In what state are all people after the fall of the forefathers—Adam and Eve?
In a state of sinfulness and spiritual perdition. The Word of God speaks thus: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12); "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23); "for all who turn away from Me and sinners shall be destroyed" (Is. 1:28, paraphrased).
From whom then should people expect salvation, and where should they seek it?
From the wrath of God, whom they have offended—and therefore become "children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3).
Did the Lord promise people reconciliation with Himself?
He promised (Is. 27:4-5) and accomplished it. The Apostle writes to Christians: "we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son" (Rom. 5:10). This means that the salvation of repentant people is possible through the Only Begotten Son of God, and only through Him, "for," says the Apostle Peter, "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
What did the Lord Jesus Christ do for the salvation of people?
Firstly, He revealed the truth of God about how people should live in order to come to God the Father (John 14:6; 8:24-25; 8:31-32; 14:15-16, 21).
Secondly, He suffered for us and died on the cross for "our sins and rose again for our justification" (Rom. 4:25).
Thirdly, the Lord gave people Divine grace, that is, the power that helps people to be saved (Rom. 5:1-2).
How can people appropriate all that is necessary for life and godliness, granted to us by the divine power of Jesus Christ?
The Lord Savior did not Himself write about His service to the sinful human race in any book; He did not entrust His gifts to any single person. Christ the Savior "purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28) a community of confessors of His Gospel, called this community the Church, which in Greek means assembly, and to this His Church, to this community, He entrusted His teaching, His mercies, and His grace.
How, then, can people inherit salvation?
Anyone who wishes to avail themselves of the gifts of God must necessarily believe in Christ the Savior (John 14:1), know His truth, and join the community of true confessors of Christ (Acts 2:47).
Just as one who wants to receive an allotment of land and the rights of peasantry must join the peasant community, or—to enjoy the rights of a craftsman, one must be enrolled in the craftsmen's guild; exactly so, to enjoy the benefits of the incarnation of the Only Begotten Son of God, one must join the community to which the Lord gave His gifts (Eph. 4:1-8), that is, one must join the Church of Christ.
Did the Savior promise to establish a community of His confessors, that is, the Church?
When the Lord preached on earth, He gave this promise, saying: "I will build My church" (Matt. 16:18).
Did the Lord fulfill His promise?
Yes, He did. The Apostle Paul speaks of this community as already established—that it is the Church of the Lord God, which He purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28).
Who is the Head of the community of Christ's confessors?
The Head of the Church is Christ the Savior. It is said of Christ in Holy Scripture that God "put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church" (Eph. 1:22).
Which confessors of Christ are members of His Church?
Christ united in His Church all His true confessors: both those on earth and those in heaven. Thus, the Church of Christ consists of the earthly Church and the heavenly Church. So it is said in the Word of God that God's good pleasure "which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him" (Eph. 1:9-10).
How was the Church of Christ established on earth?
When the Lord Jesus Christ "preached the gospel of the kingdom" of God (Matt. 4:23), He gave the promise to build His Church (Matt. 16:18), but He did not establish it immediately.
When someone intends to build a house, he first calculates his resources, then begins to gather materials, hires reliable workers, and then proceeds to build. When someone establishes a school, he first takes care to prepare the desired teachers for the school.
The Lord did exactly the same. To establish His community for the salvation of people, that is, His Church, Christ God first began to prepare people so that they would know how to live, how to act, what to teach, and how to govern in His Church.
The Lord went through all the cities and villages, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Many, seeing the Savior's miracles, believed in Him, that is, recognized Him as an extraordinary messenger of God, but "Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man" (John 2:24-25).
As a Knower of hearts, "He called to Himself those He Himself wanted, and they came to Him..." (Mark 3:13, paraphrased). The Lord prepared them (i.e., those who came) to be the first members to enter His Church on earth, to form His initial true community, so that later all others might join this community.
For three and a half years the Savior prepared His disciples; He taught them and after His resurrection, "being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). But this was not yet the Church in the proper sense. The Lord promised to send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to His holy Apostles (read about this in John 16:5-16). Just before His ascension, the Savior reminds the disciples of the approaching fulfillment of His promise: "And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, 'which,' He said, 'you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now'" (Acts 1:4-5). This promise was fulfilled a few days after the Lord's ascension into heaven: on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, and from that hour the Church of Christ began on earth (read about the descent of the Holy Spirit: Acts 2). As soon as the Church of Christ was established after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles immediately began to draw people into the Church for salvation. The Apostle Peter was the first to preach, saying: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized," that is, they entered the Church of Christ, or, as it is said further, "and that day about three thousand souls were added" (to the initial Church) (Acts 2:41). From that day, the Church began to increase: "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47).
This community is the true Church of Christ. Of this Church the Holy Spirit says that it is "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). This Church, as it began with the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, exists now and will exist from generation to generation, from age to age. This Church is the Orthodox Church—rightly, truly glorifying God—the Apostolic Church, continuing uninterruptedly from the days of the descent of the Holy Spirit until now.
No one will dare to say that the Orthodox Church is not from the Apostles of Christ; and if anyone dares to say so, let them point out when our connection with the Apostolic Church was broken.
What are the properties of the Church of Christ?
First of all, the Church of Christ is absolutely one: Christ did not create many churches. The Savior said: "I will build My church"—one, not many (Matt. 16:18).
Christ is the head of the Church, and a single head can have only one body. So the Apostle says: "one body" (that is, the Church, which is the body of Christ—Eph. 1:23), "one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling" (Eph. 4:4).
What is another sign of the Church of Christ?
The second sign of the Church of Christ is its eternity, its invincibility, its indestructibility. No one and nothing can destroy that saving community which was created by the Lord Jesus. And why? Because the Head of this community is the incarnate Only Begotten Son of God Himself, the Conqueror of hell and death (Rev. 1:18; Rom. 6:9). Christ is invincible, and if so, then His body—the Church of Christ—is also invincible. The Lord promised this invincibility to His Church when He said: "I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).
What do the words "gates of Hades" mean, and where does this comparison come from?
In ancient times, a large wall was built around cities for protection against enemy attacks. There were gates in the wall for entering and exiting. At these gates, all the city elders would gather, discuss city affairs, and generally consult about everything.
Thus, the Savior presents the devil's kingdom as a city with a wall and gates. All the chief demons come out to the gates for counsel. And if, as it were, the Savior says, Beelzebub himself, the prince of demons, and all his chief counselors come out against the Church of Christ, even then they will do nothing to it; no demonic councils will help destroy the invincible, eternal community of Christ.
What is another sign of the Church of Christ?
The Church of Christ is continuous. As it began on the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, so it will exist uninterruptedly from day to day, from month to month, from year to year, from generation to generation, until the end of the age, not ceasing for a single day. Christ Himself, the Head of the Church, gave a promise to those who believe in Him: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20).
So also the Apostle Paul says that to God be "glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end" (Eph. 3:21).
Can the Church hide itself for a time, not be visible to all?
No, it cannot: it must always be in plain sight. The Savior Himself said: "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matt. 5:14; cf. Mark 4:21; Luke 11:33). By the city, the Church of Christ is meant, the true community of Christ's followers, who are "the light of the world."
What was and is required of all who join the Church of Christ?
From all who wished to join the community of confessors of "the true Son of God, Jesus Christ" (1 John 5:20), faith in Christ as God and Savior was always necessarily required. Therefore, the Apostle Philip said to the eunuch who wished to join the Church of the saved through baptism: "If you believe with all your heart, you may" be baptized and join the Church (Acts 8:37). So now, all Christians or, as it is commonly said, all Orthodox, believe in Christ as the God-Man and Savior; and if they do not believe, the Lord will blot them out of the book of life.
Can one be saved apart from the Church of Christ?
No, one cannot, because no one has ever been saved apart from the Church.
How then do sectarians say that they have no need to belong to the Church of Christ, or what is the same, to the Orthodox Church, because, they claim, the Lord Himself called them, just as He called the Apostle Paul?
First of all, we must openly tell all sectarians that they are completely lying when they say that the Lord called them like the Apostle Paul. When the Lord miraculously called the Apostle Paul, according to the testimony of Holy Scripture, "the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice" (Acts 9:7). The Apostle Paul, struck by the light of the vision, became blind, and his companions "led him by the hand" (Acts 9:8). Nothing of the kind has ever happened to any self-deluded sectarian who unreasonably and boldly compares himself to the Apostle Paul.
Secondly, it must be declared to sectarians that the example of the Apostle Paul cannot justify them in not belonging to the Orthodox "church of the Lord God" (Acts 20:28). Although the Apostle Paul was called by Christ Himself, the Lord Himself did not join him to His Church but sent him to the Damascene bishop Ananias, who instructed Paul (then still Saul), healed him from blindness, and joined him to the Church through baptism (Acts 9:10-18; 22:10-18).
And even afterwards, the Apostle Paul never went against the Church but always strove to be in full agreement with it and did not separate himself from it. "Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain" (Gal. 2:1-2). And the "pillars" (Gal. 2:9), the Apostles "James, Cephas, and John," approved of the Apostle Paul. If even the Apostle Paul was not saved without the Church, then sectarians will not be saved without it either.
Is it correct for some to say that it is enough to be a decent person, and then one will easily be saved, apart from the Church?
Such people are deluded, not knowing the Scriptures or the will of God. From the Word of God we know that Cornelius the centurion was "a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always" (Acts 10:2), and yet, without the Church he could not be saved. The Lord had mercy on Cornelius and said to him through an angel: "your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now therefore, send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter... He will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved" (Acts 10:4-6). Miraculously informed of this, Peter came to Cornelius, taught him faith in Christ, and joined him to the Church through baptism (Acts 10:48).
Do sectarians correctly say that they can be saved apart from the Church, by faith alone in Christ?
No, incorrectly, because, after all, "even the demons believe—and tremble!" (James 2:19), but they, of course, will not be saved (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 1:6). Sectarians will not be saved without the Church either.
Are there examples in Holy Scripture of some who, although they believed in God and Christ, could not be saved without the Church?
There are many such examples. In Ephesus, as can be seen from Acts 19:1-6, there were "some disciples" who believed, but they could not be saved until the Apostle Paul joined them to the Church. In general, sectarians cannot point to a single case in the New Testament of anyone being saved without being joined to the Church through baptism.
How then do sectarians point to the thief on the cross, who was saved without baptism, by confession alone?
They forget that this was before the beginning of the existence of the Church of Christ.
How should we explain those cases when Christian martyrs died unbaptized and yet are venerated as saints?
They became Christians just before or even during their martyrdom and did not have time to be baptized with water, but they were baptized with a "fiery" baptism, in their martyr's blood.
Why can there be no salvation apart from the Church?
Because Christ is the Head of His Church, i.e., of His community, and outside the Church, i.e., outside the body of Christ, there is no Savior, and without Christ not only salvation, but even virtue cannot exist. In the Gospel of John, the Lord says: "I am the true vine... Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:1, 4-5). Thus, the Lord depicts the Church as a vine, as a tree: the root and trunk are Himself, and the branches are those who believe in Him. If you are a branch or a leaf of the tree, i.e., if you are in the Church, you will be nourished by the sap from the root and trunk, i.e., from Christ, and you will live; but if you are not in the Church, i.e., if you are not a branch or leaf of the vine—Christ, or if you are a branch but broken off, or a leaf that has fallen and is trampled by passersby, then you are withered, perished, and have no life in you. This is how important it is to be in the Church! If you are not in the Church now, then you are without Christ, and without life! And you are nourished by the lifeless sap of that ungodly teacher who, apart from Christ, planted another, dry and lifeless tree!
The Lord also compares the Church to a flock, whose shepherd is the Savior Himself (John 10:1-16). If anyone is not in Christ's flock, i.e., not in the Church, then he cannot be called Christ's sheep: Christ is not the Shepherd to such a one. The Lord further compares the Church to a net that is cast into the sea and gathers fish of every kind. Whoever is not in the net, whoever is not caught, is not held captive by God: whoever is not in the Church lives by himself, without God's will.
Is it really impossible, if one does not belong to the Church, to truly believe in Christ and call oneself a Christian?
If anyone "refuses to hear the church," says the Lord, "let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector" (Matt. 18:17). That one, therefore, is not a Christian.
Is it really impossible to know the truth of Christ without the Church?
No, it is impossible. Sectarians think they learn the truth from Holy Scripture apart from the Church, but the Word of God says that not only is the truth of God preached on earth through the Church (Acts 1:8), but even now "the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places" (Eph. 3:10).
Why is it only through the Church that one can know the truth of God, and not, for example, through Holy Scripture?
Because it is not Holy Scripture, but the Church, that is "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15).
Is it correct for some to think that by the Church of Christ we should understand not the community of followers of Jesus Christ, but the teaching of the Savior?
Such understanding is incorrect, because in Holy Scripture, the Church everywhere means the community of Christ's confessors, not the teaching.
"Moreover if your brother sins against you," says the Savior, "go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church" (Matt. 18:15-17). Clearly, one can tell something only to people, not to a teaching. Therefore, the Church is not a teaching, but a community.
Also, in the book of Acts it is said that God "made [the Ephesian elders] overseers, to shepherd the church of God" (Acts 20:28, paraphrased), and again, one can shepherd only living beings, in this case—people, not a teaching. And the Apostle John says: "I wrote to the church" (3 John 1:9), and one can write only to people, not to a teaching.
Can any gathering in the name of Christ be called the Church?
No, it cannot, because then we would have a multitude of various societies, often hostile to each other and unlike each other, and we would have to recognize all of them as genuinely Christian societies.
When sectarians want to justify their non-belonging to the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic (Orthodox) Church of Christ, they say that they have no need to belong to it, because, they claim, the Savior Himself said: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20).
And all sects lean on this text, wanting to justify themselves. Hence it turns out that hundreds of the most insane sects call themselves communities of Christ.
But "Christ is not divided" (1 Cor. 1:13), but is One, and there is one "body, which is the church" (Col. 1:24). It is clear that all sects are deluded when they so perversely and falsely try to justify themselves with the words of Christ.
Their error is also evident from the following: The Church of Christ is not made up of two or three people, but always of a larger number. Indeed, in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. 18:15-20) it is said that "if your brother sins against you, rebuke him alone; if he hears you not, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church." It is clear that the Church of Christ is larger than two or three people, and sectarians who consider two or three people to be the Church are mistaken.
What, then, is being spoken of in the passage cited by the sectarians?
It speaks of the joint, united prayer of those who abide in the Church, i.e., believers in Christ; it is said of such prayer that the Lord hears it. "Again I say to you," declares the Savior, addressing His Apostles, who always remained in the Church of Christ and did not leave it like the sectarians, "that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:19-20). The sectarians have departed from that Church, from that community of Christ to which the holy Apostles belonged; therefore, these words of the Savior do not apply to them.
The sectarians have broken away from the community of Christ, from the holy Orthodox Church, invincible, which continues uninterruptedly from the Apostolic days; they have broken away from this "body of Christ" and perished: Christ is not among them, and they cannot inherit salvation.
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