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Ask Good Application Questions

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This is a guest post by Ryan Higginbottom, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, PA. When he’s not solving differential equations or blogging at A Small Work, he loves spending time with his wife and two daughters. He also leads a small group Bible study for his church. If you’d like to write a guest post for Knowable Word, please see the guidelines page.

Welcome to the most uncomfortable part of your small group Bible study. Regardless of how energetic the discussion has been, getting personal will be hard work. Your group may float on the momentum of observation and interpretation like a shiny soap-bubble on a breezy spring day, yet that bubble can pop as soon as you transition to application. Safety and abstraction give no further covering. You’re asking people to reshape their thinking and their lives according to the Word of God, and such requests normally feel uncomfortable.

Serge Melki (2010), Creative Commons

Serge Melki (2010), Creative Commons

But don’t shy away from the discomfort! When you discuss the work of God to conform us to the image of Christ, any tension you feel is evidence of progress. When you lead your group through the awkwardness, your courage will be infectious.

Lead the Group in Application

First, apply the text to yourself. A leader who hasn’t already made personal application from the text is like a skinny chef, an unkempt barber, or a disheveled tailor. If the text hasn’t changed you, you’ll have little capital with which to invest in others’ change. In fact, the areas where God’s word has most powerfully affected you will likely be the ones that stand out the most to your group. So, as you plan your study, apply the Bible to your own life. Build such application into your preparation.

Second, ask a general question. In my small group, I usually transition to application with a generic, open-ended question: “How can we apply this text?” On this fishing trip, I wait five seconds before cutting bait. I’m looking for any pointed, clear work of the Spirit, because sometimes God will bring conviction and insight for change to the mind of a group member as we meet. I don’t want to bottle that up, but to allow room for spontaneous eruptions of confession and grace-dependent plans to change.

Third, ask specific questions. This work is hard but good. People don’t often respond to big, broad questions but need help to consider specific applications. To stimulate your preparation, consider the two directions and the three spheres of application. Additionally, consider applications for individuals as well as for the group and/or church/ministry as a whole. You won’t have time to touch on every area of application every week, but make sure that you balance the categories over the weeks and months so the group doesn’t list too much in one direction.

Case Study

Consider an example. Last week I suggested the following as the main point of Isaiah 25:1-12:

Praise God! He will swallow up death, and He gives us glimpses of that now.

Here are some potential application questions that flow from this main point:

  • How could you live as though God will swallow up death? What gets in the way? What glimpses do you now see that can remind you of God’s victory?
  • What opportunities do you have to speak about God’s victory over death? To your children? To your neighbors? To your coworkers? How do they view death? What glimpses of God’s victory might they now see?
  • If God will swallow up death, how will that affect our approach to risk-taking? What keeps you from taking risks? How can we help each other take God-glorifying risks?
  • How can we remind each other that God will swallow up death? To what “now” glimpses can we point?

Final Thoughts

Here are some final ideas to help you ask better application questions.

  1. Questions belong to you; conviction belongs to the Holy Spirit. By all means, study, think, and pray in your preparation. But remember you cannot convict sinners of their sin. The Holy Spirit holds this job. Your job is to ask questions that lead to applications of the text and to share how God has changed you through this study. You must labor in faith, knowing that you can plant or water but that God causes the growth. (1 Cor 3:5–9)
  2. Be specific and personal in your questions. As the members of your group get to know each other, you will start to know where others battle against sin. So, as the moment allows, you can ask specific application questions that tap into the group’s shared history. “Jane, a few weeks ago you mentioned that you often don’t know how to offer hope to your coworkers. Can you think of a way to bring the truth from tonight’s passage to anyone specifically?” Be sensitive to personalities and confidences, but leverage this great benefit of a small group: giving and receiving help in targeted, personal, specific ways.
  3. Ask honest questions. If you ask a question and it is clear to your group that you are expecting only one correct answer, you’re not encouraging discussion, and the group may feel manipulated. See how the group responds to suggestions, but leave room for the Holy Spirit to push the changes through.
  4. Connect your application to Jesus. Too often Christians leave Bible studies in a rush of grit and determination rather than a dependence on God’s grace. Though a burst of adrenaline may enable you to push a car for a few feet, that’s no way to cross the country. We need Jesus’ life and death for us all the time, both for forgiveness when we fail and for strength to obey. And as the group leader, this must sink deeply into your heart so you can guard your friends against the let’s-go-do-this-woo-hoo application fever.

What have you found helpful in regard to asking application questions in Bible studies?

What Board Games Taught Me about Bible Study

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Because my wife and I just returned from our 10th wedding anniversary extravaganza, I don’t have as much time to write as I’d like. I’m just getting caught up after a 3-day celebratory getaway. But a few reflections are in order.

First, the facts. We enjoy board games, and we decided to celebrate our 10th anniversary by playing at least 10 different games (we ended up having time for 12). We took a few pleasant strolls through the woods, we squeezed in some low maintenance meals, and we had a few hours for reading. But we spent most of the time head-to-head, man vs. woman, each exercising their God-given instincts to bring order and dominion to the cosmos. The age-long battle of the sexes was at stake, and neither of us dropped our guard for even a minute.

CavernaSecond, the results. Though I found some small consolation in my closing 3-game win streak, Erin won the series 7-5. Ain’t no flies on her! May the world never accuse me of taking advantage of this extraordinarily precocious woman. I, in fact, could barely keep up.

Third, my conclusions. I must improve my observation skills—paying attention to what will get me points and not just what feels like a good move. My presumption too often hinders my interpretation—I spend too many turns trying to block my wife’s presumed strategy and not enough turns developing my own. And courageous application is sweet—games lose their luster when I spend more time thinking than acting. My chronic analysis paralysis sucks out the fun if I’m not careful.

Observe, interpret, apply: This is the essence of communication. Even board games can offer opportunities to stretch these muscles.

———————–

For those interested in such things, here’s what we played (complete with Amazon affiliate links to help support this blog at no extra cost). If you’re in the market for buckets of fun, every one of these games is fantastic.

 

Trusting Jesus’ Credentials

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We’ve seen wisdom’s credentials in Proverbs 8:22-31. Despite the historical controversy over whether Proverbs 8 is about Jesus, the New Testament clearly states that Jesus shares wisdom’s credentials.

  1. Seeking Jesus is seeking the Lord (John 14:9).
  2. Life without Jesus isn’t truly life (1 John 5:11-13).
  3. The way of Jesus is tried and true. Knowing Jesus makes the most sense of how the world works (Acts 17:22-31).
  4. Jesus gives you eyes to see who alone can make you happy (Mark 8:22-9:1).
Dale Calder (2009), Creative Commons

Dale Calder (2009), Creative Commons

But do you believe it? What does your life communicate about whose credentials you’re willing to trust?

Seeking the Lord

In a day when spirituality is cool, we must be careful to remember that not every spirit is from God (1 John 4:1-6). If a spirit doesn’t confess that Jesus is the Christ, that spirit is not from God but is the spirit of the antichrist. Notice that false spirits do not always attack Jesus’ Messiahship; they prove to be in error even if they simply ignore Jesus or treat him as irrelevant.

So when the CEO of Starbucks returns to his post to return the company to its core values, this rescue from “spiritual” crisis is not done in true wisdom, regardless of what Oprah would have us think.

Do you want to know God? You must know Jesus. Do you want to speak of God? If you don’t speak of Jesus, you may actually have the wrong god.

Living Life

What can’t you live without? What thing, if you had it, would finally help you to stop worrying? What would cut your stress or give you rest and energy? What turns a bad day into a good day? What motivates you to do what you do?

The answers to these questions show what your life is. And though the answer should be Jesus, it usually is not.

Knowing Jesus is eternal life. Eternal = never ending. Everything else will come to an end some day. When it does, will you have any life left? Now is your chance to practice for that Day.

Making Sense

We’re always trying to make sense of things. We want to make sense of our suffering. We want to make sense of our work. We want to make sense of our relationships.

The teenage girl looks for sense when she asks, “Are we dating?” The middle-aged professional looks for sense when he wonders what he’s doing with his life. The common citizen looks for sense when he considers whether the nation’s highest leaders have even read the Constitution.

The ways of Jesus make the most sense. Of course, we’re wise when we obey them because they give him glory. But we’re also wise when we obey them because they’re the best ways. “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3, ESV). The one who loves both God and neighbor is no idiot.

Seeing Happiness

Please don’t misunderstand this one. The Bible does not promise that God will always make us happy, nor that God’s chief end is to serve our happiness. No, sometimes God must make us markedly unhappy in order to show us true happiness. Or more specifically, he must show us that the things that make us happy cannot always make us happy. This produces unhappiness.

But as he strips such things away time and again, he clears the way to the one thing that will never run out, shut down, move on, or empty up: Himself.

Thus, for example, while we grieve the loss of those who have died in Christ (1 Thess 4:13), our grief gains hope only when we remember that in the end “we will always be,” not with our loved ones, but “with the Lord” (1 Thess 4:17).

May the Lord Jesus Christ ever grant us more of this wisdom.

Everyday Application

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Bible application is exhausting. Must we do it every time we study the Bible? Must we constantly add one more thing to our to-do list?

Desiring GodAt Desiring God, David Mathis says it depends on what we mean by Application. If we mean that we must come up with something new to do each day, then no. We’ll never be able to keep up. But if we mean that we must be changed in our thinking or desires, then yes.

Rather than dictating specific actions, he wants to see us formed into the kind of persons who are able to “discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10).

In Scripture, we see the Lord. As we see, we will become amazed. In our amazement, we reflect and meditate until the word is written on our hearts. Then, over time, we’ll see gradual and specific change in our lives.

Mathis is on to something, though I’ve used slightly different language for it. I suggest the 3 spheres for application as a helpful model: Head, Heart, Hands. Yes, change should occasionally hit our hands and produce new behaviors or action steps. But we must not neglect the other two spheres, where we address our thinking and character. Head and Heart application rarely produces doable behaviors, but it makes us into the kind of people who are more attuned to the Lord and his commands. Such people will then see behaviors change over time.

But can we confidently say there’s something for us to apply in every passage? Absolutely!

Yes, take every word as spoken to yourself, with this essential anchor in place: Seek to understand first how God’s words fell on the original hearers, and how it relates to Jesus’s person and work, and then bring them home to yourself. Expect application to your life as God speaks to us today through the Spirit-illumined understanding of what the inspired human author said to his original readers in the biblical text.

Mathis shows us how to follow this plan to bring the Bible home to our hearts. I recommend the article to you.

Check it out!

Four Reasons Why Jesus Fed the 5,000

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Jill M (2007), Creative Commons

Jill M (2007), Creative Commons

Other than Jesus’ resurrection, the feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle to occur in all four Gospels. This repetition gives it a high degree of importance.

We commonly consider an event like this feeding independent of its literary context. We piece together the historical details from the various accounts, and then we boil the message down to an abstract theological or practical message divorced from any specific text.

Those with a practical bent see the feeding’s message as “give Jesus whatever you have, and let him multiply it into something great.” Those with a more theological bent see the feeding’s message along the lines of “Jesus is God’s true representative, providing life to the world.” Others delight in all the ways Jesus is better than Moses or Elisha.

All of these angles on the message are true, but we run into trouble when we grow too familiar with the story. If we don’t observe each Gospel account carefully, we’ll presume they all mean the same thing. Whichever angle makes the most sense to us is the one we’ll land on every time we read or teach the story.

In other words, we harmonize the texts and generalize the purpose. Then we miss the clues signaling each author’s intent.

Over the last few weeks, I explained each account in its context. Now I’ll bring them together and ask some application questions.

Why Did Jesus Feed the 5,000?

According to John: Jesus is the very Messiah Israel has waited for.

  • Do you believe he has the life you’re looking for?
  • Where else do you look for life?
  • How can you help others to expose false sources of life?
  • How can you help others to find their life in Jesus?

According to Matthew: Jesus’ followers must learn to identify good soil when they see it, and upon seeing it, they must be ready to proclaim the word of the kingdom to hungry souls.

  • What opportunities do you have to sow the seed of the word? Are there any right in front of you?
  • How can you be ready to lead hungry souls to Jesus?
  • What do you think needy people most need?
  • How can you trust Jesus more, as he uses you to provide that need on his behalf?

According to Luke: Jesus’ followers, on mission from their master, must learn not only to accept hospitality but give it in Jesus’ name.

  • What sort of people do you expect to enter God’s kingdom?
  • What sort of person were you when you entered God’s kingdom?
  • How can you grow at not only preaching the gospel, but demonstrating it visibly through your generosity and hospitality?
  • How can you train others to live out the gospel?

According to Mark: When Jesus is your king, he will transform your selfish faithlessness into compassionate self-sacrifice.

  • When you prove incapable of preaching the word and demonstrating it visibly as you ought, where is your hope?
  • How have you avoided your Christian responsibility out of fear of inadequacy?
  • How have you brought glory to yourself even as you ministered to others?
  • How would you like to see Jesus change you in these areas?

One Event, Four Points

All four accounts describe the same event. We can compare the accounts to show that there is no historical discrepancy.

But four Spirit-inspired writers had four points to make. Let’s not squelch their voices.

  1. John wants you to know Jesus so you can have eternal life.
  2. Matthew wants to equip you to preach the gospel boldly.
  3. Luke wants to equip you to practice the gospel daily.
  4. Mark wants you to know that Jesus will complete his work in you, despite your sin and failure.

Next time you study or teach the feeding of the 5,000, which point will you land on? And can you show how you reached it?

The Danger of Staying the Same

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I wrote last year that the greatest enemy of application is insight, but I’m having second thoughts. An even greater enemy may be inertia.

George M. Groutas (2010), Creative Commons

George M. Groutas (2010), Creative Commons

Physical science defines inertia as “a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force.” Picture a boulder. Inertia keeps a stationary boulder still, and inertia keeps a moving boulder barreling on in the same direction. Moving the still boulder, or redirecting the moving boulder, requires force.

We are the boulders, and application produces change. Since we can’t apply the Bible without overcoming our inertia, application done right will always be a challenge. And we should expect this challenge to take two forms.

First, we face the challenge of movement.

Inertia keeps us in the same place, but the Lord wants to move us. We grow comfortable with how things are, but through the word, the Holy Spirit moves us toward what might be. He pushes, pulls, nudges, convicts, cajoles, begs, batters, and compels. He does whatever he needs to do to get us moving toward Christ. Thus the ignorant person gets a clue. The indifferent person begins to care. The idle person gets to work.

Second, we face the challenge of redirection.

Inertia keeps us moving in the same direction, but the Lord wants to turn us toward him. We like to keep doing what we’re doing, but through the word, the Holy Spirit adjusts our trajectory and directs our path. He disciplines, directs, bumps, pursues, pesters, collides, invites, and overwhelms. He does whatever he needs to do to alter our course so we face toward Christ. Thus the angry person learns to love. The argumentative person learns to listen. The manipulative person learns to let go.

Application is terribly inconvenient.

It makes us doers of the word, unlike inertia, which encourages us to remain hearers of the word. As James writes:

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (James 1:22-25, ESV)

James takes issue not with hearing but with hearing and not doing. Hearing is good; it means that you “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). But hearing without doing is inconsistent. It’s like viewing your own portrait and honestly wondering who’s the looker. You’re not acting like yourself, and people should wonder what’s wrong. God’s perfect law promotes a life of liberty, but obstinate inertia eventually becomes an imprisoning insanity. Jesus likened it to building a beach hut in a hurricane zone (Matt 7:26-27). Make every effort to overcome your inertia and be not only a hearer but also a doer.

  • Hearers of the word go to church. Doers of the word discuss the sermons later and find connections to their daily lives.
  • Hearers of the word love theology. Doers of the word know when to attempt persuasion and when to abandon a quarrel.
  • Hearers can identify what they’ve learned. Doers can identify how they’ve grown.
  • Hearers have questions. Doers get answers.
  • Hearers talk about obeying the civil authorities. Doers don’t exceed the speed limit.
  • Hearers feel convicted. Doers make changes.
  • Hearers see how people need to change. Doers see how they themselves need to change.
  • Hearers know who Jesus is. Doers look more like him every day.

When the founders of the United States of America declared their independence from Great Britain, they based their actions on certain self-evident truths, including the Creator’s endowment of inalienable rights to all men. Among those immutable rights was the pursuit of happiness. What is the pursuit of happiness? According to an 1884 Supreme Court ruling, it is:

…the right to pursue any lawful business or vocation, in any manner not inconsistent with the equal rights of others, which may increase their prosperity or develop their faculties, so as to give them their highest enjoyment.[1]

The pursuit of happiness is the improvement of life. King George’s threat to the colonies wasn’t so much a threat of sadness as a threat to maintain the status quo. He wanted things to continue as they had been, with the colonies under his thumb, paying well, and unable to improve their communities. In other words, the greatest threat to the pursuit of happiness is inertia.

Change is worth fighting for.

Question: How do you see and resist the problem of inertia in your life?

[1] Butchers’ Union Co. v. Crescent City Co., 111 U.S. 746, 757 (1884).

Application & Bible Basics

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Knowable Word LogoCheck out these great posts:

Learning the Art of Sermon Application – Jeramie Rinne explains how to go about applying a text to your audience. Even if you’re not a preacher, you’ll find his suggestions useful in your own study, or as you lead discussions.

What is the Bible? – Mark Driscoll just began a series of posts on how the Bible has been transmitted, translated, and trusted by Christians. This first post addresses what the Bible is, what Christians believe about it, and what it says about itself. It’s a great intro to these issues.

When Bible Study Stops Short

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StensonThis is a guest post by Brian Stenson, a graduate of Bloomsburg University and collegiate missionary with DiscipleMakers. You can find him on Facebook.

We know that in Bible study we must seek truth. But what happens if we stop there?

In Daniel 5, King Belshazzar shows the folly of finding truth without applying it to our lives. His story goes like this.
Belshazzar throws a great party. It’s just getting good, when a human hand appears out of nowhere and writes on the wall. King Belshazzar becomes greatly alarmed at this, just as any of us would. Since he cannot read what the hand is writing, he seeks out the best magicians, enchanters, and astrologers in his kingdom to interpret the words. None is able to, until Daniel shows up. The king hears of Daniel because of the sterling reputation he had with Belshazzar’s father. Daniel agrees to interpret the message; however, the news is not good for Belshazzar. Daniel tells him that God has numbered the days of his kingdom, that he has not measured up, and that his kingdom will be divided and given away.

David Fisher (2009), Creative Commons

David Fisher (2009), Creative Commons

At this point in the story, things aren’t so great for Belshazzar. But they can still get worse. Belshazzar immediately rewards Daniel for his efforts and makes him the third ruler in the kingdom. Then comes the punch line.

“That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed” (Dan 5:30, ESV).

What? That’s it? Why the abrupt ending? Where is the part where King Belshazzar begs God for mercy? Why doesn’t he repent for his evil ways? Ho

w could he not try to do something to stop this impending judgment?

Unfortunately, I often act just like King Belshazzar. He sought the truth. He worked hard to find the message’s meaning. But in the end, he did nothing about it. And the consequences were devastating.

I’m like Belshazzar when I study the Bible and come up with great applications, only to forget them a few hours later. I’m like Belshazzar when I read about seeking wisdom as silver and searching for it as hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:3-4) but sit back and enjoy my laziness instead. I’m like Belshazzar when I read God’s promises but fail to believe them, being satisfied instead to chase my own earthly security.

James warns of such behavior.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).

Being doers of the word goes beyond finding great applications in our Bible study. Being doers of the word means intentionally living out the truths that the Bible lays before us. We absolutely must seek the truth. But we must not stop there. After all, Jesus didn’t.

Jesus didn’t listen to the Father and then quickly forget what he said. Jesus didn’t decide to do things his own way. No, Jesus obeyed the Father, even to death on a cross, because he knew we would fall short in our obedience. Because of Jesus, there’s hope. So when our Bible study stops short, let’s get back up, trusting in the perfect work of Jesus Christ, and strive to be doers of the Word.

Theology is Never an Academic Exercise

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Knowable Word LogoMike Riccardi recently posted a great article at The Cripplegate on the book of Philippians. He shows how studying theology and growing in virtue are inseparable.

Although Riccardi’s point is well-made, I commend his article to you more for his excellent model of Bible study. He identifies the main point of Philippians, and he traces out Paul’s flow of thought effortlessly.

The Book of Philippians is about the Gospel. It’s not quite an exposition of the doctrinal content of the Gospel, like Romans is. And it’s not quite a defense of the Gospel in the face of heresy, like Galatians is. Philippians is more about the implications the Gospel has on the various aspects of our lives as believers. It’s about how we are to live in light of the Gospel. The thesis verse of the letter is Philippians 1:27, in which Paul commands his dear friends to “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”

Check it out!

My Application

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"Making Pottery" by Lennart Tange (2012), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

Lennart Tange (2012), Creative Commons

Bible study profits you nothing unless it changes your life by pointing you to Jesus and conforming you to his image.  On this blog, we seek to help ordinary people learn to study the Bible.  We want you to be like Jesus and to love him more.

To that end, here’s one final post on the topic of application.  I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned through my study of Luke 2.  I don’t do this to communicate that my applications are in any way perfect.  I do this merely to give you an example of what it looks like to “fill in the boxes” of application.  You may want to consult the worksheet as you read this post to help you see what it could look like to fill it in.

Peter Krol’s application of LUKE 2:1-21

Main Point: God sent Jesus to be born so he might save the lowly and rule them graciously. This brings him highest glory.

Inward Application: The general idea is that I’m struggling to spend time with my children these days.  God has put a lot on my plate, and I’m tempted to let family time be the first thing to fall off my plate.  But they are some of the “lowly ones” in my life whom I’m called to care for.

  1. HEAD: I must reject the lie that I have better things to do than play catch, practice memory verses, or wipe little butts.  Jesus stooped down to rescue me; he wants me to do the same for the lowly ones in my family.
  2. HANDS: I will block out my daily schedule from 5-7pm for family time.  I won’t expect to have any “personal time” until the children are in bed.  In the next week, I will ask them to do stuff with me more times than they ask me to do stuff with them.
  3. HEART: I will put off selfishness and put on humility.  I will think of my children more than myself.  When a child asks me to play a game, I will think about how the Lord Jesus responds to my requests (HINT: he doesn’t make excuses to avoid having to answer me).  I will ask the Lord for help to be cheerful when my plan doesn’t work out.  I’ll exercise self-control when I feel disappointed or tired.

Outward Application:  There’s a guy I disciple who struggles with putting himself in other people’s shoes (in contrast to Jesus, who took on our nature so he could save us).  He gets stuck in his own perspective, and he loses influence with people when they feel misunderstood or ignored.  This passage can help me to help him.

  1. HEAD: I can point out specific situations where I see people either gaining or losing trust with this person (usually I’m too lazy to take note of specific instances).  I can help him to connect the dots between his actions and the consequences of those actions (increased or decreased trust).  We can celebrate the victories, and look to Jesus in the failures.
  2. HANDS: As we discuss specific situations, I can ask “what went well, and what could you have done differently?”  We can practice listening and conversation skills to help them become more natural.
  3. HEART: Next time we meet, I’ll ask him to label the issues with biblical terms (learning to be quick to listen and slow to speak, learning kindness and tenderheartedness, not thinking of himself too highly).  As the issues come to light, we’ll consider how Jesus lowered himself for our sake, and I’ll ask what desires keep him from doing the same.  In other words, why does he love his own perspective so much?  What does it give him that makes it so hard to give it up?

What do you think?  Was I specific enough?  Did I remember Jesus?