J. I. Packer agrees: “The basic form of obedient theology is applicatory interpretation” (“In Quest of Canonical Interpretation,” in The use of the bible in Theology: evangelical options, ed. Robert K. Johnston [Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 1997], 44). According to Packer, some truths—mainly about ourselves—we only know and perceive as truth “in the process of actually obeying it”, 54.
