Being a Cultural Exegete

In 1 Chronicles 12, there’s a tiny verse hidden amongst a list of the tribal accounts of Israel. As the Chronicler recounts all of the troops that came to David, 1 Chronicles 12:32 says, “Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…” These men, apparently, had an acute awareness of what was happening in the culture around them and therefore could make better decisions because of it.

What can we learn from this?

 Biblical Exegesis AND Cultural Exegesis

At times when I hear sermons, I recognize most trained preachers have fairly good Biblical exegesis, but often lack cultural exegesis, and therefore fail to connect with the congregation or the world around them. Slowly but surely, their influence and ability to connect fades and they miss being able to be used by God. They don’t reach people, they don’t train their congregation, they don’t answer the questions their people are asking… it’s dry.

God doesn’t need us to be cool, so don’t misread me here. Often those trying to be cool struggle with the idolatry of self, stemming from insecurity. But He does give us wisdom to understand things around us. To answer the questions arising because of the world around us. To culturally exegete the world, and therefore reach and teach it.

Let me give a practical example with evangelism. What is it that the world cares about right now? What “good news” are they looking for? Most people (in America) don’t have a sense of judgment by a Divine Being. Therefore, the way most of us share the gospel (based on us being law-breakers and therefore deserving of condemnation without the blood) doesn’t resonate as clearly. This is what people use to readily believe. This isn’t as prevalent in this generation. No doubt, it is true that we’re held accountable by God, but if someone doesn’t even have a framework for this sort of thinking, it will be difficult to reach them with this sort of gospel proclamation.

This is why you see the great missiologist, the Apostle Paul, have so many different ways to bridge into the truth of the gospel. He recognized where the culture was that he was ministering in (he exegeted the culture) and shared what would make most sense to them to place their faith in Christ. In other words, if you study how Paul shares the gospel, it is always slightly different based on the culture. The gospel doesn’t change, but the way Paul bridges into our need for Jesus does. He “understands the times, and therefore, knows what to do.”

For example, in Acts 17, Paul doesn’t just say, “Jesus died on the cross for your sins…” He recognizes that they like debating philosophy, have all of these different gods, and even had a statue to the “unknown god,” in case they missed one! Paul says, “You have missed one! There’s another God, who actually created everything…” He sees their culture, understands their way of thinking, and uses this to bridge into the truth of Christianity.

This idea can be used not just in evangelism, or in discipleship, or global missions… it can be used in parenting, in business, and in many other ways to advance the name of Christ.

How To Culturally Exegete

Biblical exegesis is simple. You observe the text and the context, you interpret what is happening, you correlate it to the rest of the Bible, and then you respond (apply). Observation, Interpretation, Correlation, Response (Application). This is basic hermeneutics (the art and science of studying Scripture) and basic exegesis.

We can do the same thing for the culture.

Observe it. What is it saying? What are the hopes, dreams, fears, frustrations, and eternal longings? Interpret it. What is true that we can “share” in? What is false that needs to be shown and gently corrected, showing there’s a better way? Correlate it. How does this relate to the rest of human history? To other cultures? To the Scriptures? And then you respond.

Once again, notice Paul do this beautifully in Acts 17:

Observation: Verse 16 – He sees that the city is full of idols.

Interpretation: Verse 22 – Paul interprets that they’re very religious. Instead of condemning them, he acknowledges their spiritual curiosity and hunger for the Divine. He interprets their many altars and temples as evidence of a deep desire to connect with something greater than themselves.

Most Christians would simply bring condemnation here! Paul instead uses this desire to reason with truth, not backing down from truth, but rather “understanding the time” and using it.

Correlation: Verses 23 & 28-29 – He connects this desire with the gospel (v. 23), and then even uses their own poets as evidence to the gospel (v. 28-29). He’s correlating Biblical truth with their own culture, helping them to see there’s something more in their hearts! It’s why they aren’t satisfied!

Application: Verses 30-31 – He tells them they must respond and come to the true God.

Bad Biblical exegesis is seeing something in Scripture and immediately applying it without doing the work of interpretation or correlation. We’ve all been a part of small groups where this is the reality! Unfortunately, many Christians do this same thing with cultural exegesis. Unlike the men of Issachar, they see something and then call for application, skipping the whole middle process of exegesis!

The better cultural exegetes we become the more effective our ministries and impact will be. We’ll be better preachers, evangelists, disciple-makers, parents, teachers, etc. I think it’ll make us like the men of Issachar. We’ll be better equipped to understand how to interact with (and therefore reach) the world around us.