Post by Admin on Jan 21, 2024 12:57:40 GMT -5
Christian Zeal
"It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good."
(Galatians 4:18)
Zeal is a subject, like many others in religion, which is sadly
misunderstood. Many would be ashamed to be thought zealous
Christians. Many are ready to say of zealous people what Festus said
of Paul: "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted, "Your great
learning is driving you insane" (Acts 26:24).
But zeal is a subject, which no reader of the Bible has any right to
pass over. If we make the Bible our rule of faith and practice, we
cannot turn away from the subject of zeal. We must look it directly in
the face. What does the Apostle Paul say to Titus? “Christ gave
Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for
himself a people that are His very own, eager [or zealous] to do what
is good” (Titus 2:14). What does the Lord Jesus say to the Laodicean
Church? “Be earnest [be zealous], and repent” (Revelation 3:19).
My object in this message is to plead the cause of zeal in religion. I
believe we ought not to be afraid of it, but rather to love and admire
it. I believe it to be a mighty blessing to the world and the origin of
countless benefits to mankind. I want to remind Christians that
"Zealot" was a name given to one of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and to persuade them to be zealous men and women.
I ask every one of you to give me your attention while I tell you
something about zeal. Listen to me for your own sake-for the sake of
the world-for the sake of the Church of our Christ. Listen to me and
by God's help I will show you that to be "zealous" is to be wise.
I. Let me show in the first place, what zeal is in Christianity.
II. Let me show in the second place, when a person can be
correctly called “zealous” in Christianity.
III. Let me show in the third place, why it is a good thing
for a person to be zealous in Christianity.
I. First of all, I want us to consider this question. What is
zeal in Christianity?
Zeal in Christianity 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 is not natural to men or women. It is a desire which the
Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when they are converted to
Christ, however, a desire which some believers feel so much more
strongly than others that they alone deserve to be called "zealous"
men and women.
This desire is so strong, when it really reigns in a person, that it
impels them to make any sacrifice-to go through any trouble-to deny
themselves anything-to suffer, to work, to labor, to toil, to spend
themselves and be spent, and even to die-if only they can please God
and honor Christ.
A zealous person in Christianity is preeminently a person of one
thing. It is not enough to say that they are earnest, strong,
uncompromising, meticulous, wholehearted, and fervent in spirit.
They only see one thing, they care for one thing, they live for one
thing, they are swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to
please God. Whether they live, or whether they die-whether they are
healthy, or whether they are sick-whether they are rich, or whether
they are poor-whether they please man, or whether they give offense whether the are thought wise,
or whether they are thought foolish whether they are accused, or whether they are praised-whether they
get honor, or whether they get shame-for all this the zealous person
cares nothing at all. They have a passion for one thing, and that one
thing is to please God and to advance God’s glory. If they are
consumed in the very burning of their passion for God, they don’t
care-they are content. They feel that, like a candle, they were made to
burn; and if they are consumed in the burning, then they have only
done the work for which God has appointed them. Such a person will
always find a sphere for their zeal. If they cannot work, or give
money, or a man cannot preach, then they will cry out and sigh, and
pray. Yes: if they are extremely poor, on a perpetual bed of sickness,
they will make the activity of sin around him slow to a standstill, by
continually interceding against it. If they cannot fight in the valley
with Joshua, they will do the work of Moses, Aaron, and Hur, on the
hill. (Exodus 17:9-13) If they are cut off from working themselves,
they will give the Lord no rest until help is raised up from another
quarter, and the work is done. This is what I mean when I speak of
zeal in Christianity.
We all know the habit of mind that makes men great in this world that makes such men
as Alexander the Great, or Julius Caesar, or
Oliver Cromwell, or Peter the Great, or Napoleon. We know that with
all their faults they were all men of one thing. They threw themselves
into one grand pursuit. They cared for nothing else. They put
everything else aside. They counted everything else as second-rate
and of subordinate importance, compared to the one thing that they
put before their eyes every day they lived. I say that the same habit of
mind applied to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ becomes
Christian zeal.
We know the habit of mind that makes men great in the sciences of
this world-that makes such men as Archimedes, or Sir Isaac Newton,
or Galileo, or James Watt. All these were men of one thing. They
brought the powers of their minds into one single focus. They cared
for nothing else. And this was the secret of their success. I say that
this same habit consecrated to the service of God becomes Christian
zeal.
We know the habit of mind that makes men rich that makes men
amass mighty fortunes, and leave millions behind them. What kind
of people were the bankers, and merchants, and tradesmen, who
have left a name behind them, as men who acquired immense wealth
and became rich although they may have been born in poverty? They
were all men that threw themselves entirely into their business, and
neglected everything else for the sake of that business. They gave
their first attention, their first thoughts, the best of their time, and
the best part of their mind, to pushing forward the transactions in
which they were engaged. They were men of one thing. Their hearts
were not divided. They devoted themselves, body, soul and mind to
their business. They seemed to live for nothing else. I say that if you
turn that habit of mind to the service of God and His Christ it
produces Christian zeal.
(a) Now this habit of mind-this zeal was the characteristic
of all the Apostles.
Look at the example of the Apostle Paul. Hear him when he speaks to
the Ephesian elders for the last time: “I consider my life worth
nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the
Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's
grace” (Acts 20:24). Hear him again, when he writes to the
Philippians: “One thing I do: I press on toward the goal to win the
prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 3:13-14). See him from the day of his conversion, giving
up his brilliant prospects-forsaking all for Christ's sake-and going
forth to preach that very Jesus whom he had once despised. See him
going back and forth throughout the world from that time-through
persecution-through oppression-through opposition-through
prisons-through chains-through afflictions-through things next to
death itself, up to the very day when he sealed his faith with his blood
and died at Rome, a martyr for that Gospel which he had so long
proclaimed. This was true Christian zeal.
(b) This again was "the characteristic of the early
Christians."
They were persons "that people everywhere were talking against"
(Acts 28:22). They were driven to worship God in dens and caves of
the earth. They often lost everything in the world for their religion’s
sake. They generally gained nothing but the cross, persecution,
shame, and reproach. But they seldom, very seldom, went back. If
they could not debate, at least they could suffer. If they could not
convince their adversaries by argument, at any rate they could die
and prove that they themselves were very serious. Look at Ignatius
cheerfully traveling to the place where he was to be devoured by
lions, and saying as he went, "Now do I begin to be a disciple of my
Master, Christ." Hear old Polycarp before the Roman Governor,
saying boldly, when called upon to deny Christ, "I have served Christ
for 86 years and He has never offended me in anything, and how can
I then insult my King?" This was true zeal.
(c) This again was the characteristic of Martin Luther. He boldly
defied the most powerful hierarchy that the world has ever seen. He
unveiled their corruptions with an unflinching hand. He preached
the long-neglected truth of justification by faith, in spite of curses
and excommunications that were thickly poured on him. See him
pleading his cause before the Emperor, and a host of the children of
this world. Hear him saying-when men were persuading him from
going, and reminding him of the fate of John Huss, "Even if there
was a devil under every tile on the roofs of this building, in the name
of the Lord I shall go forward." This was true zeal.
(d) This again was the characteristic of our own English Reformers.
You have it in our first Reformer, Wickliffe, when he rose up on his
sick bed and said to the Friars who wanted him to retract all he had
said against the Pope, "I shall not die, but live to declare the
wickedness of the Friars."
You have it in Cranmer, dying at the stake rather than deny Christ's
Gospel, holding out that hand to be first burned which, in a moment
of weakness, had signed a recantation and saying as he held it in the
flames, "This unworthy hand!"
You have it in old Latimer, standing boldly on his kindling wood for
the fire, at the age of seventy years, and saying to Ridley, "Courage,
brother Ridley! We shall light such a candle this day that, by God's
grace, shall never be put out." This was zeal.
(e) This again has been the characteristic of all the greatest
Missionaries. You see it in Dr. Judson, in Carey, in Morrison, in
Schwartz, in Williams, in Brainerd, in Elliott. You see it in none more
brightly than in Henry Martyn. Here was a man who had reached the
highest scholastic honors that Cambridge could bestow. Whatever
profession he chose to follow, he had the most dazzling prospects of
success. He turned his back on it all. He chose to preach the Gospel
to poor unreasonable heathen. He went forth to an early grave, in a
foreign land. He said when he got there and saw the condition of the
people, "I would be willing to be torn in pieces, if I could only hear
the sobs of repentance-if I could see the eyes of faith directed to the
Redeemer!" This was zeal.
(f) But let us look away from all earthly examples-and remember that
zeal was preeminently the characteristic of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ Himself. Of Him it was written hundreds of years before He
came upon the earth that He "wrapped Himself in zeal as in a cloak,
and “the zeal for your house consumes me.” And His own words were
"My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His
work.” (Psalm 69:9; Isaiah 59:17; John 4:34).
Where shall we begin, if we try to give examples of His zeal? Where
should we end, if we should begin? Trace all the narratives of His life
in the four Gospels. Read all the history of what He was from the
beginning of His ministry to the end. Surely if there ever was one
who was all zeal, it was our great Example-our Head-our High
Priest-the great Shepherd of our profession, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If these things are true, we should not only beware of running down
zeal, but we should also beware of allowing zeal to be run down in
our presence. It may be badly directed, and then it becomes a curse
but it may be turned to the highest and best ends, and then it is a
mighty blessing. Like fire, it is one of the best of servants-but, also
like fire, if not well directed, it may be the worst of masters. Do not
listen to those people who talk of zeal as weakness and enthusiasm.
Do not listen to those who see no beauty in missions, who laugh at all
attempts at the conversion of souls-who call Agencies for sending the
Gospel to the world useless-and who look upon City Missions,
Visitations, and Open Air Preaching, as nothing but foolishness and
fanaticism. Beware, lest in joining a cry of that kind you condemn the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Beware lest you speak against Him who
has "left us an example, that we should follow in His steps" (1 Peter
2:21).
Yes! I fear there are many professing Christians who, if they had
lived in the days when our Lord and His Apostles walked on the
earth, would have called Him and all His followers zealots and
fanatics. There are many, I fear, who have more in common with
Annas and Caiaphas-with Pilate and Herod-with Festus and Agrippa with Felix
and Gallio-than with Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ.
II. I pass on now to my second point. When is a man truly
zealous in Christianity?
There never was a grace of which Satan has not made a counterfeit.
There never was a coin issued from the mint that forgers did not at
once coin something very much like it. It was one of Nero's cruel
practices first to sew Christians into the skins of wild beasts, and
then bait them with dogs. It is one of Satan's devices to place
distorted copies of the believer's graces before the eyes of men, and
so to bring the true graces into contempt. No grace has suffered so
much in this way as zeal. Of none perhaps are there so many shams
and counterfeits. We must therefore clear the ground of all rubbish
on this question. We must find out when zeal in Christianity is really
good, and true, and of God.
(1) If zeal is true, it will be a zeal according to knowledge. It must not
be a blind, ignorant zeal. It must be a calm, reasonable, intelligent
principle, which can show the warrant of Scripture for every step it
takes. The unconverted Jews had zeal. Paul says, “I can testify about
them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on
knowledge” (Romans 10:2). Saul had zeal when he was a persecuting
Pharisee. He says himself, in one of his addresses to the Jews, "I was
just as zealous for God as any of you are today" (Acts 22:3).
Manasseh had zeal in the days when he was an idolater. That man
threw his own children into the fire-who gave up the fruit of his body
to the false god Moloch to atone for the sin of his soul-that man had
zeal. James and John had zeal when they would have called down
fire on a Samaritan village. But our Lord rebuked them. Peter had
zeal when he drew his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus. But he
was quite wrong. Bonner and Gardiner had zeal when they burned
Latimer and Cranmer. Were they not sincere? Let us do them justice.
They were zealous, though it was for a false religion.
The members of the Roman Catholic Inquisition in Spain had zeal
when they tortured men, and put them to horrible deaths because
they would not forsake the Gospel. Yes! they marched men and
women to the stake in solemn procession and called it "An Act of
Faith," and believed they were doing a service for God. The Hindus,
who used to lie down before the car of Juggernaut and allow their
bodies to be crushed under its wheels: did they not have zeal? The
widows of India, who used to burn themselves on the funeral pyre of
their deceased husbands; the Roman Catholics, who persecuted to
death the Waldenses and Albigenses, and threw men and women
from cliffs onto the rocks below because they were heretics; did they
not have zeal? The Saracens, the Crusaders, the Jesuits, the
Anabaptists of Munster, did they not all have zeal? Yes! Yes! I do not
deny it. All these groups had zeal beyond question. They were all
zealous. They were all very fervent. But their zeal was not the zeal
that God approves-it was not a zeal based on knowledge.
(2) Furthermore, if zeal is true, it will be a zeal generated
from true motives.
Such is the subtlety of the heart that men will often do right things
from wrong motives. Amaziah and Joash, kings of Judah, are
striking proofs of this. In the same way a man may have zeal about
things that are good and right but from second-rate motives, and not
from a desire to please God. And such zeal is worth nothing. It is
impure silver. It is utterly inadequate when placed in the balance of
God. Man looks only at the action: God looks at the motive. Man only
thinks of the quantity of work done: God considers the doer's heart.
There is such a thing as zeal from party spirit. It is quite
possible for a man to be tireless in promoting the interest of his own
Church or denomination, and yet to have no grace in his own heart;
to be ready to die for the distinctive opinions of his brand of
Christianity, and yet have no real love to Christ. Such was the zeal of
the Pharisees. They “travel over land and sea to win a single convert,
and when he becomes one, they make him twice as much a son of
hell as they are" (Matthew 23:15). This zeal is not true.
There is such a thing as zeal from mere selfishness. There
are times when it is in men's interest to be zealous in their
Christianity. Power and influence are sometimes given to godly men.
The good things of the world are sometimes attained by wearing a
cloak of religion. And whenever this is the case there is no lack of
false zeal. Such was the zeal of Joab, when he served David.
There is such a thing as zeal from the love of praise. Such
was the zeal of Jehu, when he was putting down the worship of Baal.
Remember how he met Jonadab the son of Rechab, and said, "Come
with me and see my zeal for the LORD" (2 Kings 10:16). Such is the
zeal that John Bunyan refers to in "Pilgrims Progress," when he
speaks of some who went "for praise" to mount Zion. Some people
feed on the praise of their fellow-creatures. They would rather have it
from Christians than have none at all.
It is a sad and humbling proof of man’s corruption that there is no
degree of self-denial and self-sacrifice to which men may not go from
false motives. It does not follow that a man's religion is true because
he "gives his body to be burned," or because he "gives his goods to
feed the poor." The Apostle Paul tells us that a man may do this and
yet not have true love. (1 Corinthians 13:1, etc.) It does not follow
because men go into a wilderness and become hermits, that therefore
they know what true self-denial is. It does not follow because people
enclose themselves in monasteries and nunneries, or become "sisters
of charity" and "sisters of mercy," that therefore they know what true
crucifixion of the flesh and self-sacrifice is in the sight of God. All
these things people may do on wrong principle. They may do them
from wrong motives-to satisfy a secret pride and love of notoriety
but not from the true motive of zeal for the glory of God. All such
zeal, let us understand, is false. It is of the earth, and not of heaven.
(3) Furthermore, if zeal is true it will be a zeal about things
according to God’s mind, and sanctioned by clear examples
in God’s Word.
Take, for example, that highest and best kind of zeal-I
mean zeal for our own growth in personal holiness.
Such zeal will make a man continually feel that sin is the mightiest of
all evils, and conformity to Christ the greatest of all blessings. It will
make him feel that there is nothing which ought not to be done, in
order to keep up a close walk with God. It will make him willing to
cut off his right hand, or pluck out his right eye, or make any
sacrifice, if only he can attain a closer communion with Jesus. Isn't
this just what you see in the Apostle Paul? He says, "I beat my body
and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself
will not be disqualified for the prize.-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. I press on toward the goal" (1
Corinthians 9:27, Philippians 3:13-14).
Take, as another example, zeal for the salvation of souls.
Such zeal will make a man burn with desire to remove the darkness
which covers the souls of multitudes, and to bring every man,
woman, and child he sees to the knowledge of the Gospel. Isn't this
what you see in the Lord Jesus? It is said that He neither gave
Himself nor His disciples much spare time and at times they didn't
even have a chance to eat (Mark 6:31). Isn't this what you see in the
Apostle Paul? He says, "I have become all things to all men so that by
all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Take, for another instance, zeal against evil practices.
Such zeal will make a man hate everything which God hates, such as
drunkenness, slavery, or infanticide, and long to sweep it from the
face of the earth. It will make him jealous of God’s honor and glory,
and look on everything which robs Him of it as an offense. Isn't this
what you see in Phinehas, the son of Eleazar? Or in Hezekiah and
Josiah, when they eliminated idolatry in the land?
Take, as another example, zeal for maintaining the
doctrines of the Gospel.
Such zeal will make a man hate unscriptural teaching, just as he
hates sin. It will make him regard religious error as a pestilence
which must be stopped, whatever the cost may be. It will make him
scrupulously careful about every word in the counsel of God, lest by
some omission the whole Gospel would be spoiled. Isn't this what
you see in Paul at Antioch, when he withstood Peter to his face and
said he was clearly in the wrong? (Galatians 2:11) These are the kind
of things that true zeal is made of. Such zeal, let us understand, is
honorable before God.
(4) Furthermore, if zeal is true, it will be a zeal tempered with love.
It will not be a bitter zeal. It will not be a fierce hatred of people. It
will not be a zeal that is ready to take up the sword and to lash out
with the weapons of the world. The weapons of true zeal are not
worldly, but spiritual. True zeal will hate sin, and yet love the sinner.
True zeal will hate heresy, and yet love the heretic. True zeal will long
to smash the idol, but deeply pity the idolater. True zeal will detest
every kind of wickedness, but labor to do good even to the vilest of
sinners.
True zeal will warn as Paul warned the Galatians and yet feel
tenderly, as a nurse or a mother over erring children. It will expose
false teachers, as Jesus did the Scribes and Pharisees, and yet weep
tenderly as Jesus did over Jerusalem when He came near to it for the
last time. True zeal will be decided, as a surgeon dealing with
diseased limb; but true zeal will be gentle, as one that is dressing the
wounds of a brother. True zeal will speak truth boldly, like
Athanasius against the world, and not care who is offended; but true
zeal will endeavor in its speaking, to "speak the truth in love."
(5) Furthermore, if zeal is true, it will be joined to a deep humility.
A truly zealous man will be the last to discover the greatness of his
own attainments. All that he is and does will fall immensely short of
his own desires, that he will be filled with a sense of his own
weakness and be amazed to think that God should work through him
at all. Like Moses, when he came down from the Mountain, he will
not be aware that his face shines. Like the righteous in the twentyfifth chapter of Matthew,
he will not be aware of his own good works.
Dr. Buchanan is one who is praised by all the churches. He was one
of the first to take up the cause of the perishing heathen. He literally
spent himself, body and mind, in laboring to arouse sleeping
Christians to see the importance of missions. Yet he says in one of his
letters, “I do not know that I ever had what Christians call zeal.”
Whitefield was one of the most zealous preachers of the Gospel the
world has ever seen. Fervent in spirit, instant in season and out of
season, he was a burning and shining light, and turned thousands to
God. Yet he says after preaching for thirty years, "Lord help me to
begin to begin."
M’Cheyne was one of the greatest blessings that God ever gave to the
Church of Scotland. He was a minister insatiably desirous of the
salvation of souls. Few men ever did so much good as he did, though
he died at the age of twenty-nine. Yet he says in one of his letters,
“No one but God knows what an abyss of corruption is in my heart. It
is perfectly wonderful that God could ever bless such a ministry.” We
can be very sure where there is self-conceit there is little true zeal.
I ask all of you to especially remember the description of true zeal
which I have just given. Zeal according to knowledge-zeal from true
motives-zeal warranted by Scriptural examples-zeal tempered with
love-zeal accompanied by deep humility-this is true genuine zeal-this
is the kind of zeal which God approves. You and I need never fear of
having too much of such zeal.
I ask you to remember the description because of the times in which
we live. Beware of supposing that sincerity alone can ever make up
true zeal-that earnestness, however ignorant, makes a man a really
zealous Christian in the sight of God. There is a generation in these
days which makes an idol of what it calls “seriousness” in
Christianity. These men will allow no fault to be found in a man who
is serious. Whatever his theological opinions may be-if he is a serious
man, that is enough for these people, and we are to ask no more.
They tell you we should just ignore the minute points of doctrine and
any questions about words and names, about which Christians are
not agreed. Is the man a serious man? If he is, we ought to be
satisfied. Seriousness in their eyes covers over a multitude of sins. I
solemnly warn you to beware of this dubious doctrine. In the name of
the Gospel, and in the name of the Bible, I enter my protest against
the theory that mere seriousness can make a man a truly zealous and
holy man in the sight of God.
These idolaters of seriousness would make us believe that God has
not given us a standard of truth and error, or that the true standard,
the Bible, is so obscure, that no man can find out what truth is by
simply reading it. They pour contempt upon the Word, the written
Word, and therefore they must be wrong.
These idolaters of seriousness would make us condemn every witness
for the truth, and every opponent of false teaching from the time of
the Lord Jesus down to this very day. The Scribes and Pharisees were
serious, and yet our Lord opposed them. And shall we dare even to
hint the thought that they ought to have been left alone? Queen Mary
was serious in restoring the Roman Catholic religion and trying to
put down Protestantism, and yet godly brothers who believed in
Christ in truth and seriousness opposed her to the death. And shall
we dare to say that since both parties were "serious both were in the
right? The Devil-worshippers and idolaters of today are serious and
yet our missionaries labor to expose their errors. And shall we dare
to say that seriousness would take them to heaven, and that
missionaries to heathens and Roman Catholics should stay at home?
Are we really going to admit that the Bible does not show us what is
truth? Are we really going to put a vague thing called seriousness, in
the place of Christ and to maintain that no serious man can be
wrong? God forbid that we should give place to such doctrine! I
shrink with horror from such theology. I warn men solemnly to
beware of being carried away by it for it is common and most
seductive in this day. Beware of it, for it is only a new form of an old
error-that old error which says that a man can't be wrong whose lives
a serious and righteous life.
Admire zeal. Seek after zeal. Encourage zeal. But see that your own
zeal is true. See that the zeal which you admire in others is a zeal
based on knowledge-a zeal from right motives-a zeal that can bring
chapter and verse out of the Bible for its foundation. Any zeal but
this is nothing but a deceiving fire. It is not ignited by the Holy Spirit.
III. I now move on to my third point. Let me show why it is
good for a person to be zealous.
It is certain that God never gave men and women a commandment
which was not in their interest to obey. He never gave a teaching to
His believing people which His people will not find it their highest
happiness to follow after. This is true of all the instructions about the
Christian character. Perhaps it is preeminently true in the case of
zeal.
(a) Zeal is good for the soul of a Christian.We all know that exercise is good for the health, and that regular
exercise of our muscles and limbs promotes our bodily comfort, and
increases bodily strength. No one has so much enjoyment of Christ
as those who are always zealous for His glory, watchful over their
own walk, sensitive to their own consciences, full of concern about
the souls of others, and always watching,
working, laboring, and striving to expand the knowledge of Jesus
Christ on earth. Such men and women live in the full light of the sun,
and therefore their hearts are always warm. Such men and women
water others and therefore they are watered themselves. Their hearts
are like a garden daily refreshed by the dew of the Holy Spirit. They
honor God, and therefore God honors them.
I want to be sure that everyone understands what I am saying. I do
not want to appear to speak thoughtlessly of any believer. I know
that "the Lord takes delight in his people" (Psalm 149:4). There is not
one, from the least to the greatest-from the smallest child in the
kingdom of God, to the oldest warrior in the battle against Satan
there is not one in whom the Lord Jesus Christ does not take great
pleasure. We are all His children-and however weak and feeble some
of us may be, as a father has compassion on his children, so the
LORD has compassion on those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13). We
are all the plants which He has planted; and though many of us are
poor, weakly exotic plants, scarcely staying alive in foreign soil-yet as
the gardener loves that which his hands have raised, so does the Lord
Jesus love the poor sinners that trust in Him. But while I say this, I
do also believe that the Lord takes special pleasure in those who are
zealous for Him, in those who give their body, soul, and spirit, to
extend His glory in this world. To them He reveals Himself, in a way
different than to others. To them He shows things that others never
see. He blesses the work of their hands. He commends them with
spiritual contentment which others have only heard about. They are
people after His own heart, for they are people more like Himself
than others. No one has such joy and peace in believing-no one has
such tangible contentment in their Christianity-no one has so much
of heaven on earth-no one sees and feels so much of the compassion
of the Gospel as those who are zealous, serious, devoted Christians.
For the sake of our own souls, if there were no other reason, it is
good to be zealous, to be very zealous in our Christianity.
(b) Just as zeal is good for us individually, it is also good, in
a general sense, for the professing Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Nothing is so effective in keeping true Christianity alive as the yeast
of zealous Christians scattered throughout the Church. Like salt, they
prevent the whole body from falling into a state of decay. No one but
men of this kind can revive Churches that are about to die. It is
impossible to overestimate the debt that all Christians owe to zeal.
The greatest mistake the leaders of a Church can make is to drive
zealous men out of its congregation. By doing so they drain out the
life-blood of the system, and advance the church's decline and death.
God delights in honoring zeal. Look through the list of Christians
who have been used most mightily by God. Who are the men that
have left the deepest and most indelible marks on the Church of their
day? Who are the men that God has generally honored to build up
the walls of His Zion, and also to fight the enemy at the gate? He
does not use men of learning and literary talent as readily as men of zeal.
Latimer was not such a deeply-read scholar as Cranmer or Ridley. He
could not quote from memory about the early church, as they did. He
refused to be drawn into arguments about church history. He stuck
to his Bible. Yet it is clear that no English reformer left such a lasting
impression on the nation as old Latimer did. And what was the reason? His simple zeal.
Baxter, the Puritan, was not equal to some of his contemporaries in
intellectual gifts. He in no way could stand on a level with Manton or
Owen. Yet few men probably exercised so wide an influence on the
generation in which he lived. And what was the reason? His burning zeal.
Whitefield, and Wesley, and Berridge, and Venn were inferior in
mental attainments to Butler and Watson. But they produced effects
on the people of this country which fifty Butlers and Watsons would
probably never have produced. They saved the Church of England
from ruin. And what was one secret of their power? Their zeal.
These men stood up front at turning points in the history of the
Church. They remained unmoved during storms of opposition and
persecution. It could be said that:
--They were not afraid to stand alone.
--They did not care if their motives were misinterpreted.
--They considered everything a loss for the sake of the truth.
--Each one of them was eminently a man of one thing: and that one
thing was to advance the glory of God, and to declare His truth in the world.
--They were all on fire, and so they lighted others.
--They were wide awake, and so awakened others.
--They were always working, and so shamed others into working too.
--They came down upon men like Moses from the mountain-they shone as if they had been in the presence of God.
--They carried with them everywhere they walked in the world,
something of the atmosphere and savor of heaven itself.
There is a sense in which it may be said that zeal is contagious.
Nothing is more useful to those who profess to be Christians than to
see a real live Christian, a thoroughly zealous man of God. They may
speak reproachfully to him-they may criticize him-they may nit-pick
his conduct-they may look at him suspiciously-they may not
understand him any more than men understand a new phenomena
in the heavens when it appears; but by degrees so slight as to be
virtually imperceptible, a zealous man does them good. He opens
their eyes. He makes them feel their own indifference. He makes
their own great darkness visible. He compels them to see their own
emptiness. He compels them to think, whether they like it or not What are we doing?
Are we nothing better then a vegetable that grows out of the ground?
It may be a sad truth that one sinner destroys many good people; but
it is also a blessed truth that one zealous Christian can do a lot of
good. Yes: one single zealous man in a town-one zealous man in a
congregation-one zealous man in a society-one zealous man in a
family, may be a great blessing.
How many useful ministries does such a man get going! How much
Christian activity he often calls into being which would otherwise
have remained dormant! How many fountains he opens which would
otherwise have been sealed! Truly there is a deep mine of truth in
those words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians: “Your
enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” (2 Corinthians 9:2).
(c) But, just as zeal is good for the Church and for
individuals, so zeal is also good for the world.
Where would the Missionary work be if it were not for zeal? Where
would our City Missions and School Missions be if it were not for
zeal? Where would our evangelistic outreach program be without
zeal? Without zeal who would be willing to go and root out sin and
ignorance, and find the dark places of the earth, and recover poor
lost souls? Where would all these glorious instruments for good be if
it were not for Christian zeal? Zeal called many of these institutions
into being, and zeal keeps them at work when they have begun. Zeal
gathers a few despised men, and makes them the nucleus of many a
powerful ministry. Zeal prevents man from becoming lazy and sleepy
when the ministry is large and begins to get favor from the world.
Zeal raises up men to go out, putting their lives in their hands. Zeal
supplies their replacements when their lives are taken from them
and they go home to heaven.
What would become of the ignorant masses who crowd the streets
and alleys of our overgrown cities if it were not for Christian zeal?
Governments can do nothing with them: they cannot make laws that
will confront the evil. The vast majority of professing Christians have
no eyes to see it: like the priest and the Levite, they pass by on the
other side. But zeal has eyes to see, and a heart to feel, and a head to
devise, and a tongue to plead, and hands to work, and feet to travel,
in order to rescue poor souls and raise them from their fallen state.
Zeal does not stand meditating over difficulties, but simply says,
“Here are some souls that are perishing, and we will do something.”
Zeal does not shrink back because the enemy is standing in the way:
it looks over their heads, like Moses standing on top of Pisgah, and
says, “We will possess the land.” Zeal does not wait for
reinforcements and delay until good works are fashionable: it goes
forward like one who is deserted, and trusts that others will follow
eventually. Yes, the world knows very little what a debt it owes to
Christian zeal. How much crime it has restrained! How much
disobedience it has prevented! How much public discontent it has
calmed! How much obedience to the law and love of order it has
produced! How many souls it has saved! Yes! and I believe we know
very little of what might be accomplished if every Christian was a
zealous person! How much if more ministers were zealous! How
much if more laymen were more zealous! Oh, for the world’s sake, as
well as your own, resolve, work, strive to be a zealous Christian!
Let every one who professes to be a Christian beware of suppressing
zeal. Seek it. Cultivate it. Try to enlarge the fire in your own heart,
and the hearts of others, but never, never stop it. Beware of throwing
cold water on zealous souls, whenever you meet with them. Beware
of nipping in the bud this precious gift when it first shoots up. If you
are a parent, beware of suppressing it in your children. If you are a
husband, beware of stopping it in your wife. If you are a brother,
beware of restraining it in your sisters-and if you are a minister,
beware of restraining it in the members of your congregation. It is a
shoot of heavens own planting. Beware of crushing it, for Christ's
sake.
Zeal may make mistakes. Zeal may need directing. Zeal may lack
guiding, controlling, and advising. Like the elephants on ancient
fields of battle, it may sometimes injure its own side. But zeal does
not need to be restrained in a wretched, cold, corrupt, miserable
world like this. Zeal, like John Knox tearing down the Scottish
monasteries, may hurt the feelings of narrow-minded and sleepy
Christians. It may offend the prejudices of those old-fashioned
religionists who hate everything new, and (like those who wanted
soldiers and sailors to go on wearing pigtails) abhor all change. But
zeal in the end will be justified by its results. Zeal, like John Knox, in
the long run will do infinitely more good than harm. There is little
danger of there ever being too much zeal for the glory of God. God
forgive those who think there is! You know little of human nature.
You forget that sickness is far more contagious than health, and that
it is much easier to catch a cold than to give warmth.
Depend on it, the Church seldom needs a bridle, but often needs a
spur. It seldom needs to be restrained; it often needs to be urged on.
And now, in conclusion, let me try to apply this subject to the
conscience of each one of you.
It is a warning subject, an arousing subject, an encouraging subject,
according to the state of our hearts. I hope, by God's help, to give
every reader his portion.
(1) First of all, let me offer a warning to all who sit in
churches and yet who have not made a clear profession of
Christianity.
There are millions, I fear, in this condition. If you are one, the
subject before you is full of solemn warning. Oh, that the Lord in
mercy may incline your heart to receive it!
I ask you, then, with all love, Where is your zeal in Christianity? With
the Bible opened before me I am bold in asking. But with your life
before me, I tremble what you answer will be. I ask again, Where is
your zeal for the glory of God? Where is your zeal for sharing Christ's
Gospel to an evil world? Zeal, which was the characteristic of the
Lord Jesus-zeal, which is the characteristic of the angels-zeal, which
shines forth in all the brightest Christians-where is your zeal
unconverted reader? Where is your zeal? You know it is nowhere at
all; you know you see no value in it; you know it is scorned and
rejected as evil by you and your companions; you know it has no
place, no share, no home in the religion of your soul. It is not that
you don't know what it is to be zealous. You have zeal, but it is all
misapplied. It is all earthly: it is all about the things of this age. It is
not zeal for the glory of God: it is not zeal for the salvation of souls.
Yes: many a man has zeal for the newspaper, but not for the Bible zeal
for the daily reading of the news, but no zeal for the daily
reading of God's blessed Word. Many a man has zeal for the
checkbook and other business books, but no zeal about the Book of
Life and the last great accounting at the Great White Throne
Judgment-zeal about gold, but no zeal about the unsearchable riches
of Christ. Many a man has zeal about his earthly concerns-his family,
his pleasures, his daily pursuits; but no zeal about God, and heaven,
and eternity.
If this is the state of any of you, wakeup, I implore you, and see your
gross folly. You cannot live forever. You are not ready to die. You are
utterly unfit for the company of saints and angels. Wakeup!: be
zealous and repent! Wakeup! to see the harm you are doing! You are
putting arguments in the hands of unbelievers by your shameful
coldness. You are pulling down as fast as ministers build. You are
helping the devil. Wakeup!: be zealous, and repent! Wakeup to see
your childish inconsistency! What can be a more worthy zeal than
eternal things, than the glory of God, than the salvation of souls?
Surely it is good to labor for rewards that are temporal, but it is a
thousand times better to labor for those that are eternal. Wakeup! be
zealous, and repent! Go and read that long-neglected Bible. Take up
that blessed Book which you have, and perhaps never use. Read that
New Testament all the way through. Do you find nothing there to
make you zealous-to make you serious about your soul? Go and look
at the cross of Christ. Go and see how the Son of God shed His
precious blood there for you-how He suffered and groaned and died
for you-how He poured out His soul as a offering for sin, in order
that you, sinful brother or sister, might not perish but have eternal
life. Go and look at the cross of Christ and never rest until you feel
some zeal for your own soul-some zeal for the glory of God-some zeal
for sharing of the Gospel throughout the world. Once more I say,
Wakeup!: be zealous and repent!
(2) Let me, in the next place, say something to arouse those
"who make a profession of being committed Christians,
and are yet are lukewarm in their practice."
There are too many, I regret to say, in this state. If you are one, there
is a lot in this subject which ought to lead you to a thorough
searching of your heart.
Let me speak to your conscience. I also desire to put the question to
you with complete brotherly affection, Where is your zeal? Where is
your zeal for the glory of God, and for the spreading of the gospel
throughout the world? You know better than anyone else, that your
zeal is almost nonexistent. You know that your zeal is nothing than a
feeble glimmering spark that just sits there and does nothing-it is
like something "about to die." (Revelation 3:2). Surely, there is a
fault somewhere if this is the case. This state of things ought not to
be. You, the child of God-you, redeemed at so glorious a price-you,
ransomed with such precious blood-you, who are an heir of glory
such as the world has never seen or spoken of-surely you ought to be
a man of great zeal. Surely your zeal should not be so weak.
I deeply feel that this is a painful subject to talk about. I do it with
reluctance, and with a constant remembrance of my own weakness.
Nevertheless, I must speak the truth. The plain truth is that many
believers today seem so afraid of doing some harm that they hardly
ever do anything good. There are many who are quick to object to
something, but never take any action; they are truly lacking anything
even like Christian fire. They are like the Dutch government officials
recorded in the history of the 18th century who would never allow
Marlborough to risk anything, and by their extreme caution
prevented many victories from being won. Truly, in looking around
the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, a man might sometimes think
that God's kingdom had come, and God's will was being done upon
earth, so small is the zeal that some believers show. It is vain to deny
it. I do not need to go far for evidence. I point to the many
missionary agencies that are trying to reach the heathens in foreign
lands and even the lost of our own country, struggling and paralyzed
because of the lack of workers and funds. I ask you, "Is this zeal?" I
point to the false doctrine that is allowed to flourish in our churches
and homes without an effort being made to stop it, while so-called
believers look on, and are content with wishing that it wasn't that
way. I ask, "Is this zeal?" Would the apostles have been satisfied with
such a state of things? We know they would not.
If the conscience of any of you pleads guilty to being any part of the
weaknesses I have just spoken of, I call on you in the name of the
Lord, to wake up, be zealous, and repent. Don't let zeal be confined
to those who are busy making money in the marketplace or the stock
markets. Let us not be so zealous to pursue riches or to make new
discoveries in the world but indifferent to send the Gospel to the
heathen, or to pluck Roman Catholics out of the coming fires of hell,
or to the sharing of the gospel to those in our own country. Never has
there been so many doors of opportunity opened-never has there
been so many possibilities for doing good. I detest that
squeamishness which refuses to help Christian ministries if there is
an imperfection in the methods by which the work is carried on. At
this rate we would never do anything at all. Let us resist the feeling, if
we are tempted by it. It is one of Satan's schemes. It is better to work
with weak instruments than not to work at all. At all times try to do
something for God and Christ-something against ignorance and sin.
Give, teach, admonish, visit, pray, according as God enables you.
Only make up your mind that everyone can do something and
resolve that you, at any rate, will do something. If you have only one
talent do not bury it in the ground. Try to live your life so as to be
missed when you are gone. You can do more in twelve hours than
most people have ever done on any day in their lives.
Think of the precious souls which are perishing while you are
sleeping. Go ahead, if you want, and be taken up with your inward
conflicts. Go on and analyze your own feelings and lament over your
own vices, if you are so determined. But remember all this time souls
are going to hell, and you might be able to do something to save them
by working, by giving, by writing, by begging, and by prayer. Oh,
wakeup! be zealous, and repent!
Think of the shortness of time. You will soon be gone. You will not
have any opportunity for works of mercy in heaven. In heaven there
will be no uneducated people to instruct, and no unconverted to save.
Whatever you do must be done now. Oh, when are you going to
begin? Wakeup! be zealous, and repent.
Think of the devil, and his zeal to destroy people. It was a solemn
saying of Bernard when he said that "Satan would rise up in
judgment against some people at the last day, because he had shown
more zeal to ruin souls than they had to save them." Wakeup! be
zealous, and repent.
Think of "your Savior," and all His zeal for you. Think of Him in
Gethsemane and on Calvary, shedding His blood for sinners. Think
of His life, death, and His sufferings. All this He has done for you.
What are you doing for Him? Oh, resolve that for the time to come
you will spend and be spent for Christ! Wakeup! be zealous and repent.
(3) Last of all, let me encourage "all of you who are truly zealous Christians."
I have but one request to make, and that is that you will persevere. I
implore you to maintain your zeal and never let it go. I urge you
never to stop doing the things you did at first, never to leave your
first love, never let it be said of you that the things that you did in the
first part of your Christian life were better than the things you did in
your latter years-Beware of cooling down. All you have to do is to be
lazy, and to sit still, and you will soon lose all your zeal. You will soon
become another person from what you are now. Oh, don't think that
this is a needless exhortation!
It may be true that wise young believers are very rare. But it is just as
true that zealous old believers are also very rare. Never allow yourself
to think that you can do too much-that you can work too hard and
long for the cause of Christ. For every person that does too much I
will show you a thousand who don't do enough. Instead think that
"Night is coming, when no one can work." (John 9:4). Give, teach,
visit, work, and pray as if you were doing it for the last time.
Take to heart the words of a zealous Christian, who said, when told
that he ought to rest a little, "What should we rest for? Don't we have
all eternity to rest?"
Do not fear the reproach of men. Do not faint because you are
sometimes abused. Don't let it bother you if you are sometimes called
a bigot, a zealot, a fanatic, a crazy person, and a fool. There is
nothing disgraceful in these titles. They have often been given to the
best and wisest of men. If you are only zealous when you receive
praise for it-if the wheels of your zeal must be oiled by the world's
commendation, your zeal will be short-lived. Do not care for the
praise or the frown of man. There is only one thing worth caring for,
and that is the praise of God. There is only one question worth asking
about our actions: "How will they appear in the day of judgment?"
Amen.
"It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good."
(Galatians 4:18)
Zeal is a subject, like many others in religion, which is sadly
misunderstood. Many would be ashamed to be thought zealous
Christians. Many are ready to say of zealous people what Festus said
of Paul: "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted, "Your great
learning is driving you insane" (Acts 26:24).
But zeal is a subject, which no reader of the Bible has any right to
pass over. If we make the Bible our rule of faith and practice, we
cannot turn away from the subject of zeal. We must look it directly in
the face. What does the Apostle Paul say to Titus? “Christ gave
Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for
himself a people that are His very own, eager [or zealous] to do what
is good” (Titus 2:14). What does the Lord Jesus say to the Laodicean
Church? “Be earnest [be zealous], and repent” (Revelation 3:19).
My object in this message is to plead the cause of zeal in religion. I
believe we ought not to be afraid of it, but rather to love and admire
it. I believe it to be a mighty blessing to the world and the origin of
countless benefits to mankind. I want to remind Christians that
"Zealot" was a name given to one of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and to persuade them to be zealous men and women.
I ask every one of you to give me your attention while I tell you
something about zeal. Listen to me for your own sake-for the sake of
the world-for the sake of the Church of our Christ. Listen to me and
by God's help I will show you that to be "zealous" is to be wise.
I. Let me show in the first place, what zeal is in Christianity.
II. Let me show in the second place, when a person can be
correctly called “zealous” in Christianity.
III. Let me show in the third place, why it is a good thing
for a person to be zealous in Christianity.
I. First of all, I want us to consider this question. What is
zeal in Christianity?
Zeal in Christianity 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 is not natural to men or women. It is a desire which the
Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when they are converted to
Christ, however, a desire which some believers feel so much more
strongly than others that they alone deserve to be called "zealous"
men and women.
This desire is so strong, when it really reigns in a person, that it
impels them to make any sacrifice-to go through any trouble-to deny
themselves anything-to suffer, to work, to labor, to toil, to spend
themselves and be spent, and even to die-if only they can please God
and honor Christ.
A zealous person in Christianity is preeminently a person of one
thing. It is not enough to say that they are earnest, strong,
uncompromising, meticulous, wholehearted, and fervent in spirit.
They only see one thing, they care for one thing, they live for one
thing, they are swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to
please God. Whether they live, or whether they die-whether they are
healthy, or whether they are sick-whether they are rich, or whether
they are poor-whether they please man, or whether they give offense whether the are thought wise,
or whether they are thought foolish whether they are accused, or whether they are praised-whether they
get honor, or whether they get shame-for all this the zealous person
cares nothing at all. They have a passion for one thing, and that one
thing is to please God and to advance God’s glory. If they are
consumed in the very burning of their passion for God, they don’t
care-they are content. They feel that, like a candle, they were made to
burn; and if they are consumed in the burning, then they have only
done the work for which God has appointed them. Such a person will
always find a sphere for their zeal. If they cannot work, or give
money, or a man cannot preach, then they will cry out and sigh, and
pray. Yes: if they are extremely poor, on a perpetual bed of sickness,
they will make the activity of sin around him slow to a standstill, by
continually interceding against it. If they cannot fight in the valley
with Joshua, they will do the work of Moses, Aaron, and Hur, on the
hill. (Exodus 17:9-13) If they are cut off from working themselves,
they will give the Lord no rest until help is raised up from another
quarter, and the work is done. This is what I mean when I speak of
zeal in Christianity.
We all know the habit of mind that makes men great in this world that makes such men
as Alexander the Great, or Julius Caesar, or
Oliver Cromwell, or Peter the Great, or Napoleon. We know that with
all their faults they were all men of one thing. They threw themselves
into one grand pursuit. They cared for nothing else. They put
everything else aside. They counted everything else as second-rate
and of subordinate importance, compared to the one thing that they
put before their eyes every day they lived. I say that the same habit of
mind applied to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ becomes
Christian zeal.
We know the habit of mind that makes men great in the sciences of
this world-that makes such men as Archimedes, or Sir Isaac Newton,
or Galileo, or James Watt. All these were men of one thing. They
brought the powers of their minds into one single focus. They cared
for nothing else. And this was the secret of their success. I say that
this same habit consecrated to the service of God becomes Christian
zeal.
We know the habit of mind that makes men rich that makes men
amass mighty fortunes, and leave millions behind them. What kind
of people were the bankers, and merchants, and tradesmen, who
have left a name behind them, as men who acquired immense wealth
and became rich although they may have been born in poverty? They
were all men that threw themselves entirely into their business, and
neglected everything else for the sake of that business. They gave
their first attention, their first thoughts, the best of their time, and
the best part of their mind, to pushing forward the transactions in
which they were engaged. They were men of one thing. Their hearts
were not divided. They devoted themselves, body, soul and mind to
their business. They seemed to live for nothing else. I say that if you
turn that habit of mind to the service of God and His Christ it
produces Christian zeal.
(a) Now this habit of mind-this zeal was the characteristic
of all the Apostles.
Look at the example of the Apostle Paul. Hear him when he speaks to
the Ephesian elders for the last time: “I consider my life worth
nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the
Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's
grace” (Acts 20:24). Hear him again, when he writes to the
Philippians: “One thing I do: I press on toward the goal to win the
prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 3:13-14). See him from the day of his conversion, giving
up his brilliant prospects-forsaking all for Christ's sake-and going
forth to preach that very Jesus whom he had once despised. See him
going back and forth throughout the world from that time-through
persecution-through oppression-through opposition-through
prisons-through chains-through afflictions-through things next to
death itself, up to the very day when he sealed his faith with his blood
and died at Rome, a martyr for that Gospel which he had so long
proclaimed. This was true Christian zeal.
(b) This again was "the characteristic of the early
Christians."
They were persons "that people everywhere were talking against"
(Acts 28:22). They were driven to worship God in dens and caves of
the earth. They often lost everything in the world for their religion’s
sake. They generally gained nothing but the cross, persecution,
shame, and reproach. But they seldom, very seldom, went back. If
they could not debate, at least they could suffer. If they could not
convince their adversaries by argument, at any rate they could die
and prove that they themselves were very serious. Look at Ignatius
cheerfully traveling to the place where he was to be devoured by
lions, and saying as he went, "Now do I begin to be a disciple of my
Master, Christ." Hear old Polycarp before the Roman Governor,
saying boldly, when called upon to deny Christ, "I have served Christ
for 86 years and He has never offended me in anything, and how can
I then insult my King?" This was true zeal.
(c) This again was the characteristic of Martin Luther. He boldly
defied the most powerful hierarchy that the world has ever seen. He
unveiled their corruptions with an unflinching hand. He preached
the long-neglected truth of justification by faith, in spite of curses
and excommunications that were thickly poured on him. See him
pleading his cause before the Emperor, and a host of the children of
this world. Hear him saying-when men were persuading him from
going, and reminding him of the fate of John Huss, "Even if there
was a devil under every tile on the roofs of this building, in the name
of the Lord I shall go forward." This was true zeal.
(d) This again was the characteristic of our own English Reformers.
You have it in our first Reformer, Wickliffe, when he rose up on his
sick bed and said to the Friars who wanted him to retract all he had
said against the Pope, "I shall not die, but live to declare the
wickedness of the Friars."
You have it in Cranmer, dying at the stake rather than deny Christ's
Gospel, holding out that hand to be first burned which, in a moment
of weakness, had signed a recantation and saying as he held it in the
flames, "This unworthy hand!"
You have it in old Latimer, standing boldly on his kindling wood for
the fire, at the age of seventy years, and saying to Ridley, "Courage,
brother Ridley! We shall light such a candle this day that, by God's
grace, shall never be put out." This was zeal.
(e) This again has been the characteristic of all the greatest
Missionaries. You see it in Dr. Judson, in Carey, in Morrison, in
Schwartz, in Williams, in Brainerd, in Elliott. You see it in none more
brightly than in Henry Martyn. Here was a man who had reached the
highest scholastic honors that Cambridge could bestow. Whatever
profession he chose to follow, he had the most dazzling prospects of
success. He turned his back on it all. He chose to preach the Gospel
to poor unreasonable heathen. He went forth to an early grave, in a
foreign land. He said when he got there and saw the condition of the
people, "I would be willing to be torn in pieces, if I could only hear
the sobs of repentance-if I could see the eyes of faith directed to the
Redeemer!" This was zeal.
(f) But let us look away from all earthly examples-and remember that
zeal was preeminently the characteristic of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ Himself. Of Him it was written hundreds of years before He
came upon the earth that He "wrapped Himself in zeal as in a cloak,
and “the zeal for your house consumes me.” And His own words were
"My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His
work.” (Psalm 69:9; Isaiah 59:17; John 4:34).
Where shall we begin, if we try to give examples of His zeal? Where
should we end, if we should begin? Trace all the narratives of His life
in the four Gospels. Read all the history of what He was from the
beginning of His ministry to the end. Surely if there ever was one
who was all zeal, it was our great Example-our Head-our High
Priest-the great Shepherd of our profession, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If these things are true, we should not only beware of running down
zeal, but we should also beware of allowing zeal to be run down in
our presence. It may be badly directed, and then it becomes a curse
but it may be turned to the highest and best ends, and then it is a
mighty blessing. Like fire, it is one of the best of servants-but, also
like fire, if not well directed, it may be the worst of masters. Do not
listen to those people who talk of zeal as weakness and enthusiasm.
Do not listen to those who see no beauty in missions, who laugh at all
attempts at the conversion of souls-who call Agencies for sending the
Gospel to the world useless-and who look upon City Missions,
Visitations, and Open Air Preaching, as nothing but foolishness and
fanaticism. Beware, lest in joining a cry of that kind you condemn the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Beware lest you speak against Him who
has "left us an example, that we should follow in His steps" (1 Peter
2:21).
Yes! I fear there are many professing Christians who, if they had
lived in the days when our Lord and His Apostles walked on the
earth, would have called Him and all His followers zealots and
fanatics. There are many, I fear, who have more in common with
Annas and Caiaphas-with Pilate and Herod-with Festus and Agrippa with Felix
and Gallio-than with Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ.
II. I pass on now to my second point. When is a man truly
zealous in Christianity?
There never was a grace of which Satan has not made a counterfeit.
There never was a coin issued from the mint that forgers did not at
once coin something very much like it. It was one of Nero's cruel
practices first to sew Christians into the skins of wild beasts, and
then bait them with dogs. It is one of Satan's devices to place
distorted copies of the believer's graces before the eyes of men, and
so to bring the true graces into contempt. No grace has suffered so
much in this way as zeal. Of none perhaps are there so many shams
and counterfeits. We must therefore clear the ground of all rubbish
on this question. We must find out when zeal in Christianity is really
good, and true, and of God.
(1) If zeal is true, it will be a zeal according to knowledge. It must not
be a blind, ignorant zeal. It must be a calm, reasonable, intelligent
principle, which can show the warrant of Scripture for every step it
takes. The unconverted Jews had zeal. Paul says, “I can testify about
them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on
knowledge” (Romans 10:2). Saul had zeal when he was a persecuting
Pharisee. He says himself, in one of his addresses to the Jews, "I was
just as zealous for God as any of you are today" (Acts 22:3).
Manasseh had zeal in the days when he was an idolater. That man
threw his own children into the fire-who gave up the fruit of his body
to the false god Moloch to atone for the sin of his soul-that man had
zeal. James and John had zeal when they would have called down
fire on a Samaritan village. But our Lord rebuked them. Peter had
zeal when he drew his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus. But he
was quite wrong. Bonner and Gardiner had zeal when they burned
Latimer and Cranmer. Were they not sincere? Let us do them justice.
They were zealous, though it was for a false religion.
The members of the Roman Catholic Inquisition in Spain had zeal
when they tortured men, and put them to horrible deaths because
they would not forsake the Gospel. Yes! they marched men and
women to the stake in solemn procession and called it "An Act of
Faith," and believed they were doing a service for God. The Hindus,
who used to lie down before the car of Juggernaut and allow their
bodies to be crushed under its wheels: did they not have zeal? The
widows of India, who used to burn themselves on the funeral pyre of
their deceased husbands; the Roman Catholics, who persecuted to
death the Waldenses and Albigenses, and threw men and women
from cliffs onto the rocks below because they were heretics; did they
not have zeal? The Saracens, the Crusaders, the Jesuits, the
Anabaptists of Munster, did they not all have zeal? Yes! Yes! I do not
deny it. All these groups had zeal beyond question. They were all
zealous. They were all very fervent. But their zeal was not the zeal
that God approves-it was not a zeal based on knowledge.
(2) Furthermore, if zeal is true, it will be a zeal generated
from true motives.
Such is the subtlety of the heart that men will often do right things
from wrong motives. Amaziah and Joash, kings of Judah, are
striking proofs of this. In the same way a man may have zeal about
things that are good and right but from second-rate motives, and not
from a desire to please God. And such zeal is worth nothing. It is
impure silver. It is utterly inadequate when placed in the balance of
God. Man looks only at the action: God looks at the motive. Man only
thinks of the quantity of work done: God considers the doer's heart.
There is such a thing as zeal from party spirit. It is quite
possible for a man to be tireless in promoting the interest of his own
Church or denomination, and yet to have no grace in his own heart;
to be ready to die for the distinctive opinions of his brand of
Christianity, and yet have no real love to Christ. Such was the zeal of
the Pharisees. They “travel over land and sea to win a single convert,
and when he becomes one, they make him twice as much a son of
hell as they are" (Matthew 23:15). This zeal is not true.
There is such a thing as zeal from mere selfishness. There
are times when it is in men's interest to be zealous in their
Christianity. Power and influence are sometimes given to godly men.
The good things of the world are sometimes attained by wearing a
cloak of religion. And whenever this is the case there is no lack of
false zeal. Such was the zeal of Joab, when he served David.
There is such a thing as zeal from the love of praise. Such
was the zeal of Jehu, when he was putting down the worship of Baal.
Remember how he met Jonadab the son of Rechab, and said, "Come
with me and see my zeal for the LORD" (2 Kings 10:16). Such is the
zeal that John Bunyan refers to in "Pilgrims Progress," when he
speaks of some who went "for praise" to mount Zion. Some people
feed on the praise of their fellow-creatures. They would rather have it
from Christians than have none at all.
It is a sad and humbling proof of man’s corruption that there is no
degree of self-denial and self-sacrifice to which men may not go from
false motives. It does not follow that a man's religion is true because
he "gives his body to be burned," or because he "gives his goods to
feed the poor." The Apostle Paul tells us that a man may do this and
yet not have true love. (1 Corinthians 13:1, etc.) It does not follow
because men go into a wilderness and become hermits, that therefore
they know what true self-denial is. It does not follow because people
enclose themselves in monasteries and nunneries, or become "sisters
of charity" and "sisters of mercy," that therefore they know what true
crucifixion of the flesh and self-sacrifice is in the sight of God. All
these things people may do on wrong principle. They may do them
from wrong motives-to satisfy a secret pride and love of notoriety
but not from the true motive of zeal for the glory of God. All such
zeal, let us understand, is false. It is of the earth, and not of heaven.
(3) Furthermore, if zeal is true it will be a zeal about things
according to God’s mind, and sanctioned by clear examples
in God’s Word.
Take, for example, that highest and best kind of zeal-I
mean zeal for our own growth in personal holiness.
Such zeal will make a man continually feel that sin is the mightiest of
all evils, and conformity to Christ the greatest of all blessings. It will
make him feel that there is nothing which ought not to be done, in
order to keep up a close walk with God. It will make him willing to
cut off his right hand, or pluck out his right eye, or make any
sacrifice, if only he can attain a closer communion with Jesus. Isn't
this just what you see in the Apostle Paul? He says, "I beat my body
and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself
will not be disqualified for the prize.-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. I press on toward the goal" (1
Corinthians 9:27, Philippians 3:13-14).
Take, as another example, zeal for the salvation of souls.
Such zeal will make a man burn with desire to remove the darkness
which covers the souls of multitudes, and to bring every man,
woman, and child he sees to the knowledge of the Gospel. Isn't this
what you see in the Lord Jesus? It is said that He neither gave
Himself nor His disciples much spare time and at times they didn't
even have a chance to eat (Mark 6:31). Isn't this what you see in the
Apostle Paul? He says, "I have become all things to all men so that by
all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Take, for another instance, zeal against evil practices.
Such zeal will make a man hate everything which God hates, such as
drunkenness, slavery, or infanticide, and long to sweep it from the
face of the earth. It will make him jealous of God’s honor and glory,
and look on everything which robs Him of it as an offense. Isn't this
what you see in Phinehas, the son of Eleazar? Or in Hezekiah and
Josiah, when they eliminated idolatry in the land?
Take, as another example, zeal for maintaining the
doctrines of the Gospel.
Such zeal will make a man hate unscriptural teaching, just as he
hates sin. It will make him regard religious error as a pestilence
which must be stopped, whatever the cost may be. It will make him
scrupulously careful about every word in the counsel of God, lest by
some omission the whole Gospel would be spoiled. Isn't this what
you see in Paul at Antioch, when he withstood Peter to his face and
said he was clearly in the wrong? (Galatians 2:11) These are the kind
of things that true zeal is made of. Such zeal, let us understand, is
honorable before God.
(4) Furthermore, if zeal is true, it will be a zeal tempered with love.
It will not be a bitter zeal. It will not be a fierce hatred of people. It
will not be a zeal that is ready to take up the sword and to lash out
with the weapons of the world. The weapons of true zeal are not
worldly, but spiritual. True zeal will hate sin, and yet love the sinner.
True zeal will hate heresy, and yet love the heretic. True zeal will long
to smash the idol, but deeply pity the idolater. True zeal will detest
every kind of wickedness, but labor to do good even to the vilest of
sinners.
True zeal will warn as Paul warned the Galatians and yet feel
tenderly, as a nurse or a mother over erring children. It will expose
false teachers, as Jesus did the Scribes and Pharisees, and yet weep
tenderly as Jesus did over Jerusalem when He came near to it for the
last time. True zeal will be decided, as a surgeon dealing with
diseased limb; but true zeal will be gentle, as one that is dressing the
wounds of a brother. True zeal will speak truth boldly, like
Athanasius against the world, and not care who is offended; but true
zeal will endeavor in its speaking, to "speak the truth in love."
(5) Furthermore, if zeal is true, it will be joined to a deep humility.
A truly zealous man will be the last to discover the greatness of his
own attainments. All that he is and does will fall immensely short of
his own desires, that he will be filled with a sense of his own
weakness and be amazed to think that God should work through him
at all. Like Moses, when he came down from the Mountain, he will
not be aware that his face shines. Like the righteous in the twentyfifth chapter of Matthew,
he will not be aware of his own good works.
Dr. Buchanan is one who is praised by all the churches. He was one
of the first to take up the cause of the perishing heathen. He literally
spent himself, body and mind, in laboring to arouse sleeping
Christians to see the importance of missions. Yet he says in one of his
letters, “I do not know that I ever had what Christians call zeal.”
Whitefield was one of the most zealous preachers of the Gospel the
world has ever seen. Fervent in spirit, instant in season and out of
season, he was a burning and shining light, and turned thousands to
God. Yet he says after preaching for thirty years, "Lord help me to
begin to begin."
M’Cheyne was one of the greatest blessings that God ever gave to the
Church of Scotland. He was a minister insatiably desirous of the
salvation of souls. Few men ever did so much good as he did, though
he died at the age of twenty-nine. Yet he says in one of his letters,
“No one but God knows what an abyss of corruption is in my heart. It
is perfectly wonderful that God could ever bless such a ministry.” We
can be very sure where there is self-conceit there is little true zeal.
I ask all of you to especially remember the description of true zeal
which I have just given. Zeal according to knowledge-zeal from true
motives-zeal warranted by Scriptural examples-zeal tempered with
love-zeal accompanied by deep humility-this is true genuine zeal-this
is the kind of zeal which God approves. You and I need never fear of
having too much of such zeal.
I ask you to remember the description because of the times in which
we live. Beware of supposing that sincerity alone can ever make up
true zeal-that earnestness, however ignorant, makes a man a really
zealous Christian in the sight of God. There is a generation in these
days which makes an idol of what it calls “seriousness” in
Christianity. These men will allow no fault to be found in a man who
is serious. Whatever his theological opinions may be-if he is a serious
man, that is enough for these people, and we are to ask no more.
They tell you we should just ignore the minute points of doctrine and
any questions about words and names, about which Christians are
not agreed. Is the man a serious man? If he is, we ought to be
satisfied. Seriousness in their eyes covers over a multitude of sins. I
solemnly warn you to beware of this dubious doctrine. In the name of
the Gospel, and in the name of the Bible, I enter my protest against
the theory that mere seriousness can make a man a truly zealous and
holy man in the sight of God.
These idolaters of seriousness would make us believe that God has
not given us a standard of truth and error, or that the true standard,
the Bible, is so obscure, that no man can find out what truth is by
simply reading it. They pour contempt upon the Word, the written
Word, and therefore they must be wrong.
These idolaters of seriousness would make us condemn every witness
for the truth, and every opponent of false teaching from the time of
the Lord Jesus down to this very day. The Scribes and Pharisees were
serious, and yet our Lord opposed them. And shall we dare even to
hint the thought that they ought to have been left alone? Queen Mary
was serious in restoring the Roman Catholic religion and trying to
put down Protestantism, and yet godly brothers who believed in
Christ in truth and seriousness opposed her to the death. And shall
we dare to say that since both parties were "serious both were in the
right? The Devil-worshippers and idolaters of today are serious and
yet our missionaries labor to expose their errors. And shall we dare
to say that seriousness would take them to heaven, and that
missionaries to heathens and Roman Catholics should stay at home?
Are we really going to admit that the Bible does not show us what is
truth? Are we really going to put a vague thing called seriousness, in
the place of Christ and to maintain that no serious man can be
wrong? God forbid that we should give place to such doctrine! I
shrink with horror from such theology. I warn men solemnly to
beware of being carried away by it for it is common and most
seductive in this day. Beware of it, for it is only a new form of an old
error-that old error which says that a man can't be wrong whose lives
a serious and righteous life.
Admire zeal. Seek after zeal. Encourage zeal. But see that your own
zeal is true. See that the zeal which you admire in others is a zeal
based on knowledge-a zeal from right motives-a zeal that can bring
chapter and verse out of the Bible for its foundation. Any zeal but
this is nothing but a deceiving fire. It is not ignited by the Holy Spirit.
III. I now move on to my third point. Let me show why it is
good for a person to be zealous.
It is certain that God never gave men and women a commandment
which was not in their interest to obey. He never gave a teaching to
His believing people which His people will not find it their highest
happiness to follow after. This is true of all the instructions about the
Christian character. Perhaps it is preeminently true in the case of
zeal.
(a) Zeal is good for the soul of a Christian.We all know that exercise is good for the health, and that regular
exercise of our muscles and limbs promotes our bodily comfort, and
increases bodily strength. No one has so much enjoyment of Christ
as those who are always zealous for His glory, watchful over their
own walk, sensitive to their own consciences, full of concern about
the souls of others, and always watching,
working, laboring, and striving to expand the knowledge of Jesus
Christ on earth. Such men and women live in the full light of the sun,
and therefore their hearts are always warm. Such men and women
water others and therefore they are watered themselves. Their hearts
are like a garden daily refreshed by the dew of the Holy Spirit. They
honor God, and therefore God honors them.
I want to be sure that everyone understands what I am saying. I do
not want to appear to speak thoughtlessly of any believer. I know
that "the Lord takes delight in his people" (Psalm 149:4). There is not
one, from the least to the greatest-from the smallest child in the
kingdom of God, to the oldest warrior in the battle against Satan
there is not one in whom the Lord Jesus Christ does not take great
pleasure. We are all His children-and however weak and feeble some
of us may be, as a father has compassion on his children, so the
LORD has compassion on those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13). We
are all the plants which He has planted; and though many of us are
poor, weakly exotic plants, scarcely staying alive in foreign soil-yet as
the gardener loves that which his hands have raised, so does the Lord
Jesus love the poor sinners that trust in Him. But while I say this, I
do also believe that the Lord takes special pleasure in those who are
zealous for Him, in those who give their body, soul, and spirit, to
extend His glory in this world. To them He reveals Himself, in a way
different than to others. To them He shows things that others never
see. He blesses the work of their hands. He commends them with
spiritual contentment which others have only heard about. They are
people after His own heart, for they are people more like Himself
than others. No one has such joy and peace in believing-no one has
such tangible contentment in their Christianity-no one has so much
of heaven on earth-no one sees and feels so much of the compassion
of the Gospel as those who are zealous, serious, devoted Christians.
For the sake of our own souls, if there were no other reason, it is
good to be zealous, to be very zealous in our Christianity.
(b) Just as zeal is good for us individually, it is also good, in
a general sense, for the professing Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Nothing is so effective in keeping true Christianity alive as the yeast
of zealous Christians scattered throughout the Church. Like salt, they
prevent the whole body from falling into a state of decay. No one but
men of this kind can revive Churches that are about to die. It is
impossible to overestimate the debt that all Christians owe to zeal.
The greatest mistake the leaders of a Church can make is to drive
zealous men out of its congregation. By doing so they drain out the
life-blood of the system, and advance the church's decline and death.
God delights in honoring zeal. Look through the list of Christians
who have been used most mightily by God. Who are the men that
have left the deepest and most indelible marks on the Church of their
day? Who are the men that God has generally honored to build up
the walls of His Zion, and also to fight the enemy at the gate? He
does not use men of learning and literary talent as readily as men of zeal.
Latimer was not such a deeply-read scholar as Cranmer or Ridley. He
could not quote from memory about the early church, as they did. He
refused to be drawn into arguments about church history. He stuck
to his Bible. Yet it is clear that no English reformer left such a lasting
impression on the nation as old Latimer did. And what was the reason? His simple zeal.
Baxter, the Puritan, was not equal to some of his contemporaries in
intellectual gifts. He in no way could stand on a level with Manton or
Owen. Yet few men probably exercised so wide an influence on the
generation in which he lived. And what was the reason? His burning zeal.
Whitefield, and Wesley, and Berridge, and Venn were inferior in
mental attainments to Butler and Watson. But they produced effects
on the people of this country which fifty Butlers and Watsons would
probably never have produced. They saved the Church of England
from ruin. And what was one secret of their power? Their zeal.
These men stood up front at turning points in the history of the
Church. They remained unmoved during storms of opposition and
persecution. It could be said that:
--They were not afraid to stand alone.
--They did not care if their motives were misinterpreted.
--They considered everything a loss for the sake of the truth.
--Each one of them was eminently a man of one thing: and that one
thing was to advance the glory of God, and to declare His truth in the world.
--They were all on fire, and so they lighted others.
--They were wide awake, and so awakened others.
--They were always working, and so shamed others into working too.
--They came down upon men like Moses from the mountain-they shone as if they had been in the presence of God.
--They carried with them everywhere they walked in the world,
something of the atmosphere and savor of heaven itself.
There is a sense in which it may be said that zeal is contagious.
Nothing is more useful to those who profess to be Christians than to
see a real live Christian, a thoroughly zealous man of God. They may
speak reproachfully to him-they may criticize him-they may nit-pick
his conduct-they may look at him suspiciously-they may not
understand him any more than men understand a new phenomena
in the heavens when it appears; but by degrees so slight as to be
virtually imperceptible, a zealous man does them good. He opens
their eyes. He makes them feel their own indifference. He makes
their own great darkness visible. He compels them to see their own
emptiness. He compels them to think, whether they like it or not What are we doing?
Are we nothing better then a vegetable that grows out of the ground?
It may be a sad truth that one sinner destroys many good people; but
it is also a blessed truth that one zealous Christian can do a lot of
good. Yes: one single zealous man in a town-one zealous man in a
congregation-one zealous man in a society-one zealous man in a
family, may be a great blessing.
How many useful ministries does such a man get going! How much
Christian activity he often calls into being which would otherwise
have remained dormant! How many fountains he opens which would
otherwise have been sealed! Truly there is a deep mine of truth in
those words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians: “Your
enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” (2 Corinthians 9:2).
(c) But, just as zeal is good for the Church and for
individuals, so zeal is also good for the world.
Where would the Missionary work be if it were not for zeal? Where
would our City Missions and School Missions be if it were not for
zeal? Where would our evangelistic outreach program be without
zeal? Without zeal who would be willing to go and root out sin and
ignorance, and find the dark places of the earth, and recover poor
lost souls? Where would all these glorious instruments for good be if
it were not for Christian zeal? Zeal called many of these institutions
into being, and zeal keeps them at work when they have begun. Zeal
gathers a few despised men, and makes them the nucleus of many a
powerful ministry. Zeal prevents man from becoming lazy and sleepy
when the ministry is large and begins to get favor from the world.
Zeal raises up men to go out, putting their lives in their hands. Zeal
supplies their replacements when their lives are taken from them
and they go home to heaven.
What would become of the ignorant masses who crowd the streets
and alleys of our overgrown cities if it were not for Christian zeal?
Governments can do nothing with them: they cannot make laws that
will confront the evil. The vast majority of professing Christians have
no eyes to see it: like the priest and the Levite, they pass by on the
other side. But zeal has eyes to see, and a heart to feel, and a head to
devise, and a tongue to plead, and hands to work, and feet to travel,
in order to rescue poor souls and raise them from their fallen state.
Zeal does not stand meditating over difficulties, but simply says,
“Here are some souls that are perishing, and we will do something.”
Zeal does not shrink back because the enemy is standing in the way:
it looks over their heads, like Moses standing on top of Pisgah, and
says, “We will possess the land.” Zeal does not wait for
reinforcements and delay until good works are fashionable: it goes
forward like one who is deserted, and trusts that others will follow
eventually. Yes, the world knows very little what a debt it owes to
Christian zeal. How much crime it has restrained! How much
disobedience it has prevented! How much public discontent it has
calmed! How much obedience to the law and love of order it has
produced! How many souls it has saved! Yes! and I believe we know
very little of what might be accomplished if every Christian was a
zealous person! How much if more ministers were zealous! How
much if more laymen were more zealous! Oh, for the world’s sake, as
well as your own, resolve, work, strive to be a zealous Christian!
Let every one who professes to be a Christian beware of suppressing
zeal. Seek it. Cultivate it. Try to enlarge the fire in your own heart,
and the hearts of others, but never, never stop it. Beware of throwing
cold water on zealous souls, whenever you meet with them. Beware
of nipping in the bud this precious gift when it first shoots up. If you
are a parent, beware of suppressing it in your children. If you are a
husband, beware of stopping it in your wife. If you are a brother,
beware of restraining it in your sisters-and if you are a minister,
beware of restraining it in the members of your congregation. It is a
shoot of heavens own planting. Beware of crushing it, for Christ's
sake.
Zeal may make mistakes. Zeal may need directing. Zeal may lack
guiding, controlling, and advising. Like the elephants on ancient
fields of battle, it may sometimes injure its own side. But zeal does
not need to be restrained in a wretched, cold, corrupt, miserable
world like this. Zeal, like John Knox tearing down the Scottish
monasteries, may hurt the feelings of narrow-minded and sleepy
Christians. It may offend the prejudices of those old-fashioned
religionists who hate everything new, and (like those who wanted
soldiers and sailors to go on wearing pigtails) abhor all change. But
zeal in the end will be justified by its results. Zeal, like John Knox, in
the long run will do infinitely more good than harm. There is little
danger of there ever being too much zeal for the glory of God. God
forgive those who think there is! You know little of human nature.
You forget that sickness is far more contagious than health, and that
it is much easier to catch a cold than to give warmth.
Depend on it, the Church seldom needs a bridle, but often needs a
spur. It seldom needs to be restrained; it often needs to be urged on.
And now, in conclusion, let me try to apply this subject to the
conscience of each one of you.
It is a warning subject, an arousing subject, an encouraging subject,
according to the state of our hearts. I hope, by God's help, to give
every reader his portion.
(1) First of all, let me offer a warning to all who sit in
churches and yet who have not made a clear profession of
Christianity.
There are millions, I fear, in this condition. If you are one, the
subject before you is full of solemn warning. Oh, that the Lord in
mercy may incline your heart to receive it!
I ask you, then, with all love, Where is your zeal in Christianity? With
the Bible opened before me I am bold in asking. But with your life
before me, I tremble what you answer will be. I ask again, Where is
your zeal for the glory of God? Where is your zeal for sharing Christ's
Gospel to an evil world? Zeal, which was the characteristic of the
Lord Jesus-zeal, which is the characteristic of the angels-zeal, which
shines forth in all the brightest Christians-where is your zeal
unconverted reader? Where is your zeal? You know it is nowhere at
all; you know you see no value in it; you know it is scorned and
rejected as evil by you and your companions; you know it has no
place, no share, no home in the religion of your soul. It is not that
you don't know what it is to be zealous. You have zeal, but it is all
misapplied. It is all earthly: it is all about the things of this age. It is
not zeal for the glory of God: it is not zeal for the salvation of souls.
Yes: many a man has zeal for the newspaper, but not for the Bible zeal
for the daily reading of the news, but no zeal for the daily
reading of God's blessed Word. Many a man has zeal for the
checkbook and other business books, but no zeal about the Book of
Life and the last great accounting at the Great White Throne
Judgment-zeal about gold, but no zeal about the unsearchable riches
of Christ. Many a man has zeal about his earthly concerns-his family,
his pleasures, his daily pursuits; but no zeal about God, and heaven,
and eternity.
If this is the state of any of you, wakeup, I implore you, and see your
gross folly. You cannot live forever. You are not ready to die. You are
utterly unfit for the company of saints and angels. Wakeup!: be
zealous and repent! Wakeup! to see the harm you are doing! You are
putting arguments in the hands of unbelievers by your shameful
coldness. You are pulling down as fast as ministers build. You are
helping the devil. Wakeup!: be zealous, and repent! Wakeup to see
your childish inconsistency! What can be a more worthy zeal than
eternal things, than the glory of God, than the salvation of souls?
Surely it is good to labor for rewards that are temporal, but it is a
thousand times better to labor for those that are eternal. Wakeup! be
zealous, and repent! Go and read that long-neglected Bible. Take up
that blessed Book which you have, and perhaps never use. Read that
New Testament all the way through. Do you find nothing there to
make you zealous-to make you serious about your soul? Go and look
at the cross of Christ. Go and see how the Son of God shed His
precious blood there for you-how He suffered and groaned and died
for you-how He poured out His soul as a offering for sin, in order
that you, sinful brother or sister, might not perish but have eternal
life. Go and look at the cross of Christ and never rest until you feel
some zeal for your own soul-some zeal for the glory of God-some zeal
for sharing of the Gospel throughout the world. Once more I say,
Wakeup!: be zealous and repent!
(2) Let me, in the next place, say something to arouse those
"who make a profession of being committed Christians,
and are yet are lukewarm in their practice."
There are too many, I regret to say, in this state. If you are one, there
is a lot in this subject which ought to lead you to a thorough
searching of your heart.
Let me speak to your conscience. I also desire to put the question to
you with complete brotherly affection, Where is your zeal? Where is
your zeal for the glory of God, and for the spreading of the gospel
throughout the world? You know better than anyone else, that your
zeal is almost nonexistent. You know that your zeal is nothing than a
feeble glimmering spark that just sits there and does nothing-it is
like something "about to die." (Revelation 3:2). Surely, there is a
fault somewhere if this is the case. This state of things ought not to
be. You, the child of God-you, redeemed at so glorious a price-you,
ransomed with such precious blood-you, who are an heir of glory
such as the world has never seen or spoken of-surely you ought to be
a man of great zeal. Surely your zeal should not be so weak.
I deeply feel that this is a painful subject to talk about. I do it with
reluctance, and with a constant remembrance of my own weakness.
Nevertheless, I must speak the truth. The plain truth is that many
believers today seem so afraid of doing some harm that they hardly
ever do anything good. There are many who are quick to object to
something, but never take any action; they are truly lacking anything
even like Christian fire. They are like the Dutch government officials
recorded in the history of the 18th century who would never allow
Marlborough to risk anything, and by their extreme caution
prevented many victories from being won. Truly, in looking around
the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, a man might sometimes think
that God's kingdom had come, and God's will was being done upon
earth, so small is the zeal that some believers show. It is vain to deny
it. I do not need to go far for evidence. I point to the many
missionary agencies that are trying to reach the heathens in foreign
lands and even the lost of our own country, struggling and paralyzed
because of the lack of workers and funds. I ask you, "Is this zeal?" I
point to the false doctrine that is allowed to flourish in our churches
and homes without an effort being made to stop it, while so-called
believers look on, and are content with wishing that it wasn't that
way. I ask, "Is this zeal?" Would the apostles have been satisfied with
such a state of things? We know they would not.
If the conscience of any of you pleads guilty to being any part of the
weaknesses I have just spoken of, I call on you in the name of the
Lord, to wake up, be zealous, and repent. Don't let zeal be confined
to those who are busy making money in the marketplace or the stock
markets. Let us not be so zealous to pursue riches or to make new
discoveries in the world but indifferent to send the Gospel to the
heathen, or to pluck Roman Catholics out of the coming fires of hell,
or to the sharing of the gospel to those in our own country. Never has
there been so many doors of opportunity opened-never has there
been so many possibilities for doing good. I detest that
squeamishness which refuses to help Christian ministries if there is
an imperfection in the methods by which the work is carried on. At
this rate we would never do anything at all. Let us resist the feeling, if
we are tempted by it. It is one of Satan's schemes. It is better to work
with weak instruments than not to work at all. At all times try to do
something for God and Christ-something against ignorance and sin.
Give, teach, admonish, visit, pray, according as God enables you.
Only make up your mind that everyone can do something and
resolve that you, at any rate, will do something. If you have only one
talent do not bury it in the ground. Try to live your life so as to be
missed when you are gone. You can do more in twelve hours than
most people have ever done on any day in their lives.
Think of the precious souls which are perishing while you are
sleeping. Go ahead, if you want, and be taken up with your inward
conflicts. Go on and analyze your own feelings and lament over your
own vices, if you are so determined. But remember all this time souls
are going to hell, and you might be able to do something to save them
by working, by giving, by writing, by begging, and by prayer. Oh,
wakeup! be zealous, and repent!
Think of the shortness of time. You will soon be gone. You will not
have any opportunity for works of mercy in heaven. In heaven there
will be no uneducated people to instruct, and no unconverted to save.
Whatever you do must be done now. Oh, when are you going to
begin? Wakeup! be zealous, and repent.
Think of the devil, and his zeal to destroy people. It was a solemn
saying of Bernard when he said that "Satan would rise up in
judgment against some people at the last day, because he had shown
more zeal to ruin souls than they had to save them." Wakeup! be
zealous, and repent.
Think of "your Savior," and all His zeal for you. Think of Him in
Gethsemane and on Calvary, shedding His blood for sinners. Think
of His life, death, and His sufferings. All this He has done for you.
What are you doing for Him? Oh, resolve that for the time to come
you will spend and be spent for Christ! Wakeup! be zealous and repent.
(3) Last of all, let me encourage "all of you who are truly zealous Christians."
I have but one request to make, and that is that you will persevere. I
implore you to maintain your zeal and never let it go. I urge you
never to stop doing the things you did at first, never to leave your
first love, never let it be said of you that the things that you did in the
first part of your Christian life were better than the things you did in
your latter years-Beware of cooling down. All you have to do is to be
lazy, and to sit still, and you will soon lose all your zeal. You will soon
become another person from what you are now. Oh, don't think that
this is a needless exhortation!
It may be true that wise young believers are very rare. But it is just as
true that zealous old believers are also very rare. Never allow yourself
to think that you can do too much-that you can work too hard and
long for the cause of Christ. For every person that does too much I
will show you a thousand who don't do enough. Instead think that
"Night is coming, when no one can work." (John 9:4). Give, teach,
visit, work, and pray as if you were doing it for the last time.
Take to heart the words of a zealous Christian, who said, when told
that he ought to rest a little, "What should we rest for? Don't we have
all eternity to rest?"
Do not fear the reproach of men. Do not faint because you are
sometimes abused. Don't let it bother you if you are sometimes called
a bigot, a zealot, a fanatic, a crazy person, and a fool. There is
nothing disgraceful in these titles. They have often been given to the
best and wisest of men. If you are only zealous when you receive
praise for it-if the wheels of your zeal must be oiled by the world's
commendation, your zeal will be short-lived. Do not care for the
praise or the frown of man. There is only one thing worth caring for,
and that is the praise of God. There is only one question worth asking
about our actions: "How will they appear in the day of judgment?"
Amen.