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Dividing the Word of Truth
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Timothy 2:15)
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is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:3-4
Romans by the Book Lesson
102
Greetings to all;
and welcome to HBS. I’m bolstered by your attendance and your
participation in this Bible study, and I want to encourage you to keep up the
good work you’ve started; echoing the sentiments of our Apostle Paul who “encouraged” Believers in Christ Jesus
to press on toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).
In Romans 12:4-8 we
have our Apostle Paul’s first mention of the Doctrine of the Body of Christ, a
Church Doctrine which he alone introduces because he was the one chosen by the
risen Lord Jesus Christ to be “minister
of the church.” (Colossians
1:24-25).
In simpler language
Paul is comparing the human body to the Body of Christ:
The human body has
many members – arms, legs, eyes, ears, feet, toes, etc.
These members are
united; they form one body.
Each member is a
member of all of the others.
All the members do
not have the same (function) work to do.
Paul wrote
similarly to the Corinthians: For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all
the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks (Gentiles), whether slaves or free, and we were all
made to drink of one Spirit. For
the body is not one member, but many. (1
Corinthians 12:12-14)
The faith-based
community of Believers is often referred to as a “family” and indeed we are
spoken of as being the family of God.
However, the illustration Paul uses here is even more intimate – being members of the same body. Paul speaks of each member belonging to each other.
Consequently every child of God influences every other child of God
either directly or indirectly. So, if
you’re messing up that affects me negatively and everyone else in the
body. And if you’re living the life of a
Spiritual Believer, healthy in every respect, that benefits me and every other
Believer in the body.
Paul instructs each
member of the body to exercise their
particular gift (do their part) for the benefit of those inside the walls of
the church (the body) and for those outside the walls of the church (the
unsaved). He writes: …we
are to grow up in all aspects
into Him who is the head, even Christ,
from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint
supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part,
causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in
love. (Ephesians 4:15-16)
Sadly, much of the
history of institutionalized Christianity is simply a history of an audience intent
on watching a few players do the work.
The Christian community has mainly been asleep through the centuries; which
is evidence that our adversary, Satan, has been active causing dissension and disunity
within the Body of Christ contrary to our Savior’s assertion for love and unity amongst the saints.
Please
open your Bible at Romans 12:6
Romans 12
6: Since we have (what) gifts that differ according
to the grace given to us, each of
us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the
proportion of his faith;
In
verse 6, Paul is saying it’s God’s will that their spiritual gifts be varied in regard to ministry. We find this same theme in Paul’s letter to
the Corinthians: Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries,
and the same Lord. There are varieties
of effects (activities), but the
same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of
the Spirit for the common good. (1
Corinthians 4-7)
Another
Bible passage came to mind, so if you’ll please turn to 1 Peter 4:10 we’ll look
at that one too: As each one has received a special
gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of
the manifold grace of God. Whoever
speaks, is to do so as one who is
speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God
supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus
Christ,
Every
Believer has received at least one spiritual gift, (possibly more than one),
and it’s their responsibility to use it to the best of their ability in service
to God.
In
regards to prophesying in the New
Testament (v6), this has nothing to
do with predicting the future, as some believe.
Let’s be sensible. When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, there
was no New Testament. The four gospels
(Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) hadn’t even been written yet. So then, ask yourself a question. How was the Word of God being spread? Answer:
gifted men spoke God’s Word. That’s what prophesying means. Scripture
says this was a significant gift for this time period, again because nothing had
been written collectively: Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual
gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
The
spiritual gift of prophesying was especially significant because nothing was more important than preaching
God’s Gospel, Jesus Christ crucified, to the world. (1 Corinthians 2:2; 15:1-4;
2 Timothy 4:2)
Let’s
go to verse 7.
Romans 12
7: if service,
in his (or
her) serving; or he who teaches,
in his teaching;
Paul
mentions two ministries in verse 7, service
and teaching. We’ll examine the ministry of service first and do this by reviewing biblical
examples. The Book of Acts at chapter 6 indicates
there are two types of service: first to physical
needs, “the daily serving of
food (to widows),” and second to spiritual
needs, “we (the apostles) will devote ourselves to prayer and
to the ministry (preaching)
of the word.” (Acts 6:1-6)
When
God created man, He joined the physical and the spiritual together in Adam, so
they must remain together. Consequently,
when considering the act of service both
the physical and the spiritual aspects are intimately connected and
intertwined. In other words, you cannot
help someone physically (serve them a meal, rescue them from a burning home),
without also helping them spiritually (emotionally, mentally); their
connected.
When
you address someone’s physical need, provide them a warm coat in winter, a hot
meal, or a safe haven for the night, you’re also helping them spiritually. #1: You’re
sharing Christ’s love with them obediently fulfilling the greatest commandment,
and #2: you’re improving their
emotional and mental state, even if it’s just for a brief period of time – the world isn’t as ugly as it once seemed. During this act, the Holy Spirit may present
an opportunity for you to present God’s Gospel to the individual(s). You’ll know if the “pathway” is open for
this. The Spirit will lead you.
Now
some churches and organizations invite indigent people in for a free hot meal
and a roof over their head on a cold night, if they listen to all the reasons why
they need Christ’s righteousness first before their physical needs are taken care of.
These folks are essentially saying the spiritual need is simply a means to an end; and I disagree with
this philosophy. Manipulating people is
never a good idea and when you choose to do it in the name of Jesus Christ it cheapen
God’s Gospel.
The
Lord Jesus Christ gave us the best example of service and there were “no strings attached:” just as the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for
many. (Matthew 20:28)
The
ministry of teaching speaks to my heart, so I’m going to spend a bit of
time on it. This is the other spiritual gift Paul mentioned in verse 6 and it
means to “Explain the Scriptures” and
not to interpret the Scriptures; or
offer one’s own opinion of them (2 Peter 1:20-21; 1 Corinthians 2:13). The meaning of Scripture is determined by the
author; it is discovered by its readers.
Instead of superimposing a meaning on some biblical text, an objective reader seeks to discover the author’s intended meaning,
keeping in mind that the Bible must remain in harmony throughout.
The
meaning expressed in each biblical text is single, definite, and fixed by the
author. In other words, a Bible verse
has one meaning and only one meaning. Opinions
are just that; opinions and nothing more they do not alter the meaning of the
original text. You may do with them as
you wish.
In
Acts chapter 8 we have the account of the Ethiopian court official, sitting in
his chariot, reading from the prophet Isaiah.
The Holy Spirit told Phillip to go there to help him which he did. We’ll pick it up from there at verse 30: Phillip
ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand
what you are reading?” And he said,
“Well, how could I, unless someone guides (explains it to) me?”
And he invited Phillip to come up and sit with him. (Note:
the Ethiopian did not ask for Phillip’s opinion of the biblical
text. He asked that Phillip guide him).
The
need for sound Bible teaching has
never been greater in this country and around the globe but it is woefully
lacking. In fact, this problem has
reached crisis level.
Researcher
George Gallop reports: “Americans revere the Bible – but, by and
large, they don’t read it.” And because
they don’t read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates.”
How
bad is it? Researchers tell us that it’s
worse than most people could imagine.
According
to one poll:
96%
of Americans responded saying they believe there is a God, however, less than
half of those Americans believe God.
There’s a mighty big difference between believing in God and believing
what God has said people.
Less
than half the people polled could name the four gospels
Less
than half the people polled could name 3 of the 12 apostles.
60%
of Americans couldn’t name 5 of the Ten Commandments
82%
of the people polled in America believe the phrase, “God helps those who help
themselves” is a Bible verse – it isn’t.
One
Barna Group poll revealed that 12% of Americans believe that Joan of Arc was
Noah’s wife. Another survey of
graduating high-school seniors revealed that over 50% of them thought that
Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife.
These same students believed that Billy Graham taught the Sermon on the
Mount.
When
a pollster asked the lesbian celebrity Rosie O’Donnell if she thought she would
go to heaven when she died. Her
response, so typical of America today, said; “God must know I’m trying
to be good.”
How
can we expect this generation to understand where God’s coming from on
the issue of human sexuality when it believes that Sodom and Gomorrah was a
married couple? Is there any wonder
America is willing to compromise on the social issues of same-sex marriage and
homosexuality?
It
gets worse. If someone believes that
“God helps those who help themselves,” they’ll find salvation by faith (alone)
to be a foreign concept; and Satan couldn’t be more pleased…
Who’s Responsible
for This Crisis?
On
one hand there are far too many churches that marginalize biblical understanding. Bible teaching now often accounts for only a
diminishing fraction of the local congregation’s time and their attention. The move to a small group ministry has
certainly increased opportunities for “fellowship,” but many of these groups
never get beyond superficial Bible study.
Most of the group’s time is actually spent on fellowship or “the meet
& greet” rather than on actual Bible study – been there; done that.
On
the other hand, according to a Barna Group Poll, church attendance continues to
decline across all age brackets for various reasons and the poll came with this
warning: American Christians have become complacent about their faith. This translates to: even if the church offered a Bible study for
all age groups, hosted by a proficient teacher, few, if any, people would show
up or participate.
I’ve
been teaching the Bible for many years, so I know this to be true. I remember standing in front of an almost
empty classroom on Monday evenings many times and the other men serving with me
can share similar stories. I guess Monday night Football was more
important than what God has to say… but isn’t that so American.
Statistics
show Americans spend between 35-40 hours per week in front of the T.V. watching
mindless drivel for the most part, but you’re not going to separate them from this
activity. The Simpsons rule! But according to a recent church poll, when
1,500 Christians were surveyed 87% said they found it difficult to find time
on a regular “disciplined” basis to pray and read Scripture… really?
Look
around you; great harm is being done to the Body of Christ and to our
nation. Case in point: one church poll revealed 75% of the children
of Christian families are breaking their relationship with the Lord Jesus
Christ and embracing the world and
all its sinful ways after they leave home.
Broken Christian marriages and zero faith in long-term relationships are
certainly part of the problem with the Millennials. However, the main reason they cited in the
poll for leaving the faith behind is a lack of Bible teaching at home by
their parents!
Hello! This is a wake-up call. It’s up to this generation of Believers to
step up and reverse this course.
Recovery must start at “home.” Parents
and fathers especially must lead their children in the study of God’s
Word. This vital task mustn’t be left up
to the local congregation. It’s
important for the children to see their parents as God-fearing individuals and
fellow students of God’s Word. Scripture
says parents are to set the example and it commands fathers to explain the
Scriptures to their children: Fathers, do not provoke your
children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction
of the Lord. (Proverbs 22:6;
Ephesians 6:4)
The
Body of Christ cannot flourish if it continues to “drift” in the same sluggish
direction she has embraced all these years.
The Church will not thrive unless gifted
men teach the Word of Truth to an enthusiastic audience.
Let’s
move on to verse 8.
Romans 12
8: or he who exhorts
(encourage), in his exhortation; he who gives, with
liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with
cheerfulness.
Exhortation in the Greek
language is Parakletos (pronounced: par-ak’-lay-tos). It’s the same word used for the Holy Spirit in
the N.T. – “Para” means to the side of and “klesis” means to call.
It means to call to one’s side; to aide, one called alongside another, to
encourage or admonish one to choose a particular pattern of life or to perform
a particular act in life.
The teacher
aims for your head while the exhorter aims
for your heart.
I
liken the encourager in the Body of
Christ to the cheerleader on a sports team.
But they are much more than that in actuality because their efforts are also geared towards calming
and comforting members of the body. My example from Scripture of an exhorter is our Apostle Paul for he says,
rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation or affliction, be persistent in
prayer (Romans 12:12).
And
in Philippians 4:6-7: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God. And the peace of God, which
surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.
Paul,
speaking for the Lord Jesus Christ, commands each Believer to: encourage
one another and build up one another (1Thessalonians 5:11).
However,
instead of being encouragers in the
church and elsewhere, building others up, most often the opposite is true,
people can be discouragers, tearing people down.
Of
course there’s a reason for this; as I’ve said before old Adam (our sinful
nature) still exists within all of us even though we’re saved individuals and it
doesn’t take too much provocation or temptation to awaken him.
At times:
We
tend to focus on a person’s weaknesses and faults instead of their strengths
We
criticize others instead of complimenting them on their good qualities
We
prefer to gossip and spread rumors instead of disengaging from this activity
Everyone
in the Body of Christ needs to
remember that the Lord Jesus Christ has commanded us to be encouragers in the home, at work, at play, and at church. Encouragement
goes straight to the receiving individual’s “heart.” In fact, the word itself comes from a
combination of the prefix “en,” which means – to put into; and the Latin root “cor,” which means heart.
When
you choose to encourage someone, it
could change the course of their
life.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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