No images? Click here Gifts Through Grace Pt. II Romans 12:3-8 March 10, 2024 The thoughts of a man dictate his actions. Fundamentally, the behavior of the church in Rome was a “thinking” problem: the mind sits at the intersection of the soul and flesh. They needed to be reminded of, reintroduced to, the truth of who God is, the power of God, the reality of God working in their lives, what He has done, what He is going to do and the way in which He works. At the heart of the matter was an issue of worship, which is true whenever there is an issue where actions are contrary to God’s word.
The mind of the church had not been transformed so Paul teaches them theology. Specifically, in Romans 1-11, Paul focuses on the power of God. As he begins chapter 12, he leads with what man’s response in faith should be to the power of God working in his life because as man understands the immense power of God and the way He holds him in his salvation, it must have meaning for his life.
The right first response is to offer God our true worship and the second is to serve each other, our brothers and sisters in Christ: we are to be “vessels for honorable use” (2 Tim 2:21), presenting our bodies as a living, holy sacrifice to God’s will, demonstrated in service to others. This is our reasonable service (spiritual worship) to God.
What should our service look like, how are we to serve? We must know that every person has been given at least one specific gift to be used, by God’s design, within the local church. So, the focus in Romans 12:3-8 is on the fundamental principles we must understand in order for us to be able to effectively utilize our gifts.
Fundamentally, a “principle” is truth that serves as the foundation for behavioral change, how we change our reasoning. According to Romans 12:2, our thinking must change according to these principles so that we can then apply them to a gift that we have, utilizing it with discernment, making it effective to the body.
Last week we explored the principles of humility and diversity.
The Principle of Humility (v3)
The key that unlocks service is Humility and humility begins with meekness. Meekness at its core is a proper perspective of who we are, not thinking more highly or more lowly of ourselves. In fact, meekness and humility really only require us to think of ourselves LESS. Selfless service is the example that Christ set for us.
The Principle of Diversity (v4-6a)
God’s perfect design is many members, many varied gifts, given by God’s varied grace to His people for the building up of His Church. The body is made up of different parts, with each part having a specific function. Within the body of believers, specifically the local church, there exists a unity of diverse gifts, with each contributing to a singular, overarching purpose.
Today, we come to the third principle of “Distinction”, the distinct gifts and the purpose of them. May we see with clarity our gifts, both within ourselves and within others, that we might allow the Spirit within us to use them for the glory of God, for His name’s sake, and for the good of the Southside body.
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The Principle of Distinction (v6b-8)
Each person has a gift or gift mix that is distinct from others and within the body are a diversity of gifts. Why is it so important to embrace the diversity of our gifts? Because the manifestation of unity within our diversity serves as a testament to the existence of God before the watching world. The world simply cannot comprehend how a diverse group of people are able to come together in unity with harmony and love to achieve a common purpose. This is not seen in our culture, in our society. It serves as a draw for the world to come to us and ask us what makes us different. What is this hope that you have? Who is this God you worship? How does He work in this way?
So, we are very distinct in our purpose, that being harmony, which comes through ministering to the body. Within the church today, perhaps more prevalent in the reformed circles of Christianity, we are seeing a pendulum swing towards rightly upholding with high regard, the speaking gifts of prophesying, preaching and teaching. While these are vitally important, what is equally important and missing is that while the body drinks in the teaching and preaching, and acknowledging we have been fed, we go home and forget we are to serve and minister to each other. We have forgotten that God uses everyone in the body in service to one another. That is the unification that needs to happen for the world to see the existence of God and to know that He sent His Son. Preaching is absolutely essential but it cannot be absent each member of Southside serving one another in the way God has gifted us. We see this in God’s design as found in Jesus’ prayer: “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20-21).
As you enter the auditorium, above the doorway, is the reminder of the purpose of Southside in the teaching and preaching, that it is, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). We are to minister to each other so that we can grow up together. Just as the Elders enjoy using their gifts to minister to the body, so should the body enjoy using their gifts to minister to the Elders and all of the body. No gift is more important than any other. To act in humble obedience, in your gifts, which is your reasonable service, is vital to your spiritual growth. When we all humble ourselves in this way, God is on display.
What are the gifts God has given to us for the purpose of being a united witness for Him in the world? As we look at the seven gifts Paul highlights, let us have the goal to see each other in the light of the gifts and not just see each other as distinct personalities.
The word “prophecy” means, “to speak forth” or “to declare God’s divine will”. There are two elements in prophecy, one of which is “foretelling”…to speak of what is to come or to speak special revelation given by God, seen throughout Scripture…and the second is “forthtelling”...proclaiming what God has already done, what He has already revealed. This, too, we see throughout Scripture. It is the aspect of “forthtelling” of truth that is the focus of this gift as Paul presents it. John the Baptist is a vivid example of exhibiting this aspect of prophecy. God had revealed in Scripture the coming of the Messiah and John was simply the messenger God used to proclaim Jesus as His Messiah.
We know this is the aspect of Paul’s focus because of how the gift is to be used, which is “in proportion to our (the) faith” (v6). Also, we see this in Jude 3, “...I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” Therefore, what is being declared with this gift is the objective truth of Scripture. As this gift is exercised, it must be tested to ensure it aligns with “THE” faith.
Paul is linking this gift to speaking and serving gifts. Within the church, the person exercising this gift is teaching what is congruent with the truth of Scripture, as confirmed in 1 Corinthians 14:3-4, “But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation…the one who prophesies builds up the church.” In exercising this gift it is standing before others and speaking what God has given the one gifted the ability to speak based on what was read, studied and prayed about. It is mediating (already) revealed truth. (Note: it is what occurs each Sunday through Ben’s speaking to the body.) What should be true is that the spoken truth pierces the hearts of the hearers, such that they individually believe God was personally speaking to them. The spoken word addressed a personal struggle and helped the hearer understand how to apply God’s truth to that struggle.
How do we understand this gift? The Holy Spirit uses the prophetic, spoken word, from the divinely inspired Word to move believers in their Christian walk. The believer is to test the spoken word with the rest of Scripture, to obey it as if from the Lord, not from the speaker, and to uphold it as God speaking directly to him. Just remember that we take our authority from Scripture, not from the authority of the one speaking: only God’s word is authoritative, infallible!
As an aside, the spoken, prophetic word can be “foretelling” in that a person can communicate (to a culture or another person) what is going to happen, as already revealed in Scripture, if that culture/person continues in a way contrary to Scripture.
Now, moving from a words-based service/gift, Paul moves to a deeds-based gift, that being…
Taken from the Greek, “diakonia” from which we get “deacon”, this gift communicates the idea of “contributing or serving” as say a table waiter or attendant. It carries the idea of menial things, those things or tasks others may not consider important. For people with this gift, God has granted a divine grace that gives them a particular desire to help or to serve others. Typically, people with this gift are seen but not heard, they are people of action not just words. They see something that needs to be done and they go do it. They obtain joy in their serving.
While we are ALL called to serve, not all have the gift of service. For the one with this gift, they are the happiest when serving and they are not easily frustrated in the serving. We find them doing things no one else wants to do. They are image bearers of Christ in that Christ came to serve.
As a weakness, those with this gift can be timid, lacking confidence or courage and therefore, must lean into the gift, simply seizing without hesitation opportunities to serve as they are presented. The one who thinks in his mind that he should be serving should be serving. Additionally, those with this gift have a tendency to be distant, not valuing relationships as they should be valued: their priority is in the service. These individuals may also serve themselves as they seek to perform the tasks important to them rather than what is important for the body. They may also focus much of their service outside the local church, which is contrary to God’s design.
From the Greek word, “didasko”, it is a speaking gift, found in one with good communication skills, good at providing instruction and disseminating information. They are gifted in condensing and simplifying complex information to make it more easily understood. They have a desire to study and to read the Scriptures in a more in-depth way not simply for personal growth, which is followed by an excitement, a desire to share it with someone else.
In accordance with the great Commission (Matthew 28), we are all called to teach; however, not all have the gift of teaching. There has to be some element of teaching, from ongoing learning, for everyone so that each can clearly communicate the Gospel. The Elders of our church are apt to teach, as they like to see others learning and are capable of communicating what they have learned. All with this gift are excited to share what God has taught them.
The warning for the one with this gift is to refrain from comparing your teaching or the audience being taught with anyone else; there are varieties of teaching, each is equally important. Also, as taken from James, there is a warning to the one teaching to be careful about what is being taught. As we speak for God, we must be speaking about what God would have us say, what has been learned, and not speaking our opinions, for which God’s judgment will come.
In the teaching, the audience will be encouraged to step beyond their comfort zone, their growth will be fostered and their abilities developed. Development of this gift takes time but, they will have the ability to bring clarity to the audience in the teaching
As a weakness, the one with this gift wants everyone to teach and they might look down on others who are not teaching. The one with this gift must be very cautious in speaking the oracles of God and not of man, in ceasing to seek after (or love!) the affirmation of the audience being taught, in teaching for the audience and not for God, and in guarding against the fear of man, or of “messing up”. (Because we are not perfect, messing up will occur.) Weariness and impatience may also be issues to be addressed, as they may be frustrated with others who do not see the truth as they do. Also, teachers vividly see things as either black or white, right or wrong, and can thus be harsh in their teaching.
Taken from the Greek word, “parakaleo”, meaning “to urge”, or “to come alongside of and strongly encourage, pushing forward”. The person with this gift will be your strongest exhorter and your greatest encouragement. Their focus is on edification and their desire is to see spiritual growth in the lives of others. Their goal is to stir the body to action. Where they see a spiritual deficiency, they will close the gap, propelling people in their individual walks of faith, which then strengthens the body. They are able to hear the teaching and the preaching, understand the application and see how others should apply it to their lives. They see very clearly where people are floundering. They have great zeal, great excitement when they have identified an issue and are very enthusiastic about sharing with others the gap. They keep the church sensitive to spiritual growth.
In weakness, they naturally, but not intentionally, carry a tone of correction. Some people do not like being identified as having some sort of deficiency, or sometimes even being consoled, which may cause problems when the exhorter exercises his gift. The exhorter may have a tendency to look down on others who are not as excited about closing identified gaps. Also, the exhorter may lack discernment in approaching someone with an identified gap who may be in rebellion, discouraged, depressed, suffering and is not ready to hear the exhortation.
We must identify, love, need and embrace our exhorters.
Sincerely generous with everything they have, beginning with themselves. They have an overwhelming need to ensure other’s needs are met. They have a greater pleasure to give than to receive. They are joyful when they see a need that is met and will often personally sacrifice to see those needs are met.
Just because you give does not mean you have the gift; you may have the means but, your heart is far from generosity.
People with this gift can inspire a congregation to faith and to trust in the Lord’s provision, as the church watches them meet need after need. They are able to connect people with needs with other people who can meet those needs. The gift of hospitality flows from the gift of giving because they see that everything they have belongs to the Lord. They have a right understanding of what is important. They have a spirit of discernment to see the things God prefers, the things that would please God. They never see ministry as a waste of time or money. They are naturally selfless people with a great understanding of community and fellowship.
In weakness, they tend to look down on others who do not have a sharing spirit. They tend to feel the pain of others so if the need is not met, they suffer with them with a heavy heart. Giving “in generosity” (v8) means that there is no discrimination in the way you give so, the one who has this gift must guard himself from the tendency to give in a way in which he personally benefits or in a discriminatory manner. In their infancy, the one with this gift is going to be cautious in his giving, wanting to see a return on the investment.
With zeal or diligence, to set oneself in front of other people and direct. The person with this gift loves bringing order to a situation. They enjoy watching a vision come into play and are good at details, strategies, leading from the front. They make things happen and they will get them done in an expedient way.
Because of our sinful nature, there are those who just want to dominate others. Leading is not done with a domineering spirit to accomplish your own goals. Leading is undergirded by helping another person accomplish God’s goals. The one with this gift is great with wisdom, knows where the church is and where it needs to go. They are able to articulate God’s vision and to organize people and resources to make the vision a reality.
In weakness, they are irritated when they perceive disorder and are easily frustrated when others do not see the same vision. Unstructured time does not seem productive to them. They can create false measures of success such as giving units, bigger buildings, more people. In the flesh, they can take a whole group of people the wrong direction.
Kindness, leniency, and compassion that is motivated to see suffering relieved. The person with this gift does not like to see others hurting. It weighs heavy on his heart to see someone in such immense pain. This person sees the battered, wounded and mistreated sheep with the utmost clarity and to them they want to minister. Because of the weight carried by this person, the regulation from Scripture is to exercise this gift “with cheerfulness” (v8), with joy. Do it with the understanding that God is still working in all matters. The person with the true gift of mercy sees needs everywhere, not with only one focus or specific ministry.
The person with this gift keeps the fellowship sensitive to the reality of the needs within the body. They can help a church not be so self focused or goal oriented that the church misses ministering to people.
In weakness, because of the pain they see, they could compromise in order to see results. For example, they might be so focused on relieving someone’s burden they fail to see there was an element of evangelism that needed to be addressed in meeting that person’s need. The gospel must be worked into everything we do.
All of these gifts need to work together. God has given them to the body, with no gift more important than the other; no person more important than another. To each one has been given a measure. So, how do you identify the gift you have been given?
Just because you have been given a specific gift does not mean you solely focus on your gift; you need to be stretched into all the areas. Your family is a small church and He wants all of these elements operating there, having balance so that your family is balanced. Within the church body, we must embrace the diversity of the gifts for the purpose of obtaining God’s unity. We need to stop seeing other people as an opposition and instead we see them as a reflection of God’s varied grace.
As we recognize these gifts, God’s will shall be done. We need to seek, by prayer and faith, to identify and grow in these gifts. Let us thank our God for the reality of the truth of Scripture that helps us understand who we are. —-----------------
Selah
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