Sermon Tone Analysis

Last week, we looked at the submission of ourselves to God - to present our lives as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

This next section of scripture speaks to the heart of the individual as a whole.

How does God want us, as individual Christians, to come together as a body of Christ (as a unified, corporate body of believers).

Why is individual and corporate spiritual growth important?

In answering this question, Paul points out two points.

One is to remember we have been set apart as peculiar people.

As believers, we are different, we are to be set apart, and as chosen people we should think of ourselves as individual and corporate heralders of the message of Christ.

As Paul goes forward with this thought, he says we should not think of ourselves in the manner of being better that we really are.

In reality, we are only forgiven sinners, still in a sinful body, still with sinful tendencies, and still in a sinful world.

Furthermore, each individual believer HAS been given gifts.

These gifts are to be used in the glorifying and lifting up of our Savior and to see others come to a saving knowledge of Christ as their personal Savior.

What does it mean to not think more highly of ourselves that we ought to think?

We must never forget our calling.

We are chosen, we are saved, and we are to evangelize.

But, we cannot let ourselves be fooled into thinking we are better than others.

Paul has warned us through examples of the Jewish and Gentile believers that we cannot let our salvation go to our head and get us to thinking we are of higher importance than others.

We can’t be INWARDLY focused (although we should always strive to grow in our study, our faith, our relationship with God and each other, our knowledge, and our call to evangelize), and forget or neglect the OUTWARD focus of our calling to tell others of Jesus.

When we become too inwardly focused, we can allow ourselves to become prideful, conceited, and arrogant “thinking of ourselves too highly”.

What causes us to be “puffed up” with pride?

We focus on self:

• importance

• looks

• popularity

• position

• ability

• performance

• wealth

• possessions

• opinions

• education

• goodness

• title

Instead, we should focus on humility.

A humility that should mirror the life of Christ.

How does Paul say we should evaluate ourselves?

Soberly.

The original word means to be balanced, sane, and in one’s right mind.

We should evaluate ourselves, our faith, and our gifts, but do so with good judgment.

So, what word do we use to describe the opposite of sane?

Insane???

By thinking more highly of ourselves than we should is an insane thought, but Paul’s reckoning.

We must never forget the song “Jesus Loves the Little Children”.

Jesus loves the little children

All the children of the world

Red, brown, yellow

Black and white

They are precious in His sight

Jesus loves the little children

Of the world

Jesus died for all the children

All the children of the world

Red, brown, yellow

Black and white

They are precious in His sight

Jesus died for all the children

Of the world.

Jesus rose for all the children

All the children of the world

Red, brown, yellow

Black and white

They are precious in His sight

Jesus rose for all the children

Of the world

We are all children of God, every person is important to God, and is significant to God’s kingdom, regardless of who they are, what their background is, or what their past holds.

We must never forget all we have and are has come from God.

It is God who has given “each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned”.

This faith is a working faith including the gifts and abilities God has given each of us, and the faith He gives as confidence and drive to use those gifts to serve Him.

While we judge success off our education, our position, our authority, our abilities, these focus on self importance.

We should be looking more at how we contribute to our life based on God’s given abilities and drive.

The POSB makes this comment “Another way to say the same thing is this: the measure of faith (v. 3) and the proportion of faith (v. 6) mean the spiritual gift and power which God gives to each believer for his special task on earth.

Very simply, everything a person is and has comes from God. Nothing comes from man himself.

Therefore, no person has reason to think too highly of himself.”

Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

Romans.

Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996.

Print.

The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.

Who has God given gifts to?

Paul says “each” person - so everyone has been assigned gifts by God.

No one person has all gifts, no one person has a monopoly on any particular gift or ability, but every single believer has been given gifts by God.

As a result, we can not think too highly of ourselves, as each of us serve a particular purpose in the ministry of God.

Notice the impact Paul places in verse 4: “For as in one body we have many members”.

We all make up one body of believers in Christ.

Believers can be compared to the parts of a human body.

Our body consists of multiple parts, each with individual purpose and function.

This is the same with the body of believers.

We each have an individual purpose and function in our service to the Lord.

An overly self-conceited view of importance can lead to division among the body, and that is simply not acceptable.

What is the intended purpose of having different gifts among believers in the body?

By definition, a gift is a special ability given to the believer by God (not to be confused with a natural talent) given to us for spiritual purposes so that we can fulfill the task God intends for us on earth.

When do we have these gifts revealed?

After we come to know the grace of God.

As stated before, and seen in 1 Corinthians 12, we all do not have the same gifts.

We are given specific gifts because we have specific tasks that are assigned by God.

It gives us a God given purpose, meaning, and significance in life.

What gifts do Paul list?

Prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, generous contribution, and leadership.

Notice that each of these has a component that corresponds with each gift, going into deeper detail.

Prophecy - in this specific word, it is defined as given to someone who has “the ability to deliver representative declarations of the mind, will, or knowledge of God”.

So this is set aside for the “one who proclaims”, the pastor or teacher who proclaims and explains the will of God.