Three Questions to Ask of Any Bible Passage

by Rick Warren — February 25, 2017

“Does the LORD really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn’t want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey him” (1 Samuel 15:22b CEV).

If you aren’t experienced in applying God’s Word to your life, you might be frustrated. How do you do it? Today I want to give you three questions you can ask of any passage that will help you apply the Bible to your life. Here are the three questions:

1. What did this Scripture mean when it was written?

2. What is the timeless truth behind what God is saying?

3. How does it apply now to me?

We call this the “application bridge.” We’re building a bridge between the world of the Bible and our world. Let’s try to build this bridge when applying what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 8 about eating the food sacrificed to idols. Read 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, and then ask yourself the questions above.

  • What did this Scripture mean when it was written? There were people in the church of Corinth who knew that idols meant nothing and that the food offered to them had no magic power. It was just hamburger or a good steak. There was no harm in eating it because the idols to which they were sacrificed weren’t real. So this group would eat freely but with no regard to what other people might think. Yet there were also new believers who were offended by that practice. They didn’t think that believers should eat food sacrificed to gods of other religions. Paul tells the mature believers not to allow their freedom in Christ to offend their brothers.
  • What is the timeless truth behind what God is saying? Don’t use your freedom in Christ to offend others. Freedom must be used in love.
  • How does it apply to me now? It’s not very common to come into contact with food being offered to idols where I live in Southern California. I’m guessing it doesn’t happen in your area, either. So does that mean it’s irrelevant for us? Of course not! If the timeless truth is: “Don’t use your freedom to offend others; freedom must be used in love,” then I need to be sensitive to people around me, because that’s how we demonstrate love. Ask yourself, “Lord, am I doing anything out of selfishness, arrogance, or deliberate insensitivity to other people that could be causing a fellow brother or sister to stumble? Am I being puffed up by my own knowledge of freedom, or am I building up others in love?”

    • Talk It Over

    • Think of a deeply familiar Bible story. When you re-read the passage and use the three questions above, what new truths or applications do you discover about the story?
    • Do you believe that God intended for you to use the Bible as a guide for life? Do you believe that its truths are timeless, that the messages and applications are still relevant today?
    • How can you show what you believe through your actions?

    Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.