Humble and Thankful Zeal -

“A deep sense of gratitude nourishes Christian zeal,” a paraphrase of Charles Spurgeon from Morning and Evening. When our zeal is balanced by humility and thankfulness, we are apt to remember that our God is sovereign and that patience is very valuable. It is also important to balance our zeal within our covenantal identity, so that we do not allow our zeal to represent us as individuals with no regard for authority or accountability.

It is this zeal, filtered through humility and gratitude, which should lead to lively discussion within the Church and which should be used for the further sanctification of the Church. It seems common to think of being ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, as in being prepared to share the gospel with those who need to hear. It also seems common to think of holding fast to our confession, as in being prepared to stand our ground in the face of adversity. But it seems less common and possibly less acceptable to have zeal for the Truth within the Church of Jesus Christ.

Some will have a tendency to emphasize grace at the expense of Truth, encouraging active fellowship among disagreeing brothers, but in the context of compromise. Others will have a tendency to act as if we ought all to keep to our own sides of the playground and not say anything to one another unless we have something nice to say. Still others will show insufficient grace in their criticism as I pointed out in a recent journal entry. In my admittedly limited perspective, it appears quite rare to find zeal being encouraged in the context of the Church’s unity.

But how can we hold fast to our confession in the face of adversity or proclaim boldly the gospel to the lost if we, as the Church, do not speak with one voice? Some Christians affirm that God is faithful to His promises, and go on to live and teach as if they actually believe that He is faithful. Other Christians affirm the same thing, then live and teach as if God is or might be a liar. Some believe that faith in Christ alone is the means by which we are saved. Others believe that salvation is earned through works. Some believe that it is impossible to be in covenant with God and later reject Christ and His sacrifice, while others believe in the real danger of apostasy. Differences such as these should not paralyze us from proclaiming the gospel to the lost or standing strong in the faith, but they should stir us to real resolve. Our failure as the Church to effectively use our prophetic voice is due in part, humanly speaking, to our lack of zeal for orthodoxy.

[Aside: In the interest of catholicity, we are fond of saying that while a church or a brother may be wrong in this area or that, they still fall within the realm of orthodoxy. I understand that this use of the term orthodoxy serves the purpose of showing that all errors are not damnable errors, but we also need to be straightforward in identifying departures from biblical teaching.]

A faithful brother recently pointed out that this pursuit of the Truth should not cause us to hyperventilate when God chooses not to immediately yield fruit. We have not failed to be faithful if a brother rejects biblical correction. We have not failed to be faithful if the Church is not made absolutely perfect in our lifetime. We cannot fix our eyes so steadily on a goal that we fail to see God’s glorification in the means and in His timing. We must learn to seek His glory and enjoy Him as we live our lives. As the life of our covenant community is fleshed out, our usefulness in Kingdom building will become more and more evident. With the Lord’s blessing, the impact of faithfulness among our children and our children’s children will be awesome in the building of God’s Kingdom. Our efforts today to convince our brethren to serve the Lord according to His Word may not produce significant results in this generation, but let us be stepping stones to greater faithfulness among the people of God in future generations.

Let us be diligent, with humility and gratitude, to cultivate zeal for the Truth and to enjoy our striving toward the prize to which we have been called.