Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible
Darryl Dash has a great post, where he shares his vision for frequent Bible use in our churches. Note that I didn’t say Bible “reading.” While reading the Bible is important, we should also make frequent reference to the Bible in all of our meetings, counselling, planning, and hanging out. Just beautiful.
Check it out!
We think rich application is complicated, but Jesus proved it can be quite simple. Consider his summary of how to apply the Bible:
A lawyer asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 22:35-40, ESV).
“All the Law and the Prophets” is pretty comprehensive. Jesus said that the entirety of what God wants us to do boils down to two things: love God and love your neighbor.
i_yudai (2008), Creative Commons
These two commands show two “directions” in which we can apply any passage of the Bible: inward and outward. We can work on becoming more Christ-like people who love God more desperately (inward application), and we can work on becoming more selfless people of influence who love others as Christ has loved us (outward application).
For example, Ephesians 6:4 has obvious and immediate inward application to fathers: Be a more Christ-like, patient, loving father to your children. Instruct and discipline them in the ways of the Lord. We could get much more specific, but I think you get the general idea here.
However, taking your application outward will deepen your insight, whether you are a male with children in the home or not. How can you invest in the fathers around you to help them be better fathers? How can you make the most of your current season of life (singleness, retirement, etc.) to serve others and help them in their parenting of their children? What can you do to serve in your church’s children’s ministry? How can you image God by being a father-figure to the fatherless in your community? How might these issues affect your prayers for your church and community?
Let’s practice further on Luke 2:1-21. We previously identified Luke’s main point as: “God sent Jesus to be born so he might save the lowly and rule them graciously. This brings him highest glory.”
Inward application might yield the following questions:
Outward application takes us in a different, yet just as important, direction:
As you study the Bible, remember to consider both how you can change and how you can help others to change. All the Law and the Prophets depend upon it.
We call our Bible study method OIA to help us remember the steps: Observation, Interpretation, Application. It’s not quite perfection, but we think it’s much more than just a good idea.
In approaching any passage of Scripture, we must first observe what the text says. If we’ve had a keen eye, we can move on to interpret what the author meant. We’ve allowed the passage to lead us to Jesus so we could see his beauty and glory and mercy. We’ve discovered the main point that the author wanted to communicate.
Ian Burt (2006), Creative Commons
Now we’ve come to the threshold of Application. We’re ready to take what we’ve learned and put it into practice.
The biggest problem is…we don’t know how.
We see people do it all the time. Maybe you’ve got a friend who always seems excited by the Bible. She’s often quoting verses and sharing what God is teaching her. She makes connections you wouldn’t have dreamed of making. She’s delightful to learn from. But you’ll never be able to duplicate her success…
Maybe you have a favorite preacher whose sermons you download onto your iPod. You can’t get enough of this great Bible teacher, because he’s just so good at making the text sing. When you hear him preach, your awareness sharpens and your conscience springs to life. You’re motivated to make changes, and you’re captivated by a vision for God’s glory. But you just can’t stimulate those same feelings in your personal Bible study…
I’m writing this post to encourage you.
Although rich application is a serious art, and some people are just natural at it, it is also a muscle that anyone can exercise and shape. If you are a Christian, you have the Spirit of God (Rom 8:15), who is able to help you understand God’s words (1 Cor 2:12-13). The Spirit glorifies Jesus (John 16:14) and brings conviction of sin (John 16:8-11). The Spirit empowers you to obey Jesus and make significant changes to your life (Eph 3:14-21).
You are able to learn how to apply the Bible in exciting ways. Over the next few weeks, we’ll unpack some specific steps, but here’s a quick overview.
We can apply a Bible passage in two directions: inward and outward. In other words, we can change our own lives to be more like Christ (inward), and we can become influencers who help others learn how to change to be more like Christ (outward). We are both slaves and ambassadors to King Jesus.
We can apply a Bible passage to three components: head, hands, and heart. In other words, a passage can address any or all three areas of conviction/doctrine, competence/skills, and character.
While a passage likely has only one main point (although there’s almost never one “right way” to phrase it), it can have almost an infinite number of applications. Since the Bible applies to any person living in any place at any time, it must be pretty versatile when it comes to specific application.
What do you find most difficult about applying the Bible to your life?
It’s worth it.
Not to mention the opportunity to fulfill your purpose in life by bringing glory to the only Lord who is worthy of all praise (1 Cor 10:31).
What other reasons can you think of?
Application happens when we understand the meaning of a Bible passage (i.e. we see Jesus and our need for him) and conform our lives to it. This conformity to Christ is the great purpose of God from the foundation of the world (Rom 8:29).
But the chief obstacle to vigorous application is insight. As we gain more insight into the Bible, we become more prone to revel in the insight itself and not in the life-change that ought to result from that insight.
“Debate Sobre” by Secom Bahia (2010), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License
For example, have you ever read a verse like Romans 8:29 (which I referenced above) and turned it into a theological debate? What does this verse mean about the predestination/free will controversy? Which side is right? Who has the best insight into what Paul meant by the word “foreknew”?
I’m prone to feel good about myself if I can answer these questions. I really want to win such debates. I’ve invested much time fighting my way through them.
But the chief question shouldn’t be whether predestination or free will is right. The chief question is: How is my life becoming more and more conformed to Christ? It doesn’t matter which side of the debate I fall on; God’s purpose in my life remains the same. What must change in order for me to be more like Jesus, so he can have pre-eminence as the first-born?
Insight can get in the way of application in other ways too. Have you ever felt disappointed after reading the Bible because nothing new and fantastic had occurred to you?
In contrast, have you ever felt the warmth splash over your heart when you see something you’ve never seen before in God’s Word? Maybe you found an allusion to another Bible passage that wasn’t immediately obvious. Perhaps a repeated word or idea became clear. Maybe you felt like you could relate to a Bible character due to some recent experience of your own. Perhaps you just started to get the hang of this OIA stuff, and you’re amazed at the beauty and joy that results when you can find an author’s main point.
Such insight into the Bible can be invigorating, but don’t let it distract you. The task isn’t complete until you change. Keep moving forward into Application.
Jesus warned us of the danger of insight when he used the image of architecture (Matt 7:24-27). The one who hears the Word, and stops there (possibly rejoicing in his keen insight), is like a foolish builder constructing a beach hut in a hurricane zone. The wise builder is the one who hears the Word and does it.
What other hindrances to Application can you think of?
Shane Vander Hart posted 10 quite sensible tips for reading the Bible in 2013 on his Caffeinated Thoughts blog. I especially appreciate his suggestion to dedicate the best time of your day to reading of God’s Word.
I highly recommend you check it out!
As you consider what your time with God will look like in 2013, Matt Smethurst of The Gospel Coalition has some sage advice about how NOT to read your Bible.
Check it out!
To study the Bible, we ought to observe, interpret, and apply. We must first see what the passage says before we can figure out what it means. Once we know what it means, we’re ready to conform our lives to God’s will.
Sometimes we stop with interpretation and never go ahead to application. Jesus said we’re in danger of flash flooding (Matt 7:24-27).
At other times, we’re quick to change, but we apply the wrong things (we haven’t interpreted carefully). Jesus said we’re in danger of missing the point (Matt 23:23-24).
How can we succeed at transitioning from Interpretation to Application? Here are 2 tips to help you build a good bridge.
“Bridge” by Umair Mohsin (2007), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license
It’s important to understand the main point of a passage before beginning to apply it. Working from the main point gives your application some teeth, since it focuses you on what God considers most important. Such application is both effective and satisfying.
Note: If you’re in the Old Testament, there’s an extra step. Once you’ve determined the author’s main point, remember to connect the passage to Jesus before launching into application.
During the Interpretation stage, we asked lots of questions. The main types are What? Why? and So What? That third type of question can be the most difficult, but it provides the bridge between Interpretation and Application.
Let’s demonstrate this transition as we continue our study of Luke 2:1-21.
We determined the main point to be: “God sent Jesus to be born so he might save the lowly and rule them graciously. This brings him highest glory.” Now we ask, “So what?”
So what difference does Jesus’ birth make? The lowly can be saved. Their new King is a gracious King.
So what kind of people will be saved? Lowly people.
So what brings God highest glory? Saving and ruling the lowly. Humbling the great and mighty of the earth.
So what kind of person am I if Jesus has saved me? I have not done anything to earn my salvation. I am simply one more example of God using the weak to shame the strong. I am a lowly servant with a great and gracious King.
So what should I expect the Christian life to be like? Since God is in the business of glorifying himself by saving the lowly, he will constantly deepen my understanding of my lowliness and his greatness. This process might be painful, but it will generate a lifestyle of praise and thankfulness. It’s nothing less than what Jesus experienced in his birth and life.
We’ve built our bridge, and we’re now ready to apply the passage more specifically. Over the next few weeks I’ll unpack how to do this Application effectively.
Tomorrow, Tom Hooper’s film adaptation of Schoenberg & Boublil’s Les Miserables opens in theaters. If you haven’t yet made plans to see it, do so now. It will spread sweet icing on your Christmas season.
A poster for “Les Miserables.” / Universal Pictures
Les Miserables, the musical, is based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel of the same title and successfully retains its key themes.
The main theme is the conflict of law versus grace, and the show’s two primary male characters represent the two sides. Javert, a policeman/investigator, always plays by the rules, and he expects everyone else to do so as well. Valjean, a convict-turned-entrepreneur, dedicates his life to serving others as he has been served. The two forces conflict throughout the tale.
Javert identifies how the two cannot peacefully coexist:
Damned if I’ll live in the debt of a thief,
Damned if I’ll yield at the end of the chase.
I am the law, and the law is not mocked.
I’ll spit his pity right back in his face.
There is nothing on earth that we share.
It is either Valjean or Javert!
This tension between law and grace marks human existence and is not foreign to the Bible.
The Law of God is holy and righteous and good (Rom 7:12) in that it shows us how life works best. The problem is that sinful people can’t keep it perfectly; the Law exposes their need for rescue (Rom 3:20-21).
However, if we refuse to acknowledge our need for rescue, we’ll do one of two things: Either we’ll lower God’s standard just enough so we can (pretend to) keep it, or we’ll lower God’s standard all the way and pretend there is no standard. The first approach is called legalism; the second is called license. Legalism and License are not opposites but cousins. In either case, we use the Law for something it was never meant to do. We attempt to gain God’s favor through it. This approach will never work (Gal 2:16).
God holds us to a standard of perfection (Matt 5:48). When we fail, he rescues. Jesus came for this very purpose (Acts 4:11-12). We use the term “Grace” to label God’s great favor given through Christ to those who deserve his curse. Such grace cannot coexist with a faulty “law” approach.
So Javert and Valjean will conflict. One, being transformed by grace, will lavish grace on others. The other… Well, just go see the movie.
Don’t read the Bible because you have to. Read it because you get to. And when you read it, notice how often God directs people away from their performance and toward his mercy. Will you trust in his rescue?
Whenever I teach people how to study the Bible (this OIA stuff), the question usually arises: What about using commentaries or study Bibles?
It’s a great question, because we’re surrounded by great resources. But every blessing can become a curse when we rely on the blessing and not on the Lord, so here are some common mistakes regarding commentary usage.
We need to learn in community with others, and Study Bibles and commentaries (at least good ones) represent the best Christian thinking over thousands of years. We need to learn from the wisdom of others.
It’s tempting to read a portion of Scripture and then go right to the study notes or commentary. Once we’ve seen what the experts have said, we think we understand the passage.
This practice is not much different from what the Jewish rabbis used to do. They’d debate interpretation by quoting different schools of thought, referring to the relevant commentaries to support their position. When Jesus came along, he astonished his generation because he refused to teach this way (Matt 7:28-29). He went right back to the Scripture itself, and he observed, interpreted, and applied it for the people (Matt 21:16, 42; Mark 2:25).
Jesus passed his authority on to his followers, so they could interpret his Word for succeeding generations (Matt 28:18, 20; John 14:12, 25-26; 2 Cor 5:20). With the help of Jesus’ Spirit, you, too, can read and understand God’s knowable Word.
When the meaning of a passage isn’t intuitively obvious, it’s tempting to grab a commentary right away. But I recommend that you carefully observe the Scripture and work to interpret it on your own. Spend time thinking about it. Learn how to ask questions and then answer them. Try to determine the author’s main point.
Then read some study notes or commentaries to “check your work.” See if others have already come to similar conclusions from the text. If they have, terrific. If they haven’t, then you may want to reconsider your own conclusions. Either way, you’ll get the help you need without short-circuiting the process of learning how to handle the Scripture yourself (2 Tim 2:15).
Remember that paper doesn’t say “no” to ink. Cyberspace excludes no fools. Just because something has been published doesn’t mean it’s true.
The point of the OIA method of Bible study is to teach you how to think and how to draw near to the Lord. As you compare your study of Scripture to that of the experts, be humble but also be wise. Always ask if what you’re reading in the commentary is faithful to the text or not.
May we always let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, that we might teach and admonish one another in all wisdom (Col 3:16).
