Reading the Bible can be hard work. There are difficult concepts and ideas to think through. Sometimes the Bible is just confusing because of locations, peoples, and historical realities that are now foreign to us. Yet we believe that God’s word is essential for us to live lives pleasing to him (Psalm 1; Matt 4:1-4; 2 Tim 3:14-17). But after your daily Bible reading, you may end up asking, “What do I do with that?” Often, we just want to know how to live in a way that’s pleasing to God. We have questions like: “How do I share my faith?” “How do I teach my children to have a godly character?” and “How can I have joy when a loved one dies?” These are all great questions – questions that the Bible, through the illumination of the Spirit, does answer (1 Cor 2:10-13; Eph 1:17-18). But the Bible is not a reference book, an encyclopedia, or a systematic theology, and so the questions that may be pressing on our hearts are not necessarily going to be directly answered when we pick up our Bibles for our daily reading. To add to this, the narrative, poetry, or prophecy we just read may have no clear command for how we must live our lives in light of its content. Instead of becoming confused or defeated at the lack of clear exhortation, it seems best to reconsider our presupposition about how the Scriptures function and what biblical application can actually be.
Biblical Application
Biblical application can often be viewed merely as actions – things that I should physically do in light of what the Bible says. This view of application is not completely wrong but it is shallow and incomplete. Biblical application can sometimes be more formative than overtly practical. In this sense, application can be less of a “go do this” and more of a “now know this.” Often, the biblical authors want their readers to walk away with knowledge of the truth. That knowledge will certainly lead to action, but belief in the truth precedes genuine obedience to the truth (Matt 3:8).
Think about the purpose statement of John’s Gospel. The Gospel According to John is one of the books in the Bible with a clear statement regarding its purpose. So, we see what John wanted his readers to do as a result of reading his book. The application of John is this: “…but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). The most foundational application of this Gospel, and really all of the Gospels, is faith in Jesus. John wants his readers to know the real Jesus and to trust in Him. When you read the opening chapter of John you might be at a loss for what you are supposed to do in light of what you just read. But John reminds us with his purpose statement that knowledge of and belief that Jesus is eternal, divine, the Creator, the source of life, and the conqueror of evil is in fact the application (all things taught or alluded to in the first five verses of John). God is not always trying to teach us something to do; sometimes He is just teaching us what we need to believe. He wants us to know Him.
Other biblical authors make clear mention of this idea as well. In the opening greeting of Colossians, Paul tells the believers in Colossae what he has been praying for them, namely “that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col 1:9). Paul’s prayer is that the church would better know what God thinks and wants; this of course will lead to obedience (Col 1:10), but knowing God’s will precedes true obedience. At the root of Prov 9:10 lies this same teaching. True wisdom, which is knowledge lived out, follows a fear of the LORD, or as the second line puts it, “the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” We must recognize that we need to be rightly informed before we can rightly act.
The primary application of many texts is to simply believe what is being taught; this creates a theological foundation to practically work off of at a later date. For example, what lies at the heart of the command, “you shall not murder” (Ex 20:13), is the truth that humans are made in the image of God (Gen 9:6). Long before we read Ex 20:13, Gen 9:6 or even Genesis 4, we read Genesis 1. In Gen 1:26-27 we learn that God had made man in His own image; the command to not murder flows from this foundational truth about the nature of humans. Another example can be seen in Jesus’s treatment of Gen 2:24. Genesis 2:24 teaches that marriage makes a man and a woman “one flesh.” In Matt 19:1-12 Jesus is asked about the lawfulness of divorce. His response is to point to Gen 2:24. “Have you not read…” He says. In this case, the knowledge of and belief in what God teaches about the union between a man and a woman should lead to a very practical conclusion, that divorce is not lawful because God has made the husband and wife “one flesh.” Belief in what God says in the opening chapters of Genesis is foundational to living a godly life; if the text is believed then there will be other conclusions and life decisions that will flow from it.
Next time you read your Bible and there is no specific instruction for you to follow, don’t feel like you have wasted your time. Applying what you have just read means believing what you have just read. The Scriptures are for you to believe; they contain things for you to know, things for you to meditate upon and think upon as you go about your day. The truths found in the Bible lay the foundation for future action and faithfulness. It might not be apparent at the moment how truths you have learned can impact your decisions, but when that time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you to live in light of the truths you know (1 John 2:27).