Principle 5: Applying the Bible Everyday

Thesis: The Christ-follower should learn to apply daily Scripture readings to his or her life. . When we read the Bible, some people have difficulty seeing how the Bible relates to our lives today. After all, it was written about people who live 2000 to 4000 years ago. How can we take such an old book and make it apply to our lives today? We can take three simple steps to help us understand the Bible and see how to apply Scripture to our lives. Original Context. The first approach to daily Scripture reading involves careful observation. When reading, we should always ask ourselves, what was the original intent of the passage? We sometimes put our situation into the Scriptures and pull out a meaning the text was never intended to reveal. We cannot do that. When we put our own interpretations into the passages we read, we make the Bible say things it was never meant to say. For example, sometimes we may read passages such as the one where Jesus washes the disciples feet and feel the church is not being Biblical in foot washing; however the issue is not whether one practices foot-washing. The point of the Scripture here is that we are to be servants. Jesus, the most incredible man of all time, humbled Himself as a servant to those around Him. To avoid adding meaning to the text and to understand the real message in it, we need to read the surrounding passages and understand the setting in which the Scriptures were written. As we read the Scriptures, we need to realize that the events did not happen yesterday, a month ago or a hundred years ago. These events happened 2000 to 4000 years ago during a time when the culture was much different. There were no automobiles, airplanes, internet, or great number of books. In the days of Moses, the first five books of the Bible were just being written. The people lived in an agricultural society, depending heavily on the crops to bring forth produce. Imagine living in that culture; try to picture the surroundings and the circumstances. For instance, how would it feel to be the Israelites crossing the Red Sea with Pharaohs army all around us? We would have no defenses because we were slaves. We would be totally helpless with only the clothes on our backs. We could not call in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a bridge. We would be trapped. We should be able to ask ourselves, if I were in that situation, how would I feel and what would I do? It is out of this setting that the Red Sea parted and the children of Israel were able to go across on dry ground. When the Egyptians followed, the Israelites continued to worry; would they be caught? Then the parted sea closes and the pursuing army was drowned. It is hard to imagine the hush that must have come over the crowd or the shouting and celebration that ensued. They had known nothing but slavery and now they were free. What should they do next? How would their lives change? We must ask these questions when reading Scriptures. Picturing the children of Israel in slavery and fleeing for their lives is the best way to understand their celebration and their fear the future; reading this way allows us to receive the intended message of the Scripture in the context of events around it.

Interpretation. The second approach to daily Scripture reading involves interpretation. We need to be able to ask ourselves the question, what is the overall meaning of the passage? Sometimes the message is clear and sometimes it is not. Some of the commands in Scripture have contextual settings that no longer apply. A distinct command is found in Matthew 22 when Jesus is asked, What is the greatest command? Jesus tells them to love God with all their heart, soul and mind. This is a crystal clear command that transcends all time. But other passages take more time to get the overall meaning. We read of Joshuas taking down the walls of Jericho and realize that it was a great battle. The overall principal was that Joshua received a word from God and obeyed, not that he brought down the city. The truthful message about obedience is one that can transcend all time. Application. The third approach is applying Gods Word to our daily life. What does the passage mean to us today? James 1:22 says we are not to be only hearers of Gods Word but we are to be doers. It is not enough to read Gods Word, but we must apply it to our lives daily. God is not interested in what we know but in what we do. We can take the truth of Gods Word and begin to apply it to our everyday life. A great beginning point to making application is found in these four questions: 1. Is there a command to obey? 2. Is there a promise to claim? 3. Is there a sin to avoid? 4. Is there a lesson to learn? We can see from the passages and stories above that a simple command to obey is loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind. We can ask ourselves the question, Am I loving God with everything I am? Practical application of this Scripture is realizing that God wants nothing less of our life and making ourselves commit to obeying His word. Other questions to help apply Scripture to our lives include the following: Do I rejoice over the many ways God has moved in my life? What area in my life do I know God is calling me to obedience? Am I reading Gods word and taking the steps to make it applicable to my life today? When we are able to apply these questions from our own lives to the Scriptures we read, then God begins to make changes, sometimes gradual and sometimes drastic, within our lives.

Questions to ponder: When you read Gods Word, are you reading just to read or are you asking God to make it apply to your life today? Application: Ask God to help you read His Word daily so that your life can be changed. Prayer: Lord, help me to apply Your Word everyday to my life. Amen.