In our house, we have different talents. My wife is creative and caring. I’m logical, organized, and handy. Jeremiah is intelligent and empathetic. Levi is adventurous and warm. Sam is wild and crazy. We all have different talents, personalities, and gifts that help compose us as people. God is our Creator and He is the one who made us the way that we are. I’m thankful that God made each of us the way that He made us.

So also, with the church. God has made each member of the church the way that he or she is and He has done so according to His great wisdom, by His great power, and for His great glory.

Today, Paul is going to talk about some of the gifts that God has given to the church. Today’s sermon is entitled, “The Gracious Gifts of God.”

Before we go any further with our sermon, let’s go to God now in prayer and ask Him to graciously give us the gift of His blessings as we study His Word.

(prayer)

You may remember that we are studying the book of Romans. Last week, we covered Romans 12:1-2 and 9-21. We skipped verses 3-8. Well, as I said, we’re going to cover those verses today.

Let’s read the entire passage and then we’ll talk about it. Look at Romans 12:3-8:

3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

So, today we’re going to look at the gracious gifts of God. As we look at these gifts, we’re going to learn three characteristics concerning these gifts.

First, . . .

I. These gifts are from God.

Look at what Paul says in verse 3:

For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.

First of all, we know that God is our Creator.

Everything that we have He has given us.

So, generally, we know that God is the giver of all good things.

However, look at what Paul says at the end of verse 3. He says, “God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.”

So, it is God who gives us faith and the gifts that we possess that are a result of our faith in God.

Listen, you and I do not have any gifts or talents, and we certainly don’t have any spiritual gifts or talents that did not come from God.

As James tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above . . .” (James 1:17)

First, we must recognize that these gifts are from God.

Second, . . .

II. These gifts are of grace.

Paul starts this section by stating that he has been given grace.

Paul says in verse 3, “For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you . . .”

You see, as Paul is teaching the followers of Jesus in Rome, he is doing so with authority. He has that authority because he is an apostle of Jesus.

Well, who made him an apostle? God did.

Why did God make Paul an apostle? Because God graciously gives spiritual gifts to His people.

Paul said, “By the grace given me.” So, Paul acknowledges that his apostleship is given by the grace of God.

Look also at verse 6. Paul says, “According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts.”

Paul makes sure that we understand that not only did he receive his gift of apostleship by God’s grace but all of us who are God’s children also receive different spiritual gifts according to God’s grace.

Well, if God gave these gifts of grace to us, what did we have to do to ea