The challenge facing the Christian in Western culture is the separation of belief from practice. Orthodoxy and orthopraxis are words that describe one’s belief as related to one’s action. Orthodoxy is from the Greek words “orthos” which means straight or right while “doxa” means opinion. This has come to mean doctrinal correctness as opposed to heresy. It is that which is objectively right doctrine according to an absolute standard. Orthopraxis is from the Greek words “orthos” (see above) and “praxis” meaning doing or acting and is used to describe right action or practice.

Julius Scott (1995) in his Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament stated, “Whereas Christianity frequently stresses the importance of orthodoxy (right doctrine or belief), Judaism is more concerned with orthopraxy (correct behavior, actions, practice). Even the discussion of whether right conduct should have priority is more Christian than Jewish. During the intertestamental period the Jewish emphasis on orthodoxy solidified” (p. 123). Western thinking has gone so far as to separate the secular and the sacred whereas near Eastern thought considers all of life sacred. Christianity needs to espouse this once again.

One of the problems the church in the West faces is the supposed equilibrium of value in all religious systems. R. C. Sproul (1978) in his Reasons to Believe stated that, “There are only two possible ways to maintain the equal validity of all religions. One is by ignoring the clear contradictions between them by a flight into irrationality; the other is by assigning these contradictions to the level of insignificant essentials. This is reductionism that strips each religion of elements considered vital by the adherents of that religion” (p. 39). The idea that there is no absolute truth or that all teachings are equally true are the extremes of Western society. It is impossible to hold to both.

On the individual level, the Christian must come to grips with the incarnation of Biblical Truth in life. Two key terms, meaning and significance, parallel the two parts of Bible study: the more technical informational aspect and the more devotional and meditative formational aspect. The meaning of the text refers to understanding the information the biblical and divine authors originally intended to communicate to readers. The significance of the text involves applying various implications of the passage to a particular situation of the contemporary reader (Isslar 2001, 32). This is the essence of living as God would have us to so as to be the proper “Ambassadors for Christ” (II Cor. 5:20). We are called to live out such a life before the culture around us. Our Lord understood the power of such a life, and He was saying to those disciples, those who committed themselves to Him, “Here is the blueprint, here are the principles, here are the words for changed human lives and the Kingdom of God here on earth” (Allen 1966, 17).

The Sermon on the Mount describes the life of a true disciple of Christ. Allen (1966) stated, “If Jesus lived today in the flesh, rode in jet airplanes, watched television, lived in an air-conditioned home, had all of the information which scientists have gained in reference to outer space, and had access to all of today’s scientific knowledge, He still would not need to change one word of the Sermon on the Mount. The words which Jesus spoke are eternal and apply equally to every age and to every generation (Mk. 13:31)” (p. 8). The significance of the Sermon that Jesus preached is the call to total commitment to His life and teachings. Thielicke (1963) stated it emphatically, “Here there is no talk of half measures and compromises, and anybody who merely wants to play around with it had better let it alone. Here it is all or nothing” (p. xii). This is when orthodoxy and orthopraxis truly come together at a practical level.

Scripture warns of the danger of orthodoxy alone: I Corinthians 8:1 (KJV), “…knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” Paul, in 1 Timothy 6:3 refers to it as “…the doctrine which is according to godliness;…,“ then goes on to describe the one who espouses anything else as being proud and knowing nothing while striving over words that lead to envy and strife. Historical Christianity taught that a changed life was the product of true salvation and a proper relationship with God.

Our own lives must reflect a proper orthopraxis that is the result of a proper orthodoxy. It is what we truly believe that motivates us to action (Pro. 23:7). It is extremely damaging for one to teach but not do the truth (Matt. 5:19). As a result, the believer needs to be a student and a doer of the word. It is only from this platform, along with true humility, that one can teach another to follow Christ. Hypocrisy has been the bane of the church throughout her history.

Practical application of the truth of Scripture in our teaching is also a necessary step. The Bible is first imperative and then indicative. Theology is discussed and then the result of living out that theology is presented in the epistles written to the church.

The culture around us needs to be understood as a danger to the believer. It is not the people of the world that are the enemy, but the philosophy of the world. In a godless society the temptation to succumb to societal thinking is a real danger to the church. However, the other extreme is to avoid contact with the world that makes it impossible to be “salt” and “light” as we have been commanded.

Two generations ago, Dr. Hugh Price Hughes was one of the great preachers of London. In that day, Charles Bradlaugh, a famous atheist, challenged the great preacher to a public debate. Hughes agreed to debate with the following provisions: he would bring one hundred people who had been redeemed by the Spirit of Christ as witnesses to the Christian faith, and Bradlaugh was to bring a hundred pagans who had found satisfaction in their godless way of life. The hall was filled to capacity on the night of the debate, but Bradlaugh never showed up. He could debate the preacher as long as they used arguments; but when they began to use lives, he was defeated. The world cannot argue with changed lives (Allen 1966, 181). It is only as the Scriptures are studied and lived out that the life changes in such a way as to produce proper orthodoxy and orthopraxis.

WORKS CITED
Allen, Charles L. 1966. The Sermon on the Mount. Westwood, NJ: Fleming H.
Revell Company.

Issler, Klaus. 2001. Wasting Time With God; A Christian Spirituality of Friendship
With God. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press.

Scott, J. Julius. 1995. Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

Sproul, R. C. 1978. Reasons to Believe. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing
House.

Thielicke, Helmut (translated by John W. Doberstein). 1963. Life Can Begin
Again: Sermons on the Sermon on the Mount. Philadelphia: Fortress
Press.