◄ What Does Romans 12:3 Mean? ►

Our Christian life and spiritual service should follow the will of the Lord and be done to the glory of God. Personal dedication and basic consecration, where we present our lives as a living sacrifice unto the Lord, is naturally the foundational principle upon which any life that is walking in spirit and truth, must be based.

We have been saved by grace through faith and are called to live our lives by grace as well. We are to exercise our spiritual gifts by grace through faith and are not to rely on our own strength, but to depend upon our Heavenly Father in all things, for without faith it is impossible to please Him.

We are not to be conformed into worldly ways or be squeezed into a natural way of thinking. Indeed, Christ died to deliver us from the world's satanic hold on our lives... and it is all because of God's grace. Our salvation has nothing to do with what we have done, but depends entirely on what Christ has done on our behalf... and it is all by grace.

He called apostles and prophets, like Paul, to instruct us in the way of salvation and so Paul rightly reminds us, "that through the grace given to me (i.e. the grace given to Paul) I say to everyone among you, not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think."

There is nothing in the gospel that can be credited to our account, because Christ did it all. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ's work on Calvary and there is no ritual, religious activity, Sabbath rule, or Church-imposed regulation, that could ever elevate our position before God or exaggerate our spiritual importance. ALL that we have and ALL that we are has been given to us by God's grace.

God has given us all that we need for life and godliness, because we trusted in Christ's finished work, by faith. By His Word and through His Spirit, we have received all that we require, including certain spiritual gifts, so that we may live a life that honours His name. Each member of Christ's Body has a unique function and each person has been thoroughly equipped, by the Holy Spirit, with sound judgement and spiritual gifts so that we may carry out the work that God has prepared for us to do.

It is good if we recognise and employ the spiritual gift (or gifts) that God has bestowed upon us, but we should never be puffed up by them or use them to falsely exaggerate our own importance or spirituality! All spiritual gifts are given by grace and all are exercised by faith. We were saved by faith, we are to live by faith, and we are to exercise our spiritual gifts by faith - and all is to be done to the glory of God and not for the elevation of self!

Each one of us has been blessed by God with certain spiritual gifts and we are to exercise those gifts according to the measure of faith we have received and according to the grace we have been given. We should neither exaggerate nor minimise the gifts we received from above - but should do everything to the glory of God.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus and that I have been saved by grace through faith in His finished work. Thank You that my salvation does not rely on what I have done but on what Christ has already done on my account. Thank You that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me and that by faith in Him, I have received spiritual gifts and graces which are to be used for His glory. I pray that I may do all to the glory of God and present my body as a living sacrifice unto You. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.