Knowable Word - Bible study help

La importancia del contexto, Parte 1

June 23, 2026 By Peter Krol

This is a Spanish translation of a post from our archive. For the original post in English, please click the “Publicación original” link at the top of the post. For further explanation of why we’re posting articles in Spanish for a season, see this announcement.

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Publicación original de Peter Krol, traducida por Sarah Oiler

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“Pinky, estás pensando lo mismo que yo?”

“Creo que sí, Cerebro. No es por eso que se inventaron los calcetines?”

El dibujo animado Animaniacs le sacó buen provecho a esta broma. Los dos ratones se encontraban en un berenjenal de algún tipo. Cerebro, el genio, intuía una solución y hacía su famosa pregunta. Pinky, el bobo, siempre la sacaba fuera de su contexto y decía algo tan ridículo que la broma nunca dejaba de ser graciosa.

Sin embargo, esta broma no es graciosa cuando los cristianos la usan en sus estudios de la Biblia.

¿Sabes de qué hablaba Jesús cuando dijo, “donde dos o tres se reúnen en mi nombre, allí estoy yo en medio de ellos” (Mateo 18:20, NVI)? Pista: No se hablaba de grupos de oración. Si oras solo, Jesús todavía está contigo (Mateo 6:6, 28:20). Observa el contexto en Mateo 18:15-20.

A quién le aseguraba Dios cuando dijo, “Porque yo conozco los planes que tengo para ustedes – afirma el SEÑOR –, planes de bienestar y no de calamidad, a fin de darles un futuro y una esperanza” (Jeremías 29:11)? Pista: no estaba dirigida a los cristianos que estaban luchando con una decisión grande. Observa el contexto en Jeremías 29:1-3.

¿Cuál era la intención de Pablo al escribir su famoso “himno al amor” en 1 Corintios 13:1-13? Pista: fue una reprimenda y no una tarjeta de Hallmark. Observa el contexto en 1 Corintios 11:17, 12:31, 14:20, 40.

Cada pasaje bíblico tiene un contexto. Si quitamos versículos individuales de su contexto, ponemos en peligro la interpretación. En el mejor de los casos, quizás todavía hablamos de verdades bíblicas, pero ante el mundo parecemos tontos cuando los demás ven que el pasaje no significa lo que pensamos. En el peor de los casos, nos topamos con errores, herejías o descreimiento, o podemos guiar a otras personas hacia estas cosas. Los testigos de Jehová y los mormones usan la Biblia para apoyar a sus doctrinas también.

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Are You the Sluggard? And What to Do About It

June 19, 2026 By Peter Krol

The Sluggard is the second of three fools in Prov 6:1-19.

Are you the Sluggard? Can the ant teach you how to be self-motivated and seasonally productive?

You might be the Sluggard if you:

Have 3 stars on every level of Angry Birds.
Miss things because of over-sleeping.
Are more caught up on your Instagram news feed than on your to-do list.
Have your mom do your laundry for you.
Regularly don’t do things you say you’ll do.
Need structure to work fruitfully, and you expect others to provide that structure.
You stay up all night to meet deadlines.
Regularly wonder how the day went by so fast.
Don’t know what you did for a block of time.
Feel like your parents, spouse, roommates, or boss nag you too much.

None of these things necessarily makes you the Sluggard. But if there’s a pattern, you may be in danger. Ask others if they think you work hard enough on the top priorities.

Are you ready to make the changes necessary to labor fruitfully for the Lord? Solomon tells you how.

How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,
And poverty will come upon you like a robber,
And want like an armed man. (Prov 6:9-11)

1. Ask yourself some hard questions (Prov 6:9).

“How long will you lie there?” “When will you arise from your sleep?” The answer Solomon seeks is not primarily a length of time, but a confession of motivation. If you are not motivated to work hard at what God has called you to, why not? What else motivates you to sit still and waste your time? Why do you love surfing the Internet for hours on end? Why do you watch so much TV? What do you get out of it, and is it working for you? Why do the weeks and months and years tick by, with not much to show for your life’s labor?

God sent Jesus to die so he wouldn’t have to go through the rest of eternity without you. Why are you more interested in yourself than in anything else?

2. Begin with minor choices (Prov 6:10).

No one decides to ruin his life all in one day. An investor doesn’t look for the worst possible stock to buy. A retailer doesn’t open a store in the belief that there’s no market for his goods. And a sluggard doesn’t decide up front to be lazy, unproductive, or ineffective. It’s the minute-to-minute choices that ruin him: “a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest.”

A few minutes surfing channels becomes a few hours. A quick break from something hard leads to complete procrastination. A short nap evolves into a lifestyle of irregular sleep habits.

The solution to a life of laziness is not to write out an all-encompassing life plan. The solution is to train yourself to make different choices. Small choices add up to weighty habits, for good or ill. Figure out one next step, and then take it. Then take the next. And the next. Before you know it, you’ll be walking the path of wisdom, on your way to life and hope and influence and satisfaction.

3. Remember the consequences (Prov 6:11).

If you trust in Jesus, not even your laziness can thwart his commitment to giving you eternal life. But it can make the journey there much more painful. “Poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”

Where do you rely on others to tell you what to do? They’ll stop trusting you, and you’ll never find the freedom you really want.

Where have you consistently had lack? Where do you keep relying on others to bail you out? Here’s a secret: It probably won’t change until you change. In fact, you might be surprised by how poverty, hunger, and lack of resources will ambush you and perpetually hold you captive.

Jesus came for the weak and lowly, not the influential. He worked hard so we could find our true rest. He is changing the world, and he includes us in the process. He won’t let us remain idle. He dumps his work in our laps until we understand that hard work is good for us.

And remember that Jesus died for sluggards. If you keep making little choices that render you unfruitful and ineffective, he’s not ready to give up on you. If you love him, he promises to conform you to his image, and he won’t ever let you succeed at avoiding the work of his Kingdom.

Question: Are you the sluggard? What will you do about it?

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

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After 5 Years, You’ll Be Unrecognizable

June 17, 2026 By Peter Krol

Back at the New Year, Ben Hicks offered some encouragement for regular Bible reading. Now that the year is almost half-over, perhaps some encouragement is in order. Keep on keeping on. It’s worth it!

Writing about the student who is tempted to quit his Bible reading because he hasn’t been perfectly consistent with it:

No, he doesn’t quit. You don’t expect to see a drastic change overnight. But he continues to work at it. Some days he misses. Occasionally he makes sinful choices that really set him back. But he stumbles along, developing the skill of Bible reading and getting better and better at it. After a week nothing looks that different. After a month, you can kind of tell. After a semester, there’s noticeable change. After 5 years, he’s unrecognizable.

Have you been struggling? Are you tempted to give up? Don’t do it. Get back and try it again. Little by little, “you are turning the central part of you…into something a little different from what it was before” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity).

Hicks might provide the encouragement you need. Check it out!

And then get back into the Scriptures.

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La diferencia entre el propósito principal y un resumen

June 16, 2026 By Peter Krol

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Publicación original de Peter Krol, traducida por Sarah Oiler

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El propósito principal y un resumen no son iguales.

En un estudio bíblico, es importante encontrar el propósito principal del autor. Si pierdes el propósito principal, pierdes lo principal. Te distraerá con asuntos secundarios, interpretaciones cuestionables o doctrinas divisivas.

Uno de los desafíos más difíciles al aprender cómo estudiar la Biblia es descubrir el propósito principal del autor. Requiere que aprendan a pensar. Deben aprender a hacer buenas preguntas y encontrar las respuestas que necesitan.

Además, requiere que aprendan a descubrir por qué el pasaje está allí.

La falsificación más común del propósito principal es el resumen. No es difícil leer un pasaje y resumirlo. Lo hacemos todo el tiempo. Resumimos las noticias, publicaciones en redes sociales, libros y películas.

Sin embargo, date cuenta de que un resumen no es el propósito principal.

Un resumen podría ser el clímax de la observación, pero no es lo mismo que la interpretación.

Un resumen captura lo que se dijo, pero no por qué se dijo.

Un resumen vuelve a exponer un pasaje; el propósito principal explica el pasaje.

Déjame darte un ejemplo.

En Hebreos 7:1-28, el autor escribe una teología profunda del sumo sacerdocio de Jesús. Aquí hay el resumen: “Jesús es un sumo sacerdote como Melquisedec.” El autor contrasta a Melquisedec con Aarón. Habla de algunos textos oscuros del Antiguo Testamento. Él provee alimento para nuestros debates sobre la interpretación bíblica, la relación entre la alianza antigua y nueva, y la relevancia de la ley.

Sin embargo, su propósito principal es claro como el agua. Mira Hebreo 8:1, NVI:

“Ahora bien, el punto principal de lo que venimos diciendo es este: tenemos un sumo sacerdote…”

La teología tiene un propósito. Debe inspirar la esperanza y la confianza. Los que tienen miedo del disgusto de Dios deben tener seguridad en Cristo. Los que dan por sentada la gracia de Dios deben temblar por su propia indiferencia.

El autor desea que sus lectores pasen a la acción. Él no simplemente quiere informar su pensamiento (y ahí termina). Él quiere inspirarlos a poner su esperanza en el único que puede dar lo que promete.

¿Qué dice el autor? Jesús es un gran sumo sacerdote, más grande que los sacerdotes levíticos.

¿Por qué lo dice el autor? Así que puedes confiar en él con mayor seguridad y acercarte más a Dios a través de Jesús.

¿Ves la diferencia? ¿Ves por qué es importante entender el propósito principal (y no solamente el resumen)? A menos que comprendamos el propósito principal súper bien, la aplicación permanece lejana y oscura o desconectada del texto.

Lo bueno es que, una vez que tienes el resumen del pasaje, no es complicado encontrar el propósito principal. Simplemente ve tu resumen y pregunta “¿por qué?”

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Context Mattered to Jesus, part 2

June 15, 2026 By Ryan Higginbottom

After Jesus was baptized by John, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for a showdown. Because he was hungry after a 40-day fast, Satan suggested he turn stones into bread. In the previous post in this series, we looked at the way Jesus turned back this temptation by quoting from Deuteronomy 8.

Satan then took Jesus to the top of the temple in Jerusalem and proposed a free fall. The devil quoted from Psalm 91, indicating that God had promised to protect Jesus no matter what. We have already examined this misuse of Scripture in detail, so in this article we will take a close look at Jesus’s response.

The Context of Jesus’s Response

In reply to the devil’s temptation, we read this.

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:7)

This quotation comes from Deuteronomy 6:16. The larger context is worth discussing at length. In the midst of a second giving of the law, God gave his people instructions for their new life in the promised land they would shortly enter.

You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised. (Deuteronomy 6:16–19)

Note that the primary example of Israel testing the Lord is at Massah. This narrative is found in Exodus 17:1–7.

God brought Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. He protected, provided for, and liberated his people in miraculous ways. But when they faced a water shortage at Rephidim, the people quarreled with Moses and grumbled against him. Moses feared he would be stoned (Ex 17:4)! Finally, God provided water from the rock at Horeb when Moses struck it with his staff.

It’s easy to see how Israel complained about God. How exactly did they test him? Moses tells us.

And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7)

One of the foundational aspects of the Exodus story is that God heard the cries of his oppressed people and vowed to free them. With numerous and precious promises, God told Israel that he remembered his covenant and would be their people (Ex 6:2–8). He traveled with them as a pillar of cloud and fire; they knew his awesome and mighty presence with them (Ex 13:21–22).

And yet, the people doubted their God. They thirsted and thought God was either absent or uncaring, both of which thoughts they had more than ample evidence to dismiss.

We’ve now dug down two layers—how exactly is this related to Jesus’s temptation?

A Fuller Meaning

One on level, Jesus’s meaning is clear. Satan wants Jesus to test God’s willingness to rescue him. Jesus refuses. The sort of rescue Satan proposes is artificial and boastful; God promises his protection for those who love him, not as a form of theater.

But the full context of Jesus’s reply gives even more weight to his meaning. Jesus will not forget his Father’s promises or his presence. He will not doubt God’s ability or willingness to provide exactly what is needed at the proper time. And, of course, he will need to trust the Lord for the greatest rescue of all time.

That rescue will not happen at his arrest, his imprisonment, his trial, or his execution. And it certainly will not happen at the devil’s prompting, as though it were a birthday party magic trick.

No, Jesus knows the Father’s love and the Father’s plan. He trusts God in his mission and his timing. And he looks forward to his dramatic, rumbling, stone-splitting rescue from the grave on Easter morning.

Jesus will have angelic aid at his great rescue, but to agree to the devil’s terms would be to trade a precious, valuable, family heirloom for a cheap, plastic, vending machine imitation.

One Final Temptation

We have one temptation remaining, and Jesus used the Bible again to refuse the devil. Please join me next time in the final article in this series.

This was originally posted in 2020.

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Fool #2: The Sluggard

June 12, 2026 By Peter Krol

The second of Solomon’s three fools is the Sluggard. “Sluggard” is an old-fashioned word for lazy-bones or couch potato, and such people existed long before video games or social media. This person loves to have fun. The Sluggard is usually behind on something, but he runs out of time before he can get to it. This person is often incredibly busy. This person is a great friend to have, but not the best teammate or project partner. The Sluggard doesn’t know how to produce stuff, but he knows how to get it from others who produce it for him (be it the Church, the welfare office, or his parents).

There are times when I am this fool. Could it be that there are times when you are as well?

Go to the ant, O sluggard;
Consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief,
Officer, or ruler,
She prepares her bread in summer
And gathers her food in harvest (Prov 6:6-8).

Snacho McCann (2010), Creative Commons — Sancho McCann (2010), Creative Commons

Solomon commands the Sluggard to pay attention to the world. By noticing a few things about insignificant ants, he might, in fact, become wise.

First, consider how ants are self-motivated (Prov 6:7). They don’t need a supervisor cracking a whip over them. They don’t need their moms to remind them to take out the trash. They don’t need deadlines or micro-management to get the job done. They don’t have drill sergeants shouting in their faces. They move forward, doing what they ought to do. They out-perform the competition and can be relied upon to carry out top priorities. If they struggle to understand how they fit into the big picture, they don’t blame others for failing to give them enough purpose. They go after it for themselves.

Second, consider how ants are seasonally productive (Prov 6:8). They know when to work and when to play. They know what work should be done today, and what work can be put off until tomorrow. They don’t wait for winter to hit before they begin stocking the shelves. They don’t stay up late on April 14^th to finish filing their taxes. They’re aware of how much legwork goes into a task, and they plan far enough in advance to get it all done.

These two values—motivation and productivity—will convert any comatose dawdler into an influential laborer for God’s Kingdom.

In my college years, I ricocheted between laziness and workaholism until a mentor challenged me to view my schoolwork as a job. He encouraged me to set “business hours,” within which I would do all my classes and homework—and nothing else. When business hours ended, I could set the work aside and spend time investing in my relationships with God and other people. As I employed the counsel of this fatherly “ant,” I discovered that it was not only possible but also invigorating to live such a disciplined life. I had no guilt when 6:00pm arrived and I put my textbooks away to have dinner with a friend. I took an entire day each week to worship the Lord and rest in him, which freed me to become involved in my church. My stress level at exam time was much lower, and my investment in the Kingdom of God was much higher.

Question: How can you be more self-motivated or seasonally productive?

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

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Can You Trust Your New Testament as a Legitimate Text?

June 10, 2026 By Peter Krol

John Samson has a wonderful article walking through, in non-technical language, the history of how we got the New Testament text we have today. In so doing, he addresses the foolish and cartoonish claim that reading the Bible is like a cosmic “telephone game” through history.

Samson explains:

The telephone game is fun exactly because it was designed to distort the message. It is one slim chain, one whisper at a time, and you cannot check the whisper you heard against anything else, not even the whisper before the one you heard. By the end of the line, you have no way to test anything that occurred along the way. Distortion is basically guaranteed.

The New Testament is the exact opposite to this.

Samson goes on to admit that we don’t have the original manuscripts, and there are many variants, but none of that is reason for concern.

If you’d like to know the truth behind how the text of your Bible landed in your hands, and why we have such an embarrassment of riches as evidence for its legitimacy, Samson’s article will not let you down.

Check it out!

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Cómo interpretar: Determinar el propósito

June 9, 2026 By Peter Krol

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Publicación original de Peter Krol, traducida por Sarah Oiler

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Esta semana, explicaré el tercero de los 3 pasos para interpretar la Biblia.

El paso tres fue determinar el propósito principal del autor:

“Al responder a todas tus preguntas, júntalas en una imagen grande. Tu trabajo es entender lo principal que el autor está comunicando a través del pasaje (2 Pedro 3: 15-18).

La mayoría de los desacuerdos teológicos entre los cristianos tienen lugar cuando las personas se centran en cosas que no son los propósitos principales de pasajes. No estoy diciendo que la teología es mala (de hecho, es muy importante). Simplemente estoy diciendo que es importante centrarse en los propósitos principales de la Biblia y no en propósitos secundarios, cuestionables o implícitos (Mateo 23:23-24).” (traducido por Evangelio blog, modificado por mí)

Aquí hay algunas ideas para ayudarte a entender el propósito principal del autor:

Toma nota de la línea de pensamiento. ¿Cómo avanza el autor del primer versículo al último? Una manera de hacer esto es separar el capítulo en párrafos. Después, determina el propósito principal de cada párrafo. Únelos para ver cuál podría ser el propósito principal de todo el capítulo.
Subraya la gramática esencial. Esto requiere la observación cuidadosa del pasaje. Puedes condensar las narraciones en la estructura básica del argumento. Puedes resumir los textos instruccionales escribiendo solamente los sujetos y verbos de cada frase. Muchas veces, reconocer la forma de la estructura nos ayuda a identificar el propósito principal.
Considera lo que dice el pasaje sobre Jesús. Sabemos que él es el propósito principal de la Biblia (Juan 5:39), así que debemos esperar que cada sección diga algo sobre él. Creo que Lucas 24:46-47 ofrece un formato útil. Cada pasaje de la Escritura revela a Jesús al explicar por lo menos una de las verdades siguientes:
- El Mesías sufriría (moriría).
- El Mesías resucitaría.
- Necesitamos arrepentirnos de nuestros pecados y ser perdonados.
- Este mensaje (la muerte y la resurrección del Mesías hacen posible el perdón) debe ser predicado a todas las naciones.
Siempre pregunta “¿Por qué?” Queremos más que un resumen de lo que escribió el autor. Queremos hacer lo posible para descubrir por qué él lo escribió.

Tu análisis del propósito principal de Lucas 2:1-21 podría verse así:

Versículos 1-7: en contraste con el poderío de Roma, Jesús, el heredero del rey David, nació en gran oscuridad.
Versículos 8-14: los soldados celestiales proclaman su nacimiento a los humildes y no a los poderosos. Jesús no se presentó como un rey conquistador, sino como un salvador, quien es el Mesías, el Señor.
Versículos 15-21: los humildes sirven al Rey verdadero al correr, ver y testificar.

Bien, hasta ahora. Podemos resumir el pasaje llamándolo “el nacimiento de Jesucristo.” Pero es necesario que avancemos más allá de resumir por qué está aquí. ¿Qué quiere enseñarnos Lucas?

Sugiero algo así: Dios envió a Jesús para nacer, para que pudiera salvar a los humildes y reinar sobre ellos con bondad. Esto glorifica a Dios al máximo.

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Take People to the True Savior

June 5, 2026 By Peter Krol

The first of three kinds of fool in Prov 6:1-19 is the Savior. Foolish saviors insert themselves between people’s choices and the consequences of those choices.

The wise know that the need for rescue is urgent, but there’s only one who can carry it out. There’s a savior, and I’m not he. Needy people most need to fear the Lord. They need to know Jesus and trust in the saving power of his death in their place and his resurrection to glory. If the Lord brings adverse consequences to draw people closer to him (Prov 3:11-12), then when I buffer them from those consequences, I’m keeping them away from God.

Proverbs 6:1-5 isn’t for only those who cosign loans.

You might be the “savior” if you:

Let other students copy your homework.
Love when people talk about how much you’ve helped them.
Believe answering a phone call or text message is more important than anything, because this person needs you right now!
Have friends who keep coming to you for accountability, but nothing ever changes.
Are bitter because you’re always helping others but they’re never helping you.
Are proud because you’re the first one people turn to when they need help.
Are overwhelmed by how many people need your help.
Participate in service projects to feel better about yourself.
Claim to be a Christian, but you’re dating a non-Christian, and you think your partner might not go to church if not for your relationship.

None of these things necessarily makes you the foolish “savior.” But if there’s a pattern, you may be in danger. Ask others if they think you rescue people too much.

Jesus came for the sick, not for the healthy. If we take Jesus’ place as savior, we merely prolong the illness. People will never see their need and turn to him. But if we speak as Jesus’ ambassadors, letting him do his work in people’s lives, we get a front-row seat to his display of mercy. In helping to meet any need, our goal should always be to point people to Jesus and not to ourselves. Sometimes imaging Jesus means rescuing a child from a burning building. Other times it means allowing the child to touch the hot stove we’ve already warned them against. In either case, we must take the burned one to Jesus, the only true savior.

The main problem is that people often don’t want grace; they want a bailout. They don’t want their feet held to the fire; they want their hands held. They want safety, not responsibility. They want an easy life, not a free gift. They want stability, not sacrifice. They want to subsidize their lifestyle, not change it. They want a nanny, not a neurosurgeon. So they ask for our help, while rejecting what would actually help.

So, in Jesus’ name, you can:

Lavish mercy without dulling the pain of their choices.
Participate in service projects to help others and not to assuage your own nagging guilt.
Meet financial needs by donating instead of co-signing.
Consider donating to organizations helping people grow in responsibility and dignity, rather than only bailing out needy individuals who may find themselves right back in the same needs again.
Introduce your non-Christian partner to others who will speak of Jesus; then get yourself out of the way.
Offer tutoring instead of sharing your homework.
Let the call go to voicemail and return it at another time.

And remember that Jesus died for “saviors.” If you keep getting in the way of his saving work in others’ lives, he’s not ready to give up on you. If you love him, he promises to conform you to his image, and he won’t ever let you succeed at replacing him.

Question: Where do you see the “Savior” in your heart, and what would it look like to represent the true Savior instead?

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

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What it Means to “Apply” the Bible

June 3, 2026 By Peter Krol

Chen Xie has a fascinating article about what it means to “apply” the Bible. He explores not only how to apply the Bible but also why it works the way it does. He explores different models for application that various biblical scholars have proposed. In so doing, Xie shows how they don’t contradict but fit together, tending to highlight one aspect or another of a larger framework.

In the end, Xie suggests that we can identify “right” application according to three criteria:

Faithful use: We apply (use) the text as a norm in a way that is faithful to the canonical text and to the history of its orthodox reception in Christian tradition.
Fitting relevance: We apply (relate) it to our present situations and make judgments that are fitting to new cultural contexts.
Fervent devotion: We apply (devote) ourselves fervently to participate in the text’s world—God’s kingdom—and let it transform our whole person.

Xie also supports the robustness of the head/heart/hands model we promote on this blog. If you’re interested in understanding why we do what we do in application, Xie’s article is well worth your time.

Check it out!

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