Application

The last step of inductive Bible study is application, which involves a transition from the original meaning to contemporary situations. Not every command found in the Bible is directly addressed to the modern reader, but even these are relevant for learning how to live. Thorough interpretation (step 2) provides needed direction for the proper application (step 3). To understand what a text could mean today, one must understand first what it meant to the original audience. Sound application involves:

Reflecting on the Original Meaning

1. Determine the original application for the intended audience. How did the author or speaker intend the message to be lived then?

2. What underlying cross-cultural principles can be drawn from the passage?

3. What are culturally equivalent, tangible practices that translate the intended meaning found in the biblical passage to today's contemporary world?

Identifying Comparable Particulars

1. In cases where the situation described in Scripture matches the modern reader’s, the biblical instructions given then apply now. For example, Paul instructed men of the Corinthian church to stop frequenting prostitutes (1 Cor 6:12-20).

2. Prostitution is still a problem in today’s world, so Paul’s instructions still apply.

3. There are comparable opportunities for sexual immorality today, however, that did not exist in Paul’s day. For example, access to pornography through the internet has made it easy for people to sin against the body (1 Cor 6:19).

Appropriating the Meaning

1. Relate the passage to temptation, life experiences, struggles and questions. In what ways do Christians glorify God in the body (1 Cor 6:20)?

2. Other than sinning sexually, do Christians defile the body in ways that dishonor God?

3. Do Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 also apply to drug or alcohol abuse, gluttony and other forms of physical indulgence?