Faith and Works (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

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And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

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	Faith and Works (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

QUESTION:

A protestant told me that just believing in Jesus is enough to get one into heaven. This isn't what I was taught, or is my memory incorrect? Please clarify this. These born-again Christians can be very insulting to us.

ANSWER:

Orthodox Christianity teaches that belief in Jesus must be combined with putting that belief into action -- feeding the hungry, ministering to others, etc. Both essential.

We read in the epistles: "Faith without works is dead."

One can indeed "believe" in Christ and yet lead a life that betrays that belief. Hence belief alone is not sufficient. "Not all who say 'Lord, Lord' will have a place in my Kingdom."

Published in January 2011.

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