The enemy of faith is pride
“Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”” (John 6:29).
The absolute necessary element for salvation is faith. Faith alone will save us, for only faith brings us into communion with God. Faith is a free gift, for nothing we can do can save us. No good works can save us. Being a good person will not save us. Only faith in Christ will bring us into everlasting life.
The enemy of faith is pride, for pride destroys faith. Pride makes us believe we do not need God, and pride is what leads many into the abyss of atheism, for pride makes us believe that there is nothing beyond ourselves. Pride leads us to believe that we are all important, and that nothing exists beyond ourselves. Once pride takes hold, our heart grows hard, and faith grows cold and dies.
Repentance is the cure for pride, and only through repentance can we rekindle the grace that brings life to our faith. Humbling ourselves before God, and giving ourselves over to divine worship, brings us back into the natural relationship that was preordained for us before the fall, and faith grows as grace rebounds.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Saturday November 7, 2015 / October 25, 2015
23rd Week after Pentecost. Tone five.
Demetrius (Parental) Saturday. Remembrance of the dead.
Martyrs Marcian and Martyrius the Notaries of Constantinople (355).
St. Matrona the Confessor of Diveyevo (1963).
Venerable Martyrius the Deacon (13th c.) and Venerable Martyrius the Recluse of the Kiev Caves.
Martyr Anastasius the Fuller at Salona in Dalmatia (3rd c.).
St. Tabitha, the widow raised from the dead by the Apostle Peter (1st c.).
St. Front, bishop of Perigueux (2nd c.) (Celtic & British).
St. George of Amastris, bishop and writer of canons (Greek).
Two Martyrs of Thrace (Greek).
St. Macarius, bishop of Paphos in Cyprus (Greek).
Sts. Philadephus and Polycarp (Greek).
Sts. Crispinus and Crispinianus, Romans, martyrd under Diocletian at Soissons (286).
Martyr Miniatus of Florence (251).
Scripture Readings
2 Corinthians 8:1-5
Excel in Giving
8 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: 2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. 3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, 4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.
Luke 7:2-10
2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
Good luck with expecting new generations to believe the tales of Adam and Eve and their imagined fall that presumably affect us. Insistence on validity of ancient myths (such as Jews being an favoured, elected nation proclaimed in the biased book(s) written by Jews–hardly a surprise) is one of the main causes of the demise of organized, pastoral religion that insists on existence on flock to be led. It will prove ever harder to find a willing flock members. The proof is around you.
New generations would have no problems discovering Loving, Eternal GOD that is an Omnipresent Person and a Spirit. There are plenty of scientific and near-death proofs of GOD’s existence. Yet, there is little proof that pious Buddhists or Hindus went to hell because they were not baptised by some form of church. There is also very little evidence that organized religions have themselves any impact on Heaven–no religious symbols there.
Do not equate the future of worship and the future of competing pastoral organizations that proclaim that salvation better be achieved through them. Worship of GOD, in any form, will go on.
As an Orthodox Christian, I do not believe anyone has gone to hell for not being a baptized Christian, for we will all be judged by how we have responded to the knowledge we have been given. As an Orthodox Christian, I will be held accountable in a greater way than people of other religions (or lack thereof), for by God’s divine revelation, the Orthodox Church has the fullness of Truth. Furthermore, as an Orthodox Christian, I believe heaven and hell are not about location, but about relationship. Our relationship with God and other people, if it is based on love, makes the “ocean of fire”, the fire of illumination. That Christianity in the West has failed to impart Christian truth in it’s entirety, is part of the problem with unbelief.
I agree totally. It was always about love. The first Christians did not go around with books while creating organizational structure–it took place only after the Council of Nicea under the auspices of opportunistic Roman Empire and its control-freak (to put it mildly) leadership. Original Christianity is not totally lost, but a lot of reading between the lines is needed.
It is always good to remember that the Church is chiefly a hospital for the soul. Just because there are sick people in the hospital, and even in leadership roles, does not mean we do not need her. In fact, I can’t think of a better place to be, for we who are sick and in need of healing, than in the Church.