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Horizontal Application

 When teaching people how to read and apply the Bible, we often focus vertically and within. By vertically I mean our relationship with God in heaven. We ask questions of the passage like, “What does this teach me about God?” or “What promise from God can I claim in my life.” By focusing within I mean introspection. We ask questions of the passage like, “How can I demonstrate this positive trait in my life?” or “Am I guilty of making the same mistake this person made?”

But in his book Seven Arrows: Aiming Bible Readers in the Right Direction, Matt Rogers mentions a horizontal element of application. By horizontal he means our relationship with other people, specifically, the church. He wrote:

“The result of sin is that mankind is separated from one another, living in tension, division, and strife. The result of the Gospel is that all of those who are in Christ can be united to one another by virtue of the fact that they have all been made part of God’s family. This fact demands that every passage of Scripture should be applied horizontally.” 

The Bible is not just a self-help manual, nor a book solely meant to be used between us and God. Consider that Galatians 6:2 says to carry each other’s burdens; Ephesians 4:2 says to bear with one another in love; 1 Thessalonians 4:18 says to encourage each other; Colossians 3:16 says to admonish one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

When reading the Bible we are not looking to just fill our head with facts, but to constantly align our lives to the standard our Father has for us. So we do not only interpret, we apply. This isn’t done in a vacuum, and if we do our job of rightly dividing the Word of Truth, think about how much better and stronger we will be. If I take what I learn and apply it to my relationships with people around me, and the people around me are doing the same, we will have healthy churches. 

As we are studying God’s Word, let’s be sure to apply it horizontally as well. 

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