Are You Saved? An Orthodox Reflection

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[@kjpetrucci]

I am an Evangelical Protestant but I have seen that I have thought the same way about many of the Orthodox theological positions before I even started reading anything on Orthodoxy. I have found myself saying, “See, this is exactly what I have been thinking for so long about this!!!”

[@rhondalandry5215]

Same, and I am now in the process of converting to Orthodoxy.

[@NavelOrangeGazer]

Come home brother! ☦️

[@kjpetrucci]

@@NavelOrangeGazer I can’t, it’s impossible for me to grow a beard 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Much love brother!

[@wjckc79]

I am come from a similar place, here is a bit of my story. As a catechumen of six months, I am converting from Protestantism, specifically the Baptist (SBC) arena. I was an atheist before I became a Christian. A rather militant one. I'll skip the part of my conversion. When I made my way into Christianity I thought I had two choices: Protestantism or Catholicism. Catholicism is a no for reasons beyond this post. As I Protestant, I knew very well that I was walking into something very broken. I didn't know that there was anything else. EO is not exactly mainstream in the US. I disagreed with quite a lot out of the starting gate, but sola Scriptura is a democratized papacy so I could never actually be "wrong". I spent almost ten-years studying Reformed Theology and even taught Sunday school. It is a world of total, lawless, theological relativism. I would frequently share with my first pastor how much of Reformed Theology I thought was baloney and why - especially Calvinism. I the final Baptist church I attended, I began to look at the problem of people fleeing the church. Go watch any deconstruction testimony and you will find that people are largely walking away from positions held by Reformed Theology (like Calvinism), are upset because they sowed their seed and didn't get the millions $$$ they were assured of, or have a Western mindset that they cannot see past or escape and consequently are being destroyed by Sola Scruptura. At this point, I had already given up on Sola Fide as demonic doctrine of false assurance. How many times I have seen someone take the stage, make a verbal statement affirming their intellectual assent to a vague ideology about a Christ they do not know and BAMB! they've got their eternal security so they can go forth and sin boldly - just so long as they don't so much as lift a finger for the Glory of God because any such thing is a "work" 🤦🤦🤦‍♀ and will send you to hell. The SBC just denied the Nicene Creed because it states baptism is something to believe in - which they consider a work! WHAT? Faith is absolutely active! It is a verb! Belief and faith are not the same! Anyway, I decided to search for a solution in church history, maybe some "traditions of men" I have been warned about. I mean something has to give. Obviously I had studied church History before but this time I approached it differently. Instead of starting with now and working my way back, I started with the New Testament and slowly moved forward. I was absolutely scandalized by what I found. There was and always had been a church. It is Apostolic and held to Holy Tradition. One body of Christ, one church, one truth. Pretty much all theology had been worked out over a period of centuries, in total almost a millennia that I did not even no existed. How did I not know it existed? That's crazy! Sometime I will have to put together a list of everything I initially read that ushered me swiftly into the EO church. Western Christianity is built on a series of twisted innovations, and the tradition(s) of the Protestant Reformation and precisely the "traditions of men" that Protestants so fear! The Church is Holy Tradition, it includes the Bible, it is all one and the same! The very last time I attended a service at a Protestant church, they announced that they were hoping to baptize as many as 50 people that year. An increase over the last. My heart sank. That's not what it is about or how it works. I walked out for the final time. I could keep going, but I'll stop here before I write a book. I could go on and on. You get the idea. I have since realized how much atheists and Protestants have in common. They both lift scripture out of context, set it aside, point at it and say, "see! I got you now." Never mind the context of "call no many father" etc, etc, etc... Anyway, since you are an Evangelical considering Orthodoxy, I more that recommend the book "Thinking Orthodox: Understanding and Acquiring the Orthodox Christian Mind". Seriously, order it this very day. Find a parish and go talk to a priest. Attend a divine liturgy. I am partial to the Serbian church but that is just me. CHRIST IS RISEN!

[@DonRA33]

@@kjpetrucci you don’t need to have a beard to become orthodox, my brother😂☦️🙏🏽

[@πατριχορ]

My honest answer to this question: God knows.

[@lornadoone8887]

I love the way the late Rector of my former parish answered this question. He said he didn’t worry about whether he would be saved or not because it was Christ’s job to save him. His job was to be faithful to follow Christ to the best of his ability. I love the way that answer threw the seat of his trust squarely where it belonged-on Christ’s faithfulness, not his own.

[@cassidyanderson3722]

When Protestants ask, “are you saved?” they are almost always asking, “are you going to heaven when you die?” There seems to be little concern about the present. I literally never think about whether or not I’m going to heaven or hell. My focus is on becoming more Christ-like everyday and doing the will of my savior. Some Protestants seem to approach Christ as only a means of avoiding hell. I don’t understand that.

[@FrancisL2211]

Spot on!

[@annalynn9325]

Get out of jail free card

[@georgegibon4937]

True but The main points of the gospel is to; save humanity (from destruction) & to unite us with our Savior. The reason we have a savior is because we were dead. Christ redeemed us & all we want is to be in his presence. No one wants to stay dead (spiritually). God loves your works but it doesn’t really add much because you still do evil things. Jesus says, even bad people are good to their people. We only live very few years, many believers don’t even get the time to be Christ like. I encourage you to keep on striving, but remember the next minute you might be dead & many believers “will” die. God has given you time but other millions of people don’t. That’s why we focus on being with God.

[@EpistemicAnthony]

​@georgegibon4937 your theology is pre-occupied with the idea of a legally credited righteousness to escape a legal punishment. That is not the gospel. The gospel is that we must be justified and sanctified, becoming partakers of the divine nature, so that we are not consumed by the glory of God when we see him, which is hell. Works aid in this process and are extremely important. No one believes works merit or earn us entrance into this place called Heaven.

[@jacobdishman3451]

Thank you so much for this Fr. Paul!! This is wonderful, can't wait to show my family. I am a lifelong Protestant and am feeling the pull of Orthodoxy, it feels like just learning about the faith is like rediscovering my love for Christ, like a flower is blooming inside. No one in my family, including my fiance, agrees with Orthodox teaching; please pray for me on the road ahead.

[@MajorMustang1117]

It's really amazing how only a few years ago i thought if you were not sure about your salvation, that meant you didn't have faith. Holy Orthodoxy has been a non-stop waterfall of learning.

[@christinebullard2884]

I was born into the Orthodox faith. After a time my parents left each other and the church. I landed in an independent born again church. Long story short, even though I pray and study I long for more. I'm exploring where I came from hoping to find what's missing. I'll be 66 tomorrow. My time is running out. I have many questions so I will continue to pray and listen to what you have to say. May our Lord be with you.

[@OrthodoxLoner]

"For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me."

[@wv9459]

Thank you. Coming from a Baptist background, recently received into the Orthodox Church, this was always a question on my mind. But it really is asking the wrong question! Too much focus on escaping hell and getting to heaven rather than being healed from sin as the orthodox view it. The Protestants like to speak of a ‘relationship’ with God, but tend to have a very one sided relationship. I’m so grateful my eyes have been opened to the truth

[@LadderOfDescent]

God bless Fr Paul

[@allisona6482]

So happy that now you can say “As SAINT Cleopa of Sihastria…” ☺️ All glory be to b God for the canonization of these Saints from Romania.🙏🏻☦️

[@chasereed7141]

I needed this more than you can possibly know. Thank you Father Truebenbach!

[@SomePeopleCallMeWulfman]

After converting to orthodoxy the "am I saved" question lost much of it's relevance. while still a protestant i often felt that I needed to answer this question with the correct "buzz words" in order to prove that my salvation was real.

[@LadderOfDescent]

@@SomePeopleCallMeWulfman Yep exactly my experience. No matter what you SAY, someone always wants to qualify it in some way. EVERY sunday gathering is for the sole purpose of “let’s try another new angle of getting everyone here to see that they are NOT in fact “saved” or know God.” “Once one or two of the entire crowd is humble enough to believe they are the arbitrary elect, we send them out to do the same as us. They also go up to everyone they meet with the assumption that the person they meet can’t possibly know God, even if they say they do!” “You need to convince them they have been lying to themselves, because you know, faith alone!”

[@texan3579]

Father Paul. It is so nice to see your videos. I’m a Roman Catholic and When I lived in Salt Lake City, I attended several Divine Liturgy at your beautiful church. God bless you!

[@michaelalexander3001]

It changed the whole game for me when I heard that you don’t have to pretend progress isn’t happening

[@jacobshepard654]

this. it takes time. just like it took time for Christ to bend the heavens. how do you think the jews felt. God works on HIS time and does what He sees fit.

[@calebserafy7933]

Thanks Father. I was asked this by a protestant and was confused. I said I don’t know and that it’s absurd to presume to judge yourself in place of Christ. It was like we were speaking two different languages.

[@littlefishbigmountain]

Powerful and humbling ☦️ Thank you, father 🙏 I will think about this and incorporate it into my heart and life 🤍

[@dancorlateanu2214]

This question is way above our pay grade. Even the fact that we make such inquiries shows our shortcomings, particularly our audacity.

[@estevan0321]

I was hesitant to click this video because I don't agree with orthodoxy on everything but I love your response "Am I struggling to love Christ, even a little bit more than yesterday?" Amazing Video Father

[@josephgudge6685]

Amen! Yes! I 100% agree. Salvation is in the hands of the Lord. The world has been judged and this is the time to try to get all who would board the Ark of our Salvation, Jesus Christ-not worry about personal Salvation to the point of neglecting the love of God we share with our neighbors and one another. Our selfless love for others is in of itself a testimony to the truth that Jesus lives, and if for some reason we are found swimming in the fires of Hell trying to help others get back to the Ark, and we somehow find ourselves overwhelmed by the flames, the Lord has the power and authority to pull us from the flames. God will have mercy on whom He has mercy and compassion on whom He has compassion.

[@uncreatedlogos]

Weeping right now. "Send me to hell, all I want is to love Christ and the other"

[@hh8222]

Thank you, Father! As a recent convert, this is very helpful!

[@Ampwich]

I want the assurance though that - as long as I'm abiding in Christ (and there's a clear path to doing so that I can tangibly see and know I'm doing) that I'm going to heaven when I die. That's what is meant by "are you saved?"

[@Prometheus_Bound]

I'd love an answer to this as well.

[@sakamotosan1887]

Maybe you need to watch it again and listen more carefully this time.

[@zzzzppppooooo]

That's amazing...as i was contemplating about your words, that exact scripture came to mind God bless father ☦️

[@Whaat-in-the-world]

I love your insight and videos. Please keep them coming :)

[@Joseph-mh4sb]

You are very eloquent with your teachings and answers. God bless…

[@diebyclones]

Great video! I still worry though, I haven't been able to be baptized into the Orthodox Church or been able to partake in many Divine Liturgy's due to where I'm stationed in the Military. Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. Either way one day I will be apart of Christ true Church even if it takes me 3 more years.

[@InamSifatyi]

7:23 Honestly Father Paul, this is how I feel looking at you on a screen😅, Thank you for this edifying message.

[@steve9849]

amen focus on Christ!

[@sooperdt]

I'm on the thief on the cross program!

[@DanielFernandez-sn1wh]

I'm struggling with this question as a protestant and recently discovered orthodoxy. I lost my job and my girlfriend and I am struggling every day not to find meaning of 4 months of joblessness and no relief. I would love some guidance

[@lornadoone8887]

First-don’t give up! Second-find an Orthodox parish, or if that is not possible, get in touch with the Priest of an Orthodox church in your region. Most parishes have web sites these days with contact information. Prayers for you, brother. You are never alone. Begin to pray to Christ if you have not already been doing so. Use the Jesus Prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!” as a weapon against self-defeating thoughts. Replace those negative thoughts with the Name of Jesus and the truths of our faith from the Scriptures. I’ve found routinely praying the Psalms is a potent antidote to anxiety and depression. I have had loved ones responsible for supporting a family out of work for longer than you, yet God did provide in His time. I am confident you will get through this if you do not give up. May the Lord give you strength!

[@annalynn9325]

💔 Praying for you to find God’s purpose in your suffering

[@Shawn-r7k]

By the grace of God 🤞🙏☦️

[@MelloWhitaker]

Fr Paul how do you venerate all of those icons 🤣

[@holystrawberry]

wow super helpful video, God bless:)

[@JawasauceReviews]

Am I saved? I believe in the Savior and God only knows who will be saved.

[@Orthodoxy.Memorize.Scripture]

Protestant: “Are you saved?” Orthodox: “I’m less concerned with modern Protestant innovations and focused on loving Christ.” That will begin a conversation.

[@AJ0223]

Probably not a fruitful one but yeah

[@Orthodoxy.Memorize.Scripture]

@@AJ0223You might be surprised when it’s said in a friendly tone

[@raulwolthersryff]

I am struggling to love Christ

[@Jordan18561]

For all who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children. For you have not received a spirit of slavery that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with the Messiah-if, in fact, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:14-17

[@Mother-of-Church]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@faithfully333]

Father, can you please do a video on the Protestant doctrine of Faith alone?

[@yankaufmann9715]

Thank you for the video. It is interesting to think more about love God than to think about ourselves. However I disagree when you say that you want to be "nothing". Saint John Baptist said "He has to increase and me to diminish " however he stayed a person. We, as person, welcome the Holy Spirit. But we stay a person. To love means we are somebody. Not nobody. Thanks for the idea that you share from saint Porphirios. "If it is needed for the salvation of someone that I go to hell, I go to hell." Please pray for me

[@Vikkzy]

What about the verse 1 John 5:13 NIV “ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”?

[@benkai343434]

St. Paul states in his Epistles that man cannot be saved by faith alone, for even the devil believes that Christ exists. The most important commandments have always been and always will be 'thou shalt love the Lord the God with all the heart, all thy mind and all thy soul' and 'thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself'. If you do not follow or struggle to follow these two commandments to some degree, then it's a sign that a refocusing of attention is required.

[@Vikkzy]

@@benkai343434 Faith alone saves. Ephesians 2:5,8-9 and Romans. “Even the devils believe” thats James 2 and you wrongly interpreted that. James 2 is about proving your salvation to mankind, hence why it says “faith without works is dead”

[@OrthodoxLoner]

I strongly believe if you don't forgive your friend and have no love for others, you will not be saved no matter how much faith you have. "And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books."

[@EpistemicAnthony]

​@Vikkzy I don't believe you have interpreted either of those passages correctly. Who's interpretation do we go with? James says faith alone do not justify. You say it means one thing, but why should I believe you? You may think your beliefs are the obvious meaning, but I don't see them as obvious at all. Christ says that if we do not forgive others, we will not be forgiven. That is not faith alone.

[@Vikkzy]

@@OrthodoxLoner John 5:24 NIV “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”

[@Sammy-lv5gw]

Truebenbach, you need to qualify your stance on Disney, when in another cast you made a cheeky reference to "Disney animals". Disney lets nude homosexuals ride on bikes in front of children!

[@ChristianWario]

🤨

[@starshooter7128]

It's Father Truebenbach, firstly. And secondly the first and second parts of your comment have no correlation with each other.

[@Sammy-lv5gw]

@@starshooter7128 Firstly, his name is Truebenbach, and he makes himself a target on KZbin, by putting his name out there for anyone to cite! Secondly, Truebenbach (who is a man, as well as a priest) made a connection between Disney, and what they stand for, by associating his statement, "Disney animals", with that prurient brand (Disney) itself. A priest of the Orthodox Church should know better than to make comments associating a company that has sold out to a post-modern hellscape, where a male and female made in the image of God is openly mocked . . .

[@starshooter7128]

@@Sammy-lv5gw he said that the morning after the exorcism there was animals everywhere in the forest like a disney movie. He is simply referencing the variety of animals that were inhabiting the forest was an experience of profound variety, similar to in a disney movie when all the animals gather around the disney princess. His comment has no reflection or comment on the current state of disney, nor would he even advocate for supporting disney. He simply made a comment.

[@vsevolodtokarev]

Saved from what? From the slavery to sin and death. Have those Protestants who claim to be saved achieved impassivity, this rare and elevated spiritual state?

[@Geralt400]

The "are you saved" question is more often the most selfless question one can ask. The fact that the most evangelism and conversions are coming from Protestantism shows that the fruit of such a question ironically results in the concern of the salvation of others and the taking of the great commission.

[@henrybarrett1292]

Father, Bless!!! Did you mean this quote by Batiushka Seraphim: “Acquire the Spirit of Peace and a thousand souls around you will be saved.”

[@sakamotosan1887]

Does a conversion matter if it is a conversion to a distorted version of Christianity?

[@tiagomurillo]

John 10:27-28: "MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE, and I know them, and THEY FOLLOW ME. I give them eternal life, and THEY WILL NEVER PERISH, AND NO ONE WILL SNATCH THEM OUT OF MY HAND.". Romans 8:30: "And those whom he PREDESTINED he also CALLED, and those whom he called he also JUSTIFIED, and those whom he justified he also GLORIFIED.". Philippians 1:6: "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you WILL BRING IT TO COMPLETION at the day of Jesus Christ.". Considere to watch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnKtapaPl82arLM kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYiYlXquZ9Wlr5o kzbin.info/www/bejne/anzIlmWraNiFhLM

[@EpistemicAnthony]

What do you think these verses mean?

[@EpistemicAnthony]

@@tiagomurillo That's a fine interpretation you have, but I don't think that's clear from these verses at all. Should I take your word for it?

[@EpistemicAnthony]

@tiagomurillo "Clear and obvious" is subjective, friend. Different people are going to see a different "clear and obvious" meaning. This is a basic aspect of the interpretation of any text. It is clear and obvious to me, for example, that Paul thought he could fall away from God when he said "... lest I preach the gospel to you, and then myself become disqualified." I think what Christ is saying in these passages is that no one else can take salvation from you. You can still change your mind and leave Christ, however.

[@EpistemicAnthony]

@tiagomurillo You have offered a different interpretation of that verse, but I don't think you have the correct one. You say my interpretation "isn't correct," but what authority do you have to judge who is correct or incorrect? Am I supposed to just take your word for it? You said your interpretation is "clear and obvious" to "millions of people." What is that supposed to mean? Am I supposed to just agree with you because lots of other people do too? You know that there are millions of people who agree with ME that you CAN lose your salvation? Like it or not, your interpretation is no better than anyone elses, and anything you can say to defend yours, I can also say to defend mine.