“For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” —Romans 10:2
Zeal does not save anyone. Zeal doesn’t even aid in pointing you to Christ. Were zeal a necessary component in salvation, Paul would have been on the top of the list because of his religious zeal as the Pharisee of Tarsus (Galatians 1:13-15).
Paul points out that Jewish zeal, zeal like that which he possessed as a Pharisee, was “not according to knowledge.” The Greek word used here for “knowledge” is not the word to define the knowing of facts or the accumulation of information, as in 1 Corinthians 8:1,
Knowledge puffeth up…
The word translated “knowledge” in Romans 10:2 is a Greek word that is used to define discernment or recognition. This “knowledge” is a supernatural revelation from the Spirit of God that discerns and recognizes truth because it is spiritually revealed. This revelation knowledge was Paul’s prayer for the saints in Ephesus, Ephesians 1:17,
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
We must also be aware that when Paul speaks of zeal that is not according to knowledge, he is referring to unbelievers. Unbelievers certainly would not have spiritual discernment, nor recognition of heavenly and eternal truth, as it is written, 1 Corinthians 2:14,
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Too often, someone quotes this verse in reference to another believer that doesn’t see things quite the way they do. We don’t want to go off the deep end and suggest that someone is not saved because they do not have a thorough understanding of the doctrines of grace, &etc. Yes, though there are certain truths that must be acknowledged for salvation, it doesn’t mean that someone isn’t saved because he or she cannot articulate the doctrines of particular redemption, total depravity, &etc., Ephesians 2:8-9,
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
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