“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
In this passage, the Apostle Paul speaks with deep concern for Israel. He does not deny their passion for God. In fact, he acknowledges that they possess genuine zeal. Their problem is that their zeal is not grounded in a proper understanding of God’s righteousness.
Instead of receiving the righteousness God provides, they attempt to establish their own righteousness through human effort. They are passionate, disciplined, and religious, yet they have not submitted to the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
This same pattern can appear within the body of Christ today.
When people first come to faith, their excitement and enthusiasm for God may be sincere and powerful. However, zeal without knowledge, discipleship, wisdom, and spiritual maturity can sometimes lead to serious missteps.
For example, someone may feel inspired to enter ministry or assume a leadership role before being properly trained, mentored, or prepared. Their desire to serve may be genuine, but they may begin operating beyond their present level of maturity.
Calling and preparation are not always the same thing.
A person may sense that God has placed something within them, yet still need time to grow in character, study Scripture, receive correction, develop discipline, and learn how to serve others responsibly. Moving too quickly can create confusion, frustration, and unnecessary harm for both the individual and the people they are attempting to lead.
We must therefore be careful not to confuse zeal with spiritual maturity.
Passion can make a person loud, active, and visible. Maturity teaches that person when to speak, when to listen, when to move, and when to wait. Zeal may inspire us to begin, but wisdom and character help us remain faithful.
Our walk with Christ is not about striving to prove ourselves worthy or attempting to earn God’s favor through religious works. When we depend on our own efforts to establish our righteousness, we begin placing confidence in ourselves rather than in Christ.
To submit to the righteousness of God means recognizing that our right standing with Him cannot be earned. It must be received through faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
His sacrifice makes us righteous, not our accomplishments.
Prayer, Scripture study, generosity, church attendance, service, and obedience are all valuable parts of the Christian life. However, none of these things can purchase salvation. They should flow from our relationship with Christ rather than become a way of proving that we deserve one.
Only Christ saves.
Our responsibility is not to point people toward our own goodness, spiritual achievements, or religious performance. We are called to point them toward the finished work of Jesus.
Let us serve with passion, but also with humility. Let us pursue knowledge, welcome discipleship, and allow God to develop our character before we rush ahead of His preparation.
True righteousness is received through faith. True ministry flows from surrender. And true spiritual maturity is revealed not merely by how passionately we serve, but by how humbly we depend upon Christ.
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.
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