Table Of ContentEndorsements for Seven Arrows: Aiming Bible Readers in the Right
Direction
“Mathis and Rogers have come up with a creative, thoughtful, and practical way
to teach church members how to study and apply the scriptures to their own
lives. I especially appreciated the emphasis on biblical theology in interpretation
and the role the church plays in application. The entire book is wise and useful
and will help many to apply the Bible to their own lives.”
Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament
Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
“Simple. Reproducible. Transformative. The Seven Arrows have helped us equip
our church to confidently walk people through God’s transformaing Word. As a
result, we are more rapidly multiplying disciple-makers in Boston.”
Tanner Turley, Pastor, Redemption Hill Church, Boston, MA
“Throughout history there have been great strides by theologians and Bible
teachers helping the Bible become understandable and applicable to every man,
woman, and child. This book provides a tool to help us all navigate and apply
the Bible to everyday life. I would encourage this book be one that accompanies
your Bible for a while as you begin to learn and implement this simple tool.”
Chad Childress, Director of Missionary Mobilization, North American Mission
Board
“Some pastors write because they want recognition, Matt and Donny write
because they want to assist pastors and congregants in their places of need.
Seven Arrows is written with that heart. This resource will make a difference in
your life.”
Will Browning, Lead Pastor, Journey Church, Summerville, SC
“If Christians primarily rely on a Sunday sermon for their spiritual nourishment,
they will starve. Disciples must feed themselves. Rogers and Mathis deliver a
simple and effective discipleship tool that helps everyday Christians dig deep
into the richness of God’s word. Seven Arrows will not only be a helpful tool but
it will lead churches towards a gospel-centered healthiness. Use this book!”
Dustin Willis, coauthor of Life On Mission and General Editor of the Send
Network.
“When I first saw the concept of Seven Arrows I immediately thought: ‘Where
was this when I was learning how to study the Bible?’ Serious Bible
interpretation is not left only for those in seminary – it is designed for every
maturing believer. This tool from Rogers and Mathis puts life-changing
Scripture application on the bottom shelf for all of us. A must-read for any
follower of Christ.”
Brandon Clements, Author & Pastor at Midtown Fellowship in Columbia, SC
‘Since I didn’t grow up going to church and reading the Bible, I remember what
it was like as a college student trying to figure out how to “use” the Bible in a
way that seemed so familiar to other people. I didn’t know where to start...or
where I could stop. Having some help like this would have been terrific.
Lizette Beard, Project Manager, Lifeway
“In our little corner of Central Asia we are laboring to make the Scriptures
known and understood. The Seven Arrows tool has provided us with a
framework to clearly and simply communicate what a passage actually teaches
and help us get down to the heart of discipleship: What has God said and how
should we respond?”
Anonymous Church Planter/Missionary in Central Asia
Seven Arrows:
Aiming Bible Readers in the Right Direction
Matt Rogers
Donny Mathis
Equip to Grow Press
For the Church.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Books are tools to serve the church. The time, effort, and energy it takes to write a useful book is foolish
unless the project aids the church in fulfilling its God-ordained purpose. The best books, it seems, are
written to aid the church in solving a problem – either in thinking or in living.
We hope this book does both.
The Church at Cherrydale has provided a fertile context for developing a tool that would help people
read, understand, and apply the Bible to their lives. It has also given us an army of would-be disciple-
makers who long to be faithful to the command of Jesus to make disciples until he returns. We know that
this task necessitates that our people grow to feed themselves a steady diet of the meat of God’s word.
I (Donny) am very thankful to God for the opportunity to serve his church by teaching his word both at
North Greenville University and at The Church at Cherrydale. I pray that he takes the fruit of that labor and
helps those who read this book. As I write these words of thanks, I struggle to put into words the ways that
my wife, Amber, has supported, encouraged, exhorted, and loved me over these ten years. During the
writing of this book, we have faced some difficult trials, but she has sacrificed time and sleep to help see
this book through to its conclusion as she has edited the book for us long after I have gone to sleep. She is
simply the best! To my two-year old son, when you are able to read, I pray that this book would serve to
increase the love you already have for the “Bibey” and that you would serve King Jesus with all that you
are. To my parents, thank you for instilling in me a love and reverence for the Bible and modeling every
day what it looks like to love and serve Jesus well. To Matt, I want to thank you for your graciousness to
include me in writing this book and your patience with me through the process of completing it. Finally, I
want to thank Dr. Robert H. Stein for teaching me how to think carefully about how to interpret the Bible
and how to be a truly Christian scholar.
I (Matt) have the joy of learning to teach the Bible as a father, disciple-maker, and pastor of the local
church. Each of these circles are worthy of thanks. I am first and foremost a pastor of my home and owe my
“little-church” a debt of gratitude for their gracious love, support, and trust. Sarah consistently makes me
feel far smarter than I actually am, and her constant encouragement and unending love provides the
motivation to write a book such as this. Second, I am shaped by the investment that I have attempted to
make in others’ lives. It is one thing to preach a rousing sermon – quite another to disciple a single
individual as he seeks to understand and apply the Bible to his life. I have been shaped as much by those I
have discipled as I hope they have been shaped by me. Finally, as a pastor of a local church I know that
God will transform our people by his word more than anything else. I pray that the culture of our church is
such that people are led to hunger for the word and be transformed as a result. Relationships with men like
Donny have refined and encouraged my pursuit of Christ through his word.
We pray that God would multiply our meager efforts in the pages ahead to strengthen and build his
church by the power of his wondrous word.
Matt and Donny
Contents
Preface
How’d He Do That?
Introduction
Why Write A Book About The Bible?
Arrow 1:
What Does This Passage Say?
Arrow 2:
What Did This Passage Mean To Its Original Audience?
Arrow 3:
What Does This Passage Tell Us About God?
Arrow 4:
What Does This Passage Tell Us About Man?
Arrow 5:
What Does This Passage Demand Of Me?
Arrow 6:
How Does This Passage Change The Way I Relate To People?
Arrow 7:
What Does This Passage Prompt Me To Pray?
Conclusion:
What Do I Do Now?
About The Authors
PREFACE
HOW’D HE DO THAT?
How’d he do that? The expression was almost audible. I (Matt) remember
listening to a preacher teach a familiar passage on the radio while sitting in my
green Ford Ranger pickup in the parking lot at Furman University. I had read the
text numerous times since my conversion due to my seemingly insatiable hunger
for God’s word. Yet, hearing this skilled pastor proclaim the Scriptures faithfully
brought out a depth of meaning and beauty that I failed to see when reading the
Bible alone.
Honestly, I was stunned and frustrated. Why hadn’t I seen that? What was he
doing that allowed him to notice nuances and complexities of the Scripture that I
did not? Would it require a seminary degree, perhaps even a PhD, to be able to
read the Bible, understand its meaning, and apply it to my life?
Now, as a pastor of a local church who writes and preaches regularly, I hear
people ask me that question. They share how the word has challenged,
convicted, and spurred them on to spiritual maturity. And for that I am thankful.
I am also scared. I am afraid that I may subtly create a chasm between the
average member of the church that I serve and me. I am frightened that they may
depend on me for too much. I am scared that this may produce passivity in them,
thinking that somehow I am doing something that they will never be able to do
for themselves. And, I am convicted that my God-given role is to equip God’s
saints for the work of the ministry, which most certainly means that I have a
responsibility to teach them to feast on God’s word for themselves (Eph 4:11-
16).
Certainly, everyone who attends the local church that I pastor will not stand
before large groups of people and teach the Scriptures regularly. Some will.
Most will not. What they will do is awaken every day with a treasure sitting on a
shelf in their house – God’s revealed word. What they do with their Bible will
shape the trajectory of their lives.
This reality became clear for me during the first year following the planting
of a church in Greenville, South Carolina in 2010. God saved a young man in
our congregation, and he was filled with questions. Like most new Christians, he
