Repentance, conduct and deeds

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Repentance, conduct and deeds

Our brethren the Protestants hold that the Christian life is not a life of conduct and deeds but a life of Grace and faith. In Orthodoxy, faith and Grace are important but nevertheless our Church says with the Forerunner: “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matt.3: 8). Orthodoxy holds that conduct is an important matter necessary for salvation.

If our Protestant brethren persist on the importance of Blood for man's purification, we put before them the saying of the Apostle John regarding the relation between conduct and the

Blood of the Lord: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son Cleanses us from all sin” (1John.1: 7). Here, conduct is put as a condition. There is no cleansing by Blood without repentance; repentance is an essential condition..