Rom. 12:3—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.

One of the blessings we have in the church is the call to serve. Jesus served us by giving his life as a ransom (Mark 10:45). Such service leads us to “through love serve one another.” (Gal. 5:13) To help in this service, the Spirit has gifted his people. As each has received a gift, it is to be used “to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Pet. 4:10)

However, when it comes to service in the church problems often arise. People don’t know the nature of their gifts, and so, they struggle to find their place. They are fearful of trying new things, which leads them to stay on the sides of church ministry. They have the attitude, “I’ve already paid my ‘service dues,’ so I don’t need to do it.” Officers don’t have the church organized in a way to make it easier to serve. Church members serve out of pride and with a controlling spirit that is unwilling to work with others. All of these and more are issues when it comes to service in the church.

However, Paul gives some helpful instruction on service in Rom. 12:3-8. This pastoral letter will simply focus on vs. 3. Subsequent ones will look at the rest of the section in the weeks ahead. In the previous 11 chapters of Romans, Paul centered on the doctrines of the faith. He gave us the bad news. “None is righteous, no not one.” (Rom. 3:9) And then, he moved to the Good News. Like in a masterful piece from Mozart, reaching successive crescendos, Paul described how, because of Christ’s work, sinners can be declared righteous before the divine bar of justice and know the sanctifying work of the Spirit. 

But starting in chapter 12, Paul answered the question “What kind of impact should redemption accomplished and applied have upon my life?” For our purposes, he stresses how Christ’s death and resurrection should affect involvement in the church. The grace of Christ should lead us to humble service. 3 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 …

We ought not be haughty, puffed up, or boastful about our achievements or abilities, because at the end of the day they are not ours but God’s. He is the one who secured our redemption, gave us gifts, and now enables us to use them. Humble service is the way we respond to his grace. If we serve out of pride or withhold service out of selfishness, we are not imitating our Savior. Jesus was self-effacing, as he went to the Cross. He was selfless, as he spent himself in service for us. The Lord has richly blessed us in Christ. Humble service in the church is to be our reply.

But as we seek to serve, we need to remember Paul’s words to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. By this, the apostle is saying, be honest with yourself ‘about yourself.’ Recognize you have strengths and weaknesses. Be candid about where you are in life, and don’t underestimate or overestimate yourself. Sometimes we can shortchange God’s gracious work in our lives. We can act like we have no gifts from God or that we can’t be of use in his church. At other times, we can overextend ourselves acting like, “The church will fall apart without my service. No one else can do what I do.” Both attitudes are a form of pride. Self-exaltation and a self-deprecating spirit are anti-Christian.

As Believers, we are not meant to think highly of ourselves. And neither are we meant to act like God hasn’t gifted us and can’t use us. To do either is to reject God’s grace, which is the height of pride. Instead, we are to be forthright about how God has made us. Where he has us in his providence. And how he has given us different measures of faith. He has provided greater spiritual understanding and growth, and varying gifts to some and not to others. It is his gracious prerogative to give as he sees fit. So rather than staying disconnected from church because we feel like we can’t contribute, or being afraid of failure, we must simply seek to humbly, happily, and wholeheartedly serve in the church.

CPC has lots of opportunities for service, and as we grow, they will increase. As we move to every Sunday night evening worship in October, there’s a need for more help in the nursery and sound booth. We need people to sign up to provide lite snacks at select evening services. There are needs for kids’ Sunday school teachers. Ministry to be done at the Phoenix Assisted Living Home and through Papa’s Pantry and the Hope Center. There’ service to be had for young families, older saints, and burdened Believers in the church. There’s personal evangelism. The opportunities are numerous.

As you undertake them, know that the God who graciously gifted you will strengthen you and use you to serve. He doesn’t give gifts without also supplying what is necessary to employ them.

—Pastor Clif