Our church is an independent, non-denominational congregation focused on equipping believers to accomplish all God has for each individual. We emphasize growing to maturity through regular, relevant study of God’s Word, meaningful corporate worship, and fellowship. Del Rio Bible Church was established in 1997 by a … Read More »
While We Wait (Part 4)
- Peter argues in 1 Peter 4:7-10 that as we wait for Jesus’ return, believers must:
-be clear-minded, balanced, alert to false doctrine
-be alert and self-controlled, sober spiritually and emotionally
-be active in prayer
-be loving toward each other, not faultfinding
-be hospitable to other believers
-be exercising our spiritual gift or gifts in serving the Body of Christ
- A spiritual gift is defined by Dr. Charles Ryrie as “a God-given ability for service.” God is the source of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11), which are given to believers to enable them to serve the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7). Spiritual gifts were never given in the Scripture for the personal edification of the believer:
-each believer has at least one spiritual gift (probably given at the time of regeneration)
-the gift is given to serve others and build up the Body
-we are to be faithful stewards of our gift(s)
-gifts are generally divided into speaking gifts (teaching/preaching, encouragement, exhortation; and serving gifts (contributing to the needs of others, caring for the sick, showing mercy for example.)
- Some good resources for a Biblical understanding of spiritual gifts are: The Charismatics by John MacArthur (reissued later as Charismatic Chaos); Counterfeit Miracles by B. B. Warfield (a classic work published in 1918); and Balancing the Christian Life and The Holy Spirit, books by Dr. Charles C. Ryrie.
Topics:
Wait, Waiting, While We Wait
