Page 56 - Homiletics I Student Textbook

Example from Acts 1:8

Having received God’s Spirit, I should be confident and
working!
I should be confident because God’s Spirit has come to
me and empowered me.
I should be working by testifying of Jesus to all people in
all places.

This is the general application of the meaning discovered in the text. Specific applications may vary
depending on each student’s specific situation in life.

Helps for Determining Specific Applications

Failing to apply the scriptures accurately and specifically is a great tragedy. In their book, Living by the
Book, Howard and William Hendricks discuss substitutes people use for application, steps in the
application process, and questions the student can ask that will help him determine specific ways in
which the text might apply to his life setting.

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A. Substitutes for Application
1. We substitute interpretation for application.
2. We substitute superficial obedience for substantive life-change.
3. We substitute rationalization for repentance.
4. We substitute an emotional experience for a volitional decision.

B. Steps in Application
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1. Know the truth of the text and know yourself.
2. Relate the truth of the text to your experience.
3. Meditate on the truth of the text with a view to letting it help and readjust your life.
4. Practice the truth of the text by living it out in daily life.

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C. Questions to Ask
1. Is there an example for me to follow?
2. Is there a sin to avoid?
3. Is there a promise to claim?
4. Is there a prayer to repeat?
5. Is there a command to obey?
6. Is there a condition to meet?
7. Is there a verse to memorize?
8. Is there an error to mark?
9. Is there a challenge to face?

60 Howard G. Hendricks and William D. Henricks, Living By the Book (Chicago: Moody, 1991), 285-289.
61 Hendricks & Hendricks, 292-301.
62 Hendricks & Hendricks, 304-307.
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