Living Like a Christian By Thinking Rightly About Ourselves

What is your normal way of stating your beliefs or opinions about most things?

Would you say that the way you express yourself is,

I feel such and such a way, or I think such and such a way?

In today's postmodern culture, we are encouraged not to think seriously.

Instead, we are encouraged to just feel deeply.

Now, the problem is not that it's wrong to have strong feelings.

Nothing wrong with feeling deeply about people and things in your life.

What gets us into trouble, though, is when we fail to think seriously about truth,

about facts, about reality.

When we allow fuzzy, momentary feelings to have priority over clear, big-picture thinking,

we're setting ourselves up for disaster in many areas of life.

Let's take finances, for example.

All across this country, all the research shows that many, many people are struggling to survive financially

because they are in over their head in debt.

And many people got that way because they did not think factually.

They didn't think realistically about their financial situation before they bought the house or car or gadgets or other stuff.

That once it was done, they realized, I couldn't afford that.

What got them into trouble was their failure to think about the reality of what my income is,

what my necessary expenses are,

what I have in savings,

what I'm obligated for.

What they did, instead of doing that, they made an emotional decision to buy what they wanted

because at the time, it just felt so right.

The Apostle Paul understood the importance of thinking rightly.

And he stressed it as he began Romans chapter 12

Romans 12 · chapter mention

as something required of every Christian

who's serious about having a right relationship with God

and living in a right relationship with other people.

Turn with me, if you would, to Romans chapter 12, verses 3 through 5 today.

Romans 12:3–5

3 through 8 is the block.

We're just going to have time, though, to go through 3 through 5.

6 through 8, we'll come to another time.

Let's read it.

Last week, we were in verse 2 of chapter 12.

And just note for a moment.

He said,

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

It matters what we think.

Now, he goes into...

He strongly emphasizes how we think in the next verse.

Let's go ahead and start.

Verse 3 for today.

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,

maybe talking about encouraging,

the one who contributes in generosity,

the one who leads with zeal,

the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness.

Before we look at the specifics of this passage,

I want you to note how Paul strongly emphasizes

the importance of us thinking rightly.

Look at the phrase in verse 3,

just the part that 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 you just look at that,

and the word think is emphasized three times.

It's obvious that he is really focusing on that.

It was even more in the original Greek that he wrote,

according to commentator Colin Cruz.

He points out how Paul is just going all out

to stress the word think.

Look at what he says.

Paul engages in a play on words here

by employing the verb to think in its varied forms.

Translated literally, it reads,

do not think more highly than what is necessary to think,

but think in order to think soberly.

Can he be any clearer?

Thinking correctly is essential for living in every area of life.

If we're going to be the people that God's created and called us and worked in us to be,

at work, at home, at school, in sports, whatever you do,

we've got to be people who think.

We've got to be people who think consistently,

seriously, realistically.

That's what he's telling us.

Now, I want us to look at the specifics

of how we can live like a Christian

by thinking rightly about ourselves.

First of all,

think objectively about yourself.

That's really what he's saying here

in verse three.

Think objectively

or realistically.

He's saying do it about two things.

First,

don't think too highly of yourself.

Look at the phrase,

for by the grace given to me,

I say to everyone among you,

I want you to note the change in the tone

as Paul addresses the matter of how we think about ourselves.

Two weeks ago,

we saw in verse one,

he made sort of what you'd call

a brotherly request

of these Christians in Rome.

Look at it in verse one.

He said,

I appeal to you therefore, brothers,

by the mercies of God.

In that,

as he began chapter 12,

Paul,

as a brother in Christ

to his brothers and sisters,

he makes an appeal.

He makes,

he is trying to sort of,

what you might say,

gently persuade them

based on positive motivation,

how God has just shown his mercy

in various forms to us.

That's why I'm asking you

to make the commitment of your life to him.

Well, here in verse three,

that changes.

Paul

is using a more authoritative tone here.

Look at it again.

For by the grace given to me,

I say to everyone among you.

By the grace given to me,

that's how Paul in other places

refers to his calling as an apostle.

And his calling as an apostle

is what gave him the authority

to write these letters,

to start churches,

to put people in office,

to demand that the church

exercise discipline at times.

And so what Paul is doing here,

he is issuing a command

or a warning

to everyone among you.

What he's saying here,

he wants everybody to understand.

This is not a kind appeal.

I am warning you seriously.

I am commanding you about this.

And what he's saying here,

obviously,

everyone among you,

this applies to all Christians

of all times.

There are no exceptions.

Here's what he's talking about.

The problem he's warning us about

is pride.

Pride.

Look at what he says.

I say to everyone among you

not to think of himself

more highly than he ought to think.

Evidently,

there were some members

of that church

who had an inflated opinion

of themselves.

Now, can you imagine that?

People in church

thinking too highly

of themselves.

There's times when we all do,

don't we?

There's times that we all

battle pride.

Well, it's a serious thing

and Paul is very serious about it.

One reason,

pride will destroy our fellowship

with God quicker than anything.

That's why both James and Peter,

in their letters,

they make this same statement.

Look at it.

God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble.

You know,

there's some people in life

that they're against you,

they're opposed to you,

but you don't care.

There's some people

that are opposed to you

because,

and you don't care

because they have no power over you.

They have no authority.

You just don't care

what they might say

or think or do

because they can do nothing to you.

They have no influence over you

or anything about your life.

But for God to oppose us,

that ought to make us

sit up and take notice.

God resists

or God opposes

the proud.

That means you and me

if we're arrogant.

We're not in fellowship with God.

We're not close to Him

if we think too highly of ourselves.

Let's think about with people.

Isn't it hard to have

real, meaningful fellowship

with someone

who is just full of themselves,

just very prideful?

It's almost impossible

because they're just

focused on themselves.

You can't have

close,

sharing life together

kind of

of a relationship

with someone

if all they're concerned about

is themselves.

They cannot invest in you

because they're fully invested

in themselves.

They don't really care

what's going on

in your life.

They don't want to listen

to what's going on

in your life.

because

they're only concerned

about themselves

and they won't let you know that.

They won't let you know

who they are,

what they have,

what they've done.

Everything's all about them.

They can't have

real relationships.

They certainly can't have

good, healthy relationships

because that requires

give and take.

And they just want to take it.

They just want it all

for themselves

because life's about me.

Now in this passage,

Paul is probably addressing

a specific form of pride,

thinking too highly

of ourselves

because of our position

in the church

or because of our

particular gift

or talent.

So he's talking to,

he's emphasizing

the church here.

He's emphasizing

we've got gifts.

We're to work together

as we'll look at

in a moment.

Now,

we need to understand

that no one

should ever think

of themselves

as being indispensable

to the well-being

of their church.

No matter who you are,

no matter what you do,

you,

me,

we can be replaced.

The fact is,

if any one of us

dies this week,

Pickens First Baptist Church

will meet next Sunday.

No service

will be canceled.

It won't even

be abbreviated.

And I think to myself,

if I'm the one

that drops dead this week,

there'll be probably

somebody that does

a much better job

preaching

and in a couple of weeks

people will be saying,

Fred who?

That's the way it works.

That's the way it is

at your job.

That company's not

going to close down

if you don't show up tomorrow.

That's the way it is

on your team.

Next man up.

You get hurt,

you quit,

next man up.

Next man up.

Paul wants us

to understand,

do not,

do not think

more highly

of yourself

because you've got

a certain position,

you've got a certain talent,

you've got a certain gift,

you do this

or you do that.

That's just pride.

There's no place

for that

in our church family

he's saying.

Now,

if we'll think

objectively

about ourselves,

we will not have

a problem

of thinking

too highly.

But at the same time now,

if we think

objectively

about ourselves,

we shouldn't think

we're nothing.

We shouldn't think

we have nothing

to bring to the table.

Let's look at

the second thing.

Think realistically

about yourself.

Think objectively

about yourself

but also think

realistically.

Look at the phrase.

Think with sober judgment.

That means think sensibly.

Think accurately.

Think realistically

about yourself.

And there's

some value there.

You're created

in the image of God.

If you're a Christian,

you think

Jesus Christ

gave His life

so that I could be

forgiven and made

a child of God.

If you're a child of God,

He's put His Spirit

in you.

If you're a Christian,

you have gifts

that God has given you

for the purpose

of serving Him

and other people

in this church.

R.C. Sproul points out

the importance

of this kind of thinking.

Look at what he says.

Paul is saying

that just as we are

not to think

too highly of ourselves,

neither are we

to despise

our God-given value.

The opposite

of not being arrogant

about your abilities

is not

that you deny

that you have

any talents

or gifts

or abilities.

God wants us

to acknowledge

what He's given us.

If you're a Christian,

you've been given

certain spiritual gifts.

You have certain

natural talents.

You have certain abilities.

You've been given

special opportunities.

Everybody hasn't been given,

each of us individually.

So we need

to acknowledge that,

not be shy

about using that.

New Testament scholar

Leon Morris

points this out,

the importance.

Look at it.

Being sober-minded

means recognizing

that God has given us

and being zealous

in its use

as well as humble.

Recognizing what God

has given us

and being zealous

in its use

as well as humble.

it is very important

for you to do a self-evaluation.

To recognize

what God has

done for you.

How He's gifted you.

How He has equipped you

to serve Him

in this body.

Pickens First Baptist.

And then

use what He's given you

for His glory

and people's good.

It's important

also that you

recognize

in the broader

scale,

broader scheme

of things.

You need to use

all the talents

and abilities

that God has given you

in every area

of your life.

You know,

you need to

think in terms

of how God

has made me,

equipped me,

put me in certain situations,

given me opportunities,

and then you need

to make the best

of those opportunities.

You need to excel

in who you are

and what you do.

That is not

arrogance.

That's being

a good steward.

Just make sure

that you never forget

that who you are

and what you have

and even your opportunities,

those are all things

that God has given you.

I want you to look

at 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 4:7

chapter 4,

verse 7.

Paul makes a statement.

He's asking,

he's making the statement

in the form of

rhetorical questions

that should just

remind us

everything that we have

comes from God

so there's no place

for pride in our lives.

Look at it.

For who makes you

different from anybody else?

What do you have

that you did not receive?

And if you did receive it,

why do you boast

as though you did not?

use what God has given you?

But always give Him

the glory.

Always acknowledge

and thank Him.

Use what He's given you

humbly

to serve Him

and serve other people.

Paul says something else

about thinking soberly

at the end of verse 3.

Look at it.

He says,

we are to think

with sober judgment

each according

to the measure

of faith

that God has assigned.

In the context

of what's being said here,

especially about

the spiritual gifts

in verses 6 through 8,

Paul's using this word

faith to describe

our ability

to understand

and use

the gifts

that He's given us.

He's not talking

about saving faith here.

He's talking about

our ability

to understand

and use the gifts

that God gives us.

And such faith

would also involve

trusting God

to use us

to be a blessing

to other people,

to help other people.

Let's think about

the big picture here.

No one should ever

think of themselves

as the

most important member

of this church.

That would be thinking

way too highly

of yourself.

But at the same time,

no one should ever

think of themselves

as the least

important member

of this church.

Each of us

needs to think

of ourselves

as vital members

of this church family

if we're members here

with God-given gifts

and talents

that God has put us

in the church

so that we could

use those

in a way that would

help Pickens First Baptist

be the well church

that we've identified

as our purpose.

The worshiping,

evangelizing,

learning and loving

family of faith

that God's called

us to be.

And so what we need

to think here

for a moment now is

are you using

your gifts?

We can't look

at any one person

and say you're the

most important member

of the church.

But at the same time

we can't look at

any one and say

you don't matter.

We all matter.

And we've been

put together

if we're Christians,

members of this church,

we've been put together

by God sovereignly

with the gifts

and talents

and abilities

that we have

to do what He

wants us to do.

That requires us all

to take that

responsibility seriously

and be involved

in some kind

of ministry,

some kind

of service.

Are you?

You are helping

determine

how strong

our church is

by the way

you use your gifts

and talents

and abilities

in the life

of our church.

By your involvement

doing what God's

equipped you

to do,

whatever it is,

you're contributing

to the health

of the church.

By your not being

involved,

you're contributing

to the sickness

or ineffectiveness

of the church.

That's a fact.

That's what the passage

is talking about.

Think about this.

Act on this.

This is leading

to the next point.

We need to think

biblically about

your place

in the body of Christ.

We need to think

biblically about

our place

in the body of Christ.

Look at verses 4

and 5.

Paul explains

that the church

is one spiritual body,

the body of Christ.

Notice how he describes

it in verse 4.

I will look at

one phrase.

As in one body,

we have many members.

We have many body parts.

One body.

Many body parts.

So we,

though many,

are one body

in Christ.

His point is that

all of us

together,

we form one

spiritual body,

the body of Christ.

All of us together,

we form one

spiritual family,

the family of God.

This is an emphasis

on the unity

of the church.

It is our responsibility

to look at us.

On one hand,

we're one body.

We're one family.

And we matter

as a family.

We need to do

all that we can

to promote

family,

harmony,

and unity

and do whatever

it takes

to prevent

division.

Divisiveness

is something

that God condemns

very strongly

in the New Testament.

I want you to look

at some examples.

Later on in Romans

Romans 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16,

look at what he writes.

I appeal to you,

brothers,

to watch out

for those

who cause divisions

and create obstacles

contrary to the doctrine

that you've been taught.

Avoid them,

for such persons

do not serve

our Lord Christ.

Another statement

Paul writes

to Titus

and says,

as for a person

who stirs up dissension,

after warning him

once and then twice,

have nothing more

to do with him.

You know

that one of the last

things that Jesus

prayed

for all his

disciples

and future disciples

that actually says

in John chapter 17,

John 17 · chapter mention

one of the last things

Jesus prayed for

is that we would be united.

That God's children

would be united.

Look at what he says.

Jesus prayed

that they may

all be one

just as you,

Father,

are in me

and I in you,

that they also

may be in us

so that the world

may believe

that you have sent me.

Unity in the church

is a sign

that we really

are God's people,

that Christ really

is our Lord.

So it's vitally important

that we

work to

build unity,

maintain unity,

and do whatever

it takes

to avoid

division.

Now Paul also

explains that

the church

is made up

of different

body parts

and our different

body parts

are to function

differently.

Note how he

makes this point.

Also in verse 4,

the members,

the body parts,

do not all

have the same

function.

Verse 6,

having gifts

that differ

according to the

grace given

to us,

let us use them.

Now Paul illustrates

this in great detail

in 1 Corinthians 12

by comparing

the church

to a human body

and each member

of the church

is like a part

of the human body.

The point is

each member

of the church

is important

to the body,

the church body.

Just like

your hands,

your feet,

your eyes,

your ears,

they're all

an important part

of your

human body.

We need to

recognize the value

of one another.

And we're

very different.

Different is good

in this way.

He's talking about

diversity in the church,

diversity in the midst

of unity.

We need to recognize

people who

are just different,

maybe they have

a different background.

They have a different

way of looking

at things.

But the real focus

is on they have

different talents

and gifts

and abilities

that they bring

to the table.

Now,

sometimes there

could be a tendency

to be jealous

of someone

who gets up

and teaches

or someone

who gets up

in front of

everybody

and sings

or is serving

in some kind

of real visible

way.

We've got to

guard against

that.

We need to

think in terms

of that's

their gift,

that's their talent,

that's how God's

using them

and be all

for them.

thankful for them.

Take advantage

of their gift

for our own

benefit.

Likewise,

no one should

ever think

of their gift

of serving

quietly behind

the scenes

as being of

lesser importance

than those

whose ministry

is public.

There's a lot

of people

on Sunday

and throughout

the week

who serve

for the well-being

of our church

in ways

that very few

people know

about

and even

fewer

notice.

But if they

didn't do

what they did

we would all

notice.

It all

matters.

Think about it

this way.

My heart

is working

right now

but you don't

see it.

You see my

hands,

you see my

body,

you hear

what's coming

out of my

mouth.

life.

Well if my

heart wasn't

working behind

the scenes

nothing else

would happen

with it.

It's all

important.

What you

see,

the ones

you see

and the

ones you

don't see.

What is

important is

that we

understand how

God's made

us,

how God's

equipped us

and we be

who we are

and be

faithful in

our responsibilities.

One other

thing needs to

be stressed

here.

That is

don't expect

everyone to

do the same

thing that

you do.

Sometimes that

happens.

Sometimes people

think,

well this is

where I'm

just,

I'm involved,

I'm passionate,

I love it,

why doesn't

everybody else?

One reason is

they don't have

the heart that

you have for

it.

They don't

have the gift

or the talent.

They don't

just see it

the way that

you see it.

So don't

expect people

who don't

have your

gift,

who do not

have your

maybe heart

passion for

it,

to be excited

in joining

you as you

do what

you do.

You know,

we don't

really expect

everyone to

sing or

teach.

Why should

we expect

everyone to

do any other

spiritual gift?

any other

or use

any other

talent

like everybody

else?

Thinking about

our spiritual

gifts

is what Paul

is going to

address next

in the last

three verses.

We're not

going to look

at that today

but as a

part of the

unity,

here's the

point.

We need to

think responsibly

about our

spiritual gifts.

Verses 6

through 8.

We'll look at

that at

another time.

What I want

us to see is

we'll wrap

this up this

morning.

God has

given us

this passage

to emphasize

we need

to think.

Christians

need to be

thinking

people.

Specifically,

he calls us

to think

rightly

about ourselves,

who we

are in

this church,

who we

are before

God,

how God's

made us.

We need to

think about

ourselves and

we need to

think rightly

about our

church.

church.

Now,

as God

has spoken

through his

word and

through his

spirit,

I do

believe that

he makes

known to

us how we

should respond

to his

teaching.

But here's

what I want

you to

understand.

God is not

calling us

to respond

to what he's

saying based

on how we

feel.

He is

calling us

to respond

based on

thinking

rightly

about

ourselves,

about our

church,

in light of

the clear

teaching of

his word.

Now,

I want you

to listen

to the

Lord,

think

seriously

about what

he's saying

about you.

about your

pride,

about your

gifts,

about your

involvement in

ministry in

the life of

this church.

Think about

our church

and how we

exist to

serve God

through the

worship,

evangelism,

learning,

and loving

of our

purpose

statement,

which comes

from Acts

2,

42-47.

How are you

involved in

that?

Listen to

the Lord,

think,

and then

obey him

in your

response.

Let's pray

together.

Dear God,

help us

now to

understand what

we need to

do in

order to

leave here

today thinking

rightly about

ourselves,

about your

church,

our fellowship

here called

Pickens First

Baptist,

and our

own spiritual

gifts,

and how

and where

we should

use them.

Lord,

if there's

anyone in

this room

who is not

a Christian,

help them

to understand

that the

first need

they have

is to

confess and

turn from,

repent of

their sin,

put their

trust,

their confidence

in Jesus,

that when he

died on the

cross, he

actually took

their punishment,

paid the

penalty for

their sins.

Help them

right now,

dear God,

to trust Jesus

and call

upon him

to save

them.

In an

attitude of

prayer, you

listen to the

Lord, you

respond to

him.

And I'll be

here at the

front and be

happy to pray

with you if

you'd like to

during this

time.

for more.

because of

providing

forgiveness

or

for