“The Bible was written not to satisfy your curiosity but to help you conform to Christ’s image. Not to make you a smarter sinner but to make you like the Savior. Not to fill your head with a collection of biblical facts but to transform your life.”
Howard Hendricks
The whole point of studying the Bible is to grow more like Christ in our everyday walk with Him. We should not want to have head knowledge about the Bible and God, but a heart change.
This brings us to the last step in the inductive method of Bible study application.
One of the main purposes of scripture is to live out what we have studied. Head knowledge is embodied in the good observation and accurate interpretation of God’s Word.
Once you have these two steps, you will learn how to apply the scripture you studied.
Application asks the question, “How should it change me?”
I love the other questions that Kay Arthur asks in her book “How to study your Bible” about applying scripture.
“What does the passage teach?”
“Is it general or specific? Does it apply only to specific people? To a cultural problem of the day? To a certain time in history?
“Has it been superseded by a broader teaching”
“For example, in the Old Testament, the children of Israel were not allowed to eat certain foods. This prohibition is not applicable to Christians today because it was superseded by the teaching in Acts 10 and the account of Peter and his vision of the unclean animals” (Arthur, Arthur & DeLcy pg126)
This is why observation and interpretation are essential for application. You don’t want to try to apply something to your life that was not meant for you. It is so important to pray on how to apply scripture to your life.
Taking into account the questions above, here are some practical ways to apply scripture.
We should try to be specific in application- some actionable item.
Here is an acronym I thought might help to think about when looking for application to a text.
J.O.Y Jesus- Others -Yourself
Questions to think about can be our relationship Jesus/God (J), our relationship to others (O), and the relationship to yourself (Y).
When we look at our relationship with God, we could ask ourselves, “what does the passage tell you or teach you about God?” or “How should the truth revealed affect my relationship with God?”
Looking at our relationship with others, there are questions you could ask are, “How should this truth affect my relationship with others?” or “How should my behavior change to reflect Christ?”
When you are self-reflecting about behavior you need to change, you could ask yourself questions like this:
“Does the meaning of this passage apply to me?”
“What is going on in my life that I need to change because of this passage?”
“Is there sin to avoid or deal with?”
“Is there an example to follow?”
The Bible should affect every part of our lives. It should convict us to change as we learn more about who God is.
I pray that the last few posts have helped you dig deeper into learning how to study God’s Word.
Let me know what you think. Leave a comment below.
Also, don’t forget to check these books on the inductive method.
Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks
How to Study Your Bible by Kay Arthur
Searching the Scriptures by Charles Swindoll
Women of the Word by Jen Wilkins
