Zealous?

 

Today’s topic is zeal. One Bible dictionary describes it as the display of fervent devotion or jealousy on behalf of valued possessions or people perceived to be under threat from rival claimants. Zeal can be godly with a desire to maintain the covenantal bond between the Lord and His people. The Scriptures say the Lord is “a jealous God” who fiercely protects His people and demands our exclusive loyalty. The OT prophets had this attitude as did some leaders. David said his zeal for God consumed him, yet King Saul’s zeal was more about doing his own thing.

Zeal can be ungodly, a claim to be for God but misdirected. In the NT, Saul of Tarsus (who became Paul) had a zeal against the followers of Jesus whom he regarded as blasphemous covenant-breakers. After his conversion, his zeal for Jesus Christ was equally intense, but for God’s glory and the Gospel.

Some Christians have zeal that motivates them over-eager to ‘help’ God or run ahead of Him instead of allowing Him to govern their words and actions. Others are complacent and more interested in this life only and in their personal pursuits rather than reaching others with the good news. God can use over-jealous people but we can sometimes block His plans with our eagerness to ‘make things happen’ or make things right. On the other hand, not enough zeal can also thwart God’s plans by being without the oomph needed to obey His commands. Paul describes misplaced zeal with these words:

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them (the Jews) is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:1–4)

Misplaced zeal can happen when a person is ignorant of the Gospel and ignorant of where true righteousness comes from. Believers might say, “I serve God with all my heart in order to please Him” because they want to be more acceptable, forgetting that our acceptance is in Christ, not in our efforts. That is, zeal can be rooted in a desire to prove our worth rather than radiating from the heart of God who loves us with great zeal.

We tend to rely on what we see to evaluate what others do, yet God looks on the heart. Does the person with a zeal to serve in the church do it because that zeal is from God, or do they want a reputation as a good servant? I cannot know the hearts of others (or even figure out myself at times) but the NT says this:

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (Romans 16:17–20)

The zeal of God bears good fruit, brings unity and promotes the will of God. Misplaced or self-centered zeal results in divisions and deception and can be rooted in the lies of the enemy. Thank God that His zeal protects His people by grace and that He knows our hearts.

PRAY: Lord, You know my angst today about someone that is not being truthful about something. This person works to convince me, yet my zeal for truth overrides their efforts. I know that if someone believes lies or lies to themselves or to others, they are in danger. I could be misreading this and if so, I need to be corrected because I don’t want to partner with the enemy who is ‘an accuser’ of Your people. I’m undecided what to do in this situation. I need a godly attitude along with my desire for truth. You tell me to “speak the truth in love” yet I’m not certain I need to say anything. Please give me clarity and the right answers for this concern.

GOD’S ANSWER: I read more from the Word and the Lord stopped me at the NT verse that says: “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” If another Christian believes something is true even when it is not, my efforts to convince them otherwise will fall flat unless God’s Spirit opens their eyes. My zeal for truth could push others farther from trusting God. He asks me to pray and wait on Him for direction and for loving wisdom.

 

 

God’s Fervor

 

 

This week we attend two funerals. Both women had a remarkable zest for all they did, a reflection of the ZEAL of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They loved Jesus and joyfully served Him. For this, these events are aptly called “celebrations of life.” We are sad in missing them yet, we rejoice to know they are both with Him in glory.

Not all zeal is like that. People have zeal for sports, their family, a favorite hobby, a cause, celebrities, and all sorts of things. On the other hand, some have no zest at all for much of anything. Even God has been thought of as a grandfatherly person who sits in a rocker calmly observing our world. This is not so, yet because I cannot always see what He is doing, it is good to be reminded that my God is a zealous God!

In the OT, God’s people had been overtaken by a foreign army. In 2 Kings 19:30–31, they were told that “The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord will do this.”

They could count on God’s abundant fervor to rescue them. This zeal is part of God’s nature and since David was “a man of God’s own heart” it is no surprise that he was also zealous in the same way. He wrote:

“For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me . . . . My zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words . . . . I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts” (Psalm 69:9; 119:139 and 141).

The prophet Isaiah also wrote about God’s zeal in relation to the coming King from the line of David. He said in Isaiah 9:7, “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

Isaiah also wrote more about God’s zeal:

Isaiah 26:9–13. “My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lord. O Lord, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for your adversaries consume them. O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance.”

Isaiah 42:13. “The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.”

Yet this prophet also knew what it was like to not see what God was doing. In Isaiah 63:15 he cried, “Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me.”

In the NT, divine zeal shows up again as God the Son expresses fervent anger against those using needs of others for personal profit:

John 2:14–17. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Later, Paul outlined how God’s people had erred in thinking they could be righteous without faith in Christ. He wrote:

Romans 10:1–4. “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. I realize that being religious does not make me righteous; only Christ can do that. I also realize that He saved me not so I could sit back in comfortable assurance but be filled with His zeal for doing His will, just as Romans 12:11 says, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”

With a long to-do list today and a notion ‘I’d rather be napping’ this is a good word for my full plate.