Articles
Zeal vs Knowledge
In Romans, Paul expresses concern for Israel’s search for salvation. He “testifies about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. 3 For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:2-3). Paul’s countrymen had a passion for God but were not coming to the conclusion that so many Christians were coming to. There was a touch of arrogance in their ability to keep God’s law, thereby "earning their own righteousness”. We know that we could never be considered righteous on our own. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). We are justified by Christ, we do not earn our righteousness from following the Law, but rather through faith in Christ.
The inverse of having zeal without knowledge is having knowledge with no zeal. When we know the right things, we have faith in Jesus, and yet there is no earnestness in our lives. This is a dangerous place to find ourselves in, and we must be quick to recognize when we are not loving God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength and all our mind. Colossians 3:2 tells us to “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Our thoughts should constantly revolve around God and what His will is. Later, in Colossians 3:17 “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Our every action should depend on God’s will. Not just avoiding things that are wrong or offensive but going out and seeking the good thing to do. James tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:26), having the knowledge of faith without the zeal to do the right thing can become a detriment to us. James goes on to say, “to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
The Church in Laodocia found themselves in this very position. They had come to the knowledge of truth but had become complacent. They are warned in Revelation chapter three that they are “lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold” and are at risk of being “spit out” (Revelation 3:16). In the end they are pleaded with to “be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19). If we find ourselves sitting in this complacent state, we must find the zeal for God and turn back to striving passionately for Him. We know that zeal, not in accordance with knowledge, will get us nowhere; but we must also recognize that knowledge without zeal will make our spiritual temperature lukewarm. We need to be on fire for God, we need to be that shining light set on a stand, we need to let our faith move us to do God’s will.
