Our theologians do not speak of this last condition, being content with faith and works. This is because they follow Protestants, who have neither the Church nor the Sacraments, and therefore there can be no obedience to all of these.

What means does God use to assimilate salvation to the human race? He uses visible and invisible means, permanent and temporary, natural and supernatural. The visible main means is the Church, a society of people chosen to serve salvation. She, having received everything from Jesus Christ Himself, constantly declares salvation in actions and teaching, and helps in prayers and Sacraments. The private means found in the Church and used by her are: 1) the Word of God, which is more extensive than the Sacraments and other private means, for in it there is both a detailed declaration of salvation and perfect help. 2) The sacraments, which, with the exception of Baptism and Communion, which also contain a declaration of salvation, are for the most part means of restoration. 3) Rites and everything ecclesiastical in general can also be included here. These are visible and permanent means! Invisible and temporal essence: the direct actions of grace on the soul, the actions not only of the Holy Spirit, but also of the Son of God and God the Father. The apostles often speak of these means in their Epistles.

$All of these remedies are supernatural. Thus, the Church is a supernatural means, for it was established by Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven; and of the word and the Sacraments it is not necessary to say that their origin is supernatural. Are there still no natural remedies? There are: 1) Mind and conscience. They tell a person that he is a sinner, convince him that he himself cannot get rid of sin, and as a result dispose him to the idea that God, the All-Good Being, will not leave him unhappy, but will give him a helping hand from above. This help is given in Christianity through Christ. This means that in this way the mind and conscience lead a person to Christianity, to Christ. Conscience, then, is the first and constant revelation for which all others exist, and reveals Christ to man in spirit, just as does the revelation of God; does not reveal only historically, that is, does not indicate the person and all the temporal and local circumstances. It points to Christ as justification, according to the Apostle, sanctification and deliverance, not only who He will be or is, where He appeared and when; That is, he indicates the spirit of Christianity, without comprehending only its history. What conscience does can be seen from many examples. Thus, Justin Martyr was brought to Christianity in this way – by his conscience and its restlessness – and here he found complete tranquility. It was the same with many others. 2) Events in nature and in the human world. The same must be said of them as is said of the mind and conscience. They also reveal the spirit of Christianity without its history.

Here is a general outline of the means on the part of God! They are: visible and permanent: the Church, the word of God, the Sacraments; invisible - illumination from the Holy Spirit; natural - mind and conscience, and events in nature and the world. Can internal means work without external ones? In other words: can pagans also receive illumination from the Holy Spirit, or do only Christians receive it? There is no doubt that Christians are illumined by the Holy Spirit; there are many indications of this in the Apostolic Epistles. But whether the Christians and the pagans are illumined in this way is not directly indicated in the Scriptures. It does not say that it should be, but it does not say that it should not be. So only Jesus Christ, the supreme Shepherd, knows this. Perhaps it exists, but the Scriptures have not revealed it, because there is no need: This is necessary only when considering the fate of other non-Christian peoples. Here a pious heart can regret the fate of these peoples; but in this case it is possible to rest on those general truths of the Holy Scriptures, that God has no respect of persons; that He will judge some according to the written law, and others according to the inner, unwritten law, that he who does righteousness in every language is pleasing to God, and so on. Based on these passages, a Christian cannot regret other peoples living outside the Church; and how these blessings will be delivered to them is known only to God, and our curiosity is out of place here.

What means should be used by man to assimilate salvation? They are already shown and noted in the following: "receive, live, and keep," that is, faith, works, and the use of the means that God uses in this case. But in relation to the supernatural action of God on the soul of man, it is still necessary to prepare oneself to accept this action, or to bring oneself into such a state that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit can have direct communication with the human heart. Some recognize this as necessary not for all, but only for the elect. But no, it is necessary for everyone. Without this, it is impossible to have either living faith, or diligent activity, or complete obedience. And what is the meaning of those expressions in which Jesus Christ is represented either as the Head of believers, or as the Bridegroom, and so on? These are not empty expressions, but naked metaphors. This means that there is a strong connection between them.

This is a general outline of the assimilation of salvation to the human race! From this it is evident that this assimilation on the part of God consists in declaring and helping; on the part of man - in the acceptance of conditions for fulfillment. The means on the part of God: the Church, the word of God, the Sacraments, the illumination of the Holy Spirit, conscience, the events of nature and the human world; on the human side: business, use of means and preparation.

Let's look at this in particular.

Is the assimilation of merit really necessary for the human race? It is necessary: this is evident from all the Epistles of the Apostles, in which salvation is first offered, and then it is suggested to use or apply this salvation to oneself. If it were not necessary, then everyone would be saved: God has no respect for persons. From what passages of Scripture can it be seen that God is the main agent in the assimilation of salvation? The Apostle says: "God is the last messenger, as men to death" (1 Corinthians 4:9). Hence also from the words of Jesus Christ: "Go and teach all things... (Matt. 28:19), and also from the words of the Apostle: "And to Him He gave to eat sheep, for the Apostles... (Ephesians 4:11), it is clear that God declares salvation to man. From the words: "For God is at work in you, and will and do" (Phil. 2:13); and also from the Epistle of the Apostle Peter: "For all His Divine powers, which are given to us unto life and godliness, are given by the mind of Him Who called... (2 Pet. 1:3) - it is clear that God is also omnipotent. Moreover, from Whom are all the means that serve to assimilate salvation, for example, the Church, the word, the Sacraments, illumination? Clearly, from God; therefore, God is the main agent.

Is it the biblical teaching that the Holy Spirit is a special agent? Biblical, for Who established the Church? The Holy Spirit, as it was revealed at His triumphal descent upon the Apostles at Pentecost; then, when summoning the apostles to preach, for example, Paul; He breathed the word to the apostles, He acts in the Sacraments, in the Church, and so on. Thus, there is no doubt that He is a special agent.

Is Jesus Christ an agent in this respect? There is: He Himself first announced salvation; Then He sent the Apostles to preach, or, what is the same thing, to proclaim salvation. Does He still act now? This is not directly evident from the Epistles of the Apostles; but in the Revelation of St. John the Theologian (Apocalypse) we clearly see: there is no important warfare without this pure and blameless Lamb. Thus, the agents of assimilation in the Divinity are represented by two Persons: the second and the third, and the special agent is the Holy Spirit.

Does the Holy Scripture say that God also uses natural means for this - the mind, conscience and events? It is not directly stated, but it does not follow from this that God did not use these means. Scripture is silent about them because it deals only with supernatural means. Meanwhile, history shows that these means were used by God. And the mind cannot but agree to this. For what are we given reason and conscience? To lead us to perfection, but perfection is in Christianity; Consequently, the means leading to perfection lead to Christianity.

Has God always used so many means and such as we have shown? In the first centuries or, better, in the first century of Christianity, there were other means, since at that time the first foundation of the Christian faith was laid, it was a difficult matter, and there were more means. Thus, at that time there were extraordinary messengers - the apostles, chosen by Jesus Christ Himself; thus, the Holy Spirit clearly inspired those whom He chose what they should do and where to go. This is evident from the passage in the Acts of the Holy Apostles, where the Holy Spirit commanded Paul and Barnabas to be separated for the work of service. These chosen ones were endowed by God with special gifts - the gift of miracles, tongues, and the like. But these special and original remedies did not last long; the end of the first century can be put to the end of all this; after this, although they were there, they were not in such power. With the beginning of the second century, the permanent remedies that we now use began and came into use. But, having extraordinary means, which we do not have, the Christians of the first century did not yet have, or did have, but not in such fullness, ordinary means. Thus, the Church was only an initial sprout for them, without further development; the written word, if it existed, then only in parts; The sacraments were also used only those to which the Scriptures directly and clearly point as having been established by Jesus Christ. All this: the Church, the word, the Sacraments, has been in full and constant use since the second century, when the miraculous gifts ceased.

The first and main means that God uses to assimilate salvation to the human race is the Church.

What is the essential responsibility of the Church? To preach, or to proclaim salvation to men, and to assist in the application of salvation. How should she do this? Here she has to pay attention to people. There is a significant proportion of people who already know Christ. In relation to them, the Church's activity should partly consist in preaching, or in declaring salvation, for they also do not fully know it; but mainly it should consist in helping them, or in indicating the way in which the means of salvation are used. This is how the Church should act with the faithful. But there are many who do not know Christ, salvation; By this the Church is obliged to preach, to proclaim salvation. This duty has been forgotten by it for many centuries and is now forgotten. The Church, as it were, cares only about her own salvation; this is sufficient for a private person, but for the governmental Church it is more necessary - it must take care to bring everyone to the knowledge of the Son of God. Our Russian Church is also guilty of this. It only partially fulfills this office, for the vast Siberia is all filled with idolaters, to whom all attention should have been paid long ago. The same is noticeable in other Churches. Some formed whole societies and converted many in Africa and the islands of Australia; however, the whole thing is not done as it should be; not in the way it was done in the first centuries of Christianity. Thus, one may ask: Do we believe in Christ? If we believe, we must preach Him to all nations. The Church must remember that what the Apostle Paul said about himself applies to her, that she has a duty to preach the gospel of Christ (Gal. 1:16).