APPLYING SCRIPTURE- AN ESSAY BY DAN

DORIANI

DEFINITION
Applying the Bible requires the skill and discipline to
avoid incorrect as well as predictable applications.

SUMMARY
Godly pastors have many options for applying the Bible.
They look for direction in the Bibles commands,
narratives, doctrines, songs and prayers. They also try
to answer two or three of the four questions people ask
when the speak. In this way, they bring Scripture to the
people and the people to Scripture.
People say that the skill of applying the Bible is more
caught more than taught, a result of instinct or spiritual
insight and not methods. Yet most pastors struggle to
apply the Word. Many believers hear the same
applications, in roughly the same words, week after
week: they should pray more, serve more, evangelize
more; they should be more holy, faithful, and
committed. This becomes predictable, hence, dull. If a
teacher’s ultimate crime is to promote heresy, the
penultimate crime is to make the faith seem boring.
Many pastors dwell on the epistles or didactic portions
of Scripture because they feel they only apply the Bible
when they tell people what to do. As a result, they avoid
doctrinal or narrative portions of Scripture.
There is a better way.

God-centered, Christ-centered
Application of the Whole of
Scripture
First, application is God-centered and Christ-centered. It
begins with the work of God and our response to it.
Therefore we preach and apply the story of redemption
and the doctrinal passages that describe sin,
repentance, faith, and union with Christ. These fuels
proper responses to God’s truth.

Teachers resemble midwives. God gives people spiritual

life without our aid, but we are God’s assistants. The
work has these elements:
The primary elements in application are the text, the
interpreter, and the audience. The interpreter is a
mediator, taking the message to the people (arrow 1).
The interpreter also takes the questions and needs of
the audience to the text (arrow 2). The interpreter
discovers the Bible’s meaning through interpretive skills
(arrow 3), but Scripture is most effective when
interpreters hear and heed its message (arrow 4).
Interpreters speak most effectively when they
understand and answer the questions people ask (arrow
5). Finally, when pastors love their people and show
skill with Scripture, they gain credibility and their
people listen (arrow 6).

Paul says “All Scripture is… profitable for teaching, for

reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness” (2Tim 3:16-17). That means we should
believe narratives, doctrines, songs, and prayers are as
profitable and applicable as commandments.

Commandments often seem easiest to apply but they

demand pastoral skills too. In the Pentateuch and the
teaching of Jesus and the apostles, specific rules about
oxen or sacrifices require interpreters to draw sound
connections to contemporary life. And broad principles,
such as “Honor your father and your mother” requires
meditation. How does an adult believer honor foolish
parents? Pastors will let the Bible’s various commands
on this theme interpret each other.

More than one-third of the Bible is narrative or

history and it is rich in application. Biblical narratives
tell the story of redemption. Jesus said all Scriptures
speak of him (Luke 24:25-27). The victories and
defeats, the prophets, priests, and kings of the OT all
point to Jesus. Clearly, the gospel narratives describe
Jesus’ saving work. So narratives call us to faith, reveal
the character of the God we trust and worship, and call
us to him (Rom 8:29).
Jesus, Paul, and Hebrews all show that we should gain
moral lessons from biblical history too. Jesus wants us
to learn from the exemplary faith of people he meets
and from people like David (Matt 8:5-13, 12:1-8). Paul
treats David and sinful Israelites as examples to heed or
avoid (Rom 4:6-8, 1Cor 10:1-14). And Heb 11 invites us
to learn from the heroes of the faith.

The songs and prayers of Scripture teach us how to

praise, confess sin, lament our troubles, and seek
wisdom from God. They give us language to present the
array of our thoughts and feelings to the Lord (see Pss
13, 69, 103).

Doctrine is relevant. Above all, doctrines reveal God’s

character – his holiness, justice, love, mercy, grace, and
faithfulness. Since he created us in his image and
restores us in Christ, God’s character shows the
character we should seek. Furthermore, we can apply a
doctrine, such as the loving providence of God, by
asking simple questions: “If this doctrine is true, what
thoughts and actions follow?” Or “If I truly believed this
doctrine, how would it shape my thoughts, emotions,
and actions?” Doctrines also have great explanatory
power. When we face life’s great questions, the answer
often lies with a doctrine.

So far, we have considered how teachers bring the Bible

to the people in application, but we now consider how
teachers can start with people’s questions. The Bible, as
well as the history of ethics, indicates that our
questions about right living tend to fall into categories
we can call “The four questions people ask.” Pastors
can answer two or three of these questions in most
messages.

Four questions people ask about

Christian living
The first question is: What is my duty? That is, what
should I do? What do I owe God and mankind? Second,
who should I be? How can I become a person who
habitually does the right, even in adversity? Can we
gain the character to desire and do what is right? Third,
what goals should we pursue? To what causes should I
devote my energy? If we have good goals, we invest in
worthwhile projects and find the means to achieve
them. Fourth, how can we see? How can we gain
insight, wisdom, or discernment to distinguish truth
from error? How can we recognize erring voices, so we
see the world God’s way and approach decisions
correctly?

Many pastors feel they are applying the Bible when they
tell people their duty, and they are! But discipleship
entails more than obedience to commands. We also
apply the Bible when we tell people who they are and
how that should work itself out as they nurture the fruit
of the Spirit. We also apply the Bible when we direct
people to the right goals, so they pursue kingdom
projects.

Laws set the parameters for right living, but we need

more than laws. To do the good, one must be good. A
good tree bears good fruit (Matt 7:18). A new heart or
character, resting on faith and repentance, allows one
to do good works. The heart, mind, and affections are
the root of true obedience, obedience motivated by
love. Law and duty are essential, but it’s impossible to
state rules in enough detail to cover every situation. So
we enter moral situations with several question,
including: “What is the right moral decision? Am I
seeing this situation correctly? Will I have strength to do
what is right? Effective application answers all of these
questions. Let’s further explore the four questions.

What should I do? Duty

Pastors focus on duty when they think the people need
counsel or need to know what to do. The key question is
“What does God require in Scripture?” Pastors
especially address duty when their people face new or
uncertain situations. The Bible states our duties in the
law (Exod 20) and the prophets and in the teachings of
Jesus and the apostles. Laws state the ground rules of
life. Duties may be universal: everyone should tell the
truth. Or they may be particular: carpenters make
tables and pastors prepare sermons.

Duty can be attractive for the wrong reasons. Certain

pastors like to sound authoritative and authoritarian
leaders may seek control by laying down the law – and
certain people like to be told what to do.

Who am I? Character
Pastors focus on character when they believe their
people need moral skills and predispositions that will
carry them down the right path for years in areas like
work or marriage. Here pastors tell people who they are
in Christ, explore how they might become more like
him, and consider how people change so they
experience a long obedience in one direction.

Christian living is more than doing right or wrong. It also

touches the kind of persons ought to be. Christians of
character believe right and wrong matters. They love
the right, hate evil, and reliably do the right even under
duress.

It is pointless to command a secular person, “Store up

treasure in heaven” (Matt 6:19). Secular people
inevitably store treasures on earth. Atheism annuls the
capacity to obey. Likewise, nominal Christians resist
Jesus’ teaching, “No one can serve two masters… You
cannot serve God and money” (6:24). They think, “Why
not?” So character creates the capacity to act on
instruction. Who we are establishes what we can do.

Duty says, “Do the right thing.” Character says,

“Righteous people do the right things.” Character is the
architect of a way of life. It is open-ended. No one
knows where a virtue like courage may lead.
Courageous people act courageously, even if it costs
them.

Character is essential because the law cannot fully map

the Christian life. We find our way, we improvise,
according to our character, in new situations and
character creates strengths that let us improvise well.
Pastors address the heart or character because the
ability to obey commands is more fundamental than the
commands themselves. Why command people to obey
when they cannot? One might as well order a drowning
man to swim. Truly, he should swim, but he is
incapable. Still, we cannot simply order people to
change. Change begins when the Spirit quickens us, we
believe, and we are united to Christ. Then, because God
is at work in us, we work out our salvation with fear and
trembling (Phil 2:12-13).

Character changes slowly, but we can grow in

character. C.S. Lewis said, “Every time you make a
choice you are turning the central part of you into
something different from what it was before. Taking
your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices…
you are slowly turning this central thing either into a
heavenly creature or a hellish creature” (Mere
Christianity).

Where should we go? Goals

Pastors focus on goals when they offer pastoral counsel
to people who must choose between several valid
options. What they do depends on where they are
going, what they want to accomplish. Pastors then
consider questions like “What is your life direction?
What are the best means for achieving godly ends? Can
you shape your corner of the world so it more nearly
conforms to God’s plans?” As pastors teach the word,
they help people discover what they want to achieve.
Goals are the causes and aspirations that direct our
skills, energy, and choices. Goal may be small or large
and life-shaping. Goals motivate us to train ourselves
and seek positions and allies that let us fulfill our
chosen projects. Goals explain why we work on one
thing but not another. Pastors often help people choose
and pursue wise goals. Good goals fit within the
parameters of law and duty. We don’t help anyone
pursue immoral goals.

Scripture clearly approves an interest in plans and

goals. The Lord gave Moses the task or goal of leading
Israel out of Egypt; Joshua led them into the promised
land. Paul a goal – to preach the gospel foundationally,
in places where Christ had never been named (Rom
15:20). We must test our goals, for God may not affirm
them. David wanted to build the temple, but God
ordained that Solomon take up that task, while David
assisted him (1Chron 22).

When we pursue goals, we reflect the image of God,

who makes and executes plans.  The concept of
spiritual gifts suggests that God has specific purposes
for people. When we use our God-given talents, we
accomplish goals joyfully.

How can I see? Discernment

Pastors focus on discernment when they need to help
their people detect and resist false mindsets and
customs and grow in wisdom. Pastors know that what
people do largely depends on the options they can see.
Discernment is insight and understanding to see things
as they are, from God’s perspective. Discernment lets
us discriminate between biblical and unbiblical voices
within the competing world-views we encounter.
Discernment is the cousin of wisdom. If wisdom is skill
in the arts of living, discernment is skill in the art of
seeing. If wisdom is “the knowledge of God’s world and
a knack of fitting oneself into it” (Bruce Waltke), then
discernment is knowledge of the world and the ability to
fit in or resist, as needed.

Discernment begins with fundamental convictions about

God and the world. Core beliefs become the measure
we use to test other ideas or perspectives.

David illustrates discernment. When Philistine and

Israelite armies stalemated in the hills of Judea, Goliath
offered to fight a hero from Israel and let that substitute
for a full battle. Saul had promised his daughter in
marriage and release from all taxes, but no one came
forward because soldiers know: dead men pay no taxes
anyway. They wondered who would dare to fight the
giant.

David had the discernment to see the situation God’s

way. He knew the question was not, “Who will dare to
fight the giant?” but “Who is this to taunt the living
God?” David saw that Goliath had despised God and
declared “The battle is the Lord’s,” as he faced his foe
(17:26, 42-48).

Discernment shapes our choices today. Take abortion.

Some see the removal of a cluster of cells, the “product
of conception.” Others see violence against the weak
and defenseless. One sees women gaining control over
their lives. Others see children losing their lives.
Discernment enables us to resist conformity to our
age.   Community is essential, since most people are
followers. They see moral situations as their culture
does. Communities have customs and customs can gain
moral force, for whatever is customary seems moral or
right.

Bible application also includes discernment because a

portion of an audience silently resists a pastor
whenever he addresses controversial topics. If hearers
reject the leader’s sense of the issues, they will also
reject his guidance. Therefore, teachers address the
world views of the day. Ideally, God’s word enables us
to detach from our culture enough to see both its
insights and its blind spots.

Thus, duty stresses what we ought to do, character

examines who we ought to be, goals touch what we
ought to seek, and discernment explores competing
ideas about God, duty and character. Duties are
definite, but our character, goals and discernment are
open-ended. A man of character knows how he will act,
but not where that may lead. A man who lives by goals
know where he will go but knows not how he will get
there.

So then, godly pastors have many options for applying

the Bible. They look for direction in the Bibles
commands, narratives, doctrines, songs and prayers.
They also try to answer two or three of the four
questions people ask when the speak. In this way, they
bring Scripture to the people and the people to
Scripture. By God’s grace, we may help our people grow
into their identity in Christ.