Our Salvation: From Creation to Communion
What is the inheritance we receive as God’s chosen creation?
It is our creation in God’s image and His likeness (Genesis 1:26-27).
Doctrines such as “total depravity” teach in multiple ways that human nature is thoroughly corrupt and sinful. Does the Orthodox Church agree?
No. Orthodox theology on the contrary teaches that all men and women are created in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). The image and likeness of God remains in us.
What did the prodigal son's father first do when he returned?
The father ran to his child in such a hurry that he “fell on his neck” and proceeded to kiss him even before the prodigal son uttered a single word of repentance!
Earth
Who asked their father for their inheritance?
The youngest asks the father to give him his inheritance, with which he then leaves and journeys to a distant country (St. Luke 15:11-13).
Sin is going away from the presence of God. Adam and Eve went away from God and sinned. The prodigal in this parable also did the same. Coming back to oneself is called what?
Repentance
Just like the father eagerly welcomed his lost son back home before he even confessed his mistakes, God is always ready to forgive us with love and compassion as soon as we choose to turn back to Him with a sincere heart. What is this called?
Pre-emptive Forgiveness
What is the middle name of your Sunday School Headmaster?
No idea.
The Prodigal Son, squanders his inheritance and chooses to travel to a “far country.” What does the far country represent?
The far country represents those who choose to live a life in exile from God (i.e. away from the Father’s House).
What happens in St. Luke 15:17 (Look up in Bible)
Our thoughts, words, and actions though may not reflect His Likeness. This is what we see in the prodigal son at this moment - his past deeds did not negate the fact that he was still the beloved son of his father, and he chooses (“came to himself”) to return to the path of holiness.
___________is not merely feeling remorse for our actions, but a full reorientation of ourselves towards Christ. We literally turn away from sin and turn towards Christ.
Repentance.
Remember:
Repentance is not a point of time or a single state of mind, it is a beginning and an ongoing journey with real steps taken towards Christ
Who said: “Almost any noble person can weep with those who weep but very few of us can rejoice with those who rejoice.”
St. John Chrysostom
An essential teaching of the Church - God has created us with _______. This grants us the ability to choose to love Him or not.
Free Will
Who teaches:
“God never draws anyone to Himself by force and violence. He wishes all to be saved, but forces no-one.”
St. John Chrysostom
When the prodigal stands before his father, he immediately confesses, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.” What sacrament of the church is this similar to?
The Sacrament of Confession
What does the older brother represent?
One interpretation is that the older brother represents the Pharisees, or the members of Israel (with the prodigal then being the Gentiles). While it can be looked at in that perspective, we can also understand the older brother is to represent those of us who are members of the Church too, who also fail to repent
from lack of empathy.
Without freedom, there can never be true _____.
Love
A relationship of love requires freedom to choose to love the other person.
How is the Orthodox understanding of free-will different to the teaching of predestination taught by some other Christian denominations?
Predestination states that God determines who will be saved and therefore people have no say in the matter. Free will under the Orthodox church states that we have the ability to choose to love Him or not.
The Greek word for repentance, _______, literally means a change (meta) of mind (nous).
metanoia
Christ says that there’s only one unforgivable sin - the blasphemy against the _______ (Cf. St. Matthew 12:31).
Holy Spirit.
This blasphemy is nothing other than our refusal to repent, or in other words, our refusal to accept His forgiveness and His mercy. The true failing of Judas was not the betrayal of Christ, but rather that he did not repent.