Ask: What is the relation of this text to the character and work of Christ? What does Jesus perfectly do or fulfill in this text that we could not do for ourselves? How does Jesus resolve the redemptive theme of this text? How does Jesus complete the story of this text? How will Jesus’ return complete the story of the text?

Who does this text say is out of order with the purposes of God? In what ways am I prone to be out of order with the purposes of God in a similar manner? What is this text saying about what must be done, or who we must be, to abide in the purposes of God, and how do I fail to do what it says?

Make the story of Christ and his kingdom our story (Our burden is not simply to get our hearers to apply the story of Christ to their lives as much as it is to get them to apply their lives to the story of Christ by faith): “The only way for us to have victory over temptation is in Christ. Our commitment to the Word of God roots our lives and

When I do not attempt to make myself the hero, but submit to Jesus as the Hero, then my life—my actual flesh-and-blood existence, problems and all—becomes my strategic opportunity to serve him. I am liberated to simply be me, surrendered to Jesus. Because of the champion who has defeated the enemy of God on my behalf, I am liberated to live my

When we come to the Scripture with ourselves as the primary subject, our goal becomes solving our self-defined problems or challenges. Jesus becomes the means to an end that centers on us.

By beginning with the primacy and uniqueness of Jesus and his kingdom in the biblical text, we are rescued from the hyper-individualistic and psychologized focus on individual needs that are inevitable in the “Little Bo Peep” approach.

Just as we personally identify with the bad guys in the text, we should identify the heroic action in the text with Jesus.

When our understanding of the Bible and our lives hinges entirely on the uniqueness and supremacy of Jesus, we begin to cultivate Christ-centered gospel logic that is not constrained by existing presuppositions.

Simply coming to the text and asking, “How am I like the people in the text who are doing the wrong thing?” is transformative and beneficial in gaining a gospel perspective in understanding our relationship to the text. This approach helps us to remember that the Bible is not a book of rules or a manual on morality; it is a story of God's grace to