Romans 12 Part 2

Romans  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  1:02:07
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Romans 12:3–8 ESV
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Last week, we looked at the submission of ourselves to God - to present our lives as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This next section of scripture speaks to the heart of the individual as a whole. How does God want us, as individual Christians, to come together as a body of Christ (as a unified, corporate body of believers).
Why is individual and corporate spiritual growth important?
In answering this question, Paul points out two points. One is to remember we have been set apart as peculiar people. As believers, we are different, we are to be set apart, and as chosen people we should think of ourselves as individual and corporate heralders of the message of Christ. As Paul goes forward with this thought, he says we should not think of ourselves in the manner of being better that we really are. In reality, we are only forgiven sinners, still in a sinful body, still with sinful tendencies, and still in a sinful world. Furthermore, each individual believer HAS been given gifts. These gifts are to be used in the glorifying and lifting up of our Savior and to see others come to a saving knowledge of Christ as their personal Savior.
Romans 12:3–5 ESV
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
What does it mean to not think more highly of ourselves that we ought to think?
We must never forget our calling. We are chosen, we are saved, and we are to evangelize. But, we cannot let ourselves be fooled into thinking we are better than others. Paul has warned us through examples of the Jewish and Gentile believers that we cannot let our salvation go to our head and get us to thinking we are of higher importance than others. We can’t be INWARDLY focused (although we should always strive to grow in our study, our faith, our relationship with God and each other, our knowledge, and our call to evangelize), and forget or neglect the OUTWARD focus of our calling to tell others of Jesus.
When we become too inwardly focused, we can allow ourselves to become prideful, conceited, and arrogant “thinking of ourselves too highly”. What causes us to be “puffed up” with pride? We focus on self:
• importance
• looks
• popularity
• position
• ability
• performance
• wealth
• possessions
• opinions
• education
• goodness
• title
Instead, we should focus on humility. A humility that should mirror the life of Christ.
How does Paul say we should evaluate ourselves?
Soberly. The original word means to be balanced, sane, and in one’s right mind. We should evaluate ourselves, our faith, and our gifts, but do so with good judgment. So, what word do we use to describe the opposite of sane? Insane??? By thinking more highly of ourselves than we should is an insane thought, but Paul’s reckoning.
We must never forget the song “Jesus Loves the Little Children”.
Jesus loves the little children All the children of the world Red, brown, yellow Black and white They are precious in His sight Jesus loves the little children Of the world
Jesus died for all the children All the children of the world Red, brown, yellow Black and white They are precious in His sight Jesus died for all the children Of the world.
Jesus rose for all the children All the children of the world Red, brown, yellow Black and white They are precious in His sight Jesus rose for all the children Of the world
We are all children of God, every person is important to God, and is significant to God’s kingdom, regardless of who they are, what their background is, or what their past holds. We must never forget all we have and are has come from God. It is God who has given “each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned”. This faith is a working faith including the gifts and abilities God has given each of us, and the faith He gives as confidence and drive to use those gifts to serve Him. While we judge success off our education, our position, our authority, our abilities, these focus on self importance. We should be looking more at how we contribute to our life based on God’s given abilities and drive.
The POSB makes this comment “Another way to say the same thing is this: the measure of faith (v. 3) and the proportion of faith (v. 6) mean the spiritual gift and power which God gives to each believer for his special task on earth. Very simply, everything a person is and has comes from God. Nothing comes from man himself. Therefore, no person has reason to think too highly of himself.”
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. Romans. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996. Print. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.
James 1:17 ESV
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Who has God given gifts to?
Paul says “each” person - so everyone has been assigned gifts by God. No one person has all gifts, no one person has a monopoly on any particular gift or ability, but every single believer has been given gifts by God. As a result, we can not think too highly of ourselves, as each of us serve a particular purpose in the ministry of God.
Notice the impact Paul places in verse 4: “For as in one body we have many members”. We all make up one body of believers in Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12 ESV
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
Believers can be compared to the parts of a human body. Our body consists of multiple parts, each with individual purpose and function. This is the same with the body of believers. We each have an individual purpose and function in our service to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 12:14–25 ESV
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 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.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
An overly self-conceited view of importance can lead to division among the body, and that is simply not acceptable.
Romans 12:6–8 ESV
6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
What is the intended purpose of having different gifts among believers in the body?
By definition, a gift is a special ability given to the believer by God (not to be confused with a natural talent) given to us for spiritual purposes so that we can fulfill the task God intends for us on earth. When do we have these gifts revealed? After we come to know the grace of God. As stated before, and seen in 1 Corinthians 12, we all do not have the same gifts. We are given specific gifts because we have specific tasks that are assigned by God. It gives us a God given purpose, meaning, and significance in life.
What gifts do Paul list?
Prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, generous contribution, and leadership. Notice that each of these has a component that corresponds with each gift, going into deeper detail.
Prophecy - in this specific word, it is defined as given to someone who has “the ability to deliver representative declarations of the mind, will, or knowledge of God”. So this is set aside for the “one who proclaims”, the pastor or teacher who proclaims and explains the will of God. In the Old Testament, a prophet was one who mostly contributed to the explaining of future events. However, when Christ was born, prophecy was fulfilled so in the New Testament, the gift changes to more of a proclamation of what has taken place and revealed by Christ concerning future events.
Today, we see examples of so called “prophets” who have abused their self-proclaiming ability to predict the future. We can look back at Y2K and the predicted end of the world. There was speculation of world-wide catastrophes brought on by computer crashes causing world-wide chaos. We found out this prediction was wrong. We have seen multitudes of people who have predicted and proclaimed the end of the world. Each have failed to this point. With this being said, any person who predicts or proclaims something that is contrary to scripture is a false prophet.
Matthew 24:36 ESV
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
The gift of service - is often used to describe a servant or person who ministers to the practical needs of others. The word used here is diakonia, of which the root is diakonos - where the word deacon derives.
Acts 6:1–6 ESV
1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
The act of serving ministers to people in need, and is truly a special gift of ministry.
The gift of teaching - explaining and grounding people in the truth of the Gospel. Not only does the Word of God need to be proclaimed, but it must also be explained by a teacher on a consistent basis. I would even go as far as to say that a teacher is as vital as the pastor.
The gift of exhortation - supporting and encouraging a response or action to the Word of God. This special gift helps point people to Christ and stir them to make a decision to follow Christ, grow in Him, and fulfill their calling in the Lord.
The gift of contribution (giving) - This is specifically targeted to the giving of our earthly possessions - money, clothing, food. Notice it also expounds on this thought as the gift is to be given in generosity. Our gifts are to be given with sincerity, with humbleness (not for recognition), and generously.
Matthew 6:3 ESV
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Some people have been more blessed by God, and have the unique ability to help others in an effort to spread the Gospel.
This can lead us into the discussion of tithes and offerings. I know there are questions of whether the 10% of the O.T. has also been rescinded in the fulfillment of prophecy with Christs birth. I would suggest we are called to do even more. It also brings to discussion the thought of “private” giving or gifting and circumvention of the church. I will simply let scripture speak to our hearts on this subject.
Acts 4:34–5:11 ESV
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. 7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
The gift of leading - speaks to the ability in leadership, authority, administration, and government. With this also comes the further guidance to lead with zeal, or diligence. This should be seen as one who leads with determination through hard work. Laziness, complacency, and irresponsibility are not seen as positive traits in the church.
And finally, the gift of mercy - willingness to forgive or show compassion and kindness towards others. Again, we are given additional guidance to do so with cheerfulness. We are not to forgive someone grudgingly, we shouldn’t withhold forgiveness of others, we aren’t to allow ourselves to be annoyed when helping others, or criticize or belittle those who truly need help. The purpose of mercy us to lift up the person who finds themselves in need.
In looking at these spiritual gifts, it all points to one specific purpose. To glorify, edify, and honor to our service to Christ, the purpose of the church, and the work of the Kingdom of God - all while being done with a cheerful heart and humbleness.
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