目录

一、介绍

二、应用的多样性

圣经教训

旧约圣经

新约圣经

人和处境

更高的教训

较低的教训

三、应用得智慧

领袖

四、结论

一、介绍

有一个故事，讲的是一位年轻牧师站在教会门口，向每一个离开的会众打招呼告别的时候。大部分会众都有礼貌地向他发出微笑，然后离开。但队列最后的一个人，是一位年纪较大，总是心直口快的人。

他抱怨说，「年轻人，我对你的讲道有一个严重不满意的地方。」

「请问是什么问题？」这位牧师问道。

「我需要知道上帝的话语对我的生活要说什么，但你根本就没有说任何能应用在我身上的话。」

的确，时不时我们大部分人都曾听过一些没有针对我们面对的个人需要的讲道。我们都需要《圣经》给我们的鼓励，实际指引和纠正我们的人生。所以，无论我们是多么喜欢抓住普遍原则或理论问题不放，我们都完全有必要学会如何用实际方法，把《圣经》应用到我们自己的生活，应用到其他人的生活当中。

这是《他赐给我们圣经：释经的基础》这个系列的第十一课，我们给这一课定的标题，就是「个人现今应用」《圣经》。我们在这一课要看应当怎样把《圣经》应用到其他人，应用到我们自己这些个体的人身上。

就像我们在另外几课曾经看到的那样，每次把《圣经》应用到我们今天的时候，我们都要考虑三种存在于《圣经》原本受众和现今受众之间的距离：时代，文化和个人的距离。

我们必须在一个更大范围内探索，那随着《圣经》历史从一个伟大时代发展到另一个伟大时代时的神学发展。在一个稍微小一点的范围内，我们需要留意到，上帝为《圣经》时代文化的设计的目的和他为现今文化设计的目的之间的相似之处和差异之处。我们在这些框架内，也必须思想《圣经》原本受众和现今受众之间个人的相似之处和差别。在这一课，我们思想《圣经》应当如何冲击今天个人的观念、行为和情感时，我们主要要来看现今应用的这最后一个层面。

上帝要他的话语影响我们生活中的每一件事，从我们怎样看电影听音乐，到我们如何去约会；我们怎样看待日落和罪，都要受到上帝把他自己向我们启示的方式影响。这需要影响我们的思想、我们的内心和我们的行动。《圣经》应当渗透我们的生活，给我们那种合乎《圣经》的分辨力，让我们可以每一天每一分钟都像上帝那样思想。这最终要成为我们的直觉和本能，而《圣经》要以一种非常整全的方式，对我们的生活产生一种冲击。埃瑞克索尼斯博士

我们可以用很多方法来看个人现今应用这个问题，但在这一课，我们要处理两个主要问题。第一，我们要看上帝已经命定，给我们个人对《圣经》的应用具有多样性。第二，我们要探索上帝怎样为我们提供了方法，让我们自己和其他人可以应用《圣经》得智慧。

让我们轮流看这些话题，首先看个人应用的多样性。

二、应用的多样性

时不时的，我们大部分人都会要去读一些说明书，学习如何操作某种机器或电器设备。操作说明书通常描述了简单过程的每一个细节，所以每个人都会做完全一模一样的事情。「做这一点，做那一点，再做这一点，」每一件事情就要按设计那样发挥功用。但是你能想象有人会写一份详细的操作说明书，讲的是如何种地、建立家庭或经营生意吗？当然没有人会写。这些任务太复杂，不能用一步接一步的线性方法加以描述，不同的人在面对不同处境时，必须用不同的方法来做这些事情。

有时我们希望《圣经》要是像一本操作说明书，为每一个人列出具体步骤，让人遵守就好了。这肯定会让个人对上帝话语的应用变得容易得多。但是，每一个熟悉《圣经》的人都知道，《圣经》并没有这样做。《圣经》而是处理人能够想象的其中一些最复杂的问题，这些问题太过复杂，不可能列出一步接一步的指示。除此以外，《圣经》是为了给很多不同的人，在很多不同的处境使用。出于这些原因，《圣经》写成书，是要用不同的方法应用在个人身上。

要明白个人应用的多样性，首先，我们就必须留意《圣经》教训本身的多样性。其次，我们要看，为什么这些不同的教训，一定要用不同方式应用在不同的人和处境当中。我们首先来看《圣经》教训的多样性。

圣经教训

正如我们刚才提出的，和按步就班的操作说明书不一样，论述农业、建立家庭、做生意和类似事情的书籍，通常会给读者有多种教训，从普遍到具体的教训。典型来说，这些种类的书会指出一些绝对原则，是每一个人在所有处境当中都应遵守的。它们也提供了一些普遍指引，是应用在大部分处境当中的。除此以外，它们通常提供了一套教训，是处理时不时会出现的相当具体的场景。最后，这一类的书籍通常包括案例研究，举例说明成功和失败。

《圣经》在很多方面反映出相同范围的教训多样性。《圣经》提供了一些绝对原则，是每一个人在所有时候都要遵守的；也提供了普遍指引，供许多人在不同处境中遵守；《圣经》也为特别的人和处境提供具体的教训，以及在遵守《圣经》教训方面成功或失败的人的例子。

如果我们从两方面看《圣经》教训的这个范围，这对我们会有帮助。首先我们要看这些种类的教训在旧约《圣经》是怎样出现的，然后我们要思想，这种范围的教训也是怎样在新约《圣经》出现。

让我们从旧约《圣经》开始。

旧约圣经

现今读者常常会有这种印象，就是《圣经》有种很不现实的要求，就是上帝期望每一个以色列人把《圣经》所有的律法和教导，从创世记到玛拉基书都背下来，然后随时预备好，马上就可以把这些教训付诸行动。但是，旧约《圣经》规定的清单实在太长，任何人都不能把它们完全记住，更何况全部遵守。为了处理这个挑战，以色列的拉比们尝试分辨旧约《圣经》教训的优先秩序。哪一些命令是每一个人需要在每一种处境中都记住的？哪一种教训是需要在生活的很多领域，但并非所有领域都加以实施的？哪一些命令是如此具体，以至人只需要在具体情景才想起来？一些拉比论证说应该这样，其他拉比论证说应该那样，但有点他们都知道，很有必要确定优先秩序。人们尝试给旧约《圣经》的教导列出优先秩序，这就让一位律法师在马太福音22章36节问耶稣这个问题：

「夫子，律法上的诫命，哪一条是最大的呢？」（马太福音22章36节）

耶稣在37到40节回答说：

「你要尽心、尽性、尽意爱主你的上帝。这是诫命中的第一，且是最大的。其次也相仿，就是要爱人如己。这两条诫命是律法和先知一切道理的总纲。」（马太福音22章37-40）

在这个众所周知的场面里，耶稣向跟从他的人表明了他看待《圣经》所有诫命的权威性观点。他指出，申命记6章5节「爱主你的上帝」这命令是最高程度的律法。无需人发问，他立刻加上第二条最大的诫命，利未记19章18节的「爱人如己」。按照他的观点，这两条诫命优先于所有其他《圣经》教训。

当然，上帝他自己和有上帝形象样式的人类在《圣经》中非常重要，但是记住，耶稣把这两条诫命放在一起，是因为它们有同一个聚焦点。它们都讲到爱。最重要的，我们要爱上帝，和爱我们的邻舍如己。所以耶稣赋予这两条诫命高于所有其他教训的优先秩序，这就不奇怪了。它们处理的是人心最深处的问题上帝期望他的百姓应有的态度、委身、动机和目标。实际上，从耶稣的观点来看，爱上帝和爱邻舍，是旧约《圣经》的绝对原则，是不管发生什么事情，每一个人都应当遵守的。

一位律法师问耶稣，《圣经》中最大的诫命是什么。他回答，而这是一个非常重要的回答「你要尽心、尽性、尽意爱主你的上帝。这是诫命中的第一，且是最大的。其次也相仿，就是要爱人如己。这两条诫命是律法和先知一切道理的总纲。」所以很清楚的是，这是两条至关重要的命令，但他没有把它们等同起来。第一和最大的，我们必须爱上帝。我们第一的效忠必须归于上帝，他是创造我们的主，救赎我们的主，他是我们的盾牌，就是我们最大的奖赏，每一件事都聚焦在上帝身上，所以我们必需尽心爱上帝，这是每天最大的优先秩序。但是耶稣并没有就此为止，律法师没有问，「头两条最大诫命是什么？」而是问，「最大的诫命是什么？」但耶稣确定列出第二条诫命，就是爱人如己，所以这两条诫命是联系相关的。我们不爱按照上帝的形象受造的人，特别是那些已经得到救赎，被接纳进入上帝家中的人，就不可能爱上帝。安德烈戴维斯博士

这两条诫命对耶稣来说如此重要，以致他加上一句，「这两条诫命是律法和先知一切道理的总纲。」（律法和先知一切道理，这是指整本旧约《圣经》的说法）这里我们要小心，因为许多解释《圣经》的人，把这理解为是指跟从耶稣的人，除了爱上帝和爱人以外，就应当轻看或者不顾旧约《圣经》所有的教训。但实际情况正好相反。

耶稣不仅在马太福音22章列出两条最大的诫命，而且在马太福音5章19节，也教导那些跟从他的人，要遵守他称之为「最小的」诫命。请听他在那里是怎么说的：

所以，无论何人废掉这诫命中最小的一条，又教训人这样作，他在天国要称为最小的。（马太福音5章19节）

这节经文和其他经文清楚表明，跟从耶稣的人要遵守所有的诫命，从最小的到最大的都要遵守。

除此以外，耶稣在马太福音23章23节责备法利赛人的时候，也承认在最大的和最小的诫命之间，存在着一个范围的教训：

你们这假冒为善的文士和法利赛人有祸了！因为你们将薄荷、茴香、芹菜，献上十分之一，那律法上更重的事，就是公义、怜悯、信实，反倒不行了。这更重的是你们当行的；那也是不可不行的。（马太福音23章23节）

请留意,耶稣指出「公义、怜悯、信实」，是「那律法上更重的事」。他用把「薄荷、茴香、芹菜，献上十分之一」这些较小的问题来与之作对比。再一次他表明，跟从他的人要遵守所有旧约《圣经》的命令，但他们要在心中保持正确的优先秩序。

我们可以把耶稣对上帝在旧约《圣经》教训的观点，想象成婴孩的玩具转转乐，这对我们会有帮助。在转转乐最上面的地方，你看到是绝对原则，那两条最大的诫命：「爱主你的上帝」和「爱人如己」。我们被告知，「这两条诫命是律法和先知一切道理的总纲。」

在这两条诫命之下悬挂着另外的原则，表明人应当怎样遵守这两条最大的诫命。这些包括旧约《圣经》中的许多普遍指引，比如十条诫命，还有好像公义、怜悯、信实这些原则。

在这些广泛原则之下悬挂着的，是「这诫命中最小的一条」。这些是旧约《圣经》中相对具体的教训，表明不同的人在某些处境当中应当如何遵守那更高的命令。比如在利未记中对敬拜的教训，诗篇中的指引，还有在智慧书，比如约伯记和箴言，在先知书，比如以赛亚书和以西结书中的许多教训。

在这转转乐玩具最下面的地方，是极多历史上的例子。它们最多是出现在旧约《圣经》叙述部分，也出现在诗篇和智慧书中。这些经文关注的是具体的男男女女，在他们具体的处境中，是怎样顺服或者不顺服上帝的命令。

这种等级的安排，帮助我们明白耶稣要他的门徒如何处理出现在旧约《圣经》中全范围教训的许多方面。

了解到这旧约《圣经》的背景，就让我们来看新约《圣经》中多样的《圣经》教训。

新约圣经

每个人都会一眼看出，新约《圣经》比旧约《圣经》简短得多，但这并不意味着新约《圣经》作者减少了给上帝百姓教训的数目。实际上，给初期教会教导的清单，要比为古代上帝子民以色列所列的清单更长。新约《圣经》作者并没有取代旧约《圣经》，相反，他们对旧约《圣经》做了增加。新约《圣经》中增加了更多的教训，这让人提出一个很重要的问题，为什么新约《圣经》作者把他们自己的教训加在旧约《圣经》教导之中。

正如我们在之前一课曾经看到的，新约《圣经》作者并不要跟从基督的人忘记任何旧约《圣经》的教训，但他们也不要他们像仿佛还是在旧约《圣经》时代那样生活。所以为了防止受众滑落回到过去的方法，他们教导初期教会如何在新约时代应用旧约的《圣经》教训。

新约《圣经》作者承认旧约《圣经》的教训，但他们的理解，就是当耶稣第一次来的时候，他开启了上帝的弥赛亚国度。他们也认识到，应当通过圣灵的工作来看旧约《圣经》教训，圣灵的工作，就是在新约时代的持续阶段扩展上帝的国度。并且他们是按照基督在弥赛亚国度最终完满，在荣耀中再来的时候会怎么做这个角度来看旧约《圣经》。

贯穿所有这一切，新约《圣经》的作者强调，跟从基督的人，必须保持耶稣建立的优先秩序。

首先，爱上帝和爱人如己的绝对原则，继续是最大的诫命，我们在比如路加福音10章27节，哥林多前书13章13节和约翰一书4章21节的经文看到这一点。无论发生什么样的事，新约的信徒都要全身心的爱上帝，爱人如己。

第二，新约《圣经》作者在好像马太福音19章18节，罗马书13章8-10节这样的经文中，也呼吁人留意十条诫命和旧约《圣经》中的其他普遍指引。

第三，我们在看哥林多前书14章和提摩太后书4章1到5节这样的经文时，看到新约《圣经》作者对于具体的人和处境，作出了具体的教训。

第四，我们在四福音书和使徒行传，以及其他经文中看到许许多多实在的历史上的例子，看到人顺服或悖逆上帝的命令。

正如我们已经看到的，《圣经》这个主题如此复杂，《圣经》对上帝的百姓有如此多不同的教训，以致我们不可能把每一条教训都放在我们思想的前列。但是，新约《圣经》帮助我们看到，我们应当如何处理这些不同的命令。

一方面，我们需要坚持耶稣教导他门徒遵守的优先秩序。如果我们不坚持，就会变得迷失在《圣经》的细节当中，就会很像耶稣时代的法利赛人一样。我们处理某些问题的时候，具体的教训非常重要，但我们的注意力应当更加关注更重要的问题最重要的，就是爱上帝和爱人。我们每天每一刻，都应当受到这两条最大戒命的鼓励和指引。

第二，虽然有这些优先秩序，我们却也需要记住，每一条《圣经》的教训，都以这种或那种的方式，与每一个跟从基督的人有关，当我们遇到不同的选择，我们不仅应当从《圣经》绝对的原则，也应当从《圣经》中许多普遍的指引、具体详细的教训和实际的例子中得到鼓励和指引，努力忠心服事上帝。

在圣约中，当上帝把他的本性和品格教导给他百姓的时候，他赐下三种律法。有道德律，可以简单说成是绝对的，是为所有时代设立的。有民事律，在当中永远的原则应用在受时间控制的环境中。我总是喜欢使用关于顶死人的牛的律法，这正是因为我一头牛也没有，我喜欢那不应用在我身上的律法。当中的原则就是，如果你知道这头牛性格暴躁，却不把它圈起来，它杀了你的邻舍，你就是一个杀人的人。另一方面，如果你从来没有任何理由怀疑那头牛性格是否温顺，你没有把它圈起来，有一天它变得狂暴，杀死了你的邻舍，你就无需为此负责。我没有牛，但我的确有一辆汽车，如果我知道刹车出了问题，却对此不采取任何措施，如果我杀了你，就《圣经》的教导而言，我就是一个杀人犯。所以这原则是什么？原则就是知识带来责任，所以在民事律中，我要得出原则，把它应用在我自己的生活当中。第三种律法是礼仪律，基本来说，这是适用在各种形式的敬拜方面，上帝使用这些形式，作为教训用的实例，教导永恒的真理。例如他说，不要吃猪肉，因为这样会使你成为不洁净的人。嗯，猪肉并不会使我们成为不洁净的人，在这一点上耶稣讲得非常清楚。让你不洁净的，并不是那吃进到你嘴里的东西，而是出于你那不洁净的内心的事情。所以问题并不是，「你吃猪肉还是不吃？」问题是，「你有没有让基督通过圣灵，在你不洁净的内心动工？」所以我并不遵守礼仪律，它们是教训用的实例，一旦你学到教训，你就不需要实例。约翰奥斯沃特博士你看《圣经》中的诫命时，你就开始认识到，有大量的命令，是上帝为了不同的原因赐下的。如果你去看使徒行传15章的耶路撒冷会议，那时提出来的问题是，「在遵守摩西之约的诫命方面，外邦人应当怎么办？」以色列的教会领袖非常清楚，他们说，「我们不会把连我们自己都不能负的这重担放在他们身上，但我们确实要这样说，要禁戒」然后他们列出一份清单拜偶像、淫乱或者吃献给偶像的食物，或者吃血。所有这一切，都与某种核心信念有关，这些核心信念是上帝在道德方面对我们要求的核心。所以，即使在《圣经》中，我们也看到一种不一样的对待上帝诫命的方法，因为在以色列的圣约中，你看到有一种诫命，但不是说全部这些圣约的诫命，都是直接插入上帝确实要我们所过生活的中心道德关注要点。当人问耶稣他自己，最大的两条诫命是什么这个问题时，就连耶稣也这样说，如果你要把一切事情概括起来，这就归纳到这一点，「尽心、尽意、尽性、尽力爱主你的上帝，第二也相仿，就是爱人如己。」斯提夫布兰克博士

在看了个人对《圣经》应用的多样性，是怎样与《圣经》教训的多样性有关之后，让我们转过来看第二个导致应用多样性的因素：所涉及的不同的人和处境。开始的时候，让我们来复习一下上一课看过的内容。

人和处境

你还会记得，上帝总是通过《圣经》，通过普遍启示，启示出他的旨意，带领他的百姓，使他们具有文化多样性，通过普遍启示，就是通过人和处境显明他自己和他的旨意。上帝使用这种方法，就为他的百姓命定了某种程度的文化多样性。

在很多方面，我们个人的生活也是如此。上帝通过包括在《圣经》中许多不同的教训，显明他的旨意。但是要把这些教训应用在其他人身上和我们自己身上，我们就必须要考虑，上帝在不同的人和处境当中所作的普遍启示。

我们可以再转回头来看耶稣教训的等级，通过这点看不同的人和处境，是怎样影响个人的应用。为了简单起见，我们要把我们讲的四类教训分成「更高的」，或更普遍的《圣经》教训，以及「较低的」，或更具体的《圣经》教训。让我们首先来看更高的《圣经》教训。

更高的教训

《圣经》更高的教训，包括绝对的原则和普遍的指引。正如我们已经看过的那样，这些类型的教训优先于其他教训，因为它们的应用范围更广阔。但即使如此，人必须在上帝普遍启示的光照之下，以不同的方法对它们加以应用。

一方面，要应用更高的《圣经》原则，我们必须评价所涉及的人的特征，我们要考虑这样的事情，比如个人的灵命状况、社会地位、能力、年龄和性别。知道这些和其它的特征，有助于我们分辨，《圣经》更高的原则应当如何冲击所涉及的人的概念、行为和情感。

想象一下我走进一个房间，问一群朋友几个问题。首先我问：「你们相信我们所有人都应该做正确的事吗？」很自然的是，他们所有人都会回答，「当然。」但是当我接着问第二个问题，「好吧，那么你们每一个人今天离开这房间的时候，你们会作些什么事？」结果我们发现，每一个人都在做正确的事，但是，用不同的方式去做，对此我们就无需感到惊奇。一个人可能会说：「我要回家后，照顾孩子。」或者，「我要去商店买一些吃的。」实际上，如果他们全部人都计划用完全一样的方法做正确的事情，我们就会感到震惊了。要明白这一点并不困难，普遍的教训，比如「做正确的事」，要以不同的方式应用在不同的人和处境当中。

我们已经指出，利未记19章18节「爱人如己」这绝对的原则，是一条应用在每一个处境当中每一个人身上的教训。但是我们也知道，上帝并不期望所有的人都用完全一模一样的方式遵守这条命令。一个成年人可以用一种方式表明爱，而一个年轻的孩子，可能会用另一种方式表明爱。一个富人和一个穷人，可能也会用不同方式表明对其他人的爱。每一个人的能力、弱点、经历、灵命状况和类似的方面，都会影响他们应用爱人这绝对原则的方式。

另一方面，爱人如己这条命令也是以不同方式应用在不同的处境当中，即使同一个人，也可能会在不同时候以不同方式爱他的邻舍。每一个人都面对不同的难处、挑战和机遇。这些处境要求我们每一个人应用《圣经》原则的方式，可能对在其他处境中的人来说就是不合适的。例如，在战争与和平年间，在丰收和饥荒的时候，在疾病和健康的时候，爱人如己就不一样。我们必须按照我们的处境，用不同的方式来应用《圣经》更高的原则。

在看了不同的人和处境如何要求我们用不同方式应用更高的《圣经》教训之后，让我们转过来看耶稣对《圣经》教训作的等级安排中那些较低的因素。

较低的教训

根据我们的目的，「较低的」教训包括《圣经》具体详细的教训和实在的历史实例，帮助我们把《圣经》应用在我们自己和其他人身上。和更高的教训一样，较低的教训是取决于所涉及的不同的人和处境，用不同的方式加以应用。

例如，想象一个具体的教训，比如「为你的家人建一间安全的房屋」。一个在寒冷气候生活的人建造房屋，会和一个在温暖气候生活的人不同。在会受到台风吹袭地区的房屋，要求有不同的结构因素，与会遭受地震地区的房屋要求不一样。这里更高的原则就是，一个人必须保护自己家人安全。具体的教训，就是建造一座房屋，实现这更高的原则。任何建造房屋的人，都会从在类似处境中建造类似房屋的例子中得到益处。但是，没有两个人会用完全一样的方式根据具体的教训行事。

每次我们把一条相对具体的《圣经》教训，应用在我们今天个人的生活当中时，类似的事情就会发生。首先，我们考虑更高的教训，也考虑其他密切相关的具体教训，帮助我们准备好来接受所看的教导。第二，我们要辨认出原本受到这些具体教训影响的人和处境，第三，我们要把我们自己的生活，和这具体教训原本的受众作比较，分辨出我们应当如何把它应用在我们自己身上。

《圣经》的其中一个特别特征，就是它是写给在具体时间具体地点的具体的人的。其实只有《圣经》这神圣的书卷才会这样做。世界上其他神圣的书卷，倾向是一种规定、陈述，讲的是人应当做什么或不应当做什么。但是上帝按他的良善，已经赐我们处境脉络。他赐给我们一种认识的方法，明白这些事情如何在生活中作用出来。但这意味着我们总是要说，「按照这处境的脉络，这里教导的原则是什么？这原则怎样应用在我新处境脉络当中？」约翰奥斯沃特博士

举例说明我们所讲的，让我们来试想应当如何把出埃及记21章23到25节应用在今天的个人身上。在这些经文中，我们看到以色列的审判官要按这种方式作出判决：

若有别害，就要以命偿命，以眼还眼，以牙还牙，以手还手，以脚还脚，以烙还烙，以伤还伤，以打还打。（出埃及记21章23-25节）

但是请听，在马太福音5章38和39节，耶稣在登山宝训教导跟从他的人，要怎样把这条律法应用在他们个人的生活当中：

「你们听见有话说：以眼还眼，以牙还牙。只是我告诉你们，不要与恶人作对。有人打你的右脸，连左脸也转过来由他打。」（马太福音5章38-39节）

很重要的是要认识到，耶稣并不是不认同旧约《圣经》对审判官和司法制度的教导。和我们所有人一样，耶稣知道爱上帝和爱人，这就要求在法庭上有公义的判决。耶稣面对的问题，就是法利赛人把这条为审判官定的规定，作为他们在个人交往中报仇的借口。但是当我们把这条教训与《圣经》中更高的原则，与其他「较低的」教训作比较的时候，我们就能明白耶稣这里对他门徒教导的是什么。实际上，耶稣是含蓄地要求跟从他的人，把自己与出埃及记21章原本的受众做比较。每一个人都应当认同司法制度要有公平公义。当我们的角色，更像审判官的角色，我们就应当更像法庭上的法官一样来应用出埃及记第21章。但是我们绝不可在我们个人关系中像法官一样行事，我们日常个人之间的互动，不应当只用公义来规范，而应当尽可能按怜悯和恩慈来加以规范。

我们再举另外一个例子，在马太福音19章21节，耶稣对那位有钱的年轻官员下了这条教训：

去变卖你所有的，分给穷人，就必有财宝在天上。（马太福音19章21节）

这节经文更大的上下文清楚表明，耶稣发出这条较低的教训，是因为这富有的年轻官员如此爱慕他的金钱，以致他违反了爱上帝和爱人的更高原则。他已经把爱财作为他最高的优先秩序。

人有时候会发出疑问，这段经文是不是要求现在世界每一个有钱的人，都卖掉他们的家产，把他们的家产捐给穷人。但是，我们必须考虑，《圣经》对于个人财产和财富更高的原则，我们也必须把这个较低、更具体的教导，和耶稣以及新约《圣经》作者发出关于财产的其他教导做比较。所以，我们应当如何决定有钱的人应当怎样处理他们的金钱？答案在于把今天个人和他们的处境与那位有钱的少年人的官进行比较。我们越像他，我们现今的应用就应当越像主耶稣要他在他那时候要做的事。

在个人现今应用这一课，到目前为止我们已经看到了，在一种或另外一种程度上，现今的个人必须用不同的方式应用《圣经》，这是因为个人应用存在着多样性。这就带我们来看我们的第二个主要话题：我们需要在应用上得智慧。

三、应用时的智慧

在这个世界很多地方，基督徒能够想在什么时候就在什么时候拿起一本《圣经》来读。虽然这很奇妙，但这也导致我们当中许多人，在我们把《圣经》应用在我们个人生活的方式上，有太大的选择性。我们在理论上认同，所有的《圣经》都是上帝默示的。但我们不是看《圣经》对不同处境不同人的多方面教训，而是完全私自从《圣经》中抽取一些事情，找一些可以很容易应用在我们生活当中的事。这种普遍的做法是可以理解的，因为很多时候《圣经》非常复杂，但在现实当中，《圣经》并不是让人以这种方式的应用而写的。上帝而是命定人应当在彼此互动中阅读《圣经》。有了其他人的帮助，我们就能得到所需的智慧，把即使是《圣经》很难明白的部份，应用在我们的生活当中。

正如我们将要看到的那样，虽然圣灵可以给我们有异乎寻常的看见，明白《圣经》的应用，上帝却已经清楚命定，普遍而言，我们要通过与其他人互动，来得到应用《圣经》时所需的智慧。

古代的以色列人和初期教会不像我们今天这样，有印刷机、出版社和大规模分发《圣经》的方法。就算真有《圣经》可以分发到大部分人手中，他们也因为不识字而不能读。所以上帝期望个人与其它人在群体中互动，以此应用《圣经》。

我们要来探索，通过与其他人进行互动，个人应用《圣经》时得智慧的两种方法。首先我们要看上帝设立领袖所起的至关重要的作用，他们是首先领受《圣经》的人。第二，我们要来探索，在上帝百姓当中传播《圣经》时群体的必要性，让我们首先来看，在个人应用中领袖至关重要的作用。

领袖

虽然福音派人士通常认为《圣经》是为个别信徒写的一卷书，但有一些迹象表明，《圣经》的作者是带着一种很不同的观点写作《圣经》。《圣经》的作者不是直接写给以色列和初期教会所有的人，而是首先写给上帝百姓的领袖，上帝设立这些领袖解释和传播《圣经》的教导。

我们首先来看，在旧约，《圣经》是怎样首要写给做领袖的人的，然后也要来看，在新约这是怎样发生的。

让我们先从旧约开始。

旧约

在旧约的时候，通常只有像祭司、利未人、先知、有智慧的人、审判官、君王和其他贵族，才能够第一手读《圣经》和研究《圣经》。因着这原因，旧约《圣经》作者首要的是对以色列的领袖说话，我们至少可以从三方面看到这个证据。

首先，有一些明确的引证经文，指出以色列的领袖是旧约《圣经》书卷首要的领受人。

我们只举一些例子，像申命记31章9节，列王纪下22章8到10节这样的经文表明，上帝把摩西律法交给利未人祭司看顾保守。出埃及记21章1节到23章9节，约书中的许多教训，被称作判决「典章」，希伯来文是 מִּשְׁפָּטִים (/mi̇şĕ̌ṗtiym/)，因为这些经文写下来，是作为判例法，给审判官在法庭上应用的。在好像箴言1章1节和25章1节这样的经文当中，标题表明了一些介绍性的信息，告诉我们箴言是由有很高地位智慧和作王的人物收集，为了在犹大的王宫中加以使用。这些和很多其他的引证经文表明，旧约《圣经》书卷首先是带着写给以色列领袖的目的写下的。

第二，旧约《圣经》书卷的内容也表明，它们首要是写给以色列的领袖的。

许多旧约《圣经》书卷花了大量的时间，讲述那些对大部份以色列人日常生活来说几乎没有什么直接关系的话题。比如，在列王纪上第6章中，长篇关于建造圣殿的教训，只与以色列一个普通牧羊人、农夫或工匠的生活有间接关系。几乎同样的是，传道书对追求财富、欢乐、名声和类似事情实属虚空的反思，与绝大多数以色列人面对的挑战有相当大的距离。旧约《圣经》书卷的大多数内容，不是作出指示，直接解决每一个以色列人面对的需要和挑战，而是更直接与以色列领袖面对的需要和挑战相关。

第三，旧约《圣经》书卷的复杂性，也表明它们首要是为以色列的领袖而写，这些领袖具有天赋、经验和智慧。

肯定的是，旧约《圣经》很多部份是非常简单，就连小孩子也能够明白。但是，任何熟悉旧约《圣经》的人都会知道，许多旧约《圣经》书卷的复杂性，就连最有专业知识的读者也认为是挑战。只举一个例子，像以赛亚书和耶利米书这样的先知书卷，结构是如此错综复杂，以致一个普通的以色列人，会发现它们令人感到迷惑。总体而言，很明显旧约《圣经》的书卷，不是为了直接教导每一个以色列人而写，而是首要为了教导这个民族的领袖。

在许多方面，正如以色列的领袖是旧约《圣经》作者首要的受众，新约《圣经》的作者，也是为了教会中的领袖而设计他们的书卷，如使徒、先知、传福音的、牧师、教师、长老、执事和其他做带领的人。

新约

首先，一些新约《圣经》书卷有明确的引证，表明教会的领袖是它们首要的领受者。

例如提摩太前后书是写给「因信主」作保罗「真儿子」提摩太的，提多书是写给保罗的学生提多。这两个人都成为初期教会中有极大影响力的领袖。

保罗有三封书信，人称为教牧书信，因为它们是写给第一世纪的牧师，是写给提摩太和提多的，是提摩太前后书，然后是提多书。具体来说，保罗离开以弗所，他会对留在那里主持以弗所教会事务的人非常关心。那人是谁？就是年轻的提摩太，所以他写了提摩太前书鼓励他，给他加力量，完成这至关重要的任务。他也写信给提多，你也可以说提多是他另外一位「第二号人物」。在某些方面，他是一个比提摩太更可靠的人，比提摩太坚强一点，但他仍然需要得到鼓励，完成他的任务，当时他的任务，就是在克里特岛上办理好一些关于基督徒和他们问题的事，所以他写信给提多。我看这两封书信，是保罗在旅行中，下到以利哩古，一直下到希腊去的时候，写给他的两位关键的支持者，提摩太和提多的。彼得瓦尔科尔博士

第二，新约《圣经》书卷的内容，也指出教会领袖是首批的领受者。

当我们按照新约的历史背景来看这些《圣经》书卷的时候，不难看出它们经常关注在对第一世纪大部分信徒来说并不熟悉的内容上。我们只举一个例子，许多新约《圣经》书卷是写给主要由外邦人组成的教会，写给那些对于旧约《圣经》几乎没有什么认识的人。虽然如此，新约《圣经》作者仍数百次引用旧约《圣经》，经常不加解释。极有可能新约《圣经》的作者期望有知识的领袖，能够明白那些和其他对许多初期基督徒来说并不熟悉的教训。

第三，新约《圣经》教训的复杂性也表明，它们首要的领受者是受过教育和有智慧的领袖。

虽然大部分的新约《圣经》可以被人轻易明白，但许多部分对于初期基督徒来说是非常难以掌握的。就连使徒彼得也很出名地在彼得后书3章16节说，「保罗信中有些难明白的。」新约《圣经》作者所写的内容，一次又一次具有如此神学方面的复杂性，以致他们写的书信，是大部分普通信徒不能明白的。出于这个原因，教会有恩赐的领袖有责任向那些不能自己明白《圣经》的人作教导和解释的工作。

知道上帝百姓的领袖是《圣经》书卷首要的领受者，这对现今基督徒来说就具有许多言外之意。教会历史已经证明，当个别信徒太过依赖他们的领袖时，对《圣经》的滥用就出现了。但是，我们也必须小心，不要去到另外一个极端，认定我们并不需要基督徒领袖。

正如在《圣经》写成的时候，上帝设立的领袖要处理常人不熟悉的《圣经》内容和复杂的地方一样，现今跟从基督的人，出于同样的原因，也需要有经验、蒙圣灵祝福有知识和智慧的领袖。

事实上，就连我们手中的《圣经》，包括我们当中一些人读的希伯来文、亚兰文和希腊文原文《圣经》，也是通过主要的学者，在好像文本鉴别、对古代文本进行校对、编辑和发表这些领域方面的主要专家传到我们手中。不仅如此，今天大多数基督徒使用的《圣经》现今译本，也是在古代希伯来文，亚兰文和希腊文，以及翻译艺术这方面主要专家的工作结果。虽然个人研究《圣经》在许多方面有很重大的价值，但是在我们努力把《圣经》应用到我们今天生活中的时候，辨认出哪些人是可靠的领袖，从圣灵赋予他们的恩赐方面得到造就，这种做法仍是无可替代的。

做领袖的，必须在所有事情上都做榜样：在爱心、公义、祷告，当然也要在教导和教义方面做榜样。他必须是成长方面的榜样。出于这个原因，使徒保罗特别聚焦在提摩太身上，建议他不要因为年轻，就在生活中受任何人威吓。但他也告诉提摩太，要做其他人的榜样，这在一个领袖的生活中非常重要。优素福奥尔曼尼牧师

我们所有人都应当留心希伯来书13章17节的劝勉：

你们要依从那些引导你们的，且要顺服；因他们为你们的灵魂时刻警醒，好象那将来交帐的人；你们要使他们交的时候有快乐，不至忧愁，若忧愁就与你们无益了。（希伯来书13章17节）

在看了发展应用方面得智慧，包括与上帝设立的领袖进行互动之后，让我们转过来看第二个问题：在传播和应用《圣经》教导方面群体的必要性。

群体

以色列和初期教会中一般的个人，并没有机会能直接得到《圣经》，所以他们到底是怎样把《圣经》应用到自己的生活当中的？简单来说，《圣经》作者写作的时候，期望领袖要传播《圣经》，好让上帝的百姓可以在群体中一同应用《圣经》。

我们要看在旧约时候上帝百姓的群体是如何分享《圣经》，以此来看在个人应用《圣经》方面群体的重要性。然后我们要探索，在新约时候《圣经》是如何传播的。让我们先从旧约开始。

旧约

在旧约的时候，我们知道许多叙述、律法、箴言、诗篇，先知讲论和类似的内容，在被收集成为《圣经》书卷之前，是通过口头传播的。但是，在这一课，我们更感兴趣的，是这些教导的书面记载，如何从首先读到它们的领袖那里向其他人传播。

有很多线索可以帮助我们明白，旧约《圣经》书卷的内容，是如何在以色列更大的群体之内传播。例如在申命记31章9到29节，摩西首先把上帝的律法颁布给利未人祭司。摩西然后教导利未人祭司，在住棚节期间诵读上帝的律法，让男女老少可以听到和学习律法，另外，上帝命令摩西把律法的祝福和咒诅写成一首歌，让百姓可以歌唱，不断见证上帝为他们所立的旨意。

除此以外，好像申命记17章8到13节的经文也表明，利未人和以色列法庭上的审判官，把上帝的律法应用在百姓身上，教导普罗大众律法的意义。列王纪上3章16到28节证明，在王宫有一种类似的做法。列王纪下23章1到3节表明，在圣约更新的时候，君王向百姓大声诵读律法，指引人把律法应用出来，以斯拉记10章16节表明，各个支派的长老把上帝的话语应用到他们服事之人的生命当中。在出埃及记12章27节，父母得到命令，要教导他们的儿女关于逾越节的规定。事实上，摩西在申命记6章6到9节的教训表明，人要抓住每一个机会教导孩童上帝的律法。

当然，随着《圣经》教训传到以色列大众的时候，群体的成员彼此鼓励，遵从他们所认识的《圣经》教导。

旧约《圣经》也强调，百姓应当把上帝的话语存在他们心里，出于这个原因，旧约《圣经》许多部份看来是为背诵设计的。简短的叙述，十诫，诗篇和箴言，以及许多先知的讲论，诗歌和比喻，以色列人的群体都把它们背诵下来。使用这种方法，忠心的个人就能够把上帝的教训存在他们心里，默想他的话语，以他的话语为乐。只举一个例子，请听诗篇119篇11到16节的话：

我将你的话藏在心里，免得我得罪你。耶和华啊！你是应当称颂的；求你将你的律例教训我我喜悦你的法度我要默想你的训词，看重你的道路。我要在你的律例中自乐，我不忘记你的话。（诗篇119篇11-16节）

诗人在这一段经文中，解释什么是把上帝的话藏在心里。他「喜悦上帝的法度。」他「默想上帝的训词」，「在上帝的律例中自乐」，努力把它们应用到他个人的生活当中。

人的整体都受到罪影响，所以我认为在诗篇119篇中，我们看到人前来读《圣经》的模式。我们有如此多次，反复听到诗人祷告说，「求你开我的眼睛，使我看出你律法中的奇妙求你叫我转眼不看虚假。」《圣经》给我们看到一种模式，是寻求上帝，求他把我们的心思转离有罪的事，知道我们可能会曲解《圣经》，企图让《圣经》去说我们想要说的话，为我们的行为找借口。因此，我们看到我们的罪会影响我们与主的关系，而上帝呼召我们赦免他人，以祂给予我们的恩慈对待他人。罗伯德普拉莫博士

我们已经看到，在旧约时候上帝百姓的群体在传播《圣经》方面是如此至关重要，现在就让我们来看在新约教会中可以观察到的类似做法。

新约

在很大程度上，初期教会群体是按照第一世纪犹太人会堂的做法来制订领受《圣经》的方法。教会领袖有责任诵读和解释《圣经》，让上帝的百姓可以在群体内传播上帝的话语。我们在路加福音4章14到29节，我们都很熟悉的耶稣在拿撒勒会堂的故事，可以看到这个模式。会堂的领袖把一卷书交给耶稣，他恭敬地站起来，按照他们交给他的以赛亚书的那部分诵读。在把书卷交回管理会堂的人之后，耶稣坐下，解释他读的话语如何应用在会众身上。

一些新约《圣经》经文表明，初期的基督教教会模仿犹太会堂教导的这种模式。只举一个例子，请听保罗在歌罗西书4章16节的教训：

你们念了这书信，便交给老底嘉的教会，叫他们也念；你们也要念从老底嘉来的书信。（歌罗西书4章16节）

我们在这里看到，保罗期望他的书信要在歌罗西教会中诵读，也要「交给老底嘉的教会，叫他们也念。」正如这段经文表明的那样，新约《圣经》作者写作的时候，是期望教会领袖在教会聚集时诵读和解释他们的书卷。

初期基督徒不是把《圣经》发给每一个人，把他们打发回家要他们自习，而是通过在他们领袖监管之下公开诵读和解释《圣经》，首要在群体中学习和应用《圣经》。《圣经》的教导在上帝百姓当中传播的过程中，家庭成员、朋友和邻居，互相帮助，应用这些教导。

和旧约很相似，这种群体的互动装备初期教会中的信徒操练个人默想。初期基督徒背诵新约《圣经》的教导，默想它们对自己个人生活的意义。所以新约《圣经》包含耶稣的比喻和很多其他容易背诵的教导，比如马太福音5章的八福和马太福音第6章的主祷文。这可以帮助我们理解，为什么一些经文，比如腓立比书2章6到11节，歌罗西书1章15到20节，看起来像是初期基督徒的赞美诗。这也解释了为什么保罗在提摩太后书2章11到13节的话，看起来是在教会内众所周知的话。

使徒保罗在提摩太后书2章7节直接讲到默想，从上帝那里得到认识《圣经》的聪明的做法：

我所说的话你要思想，因为凡事主必给你聪明。（提摩太后书2章7节）

保罗要提摩太「思想」他所写的。保罗期望「凡事主必给提摩太聪明。」通过默想，主要教导提摩太从保罗领受得到圣灵默示所写的话的意义，好让提摩太可以把这些应用到他个人生活当中。

正如我们已经看到的那样，古代以色列人和初期基督徒把《圣经》应用到他们个人生活中的方法，和我们今天普遍的做法非常不同。以色列和初期教会的领袖，首先领受《圣经》，然后把《圣经》的部份分发到更广阔的上帝百姓的群体当中。在与其他人互动的环境之下，个人要背诵和默想他们已经知道的《圣经》经文，期待着上帝要带领他们把《圣经》应用在个人生活各个层面当中。因此，这些做法对我们今天有什么言外之意？他们对于我们应当如何把《圣经》应用在我们个人生活当中有什么教训？

对于那些希望得到为了把《圣经》应用在自己个人生活当中所需智慧的人，我想到这当中至少有三种意义。

首先，现今跟从基督的人需要知道，我们是多么需要得到有圣灵恩赐的领袖，把《圣经》的教导带给我们。我们已经看到《圣经》原本的受众需要他们的领袖，帮助他们明白他们不熟悉和复杂的教导。如果对于生活在《圣经》写作年代的人情况是这样，那么肯定对我们今天的人也是如此。我们可能手里抓着《圣经》，但我们仍然需要有智慧有经验的领袖，帮助我们努力把《圣经》应用在我们的生活当中。

第二，现今跟从基督的人需要再次确立，当我们寻求应用《圣经》的时候，与更大的基督徒群体，就是基督身体互动的重要性。在这个意义上，那古老的说法是对的：「三个臭皮匠胜过一个诸葛亮。」实际上四个、五个、六个，一千个人，要比一个人好。简单的事实就是：在这时或其它的时候，每一个跟从基督的人，都曾认为自己的一个特定的应用是完全恰当的，但后来通过与其他人互动却发现，情况并非如此。当我们记住基督的身体是他圣灵的殿，我们就认识到，现今基督徒能够做的其中一样最有智慧的事情，就是在其他忠心的基督徒把《圣经》应用在他们个人生活当中的时候，与他们展开互动。

使徒彼得在彼得后书3章16节讲到保罗的书信，他论到保罗说：「他一切的信上也都是讲论这事；信中有些难明白的，那无学问、不坚固的人强解，如强解别的经书一样，就自取沉沦。」（彼得后书3章16节）我喜欢这节经文的其中一个地方，就是它提醒我们，《圣经》里面的一些事情是难解的。不是说这些部分不能被人理解，而是其中一些是难理解，人有可能曲解了《圣经》，把自己的模式加在《圣经》之上，去到如此地步，以至并不忠实于所默示的意义。难道这对我们不是一个很好的提醒吗？我们需要基督的身体，因为贯穿新约《圣经》，明确和隐含的期望都是，我们要与其他信徒聚集在一起。有很多经文讲到上帝赐给他身体不同的属灵恩赐有哥林多前书12到14章，罗马书14章，以弗所书第4章。根据以弗所书第4章，上帝赐给基督身体的其中一样恩赐，就是牧师和教师。这并不是否认所有的基督徒都有圣灵，都得到上帝呼召来阅读和明白《圣经》，而是说一些人有特别的恩赐解释《圣经》，帮助我们看到《圣经》中的含义。罗伯德普拉莫博士

第三，现今跟从基督的人也需要重新操练个人带着祷告的心默想《圣经》的做法，发现应用《圣经》时所需的智慧。虽然与领袖互动，与更广泛的基督身体互动很重要，但每一个基督徒都要为着自己做的事情交账。所以说到底，正如保罗对提摩太所说的那样，个人应用绝不可以被减少到不靠主给我们聪明就去寻求的地步。通过带着祷告的心默想，上帝的灵要赐给我们聪明和内心感受到的确据，就是我们正在用讨他喜悦的方式应用《圣经》。

读经是把自己暴露在《圣经》面前，这是起点，你必须要做这件事。但默想是吸收《圣经》，带来我们每天花时间用来读上帝话语时可以得到的那生命的改变，是吸收《圣经》，这帮助我们经历上帝。是通过默想，我们尝到、看到主是美善。在与主同在的那时刻，写在书页上的信息，变成在经历上对上帝的敬拜，带来生命的改变。我的经验告诉我，大部分基督徒，即使是每天最忠心读《圣经》的人，都并不默想。不要只是读《圣经》，还要默想《圣经》。唐纳德惠特尼博士

四、结论

在个人现今应用这一课，我们已经看了把《圣经》应用在作为个人的我们自己和其他人身上的两方面。我们留意到，个人《圣经》应用多样性的原因，必须追溯到《圣经》教导的多样性，所涉及的人和处境的多样性。我们也探索了在《圣经》应用时得智慧，就要依赖于与上帝指定的领袖，与上帝百姓的群体互动，让他们帮助我们带着祷告的心，在上帝面前默想《圣经》。

《圣经》是上帝给我们的一份奇妙礼物，我们唯一无可置疑的信仰和生活准则，没有其他标准足以指引我们服事上帝时个人层面的概念、行为和情感。《圣经》充满了多种多样的教训，满足我们处理多种多样生活问题时的需要。上帝也呼吁我们在群体互动中彼此学习和应用《圣经》，为我们提供了获得智慧的美好途径，满足我们面对《圣经》中多样性的需要。如果我们记住这些视角，我们就会得到更好的装备，在我们每天生活里把《圣经》应用到个人对上帝的服事当中。

He Gave Us Scripture: Modern Application for Individuals

INTRODUCTION

The story is told about a young pastor who stood in the doorway of his church and greeted everyone as they left. Now, most of his congregants smiled politely and went on their way. But the last one in line was an older man who always said what was on his mind.

"Young man," he complained. "I have a serious problem with your sermon."

"What's that?" the pastor asked.

"I need to know what God's Word says about my life, but you never said anything that applied to me."

Well, at one time or another, most of us have heard sermons that fail to address the personal needs we face. And we all need the encouragement, the practical guidance and the correction that the Bible has to offer us. So, as much as we may like to stick with generalities or theoretical matters, we simply must learn how to apply the Scriptures in practical ways to our own lives and to the lives of others.

This is the eleventh lesson in our series He Gave Us Scripture: Foundations of Interpretation, and we've entitled it "Modern Application for Individuals." In this lesson, we'll see how we should apply Scripture to others and to ourselves as individual people.

As we've seen in other lessons, anytime we apply the Bible to our day we must take into account three types of distance that exist between the original audiences of Scripture and modern audiences: epochal, cultural, and personal distances.

On a large scale, we must explore theological developments that took place as biblical history moved from one great epoch to another. On a slightly smaller scale, we need to account for the similarities and differences between God's design for cultures in biblical times and his design for modern cultures. And within these frameworks, we must also consider the personal similarities and differences between Scripture's original audiences and modern audiences. In this lesson, we'll look primarily at this last dimension of modern application as we consider how the Scriptures should impact the concepts, behaviors and emotions of individuals today.

God intends for his Word to influence everything in our lives, from the way we view films and listen to songs, and the dates we go on. The way we view sunsets and sin are all intended to be influenced by the way God has revealed himself to us. And that needs to have an effect on our minds, our hearts, our actions. The Bible is supposed to saturate our lives and give us the kind of biblical discernment where we think God's thoughts after him every minute of every day. That eventually needs to become intuitive and instinctive, but the Bible is intended to have an impact in our lives in a very holistic way. [Dr. K. Erik Thoennes]

There are many ways to approach modern application for individuals, but in this lesson, we'll deal with two main issues. First, we'll see that God has ordained variety in our individual application of the Scriptures. And second, we'll explore how God has provided ways for us to gain wisdom in our application of the Bible, for ourselves and others. Let's look at each of these topics, beginning with the variety in individual application.

VARIETY

At one time or another, most of us have read an instruction manual for operating some kind of machine or electronic equipment. Now, operating manuals usually describe every detail of simple processes so that every person will do exactly the same thing: "Do this. Do this. Do this," and everything will work like it's supposed to. But can you imagine someone writing a detailed operating manual on topics like farming, raising a family or running a business? Of course not. These tasks are too complex to be described step-by-step. And different people must do them in different ways as they face various circumstances.

At times we may wish that the Bible was like an operating manual that spells out specific steps for every person to follow. It certainly would make individual application of God's Word much easier. But everyone familiar with the Bible knows that it doesn't do this. Instead, the Bible deals with some of the most complex issues imaginable — far too complex for step-by-step directions. And more than this, the Bible was designed to be used by many different people in many different circumstances. For these reasons, the Scriptures were written to be applied to individual people in a variety of ways.

To understand the variety in individual application, we'll note first the variety within biblical instructions themselves. And second, we'll see why these different instructions must be applied in various ways to different people and circumstances. Consider first the variety of biblical instructions.

Biblical Instructions

As we suggested a moment ago, unlike step-by-step manuals, books on farming, family, business, and the like usually offer their readers multiple instructions ranging from the broad to the specific. Typically, these kinds of books identify a few universal principles that everyone should observe under all circumstances. They also offer some general guidelines that apply to most circumstances. Beyond this, they frequently provide an assortment of instructions for dealing with rather specific situations that may arise from time to time. Lastly, these kinds of books often include case studies that illustrate examples of success and failure.

In many ways, the Scriptures reflect the same range of instructional variety. They provide some universal principles for everyone to follow at all times, general guidelines for many people in many circumstances, specific instructions for particular people and situations, and examples of people who succeeded or failed in observing the instructions of Scripture.

It will help to look at this range of biblical instructions in two ways. First, we'll see how these types of instructions appear in the Old Testament, and then we'll consider how this range of instructions also appears in the New Testament. Let's begin with the Old Testament.

Old Testament

As unrealistic as it is, modern readers often have the impression that God expected every Israelite to memorize all the laws and teachings of the Bible from Genesis to Malachi and then to be ready to put these instructions into effect in a moment's notice. But the list of regulations in the Old Testament was far too long for anyone to remember them all, much less obey them all. And to deal with this challenge, Rabbis in Israel tried to discern the priorities of Old Testament instructions. Which commands did everyone need to keep in mind in every situation? Which instructions needed to be implemented in many but not all areas of life? Which commands were so specific that they only had to be recalled occasionally? Some Rabbis argued this way and others that way. But they all knew that it was necessary to establish priorities. In Matthew 22:36, attempts to prioritize Old Testament teachings led an expert in the Law to ask Jesus this question:

Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? (Matthew 22:36).

Jesus replied in verses 37-40:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40).

In this well-known scene, Jesus gave his followers his authoritative outlook on all the commandments of the Bible. He identified the command to "Love the Lord your God" from Deuteronomy 6:5 as the law of the highest order. And without being asked, he immediately added the second greatest commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself" from Leviticus 19:18. From his point of view, these two commandments had priority over every other biblical instruction.

Of course, God himself and humanity as the image of God are very important in the Bible. But it helps to remember that Jesus put these two commandments together because they share a common focus. They both speak of love. Above all, we are to love God and love our neighbor. So, it's no wonder that Jesus gave these commandments priority over all others. They deal with the deepest issues of the heart — the attitudes, commitments, motivations and goals that God expects of his people. In effect, from Jesus' point of view, love for God and love for neighbor are universal principles in the Old Testament, commandments that every person is to observe no matter what happens.

Jesus was asked by a lawyer, "Which is the greatest commandment in the Bible?" and he answered — and it's a very important answer — "The first and greatest commandment is this: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." And then he said, "And the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." So, clearly these are two vital commands. He didn't make them equal. First and foremost, we must love God. Our first loyalty goes to God. He is our Creator, our Redeemer. He is our shield and our very great reward. Everything focuses on God. And so, we must love God with all of our heart, and that's the top priority every day. But Jesus didn't leave it there. He didn't ask, "What are the top two commandments?" The lawyer asked, "What is the greatest commandment?" But Jesus definitely gave that second commandment, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself. And so the two are connected and related. We cannot love God without loving people who are created in the image of God, and especially those that have been redeemed, adopted into the family of God. [Dr. Andrew Davis]

These two commandments were so important to Jesus that he added, "All the Law and the Prophets" — a way of referring to the entire Old Testament — "hang on these two commandments." Now, we have to be careful here because many interpreters have taken this to mean that Jesus' followers should discount or disregard all instructions of the Old Testament except love for God and neighbor. But just the opposite is true.

Not only did Jesus identify the two greatest commandments in Matthew 22, but in Matthew 5:19, he also taught his followers to observe what he called the "least" of the commands. Listen to what he said there:

Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19).

This verse and other passages make it clear that Jesus' followers were to observe all of the commandments, from the least to the greatest.

In addition to this, in Matthew 23:23 Jesus also acknowledged a range of instructions between the greatest and the least when he rebuked the Pharisees:

You hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices … But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former (Matthew 23:23).

Notice that Jesus referred to "justice, mercy and faithfulness" as "the more important matters of the law," and he contrasted them with the lesser issues of giving "a tenth of your spices." Once again, he indicated that his followers were to observe all Old Testament commands, but that they had to keep the right priorities in mind.

It helps to visualize Jesus' outlook on God's instructions in the Old Testament in the form of a mobile. At the top of the mobile you would have the universal principles, the two greatest commandments: "Love the Lord your God" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." We're told that "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two."

Beneath these hang additional principles that indicate how the greatest commandments are to be observed. These include the many general guidelines found in the Old Testament like the Ten Commandments and principles like justice, mercy and faithfulness.

Beneath these broad principles hang the "least of these commandments." These are the relatively specific instructions in the Old Testament that indicate how different people in certain circumstances are to observe the higher commands. For instance, the instructions for worship in Leviticus, the directives of the Psalms, and many instructions found in wisdom books such as Job and Proverbs and prophetic books like Isaiah and Ezekiel.

At the bottom of the mobile, are numerous historical examples that appear most often in Old Testament narratives and in the Psalms and wisdom books as well. These passages focus on the ways particular men and women either obeyed or disobeyed the commands of God in their specific circumstances.

This hierarchical arrangement helps us understand many facets of how Jesus wanted his disciples to deal with the full range of instructions that appear in the Old Testament.

With this Old Testament background in mind, let's consider the variety of biblical instructions in the New Testament.

New Testament

It's easy for everyone to see that the New Testament is much shorter than the Old Testament, but this doesn't mean that New Testament authors reduced the number of instructions for God's people. In fact, the list of teachings for the early church was actually longer than the list for ancient Israel. New Testament writers didn't replace the Old Testament. Rather, they added to the Old Testament. Now, the addition of more instructions in the New Testament raises an important question. Why did New Testament authors add their own instructions to the teachings of the Old Testament?

As we saw in an earlier lesson, New Testament authors didn't want Christ's followers to forget any Old Testament instructions, but they also didn't want them to live as if they were in Old Testament times. So, to keep their audiences from slipping into the ways of the past, they taught the early church how to apply the Old Testament instructions in the new covenant age.

New Testament authors acknowledged Old Testament instructions, but with the understanding that when Jesus first came, he brought the inauguration of God's messianic kingdom. They also realized that Old Testament instructions should be seen through the Holy Spirit's work as he spread God's kingdom in the continuation of the new covenant age. And they viewed the Old Testament in terms of what Christ would do when he returned in glory at the final consummation of the messianic kingdom.

Throughout it all, New Testament authors emphasized that followers of Christ must maintain the priorities that Jesus established.

In the first place, the universal principles of love for God and love for neighbor continued to be the greatest commandments, as we see in passages like Luke 10:27, 1 Corinthians 13:13 and 1 John 4:21. No matter what happens, New Testament believers are to give their hearts to loving God and loving their neighbors.

In the second place, New Testament authors also called attention to the Ten Commandments and other general guidelines in the Old Testament in passages like Matthew 19:18 and Romans 13:8-10.

In the third place, New Testament authors gave specific instructions for specific people and situations as we read in 1 Corinthians 14 and 2 Timothy 4:1-5.

And in the fourth place, we see numerous concrete historical examples of people who obeyed and disobeyed the commands of God in the Gospels and the book of Acts and in a variety of other passages.

As we've seen, the subject matter of Scripture is so complex, and there are so many different instructions for God's people in the Bible, that we can't possibly keep every instruction in the forefront of our minds. But the New Testament helps us see how we should manage these various commands.

On the one hand, we need to maintain the priorities that Jesus taught his disciples to observe. If we don't, we can become lost in the details of Scripture, much like the Pharisees did in Jesus' day. Specific instructions are important as we deal with certain issues, but much more of our attention should be given to weightier matters — above all to loving God and neighbor. Every moment of every day we must be motivated and directed by these two greatest commandments.

Second, despite these priorities, we need to remember that, in one way or another, every biblical instruction is relevant for every follower of Christ. As we encounter different kinds of choices, we should draw not only from Scripture's universal principles, but also from the many general guidelines, specific detailed instructions and concrete examples we find in the Bible as we seek to serve God faithfully.

In the covenant, when God is teaching his people his nature and character, he gives three kinds of laws. There are moral laws, which are simply stated as absolutes, and they are for all time. There are civil laws in which eternal principles are put into time-conditioned settings. I always like to use the law of the goring ox precisely because I don't have any oxen. I like laws that don't apply to me. The principle there is, if you know the ox is mean and don't pen him up, and he kills your neighbor, you're a murder. On the other hand, if you've never had any cause to question that ox's docile temperament, and you don't pen him up, and one day he goes berserk and kills your neighbor, you're not responsible. I don't have oxen; I do have a car. If I know the brakes are bad and don't do something about it, and I kill you, I'm a murderer as far as the Bible is concerned. So what's the principle? The principle is knowledge is responsibility. So, in the civil laws, I have to extract the principle and apply it to my own life. The third kind of law is ceremonial, and basically this applies to forms of worship, and God is using these as object lessons to teach eternal truth. So, for instance, he says, don't eat pig because it will make you unclean. Well, pig doesn't make us unclean. Jesus makes that very clear. It's not what goes into your mouth that makes you unclean. It's what comes out of your unclean heart. So, the question is not, "Do you eat pig meat or not?" The question is, have you allowed Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to work on your unclean heart? So, no, I do not obey the ceremonial laws. They are object lessons. Once you learn the lesson, you don't need the objects anymore. [Dr. John Oswalt]

When you look at the commandments that are found in Scripture, you begin to realize that there is a multitude of commands that are given for various reasons. … If you take the Jerusalem Council found in Acts 15, when the question came up, "What should the Gentiles do in relationship to the commandments of the Mosaic covenant?" the leaders of the church of Israel were quite clear. They said, "We will not lay this burden on them that we ourselves have not even kept, but we do say this, stay away…" and then they give a list of things — worship of idols, sexual immorality, or eating meat that's been sacrificed to idols, or drinking blood. All of those have to do with some kind of core conviction that goes to the very heart of what God requires of us morally. So, even in Scripture we see a way of treating the commandments of God differently because in Israel's covenant you have one kind of command, but all of those commandments of the covenant do not go to the central moral concern about our lives that God really wants to have. And finally, Jesus himself when approached with the question, what are the two greatest commandments, even Jesus says, if you want to sum up everything, it comes down to this, "love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, mind and strength, and the second is like unto it, love your neighbor as you love yourself." [Dr. Steve Blakemore]

Having seen how variety in individual application of Scripture is related to the diversity of biblical instructions, let's turn to a second factor that leads to variety in application: the different people and circumstances involved. We'll begin by reviewing something we saw in a preceding lesson.

People and Circumstances

As you'll recall, God has always led his people toward cultural variety by revealing his will through Scripture and through general revelation — his disclosures of himself and his will in people and circumstances. In this way, God ordained some measure of cultural diversity for his people.

In many respects, the same kind of thing is true for our individual lives. God reveals his will through the many diverse instructions contained in Scripture, but to apply these instructions to others and ourselves, we must take into account God's general revelation in a variety of people and circumstances.

We can see how variations among people and circumstances affect individual application by returning to Jesus' hierarchy of instructions. For the sake of simplicity, we'll divide our four categories of instructions into "higher" or more general biblical instructions, and "lower" or more specific biblical instructions. Let's start with the higher biblical instructions.

Higher Instructions

The Bible's higher instructions include both universal principles and general guidelines. As we've seen, these types of instructions have priority over others because they apply more broadly. But even so, they must still be applied in different ways in the light of God's general revelation.

On the one side, to apply the higher biblical principles, we must assess the characteristics of the person involved. We have to account for things like the individual's spiritual condition, social status, abilities, age and gender. Knowing these and other characteristics helps us discern how the higher principles of Scripture should impact the concepts, behaviors and emotions of the individual in view.

Imagine that I walk into a room and ask a group of friends a couple of questions. First, I ask, "Do you believe that all of us should do the right thing?" Well, naturally all of them will reply, "Of course." But then I follow up with a second question, "Okay then, what are each of you going to do when you leave this room today?" Now, we wouldn't be surprised at all to find that each person was going to do the right thing, but in different ways. "I'm going home to take care of my children" one person might say. Or, "I'm going to the store to buy some food." In fact, we would be shocked if they all planned to do the right thing in precisely the same way. And it isn't hard to understand why. General instructions like, "Do the right thing" have to be applied to different people and circumstances in a variety of ways.

We've already noted that the universal principle "Love your neighbor as yourself" in Leviticus 19:18 is an instruction that applies to every person in every circumstance. But we also know that God doesn't expect all people to observe this command in exactly the same way. An adult may show love in one way, while a young child will show love in another way. A wealthy person and a poor person might demonstrate love for others in different ways as well. Each person's abilities, weaknesses, experiences, spiritual condition and the like affect how the universal principle of love for neighbor should be applied.

On the other side, "Love your neighbor" also applies in a variety of ways to different circumstances. Even the very same person might love his or her neighbor in different ways at different times. Each person faces different obstacles, challenges and opportunities. And these circumstances require each of us to apply biblical principles in ways that may not be appropriate for people in other circumstances. For instance, love for neighbor is different in times of war and peace, in times of plenty and scarcity, in times of sickness and health. The higher principles of Scripture must be applied in various ways according to our circumstances.

Having seen how variety in people and circumstances requires us to apply the higher biblical instructions in different ways, let's turn to the lower elements in Jesus' hierarchy of instructions in Scripture.

Lower Instructions

For our purposes, the "lower" instructions include the Bible's specific, detailed instructions and the concrete historical examples that help us apply Scripture to ourselves and others. Just as with the higher instructions, the lower instructions are applied differently depending on the variety of people and circumstances involved.

For example, imagine a specific instruction like, "build a safe house for your family." A person in a cold climate will build a house differently than a person in a warm climate. A home in an area subject to hurricanes will require different structural elements than a home in an area subject to earthquakes. The higher principle here is that a person must keep his or her family safe. The specific instruction is to build a house to fulfill this higher principle. And anyone building a house will benefit from examples of similar houses in similar circumstances. But no two people will act on the specific instruction in exactly the same way.

Something like this takes place every time we apply a relatively specific biblical teaching to our individual lives today. First, we take into account the higher instructions, as well as other closely related specific instructions that orient us toward the teaching in view. Second, we identify the people and circumstances originally impacted by the specific instruction. And third, we compare our own lives with the original audience of the specific teaching to discern how we should apply it to ourselves.

One of the particular characteristics of the Bible is that it's written to specific people in specific places at specific times. This really is the only holy book that does this. The other holy books of the world tend to be just sort of prescriptions, statements about what people should or shouldn't do. But God in his goodness has given us context. He's given us a way of understanding how do these kinds of things work out in life. But that means that we've got to always be saying, "Now what's the principle that's being taught in this contextual situation? And how does that principle apply in my new contextual situation?" [Dr. John Oswalt]

To illustrate what we have in mind, consider how we should apply Exodus 21:23-25 to individuals today. In these verses we read that judges in Israel were to render verdicts in this way:

If there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise (Exodus 21:23-25).

But now listen to Matthew 5:38-39, where Jesus taught his followers to apply this law to their personal lives in his Sermon on the Mount.

You have heard that it was said, "Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth." But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5:38-39).

It's important to realize that Jesus didn't disagree with the Old Testament teaching for judges and legal systems. Like all of us, Jesus knew that love for God and neighbor in a court required just verdicts. The problem Jesus faced was that the Pharisees had taken this regulation for judges as justification for taking revenge in personal interactions. But when we compare this instruction with the higher principles in Scripture and with other "lower" instructions, we can understand what Jesus taught his disciples here. In effect, Jesus implicitly called on his followers to compare themselves with the original audience of Exodus 21. Every person should endorse justice and fairness for legal systems. And when we have roles that resemble those of a judge, we should apply Exodus 21 more like a judge in court. But we are never to act like judges in our personal relationships. Our ordinary, personal interactions are not to be governed by justice alone, but as much as possible by mercy and kindness.

As just one other example, in Matthew 19:21 Jesus gave this instruction to the rich young ruler:

Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven (Matthew 19:21).

The larger context of this verse makes it clear that Jesus gave this lower instruction because the rich young ruler loved his money so much that he had violated the higher principles of love for God and neighbor. And he'd made love for money his highest priority.

People sometimes wonder if this passage requires every rich person in the modern world to sell their possessions and give them to the poor. But we must take into account the higher principles of Scripture regarding personal property and wealth. We must also compare this lower, more specific teaching to other teachings that Jesus and New Testament writers gave regarding possessions. So, how do we decide what wealthy people should do with their money? The answer lies in comparing individuals and their circumstances today with the rich young ruler. The more we resemble him, the more our modern application should resemble what he was to do in his day.

So far in this lesson on modern application for individuals we've seen how, to one degree or another, modern individuals must apply the Scriptures in different ways because of the variety in individual application. This leads us to our second main topic: our need for wisdom in application.

WISDOM

In many parts of the world, Christians can pick up a Bible and read it just about any time they want. And as wonderful as this is, it's also led many of us to be highly selective in the ways that we apply the Scriptures to our personal lives. We affirm in theory that all Scripture is God-breathed. But rather than dealing with the Bible's manifold instructions for different people in various circumstances, we simply cull through the Scriptures privately and look for something that easily applies to our lives. This widespread practice is understandable because many times the Bible is very complicated. But in reality, the Bible was not written to be handled in this way. Rather, God ordained that the Scriptures should be read as his people interact with each other. With the help of others, we can gain the wisdom we need to apply even difficult portions of the Bible to our lives.

As we'll see, even though the Holy Spirit can give us extraordinary insights into the application of Scripture, God has clearly ordained that, in general, we're to gain wisdom in application by interacting with others.

Ancient Israelites and the early church had no printing presses, no publishing houses, no means for the mass distribution of Scripture like we have today. And even if the Scriptures had reached the hands of most people, they wouldn't have been able to read them. So, God expected individuals to learn how to apply the Scriptures by interacting with each other in community.

We'll explore two ways that wisdom in individual application develops through interactions with others. First, we'll look at the vital role of God's appointed leaders as the primary recipients of Scripture. Second, we'll explore the necessity of community in the dissemination, or spread, of Scripture among God's people. Let's look first at the crucial role of leaders in individual application.

Leaders

Although evangelicals generally think of the Bible as a book designed for individual believers, a number of indicators suggest that biblical authors wrote with a very different outlook. Instead of writing directly to all people in Israel and in the early church, Scripture's authors wrote first to the leaders of God's people who were ordained to explain and disseminate the teachings of Scripture.

We'll look first at how the Bible primarily addressed leaders in the Old Testament and then also how this occurred in the New Testament. Let's begin with the Old Testament.

Old Testament

In the Old Testament, normally only people like priests, Levites, prophets, sages, judges, kings, and other nobles could read and study the Scriptures firsthand. Because of this, Old Testament authors primarily addressed the leaders of Israel. We can see evidence of this in at least three ways.

In the first place, there are a number of explicit references to Israel's leaders as the primary recipients of Old Testament books.

To mention just a few examples, passages like Deuteronomy 31:9 and 2 Kings 22:8-10 indicate that the Law of Moses was kept under the care of Levitical priests. And many of the instructions in the Book of the Covenant in Exodus 21:1–23:9 were called "judgments" — mishpatim in Hebrew — because they were written as case laws for judges to apply in their courts. And in passages like Proverbs 1:1 and 25:1, superscriptions giving introductory information show us that the proverbs were collected by high-ranking wise men and royal figures for use in the royal court of Judah. These and many other references indicate that Old Testament books were written first with the leaders of Israel in mind.

In the second place, the contents of Old Testament books also show that they were written primarily for Israel's leaders.

Many Old Testament books spend a lot of time on subjects that had little direct relevance for the daily lives of most Israelites. For example, the lengthy instructions regarding the building of the temple in 1 Kings 6 pertained only indirectly to the life of an average shepherd, farmer or craftsman in Israel. In much the same way, the reflections in Ecclesiastes on the futility of pursuing riches, pleasure, fame and the like were far from the challenges facing the vast majority of Israelite men and women. Rather than giving instructions that spoke directly to the needs and challenges facing every individual in Israel, much of the content of Old Testament books was more directly pertinent to the needs and challenges facing Israel's leaders.

In the third place, the complexities of Old Testament books also reveal that they were primarily designed for leaders in Israel who were gifted, experienced and wise.

To be sure, many portions of the Old Testament were simple enough even for children to understand. But anyone familiar with the Old Testament knows that the complexities of many Old Testament books challenge even the most expert readers. As just one example, prophetic books like Isaiah and Jeremiah are so intricately constructed that an average Israelite would have found them bewildering. On the whole, it's apparent that Old Testament books were not written to instruct every individual in Israel directly, but primarily to instruct the leaders of the nation.

In many respects, just as the leaders of Israel were the first audience of Old Testament authors, writers of the New Testament also designed their books for leaders in the church, like apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders, deacons and other leading figures.

New Testament

In the first place, some New Testament books make explicit references to leaders of churches as their primary recipients.

For instance, 1 and 2 Timothy were addressed to Timothy, Paul's "son in the faith." And the book of Titus was addressed to Paul's protégé, Titus. Both of these men became influential leaders in the early church.

There are three of Paul's letters which are known as the Pastoral Epistles, because they were written to pastors in the first century, to Timothy and to Titus. So, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and then the book of Titus. … So, if Paul is away from Ephesus in particular, he's going to be very anxious about the person who's been left in charge of the church in Ephesus. Who's that? Young Timothy. So he writes 1 Timothy to encourage him, to give him strength for this vital task. And he also writes to Titus, who's his other "number two," if you like, and he's a more reliable character in some ways than Timothy, a bit stronger, but he still needs to be given encouragement for his task, and his task at that moment is to be sorting out some of the Christian believers and their problems on the island of Crete. Hence, the writing to Titus. So I see these two letters being written by Paul on his travels to his two key supporters, Timothy and Titus, as he's traveling down through Illyricum, and down into Greece. [Dr. Peter Walker]

In the second place, the contents of New Testament books also point to church leaders as the first recipients.

When we consider New Testament books in their historical settings, it isn't difficult to see that they often concentrate on matters that were unfamiliar to most first century believers. As just one example, many New Testament books were written to largely Gentile congregations, to people who had little knowledge of the Old Testament. Still, New Testament authors referred to Old Testament texts hundreds of times, and often with little explanation. It's highly likely that New Testament writers expected knowledgeable leaders to be able to understand these and other instructions that were unfamiliar to many early Christians.

In the third place, the complexities of New Testament instructions also indicate that their primary recipients were educated and wise leaders.

Although much of the New Testament could have been understood easily, many portions were very difficult for early Christians to grasp. Even the apostle Peter famously remarked in 2 Peter 3:16 that "[Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand." Time and again, New Testament authors wrote with such theological sophistication that their letters were simply beyond the reach of most ordinary believers. And for this reason, gifted leaders of the church were responsible for teaching and explaining the Scriptures to those who couldn't read and understand them for themselves.

Knowing that the leaders of God's people were the primary recipients of biblical books has many implications for modern Christians. Church history has demonstrated the abuses of Scripture that arise when individual believers are too dependent on their leaders. But we must also be careful not to go to the other extreme and assume that we don't need Christian leaders.

Much like God ordained leaders to deal with unfamiliar content and complexities of the Scriptures in biblical times, modern followers of Christ need experienced leaders, blessed by the Holy Spirit with knowledge and wisdom, for the same reasons.

In fact, even the Bibles in our hands — including the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts some of us read — come to us through leading scholars, expert leaders in fields like textual criticism, collating, editing and publishing of ancient texts. And more than this, the modern translations of Scripture that most Christians use today result from the work of leading experts in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek and in the art of translation.

Although private study of Scripture is valuable in many ways, there's no substitute for identifying trustworthy leaders and benefitting from the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given them as we seek to apply the Scriptures to our lives today.

The leader must really set the example in all things: in love, in righteousness, in prayer, and of course in teaching and in doctrine. He must be an example in growth. … For this reason, the apostle Paul focused on Timothy and advised him not to be intimidated in his life by anyone because he was young. Yet he told him to be an example to others. This is very important in the life of a leader. [Rev. Youssef Ourahmane, translation]

We should all take to heart the exhortation in Hebrews 13:17:

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

Having seen that developing wisdom in application includes interacting with God's ordained leaders, let's turn to our second issue: the necessity of community in the spread and application of biblical teaching.

Community

Ordinary individuals in Israel and the early church didn't have direct access to the Scriptures. So, how did they ever apply the Scriptures to their lives? In brief, biblical authors wrote with the expectation that leaders would disseminate, or spread, the Scriptures so that God's people would apply them together in community.

We'll see the importance of community in the personal application of Scripture by looking at how the Scriptures were shared by the community of God's people in the Old Testament. And then we'll explore how they were disseminated in the New Testament. Let's begin with the Old Testament.

Old Testament

When it comes to the Old Testament, we know that many narratives, laws, proverbs, psalms, prophetic speeches and the like were spread orally before they were collected in biblical books. But in this lesson, we're more interested in how the written records of these teachings spread beyond the leaders who first read them.

There are many clues that help us grasp how the contents of Old Testament books were distributed within the larger community of Israel. For example, in Deuteronomy 31:9-29, Moses first gave God's Law to the Levitical priests. Moses then instructed the Levitical priests to read the Law during the Feast of Tabernacles so that men, women and children could hear and learn the Law. In addition, God also commanded Moses to put the blessings and curses of the Law into a song so that people could sing it as a constant witness of God's will for them.

Beyond this, passages like Deuteronomy 17:8-13 indicate that Levites and judges in Israel's courts applied the Law of God to the people and instructed the general population about the Law's implications. And 1 Kings 3:16-28 demonstrates a similar practice in the royal court. 2 Kings 23:1-3 indicates that in times of covenant renewal the king read Scripture aloud to the people and directed the implementation of the Law. Ezra 10:16 shows that tribal elders applied God's Word to the lives of those they served. Parents were commanded to teach their children the regulations of Passover in Exodus 12:27. In fact, Moses' instructions in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 show that the Law was to be taught to children at every opportunity.

And of course, as the instructions of Scripture reached the general population of Israel, the members of the community encouraged each other to follow what they knew about the teachings of Scripture.

The Old Testament also emphasizes that people were to put the Word of God in their hearts. For this reason, many portions of the Old Testament appear to be designed for memorization. Short narratives, the Ten Commandments, the Psalms and Proverbs, as well as many prophetic speeches, songs and parables were memorized by the community of Israel. In this way, faithful individuals were able to put God's instructions in their hearts by meditating on and rejoicing in his Word. As just one example listen to the words of Psalm 119:11-16:

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees… I rejoice in following your statutes … I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word (Psalm 119:11-16).

In this passage, the psalmist explained what it meant to hide God's word in his heart. He "rejoice[d] in following [God's] statues." He "meditate[d] on [God's] precepts" and "delight[ed] in [God's] decrees" as he sought to apply them to his personal life.

The totality of the human person is affected by sin. And so that's why I think in Psalm 119, as we have a model for the way to approach Scripture, we have so many times over and over again, the psalmist prays, "Open my eyes that I might see wonderful things in your word… Turn my heart away from worthless and vain things." The Scripture gives us a model for seeking God to turn our hearts and minds away from sinful things, aware that we can distort Scripture to make it, try to make it say what we want and to justify our behavior …so we see our sin affects our relationship with the Lord, and God calls us to forgive others, to treat others with the grace that he gives to us. [Dr. Robert L. Plummer]

Now that we've considered how crucial the community of God's people was to spreading the Scriptures in the Old Testament, let's look at similar practices observed in the New Testament church.

New Testament

To a large extent, the early church community patterned the way it received the Scriptures after the practices of first century synagogues. Church leaders were responsible to read and explain the Scriptures so that God's Word would spread throughout the community. We can see this pattern in the familiar story of Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth in Luke 4:14-29. In these verses, Luke reported that Jesus attended a gathering at the synagogue. The leaders of the synagogue handed him a scroll, and Jesus dutifully stood and read from the portion of Isaiah that they had given him. Then, after handing the scroll back to the attendant, Jesus sat down and explained how the words he had read applied to the congregation.

A number of New Testament passages indicate that early Christian churches imitated this pattern of synagogue teaching. As just one example, listen to Paul's instructions in Colossians 4:16:

After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea (Colossians 4:16).

Here we see that Paul expected his letter to be read to the congregation at Colosse and "also read in the church — or congregation — of the Laodiceans." As this passage shows, New Testament authors wrote with the expectation that church leaders would read and explain their books in the gatherings of the church.

Rather than passing Bibles out to every person and sending them home to study on their own, early Christians learned and applied Scripture primarily in community, through public readings and explanations of Scripture under the supervision of their leaders. And family members, friends and neighbors helped each other apply these teachings as they spread among God's people.

Much like in the Old Testament, this community interaction equipped believers in the early church for the practice of personal meditation. Early Christians memorized New Testament teachings and meditated on their significance for their personal lives. This is one reason why the New Testament contains Jesus' parables and other easily memorized teachings like the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 and the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. It helps us understand why a number of passages appear to have been early Christian hymns like Philippians 2:6-11 and Colossians 1:15-20. It also explains why Paul's words in 2 Timothy 2:11-13 seem to have been well known in the church.

In 2 Timothy 2:7, the apostle Paul referred directly to the practice of meditation and seeking scriptural insights from God. Listen to what he wrote there:

Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this (2 Timothy 2:7).

Paul called for Timothy to "reflect on" what he'd written. And Paul expected "the Lord [to] give [Timothy] insight into all this." Through meditation, the Lord would teach Timothy the significance of Paul's inspired words so that Timothy could apply them to his personal life.

As we've seen, the ways that ancient Israelites and early Christians applied the Scriptures to their personal lives was very different from the common practices of our day. Leaders in Israel and the early church first received the Scriptures and then disseminated portions of them to the broader community of God's people. And in the context of interacting with others, individuals were to recite and to meditate on the Scriptures they knew with the expectation that God would lead them in the application to their personal lives. So, what implications do these practices have for us today? What do they say about the ways we should apply the Scriptures to our personal lives?

At least three implications come to mind for those who hope to gain the wisdom necessary for applying Scripture to their individual lives.

In the first place, modern followers of Christ need to learn how much we need leaders gifted by the Spirit to bring the teachings of Scripture to us. We saw that the Bible's original audiences needed their leaders to help them with unfamiliar and complex teachings. If this was true for people living in the days of the Bible, it certainly is true for us today. We may hold Bibles in our hands, but we still need wise and experienced leaders to help us as we try to apply the Scriptures to our lives.

In the second place, modern followers of Christ need to reaffirm the importance of interacting with the larger Christian community, the body of Christ, as we seek to apply the Scriptures. In this sense, the old adage holds true. "Two sets of eyes are better than one." In fact, three, four, five … a thousand sets of eyes are better than one. The simple fact is this: At one time or another, every follower of Christ has thought a particular application was perfectly appropriate, only to discover through interactions with others that it was not. When we remember that the body of Christ is the temple of his Spirit, we realize that one of the wisest things modern Christians can do is interact with other faithful Christians as they apply the Scriptures to their personal lives.

In 2 Peter 3:16, the apostle Peter is talking about Paul's letters. He says about Paul:

He writes the same way in all his letters speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16).

One of things I like about that verse is it reminds us that some things in the Scripture are hard to understand. Not that they're impossible to understand, but some are difficult, and that it is possible to distort the Scripture, to put your cast on it in such a way that you're not faithful to the inspired meaning. And that's a good reminder to us, isn't it, that we need the body of Christ, because throughout the New Testament, the both implicit and explicit expectations that we would gather together with other believers. Many passages speak of the different spiritual gifts that God gives to his body — in 1 Corinthians 12–14, Romans 14, Ephesians 4. One of the gifts that God gives to the body of Christ, according to Ephesians 4, are pastors and teachers. That's not to deny that all Christians have the Holy Spirit and are called to read and understand the Scriptures, but some people are specifically gifted in explaining the Scriptures and in helping us see what's there. [Dr. Robert L. Plummer]

In the third place, modern followers of Christ also need to find wisdom in application by renewing the practice of individual, prayerful meditation on Scripture. Even though interacting with leaders and with the larger body of Christ is important, every Christian will give an account for what he or she has done. So, in the end, individual application, as Paul put it to Timothy, must never be reduced to something we do apart from seeking for the Lord to "give [us] insight." Through prayerful meditation, the Spirit of God will grant us insight and heartfelt conviction that we're applying the Scriptures in ways that please him.

Reading is the exposure to Scripture, and that's the starting place; you have to do that. But meditation is the absorption of Scripture. And it's the absorption of Scripture that leads to the transformation of life that we hope for from our daily time in the Word of God. And helps us to experience God. It's through meditation that we taste and see that the Lord is good. Information on the page becomes experience devotionally at that moment with the Lord and brings about transformation of life. And my experience is most Christians, even the most devoted daily Bible readers, don't meditate. … Don't just read the Bible; meditate on Scripture. [Dr. Donald S. Whitney]

CONCLUSION

In this lesson on modern application for individuals we've looked at two facets of applying the Scriptures to ourselves and others as individuals. We noted that variety in personal application of Scripture must account for the variety of biblical instructions and the variety of the people and circumstances involved. And we also explored how wisdom in biblical application relies on interaction with God's ordained leaders and with the community of God's people to help us as we prayerfully meditate on Scripture in the presence of God.

The Bible is a wonderful gift from God, our only unquestionable rule of faith and life. No other standard is adequate to guide our individual concepts, behaviors and emotions in God's service. The Scriptures are filled with the variety of instructions that we need as we deal with the varieties of life. And God has also provided us with the way of wisdom that we need to deal with this variety in Scripture by calling us to learn and to apply the Scriptures in community with each other. If we keep these perspectives in mind, we'll be better equipped to apply the Scriptures to our individual service to God every day of our lives.