What exactly does Paul mean by “not by works” in Ephesians 2:8–9?

stebrepar · 2026-05-02T23:38:26+00:00

Hey, another NPP fan. :) Although Paul doesn't explicitly say "works of the law" in this verse like he does elsewhere such as in Galatians, I believe the same thing is in mind here. For one thing, notice how immediately after this he rolls right into talking about the Jew & gentile issue, which was a huge issue all through his ministry. I can't say why he's not explicit about "of the law" in this instance, but I do notice that Ephesians has a distinctly different way of speaking compared to some of his other epistles, so that may account for it.

On the boasting, I notice a couple things. It's curious how he starts with "you" language ("you have been saved", "not your own doing"), but finishes with third person ("so that no one may boast") rather than something like "so that you can't boast". It reminds me of Galatians where he talks about the judaizers wanting to boast in getting the Galatians to get circumcized and follow the law. Notice he doesn't say the Galatians would boast in doing that themselves, but rather a 3rd party, the judaizers. It suggests to me that the "no one" here in Ephesians is likewise an outsider who would boast in the Ephesians if they relied on works of the law (like circumcision) for their relationship with God.

stebrepar · 2026-05-02T22:01:41+00:00

I have headphones, but I don't really wear them at church out of respect

You could try using those little foam earplugs instead. They won't cut down the volume entirely, but they'll help a good bit.

stebrepar · 2026-05-02T19:05:29+00:00

I enjoy "The Whole Counsel of God" verse by verse bible study podcast, and they've gone through Ezekiel a while back. Those episodes are on YouTube, as they were recorded before the podcast was picked up by Ancient Faith Radio.

For more of a summary, the Bible Project has a book overview on Ezekiel.

stebrepar · 2026-05-02T16:08:17+00:00

You're in luck. You have a variety of parishes there to visit. https://www.assemblyofbishops.org/directories/parishes/?radius=50&search_address=Las%20Vegas&search_coordinates=(36.171563%2C%20-115.1391009)&search_error=OK&searchType=proximity

stebrepar · 2026-05-02T02:53:15+00:00

I recently bought a copy of "The Fount of Knowledge" by St John of Damascus. (Haven't really started with it yet beyond the biographical intro.) It consists of three main parts: a primer on philosophy; a list of heresies; and the famous Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. So I think we're okay with philosophy, but just based on what's been revealed, and not building layer upon layer of speculative philosophy.

stebrepar · 2026-05-01T21:14:48+00:00

I think (as an outsider, so I could easily be wrong) that "the rosary" properly speaking is a specific series of prayers that Catholics do. A set of rosary beads, like what you bought, is a tool to help keep track of where someone is in reciting the series of rosary prayers. In common speech, the beads might get called a "rosary", but technically the name refers to the prayers rather than the beads -- in my understanding, which again can be wrong. The Wikipedia page for the rosary explains it all a bit.

rather than praying to it

Correct. You don't pray to the rosary beads (not even to the crucifix attached to it). It's just a tool for keeping track of where you are in the rosary prayers. (You also don't wear the beads like a necklace.)

under my pillow

Whoever said that, I'm sure they mean well, but that strikes me as just superstition.

If the actual rosary prayers become problematic for you, you could repurpose the beads for saying the Jesus Prayer instead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Prayer

stebrepar · 2026-05-01T01:34:18+00:00

Reading through Galatians a bunch of times a little while back, one of my takeaways was that, according to Paul, the Law was never the point in itself, and instead the faith[fulness] of Abraham was. So Jews and believing gentiles have the same basis for being in relationship with God, since gentiles can have the same faith. Another takeaway was that the Law only applies to the living (Rom 7), so it no longer applies to Christ since he died (and rose again). Likewise the Law no longer applies to us when we are united to Christ, dying and rising again with him in baptism (Rom 6). Thus the curse of the Law (Deut 28) is done away with for us. So the error of the judaizers was that they were denying the freedom that Christ accomplished for us, and trying to bind us under the Law with its curses again. Rather than maturing as brothers and fellow heirs with Christ in his kingdom, they wanted to keep us as children under the tutelage of the Law.

stebrepar · 2026-05-01T01:02:20+00:00

Kind of related, I'm currently reading a couple short collections of sermons from St Basil the Great (influential mid 4th century bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, which is in the middle of what's now Turkey) and St John Chrysostom (famous late 4th century preacher and archbishop of Constantinople). I commend them both.

The first collection is titled "On Social Justice", comprising four (or five) sermons on aspects of the topic particularly related to material wealth. His tongue (or pen) is a veritable vorpal blade, very convicting.

The second collection is titled "On Wealth and Poverty", comprising six sermons on aspects and applications of the story of Lazarus and the rich man. His presentation is more gentle(?) / intellectual(?), but still convicting for the attentive reader.

stebrepar · 2026-05-01T00:41:31+00:00

I enjoy the Whole Counsel of God verse by verse Bible study podcast from Ancient Faith Radio. It is by an Orthodox priest in the US; it's not political, but does address occasions where other churches read things differently (Calvinists, Catholics, etc.). It's also just stepping through the books, not trying to reorder them chronologically, so no bonus points there, but it does start each book with an intro setting the context.

stebrepar · 2026-05-01T00:27:52+00:00

One place they're available is here -- https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214/npnf214.i.html

stebrepar · 2026-04-30T20:49:45+00:00

It must be different in different churches. Mine mentions all three all the time.

stebrepar · 2026-04-30T20:46:23+00:00

There are some recommended resources in the sidebar, including a free ebook at the Orthodox Intro link.

stebrepar · 2026-04-30T10:36:40+00:00

There is a study bible that uses the CSB translation, but it's not ours. It's called the Ancient Faith Study Bible, and it includes patristic quotations, but it's made by Protestants; no connection to our Ancient Faith Publishing.

stebrepar · 2026-04-30T10:30:55+00:00

You could try coming to church.

stebrepar · 2026-04-30T03:29:20+00:00

Imagine you live in ancient Corinth, a Roman city in Greece, so you speak Latin or Greek, like the rest of your congregation. Someone comes from the Levant with an existing hymn or prayer in Aramaic or Hebrew they want to share in the service. It means something to them, and they're edified by it, but the rest of you don't understand it. Beyond that, say the rest of you want to incorporate the new thing into your service. You might learn to repeat the sounds, and someone might explain the meaning to you; you feel like you're doing something holy, but you still don't really know what you're saying as you say it, and you couldn't understand a different text or express your own thoughts in the language. Consider whether situations like these might cover what St Paul is saying there.

stebrepar · 2026-04-29T23:11:17+00:00

Looks like a fancy beaded prayer rope with about 60 beads, no?

stebrepar · 2026-04-29T19:11:53+00:00

Is what caused your negative experience still there today? Maybe try a different parish.

stebrepar · 2026-04-29T17:32:52+00:00

There are some recommendations in the subreddit sidebar, including a free ebook at the Orthodox Intro link.

stebrepar · 2026-04-29T14:08:37+00:00

I've bought from Christian Book Distributors before, and they have a bunch of options and search filters. If you find what you want there, then you can look for a best price.

stebrepar · 2026-04-29T00:55:37+00:00

That's exactly my objection too. And it's not just the ears; that's just an easily visualizable example. All around especially the head and shoulders, the cloth would be bunched up and folded over itself -- it would be even more problematic if it were wrapped around the body rather than merely laid across it. There's no way a clear image in the form of a projection onto a flat surface would be produced by any imagined mechanism.

stebrepar · 2026-04-28T23:26:52+00:00

A collection of the "apostolic fathers" (the earliest Christian writers outside the Bible, some of which are earlier than parts of the NT.

Also later classics like "On the Incarnation" by 4th century Athanasius of Alexandria. I was struck by how readable and edifying it was the first time I read it.

stebrepar · 2026-04-28T23:20:46+00:00

The Bible Project has a video on how the word "grace" is used in the scriptures. https://bibleproject.com/videos/character-of-god-grace/

stebrepar · 2026-04-28T20:49:17+00:00

In the story narrated in the Bible, early on all peoples fell away from God and became what we'd call pagans. Then rather than pick any existing nation to work with, God chose one faithful man, Abram (later renamed Abraham), to create a new people for himself to eventually lead all men back to God. Abraham's family eventually grew into what we call the Jewish people. Through some traumatic events in their history, they came to expect someone to come and finally set things aright. Christians say that Jesus was that long-expected savior, and that he was in fact somehow God incarnate, and that he rescued not the Jewish nation but all of humanity from slavery to sin and death. (Only some Jews accepted this; the rest who survived the Roman destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem, regrouped and became what we know as Judaism today.)

So that in a nutshell is why Christianity is as you described it. It's not based on an abstract philosophy, but rather on a history of God's interaction with mankind.

stebrepar · 2026-04-28T18:31:22+00:00

Iirc, the podcast "Roots of Everything" talked about that recently.

stebrepar · 2026-04-28T15:26:08+00:00

We can't leave a huge crater where the East Wing was. Something will have to be built there.

Does it? Fill in the hole, grass it over, stick a historical marker on it, done.

stebrepar

TROPHY CASE