Contextualization refers to the process of presenting the Gospel in a way that is relevant and meaningful to people within their cultural context. It involves understanding both the biblical text and the recipient culture in order to communicate biblical truth effectively. At its core, contextualization aims to make the Good News understandable and applicable in the midst of diverse worldviews and value systems.
The Bible provides many examples of contextualization in practice. When God called Abram in Genesis 12, He began the process of raising up a people to fulfill His redemptive purposes. God adapted His working in each stage of history to suit the context He was addressing. We see further contextualization in God’s gift of the Law to Israel. The Law was given to shape their ethical conduct and worldview in contrast to the surrounding nations. The incarnation of Jesus is the supreme example of contextualization, as God took on human flesh and entered our world (John 1:14). Jesus’ teaching and ministry reveal God’s truth through the worldview of first century Palestine. Finally, the early church encountered contextualization issues almost immediately, as the Gospel spread from Jewish to Gentile cultures in Acts 10-15. Leaders like Paul realized that some cultural adaptations were necessary to communicate the Gospel in relevant ways across different people groups (1 Cor. 9:19-23).
So what does contextualization look like today? Here are some key principles:
1. Understand the original biblical context – Study Scripture in depth to properly interpret the text before seeking to apply it another cultural location. Look at issues like genre, historical background, and the author’s intent.
2. Exegete the receptor culture – Invest time studying the culture you aim to reach, including worldview, history, customs, values, and religious beliefs. Build relationships and learn from local people.
3. Identify points of continuity and discontinuity – Compare the biblical text with the recipient culture to find points of contact for communication as well as areas of clash or contradiction that may need to be addressed.
4. Make the Gospel and theology primary – Do not compromise essential biblical truth. Contextualization is about translating these truths, not changing them. Guard against syncretism.
5. Utilize local cultural forms for communication – Use genres, analogies, stories, and terminology indigenous to the culture as media to convey biblical truth. Adapt wisely so meaning is preserved.
6. Develop contextualized expressions of community – Allow contemporary cultural patterns to shape formats for church life, leadership, rituals, music, etc. as long as biblical function is maintained.
7. Work collaboratively with local leaders – Partner with indigenous leaders who know the culture best. Entrust contextualization efforts to their direction under the guidance of Scripture.
8. Maintain humility and teachability – We all have cultural blinders. Continually evaluate cultural assumptions and adjust approaches in an open and humble manner.
9. Depend on the Holy Spirit – Only the Spirit’s work can guide us to faithful contextualization that communicates God’s truth in culturally relevant ways. Pray for wisdom and discernment.
10. Aim for transformation of worldview – Faithful contextualization not only conveys information but ultimately brings biblical renewal of both individual worldviews and communal cultural values.
Applying these guidelines, contextualizationDone well, contextualization enables people to embrace the Gospel message in light of their own life experiences and cultural frameworks. The goal is to make biblical truth clear so it can take root within a diversity of cultures across the globe. Through faithful contextualization, the unchanging Gospel continues to transform people and societies all over the world.
At the same time, there are cautions to keep in mind. In our effort to make the Gospel relatable, we must be careful not to distort its meaning or accommodate Scripture to cultural values that contradict kingdom ethics. Syncretism is a constant danger. Additionally, while the Gospel addresses all cultures, it calls people to allegiance to a global and multicultural kingdom of God. It relativizes all human cultures under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Overall, contextualization is a process that requires wisdom, sensitivity, fidelity to Scripture, and dependence on the Spirit. When the Gospel takes indigenous form within a culture, while maintaining its biblical integrity, the result is culturally appropriate communication that leads to transformation, unity within diversity, and the advancement of God’s mission in the world.
Contextualization applies to various areas:
Theology – Doing theology contextually explores how biblical truth addresses issues arising from within particular historical-cultural situations. It seeks to formulate Christian doctrine in ways that interact with people’s questions, concerns, and worldviews.
Bible Translation – Translators aim to capture original meaning while using receptor language, idioms, and grammar that make sense contextually so the Word will communicate. Metaphors that connect are important.
Evangelism & Apologetics – Evangelists and apologists must understand objections, sensitivities, histories, and religious values if they hope to present the Gospel persuasively within a given cultural location.
Discipleship – Making disciples means helping apply God’s truth to the ethics, relationships, decisions, and habits of everyday life. So teaching must engage the realities of people’s cultural experience.
Leadership Development – Christian leaders need coaching and training tailored to their cultural situation in areas like spiritual formation, teamwork, conflict, and organizational structure.
Worship & Arts – Music, dance, visual arts, ceremony, and preaching that reflect indigenous styles and forms often communicate more naturally in worship than imported expressions.
Media & Communication – Using media like film, websites, radio, and orality that fit local preferences and accessibility best spread the Gospel message contextually.
Education – Students learn better when teachers employ culturally preferred ways of reasoning, imagining, and learning styles to teach theology.
Community Development – Projects aiming for holistic change should apply Scripture to social needs in ways understandable and owned locally by all groups involved.
Business as Mission – Christian-owned businesses and social enterprises in the Majority World should conduct ethical operations that employees and customers readily grasp based on the values and needs of their communities.
In each of these areas, faithful contextualization requires understanding both Scripture and the local human context in order to bring biblical truth to bear in ways that communicate clearly and result in culturally appropriate application.
Biblical support for contextualization:
1. The Old Testament shows God meeting people where they were at in their cultural context. For example, God raised up the law to shape Israel based on where they were coming from as former Egyptian slaves (Exod. 20:2).
2. Jesus took on human flesh and entered our earthly context, embodying truth in culture-specific ways people could understand (John 1:14).
3. Though holding firm to truth, biblical writers contextualized presentation of the Gospel for varied settings. Paul says, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22).
4. At the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, leaders made a contextualizing decision to remove unnecessary cultural barriers for Gentiles coming to faith.
5. Paul affirms the value of considering cultural background and connections in sharing the Gospel: “I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” (1 Cor. 9:23).
6. Believers are called to witness and make disciples in their own communities and “to the end of the earth,” which requires contextual fluency (Acts 1:8).
7. God’s plan is to redeem people “from every tribe and language and people and nation,” pointing to diverse cultural representations in His kingdom (Rev. 5:9).
So we see contextualization modeled throughout Scripture, grounded in the Incarnation, affirmed in church tradition, and essential for the ongoing spread of the Gospel in varied global settings. When done properly, contextualization does not compromise God’s truth but enables it to be understood and embodied within different cultures.
At the same time, the Bible provides principles to guide and guard faithful contextualization:
1. Contextualization has limits. Some cultural forms or practices may need to be rejected if expressly forbidden by Scripture.
2. Contextualization must serve biblical truth, not obscure it or contradict it. Communicating God’s unchanging truth is the goal (2 Tim. 3:16).
3. Watch for unhealthy syncretism that mixes unbiblical cultural beliefs into faith practices (1 Cor. 10:21).
4. Contextualization is intended to lead to transformation, not accommodation to a sinful status quo (Rom. 12:2).
5. Cultural adaptations of biblical faith should promote unity in Christ amidst diversity, not divide groups (Eph. 2:11-22).
6. Our ultimate citizenship is in God’s multiethnic kingdom, which relativizes all human cultures (Phil. 3:20).
7. Only the work of the Holy Spirit can guide contextualization and prevent distortion of the Gospel (1 Cor. 2:4-5).
By applying these guardrails under Spirit guidance, the Church can faithfully embody and contextualize the Gospel in diverse cultures for generations to come until Christ returns.
Objections to contextualization:
Some raise concerns about dangers or limitations of contextualization:
1. Contextualization could lead to syncretism or compromise of biblical truth in order to make the Gospel more palatable to a certain culture.
2. Emphasizing cultural relevance may minimize the countercultural, absolute claims of the Gospel message.
3. Too much adaptation could breed gospel relativism between cultures rather than upholding biblical universals.
4. Focus on contextualization may foster division and tribalism within the global Church rather than Christ-centered unity.
5. Contextualization could become an end in itself rather than a means of communicating Gospel truth.
6. A highly contextual paradigm may lose sight of overarching biblical metanarrative that spans all cultures.
7. Adaptations deemed appropriate contextualization to some may seem inappropriate or heretical to other parts of the global Church.
8. Contextualization could devolve into human-centered syncretism if not carefully guided by Scripture and Spirit.
These concerns remind us that contextualization has right and wrong forms. Faithful biblical contextualization requires continually evaluating cultural assumptions and adaptations in light of Scripture. The Word of God and the Spirit’s guidance establish guardrails that make contextualization possible without compromise. Wise contextualization also maintains connection to the historical, global Church in interpretation and application. True contextualization serves the whole, not just the parts. Within a difficult balance, it aims toward unified diversity within the kingdom of God.
Examples of faithful contextualization:
1. The Nicene Creed rooted theology in biblical language about the Trinity that made sense in 4th century Graeco-Roman context.
2. Cyril and Methodius developed an alphabet for the Slavic language and translated Scripture to reach people in Eastern Europe.
3. The Reformation translated Scripture into vernacular languages and reformed worship in indigenous forms congregations could understand.
4. Evangelical abolitionists applied Scripture to cultural issues like slavery in ways that brought transformation.
5. African theologians are relating the Gospel to issues like poverty, tribal conflict, and syncretism within their historical context.
6. Asian theological education utilizes learning styles rooted in shame/honor and group identity to equip leaders contextually.
7. Latin American liberation theology reads the Bible from a Hispanic context of poverty and political oppression.
8. Messianic Jews maintain Jewish identity and forms like Hebrew liturgy in their biblical faith, pointing to Christ.
9. The Bible has been translated into thousands of heart languages, enabling people to understand and apply it within their cultures.
10. Indigenous Christian arts like Gospel choirs, Reggae, or CCM praise music adapt expressions of worship to cultural styles and forms.
In each case, contextualization aims to meaningfully embody the Gospel in ways indigenous people can grasp, while avoiding uncritical syncretism with unbiblical elements of culture. Wise contextualization requires submitting all cultural adaptations to the authority of God’s Word.
The critical role of contextualization today:
In our rapidly globalizing world, contextualization is more essential than ever for the advance of the Gospel. Here are some key reasons:
1. Facilitates understanding – People inevitably view life through the lens of their culture. Contextualization makes biblical truth clear within that worldview.
2. Overcomes barriers – Adapting the Gospel confronts and removes hindrances that cultural differences can pose to accepting the Good News.
3. Promotes indigenous ownership – When cultural forms are used, people better realize the Gospel is for them, not against their local identity.
4. Corrects foreignness – Contextualization roots the Gospel in local soil so it is not seen as a foreign import irrelevant to real life.
5. Fuels relevance – Presenting Scripture contextually enables application to pressing issues people face within their cultural location.
6. Deepens impact – When the Gospel critiques and affirms culture from within, transformation is more holistic and lasting.
7. Enables unity in diversity – Diverse cultural adaptations model how Christ incorporates all peoples in the kingdom of God.
8. Guards the Gospel – Unlike imposed foreign forms, indigenous expressions of the faith tend to endure culturally.
9. Maximizes diversity for the sake of witness – Embracing new faithful cultural forms presents a vibrant, intriguing Gospel.
10. Speeds disciple-making – When cultural barriers are removed, the Word spreads as people come to Christ and apply it contextually.
Bottom line – contextualization gives people access to understand and experience the Gospel through cultural avenues they best relate to for transformed living. Doing so accelerates kingdom growth across all nations.
In a fragmented world, contextualization provides a model of unity in diversity made possible by the incarnate Son, crucified and risen to reconcile all peoples to God and each other. Through contextualization, the Church avoids imposing foreignness and learns to become all things to all peoples for the sake of the Gospel.