4 step application

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PROVIDENCE Evangelical Bible Seminary Biblical Hermeneutics

A Four-Step Methodology for Legitimate Application

(Original material taken from : Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg and Robert

L. Hubbard, Jr., Revised and Updated, Nelson, Nashville, USA 1993)

1. Determine the original application(s) intended by the passage.

How did the biblical author of the given passage want his hearers or readers to respond (do)?

Is there a command to be obeyed?

Is there an example to be followed or avoided?

Is there a promise to trust?

Is there a warning to heed?

Is there a truth to believe?

Is there a teaching to act upon?

Is there a need that prompts prayer?

Is there a motivation for blessing or praise?

Is there a need for self-examination and repentance?

*sometimes contemporary applications will be identical to the originally intended responses,

though they will often differ in some ways.

2. Evaluate the level of specificity of those applications to their original historical situations. If the

Original specific applications are transferable across time and space to other audiences, apply them

in culturally appropriate ways.

How does the interpreter know when certain biblical commands, examples, promises,

warnings, and so on, are culture-bound (i.e. limited to their original context, not timeless or

universal)?

When can the interpreter rightly assume that the text presents of a specific form (example) of

a more general principle?

When does the principle remain timeless and unchanging?

How may the form of implementing that principle change from one context to the next?

1. Does the text present a broad theological or moral principle or does it gve a

specific manifestation of such a principle, which another book of Scripture elsewhere

embodies in one or more different forms. Nine-tenths of the Decalogue (minus theSabbath command) clearly illustrates such broad morale categories (Exod 20:2-17).

Much of the rest fo the laws give specific ways of obeying and disobeying these

principles. The same is true of the so-called double-love command (Deut 6:4-5; cf.

Lev 19:18), which Jesus brings together in Mk. 12:29-31

2. Does the larger context of the same book of Scripture in which that passage

appears limit the application in any way or does it promote a more universal

application.

3. Does subsequent revelation limit the application of a particular passage even if the

book in which it appears does not? We can assume neither that all the OT carries overinto the NT without any change in application nor that none of it carries over

unchanged. Rather we must examine each text to discover how [or, if] it has been

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fulfilled in Christ? Or if it is still what Christ would have us do (or both)? The same

test must be applied to the NT texts, not because we live in a new period of salvation

history but because the NT itself sometimes revokes earlier commands or presents

alternate models (Mt. 10:9-10, Lk 22:35)

4. Is the specific teaching contradicted elsewhere in ways that show it was limited

to exceptional situations? (Gen 22, Lev. 18:21, 20:205);

5. Are cultural conditions identified in Scripture or assumed by its authors that make

it inappropriate always to apply a given text in the same way? (1 Cor. 11:2-16

hairstyles, Num. 6:1-21).

6. Is the particular cultural form expressed in the biblical text present today, and if so

does it have the same significance as it did then?

7. Is the rationale for the application rooted in a creation ordinance, in the character

of God, or in part of his redemptive plan for humanity?

8. Is the command or application at variance with standard cultural norms of the

day?

9. Does the passage contain an explicit or implicit condition that limits its

application?

3. If the original applications are not transferable, identify one or more broader cross-cultural

principles that the specific elements of the text reflect.

Levels of authority/Degrees of Confidence:

1. When we can employ the originally intended response in our situation with little or

no change (and that response validly applies to the timeless principle in the passage),

we have the highest level of confidence that our application is valid.

2. When we can derive a broader principle, whose application incorporates greater

or fewer particular elements of the passage, then we have the next level of confidence

that our application is legitimate. But we have to be sure that we have derived a valid

timeless principle.

3. When we back off still further to the level of applying more general truths from apassage, our applications may well reflect good Christian things to do, but we cannot

be as confident that they are actual applications of the specific text at handLook

for principles of the maximum degree of specificity that teen the criteria for

generalization.

4. Find appropriate applications for today that implement those principles.

Then - Now (principles, applications)

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The Role of the Holy Spirit

1. The Holy Spirit does not give new revelation on par with Scripture.

2. He does not guarantee that our interpretations are infallible.

3. He does not give one person new insights that no one else has.

4. Many non-Christians can apply sound hermeneutics to understand the meaning of Scripture;

without the Spirit, however they refuse to apply it adequately to their lives.

5. Understanding is not the exclusive domain of biblical scholars

6. Spiritual devotion on the part of the interpreter is crucial

7. Lack of spiritual preparation can hinder correct interpretation.

8. There is no substitute for diligent study.

9. The Spirit does not rule out study helps.

10. He does not override common sense and logic.11. He does not normally give sudden intuitive flashes.

12. The Spirits role in hermeneutics is part of the process of illumination.

13. He does not make all of the Bible equally clear.

14. He does not ensure comprehensive understanding

Five Crucial Elements for Proper Interpretation and Application are:

1. Salvation

2. Spiritual Maturity

3. Diligent Study

4. Common Sense and Logic

5. Humble Dependence on the Spirit for Discernment.

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