News Archive
The danger of rejecting spiritual gifts
Like most people who’ve been around on the church scene for a while,
and like Fiona, I too have had my fingers burned by some of the abuses
of spiritual gifts. Sometimes those abuses have been used to front
manipulation, and sometimes as excuses for bizarre and weird behaviour.
Either way, it would be easy to cast aside this "supernatural" side of
the work of the Spirit, if only out of self-preservation.
But to do that would be a massive mistake. I admit that practising
spiritual gifts in a Christian community is risky, even costly, but for
me, ignorance and rejection carries an even greater cost. Think about
it; if God chooses to speak through the gifts of revelation such as
prophecy and tongues with interpretation, or He demonstrates power
through acts of healing or faith or miracles, or awesome acts of
kindness through "helps", generosity and hospitality. Or he chooses to
unblock or break in to a certain situation through the gifts of wisdom
or a "word of knowledge", but we hold all this at arm's length, how much
of the blessing of God are we missing out on through fear or flawed
thinking?
I’m afraid that using the "abuses" argument for our
neutrality or even opposition to all things charismatic is a bit like
having Christmas presents under the tree without ever opening them. I’m
a charismatic (believing the gifts are for today), not because of
trends or fads, or authors that we love to read, but because I believe
the scriptures are clear about their relevance today. In fact to be a
bible-believing Christian and not to practise spiritual gifts is a bit
of an oxymoron. I believe we owe the world an encounter with God and
that means not just a gospel of words and works, but one of wonders too
(see Rom 15:18ff).
Later in the New Year, we’ll do some Sunday teaching on spiritual
gifts, all as part of a push towards greater spiritual maturity. We’ll
look at their purpose and the right context for their use. That is all
important. But what really excites me is an even more accurate "flow"
of prophecy, greater demonstrations of power, and more acts of
compassion and kindness. And all for the building up of the body of
Christ and for works of mission out into the community. Bring it on,
Lord.