Written by Greg Pantelidis BSc(Hons)
gregpantelidis@gmail.com
Be just in food, possessions (including knowledge), glory, and romance, and you will be peaceful, true, and happy.
A clear conscience makes us content, peaceful, and confident.
An unclear conscience makes us fearful, sorrowful, unhappy, and non-confident.
Lack of humility is the cause of all our problems. If we want to progress in virtue, wisdom, and spiritual gifts, we must seek humility of heart.
Humility is true spiritual progress. Humility allows grace to deify and save us.
We become good and wise by giving place to the Holy Spirit. We need humility, obedience, and faith, to receive the goodness and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
If you live an ethical life God will protect you from physical and psychological illness.
Live a life of gospel ethics.
God grants change to those willing to change. If you are not willing, God cannot change you.
(Saint Basil): “Humility is the imitation of Christ.”
(Saint Basil): “Advance in virtue, that you may become a companion of the angels.”
Can any evil occur to the ethical? Can the ethical fail in life? Can the life of the ethical be anything but blessedness?
Return to Lord Jesus and He will return to you. (See Mal. 3:7).
Carnal and psychical persons cannot inherit eternal life. (See 1 Cor. 15:50, 1 Cor. 2:14). Only spiritual persons can inherit eternal life. (See 1 Cor. 2:15).
Do your spiritual work. Do not be influenced by the idle. Be diligent in spiritual work.
The Lord wants us to work. When we offer work, He grants us His mercy and grace.
We must do good to all and love all. We must however not give power to those who will harm us. We must not give rights to those who are opposed to gospel law.
We must work to bear the fruit of virtue. Without work we cannot expect to bear fruit.
Observe how the world competes over food, possessions (including knowledge), glory, and romance. Observe how most disputes are over these four. Who can end this competition? Who can end these disputes?
In Holy Orthodox Christian Baptism we die to sin and are resurrected to a life of gospel law.
Reject all lawless thoughts. Reject all lawless feelings. Reject all lawless words. Reject all lawless sights. Reject all lawless hearings. Reject all lawless practices.
It is good to have knowledge, both secular and spiritual. It is good to have vast knowledge in these areas. What is also needed though is the keeping of precepts. Knowledge without the keeping of precepts is vain. (See Matt. 19:17).
The Orthodox Christian life is the life of continuous repentance and confession. It is the life of keeping gospel precepts. It is the life opposite to the life of transgression.
A true Orthodox Christian is he who has Orthodox faith and keeps gospel precepts. These two elements make one a true Orthodox Christian. Orthodox faith without gospel precepts or gospel precepts without Orthodox faith, are both the path of the false Orthodox Christian.
If you practice self-denial you become neutral to your soul and body and become devoted to Lord Jesus. You then see clearly that every gift of soul or body is not yours, but a gift of Lord Jesus. How blessed is self-denial!
Patience is the mother of all blessings. Patience teaches us to bear all things, hope all things, and to trust in the Lord.
Consider your own debt of transgressions. Repent, confess, and correct yourself. Do not judge the debt of transgressions of other persons. You will not need to give an account of it. You must give account for your own debt of transgressions.
Trust in the grace of God and guard your mind and heart. This is the teaching of all the ascetics.
Orthodox Christian Confessor Priests forgive sins and exorcize demons. These two gifts have been given to these holy fathers.
All spiritual teachers practice and teach spiritual precepts. To learn and practice these spiritual precepts is the work of a disciple. A true disciple both learns and practices precepts. A false disciple only learns but does not practice precepts.
An Orthodox Christian must keep the inner circumcision, the inner Sabbath, the inner paschal meal, and the inner festivals.
Practicing the precepts is difficult. Transgressing the precepts is easy. We must seek the help of the Lord to practice the precepts.
The world is not evil. Neither food, nor possessions (including knowledge), nor glory, nor romance is evil. What is evil is the transgressing of precepts: Unbelief, overeating, overpossessing, vanity, disobedience, and unchastity.
No person is by nature evil. A person becomes evil by choosing to transgress precepts. Even the fallen angels are not by nature evil. They have become evil by opposing good and by choosing to transgress precepts. Nature is not evil. What is evil is evil choice and the transgressing of precepts.
If you want to enter into life keep the precepts. (See Matt. 19:17).
Depend on Lord Jesus. Have all your hope in the power of Lord Jesus. Do not depend on your own power and wisdom.
We must hate lawlessness but not the lawless person. Hating a person is forbidden.
The dragon tempts us with a lawless thought, lawless idea, lawless feeling, lawless sight, or lawless hearing, to induce in us lawless words and lawless practices. We must reject everything lawless.
The Cross of Lord Jesus is the victory against false Gods, unbelief, pride, lawlessness, despair, death, and Hades.
Every idea is received in three ways. It is either accepted, rejected, or treated with neutrality. The Orthodox Christian Faith induces these three groups. What could be the distribution of the Orthodox Christian Faith in these three categories?
Fast according to the typikon of the Orthodox Christian Church. Give charity according to the typikon. Pray according to the typikon. Practice all precepts according to the typikon.
We must keep the precepts. We must repent of all our transgression of the precepts. We must return to the life of the precepts.
We must work. Grace comes to us when we work.
Observe your habitual wrong thoughts. Identify them, confess them, and correct them.
Cease wanting to control. Let go and be guided by the Lord. Allow the Lord to lead you from virtue to virtue, knowledge to knowledge, spiritual gift to spiritual gift.
The heart of an Orthodox Christian breaks to see suffering in men, women, children, animals, reptiles, or insects.
The Lord wills that all be saved. The Lord wills that all may enter His kingdom.
The sons and daughters of God are good and wise. The sons and daughters of the enemy are cunning and foolish.
Observe your mind addictions. Observe the wrong thoughts your mind is addicted to. Observe your heart addictions. Observe the wrong feelings your heart is addicted to. If you always think good thoughts you can with time eliminate your mind addictions. If you always accept good feelings you can with time eliminate your heart addictions.
Thank God both for happy events and for sad events. The providence of God has ordained both. (See 1 Thess. 5:18).
Be simple-minded. A simple mind becomes good, wise, logical, and blessed. A simple mind rejects every wrong thought.
Unbelievers do not fast, do not pray, do not read spiritual writings, are not humble, do not practice self-denial, do not love, do not practice chastity.
When an Orthodox Christian is baptized, they vow a life of chastity, charity, and obedience. When an Orthodox Christian monk or nun is tonsured, they vow a life of celibacy, non-possession, and obedience.
The world persecutes those who practice spiritual justice. Spiritual justice is to do good to friends, to enemies, and to neutrals. The world practices natural justice. It does good only to friends and not to enemies or neutrals.
The enemy uses people to obstruct our progress in virtue, wisdom, and spiritual gifts. Keep away from such people who obstruct your progress in virtue and wisdom.
The joy of a teacher is to see his disciples walking in physical and psychological health, spiritual and material wealth, and spiritual and secular wisdom.
The mercy of the Lord awaits our return. From the beginning to the end of our life, the Lord calls us to return to Him. After the end, comes judgment and retribution.
People who transgress the commandments are enemies of God and men. Law-breakers are rebels. If law-breakers do not repent, confess, and restitute, they will face the judgment and retribution of the Lord.
Every Orthodox Christian ethics teacher must emphasize the Ten Commandments and the Ten Precepts.
We must go to Lord Jesus in order to slay our passions. Lord Jesus has given the gift of binding and loosing passions to Orthodox Christian Bishops and Orthodox Christian Confessor Priests. We must go to them and confess, in order to slay our passions.
Technology has increased but has virtue increased? Is there more faith, fasting, charity, prayer, humility, obedience, truth-speaking, and chastity?
Idleness is the beginning of every vice.
Be guided by your mentor in God, that is, your spiritual father.
Do you radiate the perfume of virtue? Is your soul pure? Is your body pure? Are you walking the path of salvation?
There is the path of wealth, glory, and comforts, and there is the path of virtue, wisdom, and spiritual gifts. The path of salvation is to walk in virtue, wisdom, and spiritual gifts.
Wealth, glory, and comforts is the outer path. Virtue, wisdom, and spiritual gifts is the inner path. The outer path has value when it practices altruism. The inner path is the Royal Way, the way of salvation.
Meditate on the Law of Moses day and night. Meditate on the Law of Lord Jesus day and night.
Turn from self to God. Turn from self to loving God. Turn from self to loving neighbor.
Do not depend on self-guidance. Refer your matters to your mentor in God. Let your mentor in God test your ideas.
The achievements of the householder differ from the achievements of the renunciant. The householder achieves wealth, glory, and comforts. The renunciant achieves non-wealth, non-glory, and non-comforts.
Being idle is not going to rid us of psychological or physical problems. Work is what will help us overcome psychological and physical problems.
Are you an easy person or a difficult person? Easy persons are humble, meek, and obedient. Difficult persons are proud, wrathful, and disobedient.
Remember the four desires: food, possessions (including knowledge), glory, and romance. Do not overdesire these desires. Keep the law of continence.
Bear suffering with gratitude, for it is the discipline of the Lord. (See Heb. 12:6).
Beware of the temptations of unbelief and lethargy. These two temptations seek to shake our faith and hope in Lord Jesus. These two temptations seek to lead us to despair and suicide.
Break your addictions by turning to Lord Jesus.
The pious are good and wise. The impious are non-good and foolish.
Peace of mind and peace of heart are the greatest treasure.
All things in the world are unique. No two persons are identical. No two animals are identical. No two birds are identical. No two fish are identical. No two insects are identical. No two plants are identical. No two rocks are identical. We should thus have a reverence for all things.
Remember the three modes of life: the unnatural life, the natural life, and the supernatural life. The unnatural life is the life of sin. The natural life is the life of natural law. The supernatural life is the life of spiritual law.
Choose good. Reject evil. Repent and confess every evil. Seek to change in this life. In the other life there is no change, but only judgment and reward.
Study gospel precepts. Practice gospel precepts. Then you may teach gospel precepts.
Are you innocent of overeating, overpossessing, vanity, disobedience, lying, and unchastity? If you are, thank God and preserve your purity and innocence. If you are guilty, repent, confess, and correct yourself. Return to innocence by repentance and correction.
Lord Jesus was innocent of sin. He bore our sins on the Cross. What He wants of us is to repent, confess, and return to Him. He will then make us innocent and free of sin.
Our God is a good and just God, and He wants His sons and daughters to be good and just.
Family life and family psychology are very important. Family leaders must correct the faults of family members with goodness, justice, and love. Family leaders must rule with softness, logic, and love.
Meditate on gospel ethics day and night. Practice gospel ethics day and night.
Orthodox Christian culture is a culture which is out of the mainstream today. Orthodox Christian culture is the culture of goodness and wisdom and spiritual gifts. The leaders of Orthodox Christian culture are responsible for the practice of the culture of goodness, wisdom, and spiritual gifts.
The work of the mind is to meditate, pray, and watch.
Move forward and the Lord will help you.
Meditate on good. Reject every non-good thought.
Have a clean mind. Have a clean heart. Have a clean tongue. Have clean eyes. Have clean ears. Have clean hands. Have clean feet. Have a clean body. Have a clean manner. Have a clean life.
Cut your wills and rights. Devote your will to the Lord. By self-denial you will progress in virtue, wisdom, and spiritual gifts.
Many people care to eat and drink, buy and sell, receive praise, and practice romance. Few people care to fast, give charity, pray, be humble, and practice chastity.
Wrong thoughts are poison to the mind. Wrong feelings are poison to the heart. Wrong words are poison to the tongue. Wrong sights are poison to the eyes. Wrong hearings are poison to the ears. Wrong practices are poison to the body.
Do not be idle. Practice your rule with zeal.
Practice humility, meekness, and obedience always. You will then increase in virtue, wisdom, and spiritual gifts.
Eternal life is to enter the kingdom of Lord Jesus. Only those forgiven of original and personal sin can enter the kingdom of Lord Jesus.
Whoever rejects Lord Jesus cannot enter His kingdom.
Only the Orthodox Christian baptized and Orthodox Christian repented and confessed, can enter the kingdom of Lord Jesus.
