Use of gifts and talents
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Paul enumerates seven gifts: prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing, exercising leadership, showing mercy. He could have made his point listing fewer than seven. He no doubt could have extended the list beyond these seven, had he wanted to. Paul’s point is simply this: Don’t think too highly of yourself; on the other hand, don’t disparage or neglect the gifts God has given you. Rather, employing sound judgment, faithfully use the various gifts God has given you for the common good.
While we need not dwell on each individual gift in the list, the first one, prophesying, has occasionally raised some questions. First of all, prophesying does not necessarily mean foretelling the future. As used in Scripture, it means declaring God’s will, which may have been fulfilled already in the past or could be fulfilled yet in the future. Hence “prophesying” basically means making God’s will known.
The second part of the apostle’s encouragement regarding prophecy also needs some clarification. As translated by the NIV and others, it sounds similar to the “measure of faith” statement previously discussed. Specifically, our translation reads, “If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.” We need to note that the original does not have the possessive his but simply uses the article the. Furthermore, Scripture does not restrict faith to the meaning of “trust and confidence on the part of an individual believer.” Faith can also refer to the message that is believed, namely, the gospel. That is unquestionably the sense found in Galatians when we are told that the Christian church in Judea did not personally know Paul but simply had heard that “the man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy” (1:23). Paul was preaching the gospel. Hence Paul’s encouragement in Romans could be rephrased as such: If a person’s gift is prophesying (publicly proclaiming the Word), then let that proclamation be in accord with the faith (in agreement with the gospel).