OBEDIENCE TO GOD IS INDISPENSABLE FOR ALL

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

OBEDIENCE TO GOD IS INDISPENSABLE FOR ALL

"…Though He was a Son, yet He learned OBEDIENCE by
the things which He suffered. And having been perfected,
He became the Author of Eternal Salvation to all who
obey Him, called by God as High Priest ‘according to the
order of Melchizedek…" [Hebrews 5:8-10].

"And being found in appearance as a man, He HUMBLED
HIMSELF AND BECAME OBEDIENT TO THE POINT OF
DEATH, EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS" [Philippians 2:8].

Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ showed the fullness of humility by His OBEDIENCE TO THE DEATH WHICH HAS ENSLAVED HUMANITY. To die on the Cross, the death of a criminal was repulsive to the pagan Romans and considered a curse by the Jews. But His death brings life to all who are joined to Him in faith and obedience. In contrast the ancestral ("original") sin IS THE DISOBEDIENCE OF Adam to God’s command regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The first man, Adam, WILLINGLY DISOBEYED this commandment and diverted himself, or fell, from God’spath to perfection, thus SEPARATING HIMSELF FROM HIS Creator, the Source of Life. Christ as the second Adam is obedient to His Heavenly Father and by His Death and Resurrection, conquered the devil and death, freeing mankind form the fear of death [Hebrews 2:14-15] and making possible a more complete COMMUNION BETWEEN GOD AND MAN that was ever possible before. This communion allows believers to become "partakers of the Divine Nature" [2 Peter 1:4], to transcend death, and ultimately, all the consequences of the Fall.

In our Holy Orthodox Tradition, obedience is an indispensable virtue: obedience to the Almighty God, to the holy Gospel, to the Holy Church. Obedience in our Orthodox Christian Faith is inseparable from the life of the faithful who faithfully endure all suffering for the sake of Christ. Christ, for all, is the example par excellence of obedience for He obeyed His Father in all that He did. As Saint John writes in his gospel, "For I have come down out of the heavens, not in order that I may do Mine own will, but the will of the One Who sent Me" [John 6:38-39].

Obedience to the will of God the Father and His Only-begotten Son Jesus Christ and the Life-Giving Spirit is glory and life. On the contrary disobedience to God the Holy Trinity is the source of all sin and death. The Orthodox Christian believes that can be no salvation without obeying God’s will and Commandments. The authentic Christian willingly and freely submits to God the Source of Life. There can be no communion with God unless man is willing to obey Him out of love for Him. Obedience is not forced upon man by God; but man willingly responds to His Creator and Heavenly Father acknowledging that all good things come from Him.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is very clear of how important obedience to Him is: "The ONE who hath My commandments and keepeth them, THAT ONE IS THE ONE WHO LOVETH Me. And the one who loveth Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him… If anyone loves Me, he will KEEP MY WORD; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him. The one who loveth Me not keepeth not My words; and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but of the Father Who sent Me" [John 14:21-24].

Saint Theophylact writes: "The Lord had just promised the disciples, ‘Whatsoever ye shall ask… that will I do.’ Now He teaches them that it is not enough simply to ask for what they need: they must also LOVE HIM AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. "Only then will I do what you ask." And since the disciples continued to grieve when they heard that He would soon leave them, He admonished them further: "Love for Me is not shown by falling into despondence, but BY DOING AS I HAVE INSTRUCTED. The Father and the Son remain distant from anyone who does NOT keep the Commandments, for such men do not love Christ. And if a man does not love the Son, neither can he love the Father. The word of the Son and the word of the Father are one and the same."

The Christian cannot claim to be a follower of Christ or to have any kind of spiritual life without having obedience to the will of the Son of God, the will of God Father and of God the Holy Spirit. Keeping God’s Commandments is not an option! No Christian can be selective of which ones to follow or not follow. All Commandments are beneficial to our salvation and are given to us to obediently implement in our lives. There is a tendency for some people to give their interpretation of the Commandments or to enforce some but not others. We must not be disingenuous or hypocritical. Those who wish to play this game are playing with fire. We deliberately offend God with our foolishness and disrespect to Him knowing that He cannot be deceived by us and/or intentions. Through disobedience we bring demnation to our souls.

Some contemporary Christians believe that they have the right or the power to corrupt God’s word and teachings. How very wrong they are! God’s word cannot be corrupted by man and neither can His commandments and Gospel. When one falls into heresy and blasphemy against God he brings condemnation upon himself or herself. There have been many heretics over the centuries whose only accomplishment was to tragically separate themselves from Him, the Source of Life, and His heavenly Kingdom. Instead of choosing the God of love, they chose to be obedient to the evil one and inherit a life of darkness in Hades. Unfortunately, however, these heretics can claim to be the cause of division, confusion, fear, hatred, and immorality among unsuspecting Christians. Because of them many have abandoned the Christian Faith altogether and others are adrift and do not know where to go. There is no other way to understand this other than to say it is outright satanic. These heretics cannot avoid Divine Judgment and what awaits them for their rebelliousness against Him and His Holy Church and people.

"AS THE FATHER HATH LOVED ME, SO HAVE I LOVED YOU:ABIDE YE IN MY LOVE. IF YE KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS, YE SHALL ABIDE IN MY LOVE; EVEN AS I HAVE KEPT MY FATHER’S COMMANDMENTS, AND ABIDE IN HIS LOVE" [John 14:9-10].

____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George