How to Find Timeless Biblical Principles in Scripture

The timeless biblical principles in Scripture are just as true, authoritative, and applicable now as they were when the Bible was written. 

Our God is eternally true and unchanging. (Numbers 23:19, Psalm 102:27, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). Since God’s Word expresses His character, the foundational truths and principles the Bible teaches are also eternal and unchanging. 

Yet sometimes these timeless principles are not easy to spot because of the historical, cultural, and situational gap that exists between the original writing and our lives today. This post will define “timeless biblical principle,” give some basic characteristics, present steps to find them, and offer a few examples.

What are Timeless Biblical Principles?

Everything in the Bible is grounded in an eternal truth, a timeless principle that reflects God’s character, purposes, and ways. Yet much of it is “contextualized” or clothed in the culture, history, and situation of the original audience. (See “Mind the Gap: Consider the Bible’s Historical and Cultural Context.”)

The biblical authors contextualized the timeless principles for their readers by applying the eternal truth to their particular time and unique set of circumstances. Our job as readers and students of the Bible is to reverse that process. We identify the timeless biblical principle and then apply it to our specific time and situation.

The following definition for timeless biblical principles is from Kenneth Acha’s book Inductive Bible Study: A Trusted Guide to Understanding and Applying the Word of God, page 382.

“Principles are the timeless, universal doctrines behind the particular expressions that form the message to the original audience. Principles are the same for both the original readers and us today.” 

Why do we need to identify the timeless principles?

If done correctly, interpretation of a Bible passage is objective, based on the evidence in the text. But understanding the original meaning is not our end goal. Faithful Bible students want to adjust our thinking and behavior to God’s Word. We want to apply His truth. (Also see “What is Inductive Bible Study” and “Biblical Interpretation: How to Understand a Bible Passage.”)

But to do that, we must move from what it meant to the original audience to how that meaning applies to us today. The timeless biblical principles are the bridge between solid interpretation and good application. 

We must not confuse the timeless spiritual principle/eternal truth with the contextual application of those principles/truths.

Four Characteristics of Timeless Biblical Principles

So, how do we know when we’ve identified that timeless principle? What does one look like? Here are a few characteristics to consider:

It stands independent of its context – Understanding and applying a timeless principle will not depend on one specific set of circumstances or situation. It will be applicable to many situations and circumstances.Relevant to all people of all time – Because a timeless principle is not dependent on any specific set of circumstances, its truth will apply to people at every point in history in every cultural context.Reflects God’s character, purposes, and ways – God is not only the author of truth, He is truth. Every timeless principle flows from Him and thus will align with who He is and what He does.Does not contradict the teaching of the rest of Scripture – By its nature, truth cannot contradict truth. No truth or principle we identify in Scripture will contradict any other truth. If we think we see a contradiction, we have mis-interpreted one passage or both. (Also see “ How to Interpret Scripture with Scripture .”)Steps to Identify the Timeless Biblical Principles

Now that we know what they are and what they look like, let’s consider how we pinpoint those timeless principles in Scripture. 

Some passages will be easier than others. Some eternal truths are straight-forward, already independent of any historical or cultural trappings. For instance, Jesus’ command in John 15:12 to “Love one another as I have loved you” is timeless and directly applicable.

Other passages are so wrapped in cultural and historical specifics we must turn to people far smarter than ourselves to make sense of it. And sometimes even those scholars don’t agree. 

Thankfully, there is wide agreement on the most foundational truths such as the nature of God and salvation through Christ alone. 

Now to some practical steps:Study the passage using a solid, inductive method – The first step is to understand what the author intended to communicate to the original audience. For help on good Bible study see “ The 4R Inductive Bible Study Method for Everyday Use .”Ask how the biblical author wanted the original audience to respond – This is the application point for the first readers. The author wanted them to believe something, do something, or stop doing something. Sometimes, like Jesus’ command in John 15:12, this application is directly transferrable to all times and cultures.Strip away anything tied to the cultural, historical, or situational context – Look for everything in the passage that was solely connected to that original audience. Those are the things that do not “translate” into our time, place, and circumstances. For instance, in Romans 16:1-2 Paul commanded the believers in Rome to welcome, help, and provide for Phoebe, the ministry partner of Paul who delivered his letter. Phoebe is long gone and we cannot directly obey Paul’s command, but there are underlying principles we can obey.Identify the core teaching – After we strip away the contextual elements the eternal truth or timeless principle remains. That is the core teaching of the passage. It will be independent of anything temporal or changing. When we look beneath the specific circumstances of Phoebe in Romans 16, we see that Paul commands us to honor and help those leaders of the church who serve and minister to us.Summarize that core teaching into a clear timeless principle – To confirm we understand the eternal truth that undergirds the passage we can write a brief statement in our own words. Here’s an example based on Romans 16:1-2. “God’s people must welcome, encourage, and help God’s leaders who serve the church.”Apply the timeless principle – With prayer and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, determine how God wants you to specifically apply the timeless principle. For instance, what leader in your church needs help or encouragement right now? What is a tangible way you could support or help them?

What questions do you have about timeless principles? Does this process feel doable?

How to Find Timeless Biblical Principles in Scripture by Kathy Howard.