During his sermon in St. Michael’s Cathedral, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy, drew believers’ attention to faith and good deeds. People will not be able to attain salvation by good works alone – they must enlist God’s support.
He recalled that the first humans, Adam and Eve, were in contact with God “face to face.”
“They knew His will directly from the Creator and followed it. Even after the Fall, we see sinners like Cain talking to God. But as sins multiplied and mankind distanced itself from the Lord, such direct communication became more difficult — not because God turned away from His creation, from people, but because people seemed to have become harsh, deaf, and blind to the knowledge of God. Not only did the sin create a chasm between humanity and the Creator, it also further deepened and widened it. That is why there is a need for a law as a mediator. Written law and the rules derived from it allowed even those who do not have direct communion with God to know His will, and after getting to know it, to follow it,” said Metropolitan Epifaniy.
He noted that attaining salvation and deliverance from the power of sin would be impossible without the Lord Jesus Christ or beyond Him.
“No matter how many good deeds a person does, they cannot achieve salvation through them alone, because sins will still weigh on them so it’s only the Lord who can set them free and cleanse them. The law of God contains the truth, so it must be studied, known, and obeyed, but at the same time people must remember that its value is not in itself, but in the fact that it guides us to life in Christ. ”
This life in Christ is not some human merit or a reward for someone’s work, but rather a gift of God’s love that every person can receive through faith. “However, this doesn’t mean that good deeds don’t matter – on the contrary, they are just evidence of a true, living faith – not formal and declared one that’s not filled with content,” said the head of the OCU.
“Therefore I’d like to wish all of us, dear brothers and sisters, that a better knowledge of the commandments of God’s law will lead us to fulfill them, so that our faith in Lord Jesus Christ may be strengthened and manifested in the fruits of our good works in this life and in eternity – lead us to the Kingdom of Heaven,” summed up Metropolitan Epifaniy.
It should be recalled that Metropolitan Epifaniy discussed cooperation with the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine. He also spiritually supported Giulia Alasania, Mikheil Saakashvili’s mother.
