Answer
The term orthokardia refers to Christians having the right heart regarding the beliefs they hold and the behaviors they practice. Solomon highlighted the importance of the human heart when he wrote, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). Jesus reiterated the heart’s significance when He said that good and evil are both rooted in the heart (Luke 8:15; Mark 7:21–22). The Bible’s emphasis on the heart should inform the faith of all Christians.
When the Bible refers to the heart, it is usually not speaking of the physical organ that pumps blood through the body. Instead, it is using the heart as a metaphor to describe the core of a person’s being. This includes the mind, as in Proverbs 23:7, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (NKJV). The heart also includes the will, as in Proverbs 16:1, “To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.” According to Jeremiah 17:9, the heart is sinful: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
Knowing the two parts of the word orthokardia helps to understand its meaning. The prefix ortho- comes from the Greek word meaning “right” or “correct,” often used to describe the correct perspective or approach to a topic. Additionally, doxy, originating from the Greek doxa, pertains to belief or opinion. Thus, in theology, the word orthodoxy means “right doctrine.” Continuing this pattern, the Greek word praxy refers to a practice or behavior, so orthopraxy means “right practice.” And orthokardia is “right heart.”
The concepts of orthodoxy and orthopraxy are historically connected. This is because Christian theology has long recognized the importance of putting into practice what one believes. In fact, the New Testament highlights the relationship between orthodoxy and orthopraxy in several key verses. For example, James writes, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26). Similarly, Paul condemns those who verbally profess correct theology but fail to demonstrate it through their actions. He says, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good” (Titus 1:16).
The term orthokardia is less common than orthodoxy and orthopraxy, yet it reflects an important truth rooted in the Bible. “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13 to emphasize the importance of the heart in worship: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules” (Matthew 15:8–9). Furthermore, He highlights the heart’s influence on righteous speech: “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45). Therefore, orthokardia is the foundation for both orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Christian belief and practice do not consist of mere mental assent or religious ritual. Rather, they are built on convictions rooted deep within the heart.
The term orthokardia may not be in common use, but it reflects a key New Testament teaching. The apostle Paul illustrates the importance of love as the foundation of Christian belief and behavior: “If I speak in the tongues a of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1–3). Thus, orthokardia is the irreplaceable starting point of orthodoxy and orthopraxy.