FREEDOM IN CHRIST JESUS

Dear Brothers,
I'm Harry. I'm an Orthodox Christian and I have been reading more and more stories about men who feel meaningless and at their wits' end.
I'm here to say that, whilst NoFap is wonderful and essential for modern men, the only one who can free you from your sinful passions and from death is Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross and was Resurrected on the third day to save us from bondage to sin and death.
I myself am a sinner, and I struggle with my passions (sinful inclinations) like everybody else , but 'I know that my Redeemer liveth' and I trust that His strength is immensely greater than my aeskness. The Church Jesus Christ Our Lord established is the Orthodox Church. If you want to talk, message me below .
May God bless you, and know that our sufferings are not meaningless when they are born for the sake of Christ Jesus, Who calls us to take up our cross, daily, and follow Him.
Your loving brother.
H xxx

 

.. Because it teaches what Jesus teaches. I can assure you Orthodoxy is not paganism. Protestants deny basic Christian doctrines like the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (look up John 6 if you are in any doubt). I invite you to attend an Orthodox Divine Liturgy (in English) and you will see that 90 percent of the prayers come either directly from or are inspired by the Scriptures.
The Church is the community of believers united to Christ as His bride (see Revelation). According to protestantism there is no church. Check out the Church fathers (the earliest of whom were the disciples' disciples who learnt the faith from people who knew and were taught by Jesus in His earthly ministry) and you'll see that the way we do things is how it always was done.
I'm not saying this to 'win' the debate, but trust me, when you look past the superficial you'll see that Orthodoxy is Christianity in its purest form. Without the additions of Roman Catholicism or the subtractions of protestantism.
God bless you, brother. Any more questions, let me know.

 

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Yes we do keep all God's commandments and the whole of the Christian faith. That is not to say that we are all good at keeping them. We are sinners striving to unite ourselves to God.
Secondly, there was no division in Christianity for one thousand years because everyone, east and west alike, held the same faith. Many protestants, which I assume you are dear brother, do not realise that truths of the faith such as the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist have always been taught, or the threefold order of bishops, presbyters and deacons has always existed. If you read people like Ignatius of Antioch (who was the successor to the successor to Saint Peter, who was taught at Our Lord Jesus Christ's feet), you see that the Orthodox (i.e right believing) Church does it as it always was done.
I hope God leads you home, brother. I love my protestant and Roman Catholic brethren, but both these churches have erred from the original Church Jesus founded, the Holy Orthodox, Catholic (universal and not lacking anything... we don't have a pope), and Apostolic (i.e we come from the people Jesus Himself ordained) Church (ecclesia in Greek=community of Christians). Come back to where you belong, dear friend.
My email is [email protected] if you want to chat more.
God bless you, bro.

 

Dear Brother,
Thanks for your lovely message. I'm just sinner trying to love and serve God with all my 'heart, soul strength...' etc.
God bless you, dear one.
H x

 

Dear One,
I understand what you mean, and I think we are always in danger of becoming worldly.
I would remind you, however, that God gave us commandments as to how temples (and Churches,
for Christians) should look like (see Exodus and Leviticus etc), and money has never been thought of as ill spent
if it is spent on glorifying God. Saint John Chrysostom (who was Orthodox) used simple vestments and altarwear etc and gave the surplus money to the poor, but he still kept the faith.
Also, as for the Icons 'images of Christ' as you say, see Saint John of Damascus on the defence of the Holy Icons (LINKhttps://www.academia.edu/32206605/In_Defence_of_Icons_Saint_John_of_Damascus_and_Stefan_Javorskij). Because Christ Our God became flesh and fully human whilst remaining God, it is not sinful to depict him physically and this does not break the 2nd commandment.
You ought to be part of a community of Christians, bro. God loves us and expresses that love communally in His Church. Jesus never talked about being a CHristian on your own, but as part of a Church. If you don't receive the Eucharist you are not a Christian. I'm not being mean, but Jesus says this (John 6 for example).
I don't mean to sound nasty or uncharitable, brother. I would love your faith in Jesus -which is a wonderful thing- to find a proper home.
God bless you.
If you want to talk more, my email is [email protected].
Your sinful brother.
Hx

 

The Sabbath day, for Christians, has always been Sunday, the day on which Jesus rose from the dead. Christ comes to fulfil the order of creation and thus his Resurrection in the supreme Sabbath. It is not a doing away with the old law, but a perfection of it, which is the same reason Christians are no longer bound by dietary requirements like abstaining from shellfish.
Christians, including protestants like yourself, have always kept SUNDAY as the Sabbath because it is the Lord's day.

 

It's not a sin. The second commandment is an injunction against idolatry. Veneration of an Icon of Christ is veneration of the Image of the Incarnate God, so how can it be blasphemous?
Even in the Old Covenant, God allows graven images which, crucially, glorify Him. The earliest Icon was made by Luke the Evangelist, a disciple of Jesus.

 

I'm not debating you any more, gentlemen, as you have no desire to learn. I wish you all the best and pray God grant you every blessing, but no good comes from this tit for tat back and forth. I first posted on here to glorify God, and all you have done is criticise the Christian faith. God bless and keep you, brothers, and may He help you to endure to the end.
In Christ.
Harry.

 

I'm inclined to agree, Xander. These are, however,important doctrinal issues. Fir example, whether or not Holy Communion is the Body and Blood of God or a symbolic piece is of huge importance.
I'm not arguing with anyone anymore, as it gets one nowhere. I wish you all every blessing.
H