Salvation in the Orthodox Concept (1)
There Is No Salvation Except
By the Blood of Christ Alone
There is neither faith nor works without this blood. Faith is faith in the blood of Christ, and works are works founded upon the merits of the blood of Christ. As the Apostle Paul says: “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Heb. 9:22).
What, then, is the position of the blood of Christ in the matter of salvation? And what is the position of faith? … And what is the position of works? …
Works Without the Blood of Christ:
There is no salvation except by the blood of Christ. All good works, no matter how exalted, no matter how lofty, no matter how complete, cannot save man without the blood of Christ. Therefore, the righteous who pleased the Lord by their good works in the Old Testament also waited in Hades until the Lord Christ brought them out of it after His crucifixion.
Good works alone cannot save man without faith in the blood of Christ. Otherwise, would the Gentiles who had good works be saved by their works!! Far be it.
And as a general rule I say to you:
All the verses that appeared in the Holy Scripture attacking works are about works alone without the blood of Christ, or about the works of the Law (pertaining to the Law of the Old Covenant).
For without the blood of Christ, works cannot benefit anything.
Therefore, when the Apostle says: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5), or when he says: “Not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:9), he means works alone without the blood of Christ. Thus, if there is a person who does good works while he is not a believer, this righteousness of the Law does not benefit him in anything, and his good works alone do not save him without faith.
To such an unbelieving person, you say: All your works are not sufficient. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.
There is a fundamental essential difference between what is said to the believer and what is said to the unbeliever.
In your conversation with the unbeliever, you must destroy all works.
All of them, without the blood of Christ, are of no benefit. To such a person you say:
Your works do not save you…
What saves you is the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ is the starting point in the matter of salvation.
But after he believes, you should speak to him about the good works that are fitting for his faith, because faith without works is dead (James 2:20).
Why is there no salvation except by the blood of Christ?
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Sin is disobedience to God, an infringement upon His rights, and a lack of love for Him… And God is unlimited, therefore sin is unlimited because it is directed against the unlimited God. And no matter what man does, his works are limited. Therefore, sin is forgiven only by an unlimited atonement… And there is no unlimited one except God. Therefore, there was no solution for the forgiveness of sin except that God Himself should become incarnate and die. His death would be an unlimited atonement, satisfying the unlimited justice of God in exacting punishment for the unlimited sin directed against the unlimited God.
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This applies to Adam’s sin just as it applies to the sin of any person, because sin is sin, the justice of God is the same, and the punishment of sin, which is death, is the same, as in the Old Testament so also in the New Testament. And it is known that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; there is none who does good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:23, 12). Thus the sentence of death fell upon everyone. And every mouth was stopped, and all the world became guilty before God (Rom. 3:19). And there was no longer any means of salvation other than the grace of God coming to us. And indeed it came to us and saved us by the blood of Christ, by which alone there is salvation.
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For this reason our teacher Paul the Apostle said: “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed” (Rom. 3:25). And he also said: “Who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us” (2 Tim. 1:9). And he also said: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4, 5). And he also said: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8). And he also said: “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Rom. 11:6).
We quote these verses that Protestants use, and we do not conceal them, because we do not deny the grace of God upon us, nor do we deny the free salvation of God that He has given us, nor do we deny that we were all “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), and had it not been for His most holy blood, we would all have perished.
But we place these verses in their true context. And we confess that we were saved by the blood of Christ.
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But we say that the blood of Christ is one thing, and the merit of the blood of Christ is another thing. The blood of Christ is sufficient for the forgiveness of the sins of the whole world, so has the whole world obtained forgiveness?! “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16), so was the whole world saved by this giving, or were only “all who believe in Him” saved?
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III — El-Keraza Magazine — Ninth Year (Issue 5)3-2-1978
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