ROMANS 12:3-8
For
through the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly
of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound judgment as
God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in
one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we who are many,
are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Since we have gifts
that differ according to the grace given to us, each is to exercise them accordingly.
If prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving;
or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who
gives with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness
(NASB).
INTRODUCTION
After
World War II, a group of German students volunteered to rebuild a cathedral
that had been severely damaged by German bombs. As work progressed, they became
concerned about a large statue of Jesus with outstretched arms, beneath which
was the inscription: Come unto Me. They had great difficulty trying to
restore the hands, which had been completely destroyed. After much discussion
they decided to let the hand remain missing and change the inscription instead.
When they were finished, it read: Christ has no hands but ours. Yes,
Christ has no hands. Christians are the hands of Christ that is why He has
given us spiritual gifts to serve Him and to bring others to Him. I would like
to continue our series on “The Gifts of the Holy Spirit.”
I. AN APPEAL
FOR HUMILITY V. 3
The
Apostle Paul underlines the significance of what he is about to teach by
reminding the Roman believers of his authority. In verse 3, the grace given to
Paul is his calling as an apostle of Jesus Christ. This was a special
manifestation of God’s grace to him. That is why Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians
3:10, concerning the way we utilize our spiritual gifts. According to the
grace of God which was given to me, like a wise builder I laid a foundation,
and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.
Read also Galatians 2:9; Eph. 3:7-8.
We
should avoid two thought patterns as Christians. You and I need to guard
against two extreme mindsets. The first is to think too highly of yourself.
Have you read the Book of Esther? That was the problem of Haman. He thought
that if there was any person in the kingdom
of Persia
II.
ANALOGY
OF THE BODY VV. 4-5
Apostle Paul likens the spiritual gifts to the parts
that make up the human body. The brain is the controlling center of the human
body. The brain gives direction to the parts of the body for their functions.
As the human body works together harmoniously, Jesus the Head and Giver of the
spiritual gifts wants the church to function in a similar way. As I always say,
God is wise to make every person different and unique. I cannot be you and you
cannot be me. Diversity of our human personality is a special gift and design
from God. The human body is a unit with different parts that performs different
functions. While the parts of the body are diverse, they function in unity. In
the human body the arm cannot decide it doesn’t want anything to do with the
legs. Could you imagine the feet saying to the eye, “I have nothing to do with you?”
When a part of the human body suffers, it affects the other parts of the body.
In
the same way, when you decide not to use your spiritual gift to serve Christ in
the church, you deprive the church from serving Christ with full potential. God
gives us spiritual gifts so that we can be used to build His church. To use
them effectively, you must realize that all spiritual gifts and abilities come
from God. You must understand that not everyone has the same gifts. When
someone asks you why you don’t have a certain gift, take that person to Romans
12:4 and Ephesians 4:11. Know who you are and what the Lord has gifted you to
do. Then dedicate your gift to God’s service and not personal success. When you
dedicate your spiritual gifts to the service of God, He will bless you. Also
remember that the gift came to you from God. Therefore, you must be willing to
utilize your gifts wholeheartedly, not holding back anything from God’s
service.
III.
UTILIZATION
OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS VV. 6-8
God does not
hold you accountable to a spiritual gift he did not give you. However, God
holds you responsible for the spiritual gifts He has given to you. First, you
have to know your spiritual gifts before you can use them. The word gifts
are charismata and they differ in nature, power, and effectiveness
according to His wisdom and graciousness, not according to your faith. The word
of God does not just talk about these spiritual gifts; it also encourages us to
be active in using them for the edification of the church. You cannot pump up
more faith and thus be more effective teachers or servants. These are God’s
gift to His church, and he gives faith and power as He wills. Your role is to
be faithful as you use the spiritual gifts God has given to you. The spiritual
gifts are not given just to be admired, neither are they given to be hoarded.
The reason Jesus gave you spiritual gifts is to use them to serve Him in His
church. This does not mean that you are to use your spiritual gifts exclusively
among Christians. You are to use your spiritual gifts wherever God places you.
Now let’s see the specific gifts that are mentioned in verses 6-8. The word of
God begins with prophecy. Last week we dealt with prophecy. Prophecy in
Scripture is not always predicting the future. Often it means boldly preaching
the word of God (1 Cor. 14:1-3). Prophecy denotes an insight to present
circumstances. One thing about prophecy or any of the speaking gifts is that it
can be dangerous if it is uncontrolled. Therefore, Paul urges that prophecy be
according to analogia of faith. Analogia is the word from which we get
the English analogy. The word in our present context denotes a right proportion
or relationship. Therefore, prophesying must be in right proportion to faith.
In other words, the one who has the gift of prophecy should not say anything
beyond what God has given him/her. Moreover, what the prophet says must be
consistent with Scripture.
Those
who exercise the gift of prophecy need to be careful that you don’t interject
your own opinions in your prophecy. When you are giving a prophecy through the
word of God, and someone you know or a friend has told you about enter the
room, don’t throw away what God wants His church to hear and begin to prophesy
about that person. When you do that you are acting in the flesh and your
prophecy is not out of faith. Remember that Romans 14:23 , says that anything that is not done in
faith is sin.
The
next is the gift of service or ministry or helps. The word
is diakonian from which we get the word deacon. The word
indicates a personal ministry done in service to another. All Christians are
called to serve Christ and one another (Mark 10:43 -45; Romans 15:25 ;
Ephesians 4:12 ). But there
are some that God has endowed with the spiritual gift of service or ministry.
Christians who have this gift are willing to serve cheerfully, joyfully, and
unselfishly wherever and whenever God needs them. It is beautiful to see people
who have the gift of service or helps using their gift to serve Christ in and
outside His church. These people work behind the scenes. They often take the unspectacular
and undesirable jobs around the church. The church runs smoothly because of
these people. Timothy had a gift of service. He was willing to serve as an
assistant to Paul. Martha the sister of Mary had this gift. I know some men and
women who have this gift in our church. Christians with the gift of service do
not complain when others don’t help them in what they are doing. Our church
must elect leaders according to their gift mix to avoid too much complaint.
Last
Sunday I dealt with the gift of teaching. Preaching is the Spirit-enabling a
person to proclaim the word of God. Teaching is the Spirit-given ability to
explain God’s word to help Christians cultivate the character of Christ. There
is certainly an element of teaching in every good preaching. Most effective
teachers also do a little preaching along the way. A gifted teacher has a
teachable spirit. He does not teach to win arguments or draw attention to self.
A gifted teacher teaches to help others grow in the Lord. Good teachers are
avid readers. Some people think that anybody can teach a Sunday school. That is
a big lie. There is a definite spiritual gift of teaching. Thank God for
wonderful, Spirit-filled teachers. The church needs many of them to grow the
people of God spiritually. They are a blessing to the people of God. Some have
the gift of teaching but they refuse to utilize it. The Lord will ask them when
He returns. Gifted teachers prepare thoroughly before they teach. That makes
teaching more lively and productive to Christians.
There
is the gift of Exhortation or Encouragement. This is the word parakalon,
from which we get Paraclete. This is the word used of the Holy Spirit in John
14:16. It means to come alongside to help. Exhortation is the Spirit-endowed
ability of speaking a word that lifts another person’s heart. It is speaking
the word of healing. People are helped because of the gift of encouragement.
When you encourage or exhort a person who is down, you are acting just like the
Holy Spirit. Barnabas had the gift of encouragement (Acts 4:36 ). Don’t you love those who speak positive
and encouraging words?
Then
there is the gift of giving or generosity. This does not mean
that if you don’t have this gift you don’t give your money to the Lord’s work.
Every believer is to pay tithes and offerings to the Lord. The tithe is
one-tenth of your income. Some Christians fail to pay their tithes and they
turn around and ask why God has not been blessing them. It is plain and simple; God is not blessing you because you are stealing from Him. The spiritual gift
of giving helps define the idea of stewardship. People who have this gift are
to exercise it with simplicity or liberality. The only place in the Bible where
God tells Christians to be liberal is in the area of giving. The word simplicity
or liberality literally means to give without folds. This
refers to unfolded cloth. It means to give purely without any ulterior motives.
You are to give with openness of heart, without self-seeking and without expecting
anything in return. Some people want to give to court the favor of the pastor.
When you do that God knows your motive. God has gifted some people to make
money so that they can give generously to help His work. That is one thing I
admire about some American Christians. My caution is this. Christians who have
the gift of giving should exercise discretion in their giving so that others
won't take advantage of them. They are vulnerable to people who are human
parasites. Christians with the gift of giving or generosity need the spirit of
discernment to know who needs to be helped and who doesn’t.
The
next is the gift of leadership or administration. This is the
gift of leading. The word literally means to steer a ship. It refers to
someone who guides a ship through treacherous waters. This person is skilled to
avoid the rocks and shoals of the seas. Some people are gifted to help
administer the church and keep it from getting into dangerous waters. This is
the Spirit-given ability to lead the church (1 Tim. 5:17 ; 1 Thess. 5:12 ). Obviously, some people rise to the top in
leadership because God has gifted them to be leaders. Unfortunately, there are
some who desire to be church leaders out of impure motives. Their leadership is
not a spiritual gift but a carnal desire. They want to be church bosses so that
they can control the church. They are like Diotrephes (3 John v. 9).
Finally,
there is the gift of mercy or caring. The Bible exhorts believers
to be merciful, but God bestows the gift of mercy on some of His people. Those
with the gift of mercy are to do it cheerfully. The word cheerfulness means
gladness or graciousness. This is the Spirit-given ability to
love and care for hurting people. It means to show practical, cheerful,
compassionate love to those who are suffering. We need many Christians with the
gift of mercy because there are more hurting people in the world today. God’s
sunlight shines on believers who have the gift of mercy or caring.
A
story is told of a boy who came home from school one day and said, “Sally came
to school today after missing yesterday. She told us her mother had died. Mom,
Sally cried and cried and cried.” The mother said, “Son what did you do?” The
boy replied, “Mom, I just sat down at my desk and cried with her.” All
Christians should show this kind of mercy. To be merciful and caring for others
is a God-like attribute. The Bible says, “God is merciful to the afflicted.”
Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt.
5:7). The person whose gift of mercy stands out in our contemporary world is
Mother Theresa. She died a couple of years ago in Calcutta , India
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