The last question in Bible study
is often the first question on our minds:
“How do I put into practice what I’ve learned?”
Find out what it means to apply the Bible’s principles: watch our Truth in Two (2 min vid + text + Afterword).
In last week’s Truth in Two I showed original artwork that I had commissioned for my curriculum Timeless Truth. This week, another picture from that curriculum illustrates the Bible’s authority in the Christian’s life: the Bible sits as a judge, the Christian is to submit to God’s Word. If Christians believe the Bible to be from God, then Christians should be anxious to apply God’s Word to their lives. – “OICA” is the strange sounding word for Bible study I have taught students for years. OICA is an acronym standing for observation, interpretation, correlation, and application. The first steps in Bible study include identifying what the text says, then asking what it meant for the people to whom it was spoken and finally, what does the rest of the Bible say about the subject. It is the fourth step asking, “What does it mean for me today?” that may matter most to us.
Application of biblical truth is found in the simple phrase “It is written” from Romans 3.10. In the original Greek, the verb “written” is in a perfect tense with a passive voice; that means the Scripture was written by God and His Word is still speaking. Do you want to apply the still-speaking Word of God to your life? Begin reading in the book of Proverbs. Living a life of wisdom is found in the authority God embedded in His creation. Couple that reading with Jesus’ stories in the Gospel of Mark. Notice over and over how the people saw Jesus as one “having authority.” Read the book of Genesis. The phrase “and God said” in chapter one is followed throughout the rest of Scripture with “Thus says the Lord,” all markers of God’s authority. – As the picture from my Timeless Truth curriculum suggests, If we want to learn how to apply God’s Word to our everyday lives, we must first bow to its authority. For the Comenius Institute, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration at Liberty University, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.
AFTERWORD
See one of our earliest Truth in Twos (from 2018) on “Authority” here and “Authority and Humanity” from 2023, here.