Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (52 page)

Let me be clear. I am not saying that you can apply Scripture any way you want, and I can apply it any way I want. Nor am I saying that any of us can
apply Scripture selectively, doing the things that appeal to us, but neglecting the things that don’t appeal to us. No, the precepts of God’s Word apply universally to every believer. For instance, all of us are to live by the Spirit, so as to manifest the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 22–23). One hallmark of that fruit is joy; joy should characterize every believer. But the way joy is expressed in your life will probably look a bit different than the way it is expressed in my life.

Or take the spiritual growth that is to occur as a result of feeding on God’s Word. First Peter 2:2 is rather vivid when it says that we are to be like newborn babies who cry out for spiritual milk. I call that passage Peter’s Growth Ladder, because as we ingest that milk, we take steps of faith and obedience that lead to higher levels of maturity. That growth is expected of all believers. But the specific way in which you grow and mature will probably look a bit different than the way I grow and mature. That difference has to do with our unique, God-given design.

Let me suggest at least four ways in which our individuality affects Application.

Having taught in an academic institution for more than fifty years, I can assure you with absolute certainty that every person learns differently. That is not a function of people’s intelligence, but of their giftedness.

For instance, some people learn best by reading, memorizing, and taking tests. Obviously, those are the people who tend to do better in formal classroom settings where the instruction is given through books, memory drills, and exams. Other people learn best by doing and trying. They’ve got to get hands-on with whatever it is they are supposed to learn. Others require participation in a group of some sort in order to gain much from the learning process. Others require a tutor or mentor or coach who can give immediate feedback, encouragement, and accountability. Others do best when they can take in material and then go away and think about it for a while on their own.

I could go on and on describing various learning styles. The point is that everyone is unique in how they learn. That means that when it comes to Bible
study, each person perceives and receives the truth of God’s Word in their own particular way.

We have a great illustration of that in the New Testament with Simon Peter and Paul. Simon Peter seems to have learned best when he could experience something firsthand. For example, Luke 5 tells us that the first time Jesus showed up at Simon’s fishing village, the Lord prevailed on Simon to take Him a few yards offshore so that He could teach the people. With Jesus sitting in the back of his boat, Simon had to have heard the teaching. But the text suggests that he was preoccupied with cleaning his nets.

After the lesson, however, Jesus turned around and urged Simon to push out into the lake and let down his nets. The text tells what Simon said in response to that suggestion; it doesn’t tell us what he was thinking. But I can imagine his thoughts were something like, “Look, pal, you may be the expert on the Law and religion, but I’m the expert when it comes to fish. I’ve been out here all night, and I’m here to tell you that the fish ain’t bitin’!” Nevertheless, Simon relented, and the result was a miraculous catch greater than any he had ever experienced. Who knows whether Simon heard a thing Jesus said in His lecture? What’s clear is that firsthand experience of Jesus’ power was how Simon began to learn who the teacher was.

Paul learned very differently. He was formally schooled by a tutor named Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), and trained as a Pharisee (23:6; 26:5). That involved a great deal of reading and studying, and Paul says he excelled in Judaism beyond many of his peers (Galatians 1:14). That’s easy to believe. Nowadays, many a seminary student struggles through basic Hebrew in order to read the Old Testament. By contrast, Paul memorized much of the Old Testament—in Hebrew. What’s more, he wrote about half of the New Testament—in Greek. Quite an intellect!

So we see a considerable difference in learning styles between Peter and Paul. No wonder, then, that late in his life, Peter says that some of Paul’s letters “contain some things that are hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16 NIV). I’ve always taken a great deal of comfort in that. If Peter had a difficult time understanding Paul, I guess it is okay if the same is true for you and me today.

So how do you learn? What are the ideal conditions in which you acquire new knowledge, information, or skills? Pay attention to that as you interact
with Scripture. By taking advantage of your natural learning style, you will go much farther, much faster, and with a great deal more satisfaction in the growth process.

One of my best friends was an ear, nose, and throat specialist named Trevor Mabery. The Lord took Trevor home several years ago. But while he was alive and practicing medicine in Dallas, Trevor used to invite me to go hunting with him in East Texas. It was one of my favorite things to do. Not because I’m much of a hunter, but because I loved to watch Trevor, who was a master of the outdoors.

One of Trevor’s greatest assets was his sight. We could be sitting in the car, looking out across a field, with a stand of trees maybe half a mile or more away. All of a sudden, Trevor would point and exclaim, “Look there, Howie. A red-shouldered hawk. See him?” I’d look hard. I’d squint. I’d rub my eyes. But all I could see was a stand of trees. Then, sure enough, if we waited long enough, a pair of wings would lift, and a beautiful bird would rise into the sky. I marveled at how Trevor could spot such a creature.

But Trevor’s ability to pick out wildlife from its surroundings illustrates another way in which our differences as people enable us to apprehend God’s Word differently. Each of us is able to distinguish different things in Scripture as important. That’s because different kinds of giftedness emphasize different things.

For instance, a person who is naturally motivated to plan things will tend to notice and respond to the portions of the Word where plans are being discussed. The person who loves concepts will tend to focus on the many concepts that Scripture gives. The one who instinctively sees systems and networks will perceive the many systems and networks mentioned in Scripture—systems of government, of cities, of trade, of relationships. The person who has an intuitive grasp of how people tick will emphasize the human dynamics and emotions of a passage.

That’s another reason why it is so important that we study Scripture corporately, not just individually. If we stay isolated, we only have our own gifts with which to work. Those gifts have value, but they can only get us so far. We
need the perspective of other believers to round out and complement our own discoveries.

That’s why I used to love it when Trevor, the man I just mentioned, would get a bunch of his doctor friends together and ask me to come study the Word with them. Let me tell you, it’s an altogether different experience to talk about a passage of Scripture that deals with some physical issue—like the woman with the hemorrhage (Mark 5:25–34), or the man born blind (John 9), or the crucifixion—with experts on the physical body. When people bring their God-given giftedness to a conversation, you get the best of what they have to offer. They will emphasize things that you or I will overlook, because they have an inborn instinct to look for certain things that matter to them.

Speaking of groups with whom I love to study the Word, I spent about eight years as a chaplain of sorts to the Dallas Cowboys, back in the Tom Landry era. I had the honor of accompanying them to two Super Bowls. We used to have a team Bible study every Thursday night. It was voluntary; sometimes only two guys and their wives might show up, other times forty-two showed up. Whatever the attendance, we always had a great time. As you might imagine, those guys had a bias for the practical. Yes, they would tolerate a bit of theoretical instruction, when it was absolutely necessary. But they always demanded that the truth get down to something they could do. Spiritual blocking and tackling, you might call it. In essence, they were asking, “What’s the play, Prof?”

Ballplayers have to memorize a lot of plays. That’s what those Cowboys would do in practice. They’d run their plays over and over until their moves were automatic. The interesting thing is that once Roger Staubach called the play and took the snap, everyone did something different. Same play, different assignments. The guys on the line would block, but each one would have a different blocking scheme. Other guys would take off from the line and run passing routes—again, each man on his own route. Even the men in the back-field had different moves to make, depending on the play.

That’s not a bad analogy for what happens—or should happen—when a group of Christians comes across a specific exhortation in Scripture. For
example, Jesus’ last words in Matthew 28:19 couldn’t be clearer: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” That’s the command. Every believer needs to obey that command. But note: the way in which a given believer “makes disciples” will be different, by virtue of how God has designed that believer. Each person’s giftedness will function according to its nature. In fact, that is God’s intent. It’s why He has made each of us differently—so that we would bring a variety of strengths to accomplishing His will. Same command, different ways of executing it.

So when it comes to “making disciples,” some people will do that by teaching, because that’s what they do best. Some will do it by modeling and mentoring, because that’s what they do best. Some have a giftedness for influencing people, so they will focus on proclaiming the gospel in very straightforward, impactful ways, because that’s how they are most effective. Some will come alongside unbelievers and build relationships and live out the gospel, so that over time they stimulate curiosity about what makes them different. Some will take the approach that Andrew took with his brother, Simon Peter (John 1:40–42): they will bring their friends to people who have the ability to explain the gospel much more effectively than they can. Some will participate in teams that go into the world and do specific projects aimed at drawing people to Jesus. Some who have a talent for telling a story will write books in which they relate their own journeys of faith in ways that are very compelling to an unsaved reader.

Do you see that there are about as many ways to apply the command to “go and make disciples” as there are believers? The interpretation is one; the application is many. Same play, different assignments. Because each “player” has different strengths to be used by God in carrying out His will. That’s why it’s so important that you identify your God-given strengths, as best you can. He has specific “good works” assigned to you, and the strengths that He has designed into you will tell you a lot about what your assignment is.

That brings us to a fourth way in which individual differences significantly affect our application of Scripture. We will tend to excel in our areas of strength, but struggle in areas where we lack strength.

For instance, if relationships and dealing with people come naturally for someone, it’s no problem for him to rise to the challenge of 1 Peter 3:8, to “let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind-hearted, and humble in spirit.” That’s a verse he was
made
to apply. Yes, he’ll inevitably have to deal with troubles in his relationships, like anyone would. But God has endowed him with the perfect equipment for that task. So assuming his walk with Christ is solid, it’s likely that he’ll do an excellent job of living out the truth of 1 Peter 3:8.

On the other hand, let’s say that a person is, by nature, reserved, quiet, perhaps even withdrawn. He’s been blessed with a brilliantly analytical mind that can delve into the world of information, data, and facts. So maybe he makes a great software engineer, precisely because he can hide away for hours in his cubicle, analyzing code. That stuff makes all the sense in the world to him. People, by contrast, are a lot more difficult for him to comprehend. So it stands to reason that he’s liable to struggle when it comes to relationships.
Harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind-hearted
—those may be foreign terms for him because he doesn’t instinctively appreciate people and their needs. Obviously he still needs to apply 1 Peter 3:8. But let’s be fair and recognize that he will be doing so with a degree of limitation.

This presence or absence of core, motivated strengths has a bearing on how we teach the Word, and what we expect people to do with it. For one thing, we need to recognize that a behavior that comes easily for a teacher, because of his or her giftedness, may be quite difficult for someone being taught, because of his or her giftedness. We teachers need to allow for those differences, so as not to suggest that our way is the only way to apply Scripture.

For example, have you ever listened to a stirring message by an impassioned Christian speaker claiming that the key to his spiritual life is his memorization of Scripture? I have, and I think that’s fantastic. In fact, I’ve made similar statements from the lectern myself. I believe wholeheartedly in Bible memorization. I’ve said as much in this book. But then, memorization comes fairly naturally for me.

What about the person for whom memorization doesn’t come naturally? We need to be careful in what we convey to such an individual. Bible memorization is a good idea, whether one is gifted to the task or not. But if someone’s not gifted in that way, let’s not put a guilt trip on him by implying that
there’s something wrong with him if he struggles to memorize Scripture. Instead, let’s accept that, for him, memorization is a “can do,” not a “love to do.” So when he manages to memorize one simple verse, like John 3:16, let’s praise him for that. Let’s not disparage his efforts by saying, “That’s all?”