But why does the grace of God not immediately bring a person to such a state? Of course, grace by its omnipotent power can change, purify, and turn a person from sin to holiness in an instant, but this would be contrary to the Divine definition of human freedom. As a gift of God's love and mercy (2:75), it does not act on man in a coercive way and does not restrict his freedom; it only induces good deeds, but does not compel them. In the words of the Apostle, it "helps our spirit" (Romans 8:16), encourages, strengthens and "helps us in our weaknesses" (Romans 8:26). And he who does not respond to the call of grace and does not open his heart, "perishes of his own accord" (4:277), so that the salvation or death of a person's soul depends on how the Christian responds to the action of the Divine grace that calls him.

In order to confirm his reasoning, the Father of the Church compares the influence of Divine grace on man to the sun, which radiates the same warmth throughout the heavens, but some things are softened by contact with it, such as wax or oil, while others become even harder, such as clay, grass, etc. In the same way, people: "Others by grace... they soften and repent, others become hardened and perish" (4:11; cf. 2:46). Human freedom in the process of salvation cannot be passive. A person must respond to the calling action of Divine grace and independently desire the salvation of his soul. However, its external consent alone is not enough for grace to begin its purifying action in the human soul. On his part, many efforts, diligence, "consent and obedience to the grace at work are required. For God helps those who work, and not those who lie down. To those who ask it is given, to those who seek it finds, to those who interpret it is opened" (3:68). Thus, a Christian for his salvation must make personal efforts, in the words of the Zadonsk wonderworker, must have "human diligence" (3:182; cf. 2:386). But, as spiritual experience shows, a person is most often deaf to all the calls of Divine grace (4:308), and the reason for such deafness, according to the Holy Father, lies in negligence, spiritual inertia, and the sinful life of man. If a house catches fire, says the saint, then a person summons his neighbors and with great zeal strives to extinguish it; and the drowning in water, feeling his death, earnestly asks people to help him. But a careless person does not care about the destruction of his spiritual house, which is subject to sinful flames and is already burning down (1:116). Care for one's soul is the main condition for receiving help from above on the difficult, but necessary and only path to heaven, to the closest union with Christ (5:313). Of course, the concern to resurrect the immortal soul with the help of God's grace and one's own efforts, to sober it up from its sinful slumber (2:153), extends not for one or two years, but for the whole life. Like a man who travels to a particular city, he does not stand in one place, but is constantly moving and striving to reach it more quickly; so should one who marches to the heavenly Jerusalem (2:57; cf. 5:268). And this goal is achieved not only by verbal confession of God, but by the fulfillment of His holy commandments. Although a Christian does not renounce God in words, he can deny Him by his depraved life and even by not doing good deeds (3:270). The outward way of life does not make a Christian worthy of rewards. A living, active faith is required here. Only then will it bear good fruit (3:98). In order to "become different as he was before, not by nature, but by inner state," podvig is needed (5:326).

A follower of Christ, according to the Holy Father, cannot justify his negligence by unfavorable conditions of life. Salvation is possible in every place (4:355), and every believer in any circumstances must adjust his life to the requirements of the calling of a Christian. Temporal life is given to man in order that he may acquire eternal life (2:34; 5:313). A Christian must unite with Christ here on earth, so that his earthly life may become the beginning of heavenly life. A person who has not taken care to unite with Christ, after departing from this world, will no longer be able to do anything for this, but "will forever remain without God" (2:77). In order to prevent this from happening, according to the saint, the question of salvation should constantly be in the center of the Christian's attention. He must always and everywhere think about eternity. And then his thought, like a burning candle, will begin to show him what to distance himself from and what to strive for. And if a Christian leads his life in this way, then the Almighty will certainly help him with His grace (5:264). But when he changes his good intention, and chooses evil instead of good, and vice instead of virtue, he turns away from God (2:215). A soul devoted to its Savior will never depart from Him. The saint compares such a soul to a child in the arms of its mother. When one of the people tears him away from his mother and tries to carry him away, he clings tightly to her and weeps. It is the same with a Christian devoted to the will of God, "although the devil and the evil world try to tear him away from God by bringing troubles, sorrows and misfortunes, yet (he) holds fast to his God" (2:89). The closer a Christian comes to God, the more he feels in his heart the fragrance of Divine grace, which helps him in accomplishing his daily feats (3:148). At all levels of spiritual life, even the highest, constant zeal and zeal are required of the ascetic, kindling the gift of grace, for every good deed is crowned not at the beginning of the podvig, but at the end of it (3:175). By correcting his heart and directing his will to do God's commandments, the ascetic of Christ is able not only to avoid gross sins, but also to overcome evil thoughts, which are the beginning and root of external sinful inclinations (3:226).

But, waging a struggle against evil thoughts, he realizes that even they cannot be overcome by his own strength, so with firm faith he turns to God for help and, following the example of the Psalmist, sighs: "Build a pure heart in me, O God, and renew the spirit of righteousness in my womb" (Psalm 50:12) (2:123).

Of no small importance for attracting grace into the soul of a Christian is his self-knowledge, which is called by St. Tikhon the beginning of salvation (5:124). A Christian is not able to correct himself properly if he does not know the evil hidden in his heart, for just as an unidentified illness remains incurable and leads to death, so hidden evil, like a deadly poison, threatens eternal destruction (5:166). The best way to acquire grace is humility. The Lord sends His mercy to all who call upon His Holy Name, but most of all He pours out grace-filled gifts on the humble in heart. As "waters usually flow down from high mountains to low places," says the saint, "so is the grace of God from the Heavenly Father to the humble in heart" (4:194; cf. 2:262; 4:344).

An equally important condition for receiving the gift of Divine grace from the Lord is Christian patience, which a person acquires by exercising in God-pleasing deeds, podvigs, and struggling with temptations raised by the enemy of the human race, the devil (2:298).

Summing up what has been said, it must be emphasized that a truly Christian life is possible in the presence of an inseparable interaction of Divine grace and human efforts. Whatever aspect of Christian life St. Tikhon touches upon, he always teaches that on the path to salvation Divine grace is extremely necessary, but in order to receive it, a Christian must force himself to fulfill God's commandments and subdue his heart, even against his will. The merciful Lord, Who desires the salvation of all, knocks with His grace in the heart of every person, and it depends on the will of each person whether to respond to this call or to ignore it.

Chapter V

Man's Personal Participation in the Work of Salvation

1. Faith

The Christian faith is the conscious and free acceptance and assimilation by man of the Gospel teaching about God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, about the Divine love for fallen humanity, manifested in the redemptive feat of the incarnate Son of God. The source of saving faith is Divine grace, which draws human hearts to God. According to the Holy Scriptures, a person cannot come to the Heavenly Father by himself and believe in His Only-begotten Son. "No man can come to Me," says Christ to His disciples, "except the Father who sent Me draw him" (John 6:44).

According to Divine Revelation, St. Tikhon teaches that "faith... is a gift of the Holy Spirit" (3:11). The Lord gives people faith as a means of perceiving Divine truths that are incomprehensible to the human mind. In this regard, the Holy Father gives the following definition of faith: "Faith is that which we do not see or do not comprehend with our minds, but we believe to be so. Thus we do not see God (although we know Him from the creation of the world, but faith completes this knowledge, as imperfect, and so we know it more from faith than from reason), but we believe that there is God, there is one. We do not comprehend with our minds how God is one in nature, but is triune in Persons, but we believe, we are instructed by the word of God" (3:11).

Faith reveals to man the entire order of God's economy of our salvation, in which he clearly sees his place and purpose. The light of Christ's truth penetrates the depths of human self-consciousness, exposing the sinful wounds of man, showing the depth of his fall and the abnormality of his condition. That is why St. Tikhon calls faith "the eye of the soul," contemplating the true, joyless state of fallen man (5:57). However, the action of saving faith does not end there, nor can it end. Having exposed the sinfulness and self-deception of a person who has withdrawn from God, faith shows the way of salvation and reveals the author of deliverance from sin (1:196).

The faith of the Gospel is, first of all, faith in Christ as the Son of God: God the Father revealed Himself to the world through His Only-begotten Son, Who descended to earth for the salvation of all mankind. Therefore, no one can be saved and justified before God without the Advocate of our salvation – Christ. Only by living faith in Him can man fulfill his destiny. "For there is no other name under heaven, given among men, in whom it behooves us to be saved" (Acts 4:12). "No one can be delivered from the devil, from sin, from the lawful oath, and from hell without Christ, which is contained in this brief word of Christ: if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (3:13).