Monday, September 1, 2008

Judgment According to St. John of Damascus

St. John of Damascus says that when you come to judgment, God will weigh all your deeds in the balance. If your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, says St. John, you will pass.

(I know; so far, this sounds terrible. But wait; this is St. John of Damascus! He isn't going to be any proponent of earning salvation.)

If your good and bad deeds come out equal, St. John says, then, by God’s love, you will pass.

If your deeds are downright deficient, then, by God’ greater love, you will still pass.

If your deeds are grossly deficient, then, by God’s even greater love, you will still pass.

If there is nothing whatsoever good in you, no real love at all, then you are lost. If you are entirely self-centered, well, as C. S. Lewis would say, you can’t enter heaven still clutching anything of hell.

3 comments:

Tony said...

Where'd you get this? I'm a fan of Saint John Damascene's work, even have an icon of him up on my wall.

Christopher D. Hall said...

Brilliant! (I'm working backwards through your latest posts). Please post the source, if you have it handy, but do not feel in any hurry. Prayers continue for your reposed father.

Anastasia Theodoridis said...

I'm still trying to track down where we (Demetrios and I) found that... Will post the answer when I get it.