Asceticism: Are you relying on grace or performance?
As Christians, there is a need for acceptance by our peers, families, and, most importantly, God. In an effort to feel loved and recognized, we often rely on our own efforts to please others by our good works and acts of kindness. Christians may struggle with many doubts, such as, “Does God love me? Will I go to heaven? Am I really saved?” These doubts can propel us to seek inner peace and acceptance by God through what we do rather than allowing us to appreciate who we are in Christ. Centuries ago, a group of Christians in the Middle East sought to find a state of perfection, purity, and oneness with God. They believed that by renouncing their possessions, families, and careers (and by living a simple life in isolation), they would please God and reach a state of perfection. St. Anthony of the Desert principally promoted this lifestyle, known as asceticism. I write this paper as one who lived a somewhat a similar lifestyle, but only in the modern culture. At the age of 20, I gave up my university scholarships, career goals, and left my family to live in a communal setting with other ministers in pursuit of a holy life and the furthering of the Gospel. While my experiences allowed me to appreciate the sacrifices of the ascetics, I now see it as an unnecessary lifestyle that was not God’s desire for humanity. Therefore, from the life of St. Anthony, we can see how asceticism and legalism produced a reliance on performance rather than grace in his pursuit for purity and acceptance by God.
Without parental and spiritual guidance and formal education, Anthony sadly misunderstood the Scriptures regarding the life of the apostles and early Christians. Anthony was born into a well-to-do Christian family who brought him up in the ways of the Lord. Even from his youth, his did not seek for education, companionship, or worldly pleasures, but desired to live a simple life (St. Athanasius 18). Six months after his parents’ death, at the age of 18, he reflected on how the early church in the book of Acts had sold all they owned and laid it at the Apostles’ feet for distribution. Upon entering a church one day, Anthony heard the words of Christ to the rich man, “If thou wilt be perfect, go sell all that thou hast, and give it to the poor; and come, follow me and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven” (Matt 19:21). Anthony immediately sold his possessions and gave them to the poor, keeping a little for his only sister whose upbringing he entrusted to a group of nuns (20). He devoted all his time to ascetic living of self-denial, constant prayer, manual labour, and the forsaking of family (21). Though Antony was sincere in his belief and practice of asceticism, I believe a lack of education and having to make his own decisions as an orphaned teenager contributed to his choice to live a monastic life.
We are called not to live isolated lives but lives that are insulated by grace to live in the world. Anthony’s isolated lifestyle (32) contradicted Jesus’ command to His disciples to be the salt and light of the Earth and to go into the entire world and preach the gospel; not to live in isolation (Matt 5:13-16 NIV). Jesus said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15 NIV). Therefore, the literal separation of one’s self from the non-believing world does not exemplify the beauty of Christ to a decadent society (1Cor 5-9-10 NIV).
When we rely on performance to please God and whenever he dispenses gifts to us, we feel the need to pay for it. Anthony said, “In the world everything is sold at its worth and like value is bartered for like; but the promise of eternal life is bought for very little” (34). Anthony viewed eternal life as something he had to buy through asceticism to compensate for all what Jesus did on the cross. He saw performance by works as a method to gain acceptance by God, not realizing that we are saved by God’s gift of grace through faith and not of works (Eph. 2:8-9). Romans 6:23 says, “The gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” A gift is not earned but rather is given; so unfortunately, Anthony’s lack of theological understanding contributed to a life, which, though lived righteously, was sadly unnecessary.
In combating the struggles of my own lifestyle, Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae (Col 2:16-23) illuminated my understanding of the hazards of asceticism and legalism for which Anthony’s performance theology had its roots. St. Athanasius describes Anthony’s awareness of the Pauline epistles and teachings through the various scriptures Anthony quotes (26). Yet, it seems that he was unable to properly exegete them. In the book of Colossians, Apostle Paul describes two root causes for a gospel of works (performance theology) that was unfortunately seeping into the churches around Colossae and sadly lingered throughout Christianity centuries later. These Scriptures in Colossians reaffirm my belief that the ascetic life is not the pathway to internal purity and acceptance by God.
Legalism is defined as the subjection to man-made rules as standards of righteousness instead of precepts and principles of Scripture. These standards may be intended for good reasons, like to deter people from sin, but they can easily become demanded requirements of holiness. Paul asks in Colossians 2:16-20 “…Why do you submit to its rules […] because its based on human commands and teachings” (NIV). Yet, Anthony advised, “So let us also persist in the daily practice of asceticism, knowing that if we are negligent a single day, He will not forgive us for old time’s sake, but will be angry at us because of our carelessness” (36). His legalistic view caused him to think that God’s forgiveness or reaction to our failures was based on the practice of asceticism. Legalism uses fear as motivation to do the right thing instead of gratitude and love for God. As such, Anthony inaccurately proposes, “For the fear of greater things involved and the anxiety over torments invariably dissipate the fascination of pleasure and steady the wavering spirits” (36). Anthony viewed God-given pleasures that man could enjoy, such as those mentioned in Ecclesiastes 5:18-19, as something to forfeit, because, they did not endure beyond the grave (35). This type of mindset led him to live as a monk living in fear of judgment and constantly battling internally for purity and sinless perfection.
Asceticism, as stated earlier, is an abstinence from human pleasures, with a focus on self-discipline and the denial of personal desires in a pursuit for higher spiritual attainment and closeness to God. Though this may seem virtuous and admirable to many, this type of lifestyle has no profit in conquering the flesh or living a life pleasing to God, as Apostle Paul articulates in Colossians 2:23. In an effort to practice asceticism, Anthony kept nocturnal vigils with such determination that he often spent the entire night sleepless. He ate only once a day after sunset, and his food was bread and salt, his drink water only. He was content to sleep on a rush mat, and even went so far as to deprecate the use of oil for the skin. It was a dictum of his that the soul’s energy thrives when the body’s desires are feeblest (25). He was hardly seen by others and did not want to mingle with other people even though they desperately wanted to associate with and learn from him (90). Anthony said, “As fish exposed for any length of time on dry land die, so monks go to pieces when they loiter among you and spend too much time with you” (85). Our right standing with God does not come with severe treatment to the body, but it is the blood of Jesus that purifies us. Unfortunately, though Anthony’s monastic life seemed noble and appeared wise as a self-made religion, it offered no power over fleshly indulgence (Col 2:23 NIV). Regrettably, Anthony did not realize that God already accepted him through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
In conclusion, St. Anthony of the Desert accomplished a lot by pointing many to the knowledge of Christ through his unique lifestyle. Unfortunately, this lifestyle, though theoretically godly, and admired by others, held no eternal profit as the Scriptures teach us. I only wish he had a better understanding of the epistles of Paul so he could have enjoyed this beautiful Christian life instead of living alone and constantly fighting demonic figures (27,75). Sadly, Anthony’s asceticism not only affected him, but also paved a pathway for monasteries and other individuals to emulate his self-deprecating lifestyle. I am grateful that God opened my eyes to see my own pursuit of holiness was not attainable by man made regulations or submitting to decrees such as “do not handle, do not taste, do not touch” (Col 2:21 NIV). I am accepted by God; not by what I do, but by who I am in Christ!
*References from original source by: Athanasius of Alexandria: the Life of Saint Anthony
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