The Lethal Lie to the Laity
Lethal Lie to the Laity
Romans 12:3-8
Today I am going to do the fourth sermon on the purposes of Faith Community Church. Today we are going to look at ministry, but I am going to look at it from a different direction. When we speak of ministry we usually are referring to doing ministry, but today I am looking at the value of the person as a minister. There has been a (title…)
In 1993 my oldest daughter, Jodi came to my office quite excited and said, “Dad I got into the cast of the musical, Hello Dolly.” I looked at her and I asked, “but did you get a lead roll?” I watched as the joy left her face and she turned and walked out angry and defeated, because I didn’t give what she had accomplished enough value.
That’s the soul-destroying question our world asks us in so many different ways: Yeah, but are you a lead? In the eyes of the world, we are of no intrinsic value. Our importance and value in the world is what we ‘bring to the table,’ what we are able to contribute. If we are unable to contribute or if we are not contributing, we are of little value. And so our culture tells our little boys that the more points they make or the more rebounds they grab the more valuable they are. Our culture tells our girls that their value is directly proportional to their proportions. As our children grow up we tell them that their value is based not simply on living up to their potential, but on scoring at least a 1150 on their SATs. We are not content to ask if our children have a heart for service, but whether they were the leaders of their service clubs at school and in church. When we grow up we are told that our value lies in how much we produce, the number of figures in our income, where we live, and what we drive. In so many ways that soul-destroying question is asked: “You might have made the cast, but are you a lead?”
The church has done the same thing. In the out of date church model that many of us grew up in, the church adopted industry’s organizational structure with certain officers and the pastor at the top of the pyramid in the truly important positions with everyone else down the ladder. Importance in that kind of church is dependent on how much money your committee controls or in whether you are able to call the shots or in how much time you spent with the pastor. And speaking of us pastor types, in that hierarchical model the office of ordained pastor is the most important position in the whole church.
Here’s the most important proof of what I am saying. Whenever there is a very effective lay person, someone will ask him or her if he or she ever considered “going into the ministry.” Did you catch that? See, in that old model of the church, true importance is a matter of doing ministry, and in that model the only one’s who do real ministry are the ordained pastors. The implication is that lay people do not do real ministry, and are not as valuable to the church. Am I telling the truth? Even in the church, our value lies in the position we hold. Even in the church, we ask those soul-destroying questions: “Hey, that’s great that you are teaching Bible Study, but are you an elder?” “Hey, that’s great that you are a prayer team member and are an exciting and life-changing teacher of God’s Word, but have you ever thought about going into “the ministry?” Let’s look at some truth about ministry:
1. God has Graced Us with New Life in Jesus Christ!
Let me tell you some incredible news: You are of infinite worth in God’s eyes. God loves you with an everlasting love that is not dependent on whether you are a lead player in the eyes of the world. Your value in God’s eyes does not vary in proportion to your position in the church. Our value is not even dependent on how good we are or upon how bad we have been. We are all of infinite value in God’s eyes. We are of such value that God gave his only Son Jesus Christ to be our Savior. His love for us comes before we do anything good or worthwhile at all and lasts far past our ability to make a contribution to our community or to the church. God has graced us with new life in Jesus Christ. Let me say that again: God has graced us with new life in Jesus Christ, and that means that our value in God’s Kingdom is set from the very beginning. Our value does not depend on our position or upon our power but upon the person of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, you need to see yourself in a new way! Paul urges us in Romans 12:2-3 “…Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you” (NLT). We need to see ourselves as God sees us and to measure our value the way God measures our value. We are all equal in God’s eyes. Our value has nothing to do with the role we play in the church. Our value is set for us by Jesus. Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think about yourself. One of my favorite scenes in The Prince of Egypt is when Moses discovers his worth by being encouraged to see himself through heaven’s eyes. [play film clip with the song ‘Heaven’s Eyes’] God has graced us with new life in Jesus Christ, and that means that our value in God’s Kingdom is set from the very beginning.
2. We have Been Grafted into Christ’s Body.
One of the extraordinary truths that we teach as Christians is this: Not only has God graced us with new life in Jesus thus setting our value in God’s kingdom forever, but when we accept that new life in Jesus, we are grafted into Christ’s body, the Church. The Church is Christ’s living body and when we accept new life in Jesus, we are grafted into his body. That means we are a part of a living organism, not just a part of a lifeless organization.
Most fruit trees today are grown from grafts. That is, branches of a high yielding variety of, for example, apple tree are grafted onto the rootstock of a particularly hardy variety of apple tree. They are grafted together, and the branches become a living part of an amazingly hardy tree that produces a higher yield of fruit. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God grafts us into his living body, the church, and we become part of a thriving, hardy, living organism that is designed to produce. We are all one body in Christ, said Paul. There are three implications to this truth:
First, the Apostle Paul said, being grafted into Christ’s body means that, Romans 12:4-5, “We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do” (5). The foot’s job is different than the hand’s, and the hand’s role is different than the ear, and the ear’s role is different than the eye, yet all are part of one body.” Each of us is a part of the body of Christ and each of us has a different work to do. Some are leaders, some are teachers, some do administrative work, some are good at serving.
The only way a church can be healthy, thriving, and spiritually growing is when each of us accept that we all have a different work to do for Christ. But let me make sure we all understand; these different roles do not imply any sort of ranking or importance. There is no hierarchy. The foot is not ranked higher than the ear, and the ear is not ranked as more important than the leg. Each part is of equal importance. In the same way, the pastor is no more important than the worship team member, and the worship team is not more important than the Bible Study teacher, and the Bible Study teacher is not more important than the set up teams.
Thomas Ehrich says that “we would all find more serenity in life if we could ... be done with comparisons and envy. God made us diverse, and, in God’s eyes at least, our diversity lacks hierarchy. [As in a symphony, each instrument] matters, but only if it’s played according to its calling and isn’t fighting another part for control. We in the church make better music when we treasure our diversity, rather than stifle it.”
Second, “And since we are all one body in Christ,” said Paul, “we belong to each other” (v.5). In Jesus Christ we are intimately connected, intimately related. Our bond is not based on convenience, but on Christ Jesus. When I was a member of Redding Fitness Center, I was a part of that organization because I paid dues. If I quit paying my dues, I was out. I belonged, but I did not belong to any other person. But when we accept Christ, we become a grafted into his living body. We belong to each other the way the apple belongs to the branch, and the branch belongs to the trunk and the trunk belongs to the root. We belong to each other the way brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers belong to one another. We belong to one another the way the hand belongs to the foot, and the foot belongs to the brain, and the brain belongs to the stomach. We belong to each other.
Third, being grafted into Christ’s body means that each of us is indispensable. Paul said that since we are all one body in Christ and belong to each other, “each of us needs all the others” (v.5). In 1 Corinthians 12:17-21, Paul reminds us of an obvious truth: “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
You are needed. I need you and you need me. We need each other. We are each indispensable parts of the body of Christ.
3. God has Gifted Each of us for Ministry
God has graced us with new life in Jesus Christ, and in that new life God has grafted us into Christ’s living body the church. God has also gifted us for ministry. How do we normally think about ministry? Who are the ministers? If you were talking about church to a neighbor, and that neighbor asked you who the minister is, what would you say? Most likely you would tell your neighbor that your minister is Dennis McGowan. If you answered in that way, you would be partly right, but mostly wrong.
I am a minister of Jesus Christ—but so are you! I went to seminary, but that is not what made me a minister. I am a minister because by God’s grace I have been saved by Jesus Christ and have now been grafted into his body. As a part of his body, I have a work or ministry to perform. That is what makes me a minister and it makes you a minister too. In Ephesians 4:12, Paul says that the role of leadership in the church is to “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. …” All of us together are the saints, and we all have the work of ministry.
A. Paul teaches that “God has given each of us an ability to do certain things well” (6). The ability that God gives us to do certain things well is called a spiritual gift. Look, each of us is born with certain talents that have to be developed. But talents are not the same as spiritual gifts. Dan Reiland writes, A spiritual gift is a “distinctive ability, given by the Holy Spirit to every Christian, according to God’s grace and design, for the purpose of building up the body of Christ”. Look at what Paul says: Each of us has a God given ability. God has entrusted you with a special ability, a spiritual gift, so that you can help make this church and the entire body of Christ more effective in our ministry. The church is here for a distinctive purpose: we are here to make disciples of all people, and God has given you a spiritual gift that will help the church to do just that. I cannot stress enough the importance of you discovering your spiritual gift so that you can help make the church as strong and healthy and productive as possible.
Pastor John McArtur says that “no congregation will be what it could be, what Jesus prayed that it should be, what the Holy Spirit gifted it and empowered it to be, until it understands [and employs] spiritual gifts.” In our 301 class I teach on Spiritual Gifts. There is not way that I can teach you what you need to know about spiritual gifts during a single sermon. I encourage you to take this class and learn more about what spiritual gifts are, and then discover what you particular spiritual gift is.
B. God calls us to use our gift and live up to our potential in Christ! All morning I’ve been saying that we each have a ministry, and that one role is no more important than another. Listen carefully: what we do in the church should be determined by the gift for ministry God has given us, not by how important we think that job is. And no matter what the gift we have been given, we need to use it to its fullest. “So, says Paul, “if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. 7 If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.