Eastern Orthodox Christian. com

1) They believe Jesus is a Semi Saviour who only helps you to be saved.  They have 3 Saviours
i) Jesus
ii) Salvation by your own works.
iii) Salvation through the Sacraments (sacerdotalism) administered by priestcraft.
​by preaching their false gospel they make priests, bishops and themselves into "Co-Saviours" and reduce Jesus to a Semi Saviour.

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"We admit it"!

Do you really believe that I think that the Orthodox (or Roman Catholics for that matter) are ever going to openly admit, or say the words "We accept Jesus only as a Semi-Saviour, and promote ourselves and our priests to co-Saviours!" Well..... of course not. You are not likely to see them chanting that in those exact words in one of their liturgies, for instance. Yet that is precisely what their theology does teach, it is just that they refuse to openly acknowledge their sinful errors.

 

The heresy called "sacerdotalism".

Grace (thus salvation) imparted through the sacraments. 

The belief that God's saving grace is imparted through the sacraments is called priestcraft salvation, sacerdotalism, or the sacerdotalist heresy, All Eastern Orthodox sects believe in this. But one ironic proof stands out, and that is the old calendarist Eastern Orthodox sect called the Matthewites in an  attempt to usurp their supremacy and denounce other Orthodox sects say the new calendarist Eastern Orthodox have "graceless sacraments" and this negative statement by them shows the importance in Orthodoxy of salvation by "properly administered" communion, baptism etc. Its is a blasphemous Co-Saviour doctrine. 

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I hope soon to give a list of places where

(link)

the word priest is falsely inserted into the Orthodox new testament......

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Mary is your Saviour!

The Catholics and Eastern Orthodox both also believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, gives saving grace. (proof of this a complex issue dealt with later. in Orthodoxy sins of dead people can be forgiven via prayer). Interesting also are the terms Co-Redemptrix, and Mediatrix. 

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Resurrection & "Conquered Death":

In Protestantism and Evangelicalism generally Jesus conquered death by the fact that he was killed, but rose again. The Father, Spirit and yes Jesus himself rose Jesus from the dead - he partook in raising himself from the dead. Protestantism does not usually say he earned our resurrection by his own death and resurrection, rather he specifically "washed away our sins in his own blood" on the cross, and justified us in the resurrection., I am unsure of the percentage of this.

 

Division in Protestantism?

To me is incorrect to say that Jesus on Calvary and in his resurrection quote "earned the resurrection for billions of unsaved people to later burn in Hell"  Jesus died to SAVE not to resurrect. It is in the natural justice of God that all men might face the day of judgement anyway. For me it is in fact the opposite of what Jesus achieved, that is to put us into a present state of salvation (that is if you accept him then die that day you are saved). In the gospel of  1 Cor 15:1-4 and Luke 24:44-48

1) Jesus conquered death by raising himself from the dead.

2) Jesus Conquered eternal death for us by delivering us all from the second death, in other words earned a living resurrection for all men, and thus this is an anti Calvinistic, pro free will achievement of Christ, as one must accept not reject this free gift of God, or you will be damned.

However this is not the same as "earning the resurrection for all" of "conquering death by earning the resurrection for all" as that is a negative consequence to an entirely positive "good news" in that Jesus supposedly "achieves" on Calvary the burning alive forever of billions of souls.

No matter how convincing my explanation is here, I think there is probably a division over this in Protestant and Evangelical churches, where some believe like the Mormons and the Orthodox that Jesus earned the resurrection for all, and yet other divisions over Calvinistic nuances about this.

I believe Jesus resurrects people as he is God, and will bring about justice in the world through that resurrection, Anyone who denies the resurrection is a Sadducee (one step more blind than even a Pharisee).

Jesus earned the new birth on Calvary for the whole of humanity to freely accept, the living resurrection potentially for all men, that we might live forever, conquering the second death, but if you don't accept this gift you will go into the Lake of fire,

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Protestantism and a "substitute sacrifice".

The Orthodox often lie and say things like "The Protestant gospel is a substitute sacrifice". The Protestant gospel is  1 Cor 15:1-4, as to whether his death was linked with the request by God to sacrifice Isaac and God's replacement sacrifice, and other interpretations, is a soteriological nuance, interpreted by Protestants in many different ways, and is not part of the core centre definition of the Protestant salvation gospel. But..... did Jesus save us from "the wrath of God"? The answer is yes, because the gospel is directly linked to the word "saved" in 1 Cor 15:1-4. "Saved" from what? The wrath of God. 

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Orthodoxy and the Resurrection:

The primary teaching of the Orthodox about his death and resurrection seems to be that he conquered death by earning people resurrection not salvation. You see them in long essays rambling on and on and on about Jesus conquering death on Calvary, but hardly ever see them use the phrase "he washed away our sins".

In Protestantism the forgiveness of the blood of Jesus is instantly accessed anywhere by repentance, but in Orthodoxy forgiveness seems only to be applied to a person through confessional and the mass, and they seldom say "Jesus washed away our sins on Calvary" as a "once for all" saving event. 

Some Orthodox may deny they believe Jesus earned a resurrection for all by "conquering death" as they phrase it, and say they mean he conquered the second death for believers. Again in Orthodoxy that does not fit, its incongruous with their theology, only in Evangelicalism could you say that as if Jesus "conquered the second death for believers" in the once for all events of Calvary and the empty tomb, why do you need now, works, baptism, chrismation, confessional and the eucharist in a quote "process of salvation" clearly Jesus did not conquer the second death for believers in their doctrines. The reality is they don't want to say "The cross washed away our sins and the resurrection justified us" because that leaves a believer in a state of salvation and disepowers their thoughts of sacerdotalist "powers". It also means they cannot force you into church so you can give them money.

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The terrible truth about what is missing in Orthodoxy.....

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Underneath the Orthodox criticism that Evangelicals often do not emphasise the resurrection, is the shocking truth that is THEM, the Orthodox, who are in fact guilty of that, but 10,000 times more so, because by believing in Jesus Christ crucified and resurrection WE ARE DECLARED JUST, we are JUSTIFIED in the sight of God, it is his resurrection that justifies us, and that Evangelicals and Protestants know that to the marrow of their bones, because it means by accepting Christ you move into a state of being SAVED. Sure you can fall away, but they miss the entire point of justification, you are declared just, we are declared righteous before God. 

And grace and forgiveness of sins was not achieved by Christ to be handed out by priests in bits and pieces, like salvation candy, by the mass and through the confessional, it is accessed instantly by those trusting in and relying upon Jesus, and him alone, for salvation.

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Prayer salvation:

Apparently the Orthodox believe prayer helps the dead have sins forgiven.  If so they do not apparently realise this adds to the "process of salvation" and is far more theologically and doctrinally significant than they realise.

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Toll Houses:

In Orthodoxy even after you die the struggle for salvation continues. They believe the departed soul on its way to heaven stops off at Toll Houses, kind of Inns where satan's demons will try to tempt you into unbelief. Massive numbers of the Orthodox insist this is part of the "holy traditions" of the church, and therefore part of their teachings.

This doctrine has at least one laughable anomaly - what makes the person "on his way to heaven" if he is not in a state of salvation? Do departed souls on their way to Hades stop off at Toll Houses to be tempted into a state of worse damnation?

Thus part of the Orthodox "Process of Salvation" involves resisting demonic attacks on their faith in celestial inns on their way to heaven.

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Penance salvation.

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Bishops save as well as priests "help save" you!

As Chrism is also blessed by "special bishops" so it can be used in a sacrament "making you part of the church". they partake in your salvation. and when you think about it the apothecary that puts together the magic potion too, that contains dozens of ingredients, and is also supposed to contain a vestige of the "original chrism" from when the elixir was first invented by their wizards to supposedly replace the laying on of hands for transmitting rebirth (an unbiblical - idea exaggerated from a few coincidental instances in scripture). Rebirth is a consequence of belief in Christ directly given by the Holy Ghost without any necessity for priestcraft rites and rituals.  

 

The root versus the fruit.

Works are the fruit of salvation, not the root of salvation. Jesus said "Every tree is known by his fruit" not "every tree is saved by his fruit." The Evangelical Christians and most Protestants believe you should do good works, as they are the fruit of salvation, but they do not save. The Roman Catholics and various Orthodox churches believe in works as a root of salvation, which is heresy.

To disguise this the Orthodox and Roman Catholics often make the false accusation that most Evangelicals and Protestants believe you can commit long term sin, never repent, die in a state of unrepentance, and "you are saved"  when clearly that contradicts the belief of good works as a fruit of salvation. Few believe such a heresy among evangelicals, whereas almost all Orthodox believers think priests and bishops are empowered to forgive divorce and remarriage for adultery or even incompatibility (while continuing in the second marriage), which is in itself Antinomianism. 

​They do not believe in Jesus!
Eastern Orthodox people do not "believe in" Jesus Christ. To believe in means in Greek "to trust in and rely upon" Jesus.  To add sacerdotalism and your own works means you do not trust in and rely upon Jesus for salvation, but other things too. To "believe in Jesus" does not mean to believe he exists, the demons believe that and tremble (James 2:19). It means your salvation is through Christ and him alone (John 3:16).
Orthodox and Roman Catholic style salvation is an insult to God, because they say finite human works can be involved in the infinite salvation of everlasting life in paradise with God himself. They often describe salvation as a "process of salvation" and a "synergy".

If the Orthodox Church preaches the Evangelical style "Jesus Saves" Gospel, when was the big doctrinal bust up in history between them and the Pope over it? And why was it not part of the Great Schism? Because such a division NEVER happened between Rome and Orthodoxy over this that is why, because they both preach a similar "plus works and plus priestcraft" false gospel. In the Reformation the great debate over "salvation by grace through Faith alone" would be an ancient familiar dispute, not some new earthshaking controversy. ​

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Many salvations:

Orthodoxy has fallen apart in recent years and by trying to make their "process of salvation" more Evangelical sounding they are in real terms offering many different explanations about salvation to unwary audiences to try to deceive people into becoming Orthodox.

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In many Orthodox explanations however the cross and resurrection sound more like him earning our resurrection, (not salvation) by "conquering death", If you say Jesus earned  everyone's resurrection (not salvation) when he died and rose again, it means he died to secure that billions will go to Hell for everlasting time, the precise opposite of the 1 Cor 15:1-4 gospel of SALVATION. So Jesus dies to resurrect billions only to be tortured, as well as others being eventually saved. 

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In the description of dealing with human sin, many Orthodox will tell you the Protestant gospel of "washing away sins by his blood on Calvary" is an incorrect idea, and that sin was dealt with by Jesus being incarnate with "ancestral sin" (not at all like sin nature - more a weakened will) and "healing" that nature by the hypostatic union. That is incorrect as Jesus was indeed incarnate like the unfallen Adam, or he was an inferior form of man to the first Adam (blasphemy). This will indeed be a subject of hot debate with Evangelicals.

 

Monophysite .
If a person believes Jesus was and is fully God, and fully man, yet without sin, and that he had two natures, divine and human, yet was and is one person, can he be a member of the Orthodox church if ..... he refuses to confess either that he is "monophysite" or "miaphysite" in doctrine and just wants to say "I don't know". 
This is just one of MANY nuances of doctrine that show the super massive difference between Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism on what being "born again" means. I say a person is born again between himself and God by simply Faith, he doesn't have to pass what amounts to a catechumen exam,  however if a so called Orthodox priest refuses the rites of triple baptism and chrismation to a person that refuses point blank to say he is Monophysite in doctrine, he withholds from him by so doing being part of the church by rebirth (at least that is their junk belief) as to them you are born again through rites performed by priestcraft..

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in Evangelicalism NOBODY can stop you being born again !!!!

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The Reformation - zero contribution.
The Greeks, Russians, and the Orthodox Faith in general, contributed precisely nothing to the Reformation. Why? Because the Roman Catholics and Orthodoxy believed the complete opposite to the core centre doctrine of the Reformation, bringing the truth back to the people that salvation is found in Christ alone, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified, and priestcraft saves no man, invented to make them into co-saviours of human souls.

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Write for us "The Gospel by which we are saved."

If you ask an Orthodox believer to do this, they cannot do it. We tell them plainly directly from the bible what the gospel is, it was first preached by Jesus in Luke 24:44-48, and repeated by Paul in 1 Cor 15:1-4, that does not include works or priestcraft. It is salvation by Grace through Faith. The Orthodox simply do not have a gospel. They are calling John 3:16 (maybe the most famous bible verse) a lie. First they argue for an hour James says we are also saved by works, then when we say "So Jesus is your Semi Saviour" they say "No, our Saviour". Their entire theology is oxymoronic and they live in denial of their own blasphemous belief that a pile of filthy rags can help save them, or the works of priests that are no more than pharisees performing hocus pocus man made rituals. 

 

Theosis:

It can actually be very strongly contended that the staggeringly vain doctrine of Theosis is a part of their "gospel by which we are saved", a defilement of the true gospel that reminds a real Christian of the first ever deception of the devil  "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:5.

Grace versus Works
One extra proof of Orthodoxy preaching salvation by your own works, and by their bogus sacraments, is that the belief has never appeared in the list of doctrines that has cause The Great Schism with "The Holy Mother Church" of the Whore of Rome. For instance 
The King James Bible says quote.
"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." Romans 11:6
This verse teaches us so clearly that grace (unmerited favour) and works are contrary, one to another, and polar opposites.  But in their Latin bible the Roman Catholics have removed part of the bible verse from their scriptures, and it reads instead:
"And if by grace, it is not now by works: otherwise grace is no more grace." Romans 11:6 (Douay Version)
totally removing the last part of the bible verse from the word of God, something the Greeks and Orthodox believers do not do. The footnote in the Douay Version then says:

[6] It is not now by works: If salvation were to come by works, done by nature, without faith and grace, salvation would not be a grace or favour, but a debt; but such dead works are indeed of no value in the sight of God towards salvation. It is not the same with regard to works done with, and by, God's grace; for to such works as these, he has promised eternal salvation. (Douay Bible Version footnote to Romans 11:6) This is yet another proof Catholics think they save their own souls like Orthodoxy does, and make priests into their co-saviours.

Anyone who has read the history of the Reformation knows full well it was fought partly indeed largely over the issue of salvation by the sacraments, and salvation by human works. Sophisms and oxymoronic ideas like "being saved by works by grace" are the stock and store of both the RC and Orthodox religions, and the issue of salvation being rendered no more a gift, has never been an issue of dispute between Rome and Orthodoxy. They both teach the same thing. 
The so called Christian Orthodox Religions, are masters of sophist and oxymoronic speech to cloak their deceptions, and I think also diversion will be a tactic they use. For instance, Rome and Orthodoxy do not teach the identical same thing on the subject of works of supererogation, that lead to indulgences. (see also "the treasury of saints"). Orthodoxy may use that as a diversion from their own works salvation and sacramental salvation (?). Works of supererogation is defined in the OED as 

supererogation |ˌsuːpərɛrəˈgeɪʃ(ə)nˌsjuː-|noun [ mass noun ]
the performance of more work than duty requires.
works of supererogation (in the Roman Catholic Church) actions believed to form a reserve fund of merit that can be drawn on by prayer in favour of sinners.

​By this the Popes claimed that by "The Power of the Keys of Saint Peter" they had the power to release works over and above that required for salvation, such as works performed by Mary the Mother of Jesus, which for the right price could be used to release people from Purgatory, defrauding millions of their gullible followers, and bringing about the phrase "The moment the coin falls into the coffer the soul leaps from Purgatory!" As Orthodoxy flatly deny that the Catholic idea of Purgatory exists, they may divert you from the central issue that both of them nevertheless believe in salvation via the sacraments and your works. If so, please do not be so unalert as to fall for such a ploy. If the Catholics and Orthodox disagreed on the subject of salvation via the Sacraments and works, it would have been the central issue of the Schism of 1054.

Synergy Salvation & the salvation "process"
The ROOT versus the FRUIT
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."  Ephesians 2:8-10

Bi-synergism and Tri-synergism
In my opinion the concept of synergism should be qualified by the prefixes bi and tri. Bi-Synergism should be those who believe their works help save their souls. Tri-Synergism should be Catholics and Orthodox who believe in Jesus only helping to save them, and their salvation is completed by their own works, and those of priestcraft by the administration of sacraments (or so called ones) through priests and bishops, also called sacerdotalism. The Calvinist use of the word to falsely imply accepting a free gift makes the Evangelical gospel no longer free, and is therefore synergism not mono-salvation (God alone), is a demonic distortion of the concept, and is a sophist use of the word.
Calvinists use dangerous sophisticated arguments to trick people into believing monergism is impossible unless it is imposed, and acceptance of Christ is therefore always synergism, but that leads to the illogical conclusion that God must therefore not be omnipotent, as if he cannot create a free gift of salvation that cannot be accepted without rendering it no longer free, then he is no longer omnipotent. On the contrary Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that salvation is a gift, and accepting such a gift does not render it no longer free and that is therefore mono-salvation. That man has free will to accept or reject the advances of God to convert the soul is one thing both Evangelical Christians, Roman Catholics and Orthodox believers all agree upon. Calvinists are always the fly in the ointment mixing up theological definitions and standing in the way of the salvation of people trapped in the false theology of Orthodoxy. 
 
The Orthodox church repeatedly says in its theology salvation is a "synergy". Saying "salvation is a process" deceives people into believing works are involved in salvation itself, a complete insult to God, as being with him forever in the Kingdom cannot be earned at all. If you worked for a hundred and fifty thousand million billion years, you could not earn two seconds in Paradise with God, or contribute to it. Frankly their theologists use these terms to divert their congregation, (that consists mainly of people indoctrinated from childhood), from the "root versus the fruit" central issue, of their clash with Evangelical, born again Christian, and Protestant theology. Something that mixes up the minds of ordinary Joe Orthodox believers when they finally find out about this issue however, is that a lot of the works of Orthodoxy are man made works, rendering them sin from the start. Triple (???) infant (???) baptism is a double sin, as both things are contrary to God's word, that is baptizing babies who don't yet believe and doing this 3 times, then adding  chrismation, another bogus practice. Or "doing a penance" given by a priest, the concept of which is in itself sinful, as is the whole idea of confessing your sins (instead of your faults) to a priest (instead of one another). Keep this in mind.

The "root versus the fruit" theology clash is that born again Christians say your good works are simply the fruit of salvation and true repentance, quote "every tree is known by his fruit" (Matthew 7) and not "every tree is saved by his fruit". Thus to a true evangelical Christian works will inevitably follow salvation in abundance, but they do not save, and in a similar way sanctification, or winning the battle with sin described in Romans 7 will follow. This so refutes the Roman Catholic and Orthodox theology that a way must be found by them to the muddy the waters to stop you converting to becoming a true believer by rejecting works and the sacraments as a root of salvation.

Their deception processes are mentioned by Jesus in the Parable of the Sower. One great deception of Orthodoxy is to take advantage of the fact that a totally false gospel is preached by certain heretical false Evangelicals and Protestants, called "Once Saved Always Saved" but with the addition of the concept of "no matter what you do". This vile false gospel is repudiated in Romans 3:8 and the Epistle of Jude. Orthodox preachers like to persuade their followers this is the basic Evangelical or Protestant gospel, and if it was I agree it would be simply anathema. Thus they persuade their churches, if works are not included in salvation, and the sacraments also, THAT is what it leads to, THE "certificate to sin" false gospel of the born again Christians, when in fact the Antinomianist style false gospel is as anathema to real born again Christians as it is to Orthodoxy.

The simple fact is Orthodoxy and the Catholics have made the cataclysmic doctrinal error of including works (their own and that of priests) into the ROOT of salvation, instead of it being the FRUIT of salvation, and thus they have a completely false gospel. Their error in this respect is so glaring and easy to prove, that more and more they are trying to adopt Evangelical and Protestant terminology to make it sound as if works and the sacraments have only ever been taught by them as a fruit not a root of salvation, as if the whole Reformation Era was one long never ending misunderstanding and they were in fact almost identical all along but never realised it, that is apart from the cannibal mass/eucharist issue and manner of baptism, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is their whole bogus false gospel is now simply beginning to be shaken apart in public for all to see, whereas Rome used to hide it all by forbidding to read the bible in your mother tongue, and performing the mass in Latin, as the terrible death of Joan Waste in Foxe's Book of Martyrs proves! (Lord let her bravery be forever remembered!) who was burnt alive by Bloody Mary for paying for the bible to be read to her in English (she was a blind girl who spent her pittance of pay to hear the word of God.)  

The Evangelical Straw Man Gospel
Face facts. Only complete renegades would preach a gospel that says you are saved in a moment in time and then add to this that the definition of that salvation is that you can commit long term serious sin, never repent, and do almost nothing for anyone anywhere, and you are "saved". That is not the true Evangelical gospel, it is a straw man to justify Orthodoxy adding works and the sacraments into salvation itself. The fact that such heretics exist among false brethren in the USA does not mean it is the gospel of Protestants or born again Christians, any more than the fact Rasputin preached the same kind of thing proves Russian Orthodox Christians believe it, or the fact that Joseph Stalin trained to be an Orthodox priest means they are responsible for his deeds. They also love to misrepresent the word "Protestant" constantly inferring it means "to protest" and their false logic is, as the Orthodox religion was there, before the "protests" began, it is a self defeating name. However the word Protestant means "for a testimony".

Proving it by their own bitter criticisms of the "Jesus Saves" Gospel.
A big proof Orthodoxy does not preach the same gospel as Evangelicals, is quite simply when they hear the Evangelical gospel of Luke 24:44-48, 1 Cor 15:1-4 and indeed John 3:16, they launch into a tirade of criticism of it, declaring "the process of salvation" over many years is not there. There is a big difference between helping to save your own soul with works, and salvation via sacraments, and throwing away salvation earned by Jesus in his death and resurrection. If it really is true that all believers will - by some happy event - manage to repent before they die of long term unrepentant sin, all well and good. Loss of salvation would become a moot point. However too many bible verses seem to warn us that imaginary happy state of affairs will not occur in real time, in everyday reality, and some will be damned. How can you be "in danger of Hell fire", for instance, if you cannot go there in the first place? A free will ability to fall away into sin and be damned does not turn salvation into a process. If Orthodoxy was preaching the same gospel as Evangelicals they would say when we preach it "That is our gospel by which we are saved too!" but of course they do not. Stop inferring you preach our gospel if everytime you hear it you lambast it. Evangelicals and Orthodoxy peach a distinctly different "gospel by which we are saved" two gospels, one of which must be ANATHEMA (Gal 1:6-9). You cannot have two gospels that saved, not even if an angel from heaven floats down to deliver the "alternative one".

Salvation in the old testament
Mankind has never been saved by works at any time in history, "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." but in the new and better covenant the outworking of Faith is not to obey the old draconian Law of Moses with all its enslaving, clockwork, ritualistic demands, and harsh punishments, "a yoke .......... which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear." Acts 15:10. In Christ we have more freedom to live our lives without carrying a religious boulder on our shoulders. You cannot mow the lawn or washes the dishes on Saturday or you will be stoned to death is not everyone's idea of a happy weekend. That does not mean we are now lawless, there is in the new testament, quote "the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2) a distinct new covenant law, though we are saved by grace, and if you choose to ignore his new law your house is built on sand. As previously explained, the Evangelical gospel of Christ crucified, buried and resurrected is not a licence to sin.
The true born again Christian gospel says, just as Orthodoxy and Catholics say, that long term, serious unrepentant sin will lead to damnation, but it does not  include obedience as a root of salvation, only a fruit of salvation. We are not on a ladder to heaven. There is, with the Evangelical good news, always hope for the Prodigal son. Paul says we are saved by the gospel "unless you have believed in vain" (1 Cor 15:1-4) and Jesus mentions repentance (Luke 24:44-48) step outside repentance into long term unrepentant sin and you will be damned, but that does not mean works save you, it means don't cast off your first Faith. Frankly, what kind of dreamer thinks he can live like a demon, die like a demon, and float to heaven like an angel? With no repentance! Preposterous! "By reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of." (2 Peter 2:2) In the new covenant of Jesus we have grace upon grace however and it is far better to live in the new covenant than in the old.  
This is mentioned as Orthodoxy seeks to set up a slavish calendar and plethora of man made traditional rituals in order to imitate the old covenant law, and self-style themselves after the Mosaic priesthood, replacing the sacrifices with "feeding Jesus to people" in order to fabricate a comparable priesthood in themselves. They dress up in ornate gold plated uniforms that mesmerise their indoctrinated victims with some false idea of power, but just look like religious clowns doing a performance to Evangelicals, swinging their bags of incense. To this fantastic formula they add real sacraments and warp them, add bogus sacraments, add an avalanche of traditions, rites and ceremonies, then make it all methodical with a claustrophobically complex calendar of human origin and a swamp of counterfeit liturgies. Then they add an idea found nowhere in the old testament, that salvation is not obtained by grace through Faith alone but by works also, and priestcraft via sacraments. It never was. Jesus said I AM THE WAY. The reality is that not even under Moses was anyone ever saved by works, The Orthodox religion goes totally outside of the bible by teaching that salvation (yes actual salvation) is a "process" and a "synergy" of works and Faith. It never has been and it never will be. They tried to reinvent the old covenant priesthood in a new covenant disguise and flunked it, but their added deadly weapon of indoctrination from babyhood has made a great "success" of their fictitious Faith.

LIVING IN DENIAL.
The Evangelical or Christian gospel of salvation through Christ alone, many in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox religion seek to deceive people on a short term basis (to keep their proselytes from becoming Evangelicals) that "we all preach the same gospel" and masquerade as those who believe "Jesus Saves" (when they don't). 

THE BIG U-TURN.
When confronted with the logical conclusion of Orthodox theology, that either the Evangelical "Jesus Saves!" gospel is right, or Orthodoxy's belief of triple salvation through "Jesus, the sacraments, and works" many Orthodox believers ​cut the Gordian Knot of the traditions they are enslaved by and simply become Christians by believing the good news. They get out of Orthodoxy. So the modern approach of many Orthodox teachers is to say they do not deny the salvation of Evangelicals, to try to appease the people who are thinking of leaving Orthodoxy. Evangelicals however are not making a contradictory U-turn. There is no salvation in the false "process of salvation" or "synergy of salvation" of Orthodoxy! Make your decision for salvation in Christ alone today!


Attribution to Luther.
Because Luther was heretical, and was not doctrinally complete in Christ, the Roman Catholics like to attribute the gospel of Evangelicals to him, as if before him the bible never contained the proof of "salvation by grace through Faith alone" or as if the early church did not believe it.. If Luther quotes Romans 11:6 or Ephesians 2:8-9 which came first? The scriptures or Luther. This is a favourite trick of both Catholicism and Orthodoxy. They are trying to pinpoint a moment in time only approximately 400 years ago that the Evangelical "good news" was preached. Many sadly fall for that Orthodox strawman, as it is written to warn us "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" Eph 4:14.

The truth is the Lollards and others were before Luther, the Reformation started well before Luther, yet other believers exercised their right to hide from persecution, such as under the Ichthus symbol. Jesus said believers should flee to the mountains when Jerusalem is attacked. not stay and die, Paul escaped in a basket over a high wall. Even Jesus himself walked through the midst of those trying to murder him before his time came to be the sacrifice for sins.

 

The Harrowing of Hell.

The Orthodox also add a superfluous detail to "the gospel that saves" by saying you must believe in their descent into Hades interpretation. 

Notes
​is as dumb as saying "Your mother giving birth to you was synergism" or "the Romans helped save our souls by crucifying Jesus" or "The Jews saved us by demanding the murder of Jesus" or "those who buried Jesus helped save our souls"

They were influenced by Gnosticism 

According to Jesus-is-Saviour.com:
Orthodoxy
The Greek Eastern Orthodox Religion is straight out of the pits of hell.  They teach that performing the seven sacraments are absolutely essential to go to heaven.  This is the same damnable heresy which Roman Catholicism teaches.
Use the Bible, along with tradition (7 ecumenical councils) as its two authorities.
Eastern Orthodox Churches believe the Bible teaches without error the Truth needed for Salvation, but must be interpreted within the Tradition of the Church and its 7 Ecumenical Councils from 325AD to 787AD.
Salvation is achieved by performing 7 Sacraments during one's lifetime. These are 'Channels' in which we receive God's Grace. 
To achieve salvation (justification), both faith and works are considered necessary.
"Thru Baptism and participation in the church, God's People receive the benefits of Christ's redeeming work as they persevere in Christ. God became a human so human beings might be deified"
Greek Orthodox believes baptism is a sacrament necessary to salvation, and usually occurs in infants. "Baptism initiates God's life in the one baptized.  Sprinkling is rejected, and 3-fold immersion is practiced
In the Eucharist, the bread and wine are 'changed into Jesus' body and blood' (mystery left unexplained)

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