A Fifty-cent Word

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? (James 2:14-20 ESV). I have often heard someone say when referencing an uncommon word that it is a “fifty-cent word.” I read such a word recently when I was doing some research in the Book of Acts. As I studied the response of the church in Antioch to the famine in Jerusalem, I read Larkin’s Commentary and he wrote: "For Antioch to model fully what it means to be Christians, it must demonstrate orthopraxy by meeting physical needs." Did you see it too? “Orthopraxy” is certainly a “fifty-cent word”! You may know the term, and it may be in common usage. After I looked it up, I found it had an idea in it that might be of interest to all of us today. "Orthodoxy" is a concept everyone knows. It signifies correct belief. And some people appear to be under the impression that having right convictions about right doctrines makes one right with God. However, that is not the essence of Christianity. "Orthopraxy" points to correct actions. In the case of the Antioch church, it points to a compassionate sharing of goods with those in need. There are many forms of that in our world. And, that certainly is what James meant when he wrote the verses we read this morning. This means that all the sermons, bible studies, and devotionals that get so exercised about doctrinal orthodoxy that they vilify, backbite, and defame their brothers negate their very boast to orthodoxy. Without the orthopraxy of loving one’s brothers whom he has (or can) see and talk with, the attacker proves himself to be a liar. It also means that the church member who salutes Sunday’s preaching of the gospel only to gossip about someone on Thursday is deceiving himself. And so with the person who wants the teens taught biblical morality but who is stingy, the believer who demands sound doctrine but justifies her racist attitudes, and many more like these. We must not compromise our demand for correct teaching. But we must guard against negating your claim to orthodoxy with a conspicuous failure of orthopraxy. What a great word for today! Let’s practice what we preach!