Tag: judaism

20.h. “Desire without knowledge is not good”

Romans 10:1  Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  

Acts 26:9-10    “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.  And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them.

 Galatians 1:14   And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

 Proverbs 19:2   Desire without knowledge is not good

 2 Corinthians 4:4    In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

 Philippians 1:9     And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

This is where so many religious people – even sincere Christians – go astray. They have plenty of zeal but little knowledge. This is a perfect description of Paul himself before his conversion. Saul of Tarsus was a notorious persecutor of Christians before Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus.  Knowing the bible inside out, reading it endlessly, attending church services faithfully, etc…, are all good things to be zealous about.  But, what is missing?  There is a key element missing or not placed first ahead of all this zealous action. What is the purpose of these zealous actions?  What reason can you give to be zealous in these matters?  You can do everything right (in your own eyes and understanding and knowledge) and still be so very wrong.  

Jesus Christ is to be honored in all we do, say, and think.  Being zealous for this alone we bring all other godly living in-line.  When our zealous actions omit honor and glory to Jesus Christ first, then they are wrong.  When we want to take or receive honor and glory for our zealous actions, or if we want to share honor and glory with Jesus Christ, we lack knowledge and understanding.  ALL honor and glory are His.  Any zealous acts, thoughts, words, should only be zealous for bringing honor and glory to Him.  Being zealous will have a purpose, otherwise, why would you be zealous.  Herein lies the issue. Purpose!  If our hearts,  minds, and soul have a deep zealous desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ, then our zealous purpose has meaning.  If our hearts, minds, and souls have a deep zealous desire to know and understand Him more and more, then our zealous purpose has meaning. Being zealous apart from bringing all honor and glory to Jesus Christ is fruitless. Desire and being zealous without knowledge is not good.

12.k. “Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom”

Acts 6:1  In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

We see the chapter starting off with some complaining.  Obviously this would be something that should just be handled but it is evident that is not the case.  They have witnessed great wonders and signs by the Holy Spirit through some of the apostles, and they also witnessed a great work of the Holy Spirit in people were living in unity and sharing what they had with the whole.  Cant you hear it, “I didn’t get my share today” “They forgot me again” “This isn’t fair” “Are they better than us” etc….  Does any of this sound a bit familiar?  Some things never change.  The apostles give a kind rebuke, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables”  So they told them to pick 7 who were spirit-filled and demonstrated wisdom.  Amazingly the whole group was happy at this and they chose men to fill these roles.  “The word of God spread and the number of disciples increased very fast”   a loser number of priests became obedient to the faith.  God’s Word has a way of opening up to hearts and minds that are open.  I would have to say God’s word even opens hearts and minds and this is somewhat of a mystery.  Have you ever wondered how it is that you came to the knowledge and understanding of the need for forgiveness?  It is not as though you gave this a great deal of in-depth thought and concluded that you were a sinner in need of salvation.  Somehow God opened your heart and mind to His Word and an intentional choice was made to confess, repent, and receive forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.  PRAISE GOD!!!!  We would never have come to this understanding without His grace, mercy, and love opening it up to us.  May we never think that any part of this knowledge and understanding was from us.