This is the two-hundred-twenty-fifth lesson in author and pastor Mel Lawrenz’ How to Live the Bible series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.

[continued from last time…] Application is the last step in the so-called inductive method of Bible study. The first step is to observe (examining the words, the structure, the details), the second is to interpret (figuring out what the author meant), and then application (figuring out how the truths we uncover connect with everyday life). We know that if our observation is incomplete or our interpretation is askew, we will miss the truth and power of Scripture. But it’s also true that misapplication of the meaning of biblical texts is invalid and even dangerous.

Here are a couple of other mistakes to avoid…

3. Using an application that is not connected with the actual meaning of the text.

Jesus’ statement: “I am the bread of life” is not about physical nutrition. Hebrews 12:1, “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” is not about competing with your co-workers or neighbors. It’s about perseverance, as is directly stated in the text. Sometimes we’re inclined to take a biblical text and use it as a springboard to whatever our imagination conjures. But the words of Scripture are not springboards. The authors of Scripture always mean something specific in what they’re saying. Our applications of a biblical text may go different directions, but they should always have a meaningful connection with the original meaning of the text.

4. Reading your own theology into the text.

If someone has strong convictions about baptism, that’s fine, but it’s a mistake to see baptism wherever there’s water splashing about in the Bible. Grace is amazing, it really is. And it appears throughout Scripture, including in words like mercy, love, benevolence. But grace is balanced by truth. Likewise, someone who loves to proclaim truth must not leave grace behind. It’s hard for us to see what our theological presuppositions are, but if we do not, we’ll frequently apply Scripture in unbalanced ways, and we’re less likely to have the joy of discovery of truths we had not seen before.

Applying Scripture is the reward of study well done. We just need to make sure we’re applying the truth exactly where it belongs.

[See previous – Mistakes in Bible Application]

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Explore the Many Ways Bible Gateway Helps You Study the Bible]
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Mel Lawrenz (@MelLawrenz) trains an international network of Christian leaders, ministry pioneers, and thought-leaders. He served as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, for ten years and now serves as Elmbrook’s teaching pastor. He has a PhD in the history of Christian thought and is on the adjunct faculty of Trinity International University. Mel’s many books include Spiritual Leadership Today: Having Deep Influence in Every Walk of Life (Zondervan, 2016). See more of Mel’s writing at WordWay.