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Vol. 1,
No. 4
October-December 2009
Is
“Hospitality” a
Spiritual
Gift
(charisma)?
by
Tom Eckman
Professor of
New Testament Greek
Free Grace Seminary
As
they grow in their
Christian walk, many
believers become
curious about the
role of
spiritual gifts
in their lives. The
Scriptures
need to be the basis
for any
understanding of
spiritual gifts,
what constitutes a
charisma, and
how and when they
might be exercised.
An examination of
the biblical
passages related to
spiritual gifts
should be at the
core of any
discussion about
them. Much of
“what’s out there,”
unfortunately, seems
to fail to do that.
Many of the
“surveys” that
Christians are
given, whether in a
church setting or
even an academic
one, simply make
assumptions about
the way spiritual
gifts work and what
they are. They work
from those
assumptions and
promote them, even
if they have very
little to do with
biblical teaching.
A
case in point is
“hospitality.” Many
of the surveys and
current teaching in
American evangelical
circles simply
assume that
hospitality is a
spiritual gift, and
then go on to
incorporate it into
their list of gifts,
even giving it
certain
characteristics in
order to try to
validate their
assumptions. Is
there scriptural
support for it?
What do the passages
on spiritual gifts
have to say about
hospitality, and do
they validate the
assumptions of those
who would promote it
as a spiritual
gift? There are
only two passages in
the
New Testament
where the term
“hospitality” is
used in the context
of
spiritual gifts,
so it should be easy
enough to look at
those passages and
draw some
conclusions.
The First Passage:
Romans 12:6-13
Romans chapter 12
contains the first
passage in the
New Testament
to have an extended
discussion of
spiritual gifts.
Here is the passage,
with the translation
of verses 9-13 more
closely following
the original Greek
grammar:
6Having
then
gifts differing
according to the
grace that is given
to us, let us use
them: if prophecy,
let us prophesy in
proportion to our
faith; 7or
ministry, let us use
it in our
ministering; he who
teaches, in
teaching; 8he
who exhorts, in
exhortation; he who
gives, with
liberality; he who
leads, with
diligence; he who
shows mercy, with
cheerfulness.
9“Let love be
without hypocrisy
(and here’s how):
(by) hating the
evil, (by) clinging
to the good, 10(by)
demonstrating
affection to one
another in brotherly
love, (by) giving
preference to one
another in honor,
11(by)
not lacking in
diligence, (by)
being fervent in the
Spirit, (by) serving
the Lord, 12(by)
rejoicing in hope,
(by) being patient
in tribulation, (by)
remaining constant
in prayer, 13(by)
fellowshipping in
the needs of the
saints, (by)
pursuing
hospitality.” (NKJV
and grammatical
Greek translation,
parentheses mine)
If
one were to read
more of the context,
it’s easy to see
that Romans 12 is
really split up into
2 or 3 sections.
The important thing
to note here is that
one of the section
splits is between
verses 8 and 9,
which is obvious
from the quote
above. The verses
which comprise the
gift list all have
qualifications of
some type (verses
6-8), while the only
thing being
qualified in verses
9-13 is “love.” If
one were to honestly
try to add something
to the list of 6-8,
therefore, the only
“gift” they could
add would be
“love.” But who
tries to turn
that into a
spiritual gift?
Verses 9-13 in the
original Greek
comprise one long
sentence, with “Let
love be without
hypocrisy”
containing the only
verb. While it is
unruly to those of
us who speak
English, the easiest
way to understand
9-13 is to see it as
another list, but
this time showing
Paul’s Roman
audience how
to love without
hypocrisy. That
being the case, if
one were to try to
make 9-13 a
continuation of the
gifts list, how
would they do that
and be consistent?
Would they create a
gift of
“diligence?” Would
there be a gift of
“fervency?” Perhaps
someone might have
the gift of
“abhorring?” While
those might sound
absurd, the point is
that “hospitality”
is at the end of a
string of traits
which would tell how
someone could love
without hypocrisy,
not at the end of a
spiritual gifts
list. There is no
way to use these
verses to try to
justify mutating
“hospitality” into a
spiritual gift.
The Second Passage:
1 Peter 4:7-11
At
first glance, 1
Peter 4:7-11 might
seem out of place.
It is in the middle
of a section that
runs from 3:13 to
4:19, and the entire
section is
essentially about
how to handle
suffering and
persecution.
Near the end of that
extended section,
Peter writes:
7But
the end of all
things is at hand;
therefore be serious
and watchful in your
prayers. 8And
above all things
have fervent love
for one another, for
“love will cover
a multitude of
sins.” 9Be
hospitable to one
another without
grumbling. 10As
each one has
received a gift (charisma),
minister it to one
another, as good
stewards of the
manifold grace of
God.
11If anyone
speaks, let him
speak as the
oracles of God.
If anyone ministers,
let him do it
as with the ability
which God supplies,
that in all things
God may be glorified
through Jesus
Christ, to whom
belong the glory and
the dominion
forever and ever.
Amen. (NKJV,
parenthesis mine)
At
the end of verse 11,
it’s almost as
though Peter is so
excited he can’t
hold himself back.
Keep in mind that he
writes that in the
middle of a
scriptural and
historical context
where the reality is
that Christians are
being persecuted.
How do his comments
fit? If the body of
Christ is meant to
be a haven of safety
where believers love
and encourage one
another, how much
more wonderful would
that place be in the
midst of the evil
going on all around
it? Peter sees all
too well how
important prayer,
love, hospitality
and ministry are in
the midst of
persecution.
The
fact is that
there is no
spiritual gift list
here. That is
not Peter’s goal;
his goal is to give
his audience
direction in how to
behave (and seek
comfort from each
other) while being
attacked from all
sides. He gives
four directives, all
designed to help
them encourage each
other in their
situation:
1.
Be
serious and watchful
in your prayers.
2.
Love
each other fervently
(deeply).
3.
Demonstrate gracious
hospitality (without
grumbling)
4. Serve
each other in line
with your spiritual
gift (charisma).
This
Bible passage
would have to take
some serious
interpretive abuse
to try to find a
list here in the
first place. But
then to make
“hospitality” a part
of that list when it
is the third in a
string of four
commands is simply
nonsense! In terms
of consistency, one
would have to
somehow ignore the
fourth command to
use one’s gift, and
then create gifts of
the other three. Do
we then have the
spiritual gift of
“being serious and
watchful?” And
“love” would then
become a spiritual
gift as it would in
Romans 12, and
clearly that doesn’t
make any sense.
While
“hospitality” in 1
Peter 4 is in the
context of a brief
discussion of
spiritual gifts, it
is clear even from a
brief examination of
the passage that
there is no “gift
list” in this
passage, and
therefore
“hospitality” cannot
be part of that
list. That wasn’t
Peter’s purpose, and
it doesn’t even make
sense in the
immediate context.
Conclusions
So
why is it, then,
that so many
American Christians
have accepted (and
even propagate) the
idea that
“hospitality” is a
spiritual gift?
With no evidence for
the idea, and all
the evidence against
it, why should this
idea be so popular?
I’d like to suggest
that there are (at
least) two reasons.
It’s culturally
convenient.
We live in a culture
where people go from
their cars into
their garage, use
the remote control
to close it, go into
their house and use
the next remote
control to turn on
their television.
As a result, we have
almost no
interaction with
other people on a
personal level
(outside of work,
which is generally
impersonal), and the
only time believers
may interact with
each other for more
than a minute is on
Sunday mornings.
What better way to
remove the
responsibility from
Christians to spend
time together than
to relegate
“hospitality” to the
realm of spiritual
gifts where very,
very few people
happen to have that
gift?! I have
actually observed
sighs of relief in
churches where this
is taught when they
find someone who
claims to have it;
the others no longer
feel any
responsibility. Is
there a problem with
this picture? I
have traveled to
many countries
throughout the world
and met with
believers in those
countries. Almost
without exception,
when we begin to
speak about
spiritual gifts and
I tell them that
many Americans
believe that
“hospitality” is a
spiritual gift, they
simply laugh. They
are amazed that
anyone would abuse
the Bible in such a
way. While some
have a deeper
understanding of the
subject than others,
there is an almost
universal
expectation on their
part that believers
would seek to
involve other
believers in their
lives on a
regular basis,
including in
their homes.
Having experienced
hospitality in many
of these different
cultures, I would
have to say that one
of the greatest
blessings was
feeling like I was
part of their lives
in a significant way
because they
invited me into
their homes,
allowing me to get
to know them in a
much more personal
way.
Secondly, it’s
consistent with the
current trend in
evangelicalism
away from
studying the
Scriptures deeply
first and then
drawing practical
applications
toward the
priority of the
“practical,” often
to the point of no
discussion of the
relevant
Bible passages
whatsoever. Many
times I have heard
pastors make
statements about
spiritual gifts that
appear to make
sense, but have no
scriptural support.
They get away with
this because they
haven’t trained
their members how to
reason with the
scriptures
themselves, and the
members simply
assume that the
pastor (or even the
denomination) must
know what is right.
This is wrong at
both ends, but often
nothing changes
because the culture
today simply wants
“what works.” That
rampant pragmatism
is often at the
expense of truth,
and if we listen to
history, it would
teach us that this
will cost
evangelicals in the
long-term because
without a reason for
their faith, the
next generations
usually view the
“practice” as
tradition at
best and
hypocrisy at
worst, and often (as
a result) end up
rejecting the system
altogether. This is
a travesty, and
could be avoided if
pastors would simply
teach the Word
carefully, training
others to do the
same, giving the
respect the Bible
deserves as The
revelation from God.
So what can be done
to encourage careful
consideration of and
obedience to an idea
that is so clear in
scripture? How can
we “get back to the
Word” with regard to
hospitality? The
good news is that
there is an
explosion of new
growth within
evangelicalism due
to the influence of
and fostering of
small groups within
the church. Small
(home) groups are
the place where many
evangelicals would
argue
spiritual
transformation
and growth happens
most effectively.
And while the idea
of small groups may
have begun in
someone’s head, it
really is nothing
other than an
outworking of the
exercise of
hospitality. People
open up their homes
with the intention
of opening up their
lives and listening
to God as a group,
and people’s lives
are changed as a
result. Many
conservative
evangelical churches
today would credit
their growth
entirely on the
basis of their small
groups. I spoke
with someone who
would make just such
a claim and he said,
“We are a church of
small groups; it’s
who we are.” His
church has seen
exponential growth
over the last few
years. Churches
with developed small
groups quickly
recognize that they
are a vital part of
the larger church
not only for
fellowship, but
equally for
evangelism,
discipleship and
personal
ministries. Small
groups succeed in a
number of ways that
churches on Sunday
cannot; they provide
(hopefully):
-- a
sheltered
environment,
--
a limited group size
so it’s easier to
get to know each
other,
--
a commitment to the
centrality of the
Bible as their
reason for
fellowship,
-- a
concern for the
details of each
others’ lives that
is almost impossible
to foster on a
Sunday morning, and
--
a more comfortable
environment for the
unchurched.
And all of this
happens as a result
of the church’s
deciding that it’s
every
believer’s job to be
involved in the
simple exercise of .
. . hospitality.
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