Holiness in the Bible and in Life
5th Sunday of Pentecost
Romans 10:1-10; Matthew 8:28-34; 9:1
The Orthodox Church greatly respects the Holy Scriptures - the Bible, because it is the Word of God expressed in writing by the prophets and apostles. We, the members of the Church, accept the Bible as a holy book and honour the book itself, keep it carefully and read it carefully.
We especially respect the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded by the four evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - The Gospel. We bind it in an expensive cover and place it on the holy altar, on the most holy item in the temple - on the holy Antimins.
Each copy of The Gospel is a holy book. It cannot be read casually or for amusement. The bound copy of the Gospel that is kept on the altar, and from which the Word of God is read for the entire Christian community at all Divine Services, is a special holiness of the Church. And this Gospel is always the centre of attention for the whole Church in the temple of God.
We read this book devoutly, and upon reading, prior to it being taken it away, the custom in many churches is to kiss The Gospel. We kiss the page after reading, because we accept what we read was knowledge or teaching from the mouth of Christ or the holy evangelist-apostle.
In the Church of Christ, a custom has long been established that parts of the Holy Scriptures - Acts, Epistles of the Holy Apostles, texts from the Old Testament - are read by lay members of the Church, and the most important part of the Bible for Christians - The Gospel is read by clergy.
Reading, listening to the Holy Scriptures, listening to sermons on evangelical topics and generally on topics from the Holy Scriptures is spiritual food for all the faithful. Without a doubt, the preparatory work of sermon writing may often be very challenging work for a priest or bishop. Yet, it is also spiritual nourishment for that same clergyman, because it, the work on the preparation of the sermon, prompts him to deepen his knowledge, to know the will of God.
Thus, in the church during the Divine Service, we partake not only of the Body and Blood of the Lord, but also first of all – of the Word of the Lord, transmitted to us through the Holy Scriptures and the sermon of the priest.
It is especially important for Christians not to forget that the Gospel of Christ and the explanation and interpretation of Christ's teaching by the apostles should be the basis and guide for their lives. It is good to read and understand the entire Bible, but we must be aware that "…Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes." /Romans 10.4/
Christians need to recognize and profess the teachings of Christ in their lives. Everything spoken by God through the prophets, before the coming of Jesus Christ, is an awareness, a preparation and education of the people. That is why the apostle Paul affirms, "For when you confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9).
To believe "in one’s heart" is to believe with all one’s spiritual being in Jesus Christ as Lord, in His resurrection, which is a necessary prerequisite for salvation. However, when a person believes so in himself, this is not yet sufficient for salvation - it is necessary to confess with one’s lips. It is necessary to pray with one’s lips. It is good to know why one should pray:
"...for with the heart we believe unto righteousness, and with the mouth we confess unto salvation." (Romans 10,10).
Jesus Christ taught that a person should also pray alone, "in secret" (Matthew 6,6), yet also taught that we should confess with our lips, "before people": "Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before people, I will also confess before My Heavenly Father." (Matthew 10:32).
That is, one must confess, profess Christ in the Church - only then can one be saved. This is again why the Apostle Paul affirms and summarizes from the Lord: "Therefore be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus for all generations" (Ephesians 3:21).
Sacraments are performed only in the Church, and the Sacraments (of which we have seven in the Church) sanctify, purify, unite us with each other and with God. And, a believer, who lives righteously or tries to live righteously, will inevitably feel the need for union with God, with people similar to oneself, in prayer, in the Church, in the Sacraments...
Amen.
Very Rev. Fr. Taras Slavchenko
Taras Slavchenko was born on March 8, 1918 in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine. After graduating from school and the Pedagogical College, he entered the language and literature faculty of the Scientific Pedagogical Institute. Having successfully completed it in 1938, he served as a teacher in a secondary school.