Step 5 of 5

How to apply a Bible passage to your life

Application is the fifth and final step of the homiletics method. You turn the core truth into specific questions that confront your thinking, attitudes and actions. Good application questions are personal, concrete and rooted in the passage, and they aim at the heart, not only at behaviour.

Key question

How should I respond?

What application is for

Scripture was given to change people, not only to inform them. James compares someone who hears the word but does not do it to a person who looks in a mirror and immediately forgets what he saw (James 1:22-25). Application is where the truth you found in step 4 meets your actual week.

In this method, applications are written as questions rather than resolutions. A question keeps you honest: it asks you to examine yourself before God instead of producing a neat promise you will soon forget. Questions also work well in groups, because each person answers for their own life.

In the homiletic editor on this site, applications are organised by division, with an optional principle for each. That keeps application tied to the text: every section of the passage gets its own question.

How to write application questions

Start from the core truth.
Read your core truth and each division sentence. Ask: if this is true, what difference should it make?
Write at least one question per division.
Each part of the passage has its own emphasis. For each division you can also note the principle it teaches.
Avoid yes/no questions.
“Do I trust God?” invites a quick yes. “Where am I relying on something other than God this week, and what would trusting Him look like there?” invites reflection.
Aim at the heart.
Ask about motives, desires and beliefs, not only behaviour: why do I do this, what do I love, what am I afraid of?
Make it concrete.
Name a situation, relationship or habit - family, work, church, friendships, your time with God.
Balance conviction and encouragement.
Include questions that expose sin and questions that build faith, hope and gratitude.
Answer them in prayer.
The step is not finished when the questions are written. Answer them honestly and ask God for help to live them out.

Good and weak application questions

Weak: Do I read my Bible?
Better: What competes with God’s Word for my attention in the mornings, and what one change would help me delight in it rather than merely read it?
Why:: The weak question has a yes/no answer and is only about behaviour. The better one is specific and asks about desire - the psalm’s word is delight.

Weak: I will always obey God.
Better: In which relationship this month am I most tempted to follow advice that leaves God out, and whose counsel should I seek instead?
Why:: Vague promises are easy to make and hard to keep. The better question names a place where the truth applies.

Weak: Why are the wicked compared to chaff?
Better: What am I building my sense of security on that would blow away under pressure?
Why:: The weak question is a study question about the text, not an application to you.

Common mistakes

Applying before understanding.
Application built on a misread passage leads people wrong with confidence. Do steps 1-4 first.
Only behaviour.
Lists of things to do more often, without asking why. Lasting change starts in the heart.
Questions that fit any passage.
“How can I be a better Christian?” could follow any text and rarely changes anything. Tie each question to what this passage says.
Only conviction.
Questions that only accuse. Scripture also comforts, so include questions that lead to gratitude and trust.
Pointing it at others.
When you prepare to teach, you will write questions for others, but answer them yourself first.
Stopping at the page.
A well-written question that is never answered has not been applied.

Worked example: Psalm 1:1-6

The core truth from step 4: “This passage teaches that true blessing belongs to those who delight in God’s Word, because the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, while the way of the wicked leads to ruin.” Here are application questions for each of the three divisions, with the principle each division teaches:

Division 1 (vv. 1-3)

Principle: What shapes our thinking and what we delight in set the direction of our life.

Whose counsel is shaping my decisions right now - in what I read, watch, scroll and listen to - and how does it compare with God’s Word?
What would help me delight in God’s Word rather than read it out of duty, and what one change will I make this week?
Which verse from this passage will I come back to during the day, and at what moments will I do it?

Division 2 (vv. 4-5)

Principle: A life without God has no lasting weight, however solid it looks.

What am I relying on for security - money, reputation, approval, success - that would blow away like chaff under pressure?

Division 3 (v. 6)

Principle: The LORD knows and watches over the way of the righteous.

How does knowing that the LORD watches over my way change how I face a season when I see little fruit?
Who do I know who is drifting away from God, and how will I pray for them and point them to the way that lasts?

Notice the mix. Some questions search the heart, some ask for one practical change, and the fifth is meant to encourage. None can be answered with a simple yes or no, and each one could only have come from this psalm.

See the full homiletic on Psalm 1

Checklist

Before you move on, check that:

Each division has at least one application question.
No question can be answered with a simple yes or no.
The questions are concrete: they name a situation, relationship or habit.
Some questions reach motives and desires, not only behaviour.
At least one question encourages or builds faith.
Every question is clearly connected to this passage.
I have answered the questions myself, in prayer.