by Archbishop Averky (Taushev) –
Spiritual life is born in man through faith in God and in His Revelation. However, faith without works is dead (James 2:26) and we, as the Apostle Paul testifies, are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10).
It goes without saying that good works are essential for success in the spiritual life, for they demonstrate the presence of good will in us, without which there is no moving forward; in turn, good works themselves strengthen, develop, and deepen this good will.
Good will attracts God’s grace, without which full and decisive success in the spiritual life is unattainable, as a consequence of the profound brokenness inflicted on human nature by sin.
It follows that the striving to perform good works is a necessary undertaking for all who desire to live an authentic spiritual life. Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father in heaven (Matt 7:21)—to this the Lord Jesus Christ Himself testifies. In His farewell discourse with His disciples at the Mystical Supper, He decisively stated this condition: If you love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:15).
Therefore, the fulfillment of the evangelical commandments, or the performing of good works, is an essential foundation for the spiritual life. One who disregards the fulfillment of the commandments and does not perform good works is alien to true spiritual life.
However, the evil habits and sinful disposition of soul that live in us resist the fulfillment of the commandments and the performance of good works. Every time we would like to perform some good work, we must overcome and suppress in ourselves one evil habit or another that protests against the good work we would like to accomplish. In this manner, a battle emerges in the soul between good aspirations and evil habits.
Here is what has already long ago been ascertained by experience. The greater our good works, and the more often we perform them, the easier it becomes to overcome evil habits: they are weakened by the increased frequency of our good works and are less able to counteract our good will—which, to the contrary, is increasingly strengthened by good works.
An obvious conclusion can be drawn from this: he who desires success in the spiritual life must by all possible means force himself to perform good works as often and as varied as possible. He must constantly practice the performance of good works—that is, works of love for God and works of love for one’s neighbor, or such works as would demonstrate that we are indeed striving to love God and neighbor with true evangelical love.
This constant practice of performing good works bears the name of “asceticism,” and one who practices the performance of good works by forcing himself is called an “ascetic.” Inasmuch as asceticism is the foundation of the spiritual life and its primary instrument, the science of the spiritual life is itself normally called “askesis.”
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Excerpts from the book The Struggle for Virtue by Archbishop Averky (Taushev). (Minor organizational edits to optimize readability and emphasize key points made by Chris Banescu.)
