Orthodoxy, meaning right knowledge of reality arising from the right source of truth serves as a necessary foundation for the right living of life that we call orthopraxy.  This right and sure foundation of right knowledge does not guarantee that the praxy of life will build well upon it.  Praxy must build on the foundation as well as according to the rules of that foundation.  Though one may understand well the blueprints of right knowledge, if they are not followed they will not lead to their intent.  Tools of discernment do not provide shelter for life’s storms unless they are applied to the actual work of building. A blueprint unfollowed can at best cover one’s head for a light shower.  Instead, the right knowledge must be applied wisely to build something worthy of the foundation.  Application of doxy in praxy is absolutely required. 

                As the primary source of a Christian’s truth, the Bible offers clear examples the necessity of application.  James 1:23-24 offers one well-known reference in the Bible urging us to know be a hearer without being a doer as well.  In this verse, the right knowledge exerts a temporary effect that is eventually forgotten without bearing any fruit in one’s life.   Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:26-27 go beyond the idea of truth having no effect but emphasize that ignoring His words will place one in a precarious position of building on sand during a storm.  The lack of application will produce a building, but a building unable to remain standing for long.  Actual application of right knowledge becomes the only good option.

                With the obvious necessity of application before us, what will lead us to apply the right knowledge gained from God’s words or from right knowledge about His creational order?  Proverbs 1:7 and Psalm 111:10 instruct us that a fear of God serves as the beginning of wisdom.  Such a fear should be ever-present before the mind of a Christian who knows that God is watching over them.  Beyond that, in a sense, both Christians and non-Christians should live in fear that God’s natural order, when violated, will also result in consequences.  The laws of nature press upon the lives of both believers and unbelievers as the sun shines and the rains fall upon both (Matt. 5:45).  Neither can ignore how God has designed the moral order nor the physical order of His creation.

                In order to press into application, we must value God’s approval in the moral areas of life and/or must value the results of application in the natural order He has instituted.  As Christians, the fear of God leads to obedience to His Word, applying what is recognized as truth to our choices in daily life.  For believers and unbelievers, placing value on varying results of life will lead us to choose what truths of natural order to apply.  Valuing health will lead us to apply ourselves in caring for our bodies.  Valuing relationships will lead us to apply ourselves in building connections with others.  Without valuing either the outcome of God’s approval or a particular outcome of our natural lives, we won’t be likely to apply even what we know to be true. 

                We must value these ideals, as yet unrealized outcomes which do not presently exist in physical or spiritual reality.  Application requires that we devote some measure of time and effort into bringing about their reality.  We must value the right knowledge which serves as the foundation on which to build.  We must value changes from the present reality into such yet future realities so that we diligently seek to bring them about. 

                We can better understand these abstract concepts by looking at examples in real life.  Knowing confidently that eating healthy food will promote bodily health means little to nothing if you do not value the resulting good health.  It means little if you do not believe that you are a steward of your own body with the power to influence your health outcomes or if you do not value the further downstream benefits of good health.  Likewise, knowing that destructive relational behaviors are hurting others means little if you do not value other’s well-being.  If you do not value having friends or do not fear God’s disapproval for such behavior, such knowledge will not go far in changing behavior. 

                When pressed, we all know that the action of application is required for right knowledge or truth to bear fruit.  While this appears so obvious, so many seem to live life as if they have forgotten that application is required for building a worthy structure upon the foundation of knowing truths about health and life.  They complain about not having health yet continue to pursue habits they know to be harmful.  They complain about bad relationships but continue in habits they know have never led to better relationships.  In these and so many instances, they have undeniable knowledge of what is true and good, yet wonder why they do bear better fruit.  Such examples provide ample evidence for the proof that knowledge without application leads to structures built on sand whose only future are ones of collapse.

Next in this series… Why Practice?

Footnote:

                While beliefs should be practically identical between individuals since we all live in the same reality, each person’s values will differ to some extent.  There can be some legitimate space for different preferences between individuals. There can be legitimate space for different preferences in the same person at different stages of life.  These differences are with the realm of being good as long as they submit in each person at each stage of life to the values of our Creator as revealed to us in the Bible.