Romans Chapter 12– John Karmelich
1.
We are now beginning “Part 3” of the Book of Romans. My title for this section is, “Now what?”
a)
When you study most of Paul’s letters, especially those addressed to
churches as opposed to individuals, Paul style is to spend chapters explaining
all the good things God has done for us.
The latter chapters will then explain what is our response back
to God.
b)
In other words, “God has done great things for you and me. Now what?”
i)
The “now what” is God’s desire of how we are to respond to His love to
us.
ii)
We are now starting the “now what” section of Romans.
2.
In this lesson, I’m going to spend an extraordinary amount of time on the
first two verses.
a)
These verses are the “methodology” of Christian living.
b)
It is as if Paul is going to say, “Here is how I want you to live
your lives (Verses 1-2). Then let me
give examples and illustrations for the remainder of Chapter 12.
3.
Before I start, I need to talk a little about “giving one’s all to God.”
a)
“The entrance fee to God’s kingdom is nothing, but the annual dues are
everything.” Henry Drummond
b)
As a Christian, one has to understand one’s personal behavior matters. Yes, we are saved as long as we are trusting
in Jesus, but that is not an excuse to sin as much as we want.
c)
The life of the Christian keys upon one word: “Gratitude”. God saved us
from an eternity in hell. God works in
our lives to mature us. God gives us
all sorts of power in order to overcome sin.
What does God expect in return?
Gratitude.
i)
God demands obedience out of gratitude.
It is the greatest motivator one can have in order to serve God. God can “stick a gun to our head” and ask us
to serve Him under duress. We would
then resent it. However, if we served
God out of gratitude for His love, we are then serving because we love Him.
d)
In many lessons, I spoke of the danger of trying to please God through
our own efforts without God’s intervention.
One is technically “worshipping themselves” as opposed to God if we
don’t give Him the credit or praying for Him to help us in the first place.
i)
The other danger is laziness. God
never calls us to say for example, “I’ll just lay here until God gives me a
sign to do something.” God can only
guide us if we are “moving”. God expects
us to live a life of gratitude in service for Him. The remainder of Romans gives examples of how this is to be
so. My point here is to avoid laziness
in our service to God.
ii)
Another danger is, “I can go do whatever I want as long as I’m trusting
in Jesus.” That is true, as we have the
freedom to do whatever we want. The
problem is the freedom God gives us also comes with responsibility. God saying in effect, “You want to turn your
life over to Me? Terrific; I have a
book full of instructions on how I want you to live. Start reading and obeying!”
God gave us these “do’s and don’ts” for our own happiness. Those laws and word-illustrations are “on
the books” for our benefit on how to live a happy and fulfilled life.
4.
One has to remember that giving one’s life to God is more than just
salvation; it also gives us a purpose for living.
a)
If there is a God, then the first question is, “What does God require of
us and expect of us?” That is where
God’s laws come into effect. Those
laws are God saying to all people: “You want to know what I want from you
folks? Here’s a set of laws and
instructions. Start obeying or you’ll
be toast“. ☺
b)
Since humans are incapable of being perfect, God in His love for us, then
provided a perfect-punishment on our behalf, so we can spend eternity with
Him. That is the Gospel message in one
sentence.
c)
If all we have to do is accept Jesus, what’s the point of living on earth
after that? Grant it, some accept Jesus
on their deathbed and are saved. For
most of us, there is still a long life to live. What do we do after we are saved? In other words, “now what”?
d)
The purpose of living gets back to the concept of gratitude. We live a life in gratitude to God. If we are grateful for God’s salvation, then
out of gratitude for God, we spend the rest of our lives serving Him. All we do, in whatever we do, is designed to
give glory to God. This applies to
work, school, home, waking hours, sleeping hours, household chores, and
recreation activities.
i)
Do you want practical examples?
Hang in there. Most of Chapter
12 all the way to the end of the book are examples of such.
5.
I also want to talk a little about some mistakes Christians make in
serving God.
a)
One mistake is “trying to do it all on one’s own power”. I have watched Christians practically work
themselves to death trying to help others to a point of mental and emotional
exhaustion. It never occurs to them that
God designed us for rest and sleep in order to have the power and energy to
serve others. Some people serve others
out of guilt or they believe they need to do more to please God. That is getting back to the danger of trying
to please God through one’s own efforts.
Yes, God wants us to give it everything we got, but one also has to
understand the concept of rest and recuperation in order to have the strength
to keep moving.
b)
Another danger is to not put up boundaries over those who use and abuse
us. There are people who take advantage
of one’s good nature. I’m not talking
about ignoring those in need. God may
have called you to minister to that person.
I’m talking about the kind of person who controls you through
manipulation and guilt. God never calls
us to serve out of guilt. Further, we
are not truly helping people who take advantage of our good nature.
c)
Another danger I’ve seen is people who “try and try and try, yet never
feel connected to God”. They go to
Christian seminars and pray constantly, yet they complain they never feel God’s
power working in them. A similar idea
is a person who knows the bible cover to cover, goes to church regularly, and
then complain how miserable is their lives.
i)
The solution is often found in Verses 1-2 of Romans 12, which we’ll get
to in a moment. (I promise! ☺) It has to do with not giving ones all to
God.” We’re impatiently waiting for God
to do something for us, as opposed to us living a life for God. We’re waiting for God to work instead of us
working for God to be His witnesses to others on our behalf.
ii)
As an example, when you and I are having a pity party for ourselves,
often the best solution is to go help someone else in need. Getting our minds off of our problems by
serving someone else gives us perspective and gratitude for all God has done
for us.
6.
Romans Chapter 12, Verse 1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's
mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to
God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
a)
I’m going to discuss
Verses 1 and 2 phrase by phrase, as these two verses are the “methodology”
needed in order to serving God effectively.
The remainder of Chapter 12 is illustrations and examples of such. If we can grasp the concepts of Verses 1 and
2, the rest is “downhill”. The pace
will pick up after that point.
b)
Notice the last phrase
of Verse 1: “-- This is your
spiritual act of worship”.
i)
Paul desires that we
worship God in gratitude for what God has done for us.
ii)
The word “this” refers
to the words that come before the dash (“--“) in the verse.
iii)
We think of “worshipping
God” as getting on our knees and expressing gratitude. The idea of ”worship” is far greater in
scope. Paul’s comment of “spiritual act
of worship” means we are to give are “all” to God and minister to others. Again, most of Chapter 12 gives examples and
illustrations of how to do this practically.
c)
Let’s start with “Therefore”.
When you see a “therefore”, ask yourself why it is there-for.
i)
In other words, the “therefore” connects to some previous thought.
ii)
The first and logical answer is that it ties to all of Romans so far.
iii)
The key point so far in Romans is “God keeps His unconditional promises:
a)
Chapters 1-8 are about God keeping His unconditional promises to
Christians. As long as we are trusting
in Jesus, we are saved. We can’t mess it
up because it is God’s faithfulness that is at stake, and not ours.
b)
Chapters 9-11 are about God keeping His unconditional promises to the
Jewish nation. They still have a future
destiny within the land of Israel, not due to their goodness, but because of
God’s unconditional promises.
iv)
If it’s all up to God and no longer up to us, what do we need to do? That is what the “therefore”, is there-for.
v)
You can also argue that the “therefore” ties to the last few verses of
Chapter 11.
a)
Remember in the original text, there are no chapter breaks.
b)
Paul ended the last few verses of Chapter 11 with a prayer of
praise. It praises God’s mercy toward
us and how God has blessed our lives.
The “therefore” can be seen as “What is our response to His mercy upon
us?”
d)
Next, let’s talk about “urge you brothers”:
i)
In the original Greek, the verb-tense a command like an army captain
giving a command his soldiers. At the
same time, it is a plea, like one who is equal.
ii)
Paul sees all Christians as equal to him in stature. He is pleading with us to “do as He
does”. Paul is implying his authority
as one sent from God. At the same time,
again, Paul is pleading “as an equal”.
e)
The next phrase is “in view of
God's mercy”.
i)
This gets back to the
introduction about service out of gratitude.
It is the idea that because God has been merciful to us, we need to live
a life of gratitude to God.
ii)
God’s “mercy” is the
fact that He has forgiven all of our sins, past, present and future
because He has provided payment for them, at “no cost to us.”
f)
Now we get into the
actual discussion of “How to worship God”.
Remember the main point of Verse 1 is Paul urging us to be obedient to
God. So far, we have only focused on
the “why” issue (i.e., out of gratitude).
Now we get into the “how” issue.
g)
The next phrase is
begins the “how” issue: “offer your
bodies as living sacrifices.”
i)
In the Old Testament, for one to have forgiveness of sins, one had to
offer an animal as a sacrifice for ones sins.
This had multiple purposes:
a)
Killing an innocent animal reminds us that innocent people suffer when we
sin. There are consequences to others
when we are disobedient to God.
b)
Remember that small animals were a form of money. They didn’t have currency and people had to
barter for services. Payment was often
in the form of animals. My point here
is that offering an animal actually cost that Jewish person “something” as a
sacrifice.
c)
Finally, an animal sacrifices were a reminder of death. Sin ultimately leads to death. By seeing death via killing an animal, it is
a visual reminder of what can ultimately happen if we continue in that sin.
d)
We as Christians no longer do animal sacrifices. Those sacrifices were ultimately fulfilled
in Jesus’ payment on the cross.
e)
We are “not done” with sacrifices.
That is what this verse is all about.
ii)
Getting back to Verse 1, it says to offer our bodies as “living
sacrifices”.
iii)
The key word is “living”. If you
think about it, this can be a contradiction in terms. We think of a biblical sacrifice as to kill something, yet Paul
uses the word “living” with sacrifice.
The term sacrifice means to give up something for someone else.
iv)
This is about giving one’s “all” to God. This is about putting our bodies up on a “mental” sacrificial
altar and saying, “OK, God, You are now the owner of my body. You are in charge. If You want me to die tomorrow, that is Your problem. If you want me to live another day, then my
desire is to live to do Your will.”
a)
The classic joke here is, “The problem with a living sacrifice is it
keeps squirming off the altar. “ A dead animal just lies there on the
sacrificial table. A live animal has a
desire to get off the table as the fire is hot.
v)
We as Christians constantly battle “our will versus God’s will”. In a sense, most of the remainder of Chapter
12 are examples and illustrations of how we can fully live for God and not for
our own desires.
vi)
It is also important to talk a little about human bodies:
a)
Many people mistakenly think of our bodies as what causes our sins. They think it is the bodily desires that
cause us to sin in the first place.
b)
All sin begins with a thought or desire.
The body then “acts” on that thought if it goes unchecked. For example, if we steal, is it the fault of
our hands for grabbing what is not ours? The point is our bodies are not bad;
it is just how our minds use them that are bad.
c)
Getting back to the text, if we give our “bodies” on the sacrificial
altar, that starts with our thoughts, and our bodies follow. It is our mind telling our body, “get up
there on that altar” and the body follows.
It starts with our desire to want to please God in all that we do, and
our actions must follow.
h)
The last phrase left in Verse 1 is “holy
and pleasing to God”.
i)
The word “holy” is the
idea of “separated for God”.
a)
For example, if you have a special dinner plate that is only used for one
person with no exceptions, that plate “separated” for that person. If that plate were only for God’s use, then
one can think of that plate as “holy”.
It is the idea of something completely dedicated only for God’s service.
ii)
The word “whole” is
similar to “holy” in that the whole thing is being used.
iii)
We as Christians are
designed to be “holy” in that all our lives are designed to be of use to
God. That not only includes the “God
stuff” time (i.e., church, prayer, etc.), but anything and everything we
do. It is best to think that our entire
lives are designed to be “witnesses” for God in all that we do.
iv)
The last phrase is
pretty self-explanatory: “pleasing to
God”.
a)
I have to admit, I’ve
never been happy with the currently popular Christian cliché, “What would Jesus
do?” I prefer the expression, “What
would Jesus want me to do?” God
does not call us to literally say, walk on water or be crucified. God calls us to live a life pleasing to Him
in all that we do. If you are not sure
whether or not something is a sin, ask yourself, “Is what I am doing pleasing
to God?”
b)
I can here some people
thinking, “Does this mean I can’t go shopping or go to say, a sports event or
to a movie? Of course you can. The secret is to take God with you! We can still enjoy recreational things. We must remember that we are witnesses for
God whenever and wherever we are.
c)
I find that if one has a
heart for God, one’s interest in other “things” will be limited. If we love God with all of our heart, soul,
mind and strength (Ref.: Matthew 22:37), then our desire is to spend our time
living for Him.
d)
I also try to put things
in balance. If I act so much “like a
non-Christian” so that no can tell even tell I’m a believer in Jesus, then I’ve
gone too far. I always liked the
question, “If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough
evidence to convict you?”
i)
Wow, we actually made it
to Verse 2. ☺
7.
Verse 2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able
to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
a)
I warned you the first
two verses are slow going, and then I pick up the pace.
b)
The first two versus
focus on “how” to please God. The
remainder of the chapter is illustrations and examples. The methodology is key, which is why I’m
spending so much time on these two verses.
c)
Let’s start with “Do not
conform any longer to the pattern of this world”
i)
This gets back to my
concept of “If I were on trial for being a Christian, is there enough evidence
to convict me”.
ii)
I am also reminded of
the classic joke, “Some of you are excellent secret agents for Jesus
Christ. You’re neighbors don’t suspect
in the least you are Christians.” ☺
(Water Martin)
iii)
So what does Paul mean by “the pattern of this world”? It refers to living for anything and
everything other than the true God.
a)
Everybody has some “god”. Find
out where people spend their free time and their spare income and you will find
their god.
b)
This gets back to idea I brought up in the introduction that if there was
no God, life ultimately has no purpose.
You can live to make lots of money, be famous, or even “do good”, but if
there is no ultimate purpose of an everlasting life for mankind, inevitably, it
is futile.
iv)
The “pattern of this world” is to “do whatever feels good”. It is about living for anything and
everything other than God himself.
a)
I need to add that life is meant to be enjoyed. A miserable Christian is a lousy witness for God. The secret is to let God work through us so
we can appreciate it all the more.
Anything life has to offer eventually leaves us short in
satisfaction. God designed us with a
need to worship Him. If we fulfill that
need with anything else, we ultimately will be unsatisfied.
b)
People who are in marketing understand this concept well. A commercial may start with, “Are you happy
with your old car?” Marketing people
understand that no “thing” ever fully satisfies and we always crave more.
v)
Again, to be a Christian is the opposite of living for things other than
for God. It is about living to please
God in all that we do. After we
comprehend that, we can put every other aspect of life in perspective. We can then enjoy “things” because
we’ve got the right perspective. We
understand things can only bring limited satisfaction and not ultimate
satisfactions.
vi)
If we are to be
witnesses for Jesus Christ, then are behavior must follow. It starts with the mind i.e., our thoughts,
and then are actions follow.
vii)
The problem is we fail a
lot. We see “things” we want and turn
away from God. Just how do we live a
live that is always pleasing to God?
That is what the rest of Verse 2 is all about.
d)
The key phrase is, “but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
i)
Let’s start with “be
transformed”. This means to be changed
from the inside-out.
a)
It is the same Greek
word that we get “metamorphosis”. For
example, it is like when a worm goes through a metamorphosis to become a
butterfly.
b)
The same word was once used of Jesus.
There was a time when Jesus was alone on a mountain with three disciples
and Jesus became “glowing white”. There
was a physical change from the inside out.
Jesus was “metamorphosized”. (Ref.:
Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:1-7; Luke 9:28-36).
ii)
So how do I be
transformed? Is there some button I
push to start the change? ☺
a)
The answer is the “by
renewing of your mind” part of that verse.
b)
By seeking God through prayer and a desire to please Him, we literally
change from the inside out. Do you want
proof? Ponder how much desire did you
have to pray and study God’s word prior to being born again?
c)
Being transformed is
about being “God-focused” instead of “me-focused”.
d)
This is about praying
regularly for God’s will to be done in our lives.
e)
It is as if God is
saying, “I’m just waiting to take over “x” aspect of your life at this
moment. Just tell me you want Me to
take it over, then I’ll step in.”
f)
This gets back to the
idea of being a “living sacrifice to God”.
God desires that He be in charge of every aspect of our life all the
time. Again, the classic joke is the
problem with being a “living sacrifice” is we crawl off the altar a lot. That it why the “renewing of one’s mind” is
a constant and consistent process of turning different aspects of one’s life
over to God.
g)
This is about
“control”. At any given moment, one
needs to consider, “am I letting God be in control of my life, or is it
me? Sometimes the simple test is to
ponder if what you or I are doing is pleasing to God at that moment.
iii)
How do I stay
focused? I can’t focus that long on any
one thing. Don’t panic. ☺
a)
This is not about
praying around the clock to the point of ignoring one’s life. It is about praying “regularly”. It is about sticking close to God as our
best friend. If we are to be dependant
upon God, then we have to “mean it” and do it regularly and often.
b)
Let me give some
practical advice. Start one’s day with
a few minutes in prayer. Pray for God’s
will to be done in our life. Spend some
time, be it 5 minutes or a half hour reading one’s bible every day. Did you have a bad day where it didn’t get
it done? Let it go, and start
again. During the day, when you “catch
yourself” doing something that is not pleasing to God, stop and think, “OK,
that’s not right. I confess that sin to
you. Lord, take over this aspect of my
life and help me to live all the better.”
c)
I am not arguing one
will be perfect by regularly “renewing one’s mind”, but it is a step in the
right direction. Remember our Christian
maturity is up to God, not up to us. All
God asks of us is to be “willing”. It’s
God’s job to fix us. All God asks of us
is availability.
e)
This leads to the second
sentence of Verse 2: Then you will be
able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect
will.
i)
In other words, our life
as Christian is a two step process:
a)
Step 1 is to regularly
pray for God’s will to be done in our life.
b)
Step 2 is to live our
lives for God and watch the results.
c)
The bible becomes our
“barometer” as to whether or not our life is pleasing to God. Our conscious becomes our “barometer” as
well.
d)
If for that moment, we
are violating any biblical principal, then we are not doing “God’s will.
f)
This is a good time to
briefly discuss “God’s will” for our life:
i)
First of all, God’s-will
for you can be different from His will for me.
God gives each of us special talents, passions and gifts. Just because the “Christian next door” is
called to special ministry, it does not mean God calls you to the same one.
ii)
I take the view that if
we pray regularly for God’s will to be done in our life, and we study God’s
word as a pattern for how to live our life, then we can “go do what we want”
assuming it is our desire to live a life pleasing to God.
iii)
God gives each of us
“desires” and talents that He intended for us to use for His glory. The joy of life is to be able to combine
one’s God’s given talent in a location or “area” of one’s life that one enjoys.
iv)
My main point is that
“God’s will” is not some verbal revelation that we are suppose to receive
moment by moment. Doing God’s will goes
back to the classic line by Augustine, “Love the Lord Your God with all of your
heart, soul, mind and strength, and then go do whatever you want”. If you love God with all of that “might”,
then one’s life will follow and “God’s will”, will be done. It’s not one’s ability that is important; it
is about making one’s life available to God.
v)
Our goal is to make an
impact for Jesus in our lives. A
question to ask is, “Are you a thermometer or a thermostat?” A thermometer “conforms” to the world around
them. A thermostat “controls” the world
around them. (Source: Jon Curson.)
g)
Hey look, there is a
Verse 3! ☺
8.
Verse 3: For by the grace given me I say to every one
of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think
of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God
has given you.
a)
Let me paraphrase Paul’s
thought: “God can’t use us if our big
fat ego gets in the way! Let’s get off
of our high horse thinking we’re someone special. Think of ourselves as pawns that can be used by God. Let’s humble ourselves so we can be
available to God!”
b)
It is important here to
describe “humility”. Humility is not
to think that we are some “low-life nothing”.
It is not about being masochistic about ourselves.
i)
Humility is about not
thinking about ourselves at all. It is
about looking at a situation and helping someone in need without thinking of
the consequences to one’s self. It is
about “getting ourselves out of the way” so God can use us.
ii)
The danger is we manage
to go, say five minutes without sinning and we think we’re pretty impressive. ☺ Thinking “humbly of one’s self” is to realize that we
still are sinners and without God’s help, we would fall apart.
c)
Much of the remainder of
Romans gives illustrations of how to live a life that is pleasing to God. It starts with a humble attitude. That is why Verse 3 is here. God can’t use us if our ego’s and personal
desires get in the way of God’s desire for our lives.
9.
Verse 4: Just as each of us has one body with many members, and
these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in
Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the
others.
a)
In Verses 4-5, Paul uses
the human body as an illustration of how to get God’s will done.
b)
One of the important things to grasp about living the Christian life is
that God never intends for us to be a solo act.
i)
If I had to describe the main purpose of living the Christian life, it
would be to “build up the body of Christ”.
(See Ephesians 4:11-12.) That
means we as Christians work as a “unit” to help mature each other, build-up
each other’s faith, bring in new members, encourage each other, comfort each
other when we are sick etc. It is all
about helping each other grow in our relationship with God.
ii)
With that said, the human body is a good illustration. Each part of the body is designed to work
with every other part of the body. Each
body part has a specific function. The
brain, or the liver, or the heart cannot live all by itself. Each part needs each other in order to
survive. The same applies to
Christians.
c)
By the way, this does not mean we ignore non-Christians. For starters, we never know who will be
eventually saved. If God’s love is
inside of us, it should be poured out to whoever happens to be in the
neighborhood. ☺ Our primary goal is to use our gifts to help other Christians, but it
never should be limited to that group.
10.
Verse 6: We have different gifts, according to the grace given
us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is
serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is
encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others,
let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it
is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
a)
Now that we understand that Christians are to work as a unit, it’s time
to focus on our responsibilities and duties.
Just as each body part has a function, so each Christian has a
function. Our job is to work together
as a collective unit to “build up the body of Christ”.
i)
What does “build up the body of Christ” mean? It is God’s intent is for Christians to work together to help
each other mature in our relationship with God.
b)
God gives us spiritual gifts to accomplish this goal. First of all, a spiritual gift is just
that: A gift. It is not something to brag about or take credit for. If it is a gift from God, then one gives the
credit to God.
c)
When Paul traveled from town to town as a missionary, he established
churches. He then appointed “elders” to
be in charge of that church. The word
“elder” simply means “senior”, as in someone who’s lived for a good while. I believe Paul wanted people who were more
spiritually mature to be elders. One can find a list of elder qualifications in
Paul’s 1st Letter to Timothy Chapter 3 and his letter to Titus,
Chapter 2.
i)
My point here is those qualifications never say, “Pick somebody
who has outstanding spiritual gifts”.
In other words, Paul wanted spiritual maturity, not raw talent. One can have great spiritual gifts but still
be an immature Christian.
ii)
This gets back to these verses.
Although the word “humility” is not used in describing these gifts, it
is implied by the tone of these verses.
The idea is that one uses these gifts to help others, not to build up
one’s own ego.
d)
Understand that all Christians are given some special gift(s), and I’ve
yet to meet anyone who is given all of them.
Also, understand that no one gift is any more special than the other
is. The Christian “body” collectively,
needs all of these just as the human body is designed to functional at peak
performance when it has all of its parts.
e)
Also, understand that if one has a great gift in some aspect they are not
to ignore the others. For example, one
cannot say, “I have the gift of teaching, therefore, I don’t have the gift of
“giving”. Go ask someone else.” ☺
f)
Another aspect of spiritual gifts is to understand “timing”. Some people have special gifts that only
occur on an irregular basis. Some have
gifts that can be used more consistently.
i)
For example, I have occasionally seen people who have a special gift of
healing. They can pray over someone,
and they miraculously get better. I’ve
yet to see anyone who could “clear a hospital”. Such power is on God’s timing and not at the will of the
individual. It is not an on-off switch.
ii)
On the other hand, I have seen bible teachers who can consistently teach
well. They have a gift. Do they have bad days? Of course.
My point is sometimes gifts are consistently there to be used and
sometimes God just give them to people to be used on His timing only.
g)
It’s time to talk about the gifts themselves: Paul gives a “specific subset” of spiritual gifts in these three
verses. They are: 1) prophesying; 2) serving; 3 teaching; 4) encouraging; 5)
giving; 6) leadership and 7) mercy.
i)
Some commentators take the view this is a complete list. There is a classic debate in Christianity
over say, whether or not the gift of “tongues” is for today, and some point out
speaking in tongues is not on this list.
ii)
My view is that Paul is not limiting spiritual gifts to these seven. It’s not our job to put God in a box and
limit when and what He can and cannot give as gifts.
a)
My view is that these seven are examples. Grant it, they are prime examples, but just that. It is not designed to be a complete list.
h)
Let me define each one as to help understand them better:
i)
The word “prophesying” literally means “to shine forth”. It is as if one turns on a light in a dark
room and illuminates the room. The most
important aspect of prophesying is to make God’s word “shine forth”. It includes preaching (a topical study) and
teaching (usually a straight-through-the-bible study).
ii)
Prophesying also includes predicting the future. This is a complicated topic. In summary, it does not come with an on-off
switch. God does give some people an
ability to tell things about other’s future.
One can never put God on the spot and just give out some
prediction. I also find that God
confirms such predictions to us. For
example, if someone gives me a prediction, my first thought it, “Why didn’t God
just tell me this directly? Gee, did God lose my phone number?” ☺ My point is when someone make a prediction
about our lives, “test” it and see what happens as opposed to just assuming it
is going to happen. (Ref.: 1: John 4:1.)
iii)
The next one is “serving”. That
is simply to put other’s needs above one own need. All Christians are to serve in some capacity. My problem has always been with people who
think they are “above” serving because of their position in life.
a)
The spiritual gift of serving is someone who has a special sense of
patience. Many people who work in
hospitals or elderly care facilities have this gift.
iv)
The next one is “teaching”. Some
have it as a regular gift and any Christian can have it for a moment. We can be in a situation where we fire up a
quick prayer and say, “Lord, give me the right words to say here”. All of sudden, something wonderful comes out
of our mouth and we think, “Wow, that was good. I never would have thought of that!” My point is anyone can have
a gift of teaching.
a)
We think of biblical teaching as someone who does it on a regular
basis. That type of teaching is equally
(but not more) important than other gifts.
v)
The next one is “encouraging”. (The King James term is
“admonishment”.) It is the idea of
actually encouraging people to be obedient to God’s word. This gift does not include violence or
threats. Some people have a gift to get
others motivated to action. Again, any
Christian at any time can help encourage, just as we can teach, or have mercy
or any other gift listed.
vi)
The next one is “giving”. All
Christians should give of their time and income. That’s another topic.
Some people have a “giving” gift more than others. Some are blessed with more financial
resources and are called to financially give more. Others give of their time volunteering in services helping the
church. My point is God gives some
“extra-ordinary” gifts of giving of one’s time and resources.
vii)
The next one is “leadership”. The
way to tell if one has the gift is to see who follows them willingly. A godly gift of leadership is also one who
follows biblical models for leadership.
This includes humility, wisdom, and the ability to listen to other’s
opinions before making key decisions.
viii)
The final one is mercy. Some
people have an extraordinary gift to be merciful to those who are hurting. They have a great ability to comfort
others. They don’t condemn when one is
down, they have compassion.
a)
The verse says if we have the gift of mercy: “let him do it cheerfully”. The point is to have a proper attitude when showing mercy upon
others.
i)
One word used over and over in this text is the term: “let him”.
i)
It is the idea that, “If a person has a spiritual gift, let him go for
it! (I believe that’s in the King James. ☺) In
other words, if a member of a church has one of these gifts, don’t suppress
them from using it. If you know you
have one of these gifts, then use them as God has intended.
ii)
That phrase is used several times in this passage.
iii)
The word “him” is intended to be generic. It can refer to a male or a female.
j)
Let me end this section and talk to Christians who have never thought
about what are their spiritual gifts. I
find the best way is simply to ask others who you know well. They usually can tell from watching your
behavior. Another way to tell is based
on what you enjoy. For example,
teachers love teaching. Givers love to
give. Merciful people like to help
others that are hurting. Finally,
“watch the results” as an indication of one’s gift.
11.
Verse 9: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what
is good.
a)
From here to the end of
the chapter, Paul gives examples and illustrations on how one is to apply
spiritual gifts. This gets back to my
opening theme of “now what?” In other
words, if God has blessed with eternal salvation, forgiven our sins and
given each of us special gifts to help each other, “now what?” The answer is to use our talents to help
grow and mature fellow Christians.
i)
From Verses 9 to the end
of the chapter are illustrations and examples.
b)
The first sentence is
“Love must be sincere.”
i)
Biblical “Love” means to
put others needs as priority over one’s own needs. It is about giving of one’s self (time, money, resources) to help
someone else.
ii)
The point here is love
should never be “tit for tat”. It
should never be about expecting something in return. It should never be so others around you can see just how
wonderful we are. In other words, it
should be sincere.
c)
The next phrase is “Hate
what is evil; cling to what is good”
i)
A classical sign of
Christian maturity is, “How much do you hate sin and how much do you
love the sinner?”
ii)
To understand how bad
“sin” is, is to hate the act itself.
Our focus should be on ourselves first and then on others for this
issue.
iii)
The way to avoid sin is
by “clinging to what is good”. This
gets back to living a God-focused life where one realizes all that we do is
accountable to God. We are to rely on
God’s power to overcome sin, not our own will-power.
12.
Verse 10: Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves.
a)
I stated in Verse 9 that
“love” is putting others’ needs before one’s own.
b)
Paul is essentially
defining “love” for us here in Verse 10.
c)
Jesus said in effect,
“People will know you are Christians by your love for one another”. (John 13:35). Jesus did not say people would know we are Christians by
our bumper stickers or the crosses dangling from our necks. Further, Jesus did not say people
would know we are Christians by our spiritual gifts.
i)
My point is the primary
purpose of Christian living is to help each other grow in our relationship with
others. We can’t help others if we
don’t have a love for each other. Love
is putting other’s needs in front of one’s own.
d)
When it comes to loving
service to others, beware of the two “extremes”: One extreme is to be self-centered as to ignore other’s
needs. The other extreme is to work so
hard serving others that lets their own lives fall apart emotionally and
physically. Notice the verse does not
say to ignore one’s own needs, just to put other’s needs as a priority.
13.
Verse 11: Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual
fervor, serving the Lord.
a)
The word “zeal” implies
passion combined with action. It is the
idea that if one really has a heart for something, one’s actions will
follow.
b)
If we have God’s love
within us, we need someone to express that love upon.
c)
The way to have a lot of
“zeal” is by sticking close to God. If
one spends a lot of passionate time drawing upon God’s strength (i.e., prayer,
bible time, praising God, church attendance”) one becomes “full of God” and
needs an outlet for that “fullness”.
i)
For example, I love
studying God’s word. I need to “let it
out somehow” and that is one reason I write these studies. For others, one enjoys being compassionate
and such people need others to express that compassion upon.
d)
Finally, let’s talk
about “serving the Lord”. The way one
serves God is by serving others.
i)
Remember Christian
living is all about God “getting us involved in His program”. It should be our desire to live a life that
is pleasing to God in all that we do.
The word “Lord” means He is in charge and we are not. “Serving the Lord” is about doing His will. Helping others is a major part of “Serving
the Lord”.
14.
Verse 12: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.
a)
The first one is about
“hope”. I talked about this in earlier
lessons. Biblical “hope” is the
opposite of doubting. It is not,
“I hope it doesn’t rain today”.
Biblical “hope” is saying something like, I trust that God has forgiven
all of my sins and I’m willing to bet my eternal life on that hope”.
i)
The point of “be joyful
in hope” is to have a positive attitude about it. We should not say with a gloomy tone, “Gee, I hope God is going
to help me here.”
b)
The second phrase is
“patient in affliction”.
i)
We all go through some
suffering during our life. The timing
for relief is up to God and not us.
Thus, patience is needed. We
need to remind others of this. We can’t
make affliction just go away because we desire it to end at that moment. Yes, we should pray for it to end. Yes, we should take steps to make it
better. Still, we need to accept the
fact that the ultimate timing is up to God and not ourselves.
c)
The final phrase is
“faithful in prayer”. If we pray for
something, we need to expect results, or else, why pray in the first
place? “Faithful prayer” can be saying
to God, “I don’t know what Your will is in this situation, so I’ll just ask
what is mine. The results are up to
you. May You be glorified by this
situation.”
i)
The term “faithful
prayer” can also be saying to God, “Your Word says this-and-that should
happen. I’m asking that You apply it
here. I’m not asking based on my
goodness, but based on Your faithfulness to Your word!”
ii)
It also means to
actually pray, regularly and consistently, as opposed for example to telling
someone, “I’ll pray for you” and never following through.
15.
Verse 13: Share with God's people who are in need.
Practice hospitality.
a)
This verse is about the
idea of helping those who are in need.
b)
It does not mean one is
to take a vow of poverty to help others.
It means, “If you have more than what you need, be willing to share with
those in need.”
c)
An example of the last
sentence would be to sharing one’s home with others. It can mean opening one’s home to fellow Christians and people in
need.
16.
Verse 14: Bless those
who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
a)
Now comes the tough
one. God calls us to bless those who
persecute us. Let me start by saying
this can only be done by God’s power working through us, not on our own.
b)
There are a number of
reasons God wants us to have this attitude.
First of all, anger blocks our relationship with God. When we are busy being angry at someone, we
can’t pray effectively or love around us.
c)
I have found the best
way to get over one’s anger at someone is to pray for them. It’s hard to be angry at someone if we are
sincerely praying for their well-being. It helps to separate the “sinner from
the sin”.
d)
This verse is not a call
to be passive. If someone is chasing
you with a weapon, it is “God’s will” that you run! ☺ There are places in the world where Christianity is a
death sentence. I do believe in aiding and helping Christians in such
situations. This verse is about
attitude and not retribution.
17.
Verse 15: Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who
mourn.
a)
When someone just got
some great news, it is not a good time to remind them that they are sinners and
need God’s repentance. ☺ Just be
happy with them and share their joy.
b)
When we are hurting,
sometimes we just need someone willing to listen. If someone lost a loved one, mourn with them. I was correctly taught many years ago that
funerals are for the living, not for the dead.
One goes to a funeral to comfort the living.
c)
These are both examples
about doing what is appropriate in these situations. Sometimes the best thing we can do for
someone’s faith is simply to be happy when they are happy and be sad when they
are sad. When one is hurting, the mistake
made, (especially by men) is we want to fix the situation as opposed to comfort
a hurting person.
18.
Verse 16: Live in harmony with one another. Do not be
proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be
conceited.
a)
When we associate with
other Christians, status or position in life becomes irrelevant. We are to treat all other Christians
as “saved sinners”, no more or no less.
i)
This ties back to Paul’s
illustration how every Christian is like a body-part. All the body parts are needed to be healthy. Therefore, no one person should be thought
of more highly than another.
b)
This verse also applies
against bigotry. Unfortunately, the
history of the Christian churches is full of stories of bigotry by race or even
by wealth-status. Thank God that in
recent times, some denominations have publicly apologized for its own actions
of being guilty of racial discrimination in its pas. I also know of one denomination that “partners” wealthier-located
churches with less-wealthier located churches where they must share in their
funds. That is a great application to
this verse.
19.
Verse 17a: Do not repay anyone evil for evil.
a)
This verse expands on
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse”. (Vs. 15.)
b)
It is the idea of not
seeking revenge on those who hurt you.
c)
If you think about it,
most of these illustrations are just commentary on biblical “love”. If we have love for another, why would we
want to hurt others?
d)
This verse implies that
someone did us wrong and we want retribution. This verse does not mean for example, we shouldn’t call the
police if someone stole from us. It
means we shouldn’t do likewise and go steal from them. Sin should not be used to pay back sin.
20.
Verse 17b: Be careful to
do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
a)
One has to remember that
our lives are a public witness.
Yes, our private life should be pleasing to God as well, but this verse
is a reminder that people watch our behavior.
b)
One of the great lessons
my father taught me was, “Sometimes you not only have to do what is right, but
also do things that are above suspicion whenever possible.”
i)
My father and I were in
a business situation once together. My
father “killed a deal”, not because it was illegal, but that it could look
immoral to an innocent bystander. His
point was whenever possible, avoid things that could “appear” to be bad. Our lives are a public witness whether we
realize it or not.
21.
Verse 18: If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live
at peace with everyone.
a)
Paul desires that we
live at peace with anyone and everyone.
If we hold some sort of anger, it blocks our relationship with God. God then “can’t work through us” to love and
minister to others.
b)
Paul adds the disclaimer
“if it is possible”.
i)
Paul understands we are sinners and in realty, this won’t happen all the
time.
ii)
Further, there are people who resent us (or far worse). Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, it is
out of our hands. In such situations,
remember, “God is bigger” than whatever situation we face.
iii)
Paul’s underlying point is “just because it is impossible to do all the
time, don’t make that an excuse to not try in the first place”. In other words, be at peace with everyone
around you as much as possible.
c)
Notice the phrase, “as much as it depends upon you”.
i)
In other words, Paul is saying don’t wait for the other person to
apologize first. ☺ We need to make the effort our self!
22.
Verse 19: Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for
God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"
says the Lord.
a)
Paul quotes Deuteronomy
32:35 here. If God loves us, then He must
also want to protect us from those who do us harm.
b)
Again, this is not about
being passive when people are trying to hurt you. God is not against self-defense.
Paul is preaching against seeking retaliation.
c)
The solution to anger is to give it to God. We need to vent it out in prayer and tell God it is now “His
problem” to deal with. Again, pray for
people who are harming You. It is
amazing how God can work to resolve such situations.
d)
So how does God get
revenge? Where are the lightening bolts
striking down those who are trying to harm us? ☺ The answer is God is working on His timing and not ours.
i)
Remember we don’t know
who is saved and who isn’t. God may
have “plans” for those we consider our enemy.
ii)
That is why a
resurrection into heaven or hell helps me sleep at night. Perfect justice does not exist in this
world. God must judge people’s
actions one day.
23.
Verse 20: On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give
him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his
head."
a)
This is a quote of
Proverbs 25:21-22.
b)
I don’t believe Paul is literally
saying when we feed our enemies, God dumps a bunch of hot charcoal briquettes
upon someone’s head. I’ve yet to see
that one. ☺
i)
It can refer to eternal judgment and it can refer to the fact that God
himself will deal with those who want to harm us and not us.
ii)
This coal-reference is an idiom.
For example, if someone wants to harm us, they want to see us
suffer. If we can be nice to them while
they want to harm us, it infuriates them.
It is mentally “heaping burning coals on their head”.
c)
Let me add that sincerity is an issue here, as is our witness for
God. One should not be nice in front of
an enemy so we can watch them squirm.
d)
I should also define “enemy”: An
enemy can refer to anyone around you, who for the moment, wants to do you
harm. One has to separate the
“personal” from the “corporate” enemy.
For example, if you’re country is being invaded, I don’t see this verse
as an argument to avoid military service.
Notice this verse is not applying to situations where your enemy
is attacking you. It is about helping
one’s enemy when they are hurting.
24.
Verse 21: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good.
a)
Paul wraps up the last
five verses with this one summary statement.
In a sense, Verse 17-20 can be summarized by Verse 21.
b)
Remember that Satan
can’t get you to lose your salvation.
He can make you an ineffective witness for Jesus by getting you to focus
on our pain or our anger. It can become
an obsession. That is what Paul meant
by “overcome by evil”.
c)
The second phrase is
“overcome evil with good”. The secret
is to give that anger and hurt to God.
The pain may be legitimate and not our fault. That is not the issue.
The issue is that pain is blocking our relationship with God. The secret is letting God’s power work
through us to overcome evil. I’ll give
an example of such in the closing prayer.
25.
Let me wrap this up with
this reminder: I spent a lot of time going
through the first few verses and then went at a high speed through the
remainder of the chapter.
a)
The first few verses are
the “methodology” in order to accomplish all the things listed in the rest of
the chapter. The concept of “renewing
one’s mind” is the secret and the power in order to do all the things from
hospitality and overcoming evil. God
gives each of us special gifts so that we, as a collective unit can work
together to accomplish God’s will for our lives. That is why I spent so much time on the first few verses. Without God’s power, we can’t do all the
“things” listed in the rest of the chapter.
26.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, We
ask for Your love flow through us so we can be loving to others. We ask that Your gifts be given to us
corporately so that we can minister to each other. We ask that Your Spirit be upon us so that Your will be
done. Help us to renew our minds,
moment by moment, so that we can live our lives as You desire. Give us the boldness to go out and make a
difference to those You call us to minister to. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.