Have a go - do these verses still apply today and why?

Welcome to the fascinating world of applying Scripture. Here we encounter the complexities and challenges of moving from words on a page to actually living out the text within our lives. Our mandate is to figure out which statements from the Bible in their “on the page” wording you and I should continue to follow in our contemporary setting. In order to do this, we must determine whether we should apply a particular biblical statement in the exact form articulated on the page or whether we should apply only some expression of its underlying principle(s).  Learn more by enrolling at www.hopecollege.com

In this respect, the objective is not to uncover the meaning of the words of the text in their dictionary sense. Commentaries spend much of their time doing this. Rather, our task is one of applying the ancient text in our modern context. So, assuming that a plausible or reasonable understanding of the text’s original meaning can be attained, we will put our efforts into grappling with its application.

A quick and fun exercise will immediately engage you in the process of applying Scripture. For each of the biblical commands or statements below I ask my you to answer one question: Which of these instructions from Scripture are still in force for us today exactly as they are articulated “on the page”? 

 ——   “God. . . said to them [Adam and Eve], ‘Be fruitful and increase in number’” (Gen 1:28).
——   “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deut 6:5).
——   “When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce. . . you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow” (Deut 26:12).
——   “Greet one another with a holy kiss” (1 Cor 16:20).
——   “Women should remain silent in the churches” (1 Cor 14:34).
——   “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Tim 5:23).
——   “Set apart for the LORD . . . every firstborn male of your herds and flocks” (Deut 15:19).
——   “If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives” (Deut 22:28-29).
——   “Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period” (Lev 18:19).
——   “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman” (Lev 18:22).
——   “Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it” (Lev 18:23).
——   “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19).
——   “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Tim 4:13).
——   “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material” (Lev 19:19).
——   “Be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure” (2 Pet 1:10).
——   “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man” (Gen 9:6).
——   “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (Jn 13:14).
——   “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” (Mt 10:5-6).
——   “Heal the sick, raise the dead,. . . drive out demons” (Mt 10:8).
——   “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” (Lk 12:33).
——   “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work” (Ex 20:9-10).
——   “A woman. . . should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head” (1 Cor 11:6-7).
——   “If a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him” (1 Cor 11:14).
——   “Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife” (1 Cor 7:27).
——   “Every male among you shall be circumcised” (Gen 17:10).
——   “Punish him [your child] with the rod and save his soul from death” (Prov 23:14).
——   “Do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Mt 5:42).
——   “Bless those who persecute you. . .. If your enemy is hungry, feed him” (Rom 12:14, 20).
——   “Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more” (Prov 31:6-7).
——   “Do not. . . put tattoo marks on yourselves” (Lev 19:28).
——   “Praise God with tambourine and dancing. . . praise him for the clash of cymbals” (Ps 150:4-5).
——   “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly” (Lev 19:32).
——   “You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality” (Acts 15:29).
——   “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate but also to those who are harsh” (1 Pet 2:18).
——   “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wears women’s clothing” (Deut 22:5).
——   “If a man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him. . . the priest shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. . .. He is to have the woman drink the water” (Num 5:12, 17, 26).
——   “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer. . .. I also want women to dress modestly. . . not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes” (1 Tim 2:8-9).
——   “Do not take interest of any kind from your countryman” (Lev 25:36).
——   “Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord” (Jas 5:14).

This exercise should convince almost every modern Christian about the complexity of applying the biblical text. 

Moving from the ancient text into our modern world is not a simple matter. If you score the above list with a friend or a group, it may be interesting to poll the results from a select number of these examples and to begin talking about the question, Why?

Why?

Each of us must ask the probing question, Why? Why do some biblical instructions have ongoing significance and force in their entirety, while the continued application of others is limited in some manner? 

How do I determine which components of the biblical text should apply today and which should not? Why? Join www.hopecollege.com and learn more today