"And He knows that there are still people who can be converted to inherit His Kingdom. And a person is more important, you see, one saved person is more important than the crowds of the dead. He justifies their death. - That is, it will be so until the last righteous man? "Yes, it will be so until the last righteous man. Do you understand why? For example, there are graphomaniacs in literature too.

One talented writer justifies literature, you will agree. And in the same way, one righteous man justifies humanity. However, His long-suffering is limited by justice, when God sees that there is no longer any possibility and when a person does not improve, then the Lord punishes. That is why it is said: "In what I find, in that I will judge." At the moment of death, the fate of a person is decided, where he goes – to God or to the devil.

"Is it up to man to decide, or does God do His will?" "The will of God is sacred, and it manifests itself as Providence. We know that God is the Creator of the world, in what way? God governs the world in the following way: He constantly maintains its existence, so if God removed His hand, everything would disappear, instantaneously. He is the Being, He has essence in Himself. Actually, His name is the Eternal. And He gives substance to everything. He is Life, He is the breath of all. He holds all Being.

But He is also the master of history. Many people think that the world is ruled by the devil. But this is not true. God raises up rulers and overthrows rulers when He pleases and as He wants. — Why are there sinful rulers? — For two reasons: the first is that the people deserve it, as a scourge so that the people rise from the ground, at least some of them.

The second reason is so that people do not think that the Kingdom of God can be built on earth. If there are good rulers all the time, people will forget about Heaven. They will think that it is possible to make the Kingdom of God on earth. And God sends everything according to the measure of His justice, according to the merits of each person. Although God does how? Evil, which arises from the free will of evil beings, or rather, rational beings, He turns to good consequences, uses and turns it into good, but evil does not cease to be evil because of this, it is very important to remember this.

Many people say: well, this evil served the good, I will lie there so that a good thing happens! Have you noticed such cases? Do you think lying is justified in such cases? — No, lies are never justified. "For example, I will kill one, but the others will benefit. Is it possible, for example, to kill an innocent person for the good of the Motherland? — No, I don't. — Yes, you understand correctly, evil is evil forever.

This is very important, evil is a departure from the will of God, and God already turns the consequences of evil into good consequences. Evil is not justified by the fact that God overcomes it, this is very important. — Tell me, please, is monasticism a guarantee of the righteousness of the person who has accepted it? "The guarantee of righteousness is the good will of God. There are no other guarantees. "Are there any sinners among the monks?" — Of course, yes. It's just a certain service. "How so?"

"To whom more is given, more will be demanded. If a person has promised to serve God all his life (monasticism is the dedication of life to God), he is responsible for the broken promise. A person who has been brought up in the faith since childhood is more fully responsible for his sinful misdeeds than one who has just been baptized, but as he becomes churched, the responsibility increases.

And at the same time, God not only reduces evil, but also supports good. He supports and strengthens all good. Even imperfect good, even good that is not done in the world for His sake, God supports. We know, of course, that no good done without God is salvific. No matter how good a person is, he cannot be saved without God.

Why can't a person be saved without God by good works? — It's not very clear. "I'll try to explain it now. The fact is that salvation is union with God. You cannot unite with God without Him. Good works are a condition, but not a substitute for faith. Many people think that salvation is some kind of incomprehensible thing, which is usually not thought of, but it is good, and it must be earned with the help of good deeds.

So he counted out a certain number of good deeds and bought salvation for himself. Catholics have such a thing as scales. There are general and private scales. If you have done many good deeds, they outweigh your sins. It turns out that a good deed is equal to repentance. If you have done a lot of good deeds, they go to the common piggy bank and save another sinner. This is very convenient, of course, but somewhat contrary to the Word of God.

In fact, salvation is union with God. "What do you have to save yourself from?" — From death. From sin and its consequences. "To save yourself from death?" — Yes. "But you can't escape from death. — Maybe. "From spiritual death?" "And physically, too. — Is physical death overcome? — Of course. Through the resurrection. Death is overcome by the Resurrection of Christ, by His power.

And spiritual death is overcome by repentance, fasting and prayer. Good deeds lead a person to the fact that a person finds God. In the Holy Scriptures there is an episode about the centurion Cornelius, who was very fond of giving alms. And God sent an angel to him, who said: "... thy prayers and thy alms have come to remembrance before God.

Therefore send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is called Peter. He is staying with a certain Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea; he shall speak to thee the words whereby thou shalt be saved, and all thy house" (Acts 10:4-6). Good deeds in themselves do not save, but lead to salvation. These are good deeds that are done without God. And then, when a person has come to baptism, good deeds must be done with God, and they assimilate the salvation that has already been given.