Belief is not Enough

We all know that being a Christian isn’t easy. There are teachings to memorize and rules to follow. For Orthodox Christians there are Sacred Traditions to keep and spiritual disciplines to practice. Is all this necessary? Why can’t we ‘just believe’ in God?

Consider today’s lesson from Saint Paul. There were many who knew God, and believed He was God, but they did not honor Him ‘as’ God. That means their actions didn’t follow their words. It is easy to say we believe. It is another thing altogether to act like we believe.

Brethren, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.

Romans 1.18-27

Our Lord offered the same advice when He called all believers to a higher standard of living.

The Lord said to his disciples, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother without cause shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.”

Matthew 5.20-26

What does it mean for our righteousness to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees? The Pharisees ‘said’ they believed and followed God, but when He appeared in the presence, they rejected Him AND His commandments. Don’t we do the same?

How often do we get angry without cause, or for silly reasons? How often do we slander others? How often do we allow the venom of hatred boil in our hearts? We ‘say’ we believe, but our actions ‘say’ otherwise.

The life of the Church is designed not to be memorized and blindly kept. That was the mistake of the scribes and pharisees. Their mistake was they didn’t allow the rules and traditions to shape their actions toward others. They were blind to mercy and love.

The life of the Church is given to us by God, guided by the Holy Spirit, and kept by the Holy Traditions, to shape our hearts to live differently than our ancestors. We are called to have our righteousness EXCEED the Pharisees, not give ourselves myriad excuses.

As we enter this new season of the Church following the Feast of Pentecost, I invite you to rethink your actions as a reflection of your beliefs. Look yourself in the mirror and challenge yourself to a higher standard.

The Lord didn’t come to judge, so don’t panic when you realize you have fallen short of His expectations. He gave us the Church to help us, not judge us. We can only benefit from that help if we are willing to change.

It is ok, even good, to acknowledge we fall short of God’s desire for us. It is not ok, and most definitely not good, to continue to make excuses for our behavior when that behavior doesn’t show the same belief that our lips proclaim.

Your righteousness will exceed the scribes and pharisees only when you accept responsibility for the disconnect between faith and action. Only when you embrace repentance can you enter the kingdom of heaven.

It is true. Being a Christian isn’t easy. It isn’t difficult because of all the rules, teachings, traditions and disciplines. It is hard because we make it hard, because we don’t allow our belief to shape our actions. Now is the time for change, not later.

In celebration of the coming of Holy Spirit on Pentecost, commit to a change. Commit to repentance. Commit to a life of actions that match beliefs. Commit to God and His Church, not just in words and traditions, but in Living A New Life In Christ.