Personal Application

"If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”[1]

1.  Define the truth to be applied.

-          Observe Carefully

-          Interpret Accurately

-          Identify the application as understood by the original readers of the text.[2]

Was there an example to imitate?

Was there a principle to apply?

Was there a command to obey?

Was there an error to avoid?

Was there a sin to forsake?

Was there a promise to claim?

Was there any new thought about God Himself? [3]

2.  Identify the specific application of this truth to your life.

-          Translate the original application into your current circumstances, time, and place. (Example:  1^st century Palestine vs. 21^st Century Eugene)[4]

-          Make it specific.  What do you need to add, change, or delete?

-          Make it personal.  What do you need to add, change, or delete?

3.  Plan to apply this truth to your life.

-          What actions steps will you take?  If there are several, list them in order.

-          When will you start?

-          How will you measure progress?

-          Who will keep you accountable?

-          How will they do it?

-          When will they do it?

“For in the last analysis one of the primary secrets of Scriptural application is the kind of abandon which causes one who has discovered a truth to follow it to its logical outcome, even if the road be hard and the tangible rewards few.”[5]