We can have religious zeal and still have fault in what we think and do. Saul of Tarsus thought he was doing the right thing by putting Christians into prison and killing them. Zeal and confidence are not a sign that someone is mature in the Lord or even walking in the truth. Even moving in gifts like healing or prophecy are not a sign of maturity. This is not to judge people when they do stupid things but to understand that they still may need to mature in the Lord. It is not hard for some of us to make mistakes in life and sometimes the only way we can grow in the Lord is to try things out and make mistakes.
I have heard some people say things like "He can't be a Christian he just did . . ." or something similar. To be a Christian is not to have everything in your life in order but to believe in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, God wants us to grow up to be mature Christians so we are walking more and more in the truth. The only way we can do that is by being taught by those that are more mature in the Lord than us and studying the Bible.
Mankind has a way of lying to themselves and being zealous about living those lies out in their lives. There was a large group of people that followed Hitler and thought he was a great guy. They didn't even seem bothered that they were killing Jews. In our present day, there are many people that feel like abortion is okay but in God's eyes it isn't any different than killing Jews.
Because Jesus said that He is the Truth, The Way, and the Life we need to get to know Him so we are not just calling ourselves Christians but are actually living the Christian life the way God wants us to.
