Sunday Sermon: The Spiritual Gifts of Leading and Mercy (Romans 12:8)

You're listening to the preaching ministry of Gabriel Hughes, pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church in Casa Grande, Arizona. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on this podcast we feature teaching through a New Testament book, an Old Testament book on Thursday and our Q &A on Friday.

Each Sunday we are pleased to present our sermon series. Here is Pastor Gabe.

The Church as One Body With Many Spiritual Gifts

Well good morning. If you would open in your Bible please to Romans chapter 12. We come back to the study that we've been doing in this chapter and over the month of July and we will finish up today, we've been focusing specifically on spiritual gifts.

Those giftings that God has given us by His Spirit and the purpose of the gifts once again is for the service of the church. There may be many different skills that you may have, but specifically how might God use those talents and abilities for the blessing and service of the people of this body whom we fellowship with and have committed ourselves to.

Also we may ask how the Lord could use the skills that we've been given in other capacities, how those skills could be used to benefit the body also. This is the purpose of the spiritual gifts, that the body may help the body, that we would grow each other up in love and hold fast to the head who is Christ.

And so once more this week we are going to read again that passage from verses 3 -8 where Paul talks about the church being a body, but even though we are a body we are individual parts and each part having a particular gifting for the benefit of building the body up.

So in honor of the word of the King would you please stand. We read once again Romans chapter 12 verses 3 -8 the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Rome. Hear the word of the Lord. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we though many are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.

If prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness.

You may be seated as we pray. Heavenly Father we come once again to this passage of scripture where we have described for us as the church who we are in Christ. One body with Christ as our head and many parts to this body just as you have made each and every one of us individually with many parts to our individual bodies.

So there are even gathered this morning here in Casa Grande, Arizona, there are different bodies, gatherings of saints that are joined together to hear the preaching of the Word, to likewise lift up praise to God, and many others who may also be coming to the Lord's table to remember the body and blood that were given for us for the forgiveness of our sins.

And even though we are different bodies that are meeting in different buildings, there is still a unity to us, and that all of us in Christ Jesus are one. There are bodies of saints gathering around the rest of the country.

There are bodies of saints gathering in other parts of the world. And the amazing thing is having the same spirit within us all, though we may come from different cultures and backgrounds and speak different languages, we are still even one body in Christ Jesus who has called us by His Gospel to Himself and made us into the family of God.

Now when it comes to that understanding of us in different places in different parts of the world being in one body, that is difficult for us living on this earth in a finite place in individual bodies in different places to comprehend.

But a day will come in which we will be gathered together in Heaven as one, and gathered around the throne of God singing the praises of Him who died for us and rose again from the dead. That by faith in Him we are reconciled to God and we are made this one body in Christ.

Help us even as we are gathered here this morning to keep those things in view. To have Heaven in mind. To long for that day when we are all together, rejoicing together across the different centuries, millennia that we have been called into the family of God, yet in this one time now we are gathered for eternity to sing the praises of the God who saved us.

Lord, if there is any sinful way in us individually, may we be convicted of that sin. May we come to be purified by Christ so that we would not bring any stain to this body, but loving the body of Christ, want to see it purified, that spotless bride that will be presented to the bridegroom on that day of glory.

Guide us as we read in Your Word, help us to understand our individual responsibilities to this body to which we have been called and made into through Christ Jesus our Lord. And it's in His precious name that we pray and all God's people said, Amen.

Jesus' Teaching on Servant Leadership

In Matthew chapter 20, we read of a mother's request. The mother of the sons of Zebedee, which we know to be James and John, came before Jesus and knelt before Him and asked Him for something. And He said to her, Woman, what do you want?

And she said to Him, Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom. And Jesus answered, You don't know what you are asking. And He knows that the heart of this woman and the hearts of His disciples, they were thinking of an earthly kingdom.

They had not yet comprehended this heavenly kingdom that Jesus was building. So in saying to them, You don't yet know what you are asking, He knows that their minds have not yet ascended to heavenly things.

And He said, Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? And they said to Him, We are able. And He said to them, You will drink My cup, but to sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.

And when the ten heard it, the other ten of the twelve, they heard of this request of these two to sit at the right and left hand of Christ, well, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Him and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

It shall not be so among you. But 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.

The next spiritual gifts that we're looking at on the list today are the last two that are mentioned in verse 8, and that is the one who leads and the one who does acts of mercy. It's an interesting contrast to have these two gifts listed at the very end because you would think of the person who leads as the person who is in front of everybody, the person who is most in charge, whereas the one who does acts of mercy being the most humble, the one who is most behind, the one who is least in the spotlight.

But the way that Jesus teaches this here to His disciples in Matthew chapter 20, that the greatest of you, if you're going to be great, you must be the least of all and the servant of all, then it is really upon both the leader and the one who does acts of mercy here in Romans 12 .8 to be humble, to be a slave, to be a servant.

Even the leader is a servant in the exercising of his spiritual gift of leadership. And so as we wrap up our study now of these spiritual gifts, as we have read them for these last several weeks, we keep in mind that in the exercise of any of these gifts, we do this with humility.

As I've said to you before, this is not your opportunity to shine and put on your Christian pageantry or your talent show in the church with whatever gifting that God has given to you. But the gift has been given that you may serve.

Even the leader in his leading will serve the body of Christ. And so as we look at these two gifts this morning, the last two gifts that are mentioned there in verse 8, the one who leads with zeal and the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness, we'll summarize everything that we have considered.

We'll look at those two parts. First of all, the gift of leadership, and secondly, the gift of mercy. But then thirdly, I have gathered some questions from those who have asked these questions as we've been doing this study, and I will try to make a time here at the conclusion to respond to some of those questions that I have been asked.

Leadership as Diligent, Exemplary Service

So let's look first of all at this gift of leadership. First of all, this verse, Romans 12ab, as we would consider it, the last half of verse 8, that mentions these two gifts. If you were to read this out more literally, translating from the Greek directly into English, it would be read more like this, leading with diligence, showing mercy with cheerfulness.

Now there are other translations that may use different words here, but that is the basic understanding of these words as we have them. As we look first at leadership, that word leading in the Greek is proistemi, and it means to be over or to rule or to stand before.

So there is a ruling aspect of this word. As a matter of fact, when we were studying in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, we heard this word as it pertained to elders, the same word as applied to an overseer of the church or a pastor.

In 1 Timothy 5 .17 it says, let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. But even though this word can be rendered into one who is ruling, this doesn't mean that this is some position of a monarch in which this guy has absolute authority and must demand of you to do things for him and therefore you must follow what he instructs of you to do.

That isn't the way that we render the word. Because in addition to elders being described as those who rule, they are also described as by Peter in 1 Peter 5 as being servants to the flock, shepherds in their serving.

So how do we understand this role of leadership and how would we understand the application of it as being a position of ruling? Helps Word Study says this about this particular word, it says that the leading provides the needed model to direct others.

So we're talking about a ruling position here that's not somebody that's standing on a high throne or up here on a pulpit on a stage as it might be, giving you instructions and telling you that you have to follow them.

Rather this is a person who is leading even more specifically by example. The Helps Word Studies goes on to say this is to positively impact them by example. The effectiveness of influencing people by having a respected reputation.

The wisdom books, Psalms, Proverbs, even Song of Songs describes a man who has such character that it is better than the best of fragrances. The book of Ecclesiastes uses this as well. A man who has a good reputation is better than fine perfume.

And there's a connection to that. That the scent of a person kind of becomes their identity, right? Do you know a person who wears a particular scent that when they've been there in the room you know, oh, so and so has been here.

I smell that scent that is particular to that person. A cologne that they wear or a perfume that she wears, something like that. Well that is likened in the wisdom books to a man of good character. A man who has good character is like having a good fragrance.

And so that his reputation goes before him or his reputation even remains when he is gone. You speak well of that person and you think kindly of him because of the effectiveness of his influence. The way that he leads by example, not just giving order and exercising authority in that manner, but actually demonstrates to others a model character of a godly man.

And this is that kind of man here or that kind of leader here that is being talked about with regards to this spiritual gift. One who leads with zeal. Now with regards to these two spiritual gifts, there's something else that I forgot to mention about them, is that these are the only two of the spiritual gifts on this list that Paul attaches an attitude to.

Notice that the one who leads, leads with zeal. Or some of your translations might say leads with diligence. But this is having a certain attitude about his leadership. This is not one, again, who is lording his authority over others and is becoming something of a tyrant in his position.

Always grumpy with people, always ordering them what to do, issuing harsh penalties when people don't do them. This is not that kind of person, not that kind of leader. This is one who is leading zealously because he is zealous for the things of God.

He is zealous to see the people of God walk in the way of God. And so zealous for the things of God, does a person in such a leadership position show mercy because he knows God has shown him mercy? Shows compassion because God has been compassionate to him.

Shows love because there is no one who has loved him greater than his Savior. And this is the model of behavior and likeness of God that is demonstrated in a person who has this kind of gifting of the Spirit.

There are probably many people that you know who are in leadership positions who are just not good leaders. And they make it miserable for you when you have to be in their presence. Like you regret having to go to work that day because that leader at your place of employment just doesn't make it a fun place to work.

So far be it from anybody to be positioned in a place of authority in the church that they would make it miserable for everybody who is around them. Instead, this is a person who is zealous for the things of God.

Is zealous for the people of God to grow in the ways of God. That he exercises his leadership in such a way so as to serve the body. That they may grow into the head who is Christ. And we see this kind of leadership even talked about in other passages in the New Testament.

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 12 to 13. The same word that is used here for a leader Paul uses to talk about those who labor among you. This is 1 Thessalonians 5, 12. We ask you brothers to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord.

That's the same word that's used there. Those who are over you in the Lord. And admonish you. And to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. So those who labor and are over you in their positions as overseers in the church.

Yet their purpose there is to build you up. It is for your good. When Paul says they are there to admonish you. To admonish means to correct with goodwill. So it's not just rebuking for the sake of rebuking.

Because you're annoying me and so I'm going to tell you to stop. Admonish means I'm correcting you because I want you to be more Christ-like. I want you to grow in godliness. And those who do such a thing are not trying to be a tyrant to you.

They're not a tyranny. They are good for you. And so because that kind of position. Because that kind of job would require that sometimes. To correct somebody. Paul is saying to these people here in Thessalonica that you would respect them.

You might have this fleshly tendency to want to lash out at them. Well what do you know? Or who are you to tell me that? And you make it miserable upon those who are laboring for your benefit. But rather esteem them very highly in love because of their work.

Love them as they love you to guide you in godliness and in holiness. Another place that we see this word used is 1 Timothy 3, 4 -5. Where Paul in talking about the qualifications for an overseer says this.

He must manage his own household well with all dignity keeping his children submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? The word there that gets translated manage in the English Standard Version is the same word that's used here for leadership in Romans 12, 8.

So one of the qualifications of an overseer is that he must demonstrate that kind of good leadership within his own home. If he's not leading his own home well, then how can he be leading in the house of God?

Now it says here that the one who leads is to do so with zeal or again as translated in some places diligence. What does this mean? What does it mean to have zeal? Very simply it's to be enthusiastic about the job.

Like they enjoy the position and love to see God's goodness shown to God's people. They lead by example. You can see in this man or woman's life, this isn't just limited to men here, but also women who might be in a position of leadership.

We'll even read of some of them later when we get to Romans chapter 16. But even a woman that might be in a position of leadership or a man, this person demonstrates a love for God, for godliness and for his goodness.

And they take great care of the body. And not only that, but they do it with haste. Like the word zeal also means to do with haste. You don't hesitate to do it. You desire to do it now. You want it to be done and to be done for God's name and for his glory.

My dad, when I was young and he was teaching me to do things and to do it with a good attitude. I remember thinking as a kid, like it doesn't matter what my attitude is, at least the job gets done. But now that I'm a parent and when I ask my children to do things and they do it with a bad attitude, now I'm going, okay, now I know why dad was telling me to have a good attitude.

I like it much better when my children demonstrate gratitude and thankfulness and cheerfulness in the work that they do instead of griping and complaining about it because that gripe and complaint comes against me.

So I call my dad up when my kids were complaining against me and I say, dad, I'm sorry for all those times I complained against you when you were telling me to do things. But he used to tell me, Gabe, you got to have the want to.

That was his phrase that he would use. You got to have the want to. It's not enough that you just do the job that I tell you to do. You got to want to do it and you do it therefore and do it well and you do it now because if dad is telling me to do something and I don't do it right now, well, what's, what's my attitude about the job?

I just don't want to do the job. I'm going to put it off for as long as I can and my, that, that wonderful gift of procrastination that God has given me. I'm certain it is a spiritual gift. I have a gift of procrastination, so I'm exercising that gift and just putting it off until the very end.

Well, no, then I, I don't have zeal for the job that God has appointed me to do. I need to do it now. I need to do it speedily and it demonstrates my enthusiasm even for doing the job if I do it with the want to.

And so it is for each and every one of us that we, we have that zeal for doing the things of God. Your desire to be holy should be right now, not I want to enjoy this sin for a little bit and then later on, you know, I'll ask God's forgiveness and he'll forgive me and I'll, I'll start to be holy.

No, if your desire is for God and for his holiness, you'll do it now. You don't put those things off until later. We desire the holiness and the goodness of God now and to have it exercised in our lives.

And so a leader who leads with zeal demonstrates by example, even this kind of desire to do it and to do it heartily and speedily. You know, I've had, I've heard, uh, over the years, many bad examples of leadership drawn from scripture.

There was a number of years ago I was attending a state Southern Baptist convention meeting in another state, not here. But the, the main message, the main sermon that was being delivered by the speaker, he was reading from Mark 16 verses one through eight.

Anybody know what, what passage that is right off the top of your head? What is Mark 16, one through eight? That's the resurrection of Jesus. Yeah, that's the women going to the tomb and finding that the stone is rolled away and the body of Jesus is not there.

Well, this preacher was using that passage. I'm, I'm, I'm looking at this in the program and I'm going, this is going to be a great gospel message. No, it really didn't have anything to do with the gospel at all.

He took that passage and twisted it into how this was a passage about leadership. The women going to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus is somehow instructions for us for leadership. I don't, I, to this day, I cannot wrap my head around how he got that out of that passage.

But there are other good Bible verses that direct us in the way of good leadership. Just don't take gospel verses like that and twist them into a pep talk about leadership. Psalm 78, 72 says, with upright heart, he, God shepherded them and guided them with a skillful hand.

And as God does this in his leading, so should those in a position of leadership. Proverbs 11, 14, where there is no guidance of people falls, but in an abundance of counselors, there is safety. Good leaders.

Luke 12, 48, everyone to whom much was given of him, much will be required and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. Another verse to go right along with this is James 3, 1.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. There is more responsibility given to the person who leads or the person who teaches.

More will be required. But yet the person in leadership should still be a model of sacrifice and humility and putting the needs of others ahead of his own. Philippians 2, 3 through 4, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. And a good leader, one who is gifted in the spirit to lead with zeal, will demonstrate that very thing for the body of Christ.

Mercy as Cheerful Compassion

And so this is the one who leads. We find many other passages that talk about good leadership, doing so with humility. But most especially the one great model that we have for being a godly leader is Jesus Christ himself.

And Jesus, not only the great model of leadership, but even the model of mercy. As we go on here in Romans chapter 12 to read the last part of verse 8, we see the one who leads with zeal and then finally the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness.

The word for mercy here is eleo, which means to have compassion or to have pity on. This is a person who feels for the needs of another person. It's not just doing charity for the sake of charity, but you love the person who is desperately in need and sacrificially give on their behalf to show mercy to them and build them up.

Not just mercy itself, not just mercy in the sense that I forgive you of the wrong that you've done, but mercy specifically as an act, acts of mercy. So acts of charity with a compassionate heart to those who are in need.

And when I say those who are in need, I'm not just talking about the lowest, the lowly or the destitute, but anybody who may have a need. And the person who shows mercy in this sense does so, notice, with cheerfulness.

They do so with cheerfulness demonstrating to the person that they are helping that this is not a burden for me to help you. Or if it is a burden, it's a burden I share with you. You are not putting me out.

You are not inconveniencing me in any way. I love to help you. And so this is that kind of mercy with cheerfulness that's being demonstrated by the person who may be gifted in this way. This same word that we have for mercy we find in plenty of other places in the New Testament, most notably in Matthew 5, 7, where Jesus said, blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

And so a person does acts of mercy because they know God has been merciful to them. We've seen this word mercy come up in Romans already as well. Most notably in Romans 9, 15, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion, says the Lord.

Job was an example of someone who was gifted in both leadership and in mercy. And we read about this in Job 29 verses 21 to 25. A lot of times we mention Job and you just think of the tragedy that befell Job, but he was a man of great stature and someone who was even greatly respected by many other men around him.

Job talks about how in the position of leadership that he was blessed to have, he would use that position for the benefit of orphans and widows. Those who needed justice in the world. Job used his position of leadership to help the less fortunate, that they would receive their justice and receive charity in the land.

And so Job says in verses 21 to 25, men listened to me and waited and kept silent for my counsel. After I spoke, they did not speak again, and my word dropped upon them. They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.

I smiled on them when they had no confidence, and the light of my face they did not cast down. I chose their way and sat as chief, and I lived like a king among his troops. And here's the last phrase here at the end of chapter 29, like one who comforts mourners.

So in the ruling position that Job had, he used it to comfort mourners. We see in Job a demonstration of both a gift of leading and a gift of mercy. Now if you know something about the book of Job, you know that Job was surrounded by a few friends who did not have a good gift of mercy.

They had a pretty terrible bedside manner. Like they did really good in the first two chapters of Job when they just saw him and wept with him and covered themselves with dust and ashes along with him and just laid with him in the dirt.

They did good there. But then they opened their mouths, and it was pretty evident that the gift of mercy was not their blessing. So a person who has that gift of mercy is able to speak words in such a way to a person who is in a difficult need to help to build them up.

It's not just giving, although that's certainly wrapped up in doing acts of mercy, but even having a heart or a word of compassion and encouragement. And maybe you know such a person just like that in your life, who has spoken in just such a way to build you up in just such a manner, and you wonder what sort of anointing did that person have on their words, that that word came to me in just the right time and in just the right way and reminded me of the goodness of God in the midst of a dire and troubled situation.

Such a person has that gift of mercy. And again, they do it with cheerfulness. They're happy to do it. It is their joy to serve in the body of Christ, to be a blessing to those who are in need. It doesn't put them off.

It doesn't inconvenience them in any way. They are there to serve and to do so cheerfully. You know, there are times when I start my day with the different responsibilities that I have to do as a pastor, and I start my day praying, praying, God, whatever you have for me to do today, let me do it with cheerfulness.

And I want to start my day praying that. Because if something comes up in the day that I did not foresee happening today, I had plans that I needed to do today, these are the things that I need to get done, but something happens that I did not foresee, and it's usually some sort of troubled situation, and I need to be there for that person in the midst of an unexpected thing, an unexpected trial that happened upon them.

I don't want to, in that moment, be suddenly inconvenienced and get grumpy that I have to go and help meet this person's need. I want to already have the attitude before I get in my car and go to their aid that I am there for their benefit and for their upbuilding.

This is not inconveniencing me in any way. The inconvenience is upon the person that is having the trial, and I am going to go to be with them and give them a word of encouragement and upbuilding. So I want to start the day early and asking for that attitude of cheerfulness so I don't have to hit the moment of grumpiness and then going, okay, this is not the right mindset, God take this away from me.

Though if that is going to be the mindset that I fall into when I get grumpy, then I certainly do need to lay that before the Lord. Even with all of these spiritual gifts that have been given, there is a requirement for every one of us to do any of them with cheerfulness.

Don't look at the person who has the gift of mercy as, oh, well that person needs to be cheerful, but the rest of them didn't, I don't have to be cheerful doing the rest of these. Sometimes we can kind of oversimplify these gifts, or we can kind of compartmentalize them and we stick them in certain categories.

You know, there are plenty of spiritual gifts as I said to you in the very beginning that won't even end up on this list, but there may be a gift that you are called to do, something that you exercise in the body for the benefit of somebody else, and whatever that might happen to be, brethren, we all need to do it with cheerfulness.

We all need to do it with some understanding that God has saved me from my sin and from the punishment that I deserve, which is death and eternity in hell separated from God. That's what I deserve. And by faith in Jesus Christ, I've been forgiven my sins and I have everlasting life with God.

Shouldn't that make you happy all the day, as we sing about in the hymn, right, and now I am happy all the day? Shouldn't that fill us with cheerfulness? I am just as human as the rest of you and I can get caught up in any kind of moment where I get irritable and frustrated with something that is not going my way.

But even in those moments, I still have to make it a discipline to take those thoughts captive and lay them down before the Lord and ask that I have a cheerful heart even when I go through difficult trials, that I may demonstrate in my very life the goodness of God that has been shown to me.

And I demonstrate the goodness of my Savior who served me and did so with a heart that loved me. John 13 verses 13 to 17, Jesus said to his disciples, you call me teacher and Lord and you are right for so I am.

If I then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a master greater than the one who sent him.

And if you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And so how much is it upon each and every one of us that we would give ourselves for the benefit of one another?

You can't give your life to ransom someone else's soul. That was what Christ did and he alone. But following the example of God who left his throne in heaven and put on flesh and dwelt among us and lived and died and rose again on our behalf with such great service is this.

So should we demonstrate service toward others and doing so with zeal. It is our delight. It is our enthusiasm to do it and doing so with cheerfulness because God has saved me. Consider Jesus' attitude toward us.

In Matthew 9, 36, when he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. And so as Jesus had compassion on us, so we must with compassion for each other serve.