How To Interpret And Apply The Bible
Step Across The Ladder And Sail the Seven Seas
Whatever Is Noble is a weekly-ish newsletter that consists of an article followed by a handful of links. This is a slightly longer article but it captures something I’ve spent fifteen years studying.
I love God with my mind. In this newsletter, I hope to serve yours. Thanks for reading.
I love Scripture. But I often wonder if I’ve read it well. Perhaps you’ve experienced this too. You find something interesting as you read or listen to Scripture and you wonder how it should apply today.
You know that through right thinking you’ll gain right action. You want to do that well. But how?
One of the best ways to learn how to interpret Scripture, as I said last week, is to read it. But it is also helpful to have a list of rules, or hermeneutics, to guide your interpretation and application. Many have done this.1 I’ve learned from them and summarized my learnings below.
Before you apply Scripture, you must step across the ladder and sail the seven Cs.
Step Across The Ladder Of Abstraction
The biblical text often speaks directly and simply to us today. For example, in the second letter to Corinth, Paul says: “Examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith,” and, “Encourage one another.” These readily apply to us. By simply reading Scripture we learn beliefs to hold, truths to learn, and actions to apply.
However, some texts are more challenging. Paul says a sentence later, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” How do you apply that?
Before answering, notice you already have a reaction to whether or not a holy kiss may apply. We are always using rules when we read and apply the bible. These rules are called hermeneutics. It is the filter behind why you might find giving a warm hug when you see someone to be an appropriate application while giving a French kiss is not.
Before application, we first have the text of scripture, which you can think of as one side of a freestanding ladder. The other side of the ladder also has rungs and represents application. We must choose how to get from one side to the other, from interpretation to application.
Find the principle behind the text. Before stepping across the ladder we ask ourselves, “Why did the author write this?” and consider the principle behind the words. This is called going up the ladder of abstraction in order to define the principle behind the text. “Greet one another with affection” could be considered as a principle behind the verse.
The principle must closely resemble the text. Keep the text in mind! “Greet one another,” should not become, “have faith in Jesus.” It is good to have faith in Jesus but that’s not what the text is saying. This is a common mistake in bible studies where well-meaning Christians say true things that have nothing to do with the text they are studying.
Do not make the principle too abstract. We need to be careful not to take something like, “Greet one another with a holy kiss,” to mean a vague principle like, “Be kind.” Yes, Paul wanted his first readers to “be kind” but he specifically said greet and one another and with a holy kiss. It’s okay to find a principle, but do not go too far up the ladder into vague and meaningless phrases. Don’t take the substance out of the text.
To summarize, you don’t want to go too high on the ladder, nor stay at the very bottom since the same principles will apply differently in different cultures.
In the image below, I’ve shown levels of abstraction in the biblical text on the left. Then I’ve shown different applications on the right which are also leveled in terms of abstraction. Which do you feel is most appropriate to follow?
In order to answer the question of which makes the most sense, and in order to even come up with the principles in the first place, we need to take seven factors into consideration. These seven factors each start with the letter ‘C’ and so when I teach this to others I like to tell them this is an adventure of sailing the seven Cs.
Sail The Seven Cs Of Interpretation
Before coming up with the principle behind the text, ask yourself the following questions in the following categories.
Content. What are the words? What are the verbs? Who is the subject of the sentence? What words are repeated or otherwise emphasized? If you have been trained in Greek or Hebrew, what are the original words and what is their meaning? If not, how do different translations understand the keywords? NIV, ESV, CSB, NET, and KJV are all helpful options. Create a sentence diagram if you know how to. Write out the passage yourself. Use your own words. Be absolutely clear about what the passage says.
Context. What are the surrounding words? Who is it from and who is it to? What literary genre? Is it written as a narrative, instruction, poetry, or some other genre? Determine the author’s original intent as best you can.
Culture. What would the words and phrases mean to the original hearers/readers of the text? Culture helps make sense of, but never overrides, the meaning of the text. In other words, understanding culture may help you see how commonplace kissing might have been. But it should not bring you to a point where you consider greeting others to be irrelevant since we now live in an individualistic culture. Again, there is a principle behind the text but do not go too vague or too abstract in that principle.
Canon. “Canon” is shorthand for the collection of all the books in the Bible. How do other Scriptures interpret this verse? Allow the clear to interpret the unclear. James helps us understand Paul. Paul helps us understand David. David helps us understand Moses. Moses helps us understand Peter. Some physical Bibles have a column in the middle that lists similar texts. It’s very helpful for this.
Covenant. What covenant is the text written for and what covenant is the text written in? There is more here than I have space to describe, but it is why learning biblical theology is so helpful. Biblical theology describes the redemptive history in Scripture going from one covenant to another. While these covenants have overlapping truths, there are also some things that no longer apply to us in the new covenant.
Christ. How does the text point to Christ’s saving work? There are many ways in which you might find a connection. They include:
Promise-fulfilment (e.g. his name will be called ‘Emmanuel’)
The way of typology (e.g. the temple, baptism, priesthood, weddings, etc..)
The way of analogy (e.g. Gal. 4:21-31) – try not to overuse…
The way of theme (e.g. suffering, sovereignty, equity, forgiveness, sacrifice, etc.)
The way of contrast (e.g. the feast in Esther 1 vs Isaiah 25:6 / Rev. 22:10)
The way of law-gospel distinction (commands or wisdom instructions that help us realize our need for forgiveness)
Community/Commentaries/Church History. What do experts say? What have Christians said about this in the past? What do other Christians, who are different than you, say about this text? Study Bibles are limited but essential. There are many good commentaries. Devotional and Pastoral Commentaries are beneficial. Technical Commentaries are detailed but often too time-intensive. Also, leverage people you know who may have different experiences than you (e.g. experts in dealing with infertility, experts in childbearing, experts in singleness, etc.).
The goal of all this work is to uncover any potential personal biases or errors so that you can ascertain – as close as possible – the timeless truths communicated in the Scripture.
None of this work is possible without prayer, humility, and love. We do not close our hearts when we open our minds. We keep both open to God.
The seven Cs and the ladder will not ensure perfection. Even the Apostle Peter says there are some things in Scripture that are hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16). However, I have consistently found these hermeneutics to build my confidence in what the text is saying, and therefore, to build my confidence in Christ.
Links I Liked
A lot of technology articles this week.
Why Your Church Should Start a Parish Podcast | Endeavor
The key word here is “like.” A podcast is a simulacrum of a parish, a congregation, an evening mass. But rather than bemoaning the simile, I want to celebrate it. Digital technology was creating a meaningful touchpoint between me and someone in my church. Christian education was happening on the trail and in the car.
Talking About Sex in a Pornographic Culture | Mere Orthodoxy
Christians do have good news to share about sex, but in this age perhaps the greatest part of that news is that sex is a great mystery.
The Fight For Parent's Rights In Canada | First Things
What was Kuyper's vision? Unlike his cultural and political opponents, he did not seek transformation along ideological lines but the pluriformity of society—that is, a society characterized by multiple centers of authority and a variety of communities, each with its own legitimate task to fulfill.
John Piper on ChatGPT
Right ideas without right rejoicing are barren, mechanical — and yes, you could say artificial. Even in the human mind — not just in the computer — they’re artificial if they are not penetrated with rejoicing duly. Rejoicing without right ideas, on the other hand, is like froth on a drink and not fruit on a vine.
Pandora, AI Girlfriends, and “Reborn” Babies | Mere Orthodoxy
When we pursue life with other people—spouses, children, friends, neighbors—we open ourselves to the possibility that one day, death, whether ours or that of someone else, will bring an end to our relationship. After all, all human beings are defined by these bookends: we are born and we die. Dreams of substituting artificial beings for real children or spouses, however, challenges and defies these natural boundaries.
In just a few weeks, The Gospel Coalition Canada is hosting a Women’s Conference in Toronto called, “That You May Know.” It looks really good.
I’ve learned from David Barker, Rick Reed, Alastair Roberts, Dr. Robert Stein, Sidney Greidanus, and Craig Blomberg. Dr. Barker used “Five Cs and an L” to teach hermeneutics and I’ve found that framework to be especially helpful. His “L” was Literary Genre, which I’ve included within Context.