Lesson 9: The Contemporary Horizon
Using Rich Resources
In the previous three lessons, the “how to” step was the culminating step of each lesson. The same holds true here, except more so: the whole course, in fact, culminates in this step!
On many bridges, there are lanes going both ways. So with a bridge of application: When we cross the bridge from the teaching of the Bible to a problem in our world, we call this the relevance lane. When we cross from a problem in our world to the teaching of the Bible, we call this the question lane.
There are two different ways you can use extrabiblical resources when traveling in each lane.
Cross the Bridge in the Relevance Lane
The relevance lane involves crossing from truth to today. This is probably the lane most people are talking about when using the word “application.” Of course, the foundation of application is faith-filled and humble prayer, for without the Spirit guiding and empowering us, we are wholly unable to apply any Scripture to our lives. And our basic application should be repentance and faith—that is, humble obedience to God’s authoritative Word.¹ Still, different Scriptures demand to be applied in different ways.
Pastor and author Dan Doriani describes seven types of biblical instruction in his detailed guide to biblical application, Putting the Truth to Work.
To respond properly to whatever type of instruction is in our passage, we must first interpret it by using the first four horizons. The Contextual Horizon will ensure we understand the historical and textual context. The Covenantal Horizon will tell us where the original audience was along the storyline of redemptive history compared to us. The Canonical Horizon will ensure we don’t miss other relevant passages that fill out the picture painted in our text. The Confessional Horizon will guard us from dangerous errors.
Once we’ve done that, we can focus on our response to God’s revelation, based on these seven types of instruction.
How can we use extrabiblical resources to do this? There are three types of resources you can turn to.
Commentaries
Not every commentary focuses on application. For example, in the Preface of his Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, I. Howard Marshall openly acknowledged,
I am conscious that only to a very limited extent has the commentary attempted to ask questions ... about the significance of the letters for the modern reader, but I hope that the exegesis has been done in such a way that expositors will find it a helpful basis for application.
—I. Howard Marshall and Philip H. Towner, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles,
International Critical Commentary (London; New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), xiv.
So if you look in this commentary for specific applications to daily life from the text of the pastoral epistles, you will be disappointed.
However, there are commentary sets that aim at application.
The New International Version Application Commentary series is perhaps the most well-known. For each Bible passage covered by a NIVAC commentary, there is an Original Meaning section that focuses on exegesis, a Bridging Contexts section that “answers how the Bible fits into our world today” and “helps you figure out what is timeless in a passage and what is not,” and a Contemporary Significance section that helps you “take what you’ve learned in the process of exegesis and speak to today’s problems.”²
The ESV Expository Commentary series isn’t focused on application in as much detail. However, it seeks to be “application-minded”—that is, “building brief but consistent bridges into contemporary living in both Western and non-Western contexts.”³ Thus each discussion on a passage of Scripture concludes with a “response” section that will guide you in Christ-centered application.
Lastly, the Evangelical Press Study Commentary series includes an “application” section at the end of each section of a commentary, where the author follows “a careful analysis of the biblical text” with “simple applications.”⁴
Study Bibles
The ESV Gospel Transformation Bible focuses on showing “that the whole Bible is a unified message of the gospel of God’s grace culminating in Christ Jesus.”⁵ But since the gospel doesn’t just rescue us from Hell but saves us from sin, understanding the gospel transforms every aspect of life! So this study Bible also aims “to help readers apply gospel truths to their everyday lives.”⁶ So its footnotes are a rich resource for gospel-empowered application.
In contrast, the Life Application Study Bible is only broadly “evangelical,” and it doesn’t consistently follow solid principles of application, like those you have learned in this course. Thus you’ll need to be more discerning about its doctrine than with the previous study Bible. It leans away from presenting historical information with no application. Instead, it aims to provide devotional commentary.⁷ Its uniqueness lies in that more than 75% of its notes and other features relate to application!⁸ However, some applications seem forced, don’t flow explicitly out of the text, and aren’t filtered through biblical theology. A benefit of this study Bible is that its notes will constantly remind you about responding to the text, which is helpful—just don’t let the notes do all the work for you, and don’t read them uncritically.
Sermons
A good sermon intends to connect Scripture to listeners’ lives. So if you want to find applications of a passage, find a sermon preached by a trustworthy preacher.
Cross the Bridge in the Question Lane
If you want to cross the application bridge from today to truth, you are starting with a question. Remember, the task of interpretation is not “one-directional,” running only from Scripture to today.⁹ We have questions that arise from circumstances and from problems in our lives.
I’m the father of two young children, which means that discipline frequently weighs on my mind. I need wisdom to know why to discipline, how to discipline, when not to discipline, and so on. Of course, the book of Proverbs provides much direct teaching on discipline (Prov 13:24; 19:18; 22:15; 23:13–14). But as I’ve been reading through Proverbs, other verses that don’t mention child-rearing seem suddenly applicable to me!
Here’s just one example. Proverbs 13:13 says, “Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.” This verse compares someone who despises God’s words to someone who bows his heart before them. When I think of my responsibility to raise my children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord,” I realize that just like the Lord warns me, so I need to warn them not to ignore my words, not to allow them to think my instructions are not important. I want them to experience the “reward” of knowing and loving Jesus’ words, so I train them to listen to mine.
So also, if you start with a decision you need to make, a trial you’re going through, or a problem you need to solve, approach the Bible with that need in mind. You’ll find God’s Word speaking to your life in ways you didn’t expect!
Similarly to the Confessional Horizon, use extrabiblical resources to guard you from wrong interpretation. Remember, we should study the Bible in community, not in isolation.
Several websites exemplify careful, biblical thinking through current issues. Only the Journal of Biblical Counseling requires a subscription, and a year of digital access is not expensive.
Use Caution When Crossing
Now, when you cross the application bridge through reading applications of a text in a commentary, study Bible, sermon, or anywhere else, make sure you don’t veer into oncoming traffic or slide into the railings. Not every application you’ll read is faithful to the text!
Here’s how to evaluate the validity of suggested applications:
Examine the exegetical foundations.
Is the application visibly resting on carefully-interpreted Scripture?
Engage with the Covenantal and Canonical Horizons.
Is the author applying the text in the light of the high point of the Bible’s story, the person and work of Jesus? Is he reading Scripture as a whole, bringing other appropriate passages to bear on the verse he is applying?
Evaluate the application’s authority.
Is the application a plain interpretation of a clear command? Or is it based on assumptions foreign to the text, or even built across a huge cultural chasm? If the latter, that’s all right; just recognize that such applications have a lower authority than the former. Andy Naselli points out,
When you try to cross-culturally apply universal principles to specific circumstances, you will inevitably reach different conclusions and hold different convictions from those of other mature Christians. And that’s often okay. Read Romans 14…. It’s a mark of maturity when Christians can recognize that their applications have different levels of authority.
—Andy Naselli, How to Understand and Apply the New Testament, 321–323.
Evaluate Stead’s applications in the Response section of his comments on Haggai 1:1-15, using the three “E”’s. (You may refer to earlier sections to "examine the exegetical foundations" of his applications.)
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