Uncategorized

Oct

2025

Mercy

“Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep” (Rom 12:15).

God is a God of mercy, and we, as His disciples, are to love mercy. God sees us in our weakness and need, has compassion on us, and meets our need. This is what merciful people do.

People with the gift of mercy are the people you want around when you hurt. They listen to you. They hug you. They hold your hand. They weep with you. They sympathize with your plight. These people feel your hurt. They want to help you, and they will do what they can to help you because they care.

These people have a special heart for the weak, the vulnerable, the hurting, and the oppressed. They look out for the poor, the lowly, and the downtrodden.

These people are genuinely happy at your good fortune and genuinely sad at your pain.

Like those with the gift of service, people with the gift of mercy do not generally want the spotlight. They prefer to come alongside you and help in the background. They differ with the servants in that those with the gift of service focus their help more on practical needs while those with the gift of mercy focus more on emotional needs – holding your hand, giving an encouraging word, crying with you. Those with the gift of mercy still desire to meet practical needs because they see such help as emotionally helpful whereas those with the gift of service see such help as practically helpful. On the outside it looks the same, but underneath the actions lie somewhat different emphases. Those with the gift of mercy tend to have more feeling in their help.

The Importance of the Gift of Mercy

People with the gift of mercy are God’s heart in the church. Mercy is important because it treats people as if they are people. It has a soft heart for people, and the church needs a soft heart toward people.

Strengths of the Gift of Mercy

compassionate
sensitive to how people feel
generous
considerate
providing care to others
often desire right relationships
helping others

Weaknesses of the Gift of Mercy

can be driven by emotions to unhealthy places like depression or false doctrine
can focus on emotional or physical needs and neglect to bring the gospel to people
can be indecisive
desire to please people
sometimes judge doctrines or people largely by their feelings
sometimes feel things that are not true
can have difficulty drawing healthy boundaries
can have difficulty focusing on tasks
can have their feelings easily hurt by others
can have difficulty with rebuke or reproof – hard conversations
can have difficulty in leadership roles

Examples of People with this Gift

Ruth, The Good Samaritan, Mother Teresa

Good Roles for this Gift

mom, ministry to the poor or oppressed, visiting the sick, care for the elderly, counselor, confidante, prayer ministry, nurse

Sep

2025

Leadership

Leadership is the gifting I have had the greatest struggle to describe. Two reasons account for this difficulty.

First, leadership comes in different varieties. A church planter and a pastor are both leaders, but they are quite different beasts. Paul is not John. Both have leadership giftings, but they have very different strengths and weaknesses.

Second, Paul mentions the gift of leadership in Romans 12, but in Eph 4, he mentions as leaders the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. So is Paul using different terms to refer to the same thing? And if so, which term in Ephesians most corresponds to the gift of leadership in Romans? Or is Romans a broad umbrella that includes different types of leaders? Or is Ephesians merely a list of offices not related to spiritual gifts at all? These are some of the questions I have asked in trying to figure out exactly what Paul means by leadership.

Given these questions, here is how I plan on approaching the gift of leadership.

I believe it more likely that Paul’s use of the term “leadership” in Rom 12:8 is a reference to pastoral leadership than to more entrepreneurial leadership. Here is why:

Paul uses the same term in I Th 5:12 and I Tim 5:17 to refer to the elders of a church, and Biblically elders, overseers, and pastors are all different words for the same office. In addition, the word for “lead” can equally be translated “care for” (see BAGD) and care is a central component of pastoral leadership, but it can often be a weakness of entrepreneurial leaders.

These two facts are not conclusive, for entrepreneurial leaders can still be elders, and church planters still need to care for the flock, but, nonetheless, Paul’s use of the word and the alternate meaning of the word make me lean in the direction of saying that Paul has in mind a more pastoral function than a function that begins new works.

However, because my leaning is not certain, I will describe both of these leadership types with the proviso that I believe the pastoral one is the more likely of the two. Thus, in the next couple weeks, I will post blogs on entrepreneurial leadership and pastoral leadership.

Aug

2025

Teaching

“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we might present everyone perfect in Christ.” (Col 1:28)

The spiritual gift of teaching involves communicating Biblical truth in a way that brings about healthy spiritual growth and life change. The gift is more than being a good teacher generically. Someone can be a good biology or literature teacher without having the spiritual gift of teaching. People with this gift focus on Jesus and on Scripture. When these people teach, it’s not just that you learn something. It’s that they take you to God and help you spiritually understand and apply His Word to your life. People with this gift open your heart and mind to God’s ways. People with the spiritual gift of teaching proclaim Christ. They want to present everyone perfect in Christ.

People with this gift care about the truth and about applying that truth to real life. Good teaching should be a bridge between a text and a life. In order to bridge from a text, you must know the text. Thus, people with the spiritual gift of teaching often spend much time in Scripture to discern what it says. They want to proclaim it accurately.

But in order to bridge to a life, you must know life. Good teachers, thus, are active participants in the Christian life. To teach on prayer, you need to pray. To teach on taking up your cross, you need to take up your own. To teach on generosity, you need to be generous.

People with the gift of teaching still struggle with all of the above and more. They will have their strengths and weaknesses just as you do, but they are in the fight. And they understand the fight. From the inside.

James says that God judges teachers with greater strictness (Jas 3:1), so you should not become a teacher lightly. You will be held to the standard that you teach. If you teach a low standard, you are not a good teacher. If you teach a Biblical standard, you will be held to it. For an honest teacher, that is a fearful prospect.

This gift is more public. People with this gift are usually in front of the church in some capacity.

The Importance of Teaching

This gift is the compass of the church. Good teaching leads the church in a right direction. Bad teaching leads the church astray.

False Teachers

The New Testament is filled with condemnation for false teachers. Every era of history has had its false teachers, and today is no different. Modern examples of false teaching include cults like Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons, different forms of the prosperity gospel, and different teachings under the label “progressive Christianity.” Those who teach such doctrines lead people astray, and God will hold them accountable for their teachings. God loves His church with a passion. Woe to those who lead the sheep astray.

Strengths of Teachers

care about truth
care about the church
love to read
love to learn
are willing to do the work of studying Scripture
are good communicators
want to see people apply the Bible
can explain complex spiritual ideas simply
are usually strong in the Word

Weaknesses of Teachers

can be too intellectual
can focus on ideas and miss the people
may struggle with personal relationships
may be proud of their knowledge and abilities
may be proud of being in front of others
need to be right

Examples of People with this Gift

Ezra, Paul, Timothy, Apollos, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Francis Chan, Tim Keller

Good Roles for People with this Gift

pastor, Bible study leader, Bible teacher, seminary professor, apologist, writer

Aug

2025

Service

“. . . whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:26-8)

Greatness in the kingdom of God is backwards from greatness in the world. Jesus came to serve. He came to give His life a ransom for many. To Jesus, the great ones are the servants. Therefore, the spiritual gift of service is Christ-like and makes men and women great in the eyes of God. People with this gift show the rest of us how to be great in the kingdom of God.

Servants generally prefer to be behind the scenes and are usually the ones most willing to do the dirty jobs. At a supper you’ll find them setting up and tearing down tables, doing dishes, and taking out the trash, and they will do these jobs with a smile and a glad heart. In different ministries, you’ll find them giving rides to people, serving meals, helping an immigrant find work, or doing the taxes of an elderly man. These people bring meals when you are sick or repair your car when it breaks down. They thrive on meeting practical needs. They want to serve you.

These people do the leg work of ministry, and without them much that the church does would come to a standstill.

The Importance of Service

Servants are the hands and feet of the church. They show the rest of the church how to be great.

Strengths of Servants

content behind the scenes
can be humble
get things done
want to help
care about others first

Weaknesses of Servants

sometimes say yes to everything and burn out
can try to do everything themselves
can stress out because there is so much to do
sometimes focus so much on practical needs that they miss people’s spiritual needs
sometimes focus on working and miss abiding in Christ
sometimes try to please men instead of God

Examples of People with the Gift of Service

Ruth, Martha, Stephen, Tabitha, Mother Teresa

Good Roles for People with this Gift

support roles, nurse, needs ministries, most any work that is behind the scenes and that helps people

Aug

2025

Prophecy

“The one who prophecies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues” (I Cor 14:5)

This gift is mentioned in Romans 12, I Corinthians 12-14, and Ephesians 4.

Most people associate prophecy with foretelling the future, and prophecy certainly can include that aspect. But prophecy is bigger than foretelling the future. New Testament prophets are a continuation of the Old Testament prophetic tradition but under a new covenant. When you read Isaiah or Jeremiah, you read a lot of “Thus says the Lord,” and most of those statements have nothing to do with foretelling the future. Sometimes a prophet rebukes sin. Sometimes he offers restoration and forgiveness. Sometimes he gives direction concerning God’s will. Occasionally he predicts the future.

What do Prophets Do?

At its most basic level prophecy is a word from the Lord. Like Old Testament prophets, New Testament prophets speak a word from the Lord for the church, and that word is informed by the new covenant and the coming of Jesus.

Prophets:

rebuke sin
call the church to repentance
call you to repentance
let us know of God’s judgment, love and mercy
point us to God and to His character
communicate messages from God to the people
provide guidance and direction
may speak about the future

The Importance of Prophecy

Prophets are the conscience of the church.

Who is Prophecy For?

Prophecy can be for individuals or for the church.

Strengths of a Prophet

boldness, no fear of men
a focus on righteousness and holiness
can see the truth and communicate that truth clearly and simply
care about the truth
want to see the church honor God
are sensitive to the Spirit
have high ethical standards

Weaknesses of a Prophet

can be proud
can be insensitive
can be offensive needlessly
can lack tact
can speak the truth without love when speaking from the flesh

False Prophets

Because false prophets exist, the church must test the message of a prophet to see whether it is of God (I Jn 4:1). The standard for such a test is Scripture. The message of a prophet is, thus, subordinate to Scripture, not equal to Scripture. People who listen to a self-proclaimed “prophet” who gives a message that does not align with Scripture are not listening to a prophet of God (Dt 13).

Prophecy and Teaching

Prophecy communicates a message from God. Teaching also communicates a message from God. But the two are not the same. Prophecy tends to be less formal, shorter, and more spontaneous than teaching. It is more like a word God gives on the spot to address a particular situation.

Examples of People with the Gift of Prophecy

Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, A.W. Tozer, Keith Green, Paul Washer

Good Roles for People with the Gift of Prophecy

mentor, writer, speaker, jail ministry, evangelist

Aug

2025

Spiritual Gifts: Introduction

In 1993 I sat in on a series of lectures by Russell Kelfer at Wayside Chapel in San Antonio, TX. The topic of the lectures was the spiritual gifts, and in each lecture, Kelfer took one gift and expanded it in such a way as to give a picture of what that gift looked like and how to use it. I did not get the lecture tapes, and I do not now remember any specific details of what Kelfer said, but I do recall the gist of the overall structure and the general idea.

I wish then to take his concept at the macro level, reconstruct it here, and give him credit for the idea. I then wish to fill in some details. I intend these details to be simple and brief. My goal is not to say everything that can be said about a gift. Rather, it is to give a quick picture. An incomplete picture, certainly, but a picture nonetheless.

It is quite possible that some of my details originally came from Kelfer as well, and they have sat around in my head for more than 30 years. In such cases, he also gets credit, but since I don’t remember the specifics of his talks, I don’t know which ideas to credit him for. Thus, this generic acknowledgement will have to do. If the Holy Spirit led him, and if the Holy Spirit leads me, we should agree in substance.

In an orchestra, the different instruments have different roles in a symphony. On a basketball team, the different players have different strengths and play different roles on the court. In a body, the different members do different things. This is the church. Different people have different strengths and, thus, should have different roles within the church.

So what are some of these different gifts?

Scripture lists spiritual gifts in different places. Among the gifts listed are these: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, wisdom, knowledge, faith, miracles, healing, discernment, administration, speaking and interpreting tongues, evangelism, pastoral gifts, and hospitality.

These lists appear in four different places and have considerable overlap, but they are not identical. Thus, when Scripture lists the spiritual gifts, the lists are not comprehensive. They are merely examples of some of the gifts. You can likely think of other spiritual gifts not specifically listed in Scripture. Worship? Vision? Intercessory prayer? Cross-cultural ministry? Ministry to children? You may say that these gifts intersect with others Paul mentions, and I won’t argue with you, but neither will I say that these gifts are identical to what Paul mentions.

I am not going to talk about the gifts outside Scripture. If I did, we could go on a long time. So I am going to take one Biblical gift per blog and address questions such as the following: what do these gifts do? What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? Who are real people who have those gifts? What are some good roles in the church for someone with those gifts?

As I do this, keep in mind that what I say will be general truths that will not apply to every situation. It may be like those times you look online at the symptoms of some disease and say, “Woa! I have some of those symptoms!”? That doesn’t mean you have the disease.

I am giving a broad picture, as a Proverb does. I am not assessing your life. Strengths and weaknesses are tendencies, not laws. Sometimes they are wrong. Keep in mind as well that people often have more than one gift, and sometimes the strength of one gift may help offset the weakness of another. For example, someone may have the gifts of mercy and service, and because they have the gift of service, they are focused on accomplishing practical tasks, a reality that someone with the gift of mercy alone may struggle with. Someone may have the gifts of administration and encouragement, and because they have the gift of encouragement, they may have strong relational skills that someone with the gift of administration alone might lack. The real world is more complex than the pictures I am going to give you. But I pray that the pictures still help.

May

2025

A Right Emphasis on the Gifts

Earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way. (I Cor 12:20)

Think for a moment about physical handicaps.

I once had a friend who was a paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair. The thing he wanted most to do was to walk. When Jesus asks blind Bartimaeus what he wants, Bartimaeus says, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight” (Mk 10:51). Even if you’ve never been blind or paralyzed, you understand the sentiment.

Paul likens spiritual gifts to parts of the body – hands, feet, eyes, ears — and that picture portrays the need for the gifts. The church needs the gifts as a body needs a leg. The gifts serve the church, and the absence of those gifts is a handicap on the church. A church without sound teaching is blind. A church without evangelism is lame, and a church without service has no hands.

When Christians merely sit and soak in sermons without ever serving their church, they hurt their church. Finding your gifting and using it for the church is necessary for your own spiritual health but also for the health of the church. Spiritual gifts are as needed as a hand, an ear, or an eye.

Having said this, however, spiritual gifts are not the most important aspect of your life with Jesus. In I Corinthians, Paul talks about the body and spiritual gifts and then goes on to say, “But let me show you a more excellent way” (13:1). He then says that if you have great gifts but don’t love, you are nothing. As necessary as the gifts are, love is more needful yet.

In addition, when Paul gives the criteria for elders (I Tim 3 and Titus 1), most of the criteria deal with character. And even the one criterion that deals with a skill requires only that an elder be able to teach, not that he be gifted at teaching. Elders do not have to have the spiritual gift of teaching, but they do need to be able to explain the faith to any who need an explanation. Thus, even with elders, spiritual gifts are not the primary qualifications the church should look for.

Biblical character is more important than spiritual gifting. Love is more important than spiritual gifting. Your relationship with Jesus is more important than spiritual gifting. Righteousness and holiness are more important than spiritual gifting. It is better to be holy than to be a gifted evangelist. It is better to love God and neighbor than to be a gifted church planter.

If spiritual gifts are like hands and eyes, then love, holiness, intimacy with Jesus, and righteousness are like heart and liver.

The church may be handicapped without the spiritual gifts, but it is dead without love or holiness. In fact, it is not a church. Godly character and a godly heart are essential markers of genuine Christianity. Without them the church cannot survive. John puts it this way:

“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is

righteous as he is righteous. He who practices sinning is of the devil, for the

devil has been sinning from the beginning . . . By this it is evident who are the

children of God and who are the children of the devil. Whoever does not

practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

(I John 3:8,10)

You can be of God without practicing your spiritual gifts, but you cannot be of God without practicing love and righteousness. Of course, if you are of God, you should practice your spiritual gifts. You use them for the church as a man uses his feet to carry the body.

We, thus, need this twofold emphasis that Paul gives in I Corinthians. On the one side, your gifts are important and you need to use them. On the other side, some qualities are more important still.

Thus, spiritual gifting should be important but not the overall focus of a believer. If you gain strong hands but lose your heart, you have made a bad trade. The main things need to be the main things, and spiritual gifts, good as they are, are not the main things.

Walk in holiness. Love Jesus. Love your brother. If you do these things, you put the word “spiritual” into spiritual gifts. But if you don’t do these things, you rip the word “spiritual” out of the gifts. That was a problem Paul had to correct in Corinth. It is a problem that some people still have today.

A church board calls a man to be pastor because he is a gifted communicator only to find later that he is also addicted to pornography. A ministry calls a man who is a gifted evangelist only to find later that he abuses his power. Many people emphasize gifts instead of humility. Ability instead of prayer. Flash instead of substance. Corinth is alive and well today.

Don’t let it be so with you.

Apr

2025

Spiritual Gifts: Some Basics

All mammals are mammals, but not all mammals are the same. Christianity is like this. All Christians are Christians. We all share a common faith and salvation. We all have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7). We all have been adopted into God’s family as children (Rom 8:15-17; Gal 3:26-29). We all have been baptized in one Spirit into one body (I Cor 12:13). We all, thus, have access to God’s Spirit, heart, and throne.

But we are not all the same.

Paul says that we are a body with many members. Some are hands, some are feet, some are eyes, some are ears. The same blood flows through all members, and we all have the same spiritual DNA, but a hand is not an eye. We have different giftings and, thus, different functions.

No one possesses all the gifts. If people did, they would not need to be part of a body, for they would be a body unto themselves.

Paul addresses this idea of gifting in his letters (Rom 12, Eph 4, and most thoroughly in I Corinthians 12-14), and I want to use those letters to talk about spiritual gifts. Let’s begin with some basics.

What are Spiritual Gifts?

1. Spiritual gifts are spiritual. I don’t mean to state the obvious, but sometimes we miss the obvious. Spiritual gifts have a spiritual source and a spiritual purpose. We may say that Rachmaninoff was a gifted pianist, that Michael Jordan was a gifted basketball player, and that Einstein had a gifted intellect, and in all of those cases, we would be right, but their giftings are not spiritual gifts.

Spiritual gifts are not merely natural talents. They may involve talents like music or teaching, but spiritual gifts have a spiritual component. Natural talents by themselves are not spiritual. For this reason, unbelievers do not have spiritual gifts. They don’t know God, and because they don’t know God, they lack a godly spiritual presence in their lives. They may be good musicians, teachers or administrators, but they cannot use those gifts for God. Unbelievers don’t serve God.

When someone follows Jesus, the Spirit of God enters him. Only then can we begin to talk of spiritual gifts. The Spirit may take natural talents, empower them, refine them, and redirect them toward godly spiritual purposes, or the Spirit may grant completely new talents like spiritual wisdom, healing or prophecy. Either way, the one essential component is the Holy Spirit. Spiritual gifts are spiritual.

2. Spiritual gifts are gifts. Again, I don’t mean to state the obvious, but sometimes we miss the obvious. A gift is something you don’t earn. We do not acquire spiritual gifts by practice or hard work. God simply gives them to us. Spiritual gifts, thus, come by grace.

Since this is the case, no one should ever boast in his gifts. You did not do anything to receive the gifts you have. The Corinthians forgot that their gifts were grace, for they thought quite highly of themselves because they spoke in tongues. But they didn’t do anything to be able to speak in tongues. It was a gift.

What is the Purpose of Spiritual Gifts?

Paul says, “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (I Cor 12:7). The purpose of the gifts, then, is for the good of the body. The foot walks for the good of the body. The hand grasps, the eye sees, the ear hears all for the good of the body. Thus, the gift of evangelism is for the good of the body. Prophecy, teaching, service, and leadership are all for the good of the body (Eph 4:11-16). Different gifts contribute to the good of the body in different ways, just as the hand and the eye do. But any talent, any gift, that does not contribute to the building of the church is not and cannot be a spiritual gift.

Dec

2024

Who You Are and What You Do

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s sed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God (I John 3:9)

Squirrels run through trees and eat nuts. Eagles soar in the sky and hunt squirrels. Otters play in rivers, and lions lie in grasslands. Bats sleep during the day and fly at night, while spiders build webs and wait.

Squirrels do not act like eagles, and bats do not act like spiders. Creatures behave in accord with what they are. Their DNA affects how they live.

The spiritual world is the same way. Who you are determines how you live. John wrote that those who abide in Christ do not continue in sin because God’s seed is in them. (I Jn 3). Yet this same John also said that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (I Jn 1:8).

The Christian is, thus, someone who still sins but who does not continue in sin. Sin is not our home. It is not our habit. It is not our lifestyle. Even if we may fall into it and be impure as a result.

The Christian needs forgiveness because he still sins, but the Christian has a new DNA from above and has changed.

This is why Scripture will say that Christians are righteous and then say that they need to confess their sins. We are new creatures who still live in our fallen bodies and within this fallen world. We are salmon swimming upstream against this world, but sometimes the current catches us and we fall back into the ways of the world.

The way to tell the difference between a genuine Christian and a false one is by looking at the overall direction – the pattern – of his life and not with a single incident. Even in looking at the pattern we can be mistaken, for we can mistake reality, and a Christian is more than behavior. But you will tend to be more accurate if you look holistically at a person and not just at the particular sin or act that irritates you.

Christians are new but not perfect. We err when we neglect either of those truths. Some people expect perfection and, consequently, show no grace to their brothers and sisters. Other people excuse sinful lifestyles under the guise that Christians are not perfect and, in doing so, compromise the Christian witness to the world.

When God makes Christians new, He does so from the inside out. He changes who you are. It’s like going from a squirrel to an eagle. The behavior will follow. It may not follow immediately or perfectly, but it will come. A new heart that never results in a new life is not a new heart. Continued sin is evidence of an old heart. A changed life is evidence of a new heart. But if, in your changed life, you find that you still sin, do this: repent, seek forgiveness, be cleansed, and move on.

Sep

2024

Questions for My Soul

Why do you think, O soul, that God must give you what you want?

Does the Almighty owe you?

Is He your slave that He should do your bidding?

Must the only Sovereign bow to the will of His servant?

Who is the King of kings and who is a mere man?

Who is exalted and who lives in the dust?

Does He who formed the stars answer to clay?

Or He who gives life bow to flesh?

Should you, O soul, live in the fear of God, or should He live in the fear of you?

Do you govern the laws of the universe that He should take note of you?

Do you command angels?

Does all of creation bow at your feet?

Do you dwell in unapproachable light?

Do the centuries come and go in your presence?

Does all of history serve your purpose?

O soul, why then do you exalt yourself? Why do you think the Exalted One must answer to you?

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Spiritual Gifts: Introduction

A Right Emphasis on the Gifts

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