Life Application of Biblical Texts | How to Study the Bible Series
Updated: Sep 1
Every aspect of the Bible study process is meant to lead you to life application: the concrete changes you commit to making in your attitudes, affections, actions, associations, and ambitions in response to what you have learned during Bible study.
Beyond its intellectual value, studying the Bible with a posture of faith, humility, and dependence on God also has great transformational value, intended to transform you inwardly so that your outward behavior is a true reflection of righteousness.
During the Interpretation phase of Bible study, the primary aim is to discover the author’s main point and how the original audience would have understood and responded to it in their ancient context. Application is the process of bridging the gap between their ancient context and our contemporary context so that we can apply the truth of Scripture to every domain of our lives.
The proper evaluation of biblical texts precedes proper application. That is why I have created four key aspects of evaluation to look for before you actually apply the text. Those four key aspects include Parallels, Principles, Precepts, and Promises.
How to Identify Points of Life Application
Draw Parallels Between The Ancient and Contemporary Contexts
The first aspect of evaluation includes drawing parallels between the ancient context specific to the passage you are studying and your contemporary context. A parallel is a situation people faced in their ancient context that people also face, in a similar form, in our contemporary context.
In Romans 14:1-15:13, Paul addresses Christian liberty and how believers are to conduct themselves regarding matters that are not inherently sinful but about which Christians may have different conscience-based convictions. The issue in the passage concerns differences over eating certain foods or abstaining from them, and over observing particular days as sacred to the Lord. Although these specific practices may not have an exact parallel in many Western contexts, the underlying principle remains applicable. In matters that are not inherently sinful, believers must not judge or despise one another because of differing convictions. Likewise, those who recognize their freedom in a particular matter must not exercise that freedom in a way that pressures another believer to violate his or her conscience.
Some contemporary parallels include matters such as drinking alcohol, deciding whether to observe certain holidays, listening only to Christian music or to anything, or whether to watch fantasy films and television programs that include fictional portrayals of magic, witchcraft, or other supernatural themes. These examples are not direct parallels to the practices addressed in Romans 14. However, they are similar in principle because they illustrate how believers may hold differing conscience-based convictions. They also demonstrate that a believer’s exercise of freedom may encourage another believer to act against his or her conscience, which is a use of Christian liberty that Paul explicitly prohibits.
List Any Principles Provided in the Biblical Text
A principle is a generally true statement that describes how God has ordered the world to work and can be applied across different times and contexts. Principles are neither promises nor commands (precepts) and should never be read that way.
Proverbs 10:4 reads, “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” The principle describes how life generally works: laziness tends to result in lack, while diligence tends to result in provision and abundance. The proverb contrasts the typical outcomes of laziness and diligence to commend diligent work as the wise course of action.
However, this proverb is neither a guarantee that every diligent person will become wealthy nor a declaration that every lazy person will be poor. Nor should it be used as an indictment of those who experience poverty, as though economic lack necessarily results from laziness. Rather, it teaches that diligence generally results in financial stability, while laziness generally results in financial instability.
The Book of Proverbs is not the only place from which principles for life application can be derived. Such principles occur throughout Scripture, yet require perceptivity to recognize because they are not always articulated in the same manner as the Proverbs.
List Any Precepts (Commands) Provided in the Text
A precept is a direct command or instruction from God that is meant to be obeyed. Some precepts are universally applicable to all believers in all contexts, while others are intended to be obeyed by specific people in specific contexts.
Exodus 20:3-15 consists of direct commands from God framed as prohibitions, what people ought not to do: "you shall not" followed by a specific action. Although the Ten Commandments were originally given to Israel within the Mosaic covenant, the commands against idolatry, murder, adultery, theft, false witness, and covetousness are enduring moral obligations that are universally applicable to all people in all contexts. They reveal God's moral will and are meant to be obeyed.
Similarly, Matthew 5:21-48 consists of direct commands from Jesus, stated positively to emphasize what people ought to do and negatively as prohibitions emphasizing what people ought not to do. Throughout, the passage Jesus contrasts commonly held interpretations of the Law with its intended meaning: “You have heard that it was said…But I say to you…” He teaches that God’s standards of righteousness go beyond outward demonstrations of compliance, such as not committing murder and adultery, revealing that the sinful attitudes and desires of the heart that give rise to those actions must be addressed because obedient behavior is not, by itself, true righteousness.
Although Exodus 20 and Matthew 5 present God’s commands in different ways, both communicate the same enduring moral standards. Exodus 20 emphasizes the actions God prohibits, whereas Matthew 5 reveals that God’s requirements also extend to the attitudes, desires, and motivations of the heart. Accordingly, believers are called not only to avoid sinful behavior, but also to pursue the heart transformation that produces faithful obedience, reconciliation, sexual purity, truthfulness, mercy, and love for others, including their enemies. These precepts are universally applicable because they reveal God’s unchanging moral will and the kind of righteousness Jesus requires of His disciples.
Look for Redemptive Promises
A promise is a clear and direct commitment from God concerning what he will do. Some promises are given to particular people in specific historical circumstances, whereas others are redemptive promises that apply to all believers across time and context. Redemptive promises are often conditional, meaning they specify both what God promises to do and the response by which people receive the promised blessing.
It is important not to confuse promises with principles. A promise is a commitment from God that he will fulfill, whereas a principle describes how life generally works. For example, the Book of Proverbs contains many wise principles for living, but its statements should not be read as unconditional promises or guarantees.
John 3:16 contains a redemptive promise, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This promise does not guarantee that every person in the world will be saved. Rather, it promises salvation to all who believe in Jesus Christ. Accordingly, John 3:16 is both an assurance for believers and a warning for those who do not believe. The surrounding context makes this contrast explicit: whoever believes in the Son is not condemned, but whoever does not believe remains under condemnation.
How to Apply the Bible
Use the Four Aspects of Evaluation to Identify Points of Life Application
After completing the evaluation process, use the details you have gathered to identify specific points of life application for yourself and others. Points of application are the concrete changes you commit to making in your attitudes, affections, actions, associations, and ambitions in response to what the text has revealed.
Begin by drawing parallels between the author's ancient context and original audience and your contemporary context. These parallels create the bridge between what the text meant to its original audience and how its meaning applies today. Writing them out also helps clarify potential ambiguities in precepts, principles, and promises. Accordingly, this is an essential first step in identifying faithful points of application.
Direct precepts can often be converted into straightforward commitments to obey what the passage prescribes. For example, commands such as “do not steal,” “do not lie,” “do not murder,” and “do not commit adultery” call believers to refrain from those specific actions. Other precepts, however, may be implied rather than directly stated. In those cases, use questions of implication to determine the particular ways the text should shape your attitude, affections, actions, ambitions, and associations.
Some principles are explicitly stated, as in the Book of Proverbs and the letter of James. When a principle applies to your circumstances, use it to form an application that reflects the wisdom it teaches. For example, if a proverb teaches that diligence tends to result in provision, you may apply that principle by committing to work faithfully and avoiding laziness.
Promises can also shape your life applications. When God makes a promise that applies to believers, the appropriate response is to trust what He has promised and allow that promise to shape your thoughts, hopes, and actions. However, before applying a promise to yourself, you must first determine its context, its original audience, and whether the promise is conditional or unconditional. Not every promise in Scripture was made directly to every believer in every context.
When a promise does apply to believers, it provides a foundation for faithful living. God’s promises can encourage believers to persevere through suffering, replace anxiety with trust, strengthen hope in the midst of uncertainty, and motivate obedience even when doing so is difficult. In other words, promises should not merely encourage believers; they should shape how we respond to various circumstances in our lives.
Write Specific Points of Life Application
Your points of life application should be specific and actionable. They should emphasize the inner transformation that produces behavioral change rooted in true righteousness.
Identify the particular ways the passage should be applied to your own life, as well as the ways it may apply to others. Also consider the domains of life to which your applications are most relevant, including relationships, finances, theology, government, ethics, work, family, church life, and more.
Allow God’s Word to Transform You
Second Timothy 3:16-17 of The Amplified Bible reads, “All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
In other words, God has given us Scripture not merely to increase our knowledge of him, but to transform how we think, what we desire, and how we live.
Through His Word, God teaches us what is true, convicts us of sin and error, corrects us when we have gone astray, restores us to obedience, and trains us to live according to his will.
Therefore, studying Scripture should lead to more than gaining information about the biblical text. It should lead to repentance, renewed thinking, faithful obedience, and a life increasingly characterized by spiritual maturity and righteousness, so that believers may be made complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
To Learn More About How to Study the Bible
Learn more by reading the related blogs in my How to Study the Bible series. If you want comprehensive instruction on how to use the Scripture Context Observation Interpretation and Application (SCOIA) method, you can sign up for my course: How to Study the Bible.
Editor’s Note: This is Part 4 of a 4-part series from Jessica Durrett called How to Study the Bible. Access the full series here.
