Please turn now in the Bible to the book of Romans, chapter 11, verse 36. You can find Romans 11.36 on page 947 there in the Pew Bible. Page 947. I'm going to begin there on the very last verse of chapter 11 and then read on into chapter 12 as far as verse 10. Romans 11, reading from Romans 11, 36 to 12, 10, especially considering verses 3 to 8 in chapter 12. Let's give your attention to the Word of God. For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 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 one of 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. Let love be genuine. Now pour what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. If you have been here for the last three weeks, you know that you've heard me read Romans 11.36, 12.1, and 12.2, now for four weeks in a row. And if you're familiar with how I preach, you know that I almost never slow down this much and spend this much time on this small text. So why spend so much time on these couple of verses? Well, first of all, because this is a crucial hinge in this book. In this book, we've been told for 11 chapters what God has done for us. How God has saved us. We've been getting good news of God's action on our behalf for 11 chapters. Right here, he pivots to start to tell us what kind of life we should live now. He touched on it briefly before, now he's going to focus on it. What should I do now? What life should I live? Now, this life that we live, we don't live apart from God. God will be doing it in us and through us. So it's not a pivot from God's action to our action alone. It's a pivot from God's action alone to our action with God, or God's action in us. You could say it's a pivot from God for us to God through us. But it's still a pivot. It's a pivot that's shown by the change in the grammar. Instead of a whole bunch of statements in the indicative, God has done this, and this, and this, now we begin to get commands, get the imperatives. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. These are commands God has given to us. So it's a hinge point. It's very important. You only get one of these in the whole book. Secondly, he gives you a great summary of our new life. Verses 1 and 2, you could say, that sum up the whole ball of wax for our new life. What are we supposed to do? Well, we're supposed to devote our bodies to God's service, And we're not supposed to be conformed to the world, we're supposed to be transformed by a renewed mind. That covers it, right? A body that's doing new things because there's a new mind, not like the old mind, not like the world, but it's devoted to God's service. That's a great summary. That's the whole thing right there. And when he says, by the way, do not be conformed to this world, that is nothing that Jesus had not already said. Jesus had already said, you are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how do you make it salty again? It's good for nothing but being thrown out and trampled underfoot. And that is the secret for why a great number of churches in our area are almost dead. There are far too many churches that, having been close to American society when it was partly Christian, loved so much positions of comfort and establishment that when American society became much less Christian, they went along for the ride. They couldn't bear not to conform to the world. And so what do you see in their pews? Very few children. Very few young adults. Very few people under the age of 50. Because we are not to conform to this world. And Jesus will not uphold and strengthen the Church. that conforms to the world. So, what are the specifics, then, of how we are to live? Well, Paul here, beginning in verse 3, he moves on from a summary statement to begin to give specifics, which is a really interesting question. Where would you begin with specifics? You're writing out to a new church. You're the apostle. You're writing to a brand new church. Actually, that's not a brand new church, but a pretty young church. You've got to tell them how to live the Christian life. You give your summary statements. Now, what specific do you want to give first? Well, I'm going to give you two quotations that touch on a possible answer, one from an unbeliever and one from Jesus. Here's a quotation from Adam Smith, the father of economics. Adam Smith said, men overrate themselves. He wrote of the absurd presumption in their own good fortune that most men have. He spoke of the, quote, overweening conceit which the greater part of men have of their own abilities. That is Adam Smith. Now let's bring Jesus Christ alongside Adam Smith. Jesus Christ said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So where does Paul start with specifics? He says in verse 3, don't think too highly of yourself. Now, who is he to say that? Well, he says first, by the grace given to me. In other words, I'm not speaking out of my own ego. Something has been given to me. God has given me something. I didn't deserve it. It was grace. And by grace, we mean a gift you do not deserve. Grace is unmerited, unearned, undeserved faith. By this unmerited, in his case, totally unlooked for, out of this grace given to me, he says, And to whom does He say it? Does He say it to the men? Does He say it to the women? Does He say it to the... He says to everyone among you. He says. So He calls on us. He gets our attention. He says it's by God's grace that I'm speaking. And I'm speaking to every one of you. I'm not singling anybody out. I say it. Don't think too highly of yourself. don't have that overweening conceit which most men have of their own ability. The first part of having a transformed mind is to have a realistic mind. And you know, when we are Christian believers, when we first come to Christ and when we're aware that God has called us and that God has blessed us, we are prone to getting to bank too much on that ability. The great Chrysostom, and I'll have various unattributed phrases in this sermon drawn from Chrysostom. The great Chrysostom says that a reckless man sounds exactly the same as a foolish man. And we become reckless when we realize that we do have some ability and we begin to think that we can do anything with it. that we don't have to work hard because we can ride on our talent, or because we have this talent here that we can do that thing over there, or that we can do anything because we have this ability. Once we are conscious that in fact we have some gift, some ability, some wealth, some something, we can easily become reckless and think that we can do all sorts of things well outside of our power. We begin to say and act in ways that are just like a fool. The difference, Kusum says, is somebody might pity a fool. He just didn't have the horsepower. But who's going to pity the reckless when he becomes a fool? So part of our transformed mind is that we're just thinking sanely. The word could also be read, the sober judgment could also be sane judgment. Don't be insane and reckless. Be sane. Now, you've got to notice here, and I hope you notice, Those of you who have been through American public schools in the last, oh, 40 years, you should recognize something here that's quite contrary to the American public school ethos. The American public schools, they work really hard to make sure that every student has high self-esteem. I see it. Here comes my child, comes home with some kind of me poster. I remember when I refused to do a me poster. Yes. We're trying very hard to make sure we have high. You know, I remember hearing about a study someone did. They found a bunch of guys with really high self-esteem, as far as these things can be measured. They were guys in jail. They think so highly of themselves. They think they're not only entitled to their own car, but to yours. High self-esteem is not the panacea that people think it is. Notice how this says. It says, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment. Now, what is that sober judgment? Are you on safe ground if you just put yourself down? If you assert that you have no abilities and so no responsibility to do anything or help anybody? Is this the way you're to think? Is this what he wants? If it's not high self-esteem, is it to be low self-esteem? Well, no. Because he goes on to say, think soberly according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. He does not call on us to put ourselves down. On the contrary, he says God has given faith, God has given gifts, and we ought to take account of them soberly. Now, by measure of faith, that's a hard phrase to understand. In context, it would seem to say faith and what has come with faith, the gifts that have come with that, the resources, the training, the education. All these things are to be exercised in faith. Faith here used, you could say, to stand in for whatever we're to use in faith. Now, how do we know what they are? By context, we should not expect to have all of them. We should expect to have some of them. And a basic question to ask is, how can you help? What needs do you see? Can you fill some of them? Those needs that you see and can fill, there you have an area of gift. And also, it is worth asking, what are you good at? Now, to think realistically about what you are good at, you will need to listen to other people. If you are the only one who thinks that you draw well, then either you are a genius from the next phase of art, or more likely, your drawing is not very good. To think realistically, have an ear and a respect for other people's opinions. But why? Why doesn't God make it easy on us by making us more similar? Why isn't the church built on a homogenous principle? The church growth movement wants to build churches on the homogenous principle. Why doesn't God want to build churches on the homogenous principle? Why does he give gifts that are different from each other? He goes on to say, God gave differing gifts so that the body would be stronger. Look at verse 4. As in one body, he means your physical human body. As in one body we have many members, he means we have fingers and toes and elbows and eyes and brains and ears and pancreases. As in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function. He means you see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and keep your balance with your toes. All right? This is what he means as he says this. 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. He goes on at greater length on this in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Or he says, the eyes cannot say to the feet, I have no need of you. Now indeed, we do make more of eyes than of feet. That's true. But if it weren't for the feet, the eyes would never have anything new to see. Thanks to the feet, the eyes get to go around and explore what's around the corner. And you can go on at length about that. The eyes cannot dismiss the feet. The feet cannot dismiss the eyes. Nor can the elbow feel sorry for itself and depart from the body. I am just an elbow. I have no use. I will leave." He can't leave, and it is needed. Yes, that's how he goes on in 1 Corinthians 12. His point here is, if we are a body, then we should expect to be different from each other. Your human body is made up of different parts, so we should expect to differ from each other. In this church, for a long time, you have had a member named John, and you've had a member named Emil. John and Emil are different. We have different backgrounds, different abilities, different education. We do different things around here. And the church is better off for having one John and one Emil. If the church had two Johns, you would lack what Amel brings. If the church had two Amels, you'd lack what John brings. The church is better off for having a John and an Amel, and so on. Now, that's a very simple concept. Adam Smith can get it. He calls it division of labor. But what makes it work in the church? In Adam Smith's economic world, It works because of our interest in money. What makes it work in the church? It won't be money. I'm not paying Abel to make a wonderful casserole for men's breakfast. That's not how we do things with each other within the church. So how will it work? Well, it has to work through the consciousness of being one body and through the love of Christ that leads to the love of one another. And the thing that gets in the way of all this is our pride. When we think too highly of ourselves, then we say, well, why aren't you like me? Why don't you have my strength? You're not as good as me because you don't have my strength. Never mind your strengths. You don't have my strengths. It is this kind of self-centered pride that messes up the working of the body of Christ. That is the cancer in the body of Christ. So often we want other people to be like us. And the church growth movement is a church growing movement that sets out to make churches where people are alike. The people are at least all the same social demographic. This is contrary to the intent of Jesus. It says that God made us one in Christ. One body. To be an effective body, you have to have different parts, and the different parts have to have different functions. And he uses the word different, not better or worse, greater or less. So then he teaches this, that the Church is the body of Christ. The word body implies that we need to be different. A body made up of elbows might contort itself wonderfully, but achieve very little else. We need to be different. We are furthermore called to work together. We are furthermore called to appreciate each other's gifts. And no one is to claim greater honor than another. As you do your God-appointed job, you are simply doing your God-appointed job. And so he says, by the grace given to me, I say not to think more highly of yourself, but to be realistic. The system says, powerful temptation to puff ourselves up. And so we have here a powerful cure if we will really take to heart this teaching, that we in the Church are the body of Christ. So he says, use your gifts for the good of the Church. That is their purpose. That's why God gave them to you, whether listening, or comforting, or hospitality, or fixing, or teaching, or explaining. Here he speaks first of prophecy. Yes, in the New Testament era, They didn't have much of the New Testament. The books were just being written. As he wrote Romans, he knew he'd written 1 and 2 Thessalonians, but also knew it probably hadn't been hand copied and taken to Rome yet. Perhaps they had Mark and Matthew. Maybe they didn't. Yes, the books were just then being written. So how would they know the will of God? You said the Old Testament. Yes, the Old Testament. They had that. But they needed a very comprehensive reinterpretation in the light of Jesus to break away from the pharisaic interpretation. And they didn't have the book of Hebrews yet. So what God gave them, along with the Old Testament, was apostles. But there were only 12 of them. They couldn't be everywhere at once. So God also gave them, in the New Testament era, prophets, people inspired by his Holy Spirit to speak the word of God into that day and age. Sometimes those prophets told something about the future. as with Agabus, who foretold a famine. For the most part, they told the people the will of God for that time. Once the New Testament was written, acknowledged, assembled, then the prophecy ceased, because the New Testament is a more sure rule. Now, why is it a more sure rule? Well, as the New Testament keeps telling you, you've got to test the spirits. When one prophet speaks, let the other prophets listen and evaluate. And so here, prophets are warned. If you are a prophet, take care that you prophesy. And I don't like the translation here. It says, according to the analogy of faith. There's no our there. The analogy, as now, that is a word from logic and mathematics. So it speaks of the standard. How are you to prophesy? Well, an analogy with what is already known, with the faith, with the gospel. You're not to make up new stuff. you might find it really useful to slip in some of your own stuff as you prophesy with God's stuff. But no, you're to prophesy in accordance to the analogy of faith, where analogy does not mean A is to B or C is to D, but analogy means according to the rule or the standard. Footnote, analogy of faith became a phrase for how we are to interpret the Bible. When you read the Bible, it's a big book, different authors. And as you read, you're supposed to be looking for harmony not looking to read it in a way that creates disharmony. You need to read according to the analogy of faith. That is, let the clear parts lay down for you what is clear, and the difficult parts, instead of interpreting it against the clear, you interpret them according to the clear. Read it to the analogy of faith, the rule of faith. If the prophets were to do that, we are to do that as we read. So then, that was for the prophets, those who have gifts of service. If your gift is service, then it says, go on and serve. Now, we all can serve. This list is no reason for excuses. I don't have to serve. It's not my gift. No. Anyone can clean up after a meal. Anyone can serve. But some people have a particular eye and a particular, perhaps, kind or strength. You know, I'm just a little bit off today. I haven't slept well this week. That reminds me, one gift is strength and time. And if somebody doesn't have strength and time, well, they may have all the abilities in the world, but they can't help you very much if they have no strength and any time. Yes, in service, let us serve with our serving. And the word here is diakonia, from which we get the word deacon. This may be especially about the deacons. And so we begin by saying, those who explain and those who lead us in service. And it goes on to those who teach. Here's an ongoing office, mentioned with pastors elsewhere, to explain the truth of the gospel, to explain the word of God as it's already been given. Not a new revelation, like with a prophet, but it's explaining the old revelation. Now, you might be inclined to say, well, why does he put service in front of teaching? And the reason is because he's saying, why are you asking? They're just different. We're not ranking. Quit trying to rank. He's just giving you a bunch of gifts. That's why it doesn't seem like a ranked list, because you're not supposed to be ranking. In teaching, teach the one who exhorts. Teaching is to explain. Exhort is to fire you up. And it's the same word he used for himself in verse 1, when he said, I appeal to you. That's that same word here. I wish they kept it consistent. I exhort you, therefore. And so he's including himself in there. How can he exhort the church that he hasn't been to yet? Well, he's saying, according to the grace given to me, it's one of the gifts I have received. Among Paul's many gifts, he was an exhorter. The one who contributes in generosity. We see here, we're not talking just about talents, but all the resources at our disposal. If you're able to give, then give generously. And you might add, cheerfully. The one who leads with zeal. He uses this word of elders elsewhere. managing, directing, ruling. If you need to do that in the church, then do it with zeal. Don't do it with a slack hand. And whoever shows mercy, do it with cheerfulness. Now again, let us all show mercy as often as we can, whenever we have opportunity. But as we show mercy, let us try to do it with cheerfulness. Krishnaswami again talks about how much it ruins the mercy if you do it grudgingly. He says it's hard for people to accept help from other people. And if you show that it really puts you out, then they don't want it. So, do it with cheerfulness. Do it as showing that you are glad to do it. Do it in such a way that you make it palatable for them to receive the help. The one who shows mercy, do it with cheerfulness. Now, 2 Timothy 3.16 tells us that the Word of God makes us well-rounded. It makes us adequate for every good work. The word there is adequate. Competent, perhaps. And so as we look at this list, we're not to be looking for how we can shirk helping people. Say, that's not my gift. I don't need to go there. Whenever we see a need that we can fill, we should fill it. When there's no one else, I guess it has to be me. If I can't do it, I can help by finding someone who can. But there's things that we are proud of. There's things that tempt us to be puffed up about. We should especially think, is there a way for me to bring this into the service of God? I have four applications. First, the world is full of puffed up people. The first part of our transformed Christian mind is to think with sober judgment, not puffed up nor overly degraded. No, we need to think with sober judgment, trusting that God has given us things and asking how we are to use them. Secondly, it does not say we need a 500-question psychological battery with which we will determine our gifts. That's not what it says. It says, rather, we should serve as needed, and serve as you are able to help. Where your ability to help meets someone's need, there you have a gift. You are able to help. If you are able to help, you must have more than you need for your own bare survival. You have a gift. You have the ability to help. So again, what are your gifts? What are the areas where you can help? And perhaps the areas where you're tempted to pride. Rather than pride, have sober judgment. God gave me this so that I could strengthen. the body of Christ. And so thirdly, have this mindset to see a need and fill it. Years ago, a friend of mine had been in a church for some time. And then we went and we visited another church for a special occasion. This other church did a wonderful job on this special occasion being very friendly and greeting us wonderfully. So on the way home, he complained against his own church. My church isn't friendly like that. Why can't my church be friendly like that church was? Well, for starters, it's a special occasion. But beyond that, what should his response have been? His response was, shortly, to leave the church. But he'd been there for years. What should his response have been? He should have said, well, if my church is not friendly, but it is my church, then I can be friendly. If I think that visitors are not greeted warmly, I can greet them warmly. If I don't see much hospitality going on, I can offer hospitality. When I see a need, I can seek to fill it. If it's laid on my heart, do I not have a responsibility to try to address it? And finally, I want you all to see this. As he begins to talk about this new Christian life, as he talks about the transformed mind, the very next thing he says is about the church, which is to say that the church is not some secondary thing in the Christian life. It is central. How do you live the Christian life? You live it with the church. Let your mind be transformed first in how you think about your relationship to other people. And what other people is he thinking of? He's thinking, in the first place, of the church. So the church is central to the Christian life. I won't say you can't live the Christian life without it. For some people, it works. in North Korea or Saudi Arabia and cannot get to a church, but if you can get to a church, the Christian life is to be lived with the church, not alone. It is not a solo existence. Wherever we go, wherever you move, whatever happens here, you are to find your place in Christ's Church. Because this transformed mind that we already have, it shows itself in our transformed relationships with others. So then think soberly about yourself, because God gave you those gifts. He did, so that you might use them for the good of his body. Let's pray together. Help me, Father, help us not to be self-serving, self-seeking, self-aggrandizing. Help us to think soberly and generously. help us to be transformed in our thinking at this point, that we would not be stuck on ourselves for high or low, good or ill, but that with a grateful heart and a generous eye, we would look out and seek to build up your body. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.