Updated. This Bible study post to help you apply the passage was originally published on May 26, 2020.
Now that we have looked at the tools for Bible study, prayerfully read the passage, worked through the passage using the Bible study worksheet, cross-referenced the verses, and researched the passage, it is time to apply the passage.
Often, we jump to apply a passage too quickly or we do it in a selfish way rather than a God-honoring way. When we seek to apply the passage, we should not ask the question, “what can I get out of this passage?” or “how does this passage help me?” Instead, we should ask “how should my understanding of this passage change my life, thoughts, and actions from now on?”
Read through your notes
Read through all of the notes you’ve taken so far. This includes any journaling you did at the beginning. It also includes the answers to the questions on the worksheet and the notes you took from your research. Don’t forget about the cross-references you chose for each verse.
As you read through the notes, ask yourself how the information should change you. It might be a behavior that needs to change. It could be a belief you’ve held that this passage disproves. It could be that the passage reinforces something you’ve known all along. Maybe God has a promise for the believer or a generally true statement.
Your answer may match what you wrote on the application section of the worksheet, or it might be a completely different Truth you find. This doesn’t have to be some grand revelation you have never heard before. In fact, in most cases, I find it is something I know to do but am not doing.
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
James 4:17
This is the most important step. If we take all the other steps but fail to apply the passage, the exercise has been pointless. We will have accumulated knowledge but not made it useful.
We can take this a step further by writing down when or with whom we plan to practice this application. This isn’t always possible as it depends on the type of action the passage asks us to take, but sometimes it helps to keep us accountable to what the Word is teaching us to do.
Tasks
- Read through the notes you’ve taken for Proverbs 3:5-8 and write down the application.
- If you can, write down when or with whom you plan to take this action.
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