Are you dissatisfied with both Calvinism and Arminianism? There's another option you should consider...

            For roughly the last 400 years, Protestants seeking a systematic understanding of the doctrine of salvation have basically had their pick of two options—Calvinism and Arminianism. This dilemma has often been unsatisfactory to all but the most dyed-in-the-wool adherents of each system because no matter which system you chose, you would eventually run across passages of Scripture that your system didn’t explain very well. Despite that fact, we’ve felt like we’ve basically just had to pick one or the other and live with its flaws because there didn’t seem to be any other options.

            Could it be that we’ve been caught on the horns of a false dilemma? Is there actually another option to consider—one that can capture the stronger points of Calvinism and Arminianism in a biblically accurate, logically coherent way? I have come to believe that there is, and it is a system known as Molinism.

            Molinism takes its name from the 15th-century Jesuit priest, Luis de Molina. Yes, that’s right—the way through this Protestant impasse may be to rediscover the thinking of a Jesuit priest! The Protestant version of Molinism—to no one’s surprise!—does not embrace every detail of Molina’s theology. It is built upon his unique contribution to the concept of God’s omniscience—namely, the doctrine of middle knowledge. This doctrine asserts that before God ever chose to create this world, He already possessed an accurate and certain knowledge of every decision that every free creature would make in any given circumstance. Molina further asserted that God possessed this knowledge NOT through any process of learning, but simply on the basis of His complete knowledge of His own imagination. Since we are products of God’s imagination, He could know us completely without having to “wait and see” what we would choose, so to speak.

            As you can see, the doctrine of middle knowledge is built upon a prior commitment to the idea that humans possess libertarian human freedom—or in other words, the power of contrary choice. These phrases simply mean that for any choice you make, you could have made a different choice than you actually made. For example, when you made the choice to wear the shirt that you’re wearing today, you could have actually chosen the other shirt that you were also considering. Libertarian human freedom stands at odds with theological determinism (or compatibilism), which asserts that God has ordered all things in such a way that for any choice you make, you could not have made a different choice than you actually made. Theological determinism is the position of logically-consistent Calvinists. I say “logically-consistent” because your average Calvinist in the pulpit or the pew is very inconsistent in his philosophical beliefs. He appreciates Calvinist perspectives on ideas like eternal security and election (as do I), but he would shy away from the full implications of Calvinism’s denial of libertarian human freedom. Yet he does this without realizing he is straining the bonds of logic.

            But let’s get back to Molinism! While Molinism embraces libertarian human freedom, it does not sacrifice a strong view of God’s sovereignty. It affirms that God is in control over all things—even the free choices of humans! This union explains why I’ve come to think Molinism has such promise—it logically and biblically unites libertarian human freedom with a strong view of God’s sovereignty. According to philosopher William Hasker, “If you are committed to a strong view of providence, according to which, down to the smallest detail, things are as they are because God knowingly decided to create such a world, and yet you also wish to maintain a libertarian conception of free will—if this is what you want, then Molinism is the only game in town.” This is precisely what many Christians want after carefully reading the Bible. It seems obvious that God is in control of all things AND that humans make real choices which they could have decided differently. Molinism helps us understand logically the conclusions that so many people have reached biblically.

            Since you might now begin to Google “Molinism,” let me just say that I don’t agree with everything that is promoted under this banner. If you are interested in studying Molinism further, I would recommend Kenneth Keathley’s book Salvation and Sovereignty as a great starting point. If you have mostly understood what I’ve written in this blog post, then you will be able to track with Keathley’s book. Plus, his book is a book, so he goes into more detail to explain ideas than I have in just this one blog post. I may write some additional posts on this topic, but if this post has already piqued your curiosity, you would do well to read Keathley’s book.

The Necessity of Highlighting Doctrinal Error

Recently I posted on my Facebook page about disagreements and concerns that I have with Bill Johnson and the ministries of his congregation—Bethel Church in Redding, CA. To some, highlighting such disagreements and announcing them publicly may seem unnecessary and unhelpful—even unloving and unbecoming of a pastor. Why highlight such differences, especially about doctrine—a subject that doesn’t always seem very relevant to begin with? Why not highlight and emphasize the things you have in common?

I do very much enjoy celebrating what I have in common with other believers. My interest in apologetics (defending Christian faith against attacks, which usually come from non-Christians) leads me to feel a kinship with anyone who affirms the distinctive and essential beliefs of Christianity, such as those expressed in the Nicene Creed. Those who are familiar with my preaching know that while I don’t shy away from pointing out teachings that I disagree with, it is rare for me to highlight people by name. When I do so, it is not a task that I enjoy.

So why do it at all? Honestly, part of my answer comes from my passion to defend Christian faith! According to Scripture, false doctrinal teachings have the potential to harm the faith of believers. In 2 Timothy 2:16-18, the Apostle Paul highlights (by name no less!) two men who were teaching that the resurrection had already occurred. The result of their teaching was that the faith of some believers was being “upset” (other translations read “ruined,” “overthrown,” “undermined,” or “destroyed.”) That is very serious business, indeed!

It is not hard to see how this can happen. False teaching can create unfounded expectations, and when those expectations are not met, devastating doubts can arise. For example, if you are told that it is always God’s will for sick people to be healed but then you do not experience a healing when you are ill, you could be understandably tempted to abandon your faith. After all, it didn’t seem to come through for you when you desperately needed it.

But, you may ask, is doctrine really the sort of thing over which to disagree and divide? So many doctrines can seem rather irrelevant to daily life. Aren’t they just high and lofty concepts for people in academia to discuss? Do they really make a difference for the life of the average Christian?

This objection is an important one, and it really highlights a flaw in the way that much teaching about doctrine is presented—it is often discussed on a level that does leave it seeming rather irrelevant! This supposed irrelevance does not really belong to doctrine, however—it belongs to the way that doctrine is often taught.

At its heart, doctrine simply seeks to present the Bible’s teaching on some straightforward yet highly significant questions, such as:

·         Is there really a God, and if so, what is He like?

·         How can I relate to God? Is there anything standing in the way of a relationship with Him?

·         What does God want me to do and what sort of help does He provide so I can do it?

·         What does God have planned for me and for the world? Can I know anything about what’s next so that I can get prepared for it?

As I have expressed it in these words above, I imagine it is easier to see just how relevant and important doctrine really is! The problem is that, as with any topic that is discussed for a long time by a lot of people, a certain amount of technical language has grown up around doctrine that makes it seem confusing, hard to understand, and thus irrelevant to daily life since we feel like we get along okay without understanding it. The great challenge for those of us who teach doctrine is to understand it thoroughly ourselves so that we can present it in simple, non-technical language.

Looking again at the questions written above, perhaps you can see some examples for yourself of just how important it is to embrace true beliefs about doctrine rather than false ones. What if you concluded that there is nothing at all holding you back from a relationship with God if that is in fact false? You could miss out on a relationship with God because you’ve ignored an obstacle that truly is there! Or what if you get it wrong about the help that God provides to help you obey? You could experience immense frustration in life because you didn’t recognize some resource that was available to you!

It is with such concerns in mind that I do feel a necessity to highlight doctrinal error when it is serious and when it seems to enjoy some popularity. Even if I must do so, may God grant me a heart to do it in love, humility, and grace!

What to Think When a Pastor Commits Suicide

It’s happened again—a pastor has committed suicide. In this day of social media, news of such tragedies travels quickly, especially since these stories have a certain shock factor to them (“A pastor? Really? How could that happen?”).

Since many people might be wrestling with what to think in response to such news, I thought I’d write out a few thoughts that could serve as a guide for your thinking. This post is by no means a comprehensive discussion of suicide, anxiety, depression, counseling, or any other related issues, so please don’t read it as the last word on any of those subjects. I am also writing generally in this post—I’m not trying to analyze why any particular pastor may have committed suicide.

Here are a few thoughts for you, in the format of some do’s and don’ts.

DON’T be astonished

You might be thinking to yourself, “How could a pastor reach such a point of despair? You guys draw close to God all the time through the Word and prayer.” Yes, we do—and who could possibly do that so often without being frequently reminded of his own failures and sins? Many times as I read the Bible I’m reminded of a sin I need to forsake or a virtue I need to develop—and I read the Bible a lot! A pastor can end up feeling like Isaiah when he had a vision of God in Isaiah 6: “Woe is me! I am undone!”

Pastors face two related temptations as we go about our ministry. The first is desensitization. This is when Bible study, preaching, prayer, counseling, etc. become all-too-routine, too commonplace. Someone said it well: “He is most unholy whose hands have been cauterized by holy things.” (I would gladly give credit for that quote if I could just remember where I read it!)

The second temptation is despair. This is when the whole process of ministry becomes too raw, when our every act of ministry is like re-opening a fresh wound. When this happens, we give our own failures too much weight and the grace of God too little.

Pastors are like all Christians in this regard—we must build our identity on the work of Christ and constantly seek refuge in Him. It is a tricky balancing act to deal with your own sins and insecurities while developing a genuine confidence to lead others at the very same time. And as we all know, maintaining balance in life is a challenge.

DON’T be discouraged in your own struggle with suicidal thoughts

If you struggle with suicidal thoughts, it may be very easy to think, “If a pastor gives in to those thoughts, what hope do I have?” You look up to pastors—and that’s not inappropriate according to Hebrews 13:7: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” Pastors are supposed to be spiritually mature, and so generally speaking they will be setting a good example. But spiritual maturity is not the same thing as being perfect. Pastors still have temptations and struggles, and we don’t always respond to them in the best of ways.

Also remember that each person’s struggle has unique details to it. I suspect you’ve heard examples of pastors embezzling money from their churches, but you probably didn’t think, “If a pastor does that, what hope is there for me to avoid stealing from my employer?” The difference in your response could be in the details—some pastors have considerable access to and influence over church funds, whereas you may not have much access at all to your business’s finances. Due to this difference in details, you don’t despair when you hear about a pastor committing that act of theft.

So if you struggle with suicidal thoughts, there could be significant differences in the details of your struggle versus those of any individual pastor, so don’t despair! Don’t lose confidence or give up hope on the basis of someone else’s choices.

DO acknowledge that suicide is sinful

As we seek to deal compassionately with anyone who is contemplating suicide, I fear we face the temptation to stop short of calling it a sinful act. I don’t believe the Bible allows us to evade that conclusion. Suicide is an act of murder, even if the perpetrator is also the victim.

We should acknowledge that suicide is a sin, but at the same time we must resist putting it in a special category of sins and making it worse than all others. Suicide is not an unpardonable sin—the Bible never calls it such, nor does it hint that murder is unforgivable. Some people have thought that suicide might be unpardonable because you don’t get a chance to ask forgiveness for it before you meet God, but this view is built on a faulty understanding of salvation. Our salvation is not based upon our faithfulness to ask forgiveness for every act of sin we ever commit. And thank God that it isn’t, because who among us could have any assurance of salvation on that basis?

So if someone commits suicide, we ought not damn that person to Hell in our words or thoughts (I should also add that we should not use the threat of going to Hell as a counseling tactic to encourage someone not to commit suicide). But we can and should still acknowledge that suicide is sinful. Though it sounds impossible to modern ears, it is possible to acknowledge that an act is sin yet still maintain love and compassion for the person who has committed it or is considering it. This is the delicate but necessary balance that a Christian must maintain in any discussion of suicide.

I will say it again—don’t read this post as the final word (not even MY final word) on suicide, depression, counseling, or any related topics. But if it stimulates or even clarifies your thinking in some way, I am grateful to God.

Does Isaiah 26:3 promise us a life free from anxiety?

Peace of mind. A life free from worry and anxiety. Days that are free of mental turmoil.

It seems that almost all of us are looking for those things these days, and there is a verse in the Bible which, at first glance at least, appears to be a promise from God offering us exactly that – perfect peace of mind. This statement is found in Isaiah 26:3: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

You’ve likely seen this verse around. It is a favorite for greeting cards and home décor, and understandably so— it has a very encouraging tone to it. But have we been understanding this verse correctly in the way we’ve traditionally interpreted it? Often we read this verse and we take it to mean that we can have undisturbed and continuous peace of mind in our lives if we will simply trust God and keep him in the forefront of our thoughts. If this interpretation is correct, it leads us to a potentially unsettling personal problem — probably no one among us experiences undisturbed and continuous peace of mind in our lives! Does that mean we are all just miserably bad at trusting God?

Before we settle on that conclusion to the matter, we should ask ourselves if we’ve been interpreting this verse correctly. After encountering this verse again a few days ago in my daily Bible reading, I’ve started to think that this verse is actually saying something somewhat different than what we’ve typically thought. Allow me to share two observations that have led me to this conclusion.

First, Isaiah 26:1 states that the verses coming after it are part of a song which will be sung “in that day.” In fact, the phrase “in that day” is a very common one in the surrounding context (24:21, 25:9, 27:1, 27:2, 27:12). What is this “day” that Isaiah is talking about? According to the context, it is a day in which the Lord of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem (24:23), a day in which God will take away the reproach of his people from all the Earth (25:8), and a day in which the enemies of Israel will be defeated (much of chapters 25 and 26). These statements are describing nothing less than the future kingdom of Jesus on this earth! Since the whole context of this passage is looking forward to that future time, we have to consider that the “peace“ mentioned in 26:3 might not yet be achieved and thus might not yet be available.

The second observation centers on the word “peace” itself. This word is the somewhat familiar Hebrew term shalom. This word can refer to peace of mind, but it’s range of meaning is much wider than simply that. It can also express ideas like prosperity, health, and safety. Its meaning in a given verse has to be determined by the context. In this case, the next usage of the word “peace“ in verse 12 is rather informative, in my opinion. There, the word seems to mean something like “safety” because the people’s adversaries are defeated (v. 11) and no one but God rules over them (v. 13).

Given these observations, I think the NET Bible has a more accurate translation for Isaiah 26:3: “You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith, for they trust in you.” That may not go quite as nicely on home décor, but it does seem to be a bit more accurate. Even with this translation, keep two observations in mind. First, the phrase “the people” does not focus on individuals but on God’s people as a whole. Second, this verse is still part of a song that will be sung “in that day”—the time of Christ’s future kingdom on earth. Thus, the safety spoken of here is not yet fully realized for God’s people, so it shouldn’t be taken as a promise that we could claim for ourselves today.

So if Isaiah 26:3 is not telling us how we should go about pursuing peace of mind, what other passages should we turn into instead for that information? For one, I would point you to the example of the Psalms. In many psalms, a heart-broken person cries out to God in his anguish, sometimes being very blunt and descriptive about his feelings. Yet these authors eventually turn their thoughts back toward God’s promises and find renewed peace and comfort in them. So be fully honest with God about your thoughts and feelings—vent your spleen to him, so to speak—and then review his promises once again. Clear the air with God and then let his promises be the atmosphere from which you breathe.

And of course, Philippians 4:6-7 speaks very directly to this whole subject of peace of mind: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Pray to God, make your requests, and thank him for the many blessings that you already have. I have always found that the more I thank God, the deeper my peace of mind becomes. Yet even these verses are not a promise that we can stare down anxiety once-and-for-all and never face it again! They simply tell us how to respond whenever anxiety comes knocking at our doors once more.

So the next time you battle anxiety, don’t heap false guilt on yourself because of a misunderstanding of all things! Follow the example of the Psalms, take the advice of Philippians 4:6-7, and worship God for his promise of a coming day when fears and worries will assault us no more!

Staying in Our Lane as God's Creatures

During my childhood, the Army had an ad campaign with a short jingle that said, “Be all that you can be in the Army.” I think the Army had a pretty good thing going with that jingle. It really is an inspiring thought that you can be all that you can be; to think that you can live out your greatest potential.

Unfortunately, ever since mankind’s fall into sin, we have been busy trying to be what we cannot be--we have been trying to be just like God. We’ve been living as if we don’t need his guidance, and we have been living is if we don’t have the limitations that we truly do have as creatures. Early on in my recent sabbatical, I read a book by Christopher Ash entitled “Zeal Without Burnout.” This book discussed what God truly expects of us as his creatures and it reminds us about our genuine limitations—limitations that we cannot ignore without paying the price.

In this post, I’m going to discuss some of the thoughts from that book—thoughts that take us all the way back to why God created us and the limitations that we have as created beings. These thoughts are seen most clearly in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, so you may want to briefly read those chapters before you continue reading this post. In those chapters, we can clearly see the honorable role that we have been given by God, and the limitations that we have as creatures.

1. We have the honor of being productive through our labor

From the time mankind was created, God has given us the honorable task of laboring in his world. Remember, this task was given before mankind’s fall into sin, not after. It is not as though Adam and Eve sinned and then God said, “ I know the perfect consequence! I will make them punch a time clock for the rest of their puny existence!” No, work itself is not a curse, just the difficulties that we now encounter in it.

Labor itself truly is an honorable task. It may not be too much to say that God has intended for us to be  co-producers with him in his world. God did not design his world to come to its greatest fruition apart for mankind. In Genesis 2:5, we read that vegetation--and perhaps cultivated crops in particular--had not yet begun to grow because “there was no man to work the ground.” And remember that God did not drop mankind into a world that was already filled with things like computers, medicines, and tools. God has allowed us to discover how to produce such things from the natural resources of his planet.

So labor is honorable because it makes us co-producers with God. However, our labor was always meant to be kept in an appropriate balance!

2. We need rest

In our society, we tend to be over-producers and over-consumers, and in that crazy cycle, rest often loses out.

If you need just one example of our overproduction, go to the grocery store sometime and go shopping for cereal or tortilla chips. As you stroll down the cereal aisle, ask yourself, “How many varieties of Cheerios do we really need?” You can get plain old Cheerios (the kind with no taste!), Honey Nut Cheerios, Multigrain Cheerios, or Protein Cheerios. You can get the designer brand of Cheerios or any one of three other brands that are cheaper but basically the same thing.

The tortilla chip aisle is even worse! You can get thin tortilla chips or regular tortilla chips. You can get round tortilla chips or triangle tortilla chips. You can get tortilla chips that are shaped like little bowls so your chip dip won’t fall off as you raise it to your mouth. You can get yellow corn tortilla chips or white corn tortilla chips or blue corn tortilla chips. You can get tortilla chips that were locally produced or tortilla chips that were imported from another continent! It takes a tremendous amount of labor to support the kind of overproduction that we see all around us.

And to give you just one example of our overconsumption, consider the fact that Americans today carry $13 trillion of consumer debt. That number does not include things like medical debt—it includes purchases over which we have quite a bit of control, like which homes we buy and our personal possessions.

To maintain our overproduction, we tend to burn the candle at both ends. But we feel like we have to do so in order to support our overconsumption! As this crazy cycle rolls along, rest often falls by the wayside. But we need rest in at least two ways.

A. We need the daily rhythm of evening and morning

in Genesis one, we find the familiar phrase repeated over and over: “ there was evening and if there was morning.” this phrase was used to count off each successive day of the creation period.

Since evening is mentioned first in this phrase, the Jewish people have always considered a new day to begin at sundown. This perspective on when your day begins shines an interesting light on the balance between rest and work. If your day begins at sundown, what’s the first thing you do each day (especially in times and places with no electric lights)? You rest! You go to bed! Perhaps you first have a meal with your family or some conversation or recreation with your neighbors, but before you ever get around to the day’s labor, you rest up for it, because the day’s labor doesn’t begin for many hours.

This need that we have for rest makes us quite different from God. Psalm 121:4 says that God does not sleep nor does he slumber. Thus, he is always awake and alert to watch out for his people. When the prophet Elijah had his great showdown with the prophets of Baal, he mocked them by suggesting that there so-called god was asleep and could not hear their requests!

No, God does not need sleep, but we do. According to the Centers for Disease Control, adults need 7 or more hours of sleep each day, children need 9 to 12 hours, and teenagers need 8 to 10 hours. Clearly, in order to give ourselves the opportunity to get all the sleep we need, we must exercise some discipline over ourselves and our daily schedules. Certainly there are seasons of life and circumstances that make this difficult and even beyond our control, but as far as it is within our power, we need to take steps to give ourselves the best opportunity to get our daily rest.

If you research this topic at all, you will find recommendations to maintain a regular daily schedule. This discipline will help your body know when it is time to unwind to go to bed and when it is time to gear up to be awake. You will also find a recommendation to stick to a regular exercise program. Here is part of our balance with labor—we need to work and exercise our bodies in order to use up our energy. Exercise also helps relieve physical tension in the body that makes it hard for you to sleep. Experts also encourage us to avoid caffeine and electronics later in the day so our brains can begin to wind down.

If we habitually neglect our need for sleep, we are acting more like God than the creatures that we are. It is inappropriate for us to act more like him than we truly can be, so we should embrace this limitation that we have and learn to live within its boundaries.

B. We need regular breaks from the routine

In addition to our need for daily rest, we also need regular breaks from the routine. This lesson can be taken from the Sabbath day that is mentioned in Genesis 2:1-3. On that day, God did not rest because he was tired; He did this to set an example for our benefit. He didn’t wipe his brow after the sixth day of creation and say, “I really need a siesta! I think I’ll take tomorrow off!” No, he was setting a pattern for us to follow.

Now in the Old Testament, the Jewish people had some clear, God-given regulations about resting on the last day of the week. The New Testament makes it clear that we are not bound by those precise regulations, but nevertheless, this pattern from the Creation Week still stands. We need to take a break!

In my opinion, it is wise for us to take a break from every responsibility that we have. That would obviously include your job, so don’t neglect your regular time off each week. Whether you have Saturday and Sunday off or just Sunday or perhaps some other day of the week, don’t neglect to take that time off! Also, use up all of your vacation days. Even if you don’t actually go anywhere, just take the time off to get a break from the routine.

I also think it’s wise for parents to take some time away from their kids. Go off together as husband and wife and enjoy a date night or a weekend away. Have those meaningful conversations that always seem to get interrupted when the kids are around, or that you’re too tired to have at night after they’ve gone to bed.

Spouses, take some time apart every so often to go out with the guys or the gals. Men, grab some beef jerky and your golf clubs or shotguns and go have some fun in the great outdoors. Ladies, grab whatever it is you like to grab and get together for some heart-to-heart time (with a box of tissues, of course!).

Take a break from your volunteer and service roles as well. Faithfulness does not require that you do the same role week after week, forever and ever, amen! Step out of the routine and rest a little bit. Once you’ve pulled your nose away from the grindstone, you may look up and discover that there’s a different need somewhere else for which you are better suited.

3. We need companions

In Genesis 2:18, we find that familiar statement, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Do you think that Adams condition was a surprise to God? Did he say to himself, “Oh my! I told the man to be fruitful and multiply but I didn’t realize he couldn’t do that without a partner!” No, God made Adam alone at first for Adam’s benefit, so that he could feel and be convinced of his need for partner.

The first marriage came to be as a result of God’s next creative act, but marriage is not the only relationship that can satisfy this need that we have for companionship. First Corinthians 7 teaches us that marriage is not a necessary relationship for the Christian. We can glorify God perfectly well as single people, and even with particular advantages over those who are married. But even if we may not enter into marriage, we still need companionship with others.

We are living at a rather fascinating time in western culture. By “fascinating,” I mean fascinating like a car wreck—you’re horrified by what you see, but you just can’t look away! Today, we are living through the logical conclusion of the whole project of western civilization, which has been to elevate the primacy and importance of the individual. This project has produced some good fruit, such as a recognition of basic human rights that should not be violated. But it has also yielded some bad fruit, which I think we can see right now in such developments as the transgender phenomenon. We are told today that we are free to make our gender whatever we want it to be and everyone around us is supposed to fall in line with our proclamation—regardless of any biological facts about ourselves. That is radical individualism in action!

So we’ve been on a centuries-long quest to exalt the individual, and I think we’ve finally arrived at that destination. But we have found that this destination is a painfully lonely place to be. Many people in the United States over the last few years have been declaring that we are facing a “loneliness epidemic.” Even the surgeon general has sounded the alarm about this condition, quoting research that declares persistent loneliness to be as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day!

We have forgotten this basic limitation that we have as God’s creatures—we were never meant to live life all alone. We are made in the image of God, and the Trinity has relationship at its very core. The Trinity has never needed other beings outside of itself because loving relationship is part of what it is. We, however, do not possess that same quality as the Trinity, so we do need other beings outside of ourselves.

We need others for many reasons. For one, we need others so that we can utilize our spiritual gifts. Have you ever noticed that the spiritual gifts are social? You can't use them without a relationship with others! How can you use a gift for teaching if you have no one to teach? How can you use a gift for serving if you have no one to serve? We really ought to think of spiritual gifts as gifts that we can give to other people—not capacities that have been given to us for our own benefit.

We need others so we can spur each other along toward love and good works (Heb 10) and so we can exchange comfort and encouragement (2 Cor 1). Think of this like running a long race with a partner. Just as you start to feel that cramp in your side, your partner is catching her second wind, so she can set the pace and encourage you to keep going. Then as she wears down, you’re getting your second wind, so now you can become the one offering strength.

We need others to share in our joys and sorrows (Rom 12) and to provide accountability for us (James 5). As we are learning in our society today, we neglect this need for relationship at our own peril.

We have a great honor to labor in God’s word and serve him, but we do have some distinct limitations as creatures. If we live as if we don’t have these limitations, we are acting more like God than is truly appropriate. So rather than act like we don’t have these limitations, let’s embrace them and accept them as part of what it means to live out our role in God’s creation.