3 Dangers Surrounding Spiritual Gifts

Introduction

This month is our mission’s month.

Our theme throughout the entire month is “Missions Means ME!”

It will also be our theme for this next year. The only change will be this “Missions Means ME in 2023!” Last year, during our Mission’s Emphasis Month, our theme was “Souls To Rescue,” and we used it as our theme for this year’s “Souls To Rescue in 2022.”

One of the great things about this month is our focus on missions helps to remind us of our duty to Christ and the Great Commission. If you are not familiar with the Great Commission, it is found in several verses. For the sake of time, I will only give two. The first is this.

Matthew 28:19–20 KJV 1900

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Note that Christ gave His disciples (which includes us today) the responsibility of going and teaching all nations, aka everyone we meet. He spelled out three particular objectives as we go and witness for Him. We are to teach all nations. In other words, we are to share the gospel’s good news with everyone. As we share and people respond in faith, we are to baptize them.

Last but not least, we are to disciple (teach) them to be obedient followers of Christ (observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you). Christ then promised that He would go with us. Even though He is not physically here, believers receive His Spirit when they believe the gospel message. In that way, He is with us.

Let me give you the second verse containing the Great Commission. It is Acts 1:8. This verse is important because it is the last word spoken by Christ before He ascended into Heaven.

Acts 1:8 KJV 1900

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Again, please note that Christ told His disciples (which includes us today) that they were to be witnesses for Him. What is unique about this verse is Christ gave specific places to which we are to go. We are to go to Jerusalem (our hometown), Judea (neighboring areas), Samaria (neighboring nations), and, finally, every single part of the earth, even the uttermost parts.

Thus, we can see Christ’s Great Commission to us as believers and corporately as a local church is quite specific.

We must preach the gospel, baptize converts, and disciple them to follow Him.

We are to do this right here in Bedford. Then, we are to spread out to places across our state, into the neighboring states and nations, and, finally, into the entire world. It is pretty clear what God expects of us.

Now, here is the great thing about God.

He not only tells us what to do but also equips us with everything we need to do it.

For example, when we accept Him as our Savior, He gives us His Spirit that indwells us. That is part of what we read in Acts 1:8 and all that we learned in the message two weeks ago. However, let me share a few verses that confirm what I am saying.

John 14:17 KJV 1900

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV 1900

16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1 Corinthians 6:19 KJV 1900

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

As believers, we have the ultimate source of power within the entire universe available to us. It is the power of God through His Spirit. God equips us with His own Spirit, but that is not all, for He has also provided us His preserved Word in the English language. God’s Word, the Bible, is readily available for all to read and study. This morning, many of you own at least one or more copies of God’s Word. You can pick it up and read it for yourself. Additionally, God has provided all of us with local churches such as ours by which we can work with others. And, then, to top it all off, God gives each believer a spiritual gift to be used in service for Him.

Spiritual gifts are a topic many often do not talk about today. If they do, they do so with little or no understanding of their true purpose.For this reason, God gave us 1 Corinthians 12-14. Two weeks ago, we began our journey into these chapters. I started that journey by laying some essential groundwork about the Holy Spirit, His arrival, and how He has equipped us with spiritual gifts. At the end of that message, I noted that the Holy Spirit uses 1 Corinthians 12-14 to give us much detail about spiritual gifts and their use. That is where we are going to pick up.

However, before we dive into 1 Corinthians 12, I want to share this one thought that ties in with our Missions Emphasis Month. Stewardship is a big part of missions. Christ commissioned us to take the gospel to the entire world and instructed us to be good stewards of all He has given us. We are to use this life wisely, and the time we have remaining as His servants.

Colossians 4:5–6 KJV 1900

5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

He also instructed us to be good stewards of our money. We are to use it to further the gospel, not for personal gain.

Matthew 6:19–21 KJV 1900

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:24 KJV 1900

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Matthew 6:33 KJV 1900

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

There are two things every believer should be doing when it comes to money. First, you should be tithing. Tithing is a simple act of obedience.

To do anything short of giving 10% of all you earn is disobedience. God put it this way in Malachi.

Malachi 3:8–10 KJV 1900

8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be meat in mine house, And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, If I will not open you the windows of heaven, And pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

A good steward is one who faithfully pays tithes to God. I said there were two things concerning money we must be doing. The first is the tithe.

The second is sacrificial giving. Sacrificial giving is when we give above and beyond our tithe so the gospel might be given worldwide.

We find this instruction given to us in 2 Corinthians 9:6-10

2 Corinthians 9:6–10 KJV 1900

6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. 10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

Tithing is duty. Sacrificial giving comes from a heart of love and grace towards others. When we give sacrificially, we demonstrate the same heart of grace that God does to us daily.

I will encourage you to give to our Mission’s Program this month. In your bulletins, you have a “Faith Promise Giving” card. Why the name? Sacrificial giving is often an act of faith. Tithing is duty. Sacrificial giving says, “Lord, I have paid my tithe, but I want to do more. So, by faith, I am committing to giving, trusting that you will provide for my needs as I do so.” It is also a promise. You promise before God that you will faithfully and sacrificially give so the gospel may be preached in places you and I cannot go. It is a promise shared with others in our church who make the same commitment. And, finally, it is giving financially. Thus, we have the name “Faith Promise Giving.”

Here at our church, we have two different budgets.

We have our General Budget through which we operate. That budget is governed by the tithes that each believer should be obediently and faithfully giving.

The General Budget pays staff salaries, maintains our buildings, keeps the lights on, and helps with the cost of ministries like local evangelism efforts, discipleship programs, and the many other service areas within our church.

The other budget is our Mission’s Budget. All the money given to that budget comes from your Faith Promise Giving commitment. The money from that budget goes to various missionary families we support.

Those families, such as the Germano family in the Dominican Republic and the Helton family in Spain, have surrendered their lives to live in those countries, learn the cultures and language so they might win people to Christ, and start local churches in their perspective countries. We give so they might stay doing what we cannot do in countries we cannot live. Yet, by giving, we have a part in every soul saved, baptized, and discipled (the Great Commission abroad). I know that for some of you, this is new. That is okay. Just understand that by making a financial commitment to our Mission Program, you are helping these missionary families do God’s work on our behalf. It is a tremendous spiritual investment that lays up treasure in Heaven, not here on earth.

Now, let’s consider our text this morning and dive into the topic of spiritual gifts.

Take your Bibles and turn to 1 Corinthians 12. Our text this morning is 1 Corinthians 12:1-3

1 Corinthians 12:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

As we can see, the Holy Spirit turns our attention to spiritual gifts. He does indeed use the term “spiritual gifts” in verse 1.

What is a Spiritual Gift?

A quick word study reveals the following. The word “spiritual” is anything related to or given by the Holy Spirit. He is a Spirit, and thus anything related to Him is spiritual. Yeah, I know that was really deep. But, hey, I am a deep, kinda guy. A “gift” is just what you think it is. It is freely given or, as in this case, endowed upon someone.

The Holy Spirit at salvation gives or provides each believer with a special gift.

Now, for a second, let me give you this thought.

Spiritual gifts are not natural gifts.

In other words, when we are born, we are not born already spiritually gifted. Spiritual gifts are not something we develop over time from birth. Some people are mathematically gifted. I am not one of those. However, a mathematically minded person is someone who, over time, developed a love for math and learned on their own the importance of numbers. A mathematically gifted person has a NATURAL gift. Natural gifts are different than spiritual gifts. Yes, natural gifts should be used for the Lord, and it would be a waste not to use them for Him. My point is this. Spiritual gifts are only given to believers at the time of salvation and are provided by the Holy Spirit. Several passages speak to this thought.

Matthew 25:25 KJV 1900

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

Romans 12:6–8 KJV 1900

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Ephesians 4:7 KJV 1900

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11 KJV 1900

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Pay attention to the spiritual gifts mentioned. There is the gift of prophecy, ministry, exhortation, and ruling. The passage in Ephesians said apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. All of these are characterized as spiritual. It is not natural for a person to desire the office of a pastor. It is a desire and a gift that comes only through the spiritual endowment of God’s Spirit.

Now, look again at verse 1 and note something further.

1 Corinthians 12:1 KJV 1900

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

The Holy Spirit says, “I would not have you ignorant.” In other words, there are some things that you need to know. Unfortunately, too many believers do not take the time to learn what the Holy Spirit wants them to know about their spiritual gifts. We often ignore or refuse to learn what He teaches for several reasons. One of the main reasons is this. If we know what we are required to do and don’t do it, we feel guilty. So, in our minds, we convince ourselves that if we just ignore it, we don’t have to deal with it. So, we do our best to ignore what God says until the pastor stands and preaches on it. So, here I am preaching and teaching what God wants you to know about your spiritual gift.

There are three ways believers are often ignorant about spiritual gifts.

The believer often does not know that the Holy Spirit has endowed them with a spiritual gift because they fail to read and study His Word.

A believer may know that the Holy Spirit gifts His people but may not know what specific gifts the Holy Spirit gave them.

Many believers know the Holy Spirit gives gifts and may even know his/her specific gift but may not know how to properly use their gift(s).

Here is a question for you to consider. It is a rhetorical question. What is the solution to ignorance? The answer is knowledge. When you know about something, you are no longer ignorant about it. Here is another rhetorical question. For the believer, what is the source of spiritual knowledge? The answer is simple. It is the Word of God, the Bible. If God requires us not to be ignorant concerning spiritual gifts, He expects us to study His world so that we are not uninformed. If you, as a believer, claim ignorance, you are admitting that you do not effectively study God’s Word as you should. Therein lies the problem.

The solution is to stop claiming ignorance and start studying God’s Word. By the way, when we get to Heaven and stand before Christ, our claim of ignorance will hold no weight with Him. He will simply say to you and I, “Did I not give you my Word in plain English, and did not I give my Spirit to guide you?” What can we say then in our defense? We can say nothing. Ultimately, we must admit our own laziness and, ultimately, our selfishness before Him.

There is no doubt that God’s Word teaches us everything we need to know about living for the Lord. The subject of spiritual gifts is no different. Through His word and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we can learn about spiritual gifts, what they are, and how they can be used appropriately for Him.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV 1900

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 KJV 1900

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

1 Peter 2:2 KJV 1900

2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Now, there are several dangers associated with spiritual gifts. In our text, the Holy Spirit warns about three genuine risks. I will give you one now, and we will return to the other two next Sunday.

Here is the first real danger.

The Danger of False Worship

Look again at our text and note verse 2.

1 Corinthians 12:2 KJV 1900

2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

You may recall that many of the Corinthian believers were Gentiles. They were saved from the heathen religions of that day. Throughout our study of this remarkable book, we have often mentioned that the city of Corinth was a hotbed of worship to false gods. Here the Holy Spirit reminds them of their past.

Yes, they HAD BEEN Gentiles. Now, however, they were Christians, followers of Christ.

Yes, they HAD BEEN worshippers of “dumb idols.” The false gods of the Roman and Greek empires were genuinely dumb. They had no voice and could not communicate and relate to anyone. However, now, these believers served the only true and LIVING God who communicates with His people and indwells them through His Spirit.

Yes, they HAD BEEN “led” by the wiles and ways of this world. However, now, things are different. God’s Spirit leads them and us.

Here is the point. The world offers meaningless and worthless gifts. The world’s religions are full of dumb stuff like spiritual meditation, spiritual attunement with one’s inner self and nature, and even stupid prophecies concerning man’s evolution. Today’s world constantly pushes us to worship mother nature and be at peace with our inner selves. The world accepts the mumbo jumbo of Asian religions. Unfortunately, too many churches and so-called pastors attempt to merge the worship of false religions with the true worship of God. In doing so, they have led many believers into false worship. This danger is prevalent in the area of spiritual gifts. Let me give a couple of examples.

The gift of prophecy is a gift that has many worshipping a false religion. The gift of prophecy centers NOT on telling the future but is solely about preaching God’s Word. Yet, many claim they can tell the future or teach things outside of God’s Word. In doing so, they set themselves as an authority outside God’s Word. They often lead people to follow them instead of God. People readily do so and end up worshipping a false prophet.

The gift of tongues is another misunderstood and misused gift today. Men have twisted it into something that no person can understand. What we see in many churches as the gift of tongues is nothing but gibberish designed to lead people away from the teaching of God’s Word. Where does it lead them? It leads them to worship something false.

Conclusion

Let me conclude by pointing out the obvious. Any spiritual gift not supported by God’s Word and does not promote the furtherance of the gospel is not a spiritual gift, for it does not come from the Holy Spirit. A proper understanding of spiritual gifts only comes from God’s Word. We must be careful. We must learn what is right and true from God, His Word, and through the proper guidance of the Holy Spirit. We must especially be careful when it comes to spiritual gifts. Ignorance is not bliss concerning spiritual gifts. One of the great dangers is that it leads people into false worship. This is just the first warning of three coming from the Holy Spirit. Next week, we will pick up the remaining two dangers.

What have we learned today? Each believer has at least one spiritual gift. It is a gift given freely by the Holy Spirit at salvation. We must not ignore or be ignorant of our gift. Instead, we must learn what they are and which ones we have and use them in our service to the Lord. However, there are dangers. The first is this. Improper use or understanding of spiritual gifts can lead us into false worship. For this reason, it is imperative to have a proper understanding that comes only from diligent study of God’s Word.