In R. C. Sproul’s St. Andrew’s commentary on Romans, he warns readers not to be jealous of other people’s spiritual gifts or elevate our gifts over the gifts of others. “During my forty-plus years of ministry, I have seen that happen repeatedly,” Sproul explains. “People get passionate about the gift they have received and begin to think that others’ gifts do not matter.”
I have heard some gifted with evangelism say they do not understand how anyone not doing evangelism can actually be a Christian. They question the resources invested in church education. What matters is winning souls, they say, not learning doctrine. In like manner I have seen those whom God has gifted with a heart of compassion for the poor move to the inner city and invest their lives there. If God gives somebody the gift of teaching and the zeal for learning and communicating truth and doctrine, they must fight the tendency to question why others do not seem to care as much about it.
What good is evangelism if we do not teach those who come to the faith? We fear they will remain spiritual infants. Teachers think that way from time to time; it is human nature. The eye wants to say to the ear, “I do not need you,” but ears do not help us see anything more clearly than we already see. The ear does not want to see; it wants to hear, so it says, “Who needs the eye?”
How foolish.
(excerpt from Romans, pp 419)
Learn more about Sproul’s commentary on Romans.
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