534 Read the Bible for Yourself 4: How to Determine Content and Application

This is part 4 of the Read the Bible For Yourself.

Exegesis and application take work. Today you’ll learn how to grasp the content of scripture by asking the question, “What did this text mean to the original audience?” Looking for a book’s author, audience, occasion, and purpose will help you answer that question. Next, we’ll consider application and answering the question, “What does this text mean to me today?” We’ll follow Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart’s application strategy as well as their four warnings about extended application, particulars that are not comparable, cultural relativity, and task theology.

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—— Notes ——

“If there was one bit of wisdom, one rule of thumb, one single skill I could impart, one useful tip I could leave that would serve you well the rest of your life, what would it be? What is the single most important practical skill I’ve ever learned as a Christian? Here it is: Never read a Bible verse. That’s right, never read a Bible verse. Instead, always read a paragraph at least.”[1]

What to Look For

• Author
• Audience
• Occasion
• Purpose

Two Tasks

1. Figure out what a text meant to its original audience.
2. Figure out what it means to you today.

Understand Then Apply

• Get the author’s point before asking about application.
• What’s the author’s train of thought?
• Do not ask, “How does this affect my life?”
• Do not ask, “How does this fit into my theology?”
• Just focus on getting what the author is conveying in his own historical context.
• Paragraph style Bibles help with this tremendously, whereas verse paragraphs make it hard to see what is connected to what.
• Look up words and phrases that you don’t understand like a “Sabbath day’s journey”, “high places”, a “talent” or a “mina”.
• In most cases, a simple internet search will provide the answer.
• A paper study Bible or some apps will provide footnotes with helpful information.

Have an O