Romans 12:6: The Gift of Prophecy

Outline

• What prophecy is
• What prophecy isn’t

Introduction

The Charismatic church tells us that the gift of prophecy is an ongoing gift and function in the church today. They tell us that prophecy continues, but that it is something that is faulty. ‘When Mike Bickle interviewed Bob Jones about his prophetic ministry, Bickle asked, “So there has been errors; there’s been a number of errors?” Jones responded with this: “Oh, hundreds of them.” And at the National School of the Prophets (on May 13, 2000), Chuck Pierce and Cindy Jacobs similarly acknowledged: “We’ve made a lot of mistakes. There’s no excuse but we need to do better.” Self-proclaimed prophet Kim Clement sums up the charismatic viewpoint with these words: “You can be a wrong prophet and not be a false prophet.” (Trinity Broadcasting Network, “The prophetic ministry of Kim Clement,” Aug, 13, 2002)’.  ‘We must not be quick to call someone a false prophet simply because something he said was inaccurate. . . . Missing it a few times in prophecy does not make a false prophet. No mortal prophet is infallible; all are liable to make mistakes.” (Bill Hamon, Prophets and Personal Prophecy, 176)’ . ‘Jack Deere suggests that even if a prophet were to “miss it so badly” that his prophecy “had immediate destructive effects” in the lives of other people, we still should not regard that person as a false prophet (cf. Jack Deere, The Beginner’s Guide to the Gift of Prophecy, 131–32). Elsewhere, he explains:
Jack Deere: “Prophets are really messy. Prophets make mistakes. And sometimes when a prophet makes a mistake, it’s a serious mistake. I mean, I know prophets just last year that cost people millions of dollars with a mistake they made. I talked to people who made the wrong investments, actually moved their homes, spent tons of money…” (Jack Deere, National School of the Prophets, “Mobilizing the Prophetic Office,” May 11, 2000, tape #3).’

Paul tells us about the gift of prophecy in Romans 12:6, we want to spend some time now looking at this gift, at what prophecy is and isn’t.