Have you ever sat in a classroom wondering what the goal was?I remember clearly feeling it while suffering during calculus classes in college. The course was taught as if the application of the principles was self-evident. And maybe for math lovers. But for this student of English literature, it was a constant exercise in purely abstract reflection and defeat. Without understanding the real world of the application, I found it very difficult to understand why I needed to know the value of something approaching infinity, without ever reaching it.
And if you were a math genius, remember how you felt when asked to comment on the meaning of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
The explanation is different from the application
I’m not trying to dig up old memories. But I wonder if some of us preachers are not guilty of putting our church members in a position equivalent to that of a freshman in arithmetic or literature every Sunday. Like many teachers in many fields, we are passionate about what we will teach. extremely well prepared. We can answer questions about the time of the Greek and Hebrew verbs and the historical and cultural context of the Middle East. We can highlight a quiasm before our people think about how to pronounce the word. And we’re ready to explain why the translators were wrong and, instead, they should follow our interpretation.
And yet, with all this wealth of knowledge and understanding, transmitted with passion and great importance, our congregation finds little understanding of what to do with it. You know what’s important? Because it is the Word of God. More than that, you know, it was the Word of God that was given to them. Having said that, we basically tell them, “He’s with you now. Now you’ll have to figure out how to apply for it yourself. Or worse, we make people feel a little uncomfortable and with a sense of spiritual failure because they don’t know how to apply what they’ve heard, because we find it so obvious.
It is not enough for us preachers to simply explain the text to our congregation; if we want to be good shepherds, we must apply the text to their lives today.
Then why don’t we? I can think of a few reasons
First of all, the application is a difficult job. Compared to thinking about the complexity of the human heart and its condition, analyzing grammar and context is very simple.
Second, the application is subjective. I know when I correctly defined a sentence or analyzed a verb, but how do I know if the application is correct?
Third, the application is complex. The text has a main point, however, there are several applications, perhaps as many as listeners, choosing from the many options is difficult.
Fourth, the app is personal. As soon as I start thinking about how the text is applied to my congregation, I can’t help but face its application and sometimes I’d rather just explain it than have to deal with it.
All these reasons have to do with our own flesh and desire or to avoid hard work in which we are not good or to completely avoid personal convictions. And our answer to these excuses must be simply to repent.
The application is different from condemnation
But there is a fifth, more theological reason why some of us neglect to apply it in our sermons: we are convinced that application is someone else’s task and goes beyond what we have received to do. Shouldn’t the Holy Ghost apply the text?to a person’s heart? If I apply it and it is not applicable, will you not feel exempt from liability?But if I expose the truth and deviate from the path, then the Holy Ghost has a free way to do his job. he does it better than I do anyway. ?
I have heard more than one respected preacher these days defend this point, but with all due respect, I believe that this objection is not biblically and theologically confusing. The mistake is confusing belief and application. The conviction of sin, justice, and judgment is the work of the Holy Ghost (John 16:8). No one but the Holy Spirit can bring true conviction and when we try to do his job, we inevitably fall into legalism. Why? Because conviction is a matter of heart, in which a person is not only convinced that something is true, but also that he must be accountable to God for that truth and act accordingly.
The app is different from belief. Although its goal is the heart, it is oriented to understanding. If exegesis requires us to understand the original context of the text, the application is just to explore the contemporary context where the text is heard. It is a question of identifying the categories of life, ethics, and understanding in which this particular word of Christ must dwell in abundance (Colossars 3:16). We all tend to listen through our own filters and our own experiences. So when a pastor is struggling to apply the Word, we may consider the importance of a certain passage in a way that we have never done before, or that we would not normally consider.
Then, for example, every time I hear John 3:16, I immediately think of my call to evangelization; this is my natural application, almost a personal reflection of this and the verse; but a more careful homiletic application can lead me to think more deeply about the nature of God’s love for me or what it means to have eternal life in Christ. As I expand my understanding of the possible application of this verse, John 3:16 begins to dwell much richer in my life. invading the sphere of work of Holy Esperito, a good application multiplies the opportunities for conviction.
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By: Michael Lawrence. © 2015 9Marks. Original: Don’t have an app?So you didn’t preach.
This article is part of the 9Marks Journal.
Translation: Fobio Luciano. Revision: Vin-cius Musselman Pimentel. © 2014 Faithful Ministério. All rights reserved. Website: MinistryFiel. com. br. Original: No application?So you didn’t preach.
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