This is just SO INCREDIBLE ! I have struggled all my life trying to comprehend a loving God who could not forgive mankind and demanded a blood sacrifice in the form of his son. Having come from a Western Christian background, that was all that I knew. This is just SO CONSOLING and marvelous to find out after 74 years of loving Jesus, but not thinking very much of God the Father. Thank you so much for this explanation.
It never sat well with me. I think this was one of the reasons I was an atheist for so long. Now, I am a few months into my inquiry. I just finished reading Two Views of the Cross as well.
😊I was protestant, BUT NOW, as the Fathers of the church' s writings is giving me The TRUTH and all TRUTH - with tears of gratitude I now bow down in front of them and Our LORD AND HIS Mother for His mercy on me, to guide me into HIS ONLY TRUE FAITH AND TRUE CHURCH: THE ORTHODOX CHURCH!💓☦️💒🦅🙏 GLORY TO GOD FOR ALL THINGS!🔥👑AMEN!🙏🕊️
This is why the interpretations and hashing out of these concepts by the church fathers is so important to read and understand. So much more context from the people who were the closest to the event can only give us a fuller understanding of what the earliest theologians understood at the time. Just as in anything else, history matters.
Thank you father/pastor. I don't know your name! I've listened to several of your videos. You explain Orthodox theology in a very concise and understandable way. I am in the process of exploring Orthodoxy. The Orthodox view of salvation and redemption, as you explained them, makes much more sense than the protestant version. It is very hard for me to overcome the protestant version of salvation. It is so ingrained in me. You explain it in a way that I can grasp onto and make sense of. Thank you very much for reaching out to we who are searching.
I went through the same dilemma being unable to accept the Protestant "version" (perhaps distortion is the word I would now use) of salvation and redemption and am so glad to have been Illumined by Holy Orthodoxy. Keep exploring, Sister! By the way, you can see Father's name by clicking the "More" link next to the movie title.
It's so fascinating if you ask a modern evangelical protestant what salvation means it means being saved from hell. The Orthodox view is much more consistent with scripture and much more meaningful and real. Salvation is union with God, being freed from sin idolatry death and the satan. Not being saved from a subterranean torture chamber like that of Dante's medieval imagination.
Thank you these videos, I was raised Orthodox Christian but went Protestant have been back to my faith now, for years I have suffered anxieties and am finding peace through learning the lives of the Saints and my true church, which I have much to learn, I wish my parents could know I lost both this year. Please mention me and them in your prayers
I'm theologically reformed Protestant who attends an Assembly of God charismatic church. Strange I know. And as I write this there is an orthodox study Bible open on my table and a Greek Orthodox icon hanging on my wall. I see much beauty and Truth in reformed theology.I have experienced the movement of the Holy Spirit profoundly in charismatic churches. And over the last few months I have been drawn to orthodoxy and I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit is at work there as well. All I can say is that I do not understand everything, I pray for understanding and discernment to stay in the center of God's will. As I continue in sanctification, I see no disconnect whatsoever between the theology put forth in this video and that which I currently hold. God bless you for this work, and may God continue in us all
What we need in addition to true doctrine is organic union with Christ in the church, his Body and this is where we receive all the graces of the Holy Spirit Jesus has given us for our healing and growth in the likeness of God. This church is the Orthodox Church. It has living continuity and connection to the Apostles and the grace they received from Christ and the instructions they received from him. It is handed on in the church through the sacrament of holy orders/ ordination and the passing on of the sacred deposit of the Faith, the Apostolic and holy tradition and safeguards us from the distorted traditions of men.. This is Apostolic succession. May God bless you in your discovery and journey.
Thank you Father Panayiotis, and Trisagionfilms for the outstanding videos during Great Lent! They're very helpful! Also the chanting in the background was enjoyable. Thank you, and God be with you!
Fr. Panayiotis, thank you for all your powerful in-depth sermons. Your Voice is the Voice of God, and we Pray for your health now, so that you can continue to Express The Grace of God and of Heaven. Amen.
This is powerful. Thanks be to Jesus Christ the most high. He took human form and doing so he’s perfecting the imperfect. Overcoming death giving the dead life.
Thank you. I will use your notes from Bible to study more. I am glad i was blessed to have great pastors to explain these scriptures correctly. "sin" (original meaning in Greek) "to miss the target" target being Christ now, I can not subject myself under any law, in particular law of human ideology such as democracy or some religion, can not vote, can not recognize any human authority, only authority of God, mercy of God and sacrifice of Christ
Thanks so much father. Even though I'm a protestant I've learned a lot from your teachings. May the good Lord bless you richly in all wisdom and Grace. So having being richly blessed may you share the knowledge of God which is His Love and Grace (mercy)
Thank you for making the time father Παναγιώτη its a busy time of the year another great translation you always do a great job love the λειτουργία in the background so much holyness and power. God bless you and the church.
Wow this is by far the most succinct and coherent explanation of the relationship between old and new covenant that I have ever heard. What a blessing!
this makes so much more sense than the protestant explanation of the passion and why the Lord chose to give himself this way. thank you. feels right explaining this way, it is in accordance with the gospel.
Thank you for these videos father, they help me a lot in better understanding the orthodox faith. I was born orthodox, baptized as a baby but as a teenager lost faith in God and turned to agnosticism, after many years I found my way back to the faith but this time as a "do it yourself" bible believing christian listening to protestant sermons, after some years I felt the need to explore early christian writings and thus found my way back in the orthodox faith. Your videos help me better understand our faith which I feel is indeed the right faith. Please continue to bless us with these videos. I actually live in Greece but dont speak the language, I have no spiritual father and my health prevents me from attending church, how bad is it for me not having a spiritual father? That's why English youtube videos are so important to me. Thank you and God bless!
The Resurrection is the ultimate victory of Christ on behalf of Humanity over sin and death and consequently the devil. Thank you for Sharing. Thank you for sharing these lectures! That guy radiates wisdom, love, and compassion!!🙌🏼
The point of this video was not to make the connections with the prefigurations of the NT Events in OT practices. The shedding of Christ’s blood is part of His dying on the cross, which is CENTRAL in the “Salvific Event”. Through this He shows His Love for humanity, He defeats death by His death, and also defeats sin by remaining sinless in his humanity. Salvation, however, is fully accomplished and completed in the Resurrection. The remission of sins through His Blood is found in our physical joining in His Risen and transfigured Body and Blood through the Holy Eucharist. The Resurrection is the epitome of our salvation. The Body and Blood, which we receive for the remission of our sins is the Body and Blood of the RISEN Lord. The Early Christians approached Salvation from the perspective of the end result of the Crucifixion (which is the Resurrection) and did not focus on the Cross as much (which they did not forget, however). We Glory in the Cross of Christ, because through the Cross salvation was accomplished in the Resurrection. Modern Western Christians, many times, put most of their emphasis on the suffering and death of Christ and forget the importance of the Resurrection, which leaves some people thinking: “Why isn’t the Cross and the shedding of Christ's blood emphasized in the Orthodox Church?” Well, IT IS. The Crucifixion is Central to our Salvation. Without the Crucifixion there would have been no Resurrection. But, we don’t stay on Holy Friday. We move quickly to the Resurrection whence the joy of Salvation comes. The very first Feast of the Early Church was Pascha, the Resurrection. Every Sunday (the Lord's Day) on the Orthodox Calendar is a celebration of the Resurrection, but the cross is present everywhere in our expressions of our Faith. We cross ourselves constantly because through the cross we are saved. We remember the Crucifixion of the Lord as we fast every Friday. We remember the Cross of Christ and hold a strict fast on September 14, halfway between the annual feasts of Pascha. We remember the Cross of Christ on the third Sunday of Great Lent, halfway through the Great Fast. Christ became human like us, but remained sinless. He allowed Himself to die on the Cross so that He can rise from the dead and bring our humanity to a perfected state. He made it immortal, and deified it. He ascended to Heaven and seated Himself in His perfected and deified humanity on the right hand of the Father, saving and honoring our humanity. Now we have to join ourselves to Him so that we can participate in this state of salvation and glorification which He offers to us. We do that in the Holy Eucharist, the Greatest Miracle, which happens in every Divine Liturgy. We are called to approach and participate "With the Fear of God, with Faith and Love". And, we receive His Body and Blood ". . . for the remission of sins and life everlasting".
Surely this verse is a prophecy about the Substitutionary Atonement made by Christ which you called, "satisfying the anger of a wrathful God": ISAIAH 53: 5: "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed". The Saints were also saved from wrath: ROMANS 5: 9: "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him". Thessalonians speaks of the "wrath to come": I THESSALONIANS 1: 10: ".....and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come".
I have a question Father: is the humanity of Christ the same before the crucifixion and after the resurrection? The theologian Emmanuel hatzidakis in his recent work ‘Jesus: fallen?’ Argues that Christ was always the same. He always had a fully deified humanity and there was no change in him, as is shown in the light of the transfiguration on mount tabor.
@@SDFenix I would say for sure that His humanity before the Resurrection was mortal and fallen like ours, except without sin. After the Resurrection His humanity was made immortal, eternal and was glorified in the union with His Divinity. Deification is more difficult to talk about from the human perspective, because He was God both before and after the Resurrection. But I will attempt to say that the deification of His humanity was made fully manifest after the Resurrection.
Trisagion Films Thank you very much Father for your answer and time. I hope that i understand your point correctly, but I must admit that Fr. Emmanuel Hatzidakis makes a very convincing case in arguing for the position, that Christ was always the same and that the blameless passions and suffering and death were voluntarily assumed. Here are several lengthy passages from his comprehensive study on this issue: 1. “Christ’s flesh is delivered from corruptibility and mortality when the immortal Word of God created it at the very instant He assumed it. The created and finite existence of the humanity He assumed, by virtue of its union with the eternal God in the person of the divine Logos, becomes incorruptible and immortal.” 2. “In fact, elsewhere St. Maximos stresses Christ’s incorruptible human nature, by attributing it this time to the hypostatic Union:”in the incarnation Christ becomes immortal, because it is impossible to conceive of humanity united inseparably to divinity, and remaining mortal. Yet He takes upon Himself everything, including mortality.” By saying, “He takes upon Himself,” he means that by an act of His will He allows the “blameless passions” to function in accordance with their natural state, as it became after the fall.” 3. “Christ’s divine nature is not subject to suffering by necessity. “Suffering”, says St. Athanasios, “belongs to the oeconomia, not to the nature of Logos.” Yet even though Christ suffered in the flesh oeconomically, on account of its natural human vulnerability, as we saw earlier, suffering was not imposed upon Him, by virtue of an inherited fallen and sinful nature, as it is with us. To the extent that His body was capable of suffering He suffered, but not fatefully, that is against His human will, but voluntarily. Christ is free from sin, including “original” sin, therefore He is free from its consequences. Christ did not “contract” the consequences of sin, because he was sinless.” 4. “The Theanthropos Christ cannot and is not necessarily subject to the blameless passions, which are associated with the fall. Yet, despite the fact that he is not subject to them by necessity and by force, He allows them of His own free will to act upon Him, so that He would arrive at His sacrificial and redeeming death, that opens the path to life to the entire creation. Real as suffering and death may be, it does not mean then in Him they spring out of the law of decay that had invaded humanity after the fall. The body of this Being is the body of the uncreated God, and his humanity though real is not subject to the “doom of death”, because it was recreated to be His perfect image.” 5. “Christs humanity after His resurrection is not different from what it was before. St. Gregory the theologian states: “in my view, He will come as He appeared or was manifested to the disciples on the mountain.” St. Gregory Palamas elucidates further this understanding, declaring that Christ has one body, one human nature, not three: one at His transfiguration, another outside His transfiguration, and yet another after his resurrection. Thus, he states, “when Christ was transfigured He neither received anything different, nor was changed into anything different, but was revealed to His disciples as He was.” Elsewhere he says, “on Tabor he manifested [our nature] to his elect disciples clothed once again most brilliantly,” and he quotes St. John Chrysostom, who says, “He shows what we once were and what we shall become through Him in the age to come.” Mentioning St. Dionysios and St. Gregory the theologian by name as those who await to see Christ to appear at His second coming in the same fashion as he appeared on mount tabor he says:” indeed, not only will Christ be eternally thus in the future, but He was such even before He ascended the mountain.” He then adduces St. John damascene as a witness: “Christ is transfigured, not by putting on some quality He did not possess previously, nor by changing into something He never was before, but by revealing to His disciples what He truly was, in opening their eyes and in giving sight to those who were blind. For while remaining identical to what He had been before, He appeared to the disciples in His splendor; He is indeed the true light, the radiance of glory.” Then St. Gregory palamas adds the following comment of his own: “Moreover, the transformation of our human nature, it’s deification and transfiguration- were these not accomplished in Christ from the start, from the moment in which He assumed our nature? Thus He was divine before, but He bestowed at the time of his transfiguration a divine power upon the eyes of the apostles and enabled them to look up and see for themselves.” Then at the end of the following unit he adds: “therefore Christ possesses the light immutably, or rather, He has always possessed it, and always will have it with Him.”
God bless😇! Great film! Can you make a film about hesychasm, theosis, God Energies? I was reading a lot about this topic in internet but i still dont understand it. 😖
Thank you so much Rev. father for such a clear, in depth and enlightening message for the glory and means of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST's triumphant salvation and redemption of all humanity through the evangelization and the Holy Mystery of Sacred Sacraments of the Holy Catholic abd Orthodox Church of Christ from the Ancient Apistolic times until this present era...until the Second coming of Our Divine King of Mercy and Sovereign Judge of the Universe. Amen JESUS!
Fr.Panayiotis' evaluation of the Law (0:57) is correct, as long as he means the Law Covenant and not the Law of God (i.e.Romans 7 vs.12), because there was no fault with the Law but with mankind because it was "weak through the flesh" (Rom.8:3).
Thanks for drawing that distinction. Father Panayiotis calling the Law an emergency measure that God removed because it wasn't working sounded to me like God took the life raft out of the ocean because people insisted on one way to get into it... which doesn't deal with the individual either. Could you say a little more of what you mean by Law Covenant vs Law of God?
Thanks for your question, brother. Historic Orthodoxy has always viewed the covenant of the Law coming 430 years after the Covenant of Promise (see. Galatians 3:17). The Covenant of the Law was a legal contract between God and the nation of Israel. It offered them life upon the condition that they meet their part of the requirement. That requirement, which is spelled out graphically in Deuteronomy 28, demanded perfect obedience from the heart of God’s Holy Law. Of course, God knew from the beginning that the Law would not be kept and that the Covenant of the Law would fail. The Law Covenant pronounced a curse on those who would not keep it. This is spelled out clearly in Deuteronomy 28. Verses 1-14 tell about those wonderful blessings. But verse 15 through 68 proceed to describe the most frightening litany of curses imaginable! Galatians 3:10 speaks about all those (both Israel and the Gentiles) who attempt to come to God through the Covenant of the Flesh or covenant of the Law. I could go on about this at great length, but the point I’m making is this: The Law, and the Covenant of the Law, are not the same. The Law of God abides forever, but the Covenant of the Law ended at the Cross. By faith the righteousness of God is ours. That is the Gospel! But before the crucifixion and death of Christ, if man was to be righteousness it had to be by obedience to the Law.
@@McIntyreBible Thank you for elaborating on these distinctions. I am beginning to study Orthodoxy, as a Christian raised as a Protestant yet always missing “something” . I find large pieces of the “something” as I explore Orthodoxy. I am now constantly finding shocks to the Protestant evangelical paradigm. I’m a student of history and amazed at the huge blanks in my understanding of the early church. I’ve loved scripture for many years, yet always ran up against unanswerable problems when studying through the reformed lens. Many of these problems have untangled when viewed with the Orthodox lens. I still have many questions; for example I hope I can come to some resolution concerning the mystery of the Eucharist, for who in their right mind would wish to be excluded from such nourishment if it is true and not merely symbolic, as I have been taught? Also, are my prayers and repentance accepted by God if I have not been baptized in the Orthodox Church? May God bless you for taking time to spend with these commentors, and in your life’s walk with Him.
@@McIntyreBible I understand what you mean, I believe, by Covenant of Law. Here’s my question: the Hebrews were already alive when they were offered “life” by obedience to the Law Covenant. Is it like the life in the Garden, that goes on forever as long as they don’t transgress the command? The righteousness of faith is apart from the Law and seems to be about laying down your life and receiving it back again by God’s promise. The Law seems to be about preserving your life, but there’s no requirement to literally lay your life down for anyone. I’m seeing a lot of handwaving (not by you, necessarily) because people aren’t precise. Is the Life continued forever normal life? Like Moses was basically not aging and hit 120 without his eyes dimming. Is it resurrection to eternal life (seems doubtful- you would have to die first). Is it going to heaven at death? (Seems doubtful- you are no longer in the Promised Land, and again, you die first). Or is it more like a communal “Life”- They will never be exiled from the Promised Land, the restored Garden (although they will continue to die, individually). Just curious how it reads to you.
For most of decade now I felt like I'm being saved and not saved and basically just a shame and a lie. I've been going through some rough times when my faith and I thought finally I came to the issue after listening to scripture-based evangelicals awesome bredrin teaching and basically been trying to get away from the idea that god loves me and that I need to recognise and I'm a sinner and humble myself and accept the gift of salvation. In the west there's a saying that there's a difference between dinner free gift and putting it to the side rather than getting a present and opening it call ma the idea being there a lot of people receive the message but don't accept it.
I really don't know what's going on at the moment accepted this some serious spiritual warfare going on and I have little scripture to sustain me and more and more "feel good ideas" that don't help at all! I know that I can just trust that God will work it out for me but at the same sense I realise now that I don't want to leave this to chance and I need to know the truth! I still love too sin but I need god, I want him in my life, I want promises, I do need to be safe from hell but the biggest thing on my mind and my heart the moment everyday is hard and I just can't keep going on like this and I need to be made new with a purpose and life. I think that's God This video made more sence to me than any struggling with reading book myself or church eccetera I can totally understand why they save thousands in single meetings back then and they can't now. I'm beginning to be more confident that however God does it h e will save me. I just wish it makes a lot more sense. It's almost spiritual blinding God bless
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that a debt needs to be paid to God the Father for human sins as some modern theories of Atonement claim. Claims like "When one transgresses any law there is a debt owed to someone, typically the law giver, such as the government in civil law.", as well as claims that "We are incapable of paying our sin debt to God by cleansing ourselves from sin," and that "the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the subsequent resurrection paid that sin debt to God the Father," reflect a theory of Atonement developed by Anselm of Canterbury in the middle ages (11-12th centuries). This theory of Atonement was called "Substitutionary Atonement". This is the source of many people's understanding, not the Holy Scriptures. This is based on the idea of total depravity of man after the Fall (an other Western idea drawn from St. Augustine): Man's sin (which is absolute depravity) must be punished by God absolutely. God's honor and justice demands that the debt owed to God must be paid off so that justice may be satisfied. The debt is owed to God by the human race, but humanity is in total depravity (fallen and sinful) and cannot pay the debt to God in order to satisfy His justice and free us from punishment. Even if we repent from our sins we cannot be forgiven because the justice of God has to be satisfied. Divine justice and offended honor demand that punishment be exacted, Anselm claimed, because God is unable to forgive until a debt is paid to Him. This is the teaching of Anselm of Canterbury, not of the Holy Scriptures. Solution offered by Anselm: Only Jesus could pay the debt because he is sinless and perfect (substitutionary atonement). The Son of God is punished by God the Father in our place so that His wrath and justice might be satisfied. The Son of God saves us from the vengeance of God the Father by taking the punishment himself. This idea of Anselm is based on the legalistic society that he was part of. He is also drawing from the Knights' concepts of honor and punishment. This is a totally new approach to the Christian understanding of salvation not found anywhere among Christian theologians before Anselm. Anselm does not represent ancient Christianity and does NOT rely on the Holy Scriptures. Even when he refers to the Holy Scriptures, he stretches the ideas to fit his world of legalism and his social context of the 11th century. If one wants to find out what the early Christians understood, you have to read St. Ireneus, Origen, St. Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, St. Basil and others from the Greek speaking Fathers. The middle ages are far removed from the early Church and do not represent the Ancient Church's Soteriology. In fact, even a contemporary of Anselm's, Peter Abelard, wrote against this legalistic approach by proposing his own theory of atonement known as "Moral Exemplar theory of atonement". Both of these propositions are far removed from Early Christian thought and created serious problems for Western Christianity going forward. Anselm's legalistic approach to salvation brought about the Indulgences of the Roman Catholic Church, which were developed based on the understanding that God has to be satisfied. This development brought about the revolution within the Roman Catholic Church called Protestant Reformation, which sought to correct this false Soteriology, but created other serious problems. Also, the theology of the "Angry God", developed later by some Protestant Reformers comes out of this understanding, as well. The "theology of the angry God" has caused much unnecessary pain to many people and continues to cause many people to reject Christianity. Peter Abelard's theory of atonement, on the other hand, led modern liberal theologians to develop what we know today as "the social gospel of softness, kindness and love" in an effort to correct the theology of the angry God. This new theology, however, lacks of the Divine Presence of Christ and His transformative power for humanity. Western salvation theology has been in serious trouble for almost a thousand years because of this constant moving away from the Biblical and Early Christian understanding of Salvation.
According to Orthodox teaching Our dear Lord still has to die on the cross to undo what Adam did by disobeying God he brought sin and through sin death into the world. Christ Jesus by obeying God's wishes completely till the end He managed to thwart Adam's deed. By dying on the cross unlike Adam who died to life because of his disobeydiance Jesus died to death and bought back life and righteousness to mankind. His death was not suppose to appease God's wrath but to undo what Adam brought into the world.
I wonder why it is that we focus so hard on the death and resurrection of Christ and not his ascension... That before the Apostles' very eyes, the Word of God ascended to retake his place at the right hand of the Father. That he's our high priest on his heavenly throne at the source of all potential. I think it's because too many of us think in terms of personal salvation. Thoughts?
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I grew up in a church that had communion every Sunday. I now attend a Southern Baptist church that has a communion once a quarter and occasionally on special holidays. I always read the Bible as saying, as often as you come together. I have a lot of questions. Why did Luther not go to the Orthodox Church when he fell out of favor with Rome?
Start visiting a local Orthodox Church and ask questions there if you want. But I wouldn’t worry about Luther and what he did. This life is short and so make sure you don’t waste it.
Any reference to bondage in the writings of Paul referred only to the traditional Jewish man-made laws of Judaism, not to the laws God delivered directly to Man, i.e., Moses. Paul clearly taught that violation of the Commandments would result in spiritual destruction and Jesus said that we must keep the ten Commandments in order to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:19)
Does anyone know if there is a Bible verse that goes something like “for those who love me my love is like warmth and a light and for those who hate me with closed eyes my love is like a burning fire”? I have heard this from orthodox a few times but don’t know where it’s from. Thanks
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN of the world. HE was sacrificed to pay for the penalty of sin. Without blood there is no remission of sin.
The true believer is only free from sin because they being dead to sin will sin no more. The death sentence is taken away if we keep our promise. As Romans 7:1-4.
Is it the theological position of the Orthadox Church that Jesus did not "pay" the price for our sins with His own blood? That is a strong break from the Apostles...
Hello sir. I wrestle with the same question sometimes because I agree that the Apostles did teach what you say. However, my understanding as an Orthodox Christian is that the Lord died on the cross, but having no sin of His own He was resurrected. When we are united with Christ we partake of His death and resurrection. Saint Paul writes in his epistle to Romans 6:6 "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin". This means that our sins die in His body because "For he who has died has been freed from sin" (Romans 6:7). When we are united to Christ we have eternal life because He has eternal life. He doesn't die anymore. The only reason He died is so that we could partake in Hid death (He died in our place that our sins may die in Him and He raises us up to new life which we wouldn't be able to do on our own) and resurrection. His death could also be seen as the death and rebirth of humanity. Because "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). We are born in Adam (our old human nature), but Christ has died for the sins of that nature and resurrected so that we could be free from the law and from sin. I am sorry for such a long answer. I am not an authority on these things but that is my current understanding. Thank you for reading, and God bless you!
"Salvation is deliverance and redemption using a ransom. Both are found in the early Fathers. Thus salvation has nothing to do with paying a ransom to the devil or to God." What? This apparent about-face is really confusing. To whom/what is the ransom paid then for the redemption?
I have a sincere question. If the great commission is to spread the gospel and get as many people saved as possible, why do the orthodox practice closed communion? Especially since it is seen as necessary part of the salvation process. Thank you for any input.
Hello sir. That is a great question! I am not an authority to say these things but I would be happy to share my current understanding of the matter as a baptized Orthodox Christian. Saint Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:27 "Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord". Orthodox understand this as follows: whoever unworthily eats the Lord's body and blood is guilty of His death. That is one of the reasons that Orthodox Christians are supposed to confess their sins before receiving Holy Communion. I wouldn't say that we wouldn't want people to receive the Eucharist, but there is an order for the Sacraments. First comes Baptism in which we are united to Christ, His death (our old man is crucified with Him and in Him, and we are cleansed of all our former sins), and Resurrection (giving us new life in Christ. We are dead to sin and the law, and alive to the Lord). And Chrismation in which the person is anointed with oil and the Holy Spirit descends upon them (granted I don't know too much about this Mystery). Traditionally, the person Baptized would receive Holy Communion immediately after. However, we are all normal people and we all fall and sin again in some way. That is why we have confession because the Lord said to His apostles "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:23). Our way of thinking is that no one is worthy of Holy Communion, but we should do what we can to prepare for it. The first stage is Baptism. I am sorry for such a long answer. I do not wish to be prideful with that or anything. I just hope it gave a clear enough explanation of my understanding. Thanks for reading! God bless!
Reconciliation back to life with God through Christ. That is Salvation Likewise to the contrary, rejection of Christ and Reconciliation back to God to eternal life. That is what death is, separation from God which is caused by sin Those that remain in sin, remain under the judgement and wrath of God which is what Hell is, the judgement for rebellion and life of sin With it's finality in the final judgement which will be the lake of fire for all the unrepentant and ungodly who have rejected Christ and His salvation
Believing that all the prothets befor Christ where in Christ and where made to pave the way to his incarnation ' I can see echoes of the prothets, Buddha's and holy ones preceeding him and so in some respects I see an echo of Buddha's battle to overcome the king of the world ' Mara ' his Enlightenment ' but he only overcame the mind principle, but 500 years later Christ was born who was made to overcame the physical principal too, and so although buddha could give good instruction towards redemption and purity and had the mind to see what it was ' Christ could wash completely and has complete freedom from sin in him ,and so the bind to the Fleshes nature ' which is to die' a subtle message towards destruction which influences the consciousness and creates an echo towards death or destruction that we call ( sin ) Could be completely defeated . Perhaps through the power of the resurrection and his blood one day the whole earth will be washed completely clean of sin returning it to Eden. . But even now the blood of christ saves and redeems the world and gives betterment to so many lives ( all life infact ) Please forgive me if this seems blasphemous ! Just some thoughts. I know Christ is the highest and the one who can completely defeat death , sin and the Opposition 'Satan. . He could not commit sin because the cross and the power of the reserection were in him already ( He is the reserection ) I love him so much ....X Bless and thank you .
Notice how this focuses very little to not at all on any notion of God needing to punish Himself to prevent us from receiving a punishment He would somehow be forced to dole out. He is God. He delivered humanity from death by His own Incarnation and Death and Resurrection because He wanted to. That’s it. No imaginary “higher bondage” to His own wrath.
The Sinai covenant as enemy of humanity? What a shame to perpetuate this hermeneutic of supposed antipathy between the Jewish Messiah and the covenant of His nation.
How sad😢 we are sinners and Jesus did not atone for our sins. So you must work or merit your salvation. Your faith is not enough. So the verses that clearly say “ behold the lamb of God , that takes away the sin of the world” is totally lost on Eastern Orthodox believers. Our works are the result of faith. Gregory’s quote was most blasphemous! We get deified? What??? We do not become gods! I watched this to understand the orthodox view on salvation and got a confusing and sad non explanation. Does anyone read the Bible? The words in Romans are so plain. Jesus death was the sacrifice for our sins. He paid the ultimate price so we could be with God . God Yahuah save you ! Trust In Yahshua alone for true salvation. Not a church , not a ritual , not good works. Your good works are but filthy (period )rags before the Lord Yahuah.
sarah bishop-jones We (humanity ) were chosen by Him to be adopted The created became part of the Uncreated - so we will bear His Light and Love The Son of God became man, so that we could share in the relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit. We shall look like Him, so I agree we are deified. He is the Fire, we are the charcoal. When we are close to the Fire, we also resemble the Fire. Blessings to you. May the Spirit lead us all in truth. ❤️
Sarah...you've actually proven the error of Protestantism of which I'm no longer apart of! You watched a video for 15ish minutes presented by Eastern Christianity that is consonant with The Church of The Councils and which the Apostles would recognize as a faith of their own. But what did you you do? Apply a protestant(western) application to the word "deification," and thus conclude that deification means to become Very God of Very God...which is highly preposterous! Your desire to safeguard Truth is admired but according to Proverbs you have a "zeal without knowledge!" . Your interpretation is of your own and not tethered to the life of the Holy Spirit in The Church! Sorry! Being Church is ritualistic, and consists of good works (Matt 25!) Put another way: Grace=Works NOT works=Grace! Sorry, but you are highly mistaken! Please learn more about The Orthodox Church and Traditions and read the direct disciples of the Apostles: St. Ignatius, St. Polycarp, St. Clement and others. . He explained clearly with bullet type points Salvation in Orthodoxy which is much more than a one time acknowledgement/statement/acceptance of a message but a life lived as St. Paul says, "the only thing that matters is Faith EXPRESSING itself through love!" Actions indeed are "works!" God Who Alone is Good showed it by..."giving His Only Begotten Son!" Salvation was a work of God and in Christ we participate in Good Works that show forth Salvation. "For whatever you didn't "DO," to the least of these you didn't do to ME! and these will go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into eternal life!""-Matt 25: 45-46
"Saint Paul said..."+ "Saint Paul also said..." over & over. Once again Pauline Christians emphasize the teachings of Paul over Jesus and his true apostles. Paul taught a different gospel than Jesus did, and it's a shame and tragedy that more people don't recognize that. Salvation & redemption? Follow what Jesus said were the Greatest Commandments, that's the real way to both.
This is just SO INCREDIBLE ! I have struggled all my life trying to comprehend a loving God who could not forgive mankind and demanded a blood sacrifice in the form of his son. Having come from a Western Christian background, that was all that I knew. This is just SO CONSOLING and marvelous to find out after 74 years of loving Jesus, but not thinking very much of God the Father. Thank you so much for this explanation.
It never sat well with me. I think this was one of the reasons I was an atheist for so long. Now, I am a few months into my inquiry. I just finished reading Two Views of the Cross as well.
Thank you for these films - I’m a Protestant but I’ve learned so much from the Greek Orthodox perspective -
Me too, and I want to learn more!
😊I was protestant, BUT NOW, as the Fathers of the church' s writings is giving me The TRUTH and all TRUTH - with tears of gratitude I now bow down in front of them and Our LORD AND HIS Mother for His mercy on me, to guide me into HIS ONLY TRUE FAITH AND TRUE CHURCH: THE ORTHODOX CHURCH!💓☦️💒🦅🙏
GLORY TO GOD FOR ALL THINGS!🔥👑AMEN!🙏🕊️
becoming Orthodox is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Alleluia to the God of Salvation
Please become Orthodox, friend. You must know this is very important. God is calling you. ☦️🙏
And I'm a Roman Catholic, but I love knowing more about our Orthodox brothers! God bless you all in the grace and glory of our saviour, Jesus Christ!
This is why the interpretations and hashing out of these concepts by the church fathers is so important to read and understand. So much more context from the people who were the closest to the event can only give us a fuller understanding of what the earliest theologians understood at the time. Just as in anything else, history matters.
Thank you father/pastor. I don't know your name! I've listened to several of your videos. You explain Orthodox theology in a very concise and understandable way. I am in the process of exploring Orthodoxy. The Orthodox view of salvation and redemption, as you explained them, makes much more sense than the protestant version. It is very hard for me to overcome the protestant version of salvation. It is so ingrained in me. You explain it in a way that I can grasp onto and make sense of. Thank you very much for reaching out to we who are searching.
I went through the same dilemma being unable to accept the Protestant "version" (perhaps distortion is the word I would now use) of salvation and redemption and am so glad to have been Illumined by Holy Orthodoxy. Keep exploring, Sister! By the way, you can see Father's name by clicking the "More" link next to the movie title.
It's so fascinating if you ask a modern evangelical protestant what salvation means it means being saved from hell. The Orthodox view is much more consistent with scripture and much more meaningful and real. Salvation is union with God, being freed from sin idolatry death and the satan. Not being saved from a subterranean torture chamber like that of Dante's medieval imagination.
Thank you these videos, I was raised Orthodox Christian but went Protestant have been back to my faith now, for years I have suffered anxieties and am finding peace through learning the lives of the Saints and my true church, which I have much to learn, I wish my parents could know I lost both this year. Please mention me and them in your prayers
Pray for me please for I suffer from those anxieties, for I am in torment 🙏
@@paultokjian7915 i feel tormented sometimes too
@@paultokjian7915go to an Ortodoxe church and assist to the service and join after to the true religion on Christ ! Amen
@@paultokjian7915praying for you🙏🥰
I’ve learned more from Fr. Panayiototis in 2 days listening to him than in years of attending church
I'm theologically reformed Protestant who attends an Assembly of God charismatic church. Strange I know. And as I write this there is an orthodox study Bible open on my table and a Greek Orthodox icon hanging on my wall. I see much beauty and Truth in reformed theology.I have experienced the movement of the Holy Spirit profoundly in charismatic churches. And over the last few months I have been drawn to orthodoxy and I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit is at work there as well. All I can say is that I do not understand everything, I pray for understanding and discernment to stay in the center of God's will. As I continue in sanctification, I see no disconnect whatsoever between the theology put forth in this video and that which I currently hold. God bless you for this work, and may God continue in us all
May God continue to guide you into the fullness of the truth.
What we need in addition to true doctrine is organic union with Christ in the church, his Body and this is where we receive all the graces of the Holy Spirit Jesus has given us for our healing and growth in the likeness of God. This church is the Orthodox Church. It has living continuity and connection to the Apostles and the grace they received from Christ and the instructions they received from him. It is handed on in the church through the sacrament of holy orders/ ordination and the passing on of the sacred deposit of the Faith, the Apostolic and holy tradition and safeguards us from the distorted traditions of men.. This is Apostolic succession. May God bless you in your discovery and journey.
The best teaching I ever heard on Salvation
Thank you Father Panayiotis, and Trisagionfilms for the outstanding videos during Great Lent! They're very helpful! Also the chanting in the background was enjoyable. Thank you, and God be with you!
Too loud for my hearing.
Distracted from Father's teaching.
5 years I lived in beautiful Athens, I know it’s irrelevant but my love for the Greek people naturally draws me to the Orthodox Church🙏
Fr. Panayiotis, thank you for all your powerful in-depth sermons. Your Voice is the Voice of God, and we Pray for your health now, so that you can continue to Express The Grace of God and of Heaven. Amen.
This is powerful. Thanks be to Jesus Christ the most high. He took human form and doing so he’s perfecting the imperfect. Overcoming death giving the dead life.
Thank you for this video! This really clears up much of my confusion. God Bless
Thank you father 🙏
Thank you. I will use your notes from Bible to study more. I am glad i was blessed to have great pastors to explain these scriptures correctly.
"sin" (original meaning in Greek) "to miss the target" target being Christ
now, I can not subject myself under any law, in particular law of human ideology such as democracy or some religion, can not vote, can not recognize any human authority, only authority of God, mercy of God and sacrifice of Christ
I cannot thank you guys enough for all of these wonderful videos!!!
Ευχαριστώ πολύ παιδιά!!!
Thanks so much father. Even though I'm a protestant I've learned a lot from your teachings. May the good Lord bless you richly in all wisdom and Grace. So having being richly blessed may you share the knowledge of God which is His Love and Grace (mercy)
Thank you, Father!
God bless Fr Panayiotis 🌹
A Orthodox perspective of salvation & redemption from the Holy Scriptures (3:56) and the Church fathers (7:53).
Thank you for making the time father Παναγιώτη its a busy time of the year another great translation you always do a great job love the λειτουργία in the background so much holyness and power. God bless you and the church.
I look forward to these videos every time they come out. The commentary and historical aspect are top notch.
May we have your blessings, Father. 🙏
Deo Gratias. This is top notch content.
Thank you for this explanation of salvation !I am so thankful for this channel!
Amin
Wow this is by far the most succinct and coherent explanation of the relationship between old and new covenant that I have ever heard. What a blessing!
Christ is in our midst ☦️ Glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace to men of good will☦️ Glory to Jesus Christ ☦️
This is great father thank you
this makes so much more sense than the protestant explanation of the passion and why the Lord chose to give himself this way. thank you. feels right explaining this way, it is in accordance with the gospel.
Thank you for helping me further on the Way. Bless Father
Thank you Father
2:52, I like the understanding of the early Christians as to human beings, that it had to do with "human relationships." That is exactly my sentiment!
Enlightening.
Glory to God
Thank you for these videos father, they help me a lot in better understanding the orthodox faith. I was born orthodox, baptized as a baby but as a teenager lost faith in God and turned to agnosticism, after many years I found my way back to the faith but this time as a "do it yourself" bible believing christian listening to protestant sermons, after some years I felt the need to explore early christian writings and thus found my way back in the orthodox faith. Your videos help me better understand our faith which I feel is indeed the right faith. Please continue to bless us with these videos.
I actually live in Greece but dont speak the language, I have no spiritual father and my health prevents me from attending church, how bad is it for me not having a spiritual father? That's why English youtube videos are so important to me.
Thank you and God bless!
Please, find him, allready very soon!
Dear Christian beloved, I'm sure the priest would come to your house if you called him on the phone!
My poor wife is in a similar situation and sends greeting. God bless.
Thank you Father.
Thank you 🙏
The Resurrection is the ultimate victory of Christ on behalf of Humanity over sin and death and consequently the devil. Thank you for Sharing. Thank you for sharing these lectures! That guy radiates wisdom, love, and compassion!!🙌🏼
Thank you Father. I’ve learned a lot today from you. Christ has risen!
The point of this video was not to make the connections with the prefigurations of the NT Events in OT practices. The shedding of Christ’s blood is part of His dying on the cross, which is CENTRAL in the “Salvific Event”. Through this He shows His Love for humanity, He defeats death by His death, and also defeats sin by remaining sinless in his humanity. Salvation, however, is fully accomplished and completed in the Resurrection. The remission of sins through His Blood is found in our physical joining in His Risen and transfigured Body and Blood through the Holy Eucharist. The Resurrection is the epitome of our salvation. The Body and Blood, which we receive for the remission of our sins is the Body and Blood of the RISEN Lord. The Early Christians approached Salvation from the perspective of the end result of the Crucifixion (which is the Resurrection) and did not focus on the Cross as much (which they did not forget, however). We Glory in the Cross of Christ, because through the Cross salvation was accomplished in the Resurrection.
Modern Western Christians, many times, put most of their emphasis on the suffering and death of Christ and forget the importance of the Resurrection, which leaves some people thinking: “Why isn’t the Cross and the shedding of Christ's blood emphasized in the Orthodox Church?” Well, IT IS. The Crucifixion is Central to our Salvation. Without the Crucifixion there would have been no Resurrection. But, we don’t stay on Holy Friday. We move quickly to the Resurrection whence the joy of Salvation comes.
The very first Feast of the Early Church was Pascha, the Resurrection. Every Sunday (the Lord's Day) on the Orthodox Calendar is a celebration of the Resurrection, but the cross is present everywhere in our expressions of our Faith. We cross ourselves constantly because through the cross we are saved. We remember the Crucifixion of the Lord as we fast every Friday. We remember the Cross of Christ and hold a strict fast on September 14, halfway between the annual feasts of Pascha. We remember the Cross of Christ on the third Sunday of Great Lent, halfway through the Great Fast.
Christ became human like us, but remained sinless. He allowed Himself to die on the Cross so that He can rise from the dead and bring our humanity to a perfected state. He made it immortal, and deified it. He ascended to Heaven and seated Himself in His perfected and deified humanity on the right hand of the Father, saving and honoring our humanity. Now we have to join ourselves to Him so that we can participate in this state of salvation and glorification which He offers to us. We do that in the Holy Eucharist, the Greatest Miracle, which happens in every Divine Liturgy. We are called to approach and participate "With the Fear of God, with Faith and Love". And, we receive His Body and Blood ". . . for the remission of sins and life everlasting".
B a s i m a
i spell that Teaching speech so slowly, because i was so shivering & crying
for our sactifications.
B a s i m a ,
Trisagionfilms . 📿
Surely this verse is a prophecy about the Substitutionary Atonement made by Christ which you called, "satisfying the anger of a wrathful God": ISAIAH 53: 5: "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed".
The Saints were also saved from wrath: ROMANS 5: 9: "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him".
Thessalonians speaks of the "wrath to come": I THESSALONIANS 1: 10: ".....and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come".
I have a question Father: is the humanity of Christ the same before the crucifixion and after the resurrection? The theologian Emmanuel hatzidakis in his recent work ‘Jesus: fallen?’ Argues that Christ was always the same. He always had a fully deified humanity and there was no change in him, as is shown in the light of the transfiguration on mount tabor.
@@SDFenix I would say for sure that His humanity before the Resurrection was mortal and fallen like ours, except without sin. After the Resurrection His humanity was made immortal, eternal and was glorified in the union with His Divinity. Deification is more difficult to talk about from the human perspective, because He was God both before and after the Resurrection. But I will attempt to say that the deification of His humanity was made fully manifest after the Resurrection.
Trisagion Films Thank you very much Father for your answer and time. I hope that i understand your point correctly, but I must admit that Fr. Emmanuel Hatzidakis makes a very convincing case in arguing for the position, that Christ was always the same and that the blameless passions and suffering and death were voluntarily assumed. Here are several lengthy passages from his comprehensive study on this issue:
1. “Christ’s flesh is delivered from corruptibility and mortality when the immortal Word of God created it at the very instant He assumed it. The created and finite existence of the humanity He assumed, by virtue of its union with the eternal God in the person of the divine Logos, becomes incorruptible and immortal.”
2. “In fact, elsewhere St. Maximos stresses Christ’s incorruptible human nature, by attributing it this time to the hypostatic Union:”in the incarnation Christ becomes immortal, because it is impossible to conceive of humanity united inseparably to divinity, and remaining mortal. Yet He takes upon Himself everything, including mortality.” By saying, “He takes upon Himself,” he means that by an act of His will He allows the “blameless passions” to function in accordance with their natural state, as it became after the fall.”
3. “Christ’s divine nature is not subject to suffering by necessity. “Suffering”, says St. Athanasios, “belongs to the oeconomia, not to the nature of Logos.” Yet even though Christ suffered in the flesh oeconomically, on account of its natural human vulnerability, as we saw earlier, suffering was not imposed upon Him, by virtue of an inherited fallen and sinful nature, as it is with us. To the extent that His body was capable of suffering He suffered, but not fatefully, that is against His human will, but voluntarily. Christ is free from sin, including “original” sin, therefore He is free from its consequences. Christ did not “contract” the consequences of sin, because he was sinless.”
4. “The Theanthropos Christ cannot and is not necessarily subject to the blameless passions, which are associated with the fall. Yet, despite the fact that he is not subject to them by necessity and by force, He allows them of His own free will to act upon Him, so that He would arrive at His sacrificial and redeeming death, that opens the path to life to the entire creation. Real as suffering and death may be, it does not mean then in Him they spring out of the law of decay that had invaded humanity after the fall. The body of this Being is the body of the uncreated God, and his humanity though real is not subject to the “doom of death”, because it was recreated to be His perfect image.”
5. “Christs humanity after His resurrection is not different from what it was before. St. Gregory the theologian states: “in my view, He will come as He appeared or was manifested to the disciples on the mountain.” St. Gregory Palamas elucidates further this understanding, declaring that Christ has one body, one human nature, not three: one at His transfiguration, another outside His transfiguration, and yet another after his resurrection. Thus, he states, “when Christ was transfigured He neither received anything different, nor was changed into anything different, but was revealed to His disciples as He was.” Elsewhere he says, “on Tabor he manifested [our nature] to his elect disciples clothed once again most brilliantly,” and he quotes St. John Chrysostom, who says, “He shows what we once were and what we shall become through Him in the age to come.” Mentioning St. Dionysios and St. Gregory the theologian by name as those who await to see Christ to appear at His second coming in the same fashion as he appeared on mount tabor he says:” indeed, not only will Christ be eternally thus in the future, but He was such even before He ascended the mountain.” He then adduces St. John damascene as a witness: “Christ is transfigured, not by putting on some quality He did not possess previously, nor by changing into something He never was before, but by revealing to His disciples what He truly was, in opening their eyes and in giving sight to those who were blind. For while remaining identical to what He had been before, He appeared to the disciples in His splendor; He is indeed the true light, the radiance of glory.” Then St. Gregory palamas adds the following comment of his own: “Moreover, the transformation of our human nature, it’s deification and transfiguration- were these not accomplished in Christ from the start, from the moment in which He assumed our nature? Thus He was divine before, but He bestowed at the time of his transfiguration a divine power upon the eyes of the apostles and enabled them to look up and see for themselves.” Then at the end of the following unit he adds: “therefore Christ possesses the light immutably, or rather, He has always possessed it, and always will have it with Him.”
God bless😇! Great film! Can you make a film about hesychasm, theosis, God Energies? I was reading a lot about this topic in internet but i still dont understand it. 😖
Thank you, edified for sure 👍
This was really good thank you!
I discovered Christ independently, but I think I'm becoming more and more Orthodox in my thoughts and opinions.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son 9f God, have mercy on me, a dinner.
Thank you so much Rev. father for such a clear, in depth and enlightening message for the glory and means of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST's triumphant salvation and redemption of all humanity through the evangelization and the Holy Mystery of Sacred Sacraments of the Holy Catholic abd Orthodox Church of Christ from the Ancient Apistolic times until this present era...until the Second coming of Our Divine King of Mercy and Sovereign Judge of the Universe. Amen JESUS!
Fr.Panayiotis' evaluation of the Law (0:57) is correct, as long as he means the Law Covenant and not the Law of God (i.e.Romans 7 vs.12), because there was no fault with the Law but with mankind because it was "weak through the flesh" (Rom.8:3).
Thanks for drawing that distinction. Father Panayiotis calling the Law an emergency measure that God removed because it wasn't working sounded to me like God took the life raft out of the ocean because people insisted on one way to get into it... which doesn't deal with the individual either. Could you say a little more of what you mean by Law Covenant vs Law of God?
Thanks for your question, brother.
Historic Orthodoxy has always viewed the covenant of the Law coming 430 years after the Covenant of Promise (see. Galatians 3:17). The Covenant of the Law was a legal contract between God and the nation of Israel. It offered them life upon the condition that they meet their part of the requirement. That requirement, which is spelled out graphically in Deuteronomy 28, demanded perfect obedience from the heart of God’s Holy Law. Of course, God knew from the beginning that the Law would not be kept and that the Covenant of the Law would fail. The Law Covenant pronounced a curse on those who would not keep it. This is spelled out clearly in Deuteronomy 28. Verses 1-14 tell about those wonderful blessings. But verse 15 through 68 proceed to describe the most frightening litany of curses imaginable! Galatians 3:10 speaks about all those (both Israel and the Gentiles) who attempt to come to God through the Covenant of the Flesh or covenant of the Law.
I could go on about this at great length, but the point I’m making is this: The Law, and the Covenant of the Law, are not the same. The Law of God abides forever, but the Covenant of the Law ended at the Cross. By faith the righteousness of God is ours. That is the Gospel! But before the crucifixion and death of Christ, if man was to be righteousness it had to be by obedience to the Law.
@@McIntyreBible Thank you for elaborating on these distinctions. I am beginning to study Orthodoxy, as a Christian raised as a Protestant yet always missing “something” . I find large pieces of the “something” as I explore Orthodoxy. I am now constantly finding shocks to the Protestant evangelical paradigm. I’m a student of history and amazed at the huge blanks in my understanding of the early church. I’ve loved scripture for many years, yet always ran up against unanswerable problems when studying through the reformed lens. Many of these problems have untangled when viewed with the Orthodox lens. I still have many questions; for example I hope I can come to some resolution concerning the mystery of the Eucharist, for who in their right mind would wish to be excluded from such nourishment if it is true and not merely symbolic, as I have been taught? Also, are my prayers and repentance accepted by God if I have not been baptized in the Orthodox Church? May God bless you for taking time to spend with these commentors, and in your life’s walk with Him.
@@McIntyreBible I understand what you mean, I believe, by Covenant of Law.
Here’s my question: the Hebrews were already alive when they were offered “life” by obedience to the Law Covenant. Is it like the life in the Garden, that goes on forever as long as they don’t transgress the command?
The righteousness of faith is apart from the Law and seems to be about laying down your life and receiving it back again by God’s promise.
The Law seems to be about preserving your life, but there’s no requirement to literally lay your life down for anyone.
I’m seeing a lot of handwaving (not by you, necessarily) because people aren’t precise. Is the Life continued forever normal life? Like Moses was basically not aging and hit 120 without his eyes dimming.
Is it resurrection to eternal life (seems doubtful- you would have to die first). Is it going to heaven at death? (Seems doubtful- you are no longer in the Promised Land, and again, you die first).
Or is it more like a communal “Life”- They will never be exiled from the Promised Land, the restored Garden (although they will continue to die, individually).
Just curious how it reads to you.
I enjoy seeing the Greek words and also hearing the explication in English this will help me share this knowledge with my family.
Thank you, Trisagion Films, and Fr. Panayiotis, and God bless you!
Just saw this video! Glad to be learning more and more on this issue!! Thank you Fr. Panayiotis!
Thank you for this amazing teaching. God bless you.
B a s i m a
E f c h a r i s t o ,
elder Panayiotis :
for Helping us now,
just present moment.
Thank you .
For most of decade now I felt like I'm being saved and not saved and basically just a shame and a lie. I've been going through some rough times when my faith and I thought finally I came to the issue after listening to scripture-based evangelicals awesome bredrin teaching and basically been trying to get away from the idea that god loves me and that I need to recognise and I'm a sinner and humble myself and accept the gift of salvation. In the west there's a saying that there's a difference between dinner free gift and putting it to the side rather than getting a present and opening it call ma the idea being there a lot of people receive the message but don't accept it.
I really don't know what's going on at the moment accepted this some serious spiritual warfare going on and I have little scripture to sustain me and more and more "feel good ideas" that don't help at all! I know that I can just trust that God will work it out for me but at the same sense I realise now that I don't want to leave this to chance and I need to know the truth!
I still love too sin but I need god, I want him in my life, I want promises, I do need to be safe from hell but the biggest thing on my mind and my heart the moment everyday is hard and I just can't keep going on like this and I need to be made new with a purpose and life. I think that's God
This video made more sence to me than any struggling with reading book myself or church eccetera I can totally understand why they save thousands in single meetings back then and they can't now.
I'm beginning to be more confident that however God does it h
e will save me. I just wish it makes a lot more sense. It's almost spiritual blinding
God bless
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that a debt needs to be paid to God the Father for human sins as some modern theories of Atonement claim. Claims like "When one transgresses any law there is a debt owed to someone, typically the law giver, such as the government in civil law.", as well as claims that "We are incapable of paying our sin debt to God by cleansing ourselves from sin," and that "the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the subsequent resurrection paid that sin debt to God the Father," reflect a theory of Atonement developed by Anselm of Canterbury in the middle ages (11-12th centuries). This theory of Atonement was called "Substitutionary Atonement". This is the source of many people's understanding, not the Holy Scriptures.
This is based on the idea of total depravity of man after the Fall (an other Western idea drawn from St. Augustine): Man's sin (which is absolute depravity) must be punished by God absolutely. God's honor and justice demands that the debt owed to God must be paid off so that justice may be satisfied. The debt is owed to God by the human race, but humanity is in total depravity (fallen and sinful) and cannot pay the debt to God in order to satisfy His justice and free us from punishment. Even if we repent from our sins we cannot be forgiven because the justice of God has to be satisfied. Divine justice and offended honor demand that punishment be exacted, Anselm claimed, because God is unable to forgive until a debt is paid to Him. This is the teaching of Anselm of Canterbury, not of the Holy Scriptures.
Solution offered by Anselm: Only Jesus could pay the debt because he is sinless and perfect (substitutionary atonement). The Son of God is punished by God the Father in our place so that His wrath and justice might be satisfied. The Son of God saves us from the vengeance of God the Father by taking the punishment himself.
This idea of Anselm is based on the legalistic society that he was part of. He is also drawing from the Knights' concepts of honor and punishment. This is a totally new approach to the Christian understanding of salvation not found anywhere among Christian theologians before Anselm.
Anselm does not represent ancient Christianity and does NOT rely on the Holy Scriptures. Even when he refers to the Holy Scriptures, he stretches the ideas to fit his world of legalism and his social context of the 11th century.
If one wants to find out what the early Christians understood, you have to read St. Ireneus, Origen, St. Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, St. Basil and others from the Greek speaking Fathers. The middle ages are far removed from the early Church and do not represent the Ancient Church's Soteriology.
In fact, even a contemporary of Anselm's, Peter Abelard, wrote against this legalistic approach by proposing his own theory of atonement known as "Moral Exemplar theory of atonement". Both of these propositions are far removed from Early Christian thought and created serious problems for Western Christianity going forward.
Anselm's legalistic approach to salvation brought about the Indulgences of the Roman Catholic Church, which were developed based on the understanding that God has to be satisfied. This development brought about the revolution within the Roman Catholic Church called Protestant Reformation, which sought to correct this false Soteriology, but created other serious problems. Also, the theology of the "Angry God", developed later by some Protestant Reformers comes out of this understanding, as well. The "theology of the angry God" has caused much unnecessary pain to many people and continues to cause many people to reject Christianity.
Peter Abelard's theory of atonement, on the other hand, led modern liberal theologians to develop what we know today as "the social gospel of softness, kindness and love" in an effort to correct the theology of the angry God. This new theology, however, lacks of the Divine Presence of Christ and His transformative power for humanity.
Western salvation theology has been in serious trouble for almost a thousand years because of this constant moving away from the Biblical and Early Christian understanding of Salvation.
If the Cross is not paying a debt then what was the purpose of such a painful death?
According to Orthodox teaching Our dear Lord still has to die on the cross to undo what Adam did by disobeying God he brought sin and through sin death into the world. Christ Jesus by obeying God's wishes completely till the end He managed to thwart Adam's deed. By dying on the cross unlike Adam who died to life because of his disobeydiance Jesus died to death and bought back life and righteousness to mankind. His death was not suppose to appease God's wrath but to undo what Adam brought into the world.
I wonder why it is that we focus so hard on the death and resurrection of Christ and not his ascension... That before the Apostles' very eyes, the Word of God ascended to retake his place at the right hand of the Father. That he's our high priest on his heavenly throne at the source of all potential.
I think it's because too many of us think in terms of personal salvation. Thoughts?
This was so beautiful!
Great stuff!
If music must be put behind Father's teaching does it have to be so loud and distracting? Thank you for all your work to help our souls.
It doesn't sound very loud to me?
I find it appropriate - a spiritual presence.
Thank you so much for video. Do you have everything that you said on paper that I could read because English is my second language.
Amen
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I grew up in a church that had communion every Sunday. I now attend a Southern Baptist church that has a communion once a quarter and occasionally on special holidays. I always read the Bible as saying, as often as you come together. I have a lot of questions. Why did Luther not go to the Orthodox Church when he fell out of favor with Rome?
Start visiting a local Orthodox Church and ask questions there if you want. But I wouldn’t worry about Luther and what he did. This life is short and so make sure you don’t waste it.
Any reference to bondage in the writings of Paul referred only to the traditional Jewish man-made laws of Judaism, not to the laws God delivered directly to Man, i.e., Moses.
Paul clearly taught that violation of the Commandments would result in spiritual destruction and Jesus said that we must keep the ten Commandments in order to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:19)
My favourite: church fathers
Any recommended book(s) on this subject?
Do you have any book reccomendations on this topic which are from an Orthodox perspective? God bless!
Does anyone know if there is a Bible verse that goes something like “for those who love me my love is like warmth and a light and for those who hate me with closed eyes my love is like a burning fire”? I have heard this from orthodox a few times but don’t know where it’s from. Thanks
0:45 The Law of Moses was meant to tutor the people to prepare them for Christ.
5:12 Life Triumphs over Death
1Cor.5.21 he was made sin.how was he made sin for us ?
I’m sorry but the background music is it too distracting to listen all the way through. Too bad. His talk is so good.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
THE LAMB OF GOD
WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN of the world.
HE was sacrificed
to pay for the penalty of sin.
Without blood there is no remission of sin.
The angel Gabriel told Mary that Jesus would save his people FROM their sins Matthew 1:21….
Fr. St. Iraenaus says the law was a punishment from God.
Eu acredito que a lei é geral ir atrás dos traíra
According to St.Paul (among other things) salvation had to do with freedom from bondage to the Law (0:11).
The true believer is only free from sin because they being dead to sin will sin no more. The death sentence is taken away if we keep our promise. As Romans 7:1-4.
Is it the theological position of the Orthadox Church that Jesus did not "pay" the price for our sins with His own blood? That is a strong break from the Apostles...
No Jason. Look closer and you will understand this better.
@@Trisagionfilms I will. Thank you.
Hello sir. I wrestle with the same question sometimes because I agree that the Apostles did teach what you say. However, my understanding as an Orthodox Christian is that the Lord died on the cross, but having no sin of His own He was resurrected.
When we are united with Christ we partake of His death and resurrection. Saint Paul writes in his epistle to Romans 6:6 "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin". This means that our sins die in His body because "For he who has died has been freed from sin" (Romans 6:7).
When we are united to Christ we have eternal life because He has eternal life. He doesn't die anymore. The only reason He died is so that we could partake in Hid death (He died in our place that our sins may die in Him and He raises us up to new life which we wouldn't be able to do on our own) and resurrection.
His death could also be seen as the death and rebirth of humanity. Because "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). We are born in Adam (our old human nature), but Christ has died for the sins of that nature and resurrected so that we could be free from the law and from sin.
I am sorry for such a long answer. I am not an authority on these things but that is my current understanding. Thank you for reading, and God bless you!
"Salvation is deliverance and redemption using a ransom. Both are found in the early Fathers. Thus salvation has nothing to do with paying a ransom to the devil or to God." What? This apparent about-face is really confusing. To whom/what is the ransom paid then for the redemption?
Give me a time stamp.
@@Trisagionfilms 6:14
@@k98killer He literally says "Redemption has nothing to do with paying the devil a ransom" 20 seconds after that timestamp
@@orthochristos then whats with the ransom part then?
yea that part is really really confusing. i think he mixed up the greek words or something
I have a sincere question. If the great commission is to spread the gospel and get as many people saved as possible, why do the orthodox practice closed communion? Especially since it is seen as necessary part of the salvation process. Thank you for any input.
Might i suggest you email us? Trisagionproductions@gmail.com
Hello sir. That is a great question! I am not an authority to say these things but I would be happy to share my current understanding of the matter as a baptized Orthodox Christian.
Saint Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:27 "Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord". Orthodox understand this as follows: whoever unworthily eats the Lord's body and blood is guilty of His death. That is one of the reasons that Orthodox Christians are supposed to confess their sins before receiving Holy Communion.
I wouldn't say that we wouldn't want people to receive the Eucharist, but there is an order for the Sacraments. First comes Baptism in which we are united to Christ, His death (our old man is crucified with Him and in Him, and we are cleansed of all our former sins), and Resurrection (giving us new life in Christ. We are dead to sin and the law, and alive to the Lord). And Chrismation in which the person is anointed with oil and the Holy Spirit descends upon them (granted I don't know too much about this Mystery).
Traditionally, the person Baptized would receive Holy Communion immediately after. However, we are all normal people and we all fall and sin again in some way. That is why we have confession because the Lord said to His apostles "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:23).
Our way of thinking is that no one is worthy of Holy Communion, but we should do what we can to prepare for it. The first stage is Baptism. I am sorry for such a long answer. I do not wish to be prideful with that or anything. I just hope it gave a clear enough explanation of my understanding. Thanks for reading! God bless!
Reconciliation back to life with God through Christ. That is Salvation
Likewise to the contrary, rejection of Christ and Reconciliation back to God to eternal life. That is what death is, separation from God which is caused by sin
Those that remain in sin, remain under the judgement and wrath of God which is what Hell is, the judgement for rebellion and life of sin
With it's finality in the final judgement which will be the lake of fire for all the unrepentant and ungodly who have rejected Christ and His salvation
(0:32), By the Law (Rom.10:4) St.Paul meant the Covenant of the Law, not the Law of God.
♥︎ is this not the most important topic/subject/theme ever
indeed for anyone
for everyone ?
Lo
🙏🤍
6:47, redemption has nothing to do with paying the devil a ransom; that a religious humanistic idea!
Believing that all the prothets befor Christ where in Christ and where made to pave the way to his incarnation ' I can see echoes of the prothets, Buddha's and holy ones preceeding him and so in some respects I see an echo of Buddha's battle to overcome the king of the world ' Mara ' his Enlightenment ' but he only overcame the mind principle, but 500 years later Christ was born who was made to overcame the physical principal too, and so although buddha could give good instruction towards redemption and purity and had the mind to see what it was ' Christ could wash completely and has complete freedom from sin in him ,and so the bind to the Fleshes nature ' which is to die' a subtle message towards destruction which influences the consciousness and creates an echo towards death or destruction that we call ( sin )
Could be completely defeated .
Perhaps through the power of the resurrection and his blood one day the whole earth will be washed completely clean of sin returning it to Eden. .
But even now the blood of christ saves and redeems the world and gives betterment to so many lives ( all life infact )
Please forgive me if this seems blasphemous !
Just some thoughts.
I know Christ is the highest and the one who can completely defeat death , sin and the Opposition 'Satan. .
He could not commit sin because the cross and the power of the reserection were in him already ( He is the reserection )
I love him so much ....X
Bless and thank you .
Notice how this focuses very little to not at all on any notion of God needing to punish Himself to prevent us from receiving a punishment He would somehow be forced to dole out.
He is God. He delivered humanity from death by His own Incarnation and Death and Resurrection because He wanted to. That’s it. No imaginary “higher bondage” to His own wrath.
i am the 777th like
Jackpot!!!😄 God bless you!!!
The Sinai covenant as enemy of humanity? What a shame to perpetuate this hermeneutic of supposed antipathy between the Jewish Messiah and the covenant of His nation.
Honestly wow! what a massive theological ball of confusion.
Paul warned about these teachings and how they may destroy the SIMPLICITY OF CHRIST
Actually this is very simple.
How sad😢 we are sinners and Jesus did not atone for our sins. So you must work or merit your salvation. Your faith is not enough. So the verses that clearly say “ behold the lamb of God , that takes away the sin of the world” is totally lost on Eastern Orthodox believers. Our works are the result of faith. Gregory’s quote was most blasphemous! We get deified? What??? We do not become gods! I watched this to understand the orthodox view on salvation and got a confusing and sad non explanation. Does anyone read the Bible? The words in Romans are so plain. Jesus death was the sacrifice for our sins. He paid the ultimate price so we could be with God . God Yahuah save you ! Trust In Yahshua alone for true salvation. Not a church , not a ritual , not good works. Your good works are but filthy (period )rags before the Lord Yahuah.
sarah bishop-jones We (humanity ) were chosen by Him to be adopted
The created became part of the Uncreated - so we will bear His Light and Love
The Son of God became man, so that we could share in the relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit. We shall look like Him, so I agree we are deified. He is the Fire, we are the charcoal. When we are close to the Fire, we also resemble the Fire. Blessings to you. May the Spirit lead us all in truth. ❤️
Sarah...you've actually proven the error of Protestantism of which I'm no longer apart of! You watched a video for 15ish minutes presented by Eastern Christianity that is consonant with The Church of The Councils and which the Apostles would recognize as a faith of their own. But what did you you do? Apply a protestant(western) application to the word "deification," and thus conclude that deification means to become Very God of Very God...which is highly preposterous! Your desire to safeguard Truth is admired but according to Proverbs you have a "zeal without knowledge!"
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Your interpretation is of your own and not tethered to the life of the Holy Spirit in The Church! Sorry! Being Church is ritualistic, and consists of good works (Matt 25!) Put another way: Grace=Works NOT works=Grace! Sorry, but you are highly mistaken! Please learn more about The Orthodox Church and Traditions and read the direct disciples of the Apostles: St. Ignatius, St. Polycarp, St. Clement and others.
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He explained clearly with bullet type points Salvation in Orthodoxy which is much more than a one time
acknowledgement/statement/acceptance of a message but a life lived as St. Paul says, "the only thing that matters is Faith EXPRESSING itself through love!" Actions indeed are "works!" God Who Alone is Good showed it by..."giving His Only Begotten Son!" Salvation was a work of God and in Christ we participate in Good Works that show forth Salvation.
"For whatever you didn't "DO," to the least of these you didn't do to ME! and these will go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into eternal life!""-Matt 25: 45-46
Sorry but that is not correct.
You are only in bondage to sin. The law is always in power.
Paul always confirms torah and Salvation is from the jews
"Saint Paul said..."+ "Saint Paul also said..." over & over. Once again Pauline Christians emphasize the teachings of Paul over Jesus and his true apostles. Paul taught a different gospel than Jesus did, and it's a shame and tragedy that more people don't recognize that. Salvation & redemption? Follow what Jesus said were the Greatest Commandments, that's the real way to both.
Thank you.