Humble Orthodoxy — Does Believing Biblical Doctrine Mean You Have to Be a Jerk?

We don’t get to choose between humility and orthodoxy. We need both.

Orthodoxy, for the faithful, evokes what’s cherished and beautiful and eternal. Yet in our day, orthodoxy is too often wielded like a weapon, used to bludgeon others with differing points of view. The word has become associated with behavior like argumentative, annoying, and arrogant.

It’s time for God’s people to demonstrate both right thinking and right attitudes. We are called to embrace and defend biblical truth. But that truth includes repeated commands to love our neighbor, love our enemy, and be clothed in gentleness and respect.

In Humble Orthodoxy, bestselling author Joshua Harris examines New Testament teachings about the calling of believers to a love-infused courage that ignores foolish controversies, patiently endures evil, and champions truth with generosity of spirit. Without this kind of humility, Harris asserts, we become like the Pharisees—right in our doctrine, but ultimately destroying the cause of truth with our pride.

Joshua Harris is a bestselling author and the lead pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC. He and his wife, Shannon, have three children.