Kyle Talbot Bible Study Methods [email protected] Week 9 (309) 370-0680 (m) The Gospel Institute
Application
Living by the Book
“Our task then is two-sided. First, we must get into the Word of God for ourselves. But then we must allow that Word to get into us, to make a permanent difference in our character and conduct” (p 291).
Nine Questions to Ask (p 342)
1. Is there an example for me to follow?
2. Is there a sin to avoid?
3. Is there a promise to claim?
4. Is there a prayer to repeat?
5. Is there a command to obey?
6. Is there a condition to meet?
7. Is there a verse to memorize?
8. Is there an error to mark?
9. Is there a challenge to face?
Four Guidelines for Principles (Chapter 46) (succinct statements of universal truths)
1. Principles should correlate with the general teaching of Scripture
2. Principles should speak to the needs, interests, questions and problems of real life today
3. Principles should indicate a course of action
4. Principles should be supported by other godly people
Grasping God’s Word Bible Study Methods 2 Spring 2016
Meaning refers to what the author intended to communicate through the text. Application refers to the response of the reader to the meaning of the inspired text. (p 236)
How should individual Christians today live out the theological principle(s)? (p 237) a. Observe how the principles in the text address the original situation
b. Discover a parallel situation in a contemporary context
c. Contemporize/place within specific real-world scenarios
Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (Klein, Blomberg & Hubbard)
“The Scriptures themselves repeatedly claim that people glorify God by obeying – that is by applying – His Word” (478). (Deuteronomy 30:11-20; Matthew 7:13-27; James 1:22)
4 Steps to Application 1. Determine the original application(s) intended by the passage What did the author want the audience to do?
2. Evaluate the level of specificity of those applications to their original historical situations. If the original specific applications are transferable across time and space to other audiences, apply them in culturally appropriate ways.
3. If the original applications are not transferable, identify one or more broader cross- cultural principles that the specific elements of the text reflect. Can we deduce a broad principle that a specific biblical text promotes as timeless even if we cannot apply universally without alteration the particular command, example, promise or warning of the text? Applications possess different levels of authority. The closer the modern application corresponds to the application in the biblical text, the greater the degree of confidence we have that our application is legitimate.
4. Find appropriate applications for today that implement those principles
10 Questions to help evaluate the level of specificity 1. Does the text present a broad theological or moral principle or does it give a specific manifestation of such a principle, which another book of Scripture elsewhere embodies in one or more forms?
2. Does the larger context of the same book of Scripture in which the passage appears limit the application in any way or does it promote a more universal application?
3. Does subsequent revelation limit the application even if the book does not?
4. Is the specific teaching “contradicted” elsewhere in ways that show it was limited to exceptional situations? Bible Study Methods 3 Spring 2016
5. Are cultural conditions identified in Scripture or assumed by its authors that make it inappropriate always to apply a given text in the same way?
6. Is the particular cultural form expressed in the biblical text present today, and, if so, does it have the same significance as it did then?
7. Is it the rationale for the application rooted in a creation ordinance, in the character of God, or in part of His redemptive plan for humanity? Such principles remain timeless even while their applications may differ. Creation ordinances refer to principles for how people should live that God established prior to the Fall of humanity into sin. Presumably, such principles remain part of the redemptive ideal for Christians as they are progressively renewed in God’s image after their salvation.
8. Is the command or application at variance with standard cultural norms of the day?
9. Does the passage contain an explicit or implicit condition that limits its application?