Spiritual Gifts: Exhortation

He that exhorteth, on exhortation: …

Romans 12:8

God has given the gift of encouragement to the church. In this world of sin, trials,troubles, temptation and discouragement, God, knowing the heart of men, sends this important gift to the church so that it may build the church and the people therein.

The Christian who have the gift of encouragement has a deep desire for every believer to grow in Christ and to reach their maximum potential as a Christian (Colossians 1:9-12). He is constantly thinking and planning how to assist in the growth and development of another brethren in Christ. The encourager values each individual and sees the potential of each one. The exhorter is also able to plan the precise steps to help the individual with pressing onwards in Christ. The exhorter does not condemn the sin of the believer but he does not also condone it: the primary motivation in the exhorter is how to help the individual grow and move towards a closer relationship with Christ. Oh! How the church of the Lord Jesus Christ needs exhorters!! We all need encouragement but we all also need to be encouragers for the Bible instructs us to exhort one another daily. Hebrews 3:13 / Hebrews 10:25. All of us need to be able to encourage one another. What are the principles of exhortation that a Christian must practice in order to be a healthy exhorter, a helper to the ministry?

Interestingly, the practice can be seen in the word “Exhortation”. The word exhortation or paraklesis in the Greek is a compound word: the word para means to walk alongside of, and the word Klesis means to call, to incite to, to urge on.

An exhorter therefore must be prepared to spend time with the other individual. Many people need encouragement and they need continuous input and urging in order to press on in the chrisitan life. Many are the challenges and the weaknesses of each individual. In busy Singapore, many who want to be exhorters may abandon their work of encouragement because of schedule or other distractions, but a genuine exhorter, whose intense desire for the growth of another believer, will continue to walk alongside the weak individual to ensure that the Christian grows

An exhorter is also one who will urge the individual on towards walking with Christ. The word klesis means to call, urge on incite. The exhorter will call the individual and press the individual forwards towards a more defined path of discipleship or being a discipler. The word para means to walk alongside of the individual and then to call specifically to the Christian to give up sin, to focus on the potential growth and then what they need to do to walk with Christ. Many can be good friends, good listening ears and play mates, and as a result, it may help the person feel good but only an encourager is able help the person grow towards.

The Holy Spirit is our Chief Encourager, as He is the Paraclete, where we have the word paraklesis from. The Holy Spirit is always with us not only to convict us, but also to comfort us in our times of need. Every genuine encourager must take his or her strength from the power of the Holy Spirit.

God has called ALL Christians to practice giving encouragement, but there are some who are Encouragers by the gift of GOD. May all encouragers rise up and find the gift of God for them in the church and may we corporately, be able to provide the necessary encouragement to each other to grow and to edify the body of Christ.