Encourse Wiki

Dogmatic Theology — Topic 13

Properties3
tagstopic
courseDogmatic Theology
unitTopic 13

22 min read

Dogmatic Theology — Topic 13

Soteriology

On (Saving) Grace

Blessed Augustine’s teaching on grace

One-sided doctrines of grace also include those in which grace is seen as a force external to man and eliminating his freedom. The main opponent and critic of Pelagius, Blessed Augustine (354-430), first revealed these tendencies.

As with Pelagius, the extremes of Blessed Augustine’s teaching were due to the peculiarity of his spiritual journey. Blessed Augustine had led a rather sinful life in his youth, and even after believing in Christ, for a long time he could not leave the path of sin. The conversion from sin to a life of righteousness occurred quite unexpectedly for Augustine himself, and was perceived by him as an act of divine grace, accomplished apart from his own will. From his subjective experience, Blessed Augustine concluded that free will plays no role at all in salvation, because after the fall of sin man has no free will in the strict sense. Salvation is accomplished solely by the almighty action of divine grace. In one of his letters Blessed Augustine wrote that through the weight of the first sin we lost our free will. After the Fall, sin became the dominant principle in man, the freedom to do good was completely lost, and in its place was the necessity of sin.

Grace, according to the teaching of St. Augustine, is a divine power external to man, which takes the place of human freedom and produces in the soul of the sinner the desire for good and salvation, saving faith and, in general, creating his salvation. St. Augustine was the first to express the idea of the irresistible action of divine grace, which subdues even the opposing will. More than a thousand years after Augustine, during the Reformation, Luther and then Calvin took Augustine’s teaching to its logical conclusion, creating the doctrine of the primordial universal predestination of men, some to eternal salvation, others to eternal destruction. Blessed Augustine wrote in one of his letters that even those who are saved are saved solely because God wants them to be saved. The idea of predestination is present here, but not yet clearly articulated.

  • The Concept of Grace According to the Holy Scripture
    • Pelagianism
    • Blessed Augustine’s teaching on grace
    • Orthodox teaching on the relation of grace to freedom
    • The Importance of Faith and Good Works in the Establishment of Salvation
    • Preceding and sanctifying grace
    • The Teaching of St. Gregory Palamas on Grace

Orthodox teaching on the relation of grace to freedom

In the West, St. John Cassian of Rome, who was well acquainted with the Eastern monastic tradition, devoted his writings to defending Church-wide tradition in the doctrine of grace. The decrees of the Council of Carthage are very balanced. The Council, while condemning Pelagianism, did not endorse the extreme teachings of Blessed Augustine. In the West, both before and after the time following the Great Schism of 1054, the Catholic Church did not accept Augustine’s view of the relationship between grace and freedom.

According to the Eastern tradition of the Holy Fathers, the image of God in man after the Fall is damaged but not destroyed; it requires purification. St. Macarius of Egypt says that the view that man is completely dead and cannot do anything good is wrong. The soul can resist sin, but it cannot completely defeat, eradicate evil without God.

The tradition of the Eastern Church has always affirmed the synergy (co- operation) of divine grace and human freedom. This doctrine is based on the words of the Apostle Paul: «we are labourers together with God» (1 Cor. 3:9) (συνεργοί - plural from συνεργός - collaborator, participant, helper, partner). St. Theophan the Recluse says that man completes the work of his salvation with the help of the grace of God.

The Eastern Fathers assert that man is free to direct his will in defiance of grace. This idea is confirmed in Scripture. For example, the Archdeacon Stephen accuses the Jews: « ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye». (Acts 7:51). The apostle Paul warns: «as the Holy Ghost saith, to day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts».(Hebrews 3:7-8), i.e. a person may, in response to God’s call to him, harden his heart. An example of the fact that grace does not eliminate human freedom is the preaching of Christ the Savior, which was not accepted by everyone. For example, the cities of Galilee, which, despite the Savior’s best efforts, did not repent.

Pelagianism

Pelagius (c. 360 - after 431), a British monk, according to other accounts a lay ascetic, arrived in Rome in the early fifth century. After the piety he had observed at home in what was then backwater Britain, he was struck by the decline in morals in the ancient capital of the Empire. The Christians, however, who indulged in all manner of depravity, usually justified their depravity by the weakness and frailty of human nature, its propensity for evil as a result of original sin.

From his personal experience, Pelagius concluded that the doctrine of original sin was morally corrupt because it actually justified man’s immorality and personal irresponsibility in spiritual life. At Rome Pelagius delivered his doctrine, the essence of which boils down to the following:

  1. Pelagius denied the reality of original sin and the corruption of human nature; he considered this doctrine morally harmful, because in his opinion it killed in people the desire to fight against sin.
  2. The foundation of the Christian’s moral energy, according to Pelagius, must be the doctrine of free will. Pelagius expounded this doctrine thus:
    • all men are born innocent, blameless, as were the progenitors before the fall into sin;
    • the will is a neutral ability, by nature it has no disposition either to good or to evil, at any moment it can easily turn to either side;
    • death is quite natural for man, all men die not because of original sin, but because of the law of nature.

A particular aspect of Pelagius’ teaching was his very one-sided doctrine of grace, the essence of which can be summarized in three theses. By grace Pelagius means:

  • the natural gifts given to man by God at creation, among which reason and free will stand out, can, if used properly, make it possible for man not to sin (liberum arbitrum). Pelagius called the totality of the gifts bestowed on man at creation natural grace (gratia naturalis) or the law of nature (lex naturae);
  • the law of the Old Testament, which teaches and induces man to do good by means of exhortations and promises of future rewards, the so-called grace of law (gratia legis);
  • the teachings of Jesus Christ and the example of His moral life, which externally affect man by enlightening his mind and will.

According to Pelagius, these three types of grace are sufficient for salvation.

Obviously, in Pelagius’ teaching, grace is mixed with the general and external gifts of God (according to St. Gregory Palamas, “created grace”) and the work of His Providence. In fact, what is denied here is the necessity of grace for salvation in the sense of the special power of God at work in man. Pelagius did not deny this power itself, its reality, but he did deny its necessity for salvation. According to his teaching, this grace only helps to do that which, with the proper effort, can be accomplished without it.

This doctrine was condemned in the fifth century at the Council of Carthage (Canon 127): “It seemed good that whosoever should say that the grace of justification was given to us only that we might be able more readily by grace to perform what we were ordered to do through our free will; as if though grace was not given, although not easily, yet nevertheless we could even without grace fulfil the divine commandments, let him be anathema. For the Lord spake concerning the fruits of the commandments, when he said: “ Without me ye can do nothing ,” (John 15:5) and not “Without me ye could do it but with difficulty.”

Pelagius had followers who sought to soften his position; they are called semi-Pelagians. Unlike Pelagius, the Semi-Pelagians believed that the grace of the Holy Spirit, as a special power, was necessary, but necessary only to establish the convert to Christ in faith and virtue, but, in their view, not necessary for remaining in faith until the end of life, for maintaining and recovering the spiritual life received in Baptism. Some of the semi-Pelagians believed that this grace was also unnecessary for conversion to Christ. Semi- Pelagianism was condemned by the 125th and 126th rules of the Council of Carthage.

Canon 125: «Whoever should say that the grace of God … avails only for the remission of past sins, and not for assistance against committing sins in the future, let him be anathema».

Canon 126: «Whoever shall say that the same grace of God helps us only in not sinning by revealing to us and opening to our understanding the commandments, so that we may know what to seek, what we ought to avoid, and also that we should love to do so, but that through it we are not helped so that we are able to do what we know we should do, let him be anathema».

Preceding and sanctifying grace

In defining grace, we assumed that its full operation, which leads a person to salvation, is possible only in the Church. But God, who desires salvation for all, works through His Providence to bring man to repentance, to come into the Church. This action of God in theology is called universal, prevenient (preceding), enlightening grace.

In the Epistle of the Eastern Patriarchs on the Orthodox Faith (3 Ch.) it is said of this grace that it is like a light which enlightens those who walk in darkness; it guides, assists those who seek it and do not resist it, gives them knowledge of divine truth, and teaches them to do good works pleasing to God. Prevenient or universal grace works through the common Providence of God, so it is sometimes also called foreseeing grace.

When speaking of the grace of the church proper, various words are used to describe its effects. For example, 1 Cor. 6:11 says that those who have believed in Christ and been baptized have been sanctified and justified. These words “ye are sanctified” and “ye are justified” are also repeated in the ordinance of the sacrament of anointing.

Justification is often understood in a Latin or Protestant, i.e., juridical spirit, which does not correspond to its meaning in the Holy Fathers’ Tradition. Eastern theology understands justification as the communication to man of the righteousness of Christ. It is not an amnesty, a declaration of the sinner as righteous, but the actual deliverance of man from sin. By this action the grace of God removes the condemnation of sins, original and arbitrary. Man is cleansed from his sins, and his nature is restored to its wholeness. In other words, justification is the destruction of all evil in man.

Another word that describes the change in man associated with his reception of the fruits of Christ’s redemptive work is the word «deification» (θέωσις). Salvation is connected with the deification of man. St. Irenaeus of Lugdunum spoke of this: “God became man in order that man might become God. For St. Athanasius the Great, deification was an important factor in the dispute with Arians: “Man would not have been deified if the Word who became flesh had not been, by nature from the Father, His true and proper ” (Three Homilies against the Arians), “If the Son was a creature, then man remained no less subject to corruption, not being united with God” (Three Homilies against the Arians).

The deification of man, that is, the impartation of his non-material Divine energy, grace, must be distinguished from the deification of the human nature of Christ, which occurs by virtue of its union with the Divine nature in the one Hypostasis of God the Word.

The Concept of Grace According to the Holy Scripture

The word “grace” (χάρις) is most often used in the New Testament to express God’s relationship to man, and it can have two meanings.

First, the word may be used in the sense of a divine attribute. In this case, grace is difficult to distinguish from such properties of God as goodness and love. Grace is most closely related to the concept of compassion (Greek ἔλεος), i.e. it expresses God’s love for fallen humanity, which does not deserve God’s favor.

Secondly, the word “grace” can mean the fullness of God’s love and mercy as revealed in the Atonement and poured out on people in the form of a living and active power that gives the fruits of the Atonement to the people, regenerates them, and helps them to work out their salvation. This is the basic, theological meaning of the word “grace.”

The doctrine of the revelation of Divine grace in the narrow, theological sense, that is, as a power that sanctifies and saves man, boils down to the following main points:

  • Grace is the work of the non-corporeal Divine power for the sanctification and salvation of man;
  • This power reaches us in the Hypostasis of the Holy Spirit, which is why in Tradition it is often called the power of the Holy Spirit, although it belongs equally to all the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity;
  • It is given to us as a result of the atoning deed of Jesus Christ;
  • Grace distributes the fruits of the atoning deed by an inner sacramental action on human nature;
  • Grace works in conjunction with the natural powers and abilities of man;
  • Grace is not a magical addition to human capacities and gifts, it does not change human nature itself in terms of its essence, but it transforms the way it exists.

The Importance of Faith and Good Works in the Establishment of Salvation

The question of the relationship between good works and faith in the dispensation of salvation is a particular aspect of the doctrine of the relationship between grace and freedom. This question was raised in the West at the beginning of the Reformation. The Protestants maintained that man is justified by faith alone, regardless of works. Catholics insisted on the necessity of good works. Both were legalists, so the Protestant argument seemed more logical - compared to the infinite price Christ paid to atone for our sins, the price of any good deed we do is infinitesimal.

In presenting their teachings, Protestants try to rely on the authority of the Apostle Paul. Let us note the quotations to which they usually refer: «That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation». (Rom. 10:9-10 ). For by grace are ye saved through faith (Eph. 2:8). “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). The words of the prophet Habakkuk: «the just shall live by his faith». (Hab 2:4), quoted twice by the Apostle Paul (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11).__

The apostle Paul, however, speaks as much about good works and their necessity for salvation as he does about justification by faith.

In Rom. 2:6-8 it says that the Lord will reward everyone according to his deeds: «To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth … indignation and wrath».

«For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad». (2 Cor. 5:10).

The apostle Paul says of the servants of Satan who take the form of ministers of righteousness, “whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Cor. 11:15). «whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord» (Eph. 6:8). «But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done» (Col. 3:25).

These two series of statements seem, at first glance, to be mutually exclusive: one speaks of the sufficiency of faith alone for salvation, while the other points to the necessity of good works for salvation as well. The reason is that Paul speaks of works in the specific sense in which good works were understood in Judaism in his day. The Jews were characterized by a mercenary attitude toward God. This attitude was based on the concepts of contract and merit, and the law itself was seen by the Jews as God’s greatest favor to God’s chosen people, because through the law the Jews were able to achieve merit before God through the fulfillment of the commandments. And through the acquisition of merit they felt entitled to a reward. In other words, righteousness in Judaism was understood as a balance between God- pleasing and sinful deeds. The one who had a positive balance was considered righteous before God.

Obviously, such attitudes leave no room for a personal relationship to God, and salvation is then thought of as something external to man. Living according to the law does not inwardly change man himself. Protestants also have a legalistic attitude to God. They regard good works as merits and deny them as necessary for salvation because, from the point of view of Protestants, if we recognize our good works as merits, then this diminishes the merits of Christ, which are quite sufficient for the salvation of all mankind. Good works, however, as such, are not denied by Protestants, but are seen only as an illustration and evidence of one’s possession of true faith.

How do the apostle Paul and the other apostles who left their books in the New Testament corpus think about the relationship between faith and good works? First of all, according to the apostle Paul, it is not faith per se or works per se that saves. It is God who accomplishes salvation by His grace. Here is how Apostle Paul thinks of the relationship between faith and grace: «we have access by faith into this grace» (Rom. 5:2), that is, faith is a condition for receiving grace.

In order to be understood by his contemporaries, the apostle Paul turns to Scripture, to the example of the forefather Abraham, who is regarded by the Jews as the father of all believers, as the greatest role model in religious life. The apostle quotes Gen. 15:6: «Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness». (Rom. 4:3). The Jews regarded faith as one of the good works, as one of the merits along with the other merits, and the apostle Paul shows that the opinion of the rabbis of his day does not agree with the Scriptures. Abraham became righteous after he believed in God, even before he did any works. And it was faith that was the basis of his righteous behavior.

How, then, should we understand the apostle’s words that « a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law». ( Rom. 3:28)?

There is no doubt that these words of the Apostle Paul refer to the sacrament of entrance into the Christian life, that is, Baptism. Indeed, in Baptism we are justified solely by our faith, regardless of what kind of life any of us had led before Baptism. Salvation in Christ does not depend on the works of the law, for one turns to Christ and receives justification in Baptism regardless of the degree to which one kept the law before Baptism. It is not the keeping of the law that leads to Christ, but faith in Christ, which does not depend in any way on the works of the law. These words of the apostle may be understood more broadly. Works are not necessary as an appendage to faith that is outside the realm of faith, that is not inspired by faith, for a good work is not a merit that entitles a person to receive gifts of grace. In addition, according to the apostle’s teaching, faith is not a constant value. It is known that every organ without exercise inevitably atrophies, dies out. And faith is no exception. We know that it can increase (2 Thess. 1:3), it can wither and even completely disappear. In 1 Tim. 1:18 Paul speaks of people who are shipwrecked in their faith, i.e., who have lost faith completely. How is it possible to strengthen, exercise faith? Naturally, nothing less than works in conformity with faith.

A good deed, no matter by whom it is done, deserves our respect. The Apostle Paul says “in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him”. (Acts 10:34-35), and we can pray and hope that the good works done by non-Christians will not go to waste and will not be “forgotten” by God. But at the same time, deeds that are done apart from faith, apart from the awareness of the redemptive deed of Christ the Savior, do not communicate to man sanctifying grace, that is, do not bring him to God, do not unite with God by an inner bond and do not lead man on the path of holiness.

The Teaching of St. Gregory Palamas on Grace

The “preacher of grace” St. Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) constantly speaks of the new relationship between God and men established by the Incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. This new relationship consists mainly in the fact that man is given to live a common life with God, to be united with Him, to be deified.

Deification is not a static concept, an eternal ideal to which people at all times aspire without ever fully achieving it. Deification is an objective reality, made available in history thanks to the person of Jesus Christ; it was thus an undeserved and supernatural gift, linked to the salvation brought by Christ. For St. Gregory the doctrine of Deification is a direct consequence of the historical work of Christ: outside of Him the divine life remains inaccessible to man.

Just as sin and death were transmitted, beginning with Adam, by natural birth, so the new life is given by the new birth, by baptism and the Eucharist, which unites us with Christ. Thus, the salvation brought by Christ concerns everyone. The rebirth of human nature, once and for all accomplished by Christ, is realized, therefore, for each of us in the sacraments. St. Gregory says that saving, sanctifying and deifying (i.e. ecclesial) grace is linked to baptism and the Eucharist and is objectively present in the Church in all its fullness. Christ became incarnate “in order to recreate us from us [ourselves] and to renew us by divine baptism” (Homily 3), “He blotted out the handwriting of sins on the cross (cf. Col. 2:14) and restored innocence to those who have been baptized into Him (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12)” (Homily 16). Baptism, freeing us from the original corruption, becomes “the resurrection of our soul” and makes it possible “that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21) (Homily 16).

There is nothing more alien to the thought of St. Gregory than associating deification with man’s own merit and understanding it as a “deed” whose just reward is grace. On the contrary, divine life becomes available to man as an undeserved gift common to all those who have been baptized. Therefore St. Gregory, commenting on the divisions in the Corinthian Church (1 Cor. 12), in which “those who had received more were exalted, and those who had obtained less were cowardly,” reminds us that apostle Paul ascribed to them the same equality as to all who were baptized. Paul ascribed equal dignity to them all, “showing that, they are the body of Christ, and members in particular (1 Cor. 12:27), because they received the same Spirit” (Against Acindinus).

The synergy of grace and human effort is for St. Gregory an obvious axiom. St. Gregory constantly stresses in his writings the necessity of “works.” However, the “fulfillment of commandments” is not so much a condition of grace as a necessary and free synergy of man and God’s redemptive action: once received, the grace of baptism must become a living reality, and only human good will is capable of making it so. In keeping with the sacred tradition, St. Gregory rejects the Messalian and Pelagian temptation to consider deification as attainable through human effort alone, in particular through prayerful technique, independently of “works.”

Graph View

Backlinks