RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-08-24	Does Bible Study Always End With Application?
		2020-08-24 Does Bible Reading or Study Always End with Application? Do you always have to find a life principle when you come to Scripture? And by life principle we mean a specific point of application. And of course application is how the Bible relates to our everyday lives. As we read or study do we know how this truth will be used for our lives? Often the answer is no. Most of our lives are lived without immediate reflection upon a life principle. Most of our lives we just act. We act, we say, and we do things without a specific Bible thought in the forefront of our minds. Part of learning is that we make “connections” with truths from God's Word. But sometimes these connections do not come right away. At least not consciously. God has a way of reminding us of truths we learned from the past and give it power when we need it. Some might view these truths as mere head knowledge. Yet we know all Scripture is given for our edification (2Co.10:6,11; 2Tm.3:16-17). We must learn the truth from a Biblical text before we can apply it properly. We may not know what the application from a given text looks like until we need it. Imagine how many big things you have to decide everyday. And by big I mean conscious decisions you have to make. But nearly all our time we act, say, or do things it is like automatic. I mean we do not stop and think of Biblical principles before every act we say or do. We do not think of what Bible principle will govern our next sentence. The things we do in life just tumbles out of us. That can be scary. Where do they come from? This means most of our lives are lives spontaneously. Most of our lives are not lived after 10 seconds of reflection on some Biblical truth. Where do they come from? They come from a kind of person. So how do you become a kind of person that produces good spontaneous fruit instead of bad spontaneous fruit? The answer is that we must “soak” in the Scriptures, and you let your sight of Jesus affect your soul. In your study you meditate on God's grace until your soul becomes soft and sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said we will be held into account for every idle word (Mt.12:36). Mat 12:36  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Idle words are words you speak before you have a chance to think on some Biblical principle before saying it. A Godly life is lived out of an astonished heart toward God's grace. We go to the Bible to be astonished. When we are stunned, amazed, and humbled from God's Word we walk away as a better person. Biblical principles are important to meditate upon. Meditating on truth shapes the soul. We become what we behold (2Co.3:18) 2Co 3:18  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. So our goal in reading the Bible is to become a kind of person who produces spontaneous good fruit. We live out the Christian life by an informed subconscious. This is where our spontaneous acts come from. Most of our lives are lived from resources that are not presently reflected on our conscious minds. Our words are coming from inside of us (Mk.7:15). Mar 7:15  There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. This is coming from a certain kind of heart. Most of this heart is subconscious. This is shaped day by day by what we are taking in. The subconscious is being worked on by the Holy Spirit. The things we learn from the Word of God help shape are subconscious hearts, so we become the kind of person we ought to be. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

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