ZEAL
Zeal is like
fire; in the chimney it is one of the best servants; but out of the chimney it
is one of the worst masters.
A Puritan Golden
Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of
Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 89.
Take
care of giving up your first zeal; beware of cooling in the least degree. Ye
were hot and earnest once; be hot and earnest still, and let the fire which
once burnt within you still animate you. Be ye still men of might and vigour, men who serve their God with diligence and zeal.
C.H. Spurgeon
Indwelling Sin. Sermon from Job 40:3-4.
Sometimes
zeal is less than righteous. Zeal apart from knowledge can be damning (cf.
Romans 10:2). Zeal without wisdom is dangerous. Zeal mixed with insensitivity
is often cruel. Whenever zeal disintegrates into uncontrolled passion, it can
be deadly.
John
MacArthur
Twelve Ordinary Men, © John
MacArthur, 2002, p. 80.
It is
wonderful to have a high regard for the truth, but zeal for the truth must be
balanced by a love for people, or it can give way to judgmentalism, harshness,
and a lack of compassion.
John
MacArthur
Twelve Ordinary Men, © John
MacArthur, 2002, p. 100.
Christians
must realize that just as a fire cannot blaze without fuel, so burning hearts
are not kindled by brainless heads. We must not be content to have zeal without
knowledge… To follow Christ and become more like Him, we must engage in the
Spiritual Discipline of learning.
Donald Whitney
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,
1991, p. 224, Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. For
more information please see the website www.BibicalSpirituality.org.
A believing man will be a zealous man.
Faith makes a man zealous. Faith shows itself by zeal. Not by zeal for a party or
a system or an opinion; but by zeal for Christ – zeal for His church – zeal for
the carrying on of His work on earth.
Horatius Bonar
Looking to the Cross, Preface, 1851.
So strong was
Jesus’ zeal that His friends thought He had abandoned common sense (Mark 3:21)
and His enemies charged Him with having a demon (John 7:20).
Oswald Sanders
Spiritual Leadership, Moody Publishers, 1967, p. 110.
Lukewarmness in the Christian faith is vile, and
zeal an excellent grace; yet above all other Christian virtues, this needs to
be strictly watched and searched. For it is zeal with which corruption and
pride and human passion is very apt to mix unobserved.
Jonathan
Edwards
Distinguishing
Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, 1741.
Modern language courtesy of Archie Parrish, The Spirit of
Revival, 2000, p. 71.
Let us take
heed we do not sometimes call that “zeal for God and His gospel” which is
nothing else but our own tempestuous and stormy passion. True zeal is a sweet,
heavenly, and gentle flame, which makes us active for God – but always within
the sphere of love. It never calls for fire from heaven to consume those who
differ a little from us. It strives to save the soul – but hurts not the body.
True zeal is a loving thing, and makes us always active to edification, and not
to destruction.
Cudworth
Ephesians 4:15, 1647.