If Paul Wrote to the Christians Today

 

He didn’t avoid naming real divisions, and he didn’t soften hard truths. At the same time, he always wrote as a spiritual father, not a commentator. If St. Paul did send a letter to all Christians today it would possibly sound something like this:

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle by the will of God,

To all who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to God always for you, because the name of Christ is still proclaimed among you, and many have come to believe. Yet I cannot commend you in this: that you are divided, and your divisions have multiplied beyond measure.

For it has been reported to me that among you there are quarrels, and that each of you says, “I follow this teacher,” or “I follow that tradition,” or “I follow no one but the Scriptures as I interpret them.”

Is Christ divided? Was the Lord crucified for your private judgment?

Some among you have separated yourselves from the ancient communion handed down from the apostles, saying that each believer is sufficient as his own guide. But did you receive the faith from yourselves? Or was it delivered to you through those who were sent?

I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children: do not set yourselves up as judges over the faith once delivered, as though the body could be whole while each member claims authority over itself. For God is not a God of confusion but of order, and He has given gifts—apostles, shepherds, and teachers—for the building up of the body, until we attain unity in the faith.

Yet I also speak to those who remain in the ancient Churches: do not boast, as though you stand by your own strength. For I hear that even among you there are divisions—some clinging to the past without charity, others embracing the spirit of the age without discernment.

What then shall I say? Shall tradition without love save you? Or shall change without truth preserve you? By no means.

To those who glory in strict observance yet neglect mercy: you strain at gnats and swallow camels.

To those who loosen what was handed down: you risk building not upon the foundation of the apostles, but upon the shifting sands of men.

And to those who differ within the ancient communions, saying, “I am of this See,” or “I am of that Patriarch,” have you forgotten that you are one body? If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one is honored, all rejoice together. Why then do you wound one another?

Examine yourselves: do you love the truth, or only your own side? Do you seek Christ, or victory?

I marvel that you are so quickly turning from the fullness of the Gospel you received, to teachings that promise certainty without perseverance, and faith without obedience.

Some among you say, “Once we have believed, we cannot fall away.”

Have you not read that you must work out your salvation with fear and trembling? And again, that if you live according to the flesh you will die? Why then do you speak peace where there is no watchfulness?

I do not say this to burden you, but to awaken you: the race is not crowned at its beginning, but at its end. Therefore, run so as to win.

Others say, “The bread and the cup are only symbols.”

But what did you receive? And what was handed on to you? That the cup is a participation in the blood of Christ, and the bread a participation in His body. Why then do you reduce a mystery to a mere sign? Examine yourselves, therefore, lest you partake unworthily—not of a symbol, but of the body and blood of the Lord.

Others again say, “Let baptism be only for those who can confess with their own lips.”

Yet whole households were baptized, and the promise was given to you and to your children. Do you withhold what God has commanded to be given?

And some declare, “We are saved by faith alone,” as though faith were idle and without power.

But the faith that justifies is the faith that works through love. Shall the tree be called alive if it bears no fruit? You were not called to believe only, but to become a new creation.

Likewise, some among you say, “We follow the Scriptures alone,” while each interprets according to his own mind.

But did the word of God come from you? Or are you its judge? The same Spirit who inspired the Scriptures was given to the Church, that the truth might be preserved and proclaimed, not divided according to private understanding.

Why then have you made for yourselves many teachings, when you were given one faith? Why do you seek certainty in words, while neglecting the life to which you were called?

What you received at the beginning remains your measure: one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Hold fast to what was handed down, not as a dead letter, but as living truth. Walk in humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Do not be conformed to this age, nor divided by pride, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.

If anyone thinks he stands, let him take heed lest he fall. And if anyone is spiritual, let him restore others in a spirit of gentleness.

Finally, brothers and sisters, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.