Religion 101: The Delusion of Unenlightened Zeal

I. Introduction
A. In my youth I was an atheist who hated religion. I didn’t know there was a God, a Reality.
1. Then I met Christ. But you know something? Now pretty much everything I hated about religion I still hate.
a. The phoniness
b. The superstition
c. The traditionism
2. I got a great compliment a few weeks ago in Maine. I was visiting an aunt and uncle I have seen very little of since I was a child. As we were leaving my uncle said to me: “You don’t act like a minister!”
B. Review of last week
1. We talked about the word religion. We saw that it refers to a combination of three things:
a. A belief system about a supreme being(s)
b. A moral code
c. A set of practices/rituals
2. We talked about the distinction between being religious and knowing Jesus, how the Bible does not only condemn false religions, but Jesus Himself tells us that even those who embrace the true religion “must be born again” (John 3:3).
C. The fact is, being saved is not a matter of learning or figuring out or working hard. It takes a miracle to be saved.
1. When Jesus was talking about how difficult it is for a rich person to go to heaven the disciples were astonished, and asked, “Who then can be saved?” And Jesus looked at them and replied, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:25–26)
2. People become persuaded of things all the time. And many people have become persuaded of the truth of Christianity. But that doesn’t mean a miracle has occurred.
3. Only God makes His kingdom flourish or allows it to wane. All our well-reasoned arguments, all our heroic efforts, all our clever strategies are useless unless the Holy Spirit works.
4. And many seem to have zeal for the Lord, but if you were somehow able to put it under a microscope you’d find that it was really a:
a. Love of rules, or
b. Love of theology/Bible, or
c. Love of being right, or
d. Love of fellowship,
e. And not a love of Jesus.
D. This morning: The Delusion of Unenlightened Zeal
II. Romans 10:1-4 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
A. Paul talking about his fellow Jews, who are without Christ, and in particular, the devoutly religious ones: “they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.”
B. The Greek word here for zeal is DZELOS — where we get our English word zeal.
C. For many zeal is like THE litmus test of being filled with the Spirit. And yet is zeal even listed as a fruit of the spirit in Gal.5:22-23? Actually, that same Greek word is listed as a fruit of the flesh in Galatians 5:19–21, translated as jealousy.
D. The point is this: there are people who have zeal for all kinds of things, some of which are bad and some good.
1. But what about zeal for God? Isn’t that good? Not necessarily.
2. It’s possible to have a zeal for God and be dead wrong!
3. Paul’s beloved fellow Jews had a zeal for God, but it was without knowledge.
E. And what the essence of their misunderstanding according to Romans 10:3? They’re seeking to establish their own righteousness instead of accepting the righteousness of Christ on their behalf.
1. This is the heart of the difference. Do we see Christ and His righteousness as our forgiveness and salvation or do we rely on your own righteousness?
F. What Romans 10:1-4 says about misplaced zeal is in line with a number of other things said in the Bible. Paul describes his own zeal for God in the days before he met Jesus:
1. Acts 22:3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.”
2. Galatians 1:14 “I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.”
3. Philippians 3:4–7 “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”
4. In first century Judaism zeal was THE measure of godliness. That’s why Paul mentions when addressing his former friends/peers.
G. The fact is, religious zeal has been the impulse behind many evil and destructive actions and activities. Religious zeal without knowledge ends up in the same category as hatred, revenge, love of power and abuse of authority. This can be seen in:
1. The words of Paul in Acts 26:9–10: “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them.”
2. The words of Jesus in John 16:2-3: “They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”
3. “Zeal without knowledge, has been one of the most dreadful pests that has ever afflicted the earth!” – John Foster
III. Structure and spirit
A. Our lives in Christ, both individually and corporately, are made up of both structure and spirit.
B. Structure
1. Doctrine
2. Traditions
3. Building
4. Discipline
5. Vision
6. Officers
7. Programs
8. Music
9. Worship style
10. Wisdom
C. Spirit
1. Faith in Christ
2. Broken and contrite spirit before the Lord
3. Joy of our salvation
D. E.g. worship
1. Structure: songs, the prayers, the readings, the posture, the message, the sacraments
2. Spirit: what’s going on in the hearts of those who are adoring Him, listening to Him, drawing near to Him
E. The fact is, that many have zeal for the structure without having the spirit.
F. 21 years ago my wife and I had a shocking discovery. Our oldest son Tim was 14. He loved the church. He loved theology. He had daily quiet times. He loved to read Christian books that I recommended. He knew the Bible very well, having read it 7 times by age 12. He was obedient, upright, friendly, and secure. And yet one day he came to us and told us that his faith had always been an act.
1. He had Christianity but he didn’t have Christ.
G. There was another young man many years ago we had to excommunicate for refusing to forsake a life of promiscuity. But it was strange. He loved Christianity. He loved the Bible. He loved the church. He loved theology. But he loved his ladies more.
H. The fact is that for many it is easier to love Christianity than it is to love Jesus.
1. Christianity is safe. Jesus isn’t. Christianity is predictable. Jesus isn’t.
I. We tend to think that kids growing up in the church are safe, especially if they like church.
1. We think that out in the world they’re in danger, but here they’re safe. No.
2. It’s not enough to be in the church. It’s not even enough to enjoy church. It’s not enough to believe the Bible. It’s not even enough to believe all it says about Jesus. You’ve got to love HIM.
3. It is very possible to have Christianity without having Christ.
IV. There are three container/contents images in the NT: lamps of oil (Matthew 25:1-13), wineskins of wine (Luke 5:36-39), treasure in jars of clay (2Corinthians 4:7).
A. In each case you have containers representing people and contents representing the Lord.
1. The container is plural, the contents are singular.
B. But there is another important distinction between the container and the contents.
1. The wineskin is of a very different character than the wine: it is discardable and replaceable. There is nothing special about the container by itself. It is what the container holds that is so important.
C. We can’t have wine without wineskins, but we can have the container without the contents.
D. The issue isn’t how great or how zealous the vessel is. The issue is: Does the vessel contain the treasure/wine/oil or is it just empty?
V. Application
A. What’s the point of this? I’m not preaching against zeal, am I?
1. No, even Jesus had zeal. “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (John 2:17) We should all be zealous for the Lord.
2. What I’m trying to do is alert us to the danger of unenlightened zeal.
3. I used to think that you were either for God or against Him. Now I realize that you can be both for God and against Him.
4. So often we seek God but there's something deeply faulty about our seeking.
B. There’s a great temptation to elevate zeal to a place of supreme importance, as if it’s THE indicator of true love for Christ.
1. But unenlightened zeal can be too easily mistaken for zeal born of the love of Christ.
C. When I was a young man I was pretty impressed by my own zeal for the Lord and did a lot of looking down on others who didn’t seem to have it.
1. I’ve realized it was not just the Holy Spirit, but included a significant amount of naive idealism and proud self-confidence.
2. It reminds me of Jehu in 2Kings 10:16 who said, “See my zeal for the LORD.” But his zeal was really all about himself.
D. So I’m preaching against measuring ourselves or others by zeal.
1. How do you evaluate yourself? How do you evaluate others? How do you choose a church?
2. How do you choose leaders?
a. Zeal isn’t on the list of officer qualifications. Sincerity of faith is (1Timothy 3:9 “They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”). And proving oneself over time. (1Tim.3:6 “not a recent convert”; 1Tim.5:22 “Don’t lay on hands quickly.”)
3. Sometimes the people who look the most religiously zealous are not necessarily spiritual giants. Sometimes the greatest among us are the ones who are faithful in the little things, not the ones everyone notices.
4. Steadfastness in faith is a better measure than zeal.
E. What if the Holy Spirit were suddenly removed from the earth? No more grace poured into people’s hearts.
1. Would everyone become atheists and hate each other? I don’t think so.
2. I think a lot of churches would go on much as they had before. There’s a lot to enjoy in church besides Christ.
3. The Jewish community has continued on for almost 2000 years since they cast out their Messiah.
4. Would our church go on too?
F. After the golden calf episode at Mt. Sinai, God said to Moses, “Look, you and the people go up to the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites. But I’m not going to go up with you. I might just consume you all on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” — Exodus 33:1–3
1. Exodus 33:15–16 Moses said to the Lord, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. Is it not Your going with us that makes us distinct from every other people on the face of the earth?”
2. God said to Moses, “Go on, have your people, have your religion, but leave Me out!”
3. Moses knew that losing God was not just a minor setback. It was not just a major blow to the project. It was everything!
4. If God isn’t in us, if God isn’t in our church, if God doesn’t show up for the worship service this morning, all this is in vain: the music, the prayers, the Bible readings, the preaching, the sacrament.