Living on the Edge

Chip Ingram: Today's program comes with a caution, red lights flashing. It's a serious program. We've been talking about spiritual gifts, but in the arena of spiritual gifts, at times they are abused. We're going to talk about spiritual gift abuse and how, at times, your gift can be leveraged in ways that God never intended. You need to be aware of when that is, where that is, and how to prevent it.

Dave Druey: Welcome to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Spiritual gifts are powerful, but power, when it's misapplied or driven by the wrong motives, can do real damage. Today Chip turns to First Corinthians 12 and walks us through the first five of 10 warning signs that spiritual gifts are being abused. If you've ever been hurt by gift abuse, or wondered if you might be guilty of it yourself, today's message is exactly what you need. Now here's Chip Ingram with a message titled "Warning: Beware of Spiritual Gift Abuse."

Chip Ingram: If you are indeed the spiritual paintbrush in God's hand by your gift, and He wants to dip it into the palette and the colors of His grace so that your life could literally begin to make imprints of grace and change another person's life for all eternity, something that powerful usually has a dark side. In other words, if gifts do that much good, if they're abused, if they're misused, if they're misapplied, they can have a very, very dark side.

The title of this session is we're going to talk about "Beware of Spiritual Gift Abuse." I'd like you to open your teaching handout if you will, and I want to go over what I think are the 10 most common abuses of spiritual gifts. Number one: Beware when spiritual gifts are used as a means of manipulation, power, or control in personal and/or church relationships.

Notice they're all going to start with "beware." That's a warning sign. Beware when spiritual gifts are used as a means of manipulation, power, or control in personal and/or church relationships. If you have your Bibles, open them if you will to First Corinthians chapter 12. In First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 4, it's a common thing we've talked about. In fact, keep your finger in First Corinthians 12. A lot of the abuses were happening in the Corinthian church, and so a lot of the corrections are going to be there.

Pick it up at verse 4: "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of workings, but the same God who works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." For the common good. Did you notice the repetition of the word "same, same, same"? There's unity. When God is working, and the Lord Jesus is exalted, and the Spirit of God is bestowing gifts and operating in the body of Christ, it's for the common good. It builds people up.

The focus is on the Godhead, not on the gifts. The focus is on what God is doing in the group, not on people's particular passions or bent. Personal control, manipulation, and use by gifts are always a sign that abuse is occurring. Anytime someone comes to you or someone you know and says, "God revealed to me that you're supposed to do this or do that," a big red light ought to flash on the dashboard. I don't care who they are.

Now, it doesn't mean that God never reveals through other people, but I came to the conclusion that on a major life decision about who to marry, where to work, what job to take, what to do with one of your kids, you would just think that God might want to tell you rather than tell someone else, right? I've got a phone. That doesn't mean that God might not bring someone into your life to say, "I'm concerned about this, and here's four or five reasons why I've watched this relationship." That's a little different story. But this "thus says the Lord," and people end up in real high-power, "I'm very important" situations. Often this happens in the leadership of churches.

Second warning: Beware whenever anyone claims to have the ability to give or bestow any particular gift if you follow their formula. Notice what it says in First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 11. He goes on to say, "All these gifts are of the same Spirit, and He gives to each one just as He determines." Speaking of the spiritual gifts, He says God gives or bestows gifts. Literally, it's "as He wills." The Greek word is a very interesting one; it means "as He chooses after careful deliberation."

Remember we said we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. If God has a plan for your life and He's going to gift you to fulfill the plan for your life, then the gifts that He gives you are not going to be given through some other person, somewhere, sometime, someway. What have we learned? It is that when the ascended Christ, He gave gifts to men, and He chooses to give you the gifts that He wants you to have so you can fulfill the purpose that you're called to.

So when someone comes up and basically says, "I have the power to distribute the gifts," he's taking the role of the Holy Spirit, or she's taking the role of the Holy Spirit. Beware whenever anyone claims to have the ability to give or bestow any particular gift if you follow their formula.

Third warning: Beware when any particular gift is made universal evidence of spirituality, salvation, or other spiritual blessing. Skip down to verses 29 and 30, chapter 12. By the way, as I read this, in English we can't quite do it, but he's going to ask questions. Grammatically, you can ask a question and you can use just one little word that automatically tells you that it's a rhetorical question and the answer is "no." That's this case. So these are not just questions, "Are all apostles?" It's "Are all apostles?" Emphatically, no.

Notice what it says in verse 29: "Are all apostles? No. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Do all work miracles? No. Do all have gifts of healing? No. Do all speak in tongues? No. Do all interpret?" He's making the point in First Corinthians 12:29 and 30 that no one has all the gifts. Now, this is where I'm going to be gentle, but let me say this because I've been through both. My parents came to Christ through the charismatic movement.

In my personal experience, I've been in very word-centered ministries, but I've had the privilege of traveling all around the world and teamed up with Pentecostal and charismatic brothers and sisters. I'm going to tell you about 90% is very balanced, great teaching. But there is some teaching in pockets, especially what I'd call some older school Pentecostalism or charismatic groups, that will teach that if you don't speak in tongues, you are not saved or you don't have salvation. Others will teach if you don't speak in tongues, you don't have the Holy Spirit. Somehow you have part of Christ, and the only way you know for sure if you have the Holy Spirit is if you speak in another language.

Here's my point: Study the gifts carefully. Tongues are a what? We looked at it. It is an ability to speak in another language for the glory of God, for the common good, in a language you haven't learned. Now, what you'll find is people will go to the book of Acts and say, "Well, look what happened in the early church." I would suggest that is descriptive, not prescriptive. Yes, that is what happened. And can God give an unknown language to evidence the working? He did. When the Jews came to Christ, unknown language. When the Samaritans, half-Jews, came to Christ, unknown language. When the Gentiles came to Christ, unknown language.

But Paul would say it's an outward evidence, a sign for unbelievers. All I'm saying is your view on the gift of tongues should have nothing to do with sanctification or your walk in holiness. It's a spiritual gift, but it is not a spiritual gift that needs to be tied with evidence of salvation or evidence of your spiritual state. There are people, and I've been down this road, there are people that feel like they don't have all of God because they don't have this gift. By the way, in some groups it's tongues; in other groups it's other gifts. Anytime anyone says there's some universal gift that's a sign that really makes you a salvation or a spiritual blessing, always have that red light go off and say, "Wait a second."

Spiritual abuse number four: Beware when the focus of a church service, ministry, or religious event is on spiritual gifts and their manifestation rather than on the giver of the gifts and His agenda for the church. This is where you hear about the miracle service as advertised, when the focus gets on "come see the show, here's what you can get." Beware.

Just read the gospels and ask yourself: Is this how Jesus did ministry? In fact, look at Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11 and 12. It's very clear. Just flip back a couple books. He gave gifts. Why did He give spiritual gifts? Did He give spiritual gifts so people could make a lot of money, put on a show, tell people how awesome, miraculous, and wonderful their deal is?

He gave some as apostles, He gave some as prophets, He gave some as evangelists, He gave some as pastors and teachers. Why? For the work of service, to build up the body, for the work of service, so that every single Christian grows up into maturity to all the measure of the fullness of Christ. The goal and the role of gifting men and women is to help other believers mature in Christ. Anytime the focus is off the giver of the gifts and onto the show, anytime it's about showmanship instead of Christ-likeness, you better have that flashing red light and say, "You know something? It may be electric in the air and people may make all kinds of claims, but it doesn't pass the test of New Testament biblical Christianity."

Dave Druey: You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and part two of our message is coming up next. Remember, the place to go for all of these daily messages is over on our website, livingontheedge.org. There you'll find Chip's full teaching library, along with even more content like Chip's free daily discipleship tool to help you grow all week long. You can also download the Chip Ingram app absolutely free through any app store on your smart device. Now let's get back to today's message from Chip Ingram.

Chip Ingram: Warning number five: Beware of comparing your gifts with anyone else. It always leads to carnality. Do not compare your gifts. Even as I say that, I'd like to say that I never do. I'm there. But you will because you're human. I'm going to read a passage that's a little extended, but it's so important I think it's worth reading. Have you noticed that we're still in First Corinthians 12? Go back a couple books. Some of you may be thinking, "I think this Corinthian church had some struggles with gifts," because all the directives about how to do it right are in First Corinthians 12, part of 13 and 14.

He goes on to say in First Corinthians 12, beginning at verse 11: "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them, the Spirit gives gifts to each one just as He determines." The body is a unit. He's going to make a metaphor. "Though it is made up of many parts and though all its parts are many, they form one body." Given the human body, we have a hand, we have a head, we have eyes, we have ears, we have feet. "And so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink. Now the body is made up of not one part, but many."

Then here's where he goes through the analogy: "If the foot should say, 'Because I'm not a hand, I don't belong to the body,' would it not for that reason cease to be any part of the body? No. And if the ear should say, 'Because I'm not an eye, I don't belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body, would it? No. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? And if the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be."

Don't compare your gift to someone else's. Don't get thinking, and by the way, it's human nature, certain churches and certain backgrounds will gravitate to honor certain gifts more than other gifts. I was in one para-church organization that I'll tell you what, if you had the gift of exhortation, you were a winner. If you had the gift of service, it was like, "Well, someone does need to pick up the chairs and that would be nice." If you had the gift of teaching or leadership, actually it was threatening to the group because they had a real cookie-cutter formula about how they were going to raise up leaders. What they wanted was facilitators to lead small groups. Anyone that wanted to say, "Hey, why are we doing it this way?" They'd say, "Rebellious Ingram, would you just shut up and sit over there and lead your group?"

I had some pretty strong leadership gifts and I was saying, "Hey, basically this seems kind of dumb. If you want to get this job done, we ought to go this way." I was dealing with the pride issues in my life. Now, I had a lot of pride issues in my life, so it wasn't wasted. But I've been in other churches where it's this visible gift, and if you can ever get up in front of the stage and so, boy, the little kids by the time they're seven, eight, nine, 10, or if a kid in junior high or high school has any speaking ability, "He's been called of God," and they put them up in front of the group and the poor kids don't know what they're saying.

It all goes back to comparing our gifts rather than realizing God's got a perfect plan. I don't know that I want to say to my eye or to my ear or to my knee that one's more important. They're all important, they're all interdependent. I just want to say I think you'll wrestle with this. There's a passage that's been helpful, Second Corinthians 10:12, you might jot that in the corner of your notes, where the Apostle Paul will say, "When we compare ourselves with ourselves and measure ourselves by ourselves, we are without understanding." I just want to say for your encouragement, I think you'll struggle with this your whole life because I do believe that all of us are desperately insecure, even as believers. I mean, I know we're going to grow, but we're desperately insecure.

Don't compare yourself with other people. Don't compare your gift with other people. God made you unique. Warning number six: Beware of any extreme position on spiritual gifts, i.e., they do not exist at all, or a Spirit-filled Christian will have all the gifts. I've heard both. I've been in places where gifts don't exist. I'll tell you what, you find gifts, you find disunity and division and people are arguing about them. There aren't any gifts; all the gifts are gone after the first century. I've heard people teach that.

On the other hand, I've heard if you're Spirit-filled—if you're really Spirit-filled, whatever Spirit-filled means. No one really knows. I think the Bible has a pretty good definition, but depending on what group, what background, that could mean you've been to Mars and back or it could mean that you're really walking with the Lord in the Spirit. But if you're Spirit-filled, you'll have all the gifts. And then usually they have someone in the church who's an example of it. Brother Bob, he's got all the gifts. Go, Bob, go! I can prophesy, I can teach. He can do it all.

Anytime you feel those extremes, notice what it says in First Corinthians 12, verse 1: "Now about spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant." You need to have understanding. Everyone has one primary gift. We know that He will give you ministry gifts. We understand they're for the common good. When you know those 10 basic principles, it guards against this kind of thing.

Number seven: Warning light. Beware of using spiritual gifts in the energy of the flesh to fulfill personal ego needs or impress other people. This is another one that I don't think you'll grow out of. Beware. Beware. Be on your guard. Watch over your heart with all diligence. When you have a spiritual gift, you can take a gift; it's like a tool. God doesn't take away the tool. You can be in the flesh, God will honor His word and He will honor the tool or the gift that He's placed in your hand.

But I can use my gift and you can use your gift, not in submission to the Spirit, but in the energy of the flesh, and it produces not good things. Boy, I think this is one of those real gut-check times where you have to ask and I have to ask: Is this about me using my gift to get attention, affirmation, strokes from people? Is this about impressing people? Let me apply this down to where we live. If you happen to have visible gifts, some gifts are up-front gifts. It might be teaching, might be exhortation, might be prophecy, might be leadership, but you find yourself where people are looking to you or you are speaking and you have a visible role.

The temptation is to begin to get a little carried away with yourself and really like the position. What does knowledge do? It puffs up. I think we all struggle with that. Anytime you have to do something and you find yourself for ego needs, then I think that's a warning light and you need to say, "Wait a second here."

Notice what it says in First Corinthians 13, sandwiched between chapter 12—this is how to use the gifts—and then chapter 14: "Eagerly desire spiritual gifts." 12 says "don't be ignorant about them," 14 says "really desire and focus." Right in between is First Corinthians 13, and it says, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels," there's the spiritual gift, "but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith so that I can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all my possessions to the poor and surrender my body to the flames," literally be a martyr, "but have not love, I gain nothing."

I have nothing, I gain nothing. If I have this gift of tongues, if I have this gift of prophecy, if I have this gift of faith, if I have this gift of martyrdom and be willing, you can do all those things. Not about love, which is focusing on other people, giving other people what they need the most when they deserve it the least, as your gift to God. I can do my gifts that way, or it can really be a subtle way to set Chip Ingram up to get Chip Ingram the strokes and the ego needs and the unresolved issues in his life taken care of. So it's a warning light. Be on your guard.

Beware number eight: Beware of confusing spiritual gifts with spiritual fruit as the evidence of spiritual growth and maturity. In some circles, the development and impact and the use of your gifts become the test for spiritual maturity. But gifts, remember, are a means, not an end. In other words, when you have these gifts, when God is using you—"God's using you, God's using you. My lands, God's using you!" That's wonderful, that's great. "God is using you!"

In some circles, what does that become? That's the goal: God using you. I've got news for you: that is not the goal. Gifts are what? They're a paintbrush, they're a means. The goal is that you are becoming more and more like Christ. Spiritual fruit is about spiritual maturity, Christ-likeness. Spiritual gifts are about the means God uses in your life to help others become more like Christ.

Let's look at a couple passages. Ephesians 4:13: "Until we all reach to the unity in the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." The goal is maturity. Notice Galatians 5:22 and 23: "But the fruit of the Spirit," in other words, what is it that God's after? "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law." In fact, Jesus, John 15:8, by this is my Father glorified, that you have many gifts and are very impressive. Oh, I think I misquoted that. "By this is my Father glorified," what? "That you bear much fruit."

Dave Druey: You've been listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and a message titled "Warning: Beware of Spiritual Gift Abuse." We're nearing the end of our series called "You Were Made for More: How to Discover God's Purpose for Your Life," and you can revisit this lesson or any message in this series by going online to livingontheedge.org.

Today Chip walked us through the first five warning signs of spiritual gift abuse, from manipulation and control to using gifts to feed the ego rather than serve others. Unfortunately, these aren't fringe issues. They show up in churches of every size and tradition, and the people most at risk are often the ones with a most genuine passion for God. Knowing the warning signs isn't cynicism; it's wisdom, and that kind of wisdom is exactly what this ministry exists to give people.

Now if you give regularly to Living on the Edge, thank you. It's because of you that messages like today's are reaching people who genuinely need them. If you're listening today and you've never given to this ministry before, now's a great time to start. We've made it quick and easy to partner with us by going online to livingontheedge.org or give us a call at 888-333-6003.

And as you think about your own gifts, we want to help make sure you're building on solid ground. That's why we created our free online assessment called "The Real You," built to help you understand your God-given personality, strengths, and spiritual design. It's a simple, practical way to better understanding your gifting, so take it today, absolutely free, at therealyou.org. Now here's Chip.

Chip Ingram: As we close today's program, I can only imagine that some of you had pictures go through your mind and you thought back to experiences that you've had and things that were happening in the past, and you never thought, "Oh, that's spiritual gift abuse." You probably assumed you did something wrong or you were a bad person. So let me just go through in the end of today's program and review.

Number one: Beware when spiritual gifts are used as a means of manipulation, power, or control in personal or church relationships. Number two: Warning, beware whenever anyone claims to have the ability to give or bestow any particular gift if you follow their formula. Third warning: Beware when any particular gift is made universal evidence of spirituality, salvation, or other spiritual blessing.

Warning number four: Beware when the focus of a church service, ministry, or religious event is on spiritual gifts and their manifestation rather than on the giver of the gifts and His agenda for His church. Finally, beware of comparing your gifts with anyone else. It always leads to carnality.

Dave Druey: The final five warning signs of spiritual gift abuse are up next, and you won't want to miss a single one. I'm Dave Druey, and Chip Ingram has more for you next time on Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored by Living on the Edge.