Applying the Lessons We Learn From Scripture

Introduction:

  “Preaching is not complete until God’s people think and act differently for having the Word expounded.”  By applying the lesson results in changed lives.  This results in obedience.  (I John 2:17)  We must act upon what is said. 

Body:

How Do We Go About Applying a Lesson from God’s Word? 

1. “All behavior is based upon a belief.”  What you believe will determine how you act.  For example, if you get divorced because you are unhappy; it is because you believe that disobeying God will cause you less pain than staying in your marriage.  It is a lie, but you believe it and you act on it.  (Matthew 19:9)

2. “Behind every sin is a lie that I believe.”  You tell yourself a lie every time you sin.  “This is just a little white lie.  God won’t think it’s a very big deal.”  Forget Revelation 21:27.  If people are living sinful lives, they are living in deception.  (Titus 3:3)

3. “Change always starts in the mind.”  The mind must be changed first.  (Romans 12:2)  If you want to change the way you act, you must change the way you think.  (Proverbs 23:7a)  Note also Proverbs 12:2.

4. “People must see their sinful behavior is based on a lie.”  (John 8:31-32)  God’s Word is the only source of truth.  It shows us what lies we believe.  (Psalms 119:105)

5. “A person must store up God’s Word in his heart before behavior can change.”  (Psalms 119:9-11)  It keeps him on the narrow path.  (Psalms 37:31)

6. The biblical term for “changing your mind” is repentance.  Repentance is changing the way you think about something.  (Matthew 12:41)  Repentance is a central theme of the New Testament.  Thinking about God’s goodness will lead one to repent.  (Romans 2:4) Being convicted of sin leads one to repent.(Acts 2:37-38)

7. Repentance leads to a changed life.  (Matthew 3:8, II Corinthians 7:10-11)  There must be a change in behavior!

Invitation:

  Let us not be like the man in James 1:22-24, but rather like the one in verse 25.  “[22] But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. [23]For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; [24]for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  [25]But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”  James 1:22-25 NKJV 

Bobby Stafford

October 2, 2011

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