Lesson 4 of 4
From what it meant to what it means
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Study objective: Move carefully from the original meaning to faithful application today, comparing Scripture with Scripture.
Reading: James 1:22–25Matthew 7:24–27
James 1:22–25 WEB
22But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror; 24for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.
Matthew 7:24–27 WEB
24“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26Everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell—and its fall was great.”
Background and context
Study is not finished until it affects how we live. James warns against hearing without doing, and Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with two builders. Faithful application asks what the passage meant for its first readers, what that shows about God and people, and how it applies now. Where Christians disagree about a passage, it is honest to say so.
Observe
- James compares a hearer who does not act to someone who forgets their own face (James 1:23-24).
- The blessing comes to the person who acts on what they hear (James 1:25).
- In Matthew 7 both builders hear the words; only one does them (7:24-26).
Words, people and events to notice
- Application
- How the meaning of a passage shapes belief and action now. Different settings may lead to different applications of the same truth.
Understand
- What is the difference between the two builders in Matthew 7:24-27?
- Why does James call hearing without doing self-deception (James 1:22)?
- How would you check an application against other Scripture?
Connect
- Acts 17:11
Examining the Scriptures to test what is taught.
- Luke 6:46–49
Luke’s version of the two builders.
Reflect
- Choose one passage you have studied. What is one specific action it calls you to?
- Where do you need others to help you apply Scripture honestly?
Key takeaways
Editorial summary, not Scripture.
- Ask what it meant, then what it means.
- Compare Scripture with Scripture.
- Be honest where faithful readers disagree.
- Study leads to doing.
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