For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. – Romans 10:2
Zeal n. – A prompt willingness; Excessive fervor to do something or accomplish some end; A feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause)
Proverbs 23:17 encourages us to “always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.” and in Galatians 4:18 Paul tells us, “It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.” What does a zealous Christian look like? For many, their image of a Christian is simply one who goes to church regularly. And if they serve in the church, that is their definition of zeal. For others it may be someone who is quite radical in their lifestyle that borders on insanity. I wanted to share with you a passage I read that provides a great description of what a genuinely zealous Christian looks like:
Zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. It is a desire which no man feels by nature, – which the Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when he is converted, – but which some believers feel so much more strongly than others that they alone deserve to be called ‘zealous’ men…
A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives, or whether he dies – whether he has health, or whether he has sickness – whether he is rich, whether he is poor – whether he pleases man, or whether he gives offense – whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish – whether he gets blame, or whether he gets praise – whether he gets honor, or whether he gets shame – for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God’s glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he cares not for it – he is content. He feels that, like a lamp, he is made to burn; and if consumed in burning, he has but done the work for which God appointed him. Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal. If he cannot, preach, work, and give money, he will cry, and sigh, and pray….If he cannot fight in the valley with Joshua, he will do the work of Moses, Aaron, and Hur, on the hill (Exodus 17:9-13). If he is cut off from working himself, he will give the Lord no rest till help is raised up from another quarter, and the work is done. This is what I mean when I speak of ‘zeal’ in religion. (Ryle, J.C., Practical Religion, 1959 ed., pg 130)
Christian zeal is simply a burning desire to please God and glorify him in all things, at all times. It is something that God plants inside our hearts at conversion, and as J.C. Ryle states it is to varying degrees, but it is necessarily present in every believer. To be converted, is to have our eyes open to the glory of God, to the excellence of his ways, to the fear of his authority, to the out working of his will, in great humility of his grace with gratitude in Christ. Reading such a description of a zealous Christian and thinking how very few and rare zealous Christians truly are, even in a slight degree, makes me fearful for those who approach Christianity with a modest interest, a moderate faith and little or no actual fear of the Lord.
