How to Apply God’s Word
“The word of God must be integrated into our lives. The Word of God affects my business life, home life, and sex life. Jesus said that I must hear His words and then put them into practice.” – Tony Walliser
Read Matthew 7:24-27
How to Apply God’s Word
Although not as well-known as Dr. Billy Graham, international evangelist Luis Palau was used by God to present the message of Jesus Christ to reach countless millions of people through TV, radio, and live events in more than 80 nations. Because of his experiences around the globe, someone asked him to compare American Christians with believers he had encountered in Third World countries. His response was intriguing.
Palau described Christians in America as having “the lust of the mind.” He was saying believers in the United States, because of access to so many books, Bible studies, conferences, radio and TV programming, and other resources, were constantly seeking more knowledge about the Bible. However, they were not nearly as eager as their Third World counterparts to put into practice what they had learned.
Palau wasn’t disparaging Americans. He was simply observing that many American believers were strong on information, but weak on application. Jesus warned about this with His parable about two houses, one built upon a solid foundation and the other on a very unstable foundation:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock…. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand” (Matthew 7:24-26).
Renowned British preacher Charles H. Spurgeon understood this. He often prepared his sermons by asking himself three questions: What does the passage say? What does it mean? And lastly, what difference does it make?
His reasoning was simple. We can know the Word of God, even recite it by memory. But if we don’t apply what it says to our lives, it does us no good. Bible knowledge is of little value if it doesn’t make a difference in our lives. And the only way the Bible is going to change our lives is if we determine to apply what we learn to our lives every day.
Imagine someone who decides to replace his old dinosaur of a computer with the very latest model, loaded with the fastest-ever operating system and loaded with cutting-edge software. He reads about all it can do and thoroughly studies the owner’s manual. But he never takes the computer out of the box – never puts it into operation. What good is that?
One might ask, aren’t we told we’re saved by faith, not by works? Definitely. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”
However, faith is not simply head knowledge and the accumulation of biblical information. Genuine faith is applying – putting into practice – what we have learned from the Scriptures.
This is why the apostle James wrote, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?… As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:14-26). True faith translates into action.
And the Bible tells us that applying what we have learned brings about an interesting phenomenon. The NIV translation of Philemon 6 says, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.”
As we apply what God has taught us through His Word in our lives, and as we share our faith with others, the Lord graciously gives us deeper insight into His truth and draws us closer to Him. As Psalm 111:10 states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding.”