Romans 12:8

or he that exhorts, on exhortation; he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that rules, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.

The general exhortation of the first verses St. Paul now carries out in detail by specializing and applying its content to actual situations in the lives of the believers. In this section he speaks of the special gifts of grace which find their application in congregational life. Every Christian having received some such gift, it is the will of God that he apply it, that he give practical proof of it in the business of the Church. Paul makes this admonition through the grace which had been given him, by virtue of his apostleship, chap. 15:15; Ephesians 3:7, which enables him to speak with authority; the ordinary and extraordinary gifts which he had thus received qualified him for his duties and gave authority to his instructions.

And his very first instruction concerns a very grievous nuisance and sin which was often found, and is found today, in such as possess certain gifts in the Church: That he should not think more of himself than he ought to think, but to think with the object of being modest. And this the apostle says to every one of them, to each one as God dealt out the measure of faith. The special gifts of grace which God at all times has given to the members of His Church in some measure, such as executive ability, fitness and skill in teaching, an aptitude for simple and clear exposition of Scriptures, and others, have ever been coveted and exercised by some Christians for purposes of self-exaltation. And therefore Paul says to every one of them, no matter who he is and what position he may hold, that he should not hold an opinion of himself which exceeded the measure of Christian modesty. A Christian may be partly or fully conscious of some gift in the Church which the Lord has given him. But this consciousness must not result in self-glorification. Simple, sane modesty and humility must characterize the Christian's judgment of his abilities and of his work in the kingdom of God. And this he should do, because, in the first place, his special gift comes from God, is a free present of His grace; and, secondly, this gift is connected with faith, since God has dealt out to every Christian his measure of faith, of firmness, trust, confidence in God, 1 Corinthians 12:9. If a Christian is to apply his special gift of grace properly, then a certain measure of confidence is necessary, the conviction that God requires certain work of him, that he must serve God and the congregation of God with his gift, and that he possesses the proper cheerfulness to this end. The apostle, of course, does not speak of the strange self-delusions, according to which people imagine themselves to be called for positions for which they have neither fitness nor ability, and rely entirely upon their own perverted judgment. He expressly warns against such delusions and self-exaltation.

This warning against high-mindedness and his admonition to modest-mindedness the apostle now substantiates with the fact: For just as we in one body have many members, but all the members have not the same function, thus we, being many, have one body in Christ, but every one members of another, vv. 1:4-5; Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 1:18. The human organism has many members; but these are not all alike, differing, rather, very decidedly in function or business, and yet serving the body, each in his own sphere and in his own special way. And in the same way we many, all we Christians together, form the body of Christ, the communion of saints, but individually, so far as our individual relation is concerned, we are members one of another, and can therefore serve the body properly only by working in unison, guided by the mind and Spirit of God. The apostle thus, in this figure, intends to show that the diversity of offices and gifts among Christians, far from being inconsistent with their union as one body in Christ, rather is necessary to the perfection and usefulness of the body. In supplementing and serving one another, all the believers are serving Christ.

The apostle now continues his thought by showing that we, who have such varied gifts, should now also use them in accordance with the purpose of God, in a way agreeing with His will. The gifts of grace found in the Christians are many and various, but their end and object is the same, to serve the Lord, not to serve their own advantage. If one has the gift of prophecy, let him use it according to the analogy of faith. If we take prophecy to mean here the special gift of the apostolic age, as an extraordinary exposition of divine truth, then the admonition of the apostle means to say that all such exposition must agree with the inspired Word and bring out the confidence of faith. But since prophecy in this passage probably refers to the explanation of Scripture at all times, with the gifts as they have been given to many members of the New Testament Church, the words could be transcribed: All exposition of Scriptures at all times must follow the analogy of faith, of saving faith. As this faith is based entirely and alone upon the inspired Word of God, and never follows reason or philosophy, so Bible explanation which really merits the name never goes at its task with preconceived notions and ideas, with a system of doctrine to which the Scripture-passages must be fitted by hook or by crook, but it draws the truth out of Scriptures, it rests upon the Bible alone, 1 Corinthians 2:13.

The apostle continues: If we have a service or office, let us pay attention to that service. All offices in the Church are tributary to the great service of the preaching of the Word, but there are many forms of this service. No matter, however, what peculiar vocation any person might have in the church, or congregation, no matter for what special work he may have received endowments, he should attend to it gladly, modestly, without intruding into the sphere of others or envying them their superior endowments. This applies first to such as hold the office of teachers in the congregation, no matter in what form: If one is a teacher, let him attend to his teaching. If God has called any person to be a preacher for the public proclamation of the Word, or a teacher for the instruction of the children and youth in the way of salvation, then the work of that office should engage his attention, herein he should be active and accomplish something under the blessing of God, for the benefit of the congregation and of all the members. If anyone is an exhorter, let him attend to his exhorting. If any Christian has received the special gift of applying the Word of God in the various circumstances of life, the meeting of the congregation or that of any body in the service of the congregation will give him plenty of opportunity to make use of this talent and thus to be of service to the Lord. And, in general, the apostle writes: If one gives, imparts, some of his richer blessings to the poorer in this world's goods or to such as are in need or want, let him do so in sincerity, with the single and undivided purpose to be of service, and not to raise a monument to himself or to get praise and honor from men. If anyone rules, occupies a position of distinction as a leader or superintendent of any church-work, he should perform his work with zeal, never debase it by treating it as a sinecure, and by being given to inertness and carelessness, but always devoting to it full attention. If anyone shows mercy, let him do so with a prompt mind. The sick and afflicted among the brethren and sisters should be given the mercy, the active sympathy of the others, not with grudging uncharitableness, but in the spirit which rejoices in the opportunity of being able to help others, which always shows a compassionate, smiling countenance at the prospect of alleviating suffering of every kind.