Next, let us consider the salvific qualities of the fear of God. First of all, it is the strongest Christian weapon in the struggle against sin, it helps a person to avoid sinful deeds and actions: "it does not allow the mind to be scattered" (2:253), "it does not allow the tongue to speak much, but to be silent more, thinking that even an idle word should be given an answer on the day of judgment" (2:254); He does not allow "the eyes to see everything, the ears to hear everything, but always and from everything, and, in the likeness of a bird, teaches them to look around" (2:253). The fear of God restrains a person not only from open sins, but also from secret ones, for he who has it always sees God before him (2:254) and fears to anger Him, so as not to be deprived of His mercy (2:72).

The salvific effect of this virtue is not limited to restraining a person from sin. He is the most effective means of preserving Christian piety, helping man to avoid evil and teaching him a virtuous life (5:152). The soul, "surrounded and contained by the fear of God, is immovable to no evil" (4:343). This guardian of God does not allow vicious inclinations to develop in the soul of a Christian, stops the access of seductive impressions to his "temple of the heart" (2:254), preserves the purity of thoughts and feelings. A Christian, who has the fear of God in his soul, by the power of God turns away from all evil and directs his will to do good, and so man is perfected day by day, becoming better (5:152). The one who has this gift of God "prays and sighs unceasingly and earnestly, that God Himself may instruct him and preserve him from sins and all that leads to sin" (2:254).

In a sinner, the fear of God is capable of evoking a deep feeling of repentance (1:157). He cleanses the soul of a Christian "from the filth of sin and prepares a place for spiritual wisdom. As if the beginning of bodily health is when the body is cleansed of harmful juices: so the beginning of spiritual health is when the soul is freed by the fear of God from evil lusts and taxes, which, like harmful juices, lead it into weakness and impotence" (2:17).

The filial fear of God, perceived by the soul, expels from the heart of a Christian all fear of people. Such a person will not fawn before those in power, but will always be honest and just in his judgments. He who fears the Lord "not only fears no temporal misfortune or fear of man, but also death itself" (2:254). And this fearlessness is explained not by indifference or disdain for earthly life, but by faith that separation from the body leads to the blessedness of the soul with the Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven, by the firm faith that "in Christ all shall be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). A Christian who fears the Lord agrees that it is better "to suffer and die than to sin, and in the fear of God every misfortune and the very fear of death prevails" (2:254). St. Tikhon cites many examples from the Holy Scriptures that confirm his thought. Thus, "St. Joseph, the son of Jacob, deigns to sit in prison rather than to mingle and sin with the Egyptian woman", the three blessed youths were not afraid of the "kindled furnace", Susanna was not afraid of death "for the fear of God" and other examples (2:254-255).

All these feats of self-denial are accessible only to those who have attained complete fear of God and complete devotion to His holy will. The inner, spiritual life of such people is entirely concentrated in God. In Him are contained for them all the joys and consolations, the meaning and purpose of their existence. "Whoever fears God alone finds everything in God. To him God is honor, glory, riches, consolation and life, and all blessedness, although from men He is deprived of honor, glory, riches, consolation, and life" (5:330).

The Lord especially generously pours out His grace-filled gifts on those Christians who do all their deeds and undertakings with the fear of God. He affirms them in Christian virtues (5:330), enlightens the mind, and leads them to piety, righteousness, and holiness (2:18). The fear of God, established in the heart of a Christian, becomes the main driving force directing his entire life and activity towards the achievement of the only goal and meaning of earthly existence necessary for him – the acquisition of God's grace and unity with God (2:253-254).

And blessed is the man who has acquired the gift of the fear of God. But miserable and "poor is he who does not fear the Lord God" and neglects to gain the fear of the Lord (5:330). Shame and shame will be his lot in this life and in the next, because the absence of the fear of God has an unfavorable, destructive effect on the entire structure of spiritual life. In the words of St. Tikhon, a person who does not have the fear of God clings with all his soul to everything that seems good to him in this temporal life, to imaginary pleasures and joys, for "vanity and peace love occupy a place in his heart" (5:41). This sinful attachment of man to earthly goods and pleasures cannot be pleasing to God and not only will never attract His mercy, but, on the contrary, will attract the wrath and judgment of God. A person who is carried away only by earthly interests and deprived of Divine help exposes his soul to mortal danger. Without Divine grace and the gift of the fear of the Lord, he cannot even see and understand who he is and what the purpose of his life on earth is; He is spiritually unarmed and absolutely defenseless from sin, for "fearlessness opens the way to all evil and lawlessness" (2:257). In the words of St. Tikhon, "like a fierce horse, having no ruler, strives and runs wherever it wills, and eyes look: so a man, inclined by nature to all evil, when he loses the fear of God as a good ruler, rushes to all evil" (2:257). Then he adds iniquity to iniquity, falls from sin into sin, thinks evil, speaks evil, and "descends into the depths of evil as by steps, as by various iniquities" (2:257).

Woe to the man who neglects to preserve the gift of the fear of God and does not strengthen his spiritual strength with it. Such a person often has a discord not only in his spiritual life, but also in his physical life, and there is a discrepancy between the external expression of worship of God and the inner content of life. He becomes a liar who, in an attempt to deceive God, deceives himself. God turns away from this, for He hates "every way of unrighteousness" (Psalm 118:104). "False Christians," says St. Tikhon, "think they thank God when they go to church, sing and praise Him, but since they do not fear Him and do not love Him... then going to church, singing and praising them is nothing but hypocrisy, which God clearly sees in hearts and wombs, and thus does not accept their songs, praises and prayers, and turns away until they correct their hearts" (2:60). Christians who do not have or do not preserve the fear of God only outwardly worship God, "for the shame of men, and not from the fear of God" (1:72), because they are afraid of losing temporal well-being, they are afraid of temporal dishonor, and not of eternal punishment.

As the Zadonsk saint points out, in addition to the salvific fear of God, there are also other types of fear. One of them is the fear of the wicked and unrepentant sinners. Such fear "even the demons have, 'for they believe and tremble' (Jas. 2, 19)" (3:19). Another type of unsalvific fear – fear of animals, the forces of nature, people, and death – is caused in man by sin, which distances him from God. "We see that people there are afraid where there is no fear, but there they are not afraid where there is true fear. They are afraid of losing their honor, glory, and wealth, that everything must be left to everyone, but they are not afraid of iniquity and eternal destruction. This is the blindness of the human mind" (5:91). People are then afraid of losing their temporal well-being when they abandon the fear of God, the fear of eternal torment. "For the sake of temporal torment and death, a man forsakes all things, that he may be saved" (5:40).

Thus sin darkens the spiritual eyes of man. He allows Satan into a person's heart, and Satan plunders the person's spiritual home, so that he completely ceases to fear eternal torments, but is afraid of temporary ones in earthly life. "It is wondrous," says St. Tikhon, "that people of the flesh do not tremble, that the demon-spirits tremble!" (5:40). People who have forgotten about eternal death neglect the salvation of their souls. "People in this world try to come into being in honor, to find glory for themselves, to gather wealth, to please the flesh and lust, and they no longer think how to please God and be saved, but how to please people, and to be honored and praised by them: from this came ... carnal... life" (5:40).

Thus, the above thoughts of St. Tikhon make it possible to conclude that the fear of God is truly the beginning of spiritual wisdom (2:17), the source and foundation of man's salvation in God (5:330). The fear of God is man's guide to Christ and his educator in God. He who has the fear of God in himself and abides in it is conveniently saved from the intentions of the evil enemy, the devil, and worthily walks the field of spiritual achievement. Only in this case will the soul of a Christian be able to serve God with reverence (Heb. 12:28), to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit sanctifying it. It opens to man the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven, for "the fear of the Lord is the fountain of life" (Prov. 14:27).

5. Humility

The entire structure of the moral life of a Christian striving for salvation is determined by his God-pleasing activity, his good deeds. All virtues have an enduring value for man, for the significance of each of them extends into eternity. However, humility is of particular importance in the spiritual life of a person, which is usually called the foundation in the matter of salvation. In order to find peace of mind in God, the Savior of the world from the pages of the Gospel calls upon His followers to learn His humility and meekness (Matt. 11:29).

In accordance with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, St. Tikhon of Zadonsk also attaches great importance to the virtue of humility. He points out that this virtue has a Divine origin, for "it has its beginning not from anyone else, but from Christ, the King of heaven and earth" (2:264). The deepest humility of Christ the Savior is incomprehensible to the human mind (2:259). The Son of the Most High and the Lord of glory, possessing Divine majesty and omnipotence, was not ashamed to take on human nature, to live on a sinful earth, to serve people. During His earthly life, Christ the Savior showed many examples of the highest feat of humility. Thus, for example, the Creator of the entire visible and invisible world did not disdain to wash the feet of His disciples, to accept the most shameful and terrible death on the cross (1:44). "To this deepest and incomprehensible humility," writes St. Tikhon, "He was persuaded by nothing else than love for His Heavenly Father, Who was offended by human pride and disobedience, and pity for man, who for the sake of disobedience was rejected from the presence of God" (2:259). For man's pride and disobedience, the Son of God offered as a sacrifice to God the Father all perfect humility, meekness and obedience. The humility of Christ therefore has a direct connection with the work of redemption of all mankind. And only humility, expressed in the obedience of the God-Man to the will of the Heavenly Father, even to the most terrible and humiliating death on the cross, brought satisfaction to God's truth, reconciled mankind with God (2:259). Thus, the humility of Christ the Savior, which lies at the foundation of His redemptive feat, opened for people of all times and peoples the path to salvation, to eternal blissful life in the Kingdom of Heaven.