Gifts of the Holy Spirit

This past Sunday, part of the sermon on the Body of Christ was about using one’s spiritual gifts to build up the Body of Christ.  It was really beyond the scope of that sermon to address the spiritual gifts themselves, but I thought it might be a good idea to at least touch on them in this week’s Pastor’s Blog.

One of the biggest misconceptions about spiritual gifts – at least in my opinion – is that there are only a specific set of gifts given by the Spirit of God.  This comes from a very finite and limited understanding of how God works, and just to be frank about it, that kind of thinking puts God in a man-made box.  If you tried to Google “gifts of the Holy Spirit” you would find articles such as the “Holy Spirit’s Seven Gifts” or “Nine Gifts of the Spirit” or similar such titles.  Ironically, if you were to limit the gifts of the Holy Spirit to the one’s listed in scripture (Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 27-28), there are actually 18 of them.   However, just because there are a limited set of gifts mentioned in the New Testament, that does not mean those are the only gifts of the Spirit.  When you read the various scriptures talking about the gifts of the Spirit, you see that the whole purpose of the gifts is to give us everything we need to function as the Body of Christ.  Certainly it is possible that God could only provide a limited set of gifts, but I tend to take 2 Peter 1:3 to heart when it says that "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."  In my humble opinion, that means whatever it is we need to function as both individual believers and as a church, the Holy Spirit will provide for that need.  That sounds a bit more open-ended to me and gives me great comfort in the knowledge that God will make a way regardless of the need.

Nevertheless, we tend to think of the spiritual gifts in terms of those mentioned in scripture, and I do believe that God gives every believer at least one of these specifically listed gifts.  Therefore, let’s take a moment to discuss all 18 of them.  As a cautionary note, there is a lot of debate among biblical scholars regarding the true definition and use of these gifts.  The discussion I am providing below may not necessarily represent a universal agreement concerning those gifts, but it is how I personally view them.

Wisdom – the ability to make decisions and give counsel regarding the will of God and to apply scripture in everyday situations.  Wisdom is a very practical gift.  A person with the gift of wisdom very often also has either the gift of knowledge or the gift of either teaching or prophecy so that they may be used together.  However, even when they do not, the person with the gift of wisdom can work in tandem with others to help plot a wise course of action for the Body of Christ.   A person with the gift of wisdom is someone you want to have around when you need to answer the question “What should we do about ______?”

Knowledge – the ability to easily know and understand difficult spiritual, biblical, and theological concepts.  Usually, people with this gift are fairly easy to spot.  People with the gift of knowledge just seem to know and understand the Bible better than the rest of us. But it is not just the Bible.  They also have the ability to know and understand deep theological concepts and spiritual situations.  A person with the gift of knowledge is someone you want to have around when you need to answer the question “What does the Bible say about __________?”

Faith – the ability to trust God (and encourage others to trust God) not only in everyday situations, but even in difficult situations.  A person with the gift of faith doesn’t just know and understand that God is Able and God will Provide – they live and breathe it every day.  When others waiver or begin to question God, the person with the gift of faith remains strong.   A person with the gift of faith is someone you need to help encourage the church to make decisions that you know to be God’s will but which otherwise seem difficult – and to help the church stay true to that course of action once it has been decided – even when it seems like that course of action may fail.

Healing – the ability to pray for and receive supernatural healing on behalf of others.  Many believe this gift has ceased.  Many think this gift – along with the gift of miracles - was only used during the early church as a sign of the power of the gospel.  In its place, God has gifted men with the common grace of modern medicine.  I will be an honest Pastor here and tell you I personally struggle.  I don’t have the wisdom to say for certainty that this gift has ceased because I know with absolute certainty that God is still in the business of miraculous healing.  This is especially true in third world countries where modern medicine is not as readily accessible.  However, even in first world countries, we see people every day that are healed in such a way that even the doctors describe it as miraculous.  I personally have had such an experience (a story for another day).  However, what I have not seen in the modern church is someone who can heal at will.  I have seen those who claim to be able to do so, but they all seem to me to be charlatans.   So I remain agnostic about whether the spiritual gift of healing is active today, while I remain absolute in my believe that God supernaturally heals every single day.

Miracles – the ability to perform supernatural signs and wonders.  This one falls in the same category as healing.  The gift itself most certainly existed in the first century as a sign of the power of the gospel, and I am most certain that God is in the miracle business even today.  If you do not believe this, may I suggest to you that you read C.S. Lewis’ book, Miracles.  However, I am uncertain whether this particular spiritual gift is still in existence today.  If you think you have this gift, would you let me know? 

Prophecy – the ability to proclaim the message and the word of God.  There is much debate about what this gift really means.  Some believe it specifically means the ability to divinely foretell future events.  Certainly that was part of the job of the Old (and New) Testament prophets.  If you believe this is what the gift of prophecy means, then you probably also believe this gift has ceased.  Others, however (and I fall in this camp), believe that foretelling the future was only a sidebar to the real purpose of the prophet, which was to proclaim the message of God.  The prophet has the ability understand the message God has for his people at any particular moment and to proclaim that message – usually calling for repentance – in such a way that is clear and unmistakable to the people.

Discernment (of Spirits) – the ability to discern whether a circumstance, a person, or a message are from God.  Scripture calls us to test every spirit (1 John 4:1) to see if they are from God, and the person with discernment is gifted in this regard.  Very often, a person with this gift will be the one who says something like “I can’t explain why, but I just get the impression that _______” (fill in the blank with whatever the circumstance might be). There are many similarities in the use of the gift of discernment and the use of the gift of wisdom.  They both help the church plot a course of action that is in line with God’s will.   However, the person with the gift of discernment can also be useful in helping the body spot false teachers and false prophets.

Tongues – the ability to speak in an unknown tongue.  I could do a whole sermon or blog series just on this topic.  Do they exist or have they ceased?  Are tongues (as some of our close evangelical brothers and sisters believe) a true mark of having received the Holy Spirit?  Honestly, I cannot say that I believe tongues have ceased (yet).  Like prophecies and knowledge, tongues eventually will pass away (see 1 Corinthians 13:8), but that will not happen until our Lord returns.  Rather, I think there may be certain circumstances where such is needed and so the Holy Spirit gifts as appropriate.  However, despite my great love for our Pentecostal brothers and sisters, I cannot read 1 Corinthians 14 and have even a remote acquiescence to the idea that speaking in tongues is a prerequisite to receiving the Holy Spirit.

Interpretation of Tongues – the ability to interpret someone who has spoken in tongues.  This is a companion gift to the gift of tongues.   Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 14 that any use of the gift of tongues must be accompanied by an interpretation.  He even goes so far as to say in 1 Corinthians 14:28 that if such an interpretation is not available, that the person speaking in tongues should keep quiet.

Service – the ability to see the need for and do whatever it takes to get tasks accomplished.  The Greek word used for “service” is essentially the same word from which we get the word Deacon.  Essentially, it is serving others for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ.  These people are fairly obvious to spot because they are always the ones in the thick of the work whenever things need to get done.

Helps – the ability to see the needs of others and help meet those needs.  There is a great deal of similarity between this gift and the gift of service.  However, the Greek word for “helps” is different than that for service.  Practically, there may be very little difference between them, except that helps tends to be a more personal-oriented in nature whereas service tends to be more task-oriented in nature.  The person with the gift of helps will be the one focusing on meeting the needs of individual whereas the person with the gift of service will be the one focusing on getting work accomplished.

Leadership – the ability to guide the direction of others in the church.  The person with this gift is the one that not only sets the course of action, but inspires others to follow that course of action.  Leadership is very often attributed to the Pastor, but not all Pastors have the gift of leadership.  The person with the gift of leadership is easy to spot, because he/she is the one that everyone is following.   It has been said that the true test of whether someone has the gift of leadership is to see who is following them.  If you think you have the gift of leadership and yet no one is following you, then chances are you really do not have the gift of leadership.

Administration – the ability to guide the work of others in church.  This person with this gift has great organizing skills and can make sure that the work being done stays on course. It is different from the gift of wisdom in that it does not recommend a course of action.  Likewise it is different from the gift of leadership in that it does not inspire and set a course of action to follow.  Rather, it is the gift that is necessary to make sure all the details needed to stay on course are remembered and carried out. 

Teaching – the ability to explain the truths of God in such a way as to make it clear and understandable.  This gift is fairly obvious.  This gift is useful for helping all the believers know and understand the truths of scripture.  However, just because you are a teacher does not mean you have the gift of teaching.   Paul says that all Deacons should be “able to teach” – but not all Deacons have the gift of teaching.  Hopefully, though, all those who do have the gift of teaching have found their way into a classroom.

Exhortation – the ability to encourage others.  We are all commanded to encourage one another, but to some people, this just comes naturally – or rather, supernaturally.  The gift of exhortation (encouragement) has often been attributed to Barnabas and rightly so because his exhortation is what helped get Paul’s ministry going.  These people are just a blessing to be around, because they are always the ones doing the blessing!

Generosity – the ability to provide for the needs of others and the church.  While we are all commanded to give generously, there are those who not only do so with great freedom, but with even greater joy.

Mercy – the ability to empathize with others and so show mercy to them.  This person is often seen as a very emotional person, but that emotion is really a God-given empathy towards the needs and the hurting of others.  It, too, is related to and often confused with the gift of helps, but it is a completely different Greek word and meaning.   Very often, the one with the gift of mercy will continue to help someone when all others have either wearied of help or (for whatever reason) have turned their back on the one in need.

Apostleship – I have saved this one for last because it, too, can be a bit controversial.  Apostle simply means one who is sent.  Scripture does not actually say there is a gift of Apostleship.  Rather, Jesus’ twelve closest disciples were appointed to be Apostles.  Similarly, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:28 that “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of…”  And while prophets, teachers, and miracles are mentioned elsewhere as gifts of the spirit, apostleship is not mentioned anywhere else.  We could easily get into a discussion on whether the “office” of apostle is still valid.  However, I tend to focus more on the definition of the apostle as one who is sent.  In my opinion, the gift of apostleship is essentially the gift of being a missionary.  Some people are just supernaturally gifted with the ability to leave everything and everyone behind and go to the ends of the earth for the sake of the gospel.  This is certainly a gift from God.

As you might imagine, no matter what your gift may be, there are any number of ways in which your gift can be used in the church.  There is no single gift that gets associated with any particular function, although certain gifts are more naturally suited for certain functions.  For example, people with the gifts of mercy and helps are most suited towards benevolence ministry, while men with the gifts of service and helps probably make really good Deacons (not that others do not make good Deacons).   The point is that by finding out what your gifting may be, and then by marrying that with your natural passions and desires, you are most likely to find out your true God-given purpose in life.

Of course, the follow up question has to be “Which gift(s) do I have?”  Well, that could be a whole different blog and this one is already getting long, so I guess we will have to leave that for another day.

The Doctrine of the Church

I’m sitting here in front of my television and struggling to know what to write in my pastor’s blog for this week.  My mind is on my day-job work, but it is also on my sermon for this coming Sunday, on my sermon for the Sunday after that, and if I were honest, on the sermon for the week after that.   

I’m in the middle of a series called We Are The Church.  Truthfully, I am quickly coming to the conclusion that this whole series on the church is one of the most important series I’ve preached in the few short months I’ve been at Pawnee Baptist Church.  Pastors rightfully spend a great deal of time on the personal aspects of the gospel, but very rarely do we speak to the corporate aspects of the gospel – that is, The Doctrine of the Church.  The Doctrine of the Church is every bit as important as any of the other doctrines of the gospel.  In fact, in our current state of the American culture, it may be one of the more important doctrines.

There was a time in American culture not too terribly long ago – especially here in the Deep South - when the question as to whether or not one should go to church was actually not even a question.  It was a given. In fact, someone who did not go to church was generally the exception to the rule, rather than the norm.  Talking about how committed a person should be to the church was a bit academic because, culturally speaking, everyone was already committed to the church – at least physically.

That was both good and bad.  It was good because high attendance meant more people were getting a regular exposure to God’s word and, hopefully, good gospel-oriented preaching.   In many respects, that constant exposure to the gospel had a preserving affect on our culture.   However, it was also bad because the commitment to the church – if you could really call it commitment – was often cultural and not truly from the heart.

Over time, that has changed.   I heard a national church growth specialist say recently that years ago commitment to a church meant attending church at least 3 times a week – Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.  Now, however, being committed to a church apparently means you are there 3 times a month.  In addition, more and more people are finding themselves among those who go to church rarely – or not at all.  And without that constant biblical influence in the lives of the masses, culture has begun to degrade – morally and otherwise.

I’ve thought a good bit about why this shift has taken place – asking myself why people have stopped going to church.  Is it really because less people are saved?  I don’t think so.  Maybe I should have asked why they went in the first place.  I tend to believe that many years ago, people needed the church.  It was the center of community activity.  It was the social hub.  It was where you went to make connections.  In other words, there weren’t more true Christians, there were just more members because being involved in church was advantageous socially and in business.  In return, the moral influence of the church was ever present across a broad spectrum of society. 

Apparently, that need is being met by other sources now.  In my own simple and limited wisdom, I place a good bit of the blame on the ubiquitous nature of information and entertainment.   Between the internet, social media, hundreds of TV channels, and our endless obsession with self-indulgent activities, why should I go to church for these connections – I can get them in so many other places now – without the inconvenience (and perhaps the conviction) of church.   Even within “Christian” circles, more and more people are shunning traditional church “religion” – and in the process are throwing out the baby with the bath water.

With fewer and fewer people going to church, where is the moral influence and compass for society?  Who is being the salt and the light?  Is it the media?  Is it the government?  What is the basis on which culture decides what is right and wrong?  Left to its own devices, society is doomed to plunge into moral relativism – which is exactly what has happened.

I heard a prominent preacher of a large Birmingham church say the other day that as a result of this shift, the church itself is going through a big shift.  According to this pastor, the larger mainline protestant denominations – because of their liberal theology and their apparent lack of focus on the Doctrine of the Church – are essentially destined to go the way of many of the churches in Europe. They will be empty relics of bygone days.  The rest of the evangelical protestant churches will then have two choices – either isolate themselves from culture and so eventually be forced out of existence as well… or engage the culture in a biblical fashion and so truly become light and salt in a lost and dying world.

This is where the Doctrine of the Church becomes so important.  The Doctrine of the Church tells us why we are to remain faithful and committed to the church when everything else in society and culture says doing so is foolish.  The Doctrine of the Church reminds us to whom we are betrothed (we are the Bride of Christ) and what our role should be as part of the Body of Christ.  The Doctrine of the Church tells us how to engage society – and how the church helps us do that. The Doctrine of the Church gives us our mission.

So what exactly are those details?  Well maybe you should come to church this Sunday and find out.  After all, if you are going to be faithful to Christ, you ought also to be faithful to his bride – the church.  We will be there waiting to welcome you back.

And if you can't make it in person, then at least listen to the sermon series.  Here is a link...

http://pawneeaudio.blogspot.com/

Virtual Church? I Don't Think So

It was really nice to see Steve Loggins from the N. Jefferson Baptist Association and his wife, Kelly, at church on Sunday.  After this week's sermon - We Are The a Church - Steve came up to me and mentioned that he was recently approached by a gentleman who wanted to join the association with his "internet church".  As I mentioned in the sermon, these "virtual" churches are really not churches at all. 

Technology is a wonderful thing.   I love using technology to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, my involvement with Designs For Hope is all about using technology to help empower pastors and evangelists in third world countries so that they can more effectively spread the gospel.  I even love using technology to broadcast church - whether it is a TV broadcast, an Internet telecast, a podcast, or simply an MP3 download or CD. 

All of these things have their proper uses in the kingdom. God has given us these gifts of common grace to use for his benefit.  When you are ill and cannot otherwise attend church, it gives you a way to keep somewhat connected to the pulse of the church.  If you have a friend who you want to hear the gospel but cannot get them to come to church, you can share it with them.   Some of you have mentioned that you listen to my sermons again - even if you attended church - just to make sure you did not miss anything.  I guess I need to work on talking slower... although if I did, my sermons would probably be an hour long!   You can even use them to supplement your local church teaching and discipleship.  As I mentioned on Sunday, I listen to a number of podcasts of other pastors every week to help in my own personal growth.  This is why I make sure to post a link to my sermons every week.  If someone - even one person - can benefit from them then it is worth the effort.

What these technologies cannot do, however, is replace church.  Similar to the one who approached Steve at the association, I know there are "churches" out there - and I use that term loosely - whose primary focus is on reaching people through the Internet.  While I know that some good can come from this, it cannot biblically be considered church.  Just because you have prayer, perhaps some worship music, and then some teaching - all on the Internet - does not mean you are a church... at least not in the biblical sense.  If you watch church on TV or the Internet, you may get some good from it, but you have not attended church.  If you listen to my sermon audio or any other preacher podcast, you might get some good from it (or at least I hope so in my case), but you cannot consider yourself to have been to church.

As I said, I listen to a number of preacher podcasts.  I also listen to worship music on a regular basis. I can even go as far as to say I have had some incredibly spiritual moments with God in the process. I encourage all of you to use these tools to grow closer to God.  But even when I have had a very special moment with God, I don't consider myself to have been to church.

Church is something very special to Jesus - and obviously I'm not talking about the physical church building, but rather the people.  Jesus is building the church and you and I are the building blocks he is using to build it.  A building cannot be built if the blocks are scattered across the city. They must come together; in fact they must be bonded together, so that they can serve their intended purpose.  It is impossible for those who only watch church on TV or on the Internet to be the body of Christ and so accomplish the purposes of Christ.  

Of course I know someone is going to challenge me on that point, but let's be honest with ourselves.  Excluding, of course, those who physically cannot attend because of long-term illness, why is it that people choose virtual church over real church?  Isn't it, for whatever their motivations, that they just don't want to be with the rest of God's people? When that choice is made, there is no longer any intention of fulfilling their purposes as part of the body of Christ. They only want to feel better about themselves for not attending church.

I realize as I am writing this that I am sounding a bit judgmental.  And as a pastor of a local church, it probably all sounds self-serving.  Maybe there is a little truth in both of those statements, but that honestly is not the intent.  I guess I am just a little passionate about the local church.   I just want you to understand that the church - the real church - is not about the singing or the preaching, but about the people.  Jesus loves the church, and that means you and me, not the building and certainly not a virtual broadcast of "churchy" activities.  

I also want to make sure we don't fall into the post-modern trap of looking at "church" as being old fashioned or irrelevant.  There seems to be a growing trend of people who no longer think they need the church. Nothing could be farther from the truth. 

Personally, I think this is why there are so many "one anothers" in scripture - so that we will be sure not to take each other - and our gathering together - for granted. We are to love one another (John 13:34), serve one another in love (Galatians 515), be at peace with on another (Mark 9:30), live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16), welcome one another (Romans 15:7), greet one another with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16), comfort one another (2 Corinthians 13:11), bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2), forgive one another (Ephesians 5:19), submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21), encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11) - ***BREATHE*** - do good to one another (1 Thessalonians 5:15), exhort one another (Hebrews 3:13), stir up one another to good works (Hebrews 10:24), confess your sins and pray for one another (James 5:16), and show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)...whew...

Do you get the impression that maybe the church is about doing life with one another? I just don't think that is possible unless the church - that is the assembly of all those who are redeemed by placing their faith in Jesus Christ - are actually gathering together with one another - in person.  Maybe that is why Hebrews 10:25 says "not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some."  Well apparently, the "virtual church" crowd are still in that habit.  

I know I will may get a some negative feedback for this post, but I just don't think I can apologize for standing in defense of the purity of Christ's bride, the church.