~ Zeal: is to be eager, is a passionate interest or is an intensity

of feeling ~

The Apostle Paul in Romans 10:1-3 wrote, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. *For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. *For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."

Zeal is good as long as the zeal one has is in a good thing and as it is related to the Written Word of God, the Zeal one has MUST be according to Truth.

If a person displays Zeal in something that is incorrect they may convince others to go the wrong way thus, as the Scripture states, “If the blind lead the blind they will both fall into a ditch."
St. Matthew 15:14 & St. Luke 6:39

When the true Zeal of the Lord is present in a person’s life, they will be cautious to make sure that they are doing and saying that which is according to the Written Word of God ~

We read in Jude 1:3, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

Jude is exhorting the Saints to have Zeal in seeking the knowledge of the Lord that their Faith might be strong to the building up of their Spirit, Soul and Body.  In so doing they will be able to rightly discern the Body of Christ.

In Ezra 7:23 the Prophet Ezra wrote, "Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?"

Ezra too is encouraging the Saints to be steadfast in doing that which is right in the sight of the Lord.  In so doing the work of the Lord will prosper.

The Apostle Paul in Galatians 1:10 wrote, "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."

It is so important that all who would follow Jesus, the Saints should take care that they do onlythose things that will be well pleasing to the Lord.  We cannot afford to deviate or compromise God’s Holy Word in order to please mankind.  In so doing, we could cause those souls to be lost thus, losing our own assurance of Eternal Life, Revelation 22:19.

In Titus 2:11-15 the Apostle Paul wrote, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, *Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;  *Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; *Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. *These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee."

Jesus left His home in Glory to come to earth and live a sinless life to show mankind that it is possible.  He said that He is our example and that we are to follow Him.  In other words, we are to live our life the way that He lived His.  He said that He only did those things that pleased His Father.  Therefore, we are to emulate Him.  We must be about the business of serving God in Spirit and Truth, the Holy Written Word of God, the Bible.

The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:10 wrote, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

The plan of God was simple, mankind was created to serve and worship Him.  God from the beginning said what He meant, meant what He said and He does not change..

In Philippians 2:15 the Apostle Paul wrote, "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world."

I often hear people say that mankind cannot be perfect.  However, from what I read in the Bible, mankind has been commanded, to “be ye perfect even as your father in heaven is perfect"  St. Matthew 5:48 

Is it possible that Jesus would tell the Saints to do something that is impossible?  I don’t think so ~

The Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 11:1 wrote, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."

This should be the message of every preacher and teacher of God’s Holy Word, “Follow me as I follow Jesus.”

In 2nd Peter 2:4-8 we read, "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; *And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; *And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: *(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)"

One Scripture states that, “in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow", Ecclesiastes :1:18.  We must increase in the knowledge and the wisdom in the Written Word of God so that we might have a greater likelihood of winning Souls for Jesus.

King Solomon in Proverbs 28:4 wrote, "They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them."

It is only in obedience to God’s Holy Word as it is Written in the Bible that mankind can be Holy and do those things that are well pleasing to Him.

The Apostle James in James 5:19-20 wrote, "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; *Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

The Apostle James is saying the only way a Soul can properly proclaim the Word of the Lord with Righteous Zeal is to know and do that which is Written in God’s Holy Word.

In Acts 18:24-26 we read, "And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. *This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. *And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly."

It’s good to have Zeal for the Lord but for our Zeal to have its perfect work, our Zeal MUST be according to the Whole, Complete Word of God as it is Written in the Bible.

We read in Revelation 3:19, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

The Saints need to have the same Zeal of changing from the error of the Truth, changing from Glory to Glory as they have for proclaiming the Gospel.

In Joshua 24:15 we read, "If it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

There is coming a time when every Soul will have to choose whether or not they are willing to know and serve the Lord.

King David in Psalms 119:137-142 wrote, "Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments. *Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful. *My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words. *Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. *I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts. *Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth."

The Saints need to make sure that it is the Zeal of the Lord in Truth that they are following or the zeal of mankind and tradition because the time of the end is drawing nigh.



Derwood A. Stewart, Minister  
House of Prayer Sabbath Ministries
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