The missing ingredient

Who among us cannot see the difference between the ancient church and us? between the Apostles and us? or even between the Reformers and Puritans of several hundred years ago and us? It was as if a fire burned in their bosoms. Are we even aflame at all? They seemed driven by a holy passion and resolve. Are we motivated by a holy passion for God? They were as men at war with their sin and they strove for holiness as if empowered by a heavenly strength. Do not so many seem to be at home with much of their sin and content to do the minimum God requires?

Are these not the thoughts of many in the church today, “What’s the least I can do and still be saved?” “How far can I go in the world and still get to  heaven?” “Do I have to give up all sin or just the big ones?”

What answer can be given for so great a change between the Christians of earlier years and the Christians of today? God has not changed; the power of God unto salvation has not changed; the call to holiness has not changed; the threat of the enemy has not changed. But something has indeed changed.

I would argue that something is missing both in the church and in the hearts of the majority of Christians. And that something is zeal. Zeal is what we lack. Zeal for the honor and glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31); zeal for that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14); zeal to cut off the offending hand and pluck out the offending eye (Mark 9:43-48); zeal for the advance of Christ’s kingdom (1 Cor. 9:19-23); zeal which overcomes all obstacles and perseveres to the end (1 Cor. 9:24-27); zeal for good works (Titus 2:14).

Christian zeal is that divine flame which brings all our affections to a boil for God’s cause. It is that which enlivens and compels, that which stirs and empowers, and that which directs and governs, as it sets all our affections ablaze for the glory of God and the good of His Church. Christian zeal is an earnest desire of and concern for all things pertaining to the glory of God and Kingdom of the Lord Jesus among men.

Think about it. If all Christians have grace; if all Christians are indwelt by the Spirit of God; if all Christians have the seed of God alive within them; then what is it, if not zeal, that causes one to differ from another in passion, desires, degree of holy affection, devotion, sacrifice, fervor, etc.? It’s zeal that makes Christians–who are otherwise essentially the same, to differ so greatly in the outworking and fruitfulness of our common salvation. Samuel Ward puts it this way, “what makes one Christian differ from another in grace, as stars do in glory, but zeal? All believers have a like precious faith; all true Christians have all graces in their seeds; but the degrees of them are no way better discerned than by zeal.” And do we not appreciate and love that Christian whose life so sweetly, harmoniously, and passionately displays a holy zeal? And are we not at least a little concerned about that Christian whose life is, by contrast, a display of carelessness and mediocrity towards the things of God; that Christian who cares not whether he grows in grace or puts off further sin, but is satisfied well enough with a mediocre half-measured, half-baked discipleship?

Then should we not examine ourselves for the measure and temperature of our own zeal? Would it not be foolish to assume, like the Laodiceans of old in Rev 3, that we are “rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing,” when, given a searching examination by Christ, we might very well prove to be “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked”? And if a holy zeal is that which sets a Christian ablaze for the glory of God and that by which righteousness is embraced and sin triumphantly subdued, then should we not be diligent to consider what this zeal is and by what means it might be secured and sustained?

**I’ll continue this thought in tomorrow’s post so stay tuned. But if you’d like to look at this topic in-depth, check out my book Living Zealously.

**Also, be sure to check out the Sermon Outlines page today as I’ve uploaded the outline for my Mar 12 sermon on Col 3.20-21, The Duties of Parents and Children.