As I see it, expounding or explaining Scripture is a three-step process.

First, understanding and explaining what it meant when it was written, who was the intended audience? What was the situation being addressed? What were the cultural conditions at the time?

Second step is to strip out, as well as we can, the cultural context and find the root of the message. The best example I can think of is 1 Corinthians 11:14-15

14 Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair?
15 And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering.
1 Corinthians 11:14-15 (NLT)

Does this mean God is ultimately concerned with the length of one’s hair; or rather that one should look respectable/acceptable considering the social conditions they live in? My real life example from when I lived in NY, it was not acceptable for a man to have long hair and having long hair made it difficult if not impossible to get a job, however when I moved to Nashville hair length was not an issue but other attributes were looked at more closely.

It is difficult if not impossible to strip out all cultural concerns because we are so heavily influenced by the culture we live in but with practice we can learn to isolate our thinking from the world and have a more neutral perspective.

The third step is application of the root message to the society we live in. This is where knowing the audience is important because a twenty-something walking into church for the first time in his life, lives in a different world than the choir or deacons. So it’s important not to blow-away a newcomer with fancy words unless we take time to explain the words in plain English.

I always find the best teachers are those that are still learning and with God’s help may we all continue to learn.

Tony