Dear Slavic Christian, you’re saved by grace alone

Dear Slavic Christian, 

Did you know that wearing skirts and kasinki won’t save you? 

Not using birth control won’t save you. 

Having many children won’t save you. 

Abusing your wife into submission won’t save you. 

Neglecting your family for ministry won’t save you.

Going to a Russian or Ukrainian-speaking church won’t save you. 

Speaking in tongues won’t save you. 

Being “good” in public and going on mission trips (while living a double life behind the scenes) won’t save you. 

Being a preacher won’t save you. 

Staying with a spouse who’s threatening your life won’t save you. 

Being silent about the sexual abuse you went through or are going through won’t save you. 

Giving money to church won’t save you. 

Not speaking up about what’s happening at home won’t save you. 

The ONLY truth that will save you is recognizing that you’re a sinner in need of a Savior and accepting His grace, through faith alone, to redeem you from your sins, period.

In my Slavic Christian community, the above is not taught from the pulpit and in homes compared to the lies. My community is stuck in the pit of achieving salvation through our works instead of recognizing that “it is finished” through His death on the cross. Anyone who preaches a different path to redemption is not led by God but by their fears, insecurities, and opinions. 

Too many Slavic Christians attend conservative churches and look holy on the outside but harbor bitterness, unforgiveness, jealousy, and pride within, which is not preached about. 

Too many men are watching porn and cheating on their wives while preaching “obedience and modesty” to women from the pulpit. 

Too many withhold emotions in church but aren’t afraid to unleash them on their children in anger or joyfully brag about their financial achievements. 

Too many fathers attend weekly prayer meetings but withhold affection from their wives and children at home. 

Too many women are having babies they resent because they fear going to hell if they use protection. 

Too many young people are using drugs, having uncommitted sex with people they find through apps, or becoming LGBT because they’re told they’re “too sinful” to be loved or forgiven by God.

These legalistic, condemning, and shame-filled messages are making people run from churches and Christ instead of leading them toward Him. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Jesus specialized in spending time with people that Slavic Christian pastors and fathers would have rejected: the tax collectors, prostitutes, the adulterous Samaritan woman, smelly fishermen, and even the demon-possessed man.

Dear one, as long as you believe the lies taught, you will never “be enough” to be saved.

You will constantly “do more” to feel worthy and accepted by Him but will always fall short because you’re listening to man’s rules for salvation instead of God’s.

If you are curious and want to know more about the freedom that’s available to you through faith alone, please contact me.