Editorial

Zeal Without Knowledge

The level of his zeal was correct, but the locus of it was not.

Justin Kim

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Zeal Without Knowledge

Paul would know. For years he thought he was serving God while persecuting and even killing Christians in His name. It took a Damascus road intervention by Jesus Himself for Paul to realize that his zeal was misplaced.

Calibrated correctly, zeal can be a powerful tool in the right hands. Some examples of righteous zeal that come to mind are Jesus cleansing the temple (Mark 11:15-17), Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), and Phinehas wielding his javelin for righteousness (Numbers 25). But miscalibrated zeal can result in damage to God’s people and His work. Think of the Israelites’ zeal for golden calf worship, Uzzah’s touch of the ark, and again, Paul’s pre-converted inquisitional activity. Interestingly, in four places, Paul speaks about zeal, emphasizing its rightful placement.

Empty Zeal: Romans 12:11 instructs us, “do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord” (ESV). Going beyond being passionate, zeal is not only feeling inspired momentarily but also executing what the emotive momentum points you toward. Too often we seek inspirational values that are initial motivators, but lack the intentional planning, activity, organization, and grit to realize the goal of the zeal we are experiencing.

Misdirected Zeal: Galatians 1:14 warns us that it is possible to be zealous, but in the wrong things. Paul was “extremely zealous . . . for the traditions of [his] fathers” (ESV). The level of his zeal was correct, but the locus of it was not. It was only when Damascus recalibrated Paul’s zeal for Jesus Christ and His gospel that his passion was redirected and rectified.

The level of his zeal was correct, but the locus of it was not.

Undirected Zeal:  Romans 10:2-4 cautions us against zeal without knowledge. It is Scripture alone that grounds the reality of our spiritual zeal. Without knowledge zeal is mindless, directionless, dangerous, and a temptation to those who are attracted to extreme ideas. Some are zealous for zeal’s sake and the lack of knowledge guarantees the danger of this experience.

Full and Proper Zeal: Titus 2:14 showcases the rightful locus of zeal and its product: people who are zealous of good works. Good works do not save us. As the verse states, it is Christ who gave Himself for us, who redeems us from all wickedness, and who purifies us to do that which is good. Because we are saved, we do good works; not, doing good works to be saved. These good works are a passion of His saved people.

Spiritual journeys naturally have their up and down seasons with the corresponding emotions. Sometimes we are on fire and in tune with God; sometimes we have plateaued and feel like we are far from Him. Sometimes we are Laodiceanly indifferent, not caring about our spiritual state. At other times we are fiercely fighting spiritual battles, sometimes on the brink of victory and other times on the brink of defeat. Regardless of where we may be in our journey, we must not look to temporary sugary highs of passionate emotions, but rather cling to the slow burn of spiritual zeal that comes from the Spirit, anchored in Scripture, and manifested in our sanctification.

Today we are enthralled with zeal, passion, and fervor that stem from any source. We replace spiritual knowledge with political values, personalities, and personal agendas to stoke our zeal. We become like the misplaced Zealots of Judea seeking to overthrow the Roman kingdom by force, not realizing that Jesus was already establishing a new one by His spirit. We end up rooting out and persecuting fellow brothers and leaders without knowing the full picture, without knowledge, and without good works. Simply said, zeal is the desire to please God. Be sure that your zeal is with knowledge unless you prefer to ask for Paul’s blindness to see it corrected.

Justin Kim

Justin Kim is editor of Adventist Review/Adventist World.

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