*Except*, there is still Christ in His faithfulness at work through the Holy Spirit in the world and in His Church. My journey has taken me through many varied Protestant traditions, through whose members (and in some respects, in spite of which teachings), the Holy Spirit worked to bring me to faith in Christ and start the process of growing in the knowledge of Him. Ultimately, I’ve found the completion of what was good in those traditions within Orthodoxy. I’m Orthodox because I find within the Orthodox Church the fullness of the faith and revelation of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, there is much within institutional Orthodoxy, because we are all still sinners, that the Holy Spirit still has to work *in spite of* to continue His work of healing in my life! This is the way it is, Alexis. Only if you take your eyes and sense of dependence off of Christ Himself at work by the Holy Spirit in your own heart and start looking around you at the storm of confusion and contradiction that satan stirs up in the world do you sink. Even then a simple, humble cry for help will elicit the Lord’s sure, strong rescue. I’m not here trying to imply that everything will immediately become crystal clear, but there is no excuse or reason for despair. In the world we have tribulation, but Christ has overcome the world.
As I understand it, the truth is God works in all hearts that are open to Him, even in those outside *any* Christian tradition (the Holy Spirit is working in the *world,* Christ says, convicting of sin, righteousness and judgment), and will be faithful to guide each of us to the fullness of the truth as we have the capacity to receive it. I think the important thing for someone like you is to determine at least to be faithful with God’s help to what *you* know is right. Keep Christ’s commands to the best of your own understanding and ability. In His own good time, and when you are ready, He will then reveal more until it becomes more clear to you, where it is important to your own salvation process in Him to know, who is “right” on whatever issue. The fact is Christians in many other traditions are right about a good many things that the Scriptures teach, and depending on the maturity of the Orthodox Church member to whom you are speaking, he/she may be wrong about a good many things as well!
The most important thing to know and trust, istm, is that Christ will be faithful to complete what He has begun in us (regardless of the various ways satan tries to mess that up) if we will only commit to trust and obey Him despite all that we see. As for those who need to hear the gospel, because of Christ’s faithfulness I believe those who are ready will hear what they need to know when they need to know it. Experience has taught me God is quite an Expert at creatively working in and through some very broken and leaky vessels and using the most apparently “foolish” means to accomplish His work of readying hearts and then sowing His word in fruitful soil to yield the harvest of righteousness He is seeking.
]]>Hey David, Good Luck! And if the “other” Christian denominations have Christ, then why bother evangelizing for the Orthodox Faith at all? It is quite clear that we have a God that has not only abandoned us, but He is probably up there laughing at all this confusion and mass hysteria. I recall attending an evangelization conference in April 2006, and a gentleman had asked a very good question, and it was thus: “How do you explain to a Roman Catholic the term, ‘Orthodox Catholic’?” I mean, that’s what Orthodox are, correct?
]]>Fr. Johannes, I do know what you mean and I appreciate how the Faith acknowledges truth wherever it be found but Protestants tend to be very aggressive and many times will openly attack us as not even being Christian. They then proceed to teach a stunted paupers gospel and life. I think we should, w/ respect, actively teach people that ours is the true, full Faith and the others are to varying degrees perverted or dumbed down Christianity.
]]>I still have lots to learn.
]]>Fr. Hans: In order to be fair and unbiased we should perhaps say that ordinary catholic and protestant Christians share genuine Christian faith.
The historical record is enough to point to the birth of the present denominational confusion. Vatican is to blame for the fact that “there are over 2,600 groups today who lay claim to being the Church, or at least the direct descendants of the Church described in the New Testament. ”
It all started with the Catholics or more precisely Rome/Vatican. When calling the Pope the “Vicar of Christ,” it is implied that he has the same power and authority that Christ had over the Church. Such claim proved to be very dreadful in its consequences:
– people seeking Christ today, or seeking to find the true church, are puzzled and perplexed to find so many denominations;
– protestants & all have no sacrament or holy Sacraments are not administered in accordance with the Gospel;
– for many, Christianity it is all about long periods of wars.
The Holy Spirit is Christ’s “replacement” on the earth. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor, Teacher and guide into all truth.
David, Protestants and Catholics have Christ too. Orthodox mission, properly understood, is to affirm truth wherever you find it. That means we affirm it in our non-Orthodox brethren as well. That is in no a way compromises your own convictions. You are not violating anything by doing so.
]]>Alexis, this has always been a problem for the Church. There are always a myriad of voices calling to people. God is working but we need to work also…the Orthodox need to step up to the plate and aggressively warn people away from Protestants and Catholics. We need to pray also for these people and them Prots and Catholics!
]]>Got this from the GTAN site:
Music: St. Trinity Cathedral Choir of Saraktash, Russia http://www.stobitel.ru/en/deti.htm
Original page:
]]>It wasn’t the Divine Liturgy you were seeing/hearing, it was evangelism. Both are Orthodox, but they are completely different things, done in completely different ways. St Paul the holy Apostle evangelized in the Synagogue, in the public square, anywhere he could find an audience open to the Gospel. As far as the enthusiasm of Father Maximus’ preaching, I imagine Sts Paul and Peter spoke much the same. After all, just reading St Peter’s Pentecostal sermon in Acts shows great enthusiasm –not to mention St Stephen the first Martyr at trial, or St Paul. As far as the shouting and affirmation, this is the normal, Christian/human response to life-changing Good News.
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