How do I serve in the new way of the Spirit?
by Robert Krumrey
Last Sunday we learned from Romans 7:1-6 that the genuine Christian has the opportunity to bear good fruit for God. Fruit that is described by the apostle Paul as “serving in the new way of the Spirit” (see Romans 7:6). I said this was an important clarification regarding the desired outcome of our union with Christ. We currently live in a very therapeutic culture that values inner well being as the ultimate goal of the good life. If we are not careful, we will co-opt Christianity for this same end.
The Inner and the Outer Life
This is not to say that the inner life doesn’t matter. Paul is spilling a lot of ink in the book of Romans to make sure that we have a healthy inner life. Romans 6 is all about thinking of yourself or “considering” yourself in certain ways that include being dead to sin and alive to God. When we get to Romans 8, we’ll hear him reminding us that we are no longer under condemnation, that we are the adopted children of God, and that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to assist us in both knowing and being who we are. The inner life matters and it matters a lot!
That said, if inner life stays inner only, then something has gone horribly wrong. Jesus didn’t save us just to have inner peace. He saved us to be a son or daughter who serves. The new identity that we’ve been given, that of a child of God, is to be lived out in the life of the church and on mission in the world. Romans 8 tells us that we are “sons of God” and that we are able to cry “Abba Father”. Romans 12 tells us to act like it.
Consider how all of the inner life talk in Romans 6,7,8 gives way to outer life talk in Romans 12:
“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
We are told that every Christian has been given gifts and are then commanded to “use them”. Some are verbal gifts and are more up front. Others are task oriented and more behind the scenes. Still others work to lead and organize the other gifts. When they are all being used, they work like a body that is functional and unified in all of its beautiful diversity.
The New Way of the Spirit
As if to keep us from forgetting our inner resources, Paul makes sure that all of this serving is being done in the power of the Spirit. He doesn’t want us to blindly stumble back into the “old way of the written code.” This serving in the church and on mission in the world is done through the infinite resources of the Holy Spirit that we now have through faith in Christ. Peter says something similar in his teaching on the use of spiritual gifts in the church:
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
In Peter’s description, we see speaking gifts being deployed with the awareness that God is supernaturally working through words to build up the church. More task oriented gifts are being deployed with the awareness that they are being supernaturally assisted with strength that God supplies. In other words, all of the acts of service that are happening in the church are to be carried out in the “new way of the Spirit”.
Where do I start?
Sometimes it may seem hard to figure out how to serve in the new way of the Spirit. Either we are unaware of the needs around us or we are overwhelmed with too many opportunities. With all that we have on our plates, where do we even start? Here are are few thoughts:
Pray: Start praying about serving. If uniquely Christian service is supernatural, then it seems obvious that we would want to pray about how to engage in it. Pray that God would help guide you in serving and that he would give you strength to serve on top of all of the other responsibilities that you are juggling.
Team: Seek to serve as part of a team (official or organic). You may notice that the lists of spiritual gifts in the Bible almost always include the image of the human body. Members of the church are supposed to work together as a unity of different kinds of gifts.
Leadership: Respond to the initiation of your leaders. If you are a part of the MERCYhouse family and you hear an invitation to serve from your elders or staff, take the initiative to either meet the need yourself or help recruit someone else to employ their gifts in meeting the need. There are many “official” opportunities to serve in our church - everything from mowing the yard to leading discipleship groups. If you are unsure about these opportunities, please reach out to our church office and let us know about your desire to serve - contact@mercyhouse365.org.
Start and Stay Small
So much of healthy church life is made up of small/daily acts of service that everyone in the congregation is called to participate in. More than filling slots in official programs, the church is called to a culture of serving in the new way of the Spirit. Empowered by God, we faithfully engage with the opportunities that God places in our path, both from our leaders and through our own awareness of needs in the congregation. Here are just a few examples that Paul gives the churches in Rome to help them understand what this kind of ministry of service in the church might look like on a daily basis. Prayerfully pick one and seek to serve someone this week!
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”