How to grow in Zeal: Remove

Zeal can be defined as, “The Courage to exercise great wisdom, great energy, and great diligence in loving service to God.”  We’ve spent some time thinking about what is that we need to REMEMBER and the importance of REMAINING with Christ.  

We move on to REMOVING.  The biggest challenge that hinders our zeal for God is sin. Kind David wrote in Psalm 38:18, “For I confess my iniquity, I am full of anxiety because of my sin.” David reminds us not only what sin produces, but how we are to respond to it through confession. Eliminating sinful behavior reduces anxiety and increases zeal for God.

Also knowing that we can be given is a great encouragement to help us to be more zealous for God.

In Psalm 32:1-5, David wrote, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity; And in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledge my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgression to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.” We can all relate to what David describes in these verses. What a blessing to know we’ve obtained forgiveness of sins and can continue to be forgiven as we confess our sins to God, 1 John 1:8.

The Hebrew writer encouraged the saints who were close to drifting away not only to pay closer attention to what they had learned (Hebrews 2:1-4), but to also remove certain things in their lives in Hebrews 12:1. “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…” 

The heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11, were examples for the saints in the first century to draw strength from, and for us to do the same! We’re all in a race. We must hold on to our confidence (Hebrews 10:35) and endure so that our souls will be saved (Hebrews 10:39). To do this, there are things we must remove or Lay Aside! To lay aside means to put off from us or rid ourselves of. But what? Anything that could hinder us from successfully completing our race! There are a couple of words to consider.

Encumbrance: Denotes bulk, size, or mass and which becomes an impediment to the runner.

Entangle: Wrap itself around that would restrict a runner’s stride.

The biggest encumbrance and thing that can entangle us is sin! The sin specifically addressed in Hebrews is faithlessness. “We must sacrifice anything and everything that would keep us from crossing the finish line in the end (cf. Matt 5:29f). For the original readers of Hebrews this may have included things like family ties, but in this context the idea leans toward discouragement and distrust of God (see vv12f) [1]

As we think about what we may need to remove in our lives to grow in our zeal, it’s also important to know how we will be successful in this race. Remember, lifelong zeal is a process. “…Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the founder and finisher of faith, who because of the joy that lay before him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, has been seated at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:2. “Successful running requires a fixation on the goal, not on the difficulties along the way. Such was the attitude of the greatest example of faithful endurance in all of Bible history, Jesus, who stands here as the capstone of the list of Ch 11. He is here called by the name he worse as a man on earth, thus connecting him with suffering. Like us (v 1), Jesus also had a prize set before him. However, whereas the people mentioned in ch 11 only “saw” (by faith) the finish line and the reward for completion in the future, ahead of them, Jesus has actually crossed the finish line and has reached the heavenly goal itself. There he remains out of our sight (1 Peter 1:8), so we too must look to him with the vision of faith.” [2]

[1] A commentary on Hebrews, David McClister page 442

[2] Ibid page 443