Romans 12:8
Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Believers are many members of one body in Christ with different offices and work, each dealt his own measure of faith and grace for loving active service rather than idleness. To exhort is to encourage and strengthen others, to give is to share with sincere singleness of heart without selfish motive, to rule is to lead with earnest faithful care, and to show mercy is to help the suffering with gladness. Each is to keep to his own appointed place and do his work with care and steadiness in small matters as well as large, not by impulse or ease and not by self-exaltation seeking to make all alike. No gift stands above the rest and no humble service is to be despised, for the gifts are made complete only as they are joined together, with differing minds supplying what others lack and the perfection of the whole depending on the faithfulness of each member. Ruling with diligence never means mastering minds and hearts or dictating what others shall do, but representing the great Shepherd in humility, self-control, and cooperation with brethren.
Words and Immediate Context
Romans 12 stands as practical instruction for daily Christian conduct, calling for sincere love, faithful service, patience, and prayer. Love is to be without dissimulation, abhorring evil and cleaving to good, with believers kindly affectioned to one another and in honor preferring one another. Those brought together in church capacity are thus to be united understandingly and intelligently as Christ is one with the Father, refusing by pen or voice or influence to strengthen any evil work or act on Satan's side. The duties of exhorting, giving, ruling, and showing mercy belong to preparing a people to meet God.
Its setting is that God has dealt to every man the measure of faith and has set many members with different offices in one body in Christ, every one members one of another. No one is to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly. Believers do not all have the same work, for each person has a distinct part, and the surrounding instructions call them to active, loving service rather than idleness.
To exhort is to devote oneself to exhortation through encouragement, to move and strengthen others. To give with simplicity is to share sincerely with singleness of heart, without selfish motive or pretense. To rule with diligence is to lead with earnest care and faithfulness, and to show mercy with cheerfulness is to help the suffering with gladness. Each gift is to be used according to the grace given, in its proper place.
Those who have put on Christ are transformed by the renewing of their minds and prove by their own experience what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Those with spurious faith show by their daily exhibition of character that they are not true Christians.
Differing Gifts, One Body
God gives gifts differing according to grace, giving to every person his own work according to ability, and among the gifts of the Spirit so assigned are exhortation, giving, ruling, and showing mercy, imparted as He chooses to be exercised with simplicity, diligence, and cheerfulness. There is a special work in the churches for individual members, with each member having his own office in the one body in Christ and filling his appointed place. This appointment extends to every man, woman, and child in His moral vineyard, one fitted for one line, another adapted to a different work and another to a still different line, each to be the complement of the others. Even those with limited religious and intellectual training have their useful work when they serve humbly and trust in Him, for He does not expect all to have the same abilities or stature.
No one's special gift is above all other gifts, and no humble line of ministering is to be despised, for humble ministering is just as important in its place as larger responsibilities. No single teacher, physician, minister, or manager has enough wisdom or ability to be a complete whole alone or to manage the work alone. God ordained that people be joined together in His service so that the varied talents of many minds are blended, the contact of mind with mind quickening thought and increasing ability, and the deficiency of one worker made up by the special gift of another. All have not the capability to do the selfsame work to the best advantage, for one is fitted for one class of work and another for another class, all blending in a complete whole. Different talents, minds, and methods of labor are thus given to different workers for sowing truth and gathering the harvest according to His purpose and for the promotion of His kingdom.
The perfection of the whole spiritual body depends on the perfection of its individual members, as the perfection of the physical body depends on its organs, with each member called to fill his own place rightly. The variety of gifts is to be brought into the building of the temple, each gift finding its proper place so that all grow together into an holy temple in the Lord. God gives these different gifts for service to be used together as parts of one body under Christ, forming a unified whole.
Faithful Use of Gifts
Each one is to humbly recognize personal responsibility and take up the work set before him, keeping to his own office in the one body. The one who exhorts is to devote himself to exhortation, the one who gives is to give with simplicity and singleness of heart, the one who leads is to lead with diligence, and the one who shows mercy is to do it with cheerfulness. These are differing assignments given according to grace and according to ability, to be exercised in sincere love, service, patience and prayer, with faith working through love to purify the soul from rivalry and strife. Continually relying on God and heeding this direction saves much perplexity and brings success, for working for the Master in this age is not easy.
Gifts are to be used in their proper place and fitting way rather than through self-exaltation, self-importance, or attempts to make every member alike. Each is to act humbly in the part God appoints, cooperating with God who supplies the will and the power to do what pleases Him. The work is to be done with care and not in a haphazard way, as steady duty at one's post and not by impulse or feeling to please self and consult ease. This careful doing applies in small matters as well as large, and men of God's appointment are sustained only as they humbly do this word and seek wisdom from God. Neglect brings positive danger, for Satan seeks by every device to weaken appointed men by making them exalted in their own opinion and thus gaining power over them.
No one placed in a humble line of ministering should become dissatisfied and leave it to try to be a teacher and leader, for humble ministering is just as important in its place as larger responsibilities. Doing these duties with unfeigned love, hatred of evil, brotherly kindness, diligence, fervency, hope, patience, prayer, distributing to the saints and hospitality is a wise and perfectly safe investment securing treasure in heaven, title to eternal life, and eternal reward if not in this life then in the better life. That instruction demands close critical study because many mistakes come from not heeding it, and its neglect produces discord and strife, dishonors God, withholds the power He would impart, and leaves members failing to glorify Him before the world and the heavenly universe.
The gift of exhortation is to be used where it is needed to move and stir souls and to encourage and strengthen the work when it is difficult. One who exhorts is not to let feelings govern the service nor claim more time for the work than the calling requires. One with this gift need not devote all time to ministry but should use time carefully when not especially engaged, not seek comfort while others are burdened, and provide for self when able. Those with strength and ability should use time and abilities to glorify God, and those able to do more may support God's work with what they earn.
Unity in Cooperation
The different gifts of giving, ruling, showing mercy and the rest are given according to grace for a work every member is to do, yet no one has the capability to do the same work to the best advantage, for one is fitted for one class of work and another for another. All blend in a complete whole when each finds a proper place and fills an appointed office in the one body, with no special gift above the others. They are made helpful by connecting them with the gifts of others and appreciating them as essential for advancing the cause and representing God amid rebels and enemies who neglect His will and despise His honor, while differing minds supply what others lack so that gifts build unity rather than factions.
God ordained that people be joined together in service so the varied talents of many minds are blended, since no teacher, physician, minister or manager can ever be a complete whole alone. Contact of mind with mind quickens thought and increases ability and capability, and the deficiency of one worker or laborer is made up by the special gift of another. When physicians and teachers thus unite in imparting knowledge, youth under their training receive a symmetrical well-balanced education for service. Workers are therefore to draw together though all do not have the same office or talents, Christ giving different abilities to be exercised in different lines, some strong for one line and others fitted for another line or for laboring in a different way to accomplish the same result. No worker should interfere with another worker's distinct work, require fellow workers to labor in exactly the same way, or require everyone to share the same plans, and gifts used in humble teachable cooperation in their proper place will not form factions.
Christians do not all speak the same things, but their distinct contributions complement one another and bring harmony amid diversity as members of one body. Those who exhort devote themselves to exhortation, givers give simply and sincerely, leaders lead diligently, and those who show mercy do so cheerfully, all exercised in love. That love works through faith and purifies the soul from rivalry, strife and discord, calling for loving cooperation rather than discord.
No one is capable of being a complete whole alone, for God has given to every man, woman and child a work in His moral vineyard, one fitted to a certain work and another adapted to a different work and still another to a different line, each to be the complement of the others. All are needed together, blending in union with the Holy Spirit, taking time to understand one another, finding points of resemblance, helping one another with one supplying the lack of another, accepting and appreciating keener perceptions where another has them, and giving due credit to each ability. Each worker is to keep God-given individuality without submerging it in another, crush all feeling of superiority, hide self in Christ, and blend talent with the talents provided in others in love, pity, courtesy, faithfulness and mutual esteem, instead of standing apart to watch and criticize and judge. United prayerful labor in free hearty open companionship is the instrumentality for saving souls, with men of humblest ability often reaching hearts sealed against supposed greater ability, and success in winning souls is given when workers link together in devotion and unity of action, with no one man doing the whole work alone, managing everything or holding everything in his own hands.
God's infinite wisdom employs human beings with varied gifts, talents, minds and methods of labor to cooperate with Him in the salvation of others and in sowing truth and gathering the harvest. Each person has a special God-given sphere of action to fill and work assigned according to ability, faithfully performed while laborers help one another and work together harmoniously. Their work is done not by judging others but by showing what the Lord has done in transformation of character. Beneficence and wise division of labor advance the work, and each worker should be honored as God's workman.
Ruling Without Domination
Ruling with diligence does not mean exercising a masterly, dominating power over minds and hearts and charging the Lord's people what they shall do and shall not do. That kind of dominating ruling is a dangerous and strange element, not of God and not the righteousness of Christ but another gospel. It is a spoil to the church of God and is not to be allowed any more.
All who hold position in the church as shepherds and rulers are to represent the great Shepherd. They do this by wearing Christ's yoke and drawing under His leading in cooperation with brethren, thinking soberly and not rating self above what is right. To stay useful and reach the standard of perfection a church leader must lay aside pride, self-exaltation, independence, and a dictatorial spirit, changing attitude and keeping self under control. This is necessary because Satan tries by every device to weaken men of God's appointment by making them exalted in their own opinion and thus gaining power over them, while they are sustained only as they work humbly and seek wisdom from God. Heeding this warning keeps past success from being lost and makes reaching perfection possible.
Life, Mission, and Reward
The instruction carries high value as a history for all churches to carry God's work forward onto a higher plane of action. It is of vital importance to be practiced now above all other times in earth's history, yet it is largely left out by professing Christians. It demands close, critical study because many mistakes come from not heeding it. Neglect produces discord and strife, dishonors God, withholds the power He would be pleased to impart, and leaves members failing to do the work they should do to glorify His name before the world and before the heavenly universe.
Faithful exercise of differing gifts in helping and strengthening one another belongs to winning heaven by overcoming as Christ overcame and following His example. Those duties of exhorting, giving, ruling, and showing mercy belong to preparing a people to meet God. They are to be appreciated and rightly used for the holiness and happiness of those working with God to prepare a people for the day of the Lord.
The verse is a caution and exhortation to workers in publishing houses, sanitariums, and ministry who have cherished wrong tendencies and tried to bear rule over one another without repentance and daily conversion. They are called to present themselves as a living sacrifice and be transformed by the renewing of the mind. These gifts to the church then help make it a light to the world.
Its duties require pure, clean words full of sympathy, tenderness, and love. Yet they do not end there, for there are times when words of reproof and sharp rebuke are called for. Those out of the right way need more than soft words to bring them back, and moral renovation must take place in every heart or souls will perish in their sins.
Doing them with love without dissimulation means abhorring evil and cleaving to good, refusing by pen or voice or influence to strengthen any evil work or act on Satan's side, and being kindly affectioned with brotherly love in honor preferring one another. Doing them with unfeigned love, hatred of evil, brotherly kindness, diligence in business, fervency of spirit, rejoicing in hope, patience in tribulation, prayer, distributing to the need of saints, and hospitality is steady duty at one's post, not by impulse or feeling, pleasing God instead of pleasing self and consulting ease. This is a wise and perfectly safe investment in good works that secures treasure in heaven, gives a title to eternal life, and reaps an eternal reward if not in this life then in the better life.
Continually relying on God and heeding this direction saves much perplexity and brings success to the work. Working for the Master in this age is not an easy task. Visiting, speaking words of sympathy and encouragement, and quietly leading people to a correct understanding of Scripture is not work anyone can do, but demands much grace, much patience, and an ever-increasing stock of wisdom. Women who first learn meekness in the school of Christ can accomplish a good work for God under this rule by benefiting humanity and presenting the all-sufficiency of Jesus.
A living church is a working church, and souls are to be saved by the united use of these varied gifts. His people must use their gifts with missionary courtesy, missionary hospitality, and missionary zeal, and He has grace for every worker who labors. Those who profess to be converted yet make no effort to win sinners to Christ rob the church of vitality and will be revealed as spiritual dwarfs.
United, prayerful labor in free, hearty, open companionship is God's instrumentality for saving souls. Men of the humblest ability often reach hearts sealed against supposed greater ability. God gives success in winning souls when workers link together in devotion and unity of action.
The exchange of varied talents, with a variety of gifts needed together, is needed in the work of reaching souls and winning them to the truth. Principles of health reform are to be made known in large gatherings of believers at camp-meetings, requiring different gifts both to speak before those not of the faith and to instruct church members how to work to secure the best success. Physicians are to use their gift by learning to take part in this work and giving bright rays of light to the world.
When physicians and teachers thus unite in imparting their knowledge, the youth under their training receive a symmetrical, well-balanced education for service. Contact of mind with mind quickens thought and increases ability, and the deficiency of one worker is made up by the special gift of another. No single teacher, physician, or minister can ever be a complete whole by himself.
Continuing in usefulness requires changing attitude and keeping self under control in giving with simplicity, ruling with diligence, and showing mercy with cheerfulness. Heeding its warning keeps past success from being lost and makes it possible to reach the standard of perfection. Intelligent, pure, cordial belief in the grace of Christ, which brings salvation to all, places the feet on the eternal Rock.