It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.
Summary: In this passage, Paul points us to a truth that is helpful to understand.
In case you came away from reading the last verse with the idea that being zealous is bad, Paul stops to clarify. Zeal itself is not bad. Everything depends on the purpose behind the zeal. Paul says that if the “purpose is good,” it is “fine to be zealous.”
Paul himself is a good example of zeal. Before being converted on the road to Damascus, Paul was “persecuting followers of [the] Way to their death” (Acts 22:4). He didn’t do this haphazardly. Paul was a man on a mission. He sought them out wherever he could find them, even if it meant traveling to distant places.
But there was a problem.
The purpose of Paul’s zeal wasn’t good. He opposed God’s will even while he thought he was doing God’s will.
Please read that last sentence again.
People who are zealous often think they are doing “God’s will.” The people who enticed the Galatians to believe in a “different gospel” (Galatians 1:6) were not being disingenuous. They were as convinced that they were right as Paul was when he persecuted Christian Jews.
The same is true today.
Well-intended people often expound on ideas that sound Scriptural but actually originate in the mind. Well-intended people believe what the zealous teach. After all, what they say makes sense. Yet, “making sense” is not the defining characteristic of truth.
God’s Word warns us, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
What are we to do?
To be zealous for the right reason requires a knowledge of the “right reasons.” We have two sources that provide this knowledge and only two. The first is Scripture, and the second is God’s Spirit. Both work in harmony, and both testify to the truth (John 8:17). Whenever we step outside of areas covered by Scripture, we are outside of what is “good.”
This is not to say that God does not instruct and encourage us through prophecy. Paul addresses this in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 14:31). However, true prophecy will always point us back to Scripture. It has to. Scripture reveals God to man, and the Spirit guides us so we can understand God’s will (John 16:13).
Application: Spend time in Scripture every day. Get to know God’s Word and his will.
Food for Thought: How does zeal affect a person’s ability to be taught or corrected?
In my experience, a person with zeal for something drinks in instruction on that cause. I would call that “present and engaged.” A person who lacks zeal usually “present and not engaged.”
When I say “present and engaged” I mean physically present, mentally present, it is a focus for them, and they are actively and enthusiastically asking for more. In the military we would call a person like that “all in.” The interesting thing is, in this case zeal can be a positive or a negative. One could have great zeal for something and be open to all instruction and correction in that matter. Also, someone with a great deal of zeal for something can find themselves in a place where they are resistant to stepping back and reevaluating. In that case they would be resistant to instruction or correction.
“Present and not engaged” they may give the minimum, maybe a bit more, they would give to a certain level, but it is certainly not their focus. They want just enough instruction and correction to get the job done, and don’t usually want to start over if it is wrong.
As you mentioned Paul and his zeal for serving God. I think somewhere along the way His zeal for serving God transformed into zeal for proving something to God. I think this is something many of us fall into along the way. We somehow transform from a servant in warrior’s armor to a warrior in a servant cloak. Zeal for Christ means focusing on Him, not what we think we can do for Him.
Romans 12:11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
1 Corinthians 14:12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
Thank You CH!
Ron
Chris,
Thank you for drawing the distinction between a servant and a warrior. That is an important point.
How does zeal affect a person’s ability to be taught or corrected?
Romans 10:1- 4, Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Paul, Apolos, Peter, are three great, Godly men, used by God in the Bible. Each required corrective action of God before they could be effectively used by God to minister to others.
1 Corinthians 1:12
As a new believer in men’s Bible Study, my burning question to a man sent by God to disciple me was, what do we do with all this knowledge we are receiving. I had the zeal but lacked the knowledge. Jim’s answer was always the same. Keep studying and in His timing, He will direct you. I did this and in time, as I grew in Christ, I began to be used by God to minister to others. I took baby steps and followed God’s leading in my life over my choices. I made mistakes but I regrouped and moved forward in my growth.
This same condition is common to all believers. As youngsters we become very excited about a life of righteousness in God, and want to share with others. We jump off quickly and begin trying to do God’s work as we perceive it. As we grow we begin to allow Christ in us to be the speaker. This is the secret which we call becoming more Christlike. We die to self and let Him speak to others.
My zeal today is not directed at my doing great things for God, it is for my allowing God to do Great Things through me.
Galatians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 13:12
Wow, Ron…
I like your “secret”! Dying to “self” is hard, but so essential. The more we can succeed at that, the better our zeal will be applied in the service of our Lord.
By the Holy Spirit, He is the power knocking on the door of our hearts, doing all that is good in this world.
Many Blessings Brother,
Ron
I know what Paul was zealous for after he met the risen Lord. I think everything else than a zeal for Christ and His truth is wasted zeal.
Philippians 3: 7 – 14 (notice especially verse 8): But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in a Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Rich,
“Wasted zeal” is effort and energy squandered in pursuit of selfish gain instead of service to God. Your point ties in well with Chris and Ron. Thank you!
How does zeal affect a person’s ability to be taught or corrected?
I think of healthy zeal as what Apollos had. Acts 18:24-28
His zeal was specifically towards God, scripture, and sharing the truth, and thus the more he learned the more he aligned himself with God’s will.
But all good things in moderation. We are more familiar with those who took zeal to something more akin to obsession and becoming harmful instead of beneficial.
Apart from obsession, we also see zeal going awry when one is zealous for the wrong thing.
Of course the easiest example for going wrong is Hitler as he both had the wrong end goals, and was obsessed. He had no spare thought for evaluating whether he was correct, to compound the wrong, he claimed Christianity as a backing for his cause and scarred the reputation of God’s people worldwide.
However, in the example of Paul and Apollos, once they understood what was true, they aligned their actions and teachings accordingly. Paul was thankfully drawn back from a zeal turning towards obsession.
If what you have zeal for does not include truth, then you are less likely to take correction. Not all zeal is equal.
Angela,
Your comment suggests we can be controlled by our zeal if we don’t control our selves. Very interesting point! Thank you! 🙂