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Life application is a summary of the Old and New Testaments, giving a short perspective on the whole of scripture,
crystalizing the central spiritual truths of scripture and focusing on a key principle of life change that grows out of that
section of the Bible.
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First 2/3rds of the Bible
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Last 1/3rd of the Bible
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Man's unsuccessful attempts to please God through works. |
The person and work of Jesus Christ who gives us salvation. |
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Law...The law was given through Moses. |
Grace...Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. |
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Over 300 prophecies.
The passover lamb.
The Tabernacle and sacrifices. |
In flesh and blood. (Matt.-- John).
In the teachings of the Apostles (Acts -- 3 John).
His coming return (Revelation). |
Beginning in Genesis 12, God drew forth a man who would be the father of the people
from whom and to whom the Messiah would come. Abraham became a friend of God through faith. In spite of appearances to the
contrary, he went to a land he had not seen, believed God's promise of a son, and offered up that son at the same area where
God's own Son would be crucified. Because he believed God, his faith was accounted to him for righteousness. In the same way,
you can enter into a relationship with God by placing your trust in the person and work of His Son. Have you made that decision?
The destructiveness of sin is overcome by a faith that takes God at His word in spite of appearances
and circumstances to the contrary (Gen. 15:6; John 3:16; Heb. 11:8-22).
After redeeming His people from bondage, the Lord spoke to them in power and glory at Mt. Sinai.
The revelation of the Mosaic law required a response of obedience. Their success as individuals and as a nation would depend
on the degree of their conformity to God's moral, civil and ceremonial law. Likewise, disobedience would lead to disaster
(e.g. the wilderness wandering and servitude in the time of the Judges). As believers in Christ, our success is measured by
the degree of our conformity to His character. To what extent is Christ the Lord of your life?
Revelation demands obedience, and obedience brings blessing (Deut. 6:1-15;
Josh. 1:8; John 15:12-17).
After their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, the children of Israel needed to learn to
walk with their God. The Law was given to instruct the people about the person and ways of their Redeemer so that they could
be set apart to a life of holiness and obedience, not to save anyone but to reveal the people's need to trust in the Lord.
As Paul told the Galatians, "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24).
The Law combines poetry, salvation history, legislation and exhortation. The three major divisions
of the Law (Deut. 4:44) are the testimonies (moral duties), the statues (ceremonial duties), and
the judgements or ordinances (civil and social duties). The moral portion of the Law is summarized in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17; Deut. 5:6-21; 1-4)...Duties to God "You shall love the Lord your God" (Matt.
22:37 and 5-10)...Duties to man "You shall love your neighbor" (Matt. 22:39).
God had to discipline His people because of their moral and spiritual rebellion and their refusal to heed the warnings
of Hid prophets. Reproof is designed to bring repentance, and repentance brings restoration. The same prophets who pronounced
the condemnation of God also announced the consolation of God. Similarly, because God loves us, He must sometimes chasten
us as His children to train us in the ways of righteousness. How do you respond during these times? Are you teachable or intractable?
God's disciplines are designed to restore a heart for Himself (Jer. 17:5, 7; Joel
2:12-13; Heb. 12:5-11).
Even after the chastening of the Exile, most of the returning Jews became enmeshed once again in the affairs of the world
and neglected their relationship with God. For some, the problem was external religiosity without internal reality; for others,
the problem was being more influenced by culture than Scripture. God has always had to work with a faithful minority who love
Him enough to stand against the tide of the world system. Is your quality of life different from that of those who love the
world more than the Lord?
True restoration results from being molded by the Word within rather than the world without (Ezra 7:10; 9:10-15; Is. 46:3, 4; Acts 7:51-53).
In Christ, God personally revealed Himself in human flesh: to see Him is to see God (John 12:45,
14:9), to know Him is to know God (John 8:19), to receive Him is to receive God (Mark
9:37), to honor Him is to honor God (John 5:23), and to reject Him is to reject God (Luke 10:16). He is the vine, the source of life; we are the branches, the channels of life. It is only
as we draw our life from Him that we bear lasting fruit. To what extent are you looking to Jesus as the true source of your
security, significance and fulfillment?
Jesus, the living Word, lives His life in and through us as we walk in dependence upon Him (John
1:11, 12; 10:10, 15:4, 5; Gal. 2:20).
The Book of Acts records the spread of the gospel from the city of Jerusalem to the whole province
of Judea and Samaria, and ultimately through the Roman Empire and beyond. These first-century Christians were sold out for
the cause of Christ and transformed their world as their lives became living epistles of the Good News. God has called us
to a life-style of evangelism in which we build relationships with non-Christians. These friendships in turn become natural
bridges for communicating the gospel. Take a close look at Colossians 4:2-6 to learn how to become
more effective as an instrument of the Holy Spirit to reproduce the life of Christ in others.
Christ's life is reproduced in others when we take the initiative to witness in the power of the Holy
Spirit (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Col. 4:2-6).
Paul, Peter, and the other apostles learned the secret of developing an eternal perspective in
the midst of earthly problems. They were able to live above their circumstances and rejoice even while being persecuted because
of their firm grasp on who they were in Christ and where they were going. In spite of his imprisonment, Paul could write,
"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21). Are you looking more at "the things
which are seen" or at "the things which are not seen"? The former are temporary, but the latter are eternal
(2 Cor. 4:18).
God wants us to grow in our understanding that Christ's life and destiny is our life and destiny (2 Cor. 4:16-18; Eph. 1:3, 17-19, 3:16-19; PHIL. 1:21, 3:20-21; 1 Peter 1:3-9).
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