| Text Sermons : J.C. Ryle : Christian Zeal |
(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.
