Cross-Eyed Application: Equipping Preachers to Urge Faith-Based, Text-driven Obedience

From this attempt at cross-eyed interpretation we have provided the first look at cross-eyed application. The Christ-centered interpretation above demands a response of faith-rooted obedience. Therefore, we will first urge people to believe that faith in Christ has transformed them and can continue to transform them. Then, when we urge them to obey the command to love their wives just as Christ also loved the church, their obedience will stem from the foundation of their faith.

Cross-Eyed Application: Asking the First Question, 'Do we believe?'

Now that a cross-eyed interpretation is in view, what will we tell the people to do in light of the biblical text under consideration? As our heading shows, the first thing we tell the people to do is believe, which is the essence of cross-eyed application. The following verses show that the clear call of Scripture is to build obedience on the foundation of the obedience of faith.

The prophet Habakkuk wrote in Habakkuk 2:4: "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith." Faith is the foundation of the life of the righteous. There can be no righteous lifestyle without faith in Christ.

In Galatians 3:2-3 Paul wrote: "This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" The correct answer, of course, is that the Galatian believers received the Spirit by hearing with faith and it was foolish for them to attempt to be perfected without faith. Here we discover that sanctification, or growth into Christlikeness, is faith-driven.

These verses teach us that faith is an essential part of sanctification. Faith is the foundation for all Christian living because faith embraces and declares real the Kingdom of God (including all the promises of God). The believer who believes, exhibits attitudes and actions consistent with citizenship within the kingdom of God. This is different from mere behavior modification that can be accomplished without faith in the bospel.

We have benefited from Timothy Keller's distinction between a morally-restrained heart and a supernaturally-changed heart (2003, p. 58). The difference between a morally-restrained heart and a supernaturally-changed heart might be described by the analogy of two people responding to the message: "Stop getting drunk." The person with a morally-restrained heart will seek to stop his drunkenness to avoid the negative consequences of his actions. The person with a supernaturally changed heart will seek to stop his drunkenness as a result of having believed in the gospel. He will repent of his sin and turn toward Christ as the object of his desire and source of his satisfaction.

The morally-restrained person has come to the conclusion that his present life will be better without being under the influence of alcohol. The supernaturally changed person has come to the conclusion that his eternal life with Christ is more desirable than life under the influence of alcohol. Our contention is that many Christians are being urged to obey apart from faith in Christ, which means they are rendering sub-Christian obedience.