How to determine transcultural vs. culturally-bound biblical instructions

Mike's hermeneutical framework: (1) Start with interpretation before application — ask who the text is speaking to originally; (2) Understand genre: law, epistle, narrative, wisdom literature signal different kinds of authority; (3) Israel under the law vs. Christians under the new covenant — moral content of the law still applies but punishments and ceremonies do not (Acts 15); (4) Don't assume a text applies directly to you; (5) Narrative is usually descriptive not prescriptive — the Judas hanging example; (6) The danger of "follow Jesus" literalism — the disciple-leaving-nets story is not a universal command to quit one's job (contradicted by Ephesians/Colossians passages on working for the Lord); (7) Epistles are generally the most directly applicable genre for Christian conduct; (8) Read Bible like a newspaper — genre awareness is natural.