Romans 12:6-13

Last week, we started off in by discussing the shift that has taken place. We are now taking the thick, rich, theological foundation that Paul has established in the first eleven chapters, and adding the practical element as we move forward.

We learned what our response to God’s grace should be, and talked about not blindly blending in with the current culture, but how we are called to be counter-cultural. We talked about the importance of letting God influence how we think. That following God with our minds is key to becoming the new person God wants us to be.

Turn with me to , where we’ll pickup where we left off last Sunday. We ended last Sunday with a warning we were issued: to not think too highly of ourselves. We are all part of the same body - and the church is to function like a body - every part matters, and every part needs to work together with the other parts to accomplish the purpose of the church. Unity is of great importance within the church, so that we can function in health to reach the world around us.

Join me in praying before we dive in.

Romans 12:6–13 NLT

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give 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. 9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Romans 12:6–13 NLT

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give 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. 9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Romans 12:6–8 NLT

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give 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.

Romans 12:6–13 NLT

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give 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. 9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Now, this list is most assuredly not a comprehensive and complete list of all the gifts. Nor is it a hierarchical list of gifts. We must be careful, as Paul warned, not to fall into the trap that, “because I have such and such gift, I’m better than someone who has some lesser gift.”

We need all the gifts. Continuing from the analogy of the church to the human body - we need all the parts. We should recognize and value the different gifts, but be careful not to idolize them. As well, as Tom Wright indicates, we need to recognize that the point of having these gifts is to place them in the service of the church. This is the sacrificial self-offering Paul speaks of at the beginning of .

When I came into the church, I was immediately released into leading worship. It was a gifting and calling that many other leaders in the church recognized and valued. I was mentored, discipled, and released. I was using the gift I was given to serve the church and to serve through the church.

However, at one point I had formed a band and felt we were quite good. We were performing at various ministry functions and events, including doing free concerts & cookouts in poor communities. Being a teenager at the time, my youth pastor believed it would be wise for there to be some covering and accountability put in place. So he asked another youth leader to oversee the band I was leading. And at first, I was okay with it. But then, I had to start asking for permission to do certain things. And there were a few things I wanted to do, but was told no. It didn’t take long before I found myself thinking, and even saying, “This is my band. This is my ministry. I started this thing. I’m doing all the hard work. I’m the one who is gifted here.” Suddenly, it didn’t really matter whether God wanted me to do the things I was doing with my gift or not. Or whether it made sense. Or whether it was serving the church. It was serving me.

Sometimes, the opposite happens. Somebody is gifted and called. But, for whatever reason, we miss what God is saying through people, and miss out on benefitting from the grace that God wants to pour out through them.

Either way, we should be both open to serving with the gifts that God has given us, as well as be open to others serving with the variety of gifts given them. We are part of the same body. We belong to one another.

It might not be listed in verses 6 thru 8, but what is a gift that God has given you?

Imagine someone coming up to you offering a word of encouragement, or perhaps to pray for you, but the look on their face is doom & gloom.

Romans 12:9–13 NLT

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

One thing that is worth noting is that using the gifts we are given, the way we are to use them, is often hard work. And we should be careful not to be discouraged when it is hard work. Or be careful to only serve when we “feel like it”. That might be fine for a hobby, but Christian service isn’t a hobby. It’s a diving calling. And we should commit to participating in our calling with energy and care.

Imagine someone coming up to you offering a word of encouragement, or perhaps to pray for you, but the look on their face is doom & gloom. Or, perhaps instead of doom & gloom - something far worse. The dreaded “fake smile”. The word genuine in verse 10 comes from the Greek work anypokritos, which literally means - without hypocrisy.

So what are we to do when we don’t prefer someone, and are commanded to love them? Just grin and bear it? Isn’t that being a hypocrite?

One thing to keep in mind is that love is not a feeling or emotion, but rather what we do. You know - like the dcTalk song from the 90s - Luv is a Verb? Reading about the way the early church expressed love, it looked a lot more practical than emotional. The early church showed love to one another by caring for one another’s needs - including financial.

As a Christian, then, is it possible to decide to help someone, even if you don’t particularly like them?

Perhaps, if you do that, it might be in a somewhat cold manner, and not with warm fuzzies & zeal. However, if you’ve ever been obedient to love someone, even if you didn’t feel like it, have you found that often authentic love and care results?

There’s a movie - Diary of a Mad Black Woman. A woman, Helen, is married to Charles - a successful attorney. On the outside everything looks good, but looking inside you find that Charles is emotionally distant, verbally abusive, and having multiple affairs while his wife is at home unemployed. One day, Helen arrives home to find all of her things have been packed in a U-Haul, and that Charles has invited his young mistress to move in.

Fast forward a little ways and a court case goes wrong and one of Charles’ clients is convicted of murder. The client as he’s being escorted out the courtroom snatches the bailiff’s gun and shoots Charles in the back, leaving him partially paralyzed.

While this is going on, the mistress tells doctors if things turn south, to let Charles die. But, Helen is still technically married to him, and tells the doctors to do everything they can to save him. Charles eventually recovers, and resumes his verbal abuse of Helen. However, he soon discovers that his mistress emptied his bank account while he was in the hospital. And the maid has left because he can’t afford to pay her anymore. As well, all of Charles’ friends have turned their backs on him since he’s broke.

He realizes that all along, the only one that really ever cared for him is Helen. And even after everything he put her through, she is there by his side, helping him to rehab and recover. Do you think she was feeling warm fuzzies? Or was she perhaps serving someone that was not necessarily someone she preferred to serve?

Who is that person or people that God has called you to serve, but that you might not “feel” love for? In light of this passage in Romans, how might you respond differently than you have been?

Thinking of the gift that God has given you, how might verses 9 thru 13 affect the way that you use that gift?

While the list of gifts in verses 6 thru 8 don’t necessarily apply specifically to everyone, the commands in verses 9 thru 13 do. I would encourage you, spend some time each day this week re-reading those verses. Sometimes, it’s going to be smooth sailing. Sometimes, it’s going to be outrageously difficult. This isn’t meant to condemn, but to encourage. Either way, can we agree and commit to serving the way that scripture outlines?

Let’s pray.

Romans 12:6-13

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