James Nisbet Commentary - Acts 19:24 - 19:24

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James Nisbet Commentary - Acts 19:24 - 19:24


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

FALSE ZEAL

‘A certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana.’

Act_19:24

Demetrius is a type of those who debase religion by their covetous-ness. He sold silver shrines made by the operatives of Ephesus. These shrines were probably representatives of the famous temple, with the figure of the goddess. They sold freely, not only to worshippers, but also to strangers who were constantly visiting Ephesus. They paid well. This was the chief importance of them, and shrewd, and long-headed, and calculating, there was a keen perception of the danger which was involved in the success of Paul’s preaching. There was no care for the truth as truth. There was no interest in the effects of the truth. The whole matter began and ended with the trade of the silversmiths, which was endangered; and so Demetrius, like other false zealots who pretend to care for the errors of men or the true doctrine of religion, began to make a great stir in favour of the great goddess. But, secretly his only desire was to preserve his own livelihood and fortune. How many men there are who are zealous for God and for righteousness just in the same way that Demetrius was for Diana. This zeal is not according to knowledge. We should learn to distinguish between false and true zeal.

I. False zeal is always selfish.—It sets the individual uppermost and foremost and in the midst of the life.

II. False zeal is fitful.—There is no abiding property in it. It cannot stay. Men cannot depend upon it, and God does not. It endures but for a little while, and then it becomes dull, and it smoulders itself into coldness or death.

III. False zeal is full of duplicity.—It never gives the true reason either for its activities or for its cessation of works in which it was visibly engaged. The craft was in danger, but Demetrius did not say so. All that he said in private was meant to arouse the prejudices and excite the animosities of the workmen. Their cry was not ‘we are in danger of losing our maintenance,’ but ‘our Church is in danger; the great goddess is being reviled, her worship will be neglected, her temple will be deserted.’

IV. False zeal is destructive.—It has no respect for even the most sacred things, if they stand in its way. It rushes on blindly, heedlessly, and allows no considerations, human or divine, to restrain it in its course. Truth and righteousness harmonise together, and harmonise all conflicting interests. God loves sacrifice. But if a man despise mercy in his blind zeal, God says, ‘I will have mercy and not sacrifice.’

V. A true zeal is intelligent because it is the earnestness of real convictions.—It is like a sunbeam—it has both light and heat in it. There is no one-sidedness in it. It is fair, as remembering the manifoldness of human interests and the place and power of each. It is deliberate, calm, self-contained, mighty, and it holds on to the end. It says with bated breath, not in proud boastfulness and arrogance, ‘This one thing I do’; but, while it does it, it remembers how much else is to be done and is being done, and it is tolerant, patient, much-enduring.