Instruction One

“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk. 10:25)

So once a lawyer questioned the Lord! And he questioned the Lord with the intent to tempt Him, as if out of mere curiosity about what the Teacher would say, for he himself knew what answer ought to be given. But one may ask about the path to salvation not from idle curiosity, but from a sincere desire to receive a direct answer to it—an unknown or forgotten answer, asking out of vital need, because the soul aches and the heart is tormented by uncertainty—what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Such painful uncertainty is all the more natural when the realm of thought surrounding the questioners is most uncertain, and when they encounter disagreement in the writings and words of humans. And are we not in such a situation now? Look around and you will see that even those among us do not speak with one voice. One says, for instance: pray, and the Lord will save you; another says: weep, sorrow, and God will not despise you; a third says: give alms, and they will cover a multitude of sins; that one says: fast and give yourself to prayer in God’s house; and yet another says: abandon everything, flee to the desert and dwell there. So many different answers from our own! And these are all truths, saving principles with which one must inevitably meet on the path of salvation. As for those who count themselves among us but have ceased to be so—I mean Christians who have been drawn away by the spirit of the age and false wisdom—those who have appropriated some healthy notions borrowed from Christianity and imagined great things for themselves, have left us and separated themselves in heart from Christ the Lord, though their lips still confess Him—as for them, among them there is even more sad and painful disagreement, turning away from the path of truth and wandering at the crossroads of falsehood. Have you yourselves not sometimes heard in conversation, or read in a book, how some people reason about an order of things that ought to be according to their understanding, instead of what now exists? About the salvation of the soul there is not a whisper. Eternal blessedness, if it is even acknowledged, is already considered as if possessed, as some right of humanity, and all care is turned to how, as an addition to that, to sweeten earthly life and turn it from sorrowful into paradise. In this spirit one person proclaims: believe nothing but your own mind, follow the impulses of your nature, be independent, live for your own pleasure and do not allow another’s hand to lie upon your neck—and you will be happy; another preaches: wherever public entertainments, theaters, and such things are not found—there life is not life. There you hear: one cannot go by the straight path, one needs the skill to live—the skill to conduct affairs so as not to lose one’s interest and not let others discover one’s plans, intentions, and feelings (this they call prudence…); here it is said that if you do not defend your honor and dignity, you will perish.

Do you notice what dark philosophy this all is! Yet it constitutes, one might say, the foundation of worldly customs, and you can encounter it freely in common conversation, in large gatherings, in printed books—not just one. Now imagine what must occur in the mind and heart of your acquaintance, and sometimes, perhaps, your daughter and your son, when in one place, another, a third, they encounter such words, when in one book they read such thoughts, and in another and a third even worse—and this not for one day or month, but for whole years; when moreover they see around themselves customs saturated with the same spirit, and then in their own heart, tempted by seductions, whimsical thoughts arise, shaking their good disposition—imagine that all these varied impressions come together at once in a young, and perhaps not young, soul—what then must such a heart feel, especially a heart that has not yet forgotten the Lord and treasures the word of truth that came from God’s lips? I hear from the depths of that heart a cry like the cry of the apostles frightened by a storm, and of Peter beginning to sink: Lord! Save me, I perish. Lord! What shall I do to be saved? Mothers and fathers! Do you hear this cry?

Do not think that I have been carried away. No! I deliberately wished to show how natural it is, especially now, to ask about the path to salvation, or the path to the Kingdom of Heaven. And I am certain that if the Lord Himself were now to stand here among us, all those seeking solid good and seeing how the present spirit, present teaching, present order contradict one another, would all as one turn to the Lord first of all with the question: Lord! What shall we do to inherit eternal life? What shall we do to be saved? But, brothers, the Lord is “yesterday and today and forever the same” (Heb. 13:8). Then to the Jew He told him to seek the answer in the law: “what is written in the law…, how do you read it?” (Lk. 10:26) Now to the Christian He would undoubtedly command to turn to the Holy Gospel—in general to the New Testament teaching or to God’s Church—and would ask him: what is contained here, how do you understand it? It is evident that the Lord, turning the Jew’s attention to the law, wished to impress upon him: you have no need to ask, the path of salvation is inscribed in the law; do thus—and you will be saved. The law was given for that very purpose, to lead you to salvation. Something similar should be said to Christians, troubled by the doubts that have been cast upon them: you have no need to ask! Christianity itself is the sole path to salvation. Be true Christians—and you will be saved. But what is the holy Church for, what are the dogmas and commandments for, what are the holy Mysteries for, our fasts, vigils, prayers, blessings, and more? All this, all that is held by the holy Church, is the sure path to salvation. Whoever sincerely receives and diligently fulfills all that the holy Church commands is not outside the path of salvation. Therefore if this is in us, we should not share in questioning, but should glorify God; not seek where salvation is, but receive it ready, lying before us or embracing us; with all our strength offer glory, honor, and worship to the Lord who saves us in His holy Church. What then should we do? Hold the sacred truths in reverence and walk unflinchingly in all the teachings, statutes, and decrees of the holy Church, heeding no empty musings of newfangled philosophy, which seeks to destroy all and builds nothing.

I think that in our minds there still remains uncertainty—what exactly must we do to be saved? Now I will answer you in a few words: believe in all that the holy Church commands you to believe, and, receiving the gracious powers through the Mysteries and kindling them through all other sacred services, prayers, and institutions of the holy Church, walk unflinchingly in the path of the commandments announced to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, under the guidance of lawful shepherds—and you will be saved. I defer a detailed exposition of this to another time and conclude my words with a prayer that the Lord grant you light and understanding, so that you may know Him and clearly understand the path of salvation that He brought to earth and established in the Church and through which so many holy people have already been led to paradise—that you too all may not be deprived of this blessed hope. Amen.