I. Introduction and Review#
Recall the bridge diagram. Crossing from our current context over the bridge to the biblical world in order to determine the original author’s intended meaning is the process of exegesis. Crossing back from the biblical world to our current context is the process of contextualization or application, determining the significance for us today.
II. Two Extremes to Avoid#
When doing contextualization, there are two extremes to avoid.
A. Imitating Biblical Culture Exactly#
We have to recognize that not every passage in the Bible was meant to be applied to believers for all time.
Old Testament examples: Exodus 29:38, 35:2; Leviticus 11:9-11; Deuteronomy 21:18
New Testament examples: 1 Peter 5:14; 1 Timothy 5:23; Mark 6:8
B. Letting the Culture Govern the Message#
Here’s a second extreme, contextualizing completely, or letting the culture govern the message.
Example: The Cotton Patch Gospel by Clarence Jordan from the 1960’s and 1970’s
Those are two extremes to avoid. Imitating biblical culture exactly or contextualizing completely, which means letting the culture govern the message. Liberation theology has a tendency to let the culture or context govern the message. The culture or context of economic or physical oppression becomes the determining factor of our definition of sin. Instead of allowing the Bible itself to define sin as rebellion against God we allow the cultural situation to define it.
III. Principles of Contextualization#
Why do we need contextualization? We need contextualization because not every passage in the Bible was meant to be applied to believers of all time. So that brings up a significant question. How do we decide what commands are meant for all time and which are meant for a particular cultural context?
Let’s look at some basic principles of contextualization or principles of application.
A. Proper contextualization begins with sound exegesis#
The first principle is proper contextualization begins with sound exegesis, determining the original meaning. The application has to be drawn directly from the original meaning of the text.
Ask these questions:
What is the original intent of the passage?
What is the cultural and historical setting in which the message was given?
What did the text mean in its original cultural and historical context?
B. All Scripture is authoritative, because it is inspired by God#
The second principle of application or contextualization is all Scripture is authoritative because all Scripture is inspired by God. Application concerns not whether a particular passage is relevant becasue all passages of Scripture are relevant. The question is how to apply it to our contemporary situation.
C. Scripture can be applied at the surface or at the level of principle#
Scripture can be applied at the surface level, that is directly, or at the level of principle.
“Greet one another with a kiss of love”
1 Peter 5:14
The surface level would mean that we are acommanded to kiss one another in greeting. The principle would mean something like, this verse affirms that Christian affection should be shown.
If we look at kissing in the first centuray, it was generally between family members, it was a sign of familial love and affection, and Peter is telling us to show Christian affection.
D. Distinguish between the cultural, which is relative, and the super-cultural, which is absolute#
To apply correctly we must distinguish between the cultural, which is relative, and the super-cultural or above culture, which is absolute.
Here are questions to ask to help determine whether a text is cultural or super-cultural
- Is the command inherently moral?
Something that is right or wrong not based on culture or external circumstances but based directly on the character of God.
- Does the context give indications that the passage is above culture?
A statement, a kind of a universal statement that “this is right” (Eph. 6:1), would suggest that Paul is making a command that is not just culturally specific.
- Do we share comparable particulars?
If so, the command is likely to apply today.
For example, Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” The abuse of alcohol causes family problems today just like it caused family problems in the first century. It causes lack of judgment, it can produce violent behavior, it can result in poor work habits, it can result in difficult family relationships. So drunkeness is the same issue today as it was in the first century.
- Is the command connected to cultural practices current in the first century but not present today?
Consider as to whether something is cultural or universal.
For example John 13, the command to wash feet, that cultural practice is very significant in the first century where roads were dusty. It was a task designated only for someone of the lowest cultural and social status. The issue of washing the feet has a different significance in the first centuray than it does today.
- What cultural options were open to the writer?
When only one option was open the passage is more likely to be culturally relative.
- What is the ultimate purpose of this command in its cultural context?
Purpose is a critically important question when looking at a biblical text. We determine God’s nature and purpose, who God is and who we are as human beings, and building from that nature and purpose we can then draw appropriate conclusions.
E. Individual statements must be placed in the broader context of Scripture#
The fifth principle of contextualization is individual statements must be placed in the broader context of Scripture. We call this the analogy of Scripture.
- Is all of biblical teaching on the topic uniform or does reflect differences of perspective?
There is no question that Scripture uniformly condemns homosexual behavior, both in the Old Testament and New Testament.
New Testament teachings does not seem to be absolutely uniform nor does Old Testament teaching when we consider women leadership. We need to be cautious when making application of passages that do not seem to reflect absolutely uniform teaching.
- Is this part of core biblical teaching or it is peripheral?
To practice something or to command the practice of baptism from the dead would be totally inappropriate from 1 Corinthians 15:29 since it is clearly not part of core biblical teaching.
IV. Conclusion#
Contextualization happens after we have done our exegesis, after we have determined the meaning of the text in its original context. Contextualization is taking that message and determining how it applies today. Contextualization is an essential part of all biblical interpretation, because as Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and it is profitable for instruction and for teaching and for rebuke, for training in righteousness.”
God’s word is meant not just to be read and understood; God’s word is meant to be applied to our lives. So, the ultimate task of biblical interpretation is to allow God’s word to transform us, to allow it to make us into the image of Jesus Christ so that we can boldly proclaim his message to the ends of the earth so that we can bring the knowledge of God to all people everywhere.