"Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God."
—Romans 10:1–3 (NKJV)
In this passage, the Apostle Paul is speaking with deep concern for Israel. He acknowledges their passion for God—a fiery zeal—but points out that their zeal is misdirected. It is not grounded in the knowledge of God's true righteousness. Instead, they seek to establish their own standard of righteousness through works, rather than submitting to the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
This mindset still shows up today, even within the body of Christ. Sometimes, when people come to faith, their excitement and enthusiasm for God is real—but without proper grounding or discipleship, that zeal can lead to spiritual missteps. One example is when someone rushes into ministry or leadership without being properly trained, mentored, or spiritually matured. They may feel called but act prematurely, putting the cart before the horse. The result? Confusion—for themselves and for others.
We must be mindful not to confuse zeal with spiritual maturity. Our walk with Christ is not about striving to prove ourselves or earn His favor through works. That is seeking our own righteousness. Instead, we are called to submit to the righteousness of Christ.
So, what does that mean?
To submit to the righteousness of Christ means recognizing that our right standing with God is not earned. It is received—through faith in the redemptive work of Jesus on the Cross. His blood, not our efforts, makes us righteous. It’s not about how long we pray, how many scriptures we quote, or how much we give. Those things are good—but they don’t save us.
Only Christ saves.
Our role is to point others not to our own good works, but to the finished work of Jesus. Let us lead with humility, walk in grace, and always remember that true righteousness comes from surrender, not striving.
2 comments:
This reminds me so much about why the school I was teaching in had failed. We as black people are so ambitious with our big plans for the future. What we are lacking are the finer details and the preparation to get our acts together. I go back to the principal of the school. She was well intentioned and everything but she did not think her school through with any meticulous foresight. Everything was rush-rush, patch-patch. The school did not prosper, she couldn’t pay her teachers, and the school closed leaving her on “mountains of debt”.
Well Rome was not built in a day (as the saying goes) and good things come to those who wait and see the light of knowledge. And this applies to life in general. The black community is one of the most ‘God-believing’ communities, bar none. But are we really God-fearing? Sure we have a lot of churches and the religious zeal is there; however, “Zeal without knowledge can be best described as having the desire to accomplish a goal, but lacking the knowledge it takes to accomplish it.” So we must come to know the Lord, because if we did, if we really did, I guarantee you that crime and violence would decrease in the black community. We would be knowledgeable about what God wants for us and it would show.
The black community is one of the most ‘God-believing’ communities, bar none.
My Pastor said this same thing last night in Bible study. He asked why are we one of the most praying communities but have the most crime? He concluded because we are not God fearing. That previous generations had the fear of God (even though they did not have the know of His principles and Kingdom way of living), but they at least obeyed God to the best of their ability. Now people today have no fear of God, and no Kingdom principles.
Post a Comment