Running The Race

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1) After graphically describing the sufferings and tortures of Old Testament saints in chapter 11, the author of the letter to the Hebrews tells his readers to "run the race with endurance." He goes on in verses 7-11 to tell us of the need for discipline, and in verses 12-13 he describes strengthening exercises: "Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed."

"Running The Race" involves self-control, self-denial, the determination and ability to turn away from selfish instant gratification to other-centered delayed gratification. The description in the Bible is quite practical and down-to-earth: "let us also lay aside every weight." How many Christians are guilty of not watching their weight? St. Paul wrote in Cor. 9:24-27 – "Don't you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win. Every man who strives in the games exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

Again, St. Paul wrote to his disciple Timothy - "Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach" (1 Tim. 3:2). in ch. 6:12 he wrote - "Fight the good fight of the faith." And - "An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules" (2 Tim. 2:5). Also - "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (ch. 4:7). The imagery of athletes running in a race, wrestling against forces of evil (Eph. 6:12), struggling against sin (Heb. 10:32 and 12:4) pop up throughout St. Paul's letters.

In contrast, a lifestyle of self-indulgence and instant gratification produces grim results: the prophet Ezekiel wrote - "As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you have done, you and your daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. They were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good" (Ezek. 16:48-50). Yet the sins of Israel were greater than the sins of Sodom: living in abundance while not caring for the poor, as well as committing abominations.

When Christ sent out His Apostles to preach that the Kingdom of Heaven to the poor and disabled, He warned those who would not receive the Good News - "Most assuredly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city" (Matt. 10:15). Rejecting the Kingdom - the Lordship of Christ, not loving God and each other, not caring for the poor, disabled, widows and orphans - all these socially acceptable, "respectable," self-centered sins are even more sinful than the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. This does not excuse the sin of sodomy - sexual perversion - but neither can we excuse the sins of self-indulgence, not caring for the poor, disabled, widows and orphans.

Please take a look at our study of the Scriptural usage of the Greek word egkrateia - self-control in our 23 June 2013 Hosken-News. It's extremely important to understand and apply this spiritual principle in our lives! How is it possible to "run the race" if we are dragging around an extra 50, 75, 100 or even 200 pounds of excess weight? How can we "run the race" of discipleship if we spend most of our waking hours chasing after material things?

In conclusion, let me remind you of Christ's words - "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits his own self?" (Luke 9:23-25). This is what self-denial and delayed gratification are all about: gaining that eternal reward. "Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:1-2). Let's run the race!

(Linked to www.Hosken-News.info of 09 Nov. 2014.)

Doing the Work of Ministry

How do we "serve one another with love"? Jesus Christ repeatedly said that His Gospel message and mission was especially to "the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind." And when He sent out his Apostles to proclaim the Gospel, He instructed them to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons." So we clearly see that practical ministry to human needs is an integral part of the Gospel message. After the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, the Apostles were filled with Divine power to preach the Gospel, heal the sick and care for the poor.

But as the newly-formed Church in Jerusalem grew by leaps and bounds to well over ten thousand people, the Apostles had to delegate some of their authority to a new group of workers: in Acts 6:1-7 we read how the Apostles, overburdened by preaching to the masses of new believers as well as ministering to their practical needs, apointed seven men - the first deacons - to perform this practical diakonia-ministry.

Then "The word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly. A great company of the priests were obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7). So these seven men - soon to be just six after Stephen was martyred - couldn't effectively minister to over ten thousand people and growing: they had to in turn train others for "Doing the Work of Ministry." We read about this in St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians -

"He [Christ] gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for equipping the saints to do the work of ministering to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:11-13).

The Apostles and other leaders in the Church including deacons are to teach and equip the other believers ("the saints") to do the work of diakonia-ministry. And the result will be the same: "the building up of the body of Christ." If we want the Church to increase, multiply and become a great company, we should first train deacons in how to do the practical ministry that Christ and the Apostles did. Then the deacons should become the trainers and team leaders of other believers to do this kind of diakonia-ministry.

This appears to be a simple concept and process, easy to understand. But the enemy of our souls strives to undermine the growth of the Church by inciting Christians to rivalry and fighting for supremacy, rather than humbly serving one another in love. We need to return to this simple idea that Christ and the Apostles taught and practiced: Doing the Work of Ministry. Let's stop fighting over territory and just talking about helping the poor and disabled, just DO what Jesus did!

(Linked to www.Hosken-News.info of 22 Nov. 2014.)

The Real Saint Nicholas

In our last issue we mentioned that Ukraine this Christmas season will be celebrating with "Sviatii Mykola" - the Ukrainian spelling of "Saint Nicholas." This saint bears little resemblance to "Santa Claus" whose name is derived from this saint, but whose character is a rotund, jolly old fellow surrounded by reindeer and elves. The Real Saint Nicholas rescued three young women whose father was about to sell them to keep himself from abject poverty. St. Nicholas secretly threw a bag of gold coins through their window so the father could provide a dowry for marrying off his daughters honorably. Nicholas, born into a noble family, gave away his inheritance to the poor, and it is from these acts of generosity that we have the tradition of gift-giving at Christmas.

So the picture of a nice, jolly old man doesn't correspond at all to the real Saint Nicholas: he was made Archbishop of Myra and, according to the article St Nicholas the Wonderworker and Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, he destroyed idols and punched out the heretic Arius -

"Despite his great gentleness of spirit and purity of heart, St. Nicholas was a zealous and ardent warrior of the Church of Christ. Fighting evil spirits, the saint made the rounds of the pagan temples and shrines in the city of Myra and its surroundings, shattering the idols and turning the temples to dust.

"In the year 325 St. Nicholas was a participant in the First Ecumenical Council. This Council proclaimed the Nicene Symbol of Faith, and he stood up against the heretic Arius with the likes of Sts. Sylvester the Bishop of Rome (January 2), Alexander of Alexandria (May 29), Spyridon of Trimythontos (December 12) and other Fathers of the Council.

St Nicholas, fired with zeal for the Lord, assailed the heretic Arius with his words, and also struck him upon the face. For this reason, he was deprived of the emblems of his episcopal rank and placed under guard. But several of the holy Fathers had the same vision, seeing the Lord Himself and the Mother of God returning to him the Gospel and omophorion. The Fathers of the Council agreed that the audacity of the saint was pleasing to God, and restored the saint to the office of bishop."

We modern Christians might find such actions "intolerant," but perhaps we need to take a similar firm stand for the truth of the Gospel of Christ. The heretic Arius preached the doctrine that Jesus Christ was not fully the pre-eternal Son of God, but rather that Jesus was born as a man and later became god-like. The problem here is that if Jesus was not fully God from all eternity, then we cannot be saved. Only God can save us. A century or so after Arius was banished to the Arabian penninsula, Mohammed developed this doctrine into a new religion: Islam. It is a fundamental doctrine of Islam that "God is one, and has no son," echoing the heresy of Arianism, that Jesus was just a good man who became god-like, or "a prophet" as Islam teaches.

It is also the teaching of modern secular humanists that Jesus, if they believe He existed at all, was just a great moral teacher. This brings God down to our level, or rather it brings man up to God's level: the modern, autonomous individual has the right to declare that truth and morality are whatever he thinks is true and moral at the moment. In other words, by bringing God down to our level, making Christ into a mere man, they make themselves into God. Even several semi-Christian denominations today preach and teach such heresies. We need more zealous preachers like St. Nicholas today to combat these heresies!

(Linked to www.Hosken-News.info of 06 Dec. 2014.)

Saint John of Kronstadt

Every December 20th we - especially Cheryl and I - commemorate the Repose of St. John of Kronstadt. It is a very special day for us, because St. John fell asleep in the Lord on this date in 1908, and we visited the monastery in St. Petersburg, Russia in the summer of 2008. As I knelt before his tomb in the basement of the monastery an idea just like a voice came into my head - "Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could be chrismated into the Orthodox Church on the centennial of his death?" Immediately I thought - "That would be too much to ask of our priest, or even to imagine!" - so I put the idea out of my mind. But a few months later, in October, our priest came up to me after Divine Liturgy and said - "I think you're ready to be chrismated. When would you like it to be?" I gulped in amazement and said - "How about in December?" And he replied - "Alright. What date would you like?" So I suggested the date of St. John's repose in the Lord, and he agreed. So we were received into the holy Orthodox faith on the 100th anniversary of this saint's repose!

Why had I chosen St. John of Kronstadt as my patron saint? As you can read in the above article, St. John cared greatly for the poor and oppressed, even for criminals, in the Kronstadt suburb of St. Petersburg, Russia:

"He conducted divine services daily and offered prayers for the faithful. He called all who rarely receive Holy Communion to prepare themselves and live their lives in a Christian way so that they could receive more often. Listening to Fr. John, many people changed their lifestyle, repented sincerely, and joyfully received Holy Communion on a regular basis.

"At that time the government exiled murderers, thieves and other criminals to Kronstadt. Life was horrible for the exiles. Even children of exiles would become thieves and criminals. He would go to their dugouts, hovels and shacks to visit with them. Not satisfied with staying for five or ten minutes to administer some rite and then leave, Fr John believed he was coming to visit a priceless soul, his brothers and sisters. He would stay for hours, talking, encouraging, comforting, crying, and rejoicing together with them.

"From the beginning he also concerned himself with the material needs of the poor. He would shop for food, go to the pharmacy for prescriptions, to the doctor for help, many times giving the poor his last few coins. The inhabitants of Kronstadt would see him returning home barefoot and without his cassock. Often parishioners would bring shoes to his wife, saying to her, 'Your husband has given away his shoes to someone, and will come home barefoot.'

"He would also write articles for the newspaper exhorting the people of Kronstadt to 'support the poor morally and materially.' These appeals touched the hearts of many and Fr. John organized many charitable efforts. Realizing that his individual charity was insufficient for aiding the needy, he founded the Orthodox Christian House Parish Trusteeship of St. Andrew the First-Called. This brotherhood coordinated many charitable efforts throughout the city and helped many needy people."

Cheryl's patron saint is the Holy New Martyr Elizabeth, sister of the Empress Alexandra. The Bolsheviks tortured and murdered both women after the 1917 revolution. Princess Elizabeth, as she was then called, was married to Duke Sergei who was murdered by an anarchist's bomb. This moved the godly Elizabeth to give away all her wealth, become a nun and establish a shelter for women of the streets, the poor and orphans. We were blessed to also visit this convent in the summer of 2008. So perhaps now you can better understand why we are ministering to "the poor, the lame, the maimed and the blind," to ex-convicts, murderers, former thieves, drug dealers, addicts and prostitutes in Pittsburgh's depressed inner-city Hill District. Pray for these people, and that we will be able to share with them the love of Christ and His redemption!

(Linked to www.Hosken-News.info of 20 Dec. 2014.)

The Fullness of Christ

Some years ago, "Christ is the answer" was a popular Christian slogan in the U.S. Christians would often say, "Christ is the answer! Just have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and He will solve your problems." But such an aswer doesn't truly address people's real problems, and the reason is because it implies a truncated view of Christ and the Gospel. Having "a personal faith in Jesus Christ" implies an emotional or mental acceptance of certain very appealing historical facts about Jesus as the Christ, born of the Virgin Mary and crucified for our sins. This is all true, well and good... as far as it goes, but it doesn't go far enough.

What's the problem with this truncated view of Christ and the Gospel? For most such people who merely "have a personal relationship with Jesus" this means having an almost exclusively individual, autonomous religious life with little or no down-to-earth, firm allegiance to any spiritual authority other than one's own understanding and experience. But what do the Scriptures tell us about this? Let's take a look:

"For by Him [Christ] were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through Him, and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things are held together. He is the Head of the Body, the Church, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in Him; and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of His cross." (Col. 1:16-20)

Notice here the context of the phrase "all the fullness was pleased to dwell in Him" - that all authority: "whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers" are subordinate to Christ, Who "is the head of the Body, the Church." So all authority including the Church comes between us and Christ. Thus the notion of simply a personal relationship directly with Christ leaves out the authority He Himself has put in place. Let's look at a few other Scripture passages: "For in Him [Christ] all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, and you have this fullness in Him, Who is the head of all principality and power" (Col. 2:9-10). The word "you" here is the familiar plural form: St. Paul is writing "to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae" (Col. 1:2), to the members of the Colossian church collectively: "All of you together have the fullness of Christ." It is a group experience, not an individualistic relationship. Where does this fullness abide? -

"What is the exceeding greatness of His [God the Father's] power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of His might which He worked in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and made Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come? He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him [Christ] to be Head over all things for the Church, which is His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:19-23).

So the fullness of Christ is to be found in "the Church, which is His Body." That's where it's at, folks. Let's get with it!

(Linked to www.Hosken-News.info of 04 Jan. 2015.)

If You Want to be Perfect

The secular humanist press sometimes lumps Christian fundamentalists together with Muslim fundamentalists, portraying both as a danger to civil society. But it is important to stress the vast difference between radical Christianity and radical Islam. Jesus Christ in the Beatitudes praised the poor, the persecuted and ridiculed as "blessed" - happy - because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Radical Islam, on the other hand, takes offense at being oppressed, persecuted and ridiculed, often retaliating with violence in order to establish their kingdom (caliphate) on earth. But they also see actions and attitudes in the so-called "Christian" West as being discriminatory, violent and oppressive toward them. The problem here is that we have the majority of people in the West who hold a secularized semi-Christian or even a neo-pagan post-Christian worldview, and a minority of real Christians who strive to live according to the Gospel.

What is it to live according to the Gospel? To the rich young ruler the Lord said - "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Mat. 19:21). That is certainly radical. In the first part of this chapter Jesus taught that the the only valid reason for divorce is sexual unfaithfulness (verses 3-9). St. Paul adds to this if an unbelieving spouse divorces a believer, then the believer is free to remarry (1 Cor. 7:10-16).

In Mat. 19:10-12 we read that Jesus makes a case for celibacy, and in 1 Cor. 7:5, 8 and 27 St. Paul teaches sexual abstinence by married couples during times of prayer and fasting, and celibacy as the preferred option. Striving toward holiness or "perfection" therefore implies a great deal of self-control in this area, quite different from the current world's attitude of immediate self-gratification: "if it feels good, do it!"

The Church should be set apart from the world, holy and pure, free from the sins of greed, adultery, homosexual relations, idolatry, slander, drunkenness and extortion:

"I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners; yet not at all meaning with the sexual sinners of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then you would have to leave the world. But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Don't even eat with such a person" (1 Cor. 5:9-11).

Again, the Church must not accept into communion certain types of sinners:

"Or don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of God. Such were some of you, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

And yet we're all aware that such people are present in various churches, Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox. How can this be? Some denominations have greatly relaxed their standards from the above Scriptural ones. Others, while nominally holding to these standards, sweep under the carpet such sin as mere "indiscretions" or "slip-ups." Still others say that these Scriptural standards only apply to the clergy, so laypeople can go ahead and sin. And sometimes the sin goes on undetected for many years. But Jesus tells us the truth will come out in the end:

"He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the darnel appeared also. The servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?' "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?' "But he said, 'No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First, gather up the darnel, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" (Mat. 13:24-30)

Yes, there are hypocrites in the Church, the Lord warned us about this. But we must not let this hinder us from striving toward perfection and holiness, not pretending to be already holy and perfect, but always saying from the heart - "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!"

(Linked to www.Hosken-News.info of 18 Jan. 2015.)

Faith Alone, or Faith + Works?

How do we reconcile "man is not justified by the works of the Law, but through faith in Jesus Christ" (Gal. 2:16) with "man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (Ja. 2:24)? Check out this blog "Reconciling Paul and James: Thoughts about Justification". It's most interesting that Ja. 2:24, the only Scripture text mentioning "sola fide" - "faith alone", the Reformation doctrine made famous by Martin Luther, directly contradicts that doctrine. It's no wonder that Luther wanted to remove the Book of James from the canon of Scripture! But how can these two ideas, faith and works, be reconciled?

St. Paul also wrote - "If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God. For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness'" (Rom. 4:2-3). Paul is quoting from Gen. 15:6. But the key to resolving this seeming paradox is - "You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the Law. You have fallen away from grace. For we, through the Spirit, by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith that works through love" (Gal. 5:4-6). By mentioning circumcision, Paul shows that when referring to the Law he has in mind the Law of Moses, not simply law in general.

Now let's go back to St. James, the step-brother of the Lord Jesus, to see how he resolves this issue, using exactly the same Old Testament character, Abraham, referring to exactly the same Scripture that St. Paul used -

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can that faith save him? And if a brother or sister is naked and in need of daily food, and one of you tells them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled;" and yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is it? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness;" and he was called the friend of God." (Ja. 2:14-23).

Dead faith, the kind of intellectualized "faith" that merely agrees to the truth of certain theological doctrines, isn't saving faith, a faith that certifies itself by doing good works. The Lord Jesus Christ, right after preaching the Beatitudes, emphasized the need for doing good works - "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men. You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can't be hidden. Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Mat. 5:13-16).

And immediately after that, Christ said - "Don't think that I came to destroy the Law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill. For most assuredly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished. Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven" (Mat. 5:17-20).

The Scribes and Pharisees took great pains - and pride - in striving to dot each "i" and cross each "t" of the Law of Moses, as well as all of the extra rules and regulations that Jewish rabbis had added over the centuries, collected in the Talmud. Note that Christ didn't say that we Christians, His followers, do not have to follow religious rules and regulations; instead, our righteousness must exceed even those rules. This can only happen if Christ's righteousness is infused into us. Yet there are some Christians who believe they are free from all laws! What did St. Paul have to say about this mistaken belief?

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him through baptism to death, that just like Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, we will also be part of His resurrection; knowing that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin" (Rom. 6:1-6).

The real issue here isn't our trying to put a leash on our sinfulness and trying to do good deeds, to be righteous; it's a matter of life or death. The whole faith-versus-works controversy began with a mis-translation of a key verse by St. Jerome when he translated the New Testament from Greek into the Latin Vulgate, Rom. 5:12 that states - "Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, in that all sinned." Jerome misunderstood "in that all sinned" to mean "in whom [Adam] all sinned".

This later led St. Augustine to develop his twin doctrines of (A) original sin being passed from Adam to all mankind, so all humans are guilty of Adam's sin because "in Adam" they sinned; and (B) human nature is totally depraved because of this inherent sinfulness and is incapable of doing any truly good works. But this is not what Rom. 5:12 actually states - it says that death passed to all men because we have all sinned. Any guilt we have is due to our own sins, not Adam's. By now virtually all translations of Rom. 5:12 have been corrected, but the mistaken doctrines of original sin and total depravity are still lurking around in many corners.

But Paul writes that both Jews and Greeks are capable of doing good works, and will be rewarded with eternal life, glory and honor - "[God] 'will reward to everyone according to their works:' to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruptibility, eternal life; .... But glory and honor and peace to every man who works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 2:6-7,10).

St. Paul makes clear this idea that death, not sin, came from Adam; but resurrection from death into new life comes from Christ - "But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:20-22).

And in his letter to the church in Ephesus St. Paul writes - "for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them" (Eph. 2:8-10). Grace is "kharis" - God's free gift, His transforming power that unites us with the divine life, the resurrection life of Christ, and to do good works because we have new life in Christ, not in order to earn eternal life.

So there is no real contradiction between genuine, living faith in the resurrected, living Christ, and good works done out of love for Christ and for our neighbor. That is a false dualism, a merely apparent contradiction, introduced by later theologians. Let's be true followers of Christ, having a live, active faith in Him and doing good works because it's our second nature since we've "become partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4)!

(Linked to www.Hosken-News.info of 31 Jan. 2015.)