he described man as "the creature who has received an order to become god." The whole emphasis of the Orthodox way of life is on "putting on Christ" and receiving the Holy Spirit through prayer and Sacraments so that we may
begin to live a new life in Union with Christ and in Communion with the Holy Spirit.
In spiritual life three stages can be discerned, which are comparable to three conversions. The first is the meeting of the soul with our Lord, when He is followed as a friend and as a Master. The second conversion is a personal experience of pardon and salvation, of the cross and resurrection. The third conversion is the coming of the Holy Spirit into the soul like a flame and with power. It is by this conversion that man is established in a lasting union with God. Christmas or Epiphany, then Easter, and finally Pentecost correspond the these three conversion.
St. Paul assures us that we are saved by grace through faith. Let us examine first the word grace: What is it? Grace is a giff rather than a wage we earn. It cannot be deserved. Sin give wages. God gives Grace." For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord". (Rom 6:23). "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God-not because of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8).
There is a story about a man who went to heaven. He was met at the pearly gates by Peter, who said, "It will take 1000 points for you to be admitted. The good works you did during your life time will determine your points."
The man said, “Unless É was sick É attended Church every Sunday, and É sang in the choir.”
"That will be 50 points," Peter said.
“And É gave to the Church liberally,” the man
added. -
"That is worth 25 more points," said Peter
The man, realizing that he had only 75 points. started getting desperate. "I taught a Sunday school class," he said. "That’s great work fro God."
"Yes," said Peter. That’s worth 25 points."
The man was frantic. "You know," he said, at this rate the only way I’m going to get into heaven is by the grace of God."
Peter smiled. "That’s worth 988 points! Come on in!" In this world we get what we pay for, people say. Do we? What can we ever pay the grace of God? What can we ever pay for His love? What can we ever pay for His sacrifice on the cross?
Grace is the unlimited pouring out of God’s mercy. It is God’s unconditional forgiveness
peace and the fulfilment we are all searching for can be found in a relationship to God and only Jesus can bring. “Peace É live with you,” He said, “my peace É give to you; not as the world gives do É give to you (John 14:27). Jesus did not come to condemn us because we had become enslaved to sin. He came to save us by breaking the of sin and death.
Recall the words of St. Gregory of Nyssa:
"Our nature was seek and needed a doctor.
Man had fallen and needed someone to raise him up.
He who ceased to participate in the good needed Someone to bring him back to it.
He who was shut in darkness needed the presence of life.
The prisoners was looking for someone to ransom him, The captive for someone to take his part. He who was under the yoke of slavery was Looking for someone to set ~free."
Á great scientist asked once, " The wild universe may yet be tamed; but the inner world of man’s life, with its ignorance, prejudice, bitterness, instability, passion and sin- who will tame that?" Years before this scientist, a great saint asked the same question in a different way. "I do not understand my own actions. For É do not do what I want, but É do the very thing I hate... Wretched man that É am! Who will deliver mw from the body of death? Thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”(Romans 7:
15, 17, 24-25). Who shaH deliver me? Thank God for Jesus who came not to judge me but to deliver me from this body of sin and death!
Years ago lawyer, at the risk of his own life, grabbed the reins of a runaway team of horses and saved a man’ life. The wagon turned over but he was not seriously hurt. He dusted himself off and thanked the lawyer. The scene has changed. More than twenty years have passed. The lawyer is now a respected judge. The place is judge’s courtroom. Á man has been tried for murder and convicted. Prior to formal sentencing the judge asks the accused if he has anything to say. He indicates that he does. He comes close to the judge’s bench and says, “Judge don’t you remember me?” The judge replies, “Íï, É don’t remember having met you prior to this trial.” “But, judge,” the man answers, “don’t you remember saving a man’s life by turning a team of runaway horses twenty years ago?" "Oh, yes, replies the judge, ‘É remember that as though it
was yesterday.””Judge, É am that man,” the accused stated, “you were my saviour then, can’t you be my saviour now?” The Christian judge dropped his head and when he had regained his composure he said, “Yesterday Ú was your saviour, but today É must be your judge.” Jesus did not come to judge the world but to save the world. But one day he must come to judge the world. Today He’s our saviour. Tomorrow he will be our judge. How shall we meet Him at the end, as Saviour or judge?
Jesus came to save us from sin. Nosed saved, sin becomes an incidents in the life of the Christian-not a practise. Love becomes the practise, not just an occasional incident- the love of Jesus. We are saved from sin for love. The çóçjudgemental, accepting, forgiving love of Jesus must floe through us to others. “Above all, put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col. 3: 14). Secondly, we are saved for fruit bearing. The purpose of the True Vine (Jesus) and the branches (the members of His Body, the Christians) is the same: to bears not fruit for God, to carry God’s saving love to the world. Every branch that bears not fruit, He takes away. This is what we are saved for. We are made branches on the True Vine, members of Christ’s Body, that the head (Jesus) may have us to carry out I-iis saving world today, that though us Jesus may bring life to men. We are saved not in order to sit around this world as ornaments. We are saved to love, to serve, to bear witness, to confess Jesus among men, to bear the fruit of Heavenly Vine for dying men and women to eat and live
What does it mean to be saved? What is salvation in Christ?
Salvation is freedom- freedom from tlie tyranny of self centeredness, freedom from the bondage of fear and death.
Salvation in Christ is being freed from myself so that É become the person God created me to be and intends me to become.
Salvation is God lifting us up in Christ Jesus. It is God giving us hope. It is God working an unrelenting work in our personalities, in our characters, in our lives. It is God not giving up on us. Salvation according to Orthodox theology is the state of “É have arrived. É made it. É am growing in God, for God, and through the power of Salvation is Christ overcoming for us our greatest enemy, which is at the root of all our
offered to the unworthy. It is God accepting us as His children in Baptism, filling us with His Holy Spirit in confirmation, and then sending Jesus to live in our hearts through Holy Communion. It is God loving us when we are unlovable. "But God shows His love for us In that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us"(Rom. 5:8)
We are saved by the grace through faith. What is the role of faith in God’s plan of salvation? Faith is saying ‘‚yes" to God’s gracious gift of salvation. It is the humble acceptance of God’s gracious gift. It is the hand that takes the blessing. It receives what God gives, not as something we deserve, but as a gift of His grace. It is the marriage of Christ — the Bridegroom — to the bride which is my soul. Faith is the handle by which I grasp God’s power and apply it to my weakness. It is remembering when É fell utterly worthless that É am the one for whom God gave His Son. Faith is the eye by which we look to Jesus; the hand by which we lay hold of Jesus; the tongue by which we taste the sweetness ot the Lord; the foot by which we go to Jesus. Faith is forsaking All É Take Him. Ã-Á-É-Ô-Ç. Faith is man’s hand reaching up to grasp the already outstretched hand of God’s grace. "By grace you have been saved through faith "(Eph. 2:8). When man’s hand (faith) grasps God’s hand (grace), there is reconciliation and salvation.
The person who has accepted Christ, been baptized and received the Holy Spirit begins a new life which is expressed in love good deeds. Á person is not saved by faith alone but by faith, which expresses itself through good deeds. Áperson is not saved by faith alone but by faith, which expresses itself through love as St. Paul, writes. St. James asks, "what does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has no works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself; if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:14-É 7).
The good works that we do, do not earn us any special merit points in heaven. We can never buy God’s love with them since Jesus specifically tell us: "So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy
servants; we have only done what was our duty"’ (Luke 17-10).
Our good deeds do not put God in our debt. It is God’s love in Christ that puts us forever in His debt. Our good deeds are
grateful response a feeble attempt on our part to show appreciation to God for what He has done for s. We can never fully accomplish all that we should do, but neither should we stop trying, love will not let us. "The love of Christ can controls us, "says Paul ( 2 Cor 5:14).
Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. "This verse seems to contradict the one just before it: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God — not because of works lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). One verse says: "You have been saved not because of works," and the next says: Created in Christ Jesus for good works."
Far from contradicting each other, these verses give us the Orthodox Christian position concerning good works. Good works do not produce salvation, but salvation produces good works. We are not saved because of our good works but we are saved for good works. Christ make each one of us a new creation, a new being. The new being through ·the power of the indwelling Trinity, produces new works. Christ does not begin by changing our deeds. He begins by changing us. The good deeds flow by God’s grace our of the new person.
Only those good works that are done in the name of Christ are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Good deeds — even the best- are worthless in a person who does not believe in Christ. Á work in good only insofar as it is done in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. For the Christian there is no good work a part from this. Á story is told of a ten-dollar bill that got into circulation and did a lot of good. It helped buy coal for a needy old woman; it helped buy medicine for a very sick child; and even showed up in the collection plate in Church one Sunday morning. Then it fell into the hands of a bank teller who spotted it immediately as counterfeit. The test is not how many good deeds we claim to our credit, but rather, can they pass inspection in the sight of God? Were our good deeds done in Christ and
for Christ? Or are they products of pride: trying to parade our goodness or to buy God’s favour and place Him in our debt?
We are created for those good works that are done in Christ and for Christ. ÁÌ other are counterfeit; they cannot pass inspection in God’s sight.
The early Church was a show place of good works done for Christ. Having been made a new creation in Christ, those early Christians began to produce new deeds that astounded the pagan worlds. In one of the earliest apologetic works preserved, Justin the Martyr (d. 165), writes:
"We used to value above all else money and possessions; now we bring together that we have and share it with those who are in need (cf. Acts 4:34-37). Formerly we hated and killed one another and, because of a difference in nationality our custom we refused to admit strangers within our gates. Now since the coming of Christ we all live in peace. We pray for our enemies and seek to convert those who hate us in unjustly "(l Apology xlv).
Tertullian (160-220) said: "It is our care for the helpless, our practise of loving kindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. ‘Only’ look,’ they say, look how they love one another" (Apology xxxix).
"And let our people run to apply themselves to good deeds, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not to be unfruitful. " These words of St. Paul found eager expression in the lives of the early Christians who as we see from the history of the early Church:
É. gave alnis to help the destitute (even poor Christians were urged to give through fasting);
2. supported widows and orphans;
3. supported the sick, the infirm, the poor, and the disabled (even establishing hospitals in many citi~s)
4. cared for prisoners and slaves
5. found work for those who were unemployed;
6. cared for those who journeyed;
7. cared for the victims of great calamities.
Summarizing what we have said on the subject of salvation:
1. We have been saved from sins and death through baptism, which is our personal Golgotha (Justification).
2. We are being saved daily as we repent of our sins and continue our walk with Jesus yielding our will to Him in humble obedience (sanctification).
3. We shall be saved at the end of time. When Jesus comes again we shall share in His glorification.
4. Salvation is constant growth in the life of Christ, a dynamic movement towards theosis (becoming like Christ receiving the fullness of God’s life).
5. He who is our Saviour today will be our judge tomorrow.
6. We are saved from sins for putting on Christ, for love, for fruit bearing, for serving, for confessing Christ among men, for becoming partakers of divine nature.
7. We are not saved by good works. Á new person in Christ produces food works in and by the Holy Trinity for God’s glory. We cannot earn salvation through good works. They are our grateful response to God’s love.
8. We are saved by grace (Salvation is God’s gift) through faith, which is man reaching out to accept God’s gift.
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