The Application Principle

The Application Principle is defined as “that principle by which an application of truth may be made only after the correct interpretation has been learned. Since the Bible has to do with the salvation of man, all care must be taken in interpreting the same. The reason why the Bible needs interpreting is that man is a creature of sin.

Good common sense is needful in applying the Bible to the gospel truth. One who does not have common sense would not know the difference between Mohammedanism and Christianity, Law and Grace, etc.

Mental Industry must be applied (Ephesians 3:3, 4, 8, 9; Philippians 3:14-18; Colossians 4:16; I Thessalonians 5:27).

I. THINGS THAT WILL HINDER A PERSON

A. A desire for the applause of the world.

B. Vanity on one hand and flattery on the other. Any flattery is an ungodly bribe. If an old sinner comes up and says, “That was a good sermon”, you had better go home and get down upon your knees and find out what is wrong.

C. Sectarianism.

II. METHOD OF STUDY

A. Mystical Method—originated in heathenism—Catholicism.

B. Allegorical Method—Swedenborginism is today’s believer in allegorical spiritual interpretation.

C. Rationalism Method—modernism; (Modernism = not Exegesis, but Exit Jesus).

D. Apologetic Method—maintains every statement as truth. Always ask, “Who said this?” When a person is inspired, he was always inspired (Peter at Antioch, or Balaam’s ass).

E. Literal Method—Sometimes it is good to take everything literally.

F. Inductive Method—Get all facts together and let them speak for themselves.

III. THE APPLICATIONS:

THE KINDNESS OF GOD—GRACE

(Mephibosheth)

II Samuel 9:1-13

David was Saul’s bitterest enemy after the death of Goliath. David began with a staff and ended with a scepter. II Samuel 9:1 shows kindness and grace. David would not have been judged if he had killed all the members of Saul’s family. All of the blessings that came to the lame man came by the authoritative word of David. Our grace comes by the authoritative Word of God.

The lame man was totally incapacitated. So it is with the sinner. He is incapacitated—can’t walk How did he get lame? He had a fall—at the hands of another (II Samuel 4:4). So it was with man. Sinful man had a fall by another ... even Adam (Romans 5:12). Mephibosheth came from a family of failures. We, who came fromAdam, came from a family of failures. A sinner cannot walk. After Adam sinned, the Lord walked through the garden in the cool of the evening and asked, “Adam, where art thou?” David had asked, “Where is he?” The Lord always seeks us; we do not seek Him. If David had not sought out Mephibosheth, Mephibosheth would not have sought out David. Man will not seek the Lord. Salvation, from first to last, is the work of God. “Where art thou, Adam?” Adam hid himself from God. David asked, “Where is Mephibosheth?” ‘Behold, he is in the house of Machir.” It is the same with the sinner; he is in the house of bondage, the house of slavery—SIN. Sin is the greatest slave-holder. “Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.” “Lodebar” means “no pasture”,beyond Jordan-—no pasture. The sinner is in Lodebar —-no pasture. When you see cattle resting under the trees near a brook, in a grassy meadow, chewing their cuds, you see a perfect picture of peace. They are satisfied. They would not be, nor could they be satisfied, if there were no pasture. It is the same with the sinner; he is not satisfied if there is no pasture—Lodebar. David said, “Go fetch him.” “Fetch” is a wonderful word. Go fetch him out of the land of Lodebar. The lame man was afraid of the King. The sinner is always afraid of God, afraid that God will take everything good away from him, including his filthy, ragged cloThessalonians But it is not subtraction; it is addition; not only that, but, it is multiplication.

David said, “Don’t be afraid, it’s not for your sake, but for Jonathan’s sake.” Did you ever hear the phrase, “Because of Jesus’ sake?” “I will restore all that Saul has lost, plus extra; eat at my table.” Jesus gives us more than what we lost through Adam. When Mephibosheth heard this, he said, “What is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?” That is what we are in His sight—dead dogs! This is what we will have to realize, that we are nothing but dead dogs. You cannot show a man the Saviour unless he realizes he is lost, “a dead dog in His sight.”

Mephibosheth then dwelt in Jerusalem, the City of Peace. From Lodebar (no pasture) to Jerusalem (the City of Peace). The last verse (II Samuel 9:13) says that he was still lame on his feet, but that he kept them under David’s table. Keep your lame feet under the table of His perfection; don’t show your lame feet. God does not want you to put your feet in everyone’s face; keep them out of sight, under the table of His perfection and grace.

The Master of Death

Ephesians 2:1

Is God holding up a corpse, picturing the sinner? A sinner is dead. A dead man has eyes that cannot see, etc.; he has all the machinery of movement, but he cannot move. Ephesians 2:1 says ‘quickened”—made alive. A dead man cannot make himself alive. Love cannot make him alive. Nothing can bring a person back to life. It is the same with the sinner; he is dead and cannot be made alive. Only God can! D. L. Moody was going to preach a funeral sermon and looked through the Gospels to see what Jesus had spoken at a funeral. He found that Jesus never preached a funeral during His ministry, but broke up every funeral He came to.

Three times dead people came alive by His power: (1) Mark 5:38-43; The Child—even the children in your homes are lost. (2) Luke 7:11-15; The Son— yes, even your own sons are best. (3) John 11:1-46; Lazarus—a full-grown man.

(1) The first had just died. (2) The Son was going to be buried. (3) The man had been buried for four days. The child was as much dead as Lazarus. In fact, all were dead; but Jesus is the MASTER OF DEATH!

(1) The child was raised up at home. All children should be quickened (saved) at home. Yes, they should be led to Christ in the home. “Damsel, arise”—she arose and walked. Walking is evidence of life. Ephesians 1:17—“Walk not as other Gentiles walk”. He commanded that she should be given something to eat; she was given an appetite. She needed food for nourishment; it is the same with the newly-born child of God; he needs to feed upon the Word of God.

(2) The young man—Jesus was moved with compassion. John 3:16—”For God”. Our salvation moved the heart of God. “Jesus saith unto him, “Arise”. Luke 7:15—”began to speak”—testimony. “And he delivered him to his mother.” What makes separation today? Sin!

(3) Lazarus—”If thou hadst been here.” “You’re too late!” The old downand- out sinner may be considered too far gone! No one is too far gone for God. Jesus commanded, “Take ye away the stone”; there was something for them to do. Have a revival, prayer meeting, give out tracts, etc., but be sure to remove the stone. “Lazarus, come forth!” He came forth, although bound up. He came forth by the Words of the Lord Jesus. There is no one saved without the Word of God. Lazarus was alive, but not free from his bonds. Plenty of people in the Church have not gotten out of their grave clothes. Their hands are bound with work, all bound up. “Loose him.” “Who?” YOU! Help the convert. The Lord made him alive and they unwrapped him. His face was bound, so he could not see; his feet were bound, so he could not walk; he was all bound up. The sinner, too, is bound up, but in sin (Romans 6:23). Thus, we are to preach the Word, which liberates men from sin. The miracle was performed by Jesus. It was nothing to roll away the stone and unwrap the grave clothes. Christ will save; we can only point men to Christ, and after they are saved, help them to walk the Christian life.

Ecclesiastes

“Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over-wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?” (Ecclesiastes 7:16).

“Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?” (Ecclesiastes 7:17).

“There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour,” (Ecclesiastes 2:24a.)

“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

“For that which befalleth the sons of man befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast; for all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 3:19).

Erdman says, “The Book of the natural man.” A natural man is a lost man. There is a difference between the carnal man and the natural man. The natural man is lost, and the carnal man is a saved man, hut lives like a lost man. Elohim is used 40 times; man is used 40 times; (Adam) man of the earth is used 28 times; “under the sun” is used 3 times; “under heaven” is used 4 times; “on earth” is used 12 times.

“I said in mine heart,” speaks of the natural man. This is not what God says, but what a lost man says in his heart.

Key: Ecclesiastes 6:12—”For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? For who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun.”

Vanity is emptiness—to toil, to suffer. Feel unsatisfied with things under the sun and on earth. One night of bliss, and one thousand nights of hell.

Dr. Neighbors says that the word “vanity” should be translated “soap bubbles”. Our cities are filled with chasers of soap bubbles. A man who had $3,000,000 put a bullet in his brain; $3,000,000 is a soap bubble without Christ.

Alexander the Great became the world’s conqueror at 30 years of age and said, “Oh, for other worlds to conquer!” This old world we live in is a soap bubble without Christ.

Ecclesiastes 1:5 —”The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.” “Sunrise”—always comes back to the same place of emptiness.

Ecclesiastes 1:7 —“All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again,”—God’s water works. Things of the world bring you back where you started Romans Take all the rivers today of wealth, amusement, etc.; all of them without Christ lead back to a life of remorse.

Ecclesiastes is the darkest book in the Bible. Judgment! Ecclesiastes is the most up-to-date piece of literature today. Where Ecclesiastes ends with “under heaven”, Ephesians begins with “man in the Heavens.”

The climax of the Book is found in the 12th Chapter, the 1st, 13th and 14th verses: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them ... Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

The Scarlet Cord

Joshua 2:21

Entrance of the children of Israel into the land of Canaan.

Rahab, dwelt in a condemned place. The world is condemned by God.

The purpose of the Christian is to save men out of the world. Jericho means a “city of fragrance.”

The spies came at Barley harvest; harvest equals Judgment. Jericho’s reaping time had come.

Rahab was a harlot, a woman of bad character, a scarlet woman. Scarlet is a symbol of sin, the color of sin. Scarlet men and women are sinful men and women. There was nothing in her to commend her to God, and there is nothing in you to commend you to the Lord.

Man is not imperfect; he is imperfect. Rahab’s grace did not save her; she was a disgrace. She was a sinner. We are sinners (Romans 3:23). She was saved by Joshua’s grace. She was a liar. We are all liars. A sinner is a bad character, a scarlet character, living in a condemned place (the world). Rahab had faith— ”faith cometh by hearing.” “I know the Lord hath given you the land” Joshua 2:9. Rahab was interested and concerned about her family. Are you concerned over the salvation of your families, including your parents, brothers and sisters? She had faith; then came salvation. She was assured, then secured. She was assured by the spies and secured by the scarlet thread in the window. The scarlet cord was her salvation.The scarlet of the Cross of Christ is our salvation. It was not the looking upon her by the spies, but the looking upon the scarlet cord that saved her. God looks upon the scarlet Cross, and not us, which turns to our salvation.

The two spies spent three days in the mountain; then they went into the presence of Joshua. Jt was the same with the Lord Jesus; He spent three days in the tomb and arose to appear before God on our behalf. Rahab’s salvation was sure and complete, just as our salvation is sure and complete—”There is therefore now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).

She married Salmon and had a son named Boaz. Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David ... on down to the living Saviour today, Jesus Christ, our Lord. The conclusion is, therefore, that when God saves you, He not only saves you from something, but saves you to something!

The “400” Club

I Samuel 22:1, 2

David, the anointed king, was driven away from his throne. Jesus has also been anointed and driven away from His throne. Read the text again. This is an account of the 400 (not the society of the upper-crust of New York), but the 400 who followed David.

1. Saul, a choice young man, a goodly person (I Samuel 9:2).	1. Lucifer was perfect (Ezekiel 28:12).
2. Saul was blameless for a time.	2. Lucifer was blameless for a time (Ezekiel 28:15).
3. Saul in rebellion. He became a self-approved man. The kingdom rent from him (I Samuel 15:23).	3. Lucifer in rebellion (Isaiah 14:14). Kingdom is rent from him (Isaiah 14:15).
4. Saul is rejected: in rejection (I Samuel 15:23).	4. Lucifer in rejection (Ezekiel 28).
5. David anointed (I Samuel 16: 1, 11-13). Seven sons passed by Saul (I Samuel 16:7).	5. Jesus anointed (Acts 10:38; Mark 1:10, 11; John 12:2, 3). Jesus was born in a stable, born King of the Jews.
6. Saul clung to his throne after it was taken away from him (22 years).	6. Lucifer’s time has come; yet he still rules (John 14:30; 16:11).
7. The anointed king driven out. Saul cast out David.	7. Lucifer, with the aid of Judas, cast out Christ.
8. In the place of rejection: David in the cave of Abdullam —the gathering of the "400". Look at verse 2 (of text). what manner of men. David took them in and became a captain over them.	8. Christ is cast out. Look at those who followed the Lord. Christ’s 400 are the salt of the earth. Look at the ones who have come unto the Lord. He took them all in and frankly forgave them. Parable: Luke 7:41-43; I Corinthians 5:9-11.
9. Both Kingdoms brought to the depths of distress with both Kings away Israel was defeated by her enemies. Saul lost out and so did Israel.	The world is in a dreadful state and is being destroyed because her real King is not on the throne. The rejected King (of God) is in power, nevertheless.
10.The Reign: Saul over-thrown. David became King over Judah, then over Israel.	10.The Reign: Lucifer shall be overthrown.
11.What became of the "400"? (II Samuel 2:3). They came back with David and lived with him.	11.So shall the Redeemed come and live with Christ for 1,000 years.

Emancipation

Exodus 10:21-23

The plague of Darkness came before the last plague of Death. Men today are smitten with darkness before they taste of the second death. The plague of Darkness was an intense darkness, one that could be felt. Sometimes the darkness of man’s sin, the darkness of man’s superstition, and the darkness of man’s lawlessness can be felt. Darkness in Scripture is a symbol of “God’s Abandonment”. Ephesians 6:12 shows us that there is a dense darkness in the world today.

1. Why was it dark in Egypt? Because Pharaoh would not believe in Jehovah.	1. Why is there darkness in the world today? Because the world does not believe in Jehovah (Jesus).
2. Israel had light - supernatural light—a light from God. Here is a people having light in its dwellings.	2. Is there light in your dwelling? (Matthew 5:16.)
3. Blood—then light.	3. The Blood of Jesus Christ for redemption; then the Light of the Holy Spirit for revelation. What is earthly light? Culture, etc. Earthly light is not supernatural. The Light of the World is supernatural.

Parents, are your lights shining in the home?

The Egyptian I Samuel 30

1. The Egyptian was in the field.	1. The Sinner is in the field (the world).
2. Everything is taken and he is left to die by his master.	2. The Sinner is stripped of all he has by his taskmaster, the Devil.
3. He was an Egyptian.	3. When a sinner goes to Egypt, he goes down, not up to Egypt. Egypt in Scripture always means bondage.
4. He was sick and needed a physician; he was starving to death; thus, he needed bread and water.	4. The sinner has the disease of the heart (sin) and needs the Great Physician. The man of the world needs the Bread and Water of Life.
5. What was he eating? Nothing! Vanity.	5. The sinner is feeding on nothing: ashes and soap bubbles.
6. He was deserted; he had a terrible master.	6. The Devil is a hard master, one who works and receives wages (Romans 6:23).
7. Helpless.	7. Helpless.
8. He was a slave (although he was an Egyptian), a slave of an Amalekite.	8. Sinners have two masters: inner and outer, sin and Satan.
9. He was found in a field of seekers of sinners.	9. Christians, are you seeking the sinners?
10. They brought him to David.	10. Philippians brought Nathanael to Jesus
11. They sought him. He did not seek them. He was helpless.	11. Christians, are you seeking the sinners?
12. David received him. It is a wonder that David didn't kill him. That's grace! David saved him.	12. "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out"
13. He not only received him, but gave him something to eat and drink.	13. This is what the sinner gets when he is received by Jesus.
14. He then entered into the service of David.	14. ? ? ? How about you ? ? ?
15. Verse 15—Assurance of Security, then service.	15. John 3:16; Romans 19:9.
16. His security was not secured by his service, but through the grace of David.	16. Ephesians 2:8, 9—no "boasters" in Heaven.
17. The Amalekites were under a curse (Exodus 17:14-16). They were having a merry time with things that did not belong to them.	17. Sinners are living under the curse (Galatians 3:10), living on things that do not belong to them.
18. Judgment came upon the Amalekites.	18. Judgment is coming upon the Devil and sinners.
19. Spoils taken by the Ama1e kites regained.	19. Through Christ everything taken by sin can be restored.
20. The Egyptian became the servant of David.	20. We should become "bond slaves" for Jesus.

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