Staying True To God's Word: Being A Faithful Doer of the Word

 Bob: “I just bought a new hearing aid. It’s the state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line model.”

Tom: “Really? What kind is it?”

Bob: “About 2:30.”

I know you have undoubtedly had an experience where you misunderstood something someone had said. It is easy to do, even without hearing problems. It is easy to misunderstand what someone means, even if you understand what someone said. If this is true when two people speak the same language and live in the same culture, how much more difficult can it be to clearly understand the meaning of a saying that was spoken thousands of years ago in a different language, in a different culture, and then translated into English?

That is the fundamental challenge we face when reading and studying Scripture. Christians are called to follow Christ, and to follow Christ, we must understand His teachings. Not only do we need to have an accurate record of what He said, but we also need to understand the meaning of what He said.

And once we grasp the meaning behind Jesus’ words and actions, there is yet another critical step that we have to take. We have to apply the interpreted meaning of Jesus’ teaching to our everyday lives so that we can follow His example and be in a relationship with Him. Of course, this is the case not only for the teachings of Christ but for the entire record of Scripture.

Try finding the correct application for the relatively straightforward story of Jesus walking on the water (Mark 6:47-52). After walking on the water, He calmed the storm raging on the sea of Galilee at that same moment. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage! I am here!” 

We have an accurate record of what happened and know what Jesus said. And there doesn't seem to be a murky meaning behind the words, "Don't be afraid." The interpretation of this passage is quite simple. But how do we apply this Scripture to our lives? Are we supposed to walk on water, too? Are we supposed to calm storms with just a word? Does this mean Jesus will calm every storm we face? Was this something that was only for the disciples at that moment? Despite what Jesus said, there are times when we simply are afraid. Especially in storms. What do we do with that?

Do you see the challenges? And Christians do not have the option of throwing up their hands and saying, "I give up! The Bible is just too difficult to understand.” Steve Bond wrote an article for the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. He observed that how we interpret the Bible has much in common with how we interpret other texts. However, “the difference between biblical texts and texts from law, literature, and the sciences is that despite the 66 biblical books having been written by many people over 1,500 years, the Bible claims God as its ultimate author.” Since the Bible is the Word of God, understanding and applying it is non-negotiable for believers.

I am amazed that we have more access to biblical teachings through resources, podcasts, websites, etc., than we have ever had. Yet modern Christians are more ignorant of the Word than ever. This is because studying, understanding, and applying the Bible takes work, time, and commitment.

So, how should we approach the challenges of performing good, in-depth Biblical study? 

Studying the Bible is a Biblical Mandate

First and foremost, Christians must acknowledge that studying the Bible is not optional for followers of Jesus.

James 1:19–25 (NLT): 

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. 

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

Take a moment to soak up what this passage says about the Word. It is not enough to just listen to God's Word; we have to do it. Notice how James moves from hearing the Word to applying it. He doesn't say we need to hear it and understand it; he says we need to hear it and do it.

James says if we listen to the Word but do not do it, we wind up deceiving ourselves! How does that work? James indicates that understanding the Word without doing it is like looking in a mirror and seeing the dirt on our face but failing to wash it off. How silly would it be to brag about what we saw in the mirror? Others would say, “If you knew there was so much dirt on your face, why didn't you wash it off?” I am concerned that many Christians leave church each Sunday and brag about the insights they gained from the Word, but they have no intention of allowing those insights to change their behavior one bit.

James makes it clear that this is no game. He states that the Word has "the power to save your souls.” To fail to understand and "do" the Word is a matter of spiritual life and death. Understanding the Bible is a matter of salvation, which means that studying the Bible is a Biblical mandate.

The Challenges Can be Navigated

So, we have a mandate to study the Scripture, but we cannot ignore those challenges we mentioned, such as how difficult it is to understand and apply the Word of God. J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hayes wrote a fantastic book called Grasping God’s Word. In this book, they compare the process of interpreting and grasping the Bible to embarking on a journey where a great river must be crossed to reach a faraway land. Listen to how they describe the journey of Biblical interpretation.

“We are separated from the biblical audience by culture and customs, language, situation, and a vast expanse of time . . . If that were not enough, the Old Testament widens the river by adding another major interpretive barrier that separates us from the audience. Between the Old Testament biblical audience and Christian readers today lies a change in covenant. Thus, the river between the Old Testament text and us consists not only of culture, language, situation, and time, but also of covenant.”

But I encourage you that these challenges can be navigated. Crossing that figurative river and journeying back into the world of Scripture to understand what it means and how to apply it to ourselves is possible. It is impossible to cover all the details of in-depth Bible study in a single article. But I want to relate to you some of the questions that Duvall and Hayes utilize as they explain the process of biblical study.

Four Important Questions to Ask as We Study a Passage of Scripture

Start by asking this question: What did the text mean to the biblical audience? I cannot count the times I have heard well-meaning students study the Bible by asking one another, "What does this scripture mean to you?” That is a dangerous question. The passage in James teaches us to apply the Scripture. We cannot afford to leave a verse of scripture open to someone’s random opinion or feelings if we are going to apply it appropriately. So, we begin with the practical question of what it meant to the original audience who first heard or read the words.

By placing ourselves in the context of the original audience, we are forced to consider questions such as: What was the culture like at that time? What was happening in history at that time? What were the problems the original audience was facing at that time? What was the author attempting to accomplish when he sent this message to the audience? And many other questions that are important for interpretation. Before we apply a scripture, we cannot ask what it means to us; instead, we ask what it meant to them.

Next, we must ask: What are the differences between the biblical audience and us? It is so easy for us to attempt to interpret a passage of Scripture through the lens of what we are experiencing at the moment. But getting to the real meaning of a passage requires us to ask what the passage meant to the original audience and consider the vast difference between their lives, experiences, and worlds from ours.

Then, we ask the question: What is the theological principle in this text? By "theological principal," Duvall and Hayes refer to the most challenging step in biblical interpretation. Looking for a theological principle in a text means that we search for a principle that is part of the original meaning. Our job is not to create the meaning but to discover the author's intended meaning.

The theological principle should be timeless and not tied to a specific situation. In other words, it should be a principle that can be applied to a college student studying the Word in a dorm room as easily as a businesswoman on a train in India reading the Bible. The principle should not be bound by culture. It should correspond to the teaching of the rest of the Bible. And it should be relevant to both the biblical and the contemporary audience.

Finally, Duvall and Hayes ask the question suggested by the passage from James: How should individual Christians today live out this theological principle? Timeless theological principles imply application. The discovered principles naturally lead to expressed behavior. Discovering the principles becomes moot if one does not "do" the Word. To repeat James’ illustration, what good does it do to see dirt on your face if you don't wash it off?

Studying the Bible is challenging. But since it is a matter of spiritual life or death, it is not optional for the Christian. If you do not have a daily Bible study plan, I encourage you to start one immediately. You will be amazed at the difference in your relationship with Jesus when you hear and do the Word.