CanTherebeUnity (continued)
Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Beware lest you speak against Him who has "left us an example, that we should follow in His steps" (1 Peter 2:21). Yes! I fear there are many professing Christians who, if they had lived in the days when our Lord and His Apostles walked on the earth, would have called Him and all His followers zealots and fanatics. There are many, I fear, who have more in common with Annas and Caiaphas-with Pilate and Herod-with Festus and Agrippawith Felix and Gallio-than with Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2. I pass on now to my second point. When is a man truly zealous in Christianity? There never was a grace of which Satan has not made a counterfeit. There never was a coin issued from the mint that forgers did not at once coin something very much like it. It was one of Nero's cruel practices first to sew Christians into the skins of wild beasts, and then bait them with dogs. It is one of Satan's devices to place distorted copies of the believer's graces before the eyes of men, and so to bring the true graces into contempt. No grace has suffered so much in this way as zeal. Of none perhaps are there so many shams and counterfeits. We must therefore clear the ground of all rubbish on this question. We must find out when zeal in Christianity is really good, and true, and of God. (1) If zeal is true, it will be a zeal according to knowledge. It must not be a blind, ignorant zeal. It must be a calm, reasonable, intelligent principle, which can show the warrant of Scripture for every step it takes. The unconverted Jews had zeal. Paul says, "I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge" (Romans 10:2). Saul had zeal when he was a persecuting Pharisee. He says himself, in one of his addresses to the Jews, "I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today" (Acts 22:3). Manasseh had zeal in the days when he was an idolater. That man threw his own children into the fire—who gave up the fruit of his body to the false god Moloch to atone for the sin of his soul-that man had zeal. James and John had zeal when they would have called down fire on a Samaritan village. But our Lord rebuked them. Peter had zeal when he drew his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus. But he was quite wrong. Bonner and Gardiner had zeal when they burned Latimer and Cranmer. Were they not sincere? Let us do them justice. They were zealous, though it was for a false religion. The members of the Roman Catholic Inquisition in Spain had zeal when they tortured men, and put them to horrible deaths because they would not forsake the Gospel. Yes! they marched men and women to the stake in solemn procession and called it "An Acts of Faith," and believed they were doing a service for God. The Hindus, who used to lie down before the car of Juggernaut and allow their bodies to be crushed under its wheels: did they not have zeal? The widows of India, who used to burn themselves on the funeral pyre of their deceased husbands; the Roman Catholics, who persecuted to death the Waldenses and Albigenses, and threw men and women from cliffs onto the rocks below because they were heretics; did they not have zeal? The Saracens, the Crusaders, the Jesuits, the Anabaptists of Munster, did they not all have zeal? Yes! Yes! I do not deny it. All these groups had zeal beyond question. They were all zealous. They were all very fervent. But their zeal was not the zeal that God approves—it was not a zeal based on knowledge. (2) Furthermore, if zeal is true, it will be a zeal generated from true motives. Such is the subtlety of the heart that men will often do right things from wrong motives. Amaziah and Joash, kings of Judah, are striking proofs of this. In the same way a man may have zeal about things that are good and right but from second-rate motives, and not from a desire to please God. And such zeal is worth nothing. It is impure silver. It is utterly inadequate when placed in the balance of God. Man looks only at the action: God looks at the motive. Man only thinks of the quantity of work done: God considers the doer's heart.
There is such a thing as zeal from party spirit. It is quite possible for a man to be tireless in promoting the interest of his own Church or denomination, and yet to have no grace in his own heart; to be ready to die for the distinctive opinions of his brand of Christianity, and yet have no real love to Christ. Such was the zeal of the Pharisees. They "travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, they make him twice as much a son of hell as they are" (Matthew 23:15). This zeal is not true. There is such a thing as zeal from mere selfishness. There are times when it is in men's interest to be zealous in their Christianity. Power and influence are sometimes given to godly men. The good things of the world are sometimes attained by wearing a cloak of religion. And whenever this is the case there is no lack of false zeal. Such was the zeal of Joab, when he served David. There is such a thing as zeal from the love of praise. Such was the zeal of Jehu, when he was putting down the worship of Baal. Remember how he met Jonadab the son of Rechab, and said, "Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD" (2 Kings 10:16). Such is the zeal that John Bunyan refers to in "Pilgrim's Progress," when he speaks of some who went "for praise" to mount Zion. Some people feed on the praise of their fellow-creatures. They would rather have it from Christians than have none at all. It is a sad and humbling proof of man's corruption that there is no degree of self-denial and self-sacrifice to which men may not go from false motives. It does not follow that a man's religion is true because he "gives his body to be burned," or because he "gives his goods to feed the poor." The Apostle Paul tells us that a man may do this and yet not have true love. (1 Corinthians 13:1, etc) It does not follow because men go into a wilderness and become hermits, that therefore they know what true self-denial is. It does not follow because people enclose themselves in monasteries and nunneries, or become "sisters of charity" and "sisters of mercy," that therefore they know what true crucifixion of the flesh and self-sacrifice is in the sight of God. All these things people may do on wrong principle. They may do them from wrong motives—to satisfy a secret pride and love of notorietybut not from the true motive of zeal for the glory of God. All such zeal, let us understand, is false. It is of the earth, and not of heaven. (3) Furthermore, if zeal is true it will be a zeal about things according to God's mind, and sanctioned by clear examples in God's Word. Take, for example, that highest and best kind of zeal—I mean zeal for our own growth in personal holiness. Such zeal will make a man continually feel that sin is the mightiest of all evils, and conformity to Christ the greatest of all blessings. It will make him feel that there is nothing which ought not to be done, in order to keep up a close walk with God. It will make him willing to cut off his right hand, or pluck out his right eye, or make any sacrifice, if only he can attain a closer communion with Jesus. Isn't this just what you see in the Apostle Paul? He says, "I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize—I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal" (1 Corinthians 9:27, Philippians 3:13-14). Take, as another example, zeal for the salvation of souls. Such zeal will make a man burn with desire to remove the darkness which covers the souls of multitudes, and to bring every man, woman, and child he sees to the knowledge of the Gospel. Isn't this what you see in the Lord Jesus? It is said that He neither gave Himself nor His disciples much spare time and at times they didn't even have a chance to eat (Mark 6:31). Isn't this what you see in the Apostle Paul? He says, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Take, for another instance, zeal against evil practices. Such zeal will make a man hate everything which God hates, such as drunkenness, slavery, or infanticide, and long to sweep it from the face of the earth. It will make him jealous of God's honour and glory, and look on everything which robs Him of it as an offense. Isn't this what you see in Phinehas, the son of Eleazar? Or in Hezekiah and Josiah, when they eliminated idolatry in the land? Take, as another example, zeal for maintaining the doctrines of the Gospel. Such zeal will make a man hate unscriptural teaching, just as he hates sin. It will make him regard religious error as a pestilence which must be stopped, whatever the cost may be. It will make him scrupulously careful about every word in the counsel of God, lest by some omission the whole Gospel would be spoiled. Isn't this what you see in Paul at Antioch, when he withstood Peter to his face and said he was clearly in the wrong? (Galatians 2:11) These are the kind of things that true zeal is made of. Such zeal, let us understand, is honourable before God. (4) Furthermore, if zeal is true, it will be a zeal tempered with love. It will not be a bitter zeal. It will not be a fierce hatred of people. It will not be a zeal that is ready to take up the sword and to lash out with the weapons of the world. The weapons of true zeal are not worldly, but spiritual. True zeal will hate sin, and yet love the sinner. True zeal will hate heresy, and yet love the heretic. True zeal will long to smash the idol, but deeply pity the idolater. True zeal will detest every kind of wickedness, but labor to do good even to the vilest of sinners. True zeal will warn as Paul warned the Galatians and yet feel tenderly, as a nurse or a mother over erring children. It will expose false teachers, as Jesus did the Scribes and Pharisees, and yet weep tenderly as Jesus did over Jerusalem when He came near to it for the last time. True zeal will be decided, as a surgeon dealing with diseased limb; but true zeal will be gentle, as one that is dressing the wounds of a brother. True zeal will speak truth boldly, like Athanasius against the world, and not care who is offended; but true zeal will endeavour in its speaking, to "speak the truth in love." (5) Furthermore, if zeal is true, it will be joined to a deep humility. A truly zealous man will be the last to discover the greatness of his own attainments. All that he is and does will fall immensely short of his own desires, that he will be filled with a sense of his own weakness and be amazed to think that God should work through him at all. Like Moses, when he came down from the Mountain, he will not be aware that his face shines. Like the righteous in the twentyfifth chapter of Matthew, he will not be aware of his own good works. Dr. Buchanan is one who is praised by all the churches. He was one of the first to take up the cause of the perishing heathen. He literally spent himself, body and mind, in laboring to arouse sleeping Christians to see the importance of missions. Yet he says in one of his letters, "I do not know that I ever had what Christians call zeal." Whitefield was one of the most zealous preachers of the Gospel the world has ever seen. Fervent in spirit, instant in season and out of season, he was a burning and shining light, and turned thousands to God. Yet he says after preaching for thirty years, "Lord help me to begin to begin." M'Cheyne was one of the greatest blessings that God ever gave to the Church of Scotland. He was a minister insatiably desirous of the salvation of souls. Few men ever did so much good as he did, though he died at the age of twenty-nine. Yet he says in one of his letters, "No one but God knows what an abyss of corruption is in my heart. It is perfectly wonderful that God could ever bless such a ministry." We can be very sure where there is self-conceit there is little true zeal. I ask all of you to especially remember the description of true zeal which I have just given. Zeal according to knowledge-zeal from true motives-zeal warranted by Scriptural examples-zeal tempered with love-zeal accompanied by deep humility-this is true genuine zeal-this is the kind of zeal which God approves. You and I need never fear of having too much of such zeal. I ask you to remember the description because of the times in which we live. Beware of supposing that sincerity alone can ever make up true zeal-that earnestness, however ignorant, makes a man a really zealous Christian in the sight of God. There is a generation in these days which makes an idol of what it calls "seriousness" in Christianity. These men will allow no fault to be found in a man who is serious. Whatever his theological opinions may be—if he is a serious man, that is enough for these people, and we are to ask no more. They tell you we should just ignore the minute points of doctrine and any questions about words and names, about which Christians are not agreed. Is the man a serious man? If he is, we ought to be satisfied. Seriousness in their eyes covers over a multitude of sins. I solemnly warn you to beware of this dubious doctrine. In the name of the Gospel, and in the name of the Bible, I enter my protest against the theory that mere seriousness can make a man a truly zealous and holy man in the sight of God. These idolaters of seriousness would make us believe that God has not given us a standard of truth and error, or that the true standard, the Bible, is so obscure, that no man can find out what truth is by simply reading it. They pour contempt upon the Word, the written Word, and therefore they must be wrong. These idolaters of seriousness would make us condemn every witness for the truth, and every opponent of false teaching from the time of the Lord Jesus down to this very day. The Scribes and Pharisees were serious, and yet our Lord opposed them. And shall we dare even to hint the thought that they ought to have been left alone? Queen Mary was serious in restoring the Roman Catholic religion and trying to put down Protestantism, and yet godly brothers who believed in