Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat
ISSN 2548-7868 (print), 2548-7558 (online)
Available at https://journal.sttsimpson.ac.id/index.php/EJTI/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46445/ejti.v6i2.490

The Role of Christians in The Correlation between The Notion of Lex Orandi,
Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi and The Commitment of Cape Town
Paulus Jinu Kim
Global Mission Society, Republic of Korea
email: highjinukim@gmail.com
ABSTRACT: Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi is conventional concepts of the Christian life, but those
are still relevant to solve problems of modern society. The interconnectedness of worship (lex orandi),
theology (lex credendi), life (lex vivendi) is emphasized in the Christian sphere. Nevertheless, God's mission
as the role of Christians was not highlighted in their relationship. The Commitment of Cape Town strongly
stresses that Christians accomplishes God's mission with holistic ways in domains of gospel, world, church.
In this study, the notion of lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi will be explained about relationship and
interaction. Then the Commitment of Cape Town will be analyzed in detail in connection with lex orandi,
lex credendi, lex vivendi. The researcher uses the literature review method with answer to one question, that
is ‘what is the true role of Christians in the world?’ The result of this study concluded that when Christians
stand before God holistically in the notion of lex orandi, lex credendi, and lex vivendi, Christians can live
by accomplishing God's mission in the church, with gospel, and into the world.
Key words: lex orandi, lex credendi, lex orandi, Lausanne Congress, reconciliation.
Article History:
Submitted: Jan. 18, 2022

Revised: March 15, 2022

Published: Jan. 29, 2022

This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license

INTRODUCTION
There are many problems in modern society,
such as social justice, economic inequality, racial
discrimination, unfairness, etc. (Dajwan, 2021;
McWhirter & McWha-Hermann, 2021; Reisch,
2002). These problems are from one side of
humanity and many social communities. For instance,
disgust of a particular race is not just from the other
race, but also economic inequality in certain
countries and unfair policies that government
executes. To solve these problems, related
organizations have to make an effort by putting
down any vested rights and devolving specific
authority. The church is also in charge of solving
this problem. Matthew 5:13-14 shows the function
of Christians as the salt of the earth and light of the
world, which transforms the world from darkness.
Also, Matthew 22:39 says that Christians should

take care of others and help them in various ways
(Ferguson, 2021).
In the past, however, in Church has kept on
not taking action for God's command. Instead, they
just enjoyed the authority of the Christian. They had
a party only in their community so that they were
ghettoized (Marinov, 2017) and could not bring any
solution to those problems of modern society. In this
sense, Christians have to ask themselves, ‘what is
the true role of Christians in the world?’ A
following question is ‘How do Christians deal with
dan solve those problems?’
Lex orandi, lex credendi, and lex Vivendi is
an aphorism used to show why participating in
worship service can lead someone to take
responsibility for others. In other words, worship
affects believing, believing affects living, and living
affects worshiping. There are reciprocal interactions
between three factors (H. Scott, 2021). The notion

P.J. Kim, The Role of Christians in The Correlation between The Notion of Lex Orandi, ....

85

of lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi can help
Christians solve those problems in modern society
and also lead Christians to realize what the proper
role of Christians is.
In addition, on October 16-25, 2010,
various denominations of churches and Christian
institutions gathered in Cape Town, convening the
3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.
The gathering brought together 4,200 church
leaders and evangelists from 198 countries who
participated worldwide and in online communities
(Lausanne Congress, 2011). The movement aims to
act as a roadmap for the Lausanne Movement over
the next ten years. His prophetic vocation to work
and prayer is expected to attract churches, mission
agencies, seminaries, Christians at work, and student
fellowships on campus to accept him and find their
part in his career (Lausanne Congress, 2011). As it
were, this shows that the Christians have to be out
of conventional thought of the world and reach the
modern society around the Church for evangelism.
The Commitment of Cape Town is similar
to lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi. Both of them
are related with that Word of God came from
heaven in the way of incarnation, and Jesus Christ
not only evangelizes non-Christian but also gives an
example to the Church and Christian how to live in
the world. Not just stop in the condition of
theological debate or studying the bible, but go to
the world for evangelism in the way of being the salt
and light to the neighborhood. God wants our
academic excellence or doctrinal relevance to the
world but our purity, humility, integrity, and simple
way of life. In other words, as God's people, churches
and Christians have to practice stewardship of God's
creation and discipleship for the gospel (Choi, 2017).
Several studies show various church efforts
to be involved in solving these problems. Panjaitan
(2021) research, for example, shows efforts to solve
problems by tackling poverty. Meanwhile, in his
study, Dajwan (2021) found that through resources,
values, and a religious framework that emphasizes
love and tolerance, the church and its leaders can
deal with racial conflicts in Africa. Several previous
86

studies have not investigated the relationship
between the ideas of lex orandi, lex credendi, lex
vivendi, and Cape Town's commitment to providing
specific solutions to the Church and Christians for
many problems of modern society. Therefore, this
study aims to demonstrate the relationship between
the ideas of lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi, and
Cape Town commitments and provide the Church
and Christians with specific solutions to many
problems of modern society.
METHOD
To answer the formulation of the research
problem, the author uses research with a literature
analysis approach. All literature sources related to
lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi, and Cape
Town commitment are used as primary sources.
Several other secondary sources are used to sharpen
this paper and find relevance to the current situation.
The author analyzes the primary library sources and
then presents a descriptive narrative (Elliston, 2013;
Gilbert et al., 2018). The analysis was carried out by
reading and studying the primary sources, finding
the suitability of the authorities with the issues being
explored, compiling a synthesis, and presenting
descriptively.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi
The aphorism comes from Prosper of
Aquitaine in the 5th century, who owned an axiom,
lex orandi, lex credenda by giving a meaning lex
orandi, lex credendi, the law of prayer brings out the
direction of works (Smit, 2004; Volz, 1987). He is
a monk who was secretary to Pope Leo. Indeed he
was insisting against semi-Pelagianism, indicating
“the church practice of praying for nonbelievers and
sinners as an indication that grace is required for
even the beginning of conversion. “However, his
hypothesis has made another essential supposition:
the Church’s liturgy brings out theology as its
foundation. The liturgy is a fundamental source of
theology with its verbal and nonverbal expression.

Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat 6(2), July 2022

In other words, “within the Body of Christ,
assembled in worship, ought to serve as a starting
point for theological reflection." In short, axiom lex
orandi, lex credenda commanded the Church to
teach what it prays (Koop, 2019). For Cyprian, the
Lord's Prayer prescribes a norm for theological
expression, and for Augustine, the liturgy provides
a limitary standard for theology (Jesson, 2001;
Objantoro, 2020). Kavanagh (1984) concludes that
Christian beliefs are shaped and supported by how
Christians ask God for their needs in worship.
Proper’s dictum evolved into simple equations, lex
orandi, lex credendi, and liturgical material was
used hierarchically and sometimes authoritarian
(Marshall, 1995; Plaatjies-van Huffel, 2020).
However, Irenaeus suggests a reciprocal
relationship between liturgy and theology, although
he insisted that theology regulates liturgical patterns.
In other words, two factors are not in a one-sided
regulation but a bilateral communication (Jesson,
2001). Wainwright (1980) explains, The Latin term
lex orandi, lex credendi, can be interpreted in two
ways, namely in general and in terms of language.
More generally, it is to make prayer the norm of
belief or to indicate what can and should be believed.
Meanwhile, in terms of grammar, it means what is
believed to regulate what can and should be prayed
for (Ahn, 2012). Furthermore, Roman Catholics
prioritize liturgy as a doctrinal criterion, while
Protestants usually prioritize dogma as a worship
criterion (Plaatjies-van Huffel, 2020; Wainwright,
1980). In other words, the rule of prayer (liturgy)
can affect the power of faith (doctrine), reversely
also the law of confidence can affect the practice of
worship.
In the end, researcher gives three question.
First is ‘which one is the primary thing between lex
orandi, lex credendi? This is answered with
'nothing.' A balance between the two notions of lex
orandi, lex credendi is important. For the relationship
between worship (prayer or liturgy) and theology
(faith or doctrine), Alexander Schmemann explains
two groups: the patristic and scholastic. Fathers argue
an organic connection between theological thinking

and liturgical experience. Worship is a living source
and fundamental standard, not an object to be
analyzed and searched. In this way, all theology
comes from worship, becoming a source of theology.
Although theology and worship are connected
organically in the scholastic type, theology has a
dependent position for research and study. In this
way, worship is changed as an object. Anymore
worship is not a source. Worship gives data to
theology, and theology is independent of worship
and dominant in dealing with the data (Kim, 2012).
Even though Protestantism prioritizes
doctrine rather than worship, they usually stress the
triad of lex credendi, lex orandi, lex vivendi, doctrine,
worship, and life. For Reformers, worship is not
anymore activity in only a church, but an activity of
expected life of God's people to God. Martin Bucer
claimed that all three factors are lex orandi, lex
credendi, and lex vivendi in worship (Plaatjies-van
Huffel, 2020). Smit (2004) accented the mutualism
among lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi and lex
(con) vivendi. Jörnsalso suggested the 'axiom lex
orandi – lex credendi – lex (con)vivendi as a system
for the renewal of the Christian church, Christian
life, theology, education and training' (Plaatjies-van
Huffel, 2020). Scott (2018) argued that each of the
three aspects is interrelated. In other words, each of
them affects the others. For instance, God's people
celebrate God's salvation in worship by singing
beautiful songs and hymns to God and realizing
their sin by hearing the preaching. Then they believe,
think, and talk about triune God, attributes of God,
and works of God, so should they live actively to
keep, preserve, maintain, and restore all things of
God in their life. Therefore, if Christians, from
worshiping, through believing, to living, all series
of procedures have a solid and dependent relationship
and connection. In other words, if Christians
recognize through worship the beauty of God's
creations, Christians believe and/or think to keep the
beauty, so Christians live sustainably in our lives (H.
Scott, 2021).
Second question is 'Can lex vivendi stand
itself without lex orandi and lex credendi?' This can

P.J. Kim, The Role of Christians in The Correlation between The Notion of Lex Orandi, ....

87

be answered with 'no'. As Christians pray, so
Christians believe, so Christians live together.
Christians cannot live without the Word of God, and
no Word of God, no worship to him, and no creation
in the Word of God; Christians cannot live; in other
words, Christians don't exist in this world. Every
day Christians have to worship him with the Word
of God that is the Bible, and the Word of God has to
be incarnated into the world and interpreted in some
ways so that Christians can understand and recognize
the Word of God. So Word of God gives us
commands and regulations to live by being
reasonable. Our life is based on the Word of God.
On the upper side of our life, there are worshiping
and believing; reversely, in the lower side of our life,
there is keeping the command and maintaining
order that God gives. The Bible says, "But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things, there is no law" (Ga 5:22-23).
All of the spiritual fruits have to be born in our life.
This is the life that God wants Christians.
The third question is that 'how does the
notion of lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi connect
with modern society and solve those problems?' For
example, Christians argue first about economic
inequality. This study is not for financial analysis or
effect. Still, it is based on natural economic
inequality in modern society, just as the rich get
richer and the poor get poorer. At that time, what
can Christians do? What should Christians act?
Ordinarily, the Church may call God's people to
have a care group festival in a narrow church building
or may reach the people to climb up a mountain for
physical health so that the Church take a conclusion
that today Christians got a lot of works of God and
church members felt convenient and got in touch by
God's hands.
However, in Luke 4:18, it is revealed that
Jesus made the captives return to freedom, restored
the sight of the blind, and gave liberty to the
oppressed. The glory of the Church does not come
from the Church's business within the Church but
her role of light and salt to the world. As Jesus did,
88

the Church must also do something for other people,
not just their people.
Lex orandi means the rule of prayer
(worship) not just in the Church, but also in the
world, that is, worshiping life (Plaatjies-van Huffel,
2020). Worship doesn't mean only singing a song to
God but also living sacrifice. Roman 12:1 says, "I
appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of
God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
worship.” This means Christians who have received
new life through the Blood of Jesus have to live for
God, not for ourselves, because all bodies and minds
of Christians became Jesus’s thing. True worship is
living sacrifice. In other words, life itself has to be
worshiped wherever.
As lex orandi means, lex credendi implies
the rule of faith (believing) in the Church and our
life (Plaatjies-van Huffel, 2020). Believing doesn't
mean not only catechism or doctrine (theology) but
also substance and evidence. Hebrews 11:1 says,
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen." The term 'assurance'
means objective substance. Faith (believing) is that
Christians are convinced of objective substance.
Thus Christians are able to go forward with God’s
Word that is not subjective. This world focuses on
subjective things and seeks something they want to
feel. In the world, there is no objectivity. Therefore,
lex credendi has to be communicated to everywhere
that doesn't know objectivity.
For lex vivendi is connected with lex orandi
and lex credendi. In other words, the rule of life(lex
vivendi) can be found in the lex orandi and in the lex
credendi themselves (Plaatjies-van Huffel, 2020).
For example, the concept of 'love' is worshiping and
believing, but it has to be shown to reality. When
seeing the poor, the idea of love is no anymore
notion. It became the living one in the world to other
people. So that the poor can receive some help. This
is the connection of lex orandi, lex credendi, lex
vivendi.
Meanwhile, Christianity has many collective
commitments to solve modern problems in the

Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat 6(2), July 2022

modern age. In these commitments, the Christian
community participates in society and solves
society's problems. Especially one of them is 'The
Commitment of Cape Town' noticeable. The
researcher analyzes ‘The Commitment of Cape
Town' and demonstrates the relationship and
connection between lex orandi, lex credendi, lex
vivendi, and 'The Commitment of Cape Town'.
The Commitment of Cape Town
'The Commitment of Cape Town' is made
in The Third Lausanne Congress on World
Evangelization Cape Town, 16-25 October 2010.
The theme of the 3rd Lausanne Congress is that 'God
in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself' based on
2 Corinthians 5:19, "that is, in Christ God was
reconciling[c] the world to himself, not counting
their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us
the message of reconciliation.” What’s the goal for
Third Lausanne Congress? It brings a fresh
challenge to the global Church to witness Jesus
Christ and all his teaching - in every nation, in every
sphere of society, and the realm of ideas. This
commitment is divided into two parts. Part I was
founded by 18 Christian leaders and was finally
shaped as a final document by a smaller group,
including Christopher J H Wright (2006). Part II was
found by recording all Christian leaders'
contributions at the Congress period and finally was
shaped as a document. A feature I set out biblical
convictions in the scriptures, and Part II sounds the
call to action as below - indeed, there is forward,
preamble, and conclusion. In the preamble of
Commitment of Cape Town, there are two parts of
change: the realities of change and the Unchanged
realities. For The realities of change, almost
everything changes; for instance, the way Christians
think, live, and relate to other people is changing
fast. But there is something that cannot be changed,
that is 1) human being lost, 2) The gospel is good
news, 3) the Church’s mission goes on (Lausanne
Congress, 2010). In other words, there is one thing
that is unchanged in the changing world. This is the
gospel of God that Jesus Christ came from heaven

to the people to give salvation as a sacrifice of
reconciliation
in
incarnation,
crucifixion,
resurrection, and ascension (Kim, 2019).
Part I (For the Lord We Love: The Cape
Town Confession of Faith) consists of 10 points.
Point 1) ‘We love because God first loved us’; Point
2) ‘We love the living God’; 3,) ‘We love God the
Father’; 4) ‘We love God the Son’; 5) ‘We love God
the Holy Spirit’; 6) ‘We love God's Word’; 7) ‘We
love God's world’; 8) ‘We love the gospel of God’;
9) ‘We love the people of God’; 10) ‘We love the
mission of God’
In Part I, there is an essential concept of
God, which is Love. The preface of Part I is started
with 'The mission of God flows from the love of
God.' Missio Dei is based on the Love of God and is
expanded to neighborhood and all creations. The
Church was called to God and was sent by being
formed and reformed. In point of 2-5, confession of
the love of triune God is committed. In the 2nd point,
the highest motive of the mission is a passionate
desire for the glory of Jesus and God. The glory of
God is shown in the worship of God's people, and
the purpose of God's mission is the glory of God
(Choi, 2013).
In the 3rd point, the love of God, the Father,
is affirmed by giving a son to people, in other words,
following God's character. In the 4 th point, the
uniqueness of Christ is reaffirmed as the center of
kerygmatic proclamation with three parts, that is
trusting in Christ, obeying Christ, and proclaiming
Christ. In the 5th point, the works of the Holy Spirit
in the Old Testament and New Testament are
mentioned holistically. In other words, demonstrate
prophetic dimension, gospel proclaiming dimension,
and charismatic dimension of the mission of God's
people through the Holy Spirit. The 6-9 were
composed of gospel, world, church. In the 6 th point,
the Word of God doesn't make Christian faith a
philosophical and metaphysical theory but makes it
a historical theology in creation, fall, redemption. In
the 7th point, there is a confession of love of the
world that God creates, that is loving the world of
God's creation, loving the world of nations and

P.J. Kim, The Role of Christians in The Correlation between The Notion of Lex Orandi, ....

89

cultures, loving the world's poor and suffering,
loving our neighbors as ourselves, and the world
Christians do not love. These are shown about
spiritual war. God's people have to fight in the battle
of the spirit. In the 9th point, this point is similar to
chapter 5-6, Part II. God's people as a church have
to be united in the love of God. The unity is not just
for God's people but also for people who don't trust
in God. Because Church has to demonstrate
reconciliation to other people as Jesus Christ did. In
10th point, ‘The Church exists to worship and glorify
God for all eternity and to participate in the
transforming mission of God within history. Our
mission is wholly derived from God's mission,
addresses the whole of God's creation, and is
grounded at its center in the redeeming victory of
the cross. These are the people to whom Christians
belong, whose faith Christians confess, and whose
mission Christians share. Relationship among gospel,
world, and Church is in perspective of Missio Dei.
Lex orandi is based on the concept of the
glory of God. Because worship itself is giving glory
to God by God's people. Westminster Shorter
Catechism (Williamson, 1970) answers:
Q.2 What rule has God given to direct us how
we may glorify and enjoy him?
Answer. The Word of God, which is contained
in the Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments, is the only rule to direct us on how
we may glorify and enjoy him.
In worship, there are many factors, including
hearing the Word of God. Through those words,
God's people worship and, in the end, glorify and
enjoy God. Therefore Lex orandi doesn't have to
stay at worship itself but go to the mission so that
God's people increase in number and they glorify
him. As part, I of Commitment of Cape Town
emphasizes gospel, world, and Church, lex orandi,
lex credendi, lex vivendi also stresses that God's
people in the Church worship him, bring gospel that
they believe to other people, and make other people
live in keeping God's commands. From here,
practical ministries or issues of Christian life come
as lex vivendi stresses. How does Christian live?
What answer will the Church give to the world?
90

Part II (For the World, We Serve: The Cape
Town Call To Action) consists of 6 chapters,
excluding Introduction. Chapter A, ‘Bearing witness
to the truth of Christ in a pluralistic, globalized
world’ Chapter B, ‘Building the peace of Christ in
our divided and broken world’ C, ‘Living the love
of Christ among people of other faiths’ D,
‘Discerning the will of Christ for world
evangelization’ E, ‘Calling the Church of Christ
back to humility, integrity, and simplicity’ F,
‘Partnering in the body of Christ for unity in mission’
Part II is composed of 33 issues concerning
gospel (truth and reconciliation), the world (religion
of world and priority), and church (integrity and
partnership). Chapter A discusses seven issues
about the gospel's truth: truth and the person of
Christ, pluralism, workplace, globalized media, the
arts in mission, technology, and the public arena.
The researcher deals with the issue of the workplace,
not all of the problems. In chapter A, the 3rd issue,
there is a critical perspective,
We urge church leaders to understand the
strategic impact of ministry in the workplace
and to mobilize, equip and send out their
church members as missionaries into the
workplace, both in their local communities and
in countries that are closed to traditional forms
of gospel witness (Choi, 2013).
The workplace is not common to the church
leaders, but church members or laity know and
experience for themselves there. They have to
communicate, encounter, or sometimes run against
other people in the workplace. The workplace is the
natural and practical field that has lex vivendi. If
church leaders don't know about it, church members
can't be spiritually helped. Passively the power to
win against a lousy desire and greed comes from
prayer (lex orandi) and faith (lex credendi), and
actively the strength to live as like the light and salt
comes from the Word of God (lex orandi) and
believing God's promise (lex credendi).
In chapter II, an established understanding
of reconciliation is in an individual or churchcentered dimension, but this commitment expands
the world's concept of peace and reconciliation.

Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat 6(2), July 2022

Evangelism without discipleship and revival without
the obedience of Christ's command can't solve
violence, oppression, poverty, consumerism, human
trafficking, abuse, racial discrimination, and so on
(Choi, 2013).
In chapter III, 'love your neighbor as
yourself' includes persons of other religions. But the
important thing is 'how to'. How do Christians love
persons of other faiths? Through converting religion?
Through contextualizing our faith? Wright (2006)
gives us the solution: 'biblical ethics, no biblical
mission'. The way of life of Christians has to be
more ethical, gentle, and integrity than the others.
Thus, lex vivendi (law of life) doesn't have to be
aggressive but peaceful and conciliatory.
Chapter IV is about world evangelization.
Some issues are unreached and unengaged peoples,
oral cultures, Christ-centered leaders, cities, children.
For children issue, the Church has to recognize the
condition and situation of children in poverty, abuse,
and exploitation of labor and give concern and act
love to them. Because they have potential as active
agents in God's mission. The younger generation is
the target of God's mission. They also have to be
reached by the gospel. Deuteronomy 6:1, 2 says,
Now this is the commandment—the statutes
and the rules—that the Lord your God
commanded me to teach you, that you may do
them in the land to which you are going over,
possessing it, that you may fear the Lord your
God, you and your son and your son's son, by
keeping all his statutes and his commandments,
which I command you, all the days of your life,
and that your days may belong.
In the Old Testament, Israelites are in the situation
to keep lex orandi, lex credendi, and lex vivendi.
Because they can experience the direct response of
God to the prayer, if they pray for food, then God
drops Manna from heaven. But They couldn't enter
Canaan except for two tribes because God's
commandment was not taught to the next generation.
Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi have to be
taught from age to generation.
Chapter V is about back to humility,
integrity, and simplicity. There isidolatry of

disordered sexuality, power, success, and idolatry of
greed in the modern Church. God's people are pulled
down before energy, sex, money. Not only church
leaders but also church members destroy their life.
Therefore, God's people need to have characters of
Christ, that is, humility, integrity, simplicity.
In chapter VI, it is emphasized that the
Church and God's people are in unity and partnership.
In a divided world church send the message of
Christ in unity, cooperation, and working together
to the world. Paul teaches us that Christian unity is
the creation of God, based on our reconciliation
with God and with one another (Lausanne Congress,
2011). This is practically from mutual respect and
interdependence (Choi, 2013). Lex orandi, lex
credendi, and lex vivendi have individual and
communal dimensions. God's people worship
together, confess faith together, and live together.
In part of the conclusion, the Commitment
of Cape Town emphasizes radical discipleship and
cross-centered reconciliation. ‘When Christians live
in the reconciled unity of love by the power of the
Holy Spirit, the world will come to know Jesus,
whose disciples we are, and come to know the
Father who sent him’ (Lausanne Congress, 2011).
In the end, the Commitment of Cape Town is based
on the whole truth of Christ and gives many
strategical foundations to action.
In the previous introduction, some questions
were not yet answered. The first is that ‘what is the
true role of Christians in the world?’ The role of
Christians is evangelizing unreached people who
don't have lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi and
is an ambassador of God to creation. From here,
God's mission comes. Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex
vivendi don't have to be understood separately but
have to be interpreted holistically. God's mission is
not independent but holistic. Because the relationship
among lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi is
interrelated, reciprocal, and mutual.
The second is, ‘How does the church deal
with dan solve those problems?’ The Commitment
of Cape Town gives us many insights into various
modern problems in Part II. “Our Congress themes

P.J. Kim, The Role of Christians in The Correlation between The Notion of Lex Orandi, ....

91

provide a framework to discern the challenges
facing the worldwide Church of Christ, and our
priorities for the future” (Lausanne Congress, 2011).
These frameworks to discern the challenges have to
be connected with Part I, that is, biblical foundations,
as lex vivendi can't be understood without lex orandi,
lex credendi. The church has to deal with modern
problems based on God's Word and biblical
perspectives.
CONCLUSION
Three keywords of Commitment of Cape
Town are gospel, world, and church. Indeed, the
other Lausanne Congress also emphasizes Church,
the gospel, world. Sometimes, three keywords are
different, but regardless of that order, there are
essential things in God's mission. In other words,
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92

God’s mission is that Christians are praying in the
church, believing gospel, and going forward into
world. Furthermore, they are found in notions of lex
orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi. Eventually
Christians worship God, make a regulated Gospel
(doctrine or theology), and live in the world with
them for God's mission. Lex orandi, lex credendi,
lex vivendi without focusing on God's mission
cannot affect each other. They are not sustainable.
Therefore the true role of Christians is that
when Christians stand before God holistically in the
notion of lex orandi, lex credendi, and lex vivendi,
Christians can live by accomplishing God's mission
in the church, with gospel, and to the world.
Christians can endeavor to give solutions to many
problems of the world and help many people to get
better than before.

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