Living According to God’s Will

Principles for the Christian Journey

The task of man’s earthly life is preparing himself for eternal salvation and blessedness. To attain this, a man must live in a holy and pure manner – that is, according to God’s will.

In this short but incisive treatise the reader is guided on a spiritual journey that begins with the awakening of conscience and the realization of the presence of both sin and virtue in the world, culminating in a union with God: that is “a living, personal relationship with the one we love.” In following the path of this ascent the author delineates many of its markers and stresses that these have both personal and societal aspects.

This book is suitable for both private reading and group study. Questions for discussion or contemplation are interspersed throughout this edition. A short biography of the author is also included.

Contents
Foreword
1 Conscience and Moral Responsibility
2 The Nature of Sin
3 Virtue
4 God’s Law
5 Freedom of Will
6 The Christian “I”
7 Humility
8 Conversion of Sinners
9 Grace and Salvation
10 Learning and Religion
11 Emotional Development
12 Emotional Development in Children and on Christian Hope
13 The Education and Development of Man’s Will
14 Strengthening the Will with Work and Vows
15 The Struggle against Lust
16 Drunkenness, Greed, and Other Carnal Problems; Christian Death
17 Christian Justice
18 Falsehood: Christian Charity
19 Envy; Cursing and Anger
20 Insolvent Ethical Systems
21 Christian Love as the Basic Principle of Morality
22 The Orthodox Family
23 Family and Society; Patriotism
24 Christian Service; War
25 The Unity of Love for God and for Neighbor
26 The Christian Obligation to Know God
27 The Necessity of Prayer
28 The Model of Christian Prayer
29 Prayer; Feasts and Fasts
Appendix 1: A Short Biography of Metropolitan Philaret
Appendix 2: The Transfer of the Blessed Remains of Metropolitan Philaret
Appendix 3: Metropolitan Philaret on Christianity and Communism
Notes
Scripture Index