ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE

 

ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE

Prov. 19:2 Zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way. NLT

There are many people who are easily excitable and motivated. They are quick to jump on board and quick to fall off. They jump in with great gusto and are driven along by their emotions. Zeal is a good and needed thing in the cause of Christ, but zeal without knowledge is a bad thing.

We need to know with our heads and hearts what we are standing for and promoting. We need to be grounded deeply in Truth before we promote it. Knowledge helps us to keep from error. There are many things that have been said and are being said in the name of the Lord that simply are not backed up by Scripture. Many people have been led astray by false teachings and are leading others away simply because they have not taken the time to get grounded in the Word.

We must be students of God’s Word before we become proclaimers of it. We must not let our emotions drive us, but instead let the Spirit drive us through the Word. It is easy to get off track. We must strive to be certain that when we profess to be speaking for the Lord that we really are. More harm than good has been done by wrongly motivated zeal than about anything else in the church.

I am not saying we shouldn’t be zealous about Christ and His Word. We absolutely should be. But, we must be sure that we know what we are talking about when we speak. False teaching causes many people to never know Christ as Savior and Lord. It easily causes people to put their trust and hope for salvation elsewhere.

Study the Word, pray that the Spirit gives you proper understanding of it, and then get all excited and go and tell everybody that Jesus Christ is Lord.