This is the two-hundred-twenty-fourth 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.

I always feel a little insulted when I read instructions on something like a tube of antiseptic ointment and they tell me: APPLY TOPICALLY. NOT TO BE INGESTED. I figure that much is obvious. There is a real problem, of course, if someone somewhere swallows a medicine that’s supposed to be applied to the skin.

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’ll 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 some of the most common mistakes to avoid when applying Scripture:

1. Imagining a spiritual meaning in a narrative text that is not embedded in the text itself.

Narrative texts—whether they are the stories of the Old Testament historical books, or the four Gospels, or the book of Acts—mostly tell us the unfolding of real-life stories. We gain lessons about life from the stories, but usually there is not a simple “moral to the story” unless indicated by the text itself. The way God guided the Israelites through the wilderness is not the way he guides you or me to a job opportunity. The military tactics of Joshua are best understood as a description of what happened, not as a strategy for successful living. The transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain was a unique historic event. Its significance is about the identity of Jesus, and does not really have a parallel in my life. Narrative texts have meaning in the context of the whole sweeping story of the people of God. But their details may be applied only when clearly indicated or there is a transcendent principle like Joshua telling the people “choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15).

2. Taking historical narratives as prescriptive rather than descriptive.

Narratives tell us what happened, they don’t necessarily tell us what should have happened then, or what should happen today in our lives. For example, we glean from the book of Acts how the first generation of Christians lived, but that does not mean these prescribe how we should live. Acts 2:46 says the first believers met every day in the temple courts. That does not mean that believers today are obligated to gather every day in one specific place. They sold their property and gave the proceeds away, an example of generous, open hearts, but not a command that believers must adopt socialist politics. We know that in the first century churches were led by elders, sometimes supervised by an apostle or apostle’s representative (like Timothy). Later in the New Testament the role of deacons was developed. But this does not mean it’s wrong today for a church to have new designated roles like having a senior pastor, or for there to be pastors of children and evangelism and worship or small group leaders.

[to be continued…]

[See previous – Applying the Meaning of Scripture]

[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.