Some of my seminary professors and congregational listeners wanted to consign me to that room, and I must say I actually enjoyed myself there, but eventually it became evident when it was time to leave. In more cases than not, the ticking clock and the turning of the daytimer would force me out. I would then crawl over the wall to the next room of application.
Several years ago I led a seminar on preaching with a little group just south of the border, across the Rio Grande, and I used this illustration. Surrounded by secluded courtyards with shards of glass strewn along the top of the adjacent block walls, I painted the imagery of the necessity of spending sufficient time in the first area and then crawling over to the next. The setting made it appear as an overly painful experience.
If you find yourself either too paralyzed to move out of the ancient room of the original context or if there is no apparent connection between Room Exegesis and Room Application, you, too, have made the gulf between these natural neighbors too expansive. On the contrary, not departing from the original room should bring pain. How can we take in the great truths of God and not be bursting to share it and apply it?
It wasn’t until later that I discovered that I didn’t need to crawl over the wall between the two rooms but that the key to the door that connected the compartments was the “Timeless Truth.” The timeless truth is the underlying principle that is based upon the Character of God and the truths of Scripture and can be applied just as readily today as several thousand years ago.
Sometimes we use terms like the “Big Idea,” the “Proposition,” or the “Textual Thrust” to identify the core idea of the text and, ultimately, the sermon. The timeless truth, however, is actually a further distillation of the core idea into its most basic structure, or the underlying principle that is driving the ancient passage. Its value and wonder for today is in knowing the simple truth also worked for the ancients.
A loyal environmentalist may discover oil in Alaska, but for fear of staining the pristine surroundings, would prefer to leave it buried under the ground in its original setting. A zealous capitalist, on the other hand, may be willing to trample over whatever is necessary to get the crude to the pump. Where is the individual who can deliver the genuine goods without destroying what God established?
You can be that individual! When you arrive at a passage, take a good, hard look without attempting to rewrite the story. Like an experienced detective, leave no stone unturned and stay as long as you need to in that room, but also leave the original scene undisturbed by you. Your seminary professors will be proud and your congregation will be blessed if you, as John MacArthur admonishes, “stay in your seat” and do the hard job of biblical exegesis.
Now before you leave, find the key that is in every passage. The key is the “timeless truth.” It is the underlying principle that unlocks the connecting door from either side. It is the truth that is driving the passage as originally told and it is the truth that can be applied today. Once you have used the key to open the door to application, the “timeless truth” will keep you from straying from the original context.
It has been my experience that whenever I try to give application to a text that I do not fully grasp in its historical-grammatical setting, the sermon begins to strangely look like the sermon I preached the week before. Some sermons are like the silly cartoon race that is often shown on the jumbotron to the live crowd during commercial breaks at a professional ball game. Ill-prepared preachers have about three hobby horses that show up at every sermon, racing around the track as the congregation cheers on their favorite stripe, never knowing, but always guessing, which one will triumph that day.
Above all, pray for the discernment to see the genuine timeless truth in every passage you preach. Jesus, Peter, and Paul fished in deeper waters and dipped further into the Old Testament texts than most of us will ever even attempt. Like the Sadducees, we often err, not knowing the Scriptures or the power thereof to apply and bring hope to real life situations today. Shallow water is fine. It is often good to drink and it is a great place to play, but it is not where the Great Fishermen drop their nets. Force yourself into some offshore fishing by scheduling and publicizing some hard and obscure passages and topics in your preaching calendar. Then don’t be satisfied with just telling a nice story about some lesser-known prophet.
All Scripture is profitable, but don’t be content to polish the jewel and merely show it off, protected under the case or hidden in the back room. It is made to be handled and worn. And by all means, don’t fall off the bridge as you bring the truth to the new world. Protect yourself against this by asking several listeners, “Did you catch the timeless truth in today’s text and how are ways you would apply it?”
It will frustrate your congregation to learn of a wonderful far off truth, but not to know how to live it in their own lives. Unlike the ornate Bible I saw so many years ago, let the Scriptures in your church be accessible, devoid of the academic, mental, emotional, and spiritual locks that so sadly bind up the Word among believers. Give every member the keys to keep the Word open -- and don’t stop making copies.
