August 27, 2023
For the past several Sundays, our New Testament readings have been from Romans, which was a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians who lived in and around Rome.
This letter that Paul wrote is in my opinion one of the most important letters in the entire New Testament, because it not only summarizes the good news of our faith, but Paul also offers us a lot of practical information on how the church is to live out this good news. Our faith really doesn’t mean a whole lot unless we are able to actually apply it to our day to day living.
This letter has 16 chapters, and our reading today begins in chapter 12. Chapter 12 is where Paul’s letter transitions from describing the theology of the good news of Jesus to the more practical side of what this good news means for us. And this is why in one of the Bible translations, the 1st verse of chapter 12 begins with the word, “therefore.”
The word, “therefore” signifies a transition between everything that Paul has written up this point in his letter and how this good news can make a difference in how we live out our lives individually as well as through the life of the church.
Paul has been telling us the incredible good news of how God loves us so much that he was willing to send us the long awaited King, the long awaited Messiah who through his life, death, and resurrection was able to free us from our bondage to sin and death. That’s incredible good news! This is why worship is meant to be a celebration. Every Sunday is meant to remind us of the good news of Easter. God has freed us from our sins! God has broken the power of cancelled sin and has set the prisoner free!
No wonder that Paul has spent the first eleven chapters of this letter describing this good news of our faith. He wants us to be grounded in this good news to such a degree, that we not only come to understand and appreciate what Jesus has done for us as much as possible, but so that we can also share this good news with others.
And now Paul wants us to spend the remaining part of his letter helping us to think about ways that we can live out this good news in community and specifically through the life of the church. So, what does Paul share with us today beginning here in chapter 12 of his letter?
Paul wants us to know that one of the best ways that we can live out the good news of our faith is by blessing others through the spiritual gifts that God has given us. And those who have faith in Christ have at least one of these spiritual gifts. What are those spiritual gifts? Paul lists some of them here. He mentions the spiritual gifts of prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhorting, giving, leadership, and being compassionate.
Those are 7 of the gifts, but Paul also includes many other gifts in some of the other letters that he wrote adding up to around 20 possible spiritual gifts. If we would include the other gifts that we find in all of his letters, we can add these to the list: apostleship, evangelism, shepherding, hospitality, craftsmanship, healing, working miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues, wisdom, knowledge, faith, discernment, administration, intercession and prayer, music, and missionary.
That’s a lot of spiritual gifts that God has given people in the church to live out the good news of our faith so that we can be a blessing to others. We could spend a whole worship service exploring these 20 spiritual gifts, but the important thing that Paul wants us to know here in this part of his letter is that every single person has at least one spiritual gift to offer.
Even though we might have different spiritual gifts to share, they are all equally important for the greater good. In the last church I served, our church’s director of maintenance was incredible. He could fix anything and was so good at anticipating things that needed to get done before they would become bigger issues.
Every Monday, he would come to the church and slowly walk around the building and would take notes of things that needed attention. Maybe it was a small water stain in the ceiling that he would notice, the boiler making a strange sound, the parking lot stripes needing repainted, a door lock not working properly.
One day, I was having a conversation with him and said to him, “Todd, I can’t fix anything. In fact, I probably break half of the things that you have to repair in this building.”
And Todd just looked at me and said, “Well, there is no way that I would be able to do what you do as a pastor. Coming up with sermons, visiting people, leading worship services. God has given each of us different gifts.”
And he was right, because after he told me that, I knew that this little conversation that we had about spiritual gifts would make it into a sermon someday which is why I am sharing this with you! Preachers are always looking for sermon illustrations and the perfect time to use them.
Todd’s words to me that day kind of echo what the Apostle Paul is telling us in this scripture reading because beginning in verse 5 he says, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body, we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.”
Sounds like my church’s maintenance person knew something about this scripture reading today. It’s important for us to celebrate each other’s gifts because when we are all living out the good news of our faith by offering our unique gifts, more and more people will be drawn closer to Christ.
The church would be super boring if God would have only blessed us with the same spiritual gift. What if Shane Beamer would only recruit offensive lineman or only recruit running backs? That wouldn’t be much of a team. No, “Beamer ball” is having a well-rounded team where everybody contributes in their own unique ways. That’s what it means to be a team.
That’s how healthy marriages and families work as well where each family member recognizes the gifts in the other person. That is so much better than always pointing out the things that you think are weaknesses in the other person rather than celebrating the unique gifts and talents that God has given to others, especially those gifts that we may not have ourselves.
Humility is vital in living out the good news of our faith and what it means to be the church. Thank God that we’re not all the same and that we have different gifts.
And the other side of that is for us to not downplay the gifts that God has given us like my maintenance person reminded me at the church that day. Instead of downplaying your gifts, celebrate them and offer them in humility to the glory of God. That’s what it means to be a living sacrifice, a phrase which Paul says in verse 1 of our scripture reading.
Speaking of football analogies which I like to include this time of year with the start of the football season, I remember reading about Mike Singletary, the All-Pro linebacker who played for the Chicago Bears back in the 1980s and was part of their Super Bowl win in 1986.
He was a member of a church in the Chicago area during his playing days. He asked his pastor if there was anything he could do to help serve the church, but he wanted to keep a low profile. The pastor said, “Well, there is something that just might be the perfect way for you to serve.”
He went on to tell him that every week when the custodian vacuums the sanctuary following the worship services, the vacuum cleaner cord gets caught on the pews and the custodian has to always stop and straighten out the cord. He said, “How would you like to be the person who holds up the vacuum cleaner cord?”
And this ended up being a very practical and humble way for an all-pro linebacker to serve in his church. I always think of this story when I happen to come across an unsung hero doing these simple but very needed acts of service. Every act of service in the name of Christ; great and small, seen and unseen, is what helps us to live out the good news of our faith. It’s how we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice.
Noted preacher, Rev. Fred Craddock shared this thought about offering our spiritual gifts in humility. He says, “We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table and saying, ‘Here’s my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.’
But the reality for most of us is that the Lord sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 bill for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. And so, we do the little things like listening to the neighbor kid’s troubles instead of saying, “Get lost.” We go to a committee meeting. We give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home.”
Craddock goes on to say, “Usually, offering ourselves as a living sacrifice isn’t all that glorious. It’s done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory, but it’s harder to live the Christian life little by little throughout your life.”
Good words for us to think about.
I love the first 11 chapters of Romans. Those chapters offer some of the best news we’ll ever hear. If you are ever having a bad day and in need of some good news, by all means, read Romans, chapters 1 through 11, especially some of those verses we have heard the past several weeks here in church during the scripture readings.
Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” That’s really good news!
Romans 8:28 – “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” That’s also incredible!
And probably my favorite verse of all in those chapters, Romans 8:37-39 – “In all these things we are more than conquerors though him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Those are incredible words of good news and hope!
But if you want to live out your faith in very practical and meaningful ways, refer to these last chapters of Paul’s letter, chapters 12 through 16. And then, in humility, offer the unique spiritual gifts that God has given to you.
And little by little, we can change the world!
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