Zeal for God, But Not According to Knowledge

(Revised and updated version)

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” — Romans 10:1–4 NKJV

Perhaps you watch television or frequent the plethora of social media outlets that have taken over our relational way of life. Or perhaps you engage people in spiritual conversations. Either way, you may have noticed that many have a zeal for God.

But what is the basis of their zeal? I ask this question because the apostle Paul warns against a zeal for God that is not based on knowledge (Romans 10:2). A self-righteous zeal that is not based on a full, saving knowledge (epignosis) of the imputed perfect righteousness of God in Christ through faith (10:3–4). And I can relate.

I Need This

When we walked into the First Baptist Church of Alma, Arkansas, in 1999, I was a semi-illiterate, stuttering alcoholic who had failed college twice, had been in jail twice, and was on the verge of being divorced twice. Oh, and I thought I was a Christian!

After we sang a few songs, the pastor began to preach. I thought, I need this! But there was a struggle going on in my mind. Since I was already a Christian, why then would I need what he was offering?

At the end of the church service when he gave the invitation [1 ] to come forward publicly and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, I refused. Life went back to normal—but not for long!

Zeal for God

Several days later (with my second marriage all but over), I ran out of my former roommate’s house where I was temporarily staying and literally cried out, “Jesus, save me!” It seemed to me that my zeal for God was the proof that He had:

– I removed my signature earring.

– I stopped drinking, gambling, smoking, and cursing.

– I was baptized and became a member of FBC.

– I regularly read the Bible [2 ] and Christian literature.

– I fasted and prayed.

– I praised and worshiped God in word and song.

– I served in many ways.

– I was a bold witness.

– And I even went on a mission trip to Mexico.

After leaving FBC, I became a member of Jefferson Street Baptist Church in my hometown of Eureka, Kansas. There I began a church-sponsored itinerant ministry that led me to fill the pulpits of area churches on Sundays.

To my surprise, this church-sponsored itinerant ministry led to my first and only pastorate at Fellowship Baptist Church in Emporia, Kansas, where I fulfilled my short-term pastoral and evangelistic duties.

A little later, I served in a chaplaincy role at the Emporia Rescue Mission (a men’s homeless shelter), where I lived, worked, and preached three times a week while continuing to fill pulpits at area churches on Sundays.

I then married Jeana in 2004, while at Flint Hills Christian Church (now Flint Hills Bible Church) and joined the staff as the Evangelist/Missions Director. And in that position, I went on a mission trip to Louisiana, preached my first revival, knocked on doors, served in the local jail, and flew to Romania for an evangelistic mission trip.

In 2007, however, we moved to Paragould, Arkansas, where over the next sixteen years I started a truck stop ministry, knocked on more doors, had two more revivals, returned to Romania for a second time, ministered in long-term care facilities, founded That They May Hear Ministries, published five booklets (and even distributed some of them through Every Door Direct Mail), and wrote several poems.

A friend summed up my zeal for God (as best as I can remember) this way: “If Hayes isn’t saved, no one is!”

But Not According to Knowledge

I think you would agree with my friend’s assessment. There was a problem, however. And it was a shocking one: like Israel, I needed to be saved (Romans 10:1). Why did I need to be saved? Well, because like Israel, I had a “zeal for God, but not according to knowledge [epignosis]” (Romans 10:2, emphasis mine).

You see, my zeal was based on a shallow, non-saving knowledge (gnosis) of God’s righteousness rather than a full, saving knowledge (epignosis) of His righteousness (Romans 10:3) because it was mixed with “Lordship Salvation” (LS). [3 ]

Like Israel, I too was ignorant of God’s righteousness. As a result, I established my own righteousness by my works. And since Paul equates this kind of self-righteous ignorance with being lost, I was lost! And that was a hard pill to swallow!

We Must Be Perfect

To enter the kingdom of heaven, our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:20). In other words, we must be perfect (Matthew 5:48). And the penalty for failing to meet this standard is eternal death (Romans 6:23). So, we must possess what we cannot produce (Romans 3:10), perfect righteousness!

The Person and Work of Christ

In the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4), Jesus came into the world fully God and fully man in one person (Philippians 2:6–8). As the sinless Savior, He perfectly fulfilled the requirements of the law (Matthew 5:17–18). On the cross, He appeased the wrath of the Father and paid the penalty for the sins of the elect (Romans 3:21–26) before rising from the dead three days later for our justification (Romans 4:25). Having accepted the work of His Son, the Father forgives our sins the moment we believe and declares us righteous, imputing to our account the perfect righteousness of Christ.

Imputed Perfect Righteousness

It was not until 2023 that I supernaturally [4] understood the above truths and moved from a shallow, non-saving knowledge (gnosis) of God’s righteousness to a full, saving knowledge (epignosis) of His righteousness, repenting of those self-righteous dead works (Hebrews 6:1; 9:14) and submitting to the imputed perfect righteousness of God in Christ by grace, love, and mercy through faith (Romans 10:3–4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9).

Grace Baptist Church

Fully washed, positionally sanctified (set apart), and legally justified (declared righteous), I was finally free (Romans 6:18, 22). Praise God! Hallelujah!

With great joy, I was then baptized [5] in the name of the Triune God [6] by Pastor Michael Celeskey (a.k.a. Commentary Man) before officially joining Grace Baptist Church, where my true zeal for God (Titus 2:14) will continue until Christ returns [7] or calls me home.

How About You?

How about you? Do you have a zeal for God? If so, is it according to a full, saving knowledge (epignosis) of His righteousness? I truly hope it is. However, if your zeal is not based on the imputed perfect righteousness of God in Christ, then you 1) do not know God’s righteousness, 2) are establishing your own righteousness by works, and 3) have not submitted to the righteousness of God by faith. And if that is the case, then it is my heart’s desire and prayer to God that you be saved. Amen!

P.S. If you found this article useful, please consider sharing it on your social media accounts. Thank you!

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[1 ] The altar call, or invitation, is an eternally dangerous and manipulative preaching tactic that requires the listener to bow his or her head while the extra-long, soft, repetitive music plays in the background, raise his or her hands to signal agreement with what the preacher is saying, and walk forward to publicly confess Christ. This process will likely include a sinner’s prayer.

[2 ] The Bible consists of sixty-six inspired, living, and powerful books written by various authors for faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20–21).

[3] “Lordship Salvation” (LS) is the heretical, salvation-is-free-but-costly, work-based system that fatally mixes the free gift of salvation (e.g., Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8–9) with the costly works of discipleship (e.g., Matthew 10:34–39; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 14:25–33) and emphasizes the evidence of fruit or good works for assurance instead of Christ (Hebrews 12:2).

[4] The supernatural, pre-salvific work of the Holy Spirit accompanies the gospel, bringing regeneration, illumination, and conviction to the elect sinner, enabling conversion (Psalm 119:30; John 3:3, 5; 16:8–11; Acts 15:3).

[5] Baptism is the public immersion of the elect believer in the name of the triune God, symbolically identifying him or her with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:3–5).

[6] The Trinity is best described as one God in three divine persons with distinct roles: the Father chooses the elect, the Son dies for the elect, and the Holy Spirit regenerates, illumines, convicts, and seals the elect (Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 1:3–14; 1 Peter 1:2).

[7] Eschatology is the study of the last things, whereby Jesus Christ will return visibly (as opposed to a “secret rapture,” which was unheard of in the early church) at the end of the symbolic thousand-year period to simultaneously raise the believing and unbelieving dead, judge mankind, and make all things new in the age to come (Matthew 24; John 5:28–29; Acts 1:9–11; 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Revelation 20–22).

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