“People are called by God not according to former conduct —good or bad—but by God's grace…everybody is equally a priest before God, everybody is equally called…‘And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear…, (1 Peter 1:17). Why should we pray in fear? Because the Father we serve will judge us according to each one's work. While being certain of God's mercy, we conduct ourselves with care.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Galatians 1:13-17, 1 Peter 1:17, D. Stuart Briscoe)
“It [Christianity] is reduced to psychology in that the concern is shifted to God’s “attitude” towards us. The psychologized atonement concerns itself with God’s wrath. It is reduced to morality in that our behavior is no more than our private efforts to conform to an external set of rules and norms. We are considered “good” or “bad” based on our performance, but without regard to the nature of that performance. St. Paul says that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Only our lives-lived-in-union-with-Christ have the nature of true salvation, true humanity. This is the proper meaning of being “saved by grace.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“…the grace of the Spirit has left written for us in the pages of the sacred writings the lives and conduct of all holy people so that we might learn all the deeds of virtue they performed, people of the same nature as ourselves, and that we might not be lazy in the practice of virtue.” (Saint John Chrysostom)
“God became man in the person of Jesus Christ, not to institute a new philosophy or code of conduct, but primarily to bestow upon us "new life" in the Holy Trinity.” (Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald)
“We are not our own and are to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the price paid for our redemption…Let your conduct be worth of the Gospel of Christ…” (Orthodox Study Bible, 1 Peter 1:18-19, St. Paul)
“Everything is a gift. We have earned nothing. The gifts of God are given to us for the purpose of giving Him thanks and to share with those who have less. The excellence of a moral agent is measured in deeds of compassion and self-offering, not in the fastidious adherence to a code of conduct.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“…the truths of faith and morals are correlated to such a degree that one cannot exist without the other. The practice of these truths of conduct and morality cannot be achieved without the help, mercy, and Grace of Almighty God. This is the reason that faith in and prayer to God are correlated with morality.” (Rev. George Mastrantonis)
“Our conduct speaks volumes about what we believe…You conduct should match your faith…. Character is the root of the tree, conduct, the fruit it bears…Conduct is what we do, character is what we are…Lasting changes in conduct begin when the Holy Spirit lives in each person.” (E. M. Bounds, Life Application Study Bible, Titus 1:16, Colossians 3:10, Hebrews 13:9)
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