Boldness that is broken

Sep. 5 2007

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I’ll be brutally honest: I’m not always committed to humble orthodoxy. Far too often my inclination is toward “proud orthodoxy,” or to my own (supposedly humble) ideas or proposals or doctrines. But I want to be continually growing in my understanding of and commitment to “humble orthodoxy"-because I love Jesus, and that’s what I see him practicing; and because I seek to follow God’s Word, and that’s what I see it commanding me.

I understand “humble orthodoxy” to be a way of informing our humility and a way of expressing our orthodoxy. It joins together the scriptural truths that God commands us to believe, live, and teach sound doctrine, and that God opposes the proud and draws near to the contrite in spirit.

If you have humility without orthodoxy it’s hypocrisy-a form of pride wearing a gentle mask. At the same time, orthodoxy without humility is contradictory-with one hand it offers true words and with the other hand it takes away that truth with a worldly tone.

God calls us toward a better way: boldness that is broken; truth-telling that trembles; contending that communes.

One of the reasons I’m excited about this blog partnership is the opportunity to watch, listen, and interact with brothers whom I trust and respect. I trust this will be an edifying experience for all of us.

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Justin Taylor is the Study Bible project director and an associate publisher at Crossway books. He blogs regularly at Between Two Worlds.

This week and next the Na contributors are sharing why they’re committed to humble orthodoxy and why they’re devoting time to write for Na.