Understanding the Body of Christ in Romans 12

A little boy was waiting for his mother to come out of the grocery store.

As he waited, he was approached by a man who asked, "Son, can you tell me where the post office is?"

The little boy replied, "Sure, just go straight down the street a couple of blocks and turn to your right."

The man thanked the boy kindly and said, "I'm the new pastor in town, and I'd like for you to come to church on Sunday. I'll show you how to get to Heaven."

The little boy replied with a chuckle, "Awww, come on; you don't even know the way to the post office!"

We can understand the boys thought on this, right? As a Christian, we all should be able to tell someone how to get to heaven, but do we know what it means to be the “Church.” I have been talking with Steve Chiles about a Sermon series that he did on this and with his blessing I am tweaking his outlines and making the sermon my own. I am not sure how many of the sermon series that I will do, but we will see where God leads us.

Today we are going to talk about being the body, the body of Christ and we are going to look at our main text about that topic. Romans 12:4-8.

1. How Does God Use Us?

Romans 12:6-8

If God has given you the ability to speak the truth of God, speak out with faith. If it is serving, serve well. If teaching, teach well. If it’s encouraging others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

When I was in Desert Storm, the Corpsman, on the night that the Allied forces had decided to attack many of the Iraqi positions in Kuwait and Iraq, the Corpsman was carrying a M249 SAW. Now most Corpsman refused to carry a combat weapon because they were not trained fighters, they were trained as first responders.

Corpsman were our doctors in the field and they took care of us and we took care of them, but many of them would not even consider fighting in a battle. Sometimes, what you have to do in the military is not what you think you are going to do.

But if you truly have a relationship with Jesus Christ and you are obedient to the Holy Spirit, sometimes God use us in ways that we do not expect and sometimes He uses us and it makes sense.

• He uses our unity.

Our unity is not just our ability to get along; it is also our ability to work together. I need a volunteer. Let’s see…I would use Jaxon but he is broke down like a Ford. So, okay here’s what I want you to do. Tie your shoe, wait, I haven’t told you the rules. You can only use one hand. Now there are some people that can tie their shoes with one hand, but it is not as good as two hands. Ok. Tie your shoe with both hands, but without using your fingers.

Unity isn’t just getting along; it is working together and doing your part.

• He uses our victories.

Time and time again in the bible we are told about great victories. David and Goliath, Samson killing the thousand soldiers with the jawbone of a Yankee fan. God will use our victories to inspire others around us. God will use our victories to inspire us.

Believe it or not.

• He uses our abilities.

Now let’s think about this for a bit. Many times, God will use our weaknesses so that there is no doubt that it was not done because of how good we think we are. Gideon was the lowest of the low. We talked about that a few weeks ago. God used him in his weakness.

But God also uses our abilities. Some call them talents. David had been a shepherd and was very talented with it. He killed a lion, and a bear. He had faced some of the deadliest animals. He had ability. God used that ability.

If God has given you the ability to speak the truth of God, speak out with faith. If it is serving, serve well. If teaching, teach well. If it’s encouraging others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Most of the praise team have the ability to sing… shouldn’t they use that talent to serve the Lord. So, if you have a talent, you should be using it for God.

• He uses our trials.

Trials make us stronger. Trials help us to build character, not be a character, but build our character. Trials help us remember what Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

If people go to the gym, but don’t do any type of lifting, they won’t get stronger. If you go to church and learn about God, but don’t face trials your faith will not get stronger. God will use our trials….

Something else to think about is Sometimes your role in the body is small.

Matthew 24:21

Just because it is small to you doesn’t mean it is not important. Here are a few small things that get done and we don’t talk about them. Kyli puts all the media together. Worship slides, announcements, bulletin, Andrew has been the go-to on getting the trim done in the parsonage, the flooring, the roof over the breezeway, Jordan and Robyn run the computer, Andrew Arnall and Johnnie run sound, but I really want to brag on our greeters. That job may seem insignificant, but you are really the face of the church. You are the first one people see when they come to church. You represent the church to visitors.

If someone comes to church and our greeters are like get your bulletin and find a seat quickly, next… or welcome to our church where the music is just ok and the preacher isn’t that good. You are the ones that hopefully start people off, knowing that this is a place of love and caring and I believe you do just that.

If we are the body, then point 2 asks….

2. What does God expect from us?

Romans 12:4-5

• Serve with joy.

God has saved you from an eternity in Hell! Even though you didn’t deserve it. Serve Him with Joy! Do things gladly. Don’t look at thinks like you have to do something. Look at it like you get to.

• Serve with integrity.

Vocabulary.com says this about integrity… Having integrity means doing the right thing in a reliable way.

We also say doing the right thing when no one is looking.

What would your life look like with complete integrity?

• Serve with compassion.

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Jesus saw the crowd and had compassion on them and healed the sick. He had compassion and fed the multitude. Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.

Colossians 3:23

If God has given you the ability to speak the truth, speak out with faith. If it is serving, serve well. If teaching, teach well. If it’s encouraging others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

3. Every Christian is to be an active and necessary part of the body.

Ephesians 2:10, I Corinthians 12:14-18

Fulfilling your role in the body is an act of obedience, stewardship and worship.

As many of you know, we have a benevolence committee. One of their ministries is serving food to families after a funeral. They set up tables or make sure the tables are set up, they clean, they make sure the FLC is ready. To show the grieving family that not only does God care about them, but our church cares about them.

I want to brag on Anita. I love her heart. Most of the time, she helps with the dinners (she is not on the benevolence committee). I will come in as they are preparing for the dinner and Anita will be here. She might have her Oxygen on, she might be rolling around on her walker and this is usually what she says, “I can’t do much, but I want to do what I can.”

Can I get everyone to look at me just for a moment? I want you to hear my heart. I love you. God did not call you to sit. He called you to serve.

We are the Church! We are a Body!