Coffee House Chapel #6

June 6

Romans 12:3, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

Most Americans, along with the "Western World," think too much about themselves. We have become, to our own spiritual detriment, an egocentric society. Even Christians get caught up in the "rights" demanding movement. I find it contradictory that we who claim to be followers of Christ, the Christ of whom Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 53:7 [He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.], demand what we have no right to demand, while He, Who had every right to make such demands -- kept silent.

Paul's solution to this problem, is not to quit thinking about ourselves, but to think in the right way about ourselves. This way of thinking is twofold: (1) to think about ourselves "with sober judgment" and (2) to think of ourselves "in accordance with the measure of faith God giveth."

1. With sober judgment. The late Ray Stedman wrote in his study of Romans ("From Guilt to Glory," vol 2) the following:

A. "First, I am made in the image of God. I am not an animal and I don't have to behave like an animal. I have an ability within me, given to me by God Himself, to respond and relate to God. Therefore I can behave as a man and not as a beast."

B. "Second, I am filled with the Spirit of God. The most amazing thing has happened! Though I don't deserve it in the least degree, I have the power of God at work within me. I have become, in some sense, the bearer of God, and God Himself is willing to be at work in me through the problems and pressures I go through this day."

C. "Third, I am part of the plan of God. God is working out all things to a great and final purpose in the earth, and I am part of it. What I do today has purpose and significance and meaning. This is not a meaningless day I am going through. Even the smallest incident, the most apparently insignificant word or relationship, is involved in His great plan. Therefore all of it has meaning and purpose."

Dr. Boice writes, "Stedman say rightly that there is nothing better that this to set us up on our feet and give us 'confidence without conceit.' When we think of ourselves in this way we are indeed thinking soberly and evaluating ourselves as God's creatures without either vanity or a lack of proper self-esteem."

Adapted from "Romans" by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

June 7

Romans 12:3, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

2. In accordance with the measure of faith God has given. This phrase is more than just seeing ourselves as being made in the image of God. This involves the things that make each of us unique. This is a precursor to the discussion of spiritual gifts that comes later in this chapter.

Dr. Boice points out the faith can be taken in three ways: (1) "our confidence or trust in God -- hence, think of yourself...in accordance with the measure of your actual trust in God (that is, not as trusting God more than you actually do); (2) our knowledge of God or of 'the faith' God has revealed -- hence, think of yourself...according to the degree of knowledge about yourself and all people that you have attained (that is, don't exaggerate the human condition); or (3) our individual spiritual gifts received by faith -- hence, think of yourself...in accordance with the specific gifts or talents God has given you."

The third meaning best fits the context of the passage. Our text can be split, with the first part looking back to verses 1 and 2 with our sober thinking on the renewed mind. The latter part of the verse looks ahead to the gifts God gives to each believer. The church has many members, each having their own gift/gifts. None of us has all the gifts, but we are to "evaluate our contribution to the church on the basis of the gifts we have, not on the basis of another?s talents." (Boice)

"It is called the measure of faith in the restricted sense of the faith that is suited to the exercise of this gift, and this nomenclature is used to emphasize the cardinal place which faith occupies not only in our becoming members of this community but also in the specific functions performed as members of it." (John Murray)

Part of genuine humility is understanding the spiritual gifts God has given us, and then beginning to use those gifts for the glory of God. Each of us is responsible for discovering what our particular gifts are. Dr. Boice tells us that it is a "false humility that says, 'I don't have anything to offer to anyone. God can't use me.'"

Adapted from "Romans" by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

June 13

Romans 12:3, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

Romans 12 speaks of spiritual gifts. These gifts are to build up the body of Christ. But there is one other important reason for using our natural abilities and acquired skills -- that is for the glory of God.

The following story - told of Harry Ironsides - is a great illustration. "Ironside's father died when he was quite young, so during his school days, on vacations, and on Saturdays, Ironside used to work for a Scottish shoemaker named Dan Mackay. The man was a Christian from the Orkney Islands who did his work well, and as he had opportunity he would speak to his customers about the importance of being born again.

"Ironside's responsibility was to pound leather for the soles of the shoes. The cut cowhide was soaked in water and then placed on a piece of iron and pounded until it was hard and dry. This toughened the leather and made the soles last longer, but the pounding took a long time.

"One day Ironside was walking by another cobbler's shop, and he saw that the owner was not pounding the leather soles at all. He simply took the soles out of the water and nailed them to the upper portion of the shoes with the water splashing out as he drove the nails in. Ironside went inside and asked him why he was doing his work that way. 'Are they just as good as if they were pounded?' he asked.

"The cobbler gave him a naughty wink and answered, 'They come back all the quicker this way, my boy!'

"Ironside thought he had learned something important. So he went back to the Christian cobbler, his boss, and suggested that maybe he was wasting his time pounding the leather to toughen it and get it dry. Mr. Mackay stopped his work and opened his Bible to Colossians 3:23-24, where he read, 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.'

"He said, 'Harry, I don't cobble shoes just for the money I get from my customers. I am doing this for the glory of God. I expect to see every shoe I have ever repaired in a big pile at the judgment seat of Christ, and I do not want the Lord to say to me in that day, 'Dan, this was a poor job. You did not do your best here.' I want Him to be able to say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.'"

Dr. Boice writes, "So you see how practical this all is. A proper humility in which we learn to think soberly about ourselves does not lead to self-abnegation or inactivity, which honors no one. Instead it leads to the energetic use of every gift and talent God has given, knowing that they have some from Him -- that no glory is ever due to us -- but because they do come from Him, they must be used faithfully and wholeheartedly for His glory."

Adapted from "Romans" by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

June 14

Romans 12:4-5, "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another."

The doctrine of the church is one of the more important biblical doctrines. Interestingly enough however, for its importance, the actual word "church" is not used much. It is not used at all in the O.T. and only twice in the gospels, both times in Matthew. In the KJV the singular word "church" is used about 80 times, and the plural word "churches" another 35 times.

The explanation to this conundrum is that although the words "church" and "churches" are not used much, the subject of the church in discussed many more times in the N.T., using other words and images. Our text falls into this latter category, as Paul begins to speak of the church, its unity, the distribution of spiritual gifts among its members, and the way Christians in the church should behave towards one another. Paul does not use the word "church," he uses the phrase "body of Christ." Dr. Boice writes, "this is an important text, because 'the body of Christ' is a powerful image for the church. As we might expect, it is also found numerous other places in Paul's writings."

The church is not a building, although we often speak of "going to church" or "building a church," both phrases speaking of the building(s) that house churches. The church is people. Dr. Boice asks the following: "But how do these people fit into a particular congregation or a denomination in our thinking? We talk about the Episcopal Church or the Presbyterian Church or the Baptist Church. Are they 'churches,' even 'the one true church' as some claim? Are they even churches at all? And what about the people in these denominations? Are all of them members of the church? If so, in what sense? Does membership in a particular organization make you a church member? What about those who watch services on television? Or what about those who were baptized and attended church at one time but who no longer attend?"

Paul's phrase, "body of Christ," is very helpful in answering these questions. When he speaks of the "body of Christ," he is speaking of those who belong to Christ, those who are joined to Christ exactly in the way Paul described to us in Romans 5 and in other passages. "This is a spiritual reality, invisible but supremely real. It is something that is accomplished by the Holy Spirit, and it has to do with faith in Christ, by which we become new creatures, having passed out of our death-union with Adam to a new life-union with the Savior." (Boice)

Adapted from "Romans" by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

June 20

Romans 12:4-5, "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another."

Charles Colson makes the following statement in his book, "The Body," "The church -- the body of God's people -- has little to do with slick marketing or fancy facilities. It has everything to do with the people and the Spirit of God in their midst."

John Stott writes, "The church is a people, a community of people, who owe their existence, their solidarity and their corporate distinctness from other communities to one thing only -- the call of God."

We understand that the church was created by Jesus and that it is a New Testament reality. The word "church" is only found in the New Testament. Jesus, when He made His great statement to Peter in Matthew 16:18, used the future tense when He spoke of the church ("I will build my church"). The church began at Pentecost, after the ascension of the Savior. The first members (though all Jews, either natural born or proselyte) were from a broad cross-section of the then known world, "Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians" (Acts 2:9-11).

Dr. Boice suggests that is not the whole story. "If the church is the community of those who have been called by God, as Stott suggests in his definition of the church, then the Old Testament believers belonged to the church of Jesus Christ too. This is because they looked forward to Christ's coming and were joined to Him by faith, just as we look back.

"The key concept here is the covenant. This covenant is expressed in God's call of particular individuals (and not others) and by His entering into a formal agreement to save, protect, and bless them. For their part, the individuals are required to believe, worship, and obey God. Adam and Eve were part of this initial covenant, and so were their godly descendants listed in Genesis 5. We see the idea of a covenant formally and most clearly set out in God's calling of Abraham, with whom a special stage in the history of the Old Testament 'church' begins. God said, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you? (Gen 12:1-2). Later that covenant was ratified by a ceremony in which God foretold the future history of Abraham's descendants and promised them a land of their own, 'from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates' (Gen 15:18; see vv. 12-21). Abraham?s response was to believe God and worship Him.

"We find the same pattern in God's dealings with Isaac, Abraham's son, and with Jacob, his grandson. In each case the call of God is joined to a covenant promise, and this is followed by faith, worship, and obedience on the people's part. The church consists of all these people, those whom God has called from all times and from all places and has joined to Jesus Christ."

Adapted from "Romans" by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

June 27

Romans 12:4-5, "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another."

"Paul's image of the church as Christ's body not only defines the church as the community of those who have been joined to Christ, but it also teaches that there is only one church. There is but one church because Jesus has but one body." (Boice)

Ephesians 4:4-6 is a parallel to our text, but with greater elaboration, because Ephesians is essentially a treatise on the church. In Ephesians, as in Romans, Paul applies the doctrine of salvation to Christian living. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Eph 4:4-6) In the Ephesians text, there are seven important unities that we will consider:

1. One body. "This is an important image for the church, because it pictures it as an organic whole rather than as a machine that is made up of independent parts." (Boice) Machines, such as airplanes, trains, or automobiles, are things that have no life. The church, is an organism, in which all of its parts are alive. Each part of that organism supports and depends on the other part of the organism. Paul teaches us an important lesson on unity in 1 Corinthians 12:24-26, "For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it."

2. One Spirit. "Spirit" is capitalized, because Paul is not speaking of Christian's spirit, in the sense that they are one in their enthusiasms and goals, but he is referring to the work of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity, Who draws us to Christ. "We are all different. We have come to Christ along different roads. Nevertheless, the reason we have come along those roads at all is that the same Holy Spirit has been drawing us, so that at the theological level our conversion experiences are the same. We have all been awaked to our need. We have all been made alive in Christ. We have all believed on Him. Moreover, the Holy Spirit is performing a work of sanctification in each of us, so that we are all working for Christ and are beginning to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control' (Gal 5:22-23)."

Adapted from "Romans" by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd