Believers should be zealous of good works, but their zeal must not spring from a position of ignorance. The Bible points to the Jews as a zealous people, but their zeal was not according to knowledge. Nobody worked harder trying to reach a righteous state than did the Jews. However, they failed to realize that true righteousness comes as an unmerited gift from God. Yet, the Jews were “ignorant of God's righteousness,” and went “about to establish their own righteousness” (Romans 10:3). Paul repeatedly testified concerning the futility of trying to earn God's favour through one’s own efforts (Acts 22:3; Philippians 3:6). Before Paul came to know Christ, he thought he should fight against Christ’s followers and zealously persecute the church of God. He even placed many of the new believers into prison and caused their deaths. Yet, he declared that all this was done in ignorance (1 Timothy 1:13). He, like the Jews, had a tremendous zeal, but that zeal was not according to knowledge.
Zeal involves a fervent desire to accomplish some particular feat. The Bible tells us that Christ died on the cross to redeem a people who would then become zealous of good works. Every Christian should strive to be zealous in his service to the Lord. Many believers during periods of great persecution zealously gave their lives for the gospel’s sake. Acts 15:26 tells of men who “hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” These people recognized that they were no longer their own but God’s. They had been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and willingly sealed that testimony with their own blood. The more the enemies of God persecuted them, the more freely the gospel spread.
