THE BIBLE: PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND APPLICATION

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Here at Cornerstone our statement of faith says that we seek to understand divine intent through authorial intent and that we apply that to the contemporary church and the culture. If we believe that the Bible is true and that truth is universal then it applies today. Here we want to talk about some practical considerations pertaining to the application of the Bible to your life, leadership, and your community. We also want to mention a bit of practical information about the Bible and its many translations. 

First, a little bit about Bible translations.  The original manuscripts of the Bible were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. In the 400s it was translated to Latin. The Bible was written in Latin until about 1300. Then you had translations such as Wycliffe's English Bible, the Great Bible, Tyndale's Bible, and others until the 1611 Authorized Version of the King James Bible. Commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611 it referenced primarily originally language sources available at the time and was a text written in the language of the people. While there were some other translations that were worked on earlier, such as the Revised Version in the late 1800s, the majority of modern translations we have today were developed in the 20th century. All modern translations are based on pretty much the same collection of thousands of Old and New Testament Original language manuscripts collected in the Biblia Hebracia Suttgartensia and the United Bible Societies or Nestle and Aland Greek New Testaments. Any modern Bible should tell you what it is based on and how they arrived at the translation choices they made in the front or the back.

English translations fall somewhere on a spectrum between what we call Formal Equivalence and Functional equivalence. Between the translation choices of word-for-word or thought-for-thought. This word choice is what makes so many Bible choices available today. You have for Example the New American Standard Bible on the very word-for-word side compared to translations such as the Holmen Christian Standard on the far side of thought-for-thought.  What this practically looks like is the difference between texts such as weights and measures being listed in original values or being translated to numbers and ideas that are common to us today with the original in a footnote. 

Here at Cornerstone, we have no singular Bible Transition that we use. We may use something more functional and readable on Sunday mornings to make the text reading as natural and understandable as possible. The New Living Translation is usually a good choice because it is functional while being written at a reading level that targets the majority of our congregation. In the event that there is something where the formal equivalence translation can provide some more information or illustration, we may provide the text out of the English Standard. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind about Bible Transitions

1. Have faith that your modern Bible is based on the best possible scholarship and original manuscripts available. Everything from the big ideas down to the punctuation has been reviewed and reviewed again by dedicated and faithful experts. You can trust that God has worked in history to provide you with his word. 
2. Practically, when choosing a translation just choose what you feel makes sense to your reading level and preference. If you like Formally written text choose something closer to the formal end, if you want something easier to read or memorize, choose something functional. 
3. A study Bible with notes explaining texts, ideas, geography, or other information is a great resource to have around. These comments and information are often created by experienced committees of Biblical scholars and provide more reliable information compared to searching for information on the internet. 
4. There is nothing wrong with reading different translations or keeping multiple resources around. Sometimes switching translations during your daily Bible reading can help you keep fresh and see something that you might not have noticed before. 
5. Finally, I will tell you the best and most transformative Bible you can get. The Best Bible is always going to be the one that you will read. You can have piles of the best scholarship available and if you don't read it all you have are a pile of pages to collect dust. God's word can't transform you unless you spend time in it with him.

With that understanding of Bible translations we do want to take some time and talk about how we can apply the Bible to our own lives and the life of our church. At Cornerstone we make an important and deliberate decision in saying, "we seek to understand Divine Intent, through Authorial Intent". This is intentional. We believe that the Bible speaks to all times and all places regardless of culture or situation, but we start that journey by seeking to understand that the text of the Bible meant to the original audience, in their original context first, then understanding our own differences between the original audience and ourselves before seeking application. 

One of the most important things to keep in mind about applying the Bible to your life, leadership, and our Church is the idea that "the text cannot solely mean something outside of what it meant to the original audience". This does not mean that a text cannot have additional meanings. The prophecies concerning the Messiah often meant something different in the immediate context to the original recipients and only later, through God's progressive revelation, did we understand that it meant something about Jesus.  Both applications are valid and faithful to scripture but if you do not understand the original intent you will miss how God has worked in history through a specific time and specific people and you understanding of God and his word in your life will be hampered for it. 

Here are my Big questions to ask about applying the Bible. 

1. Ask what did this text originally expect of the audience? Were they expected to learn something or do something? What was that? What did God originally teach? 
2. How was this truth intended to affect the original listener? For example, when Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth about Public worship, He wanted the Church to wait for everyone to be there for the Lord's Supper because some were taking too much and none was left for others.  
3. Compare yourself to the original audience.  If it is in the Old Testament you need to ask how this has been expanded or enlightened by the coming of Christ? What is different on this side of the Cross for us even though it is God's timeless truth? Ask what is happening in the text culturally? Understanding the original culture through a good study Bible or careful reading of the text can help you understand how to apply and understand scripture. How are you different than the original audience and what difference does it make? Sometimes it is much and other times the difference doesn't matter at all. 
4. Ask yourself in light of the other questions, "what does this text want me to think, feel, or do differently now that I've heard its truth?" 
5. Round out your application by thinking about what specific ways this application exalts God. How does applying this truth to you help you be more like Christ? And is this application consistent with the rest of the Bible? 

Remember, the Bible is not just for information but transformation. We humbly and faithfully approach scripture with a heart of prayer and reliance on the Holy Spirit. We believe that God has worked in history and is still working today. That influences how we read and apply his word.