1. Zeal, to be either acceptable to God or useful to men, must not only be right as to its ultimate, but also as to its 'immediate objects. It must not only be about God, but about the things which are well ]»leasing in his sight. The Pharisees, and other early Jewish persecutors of Chris- tians, really thought they were doing God service when they were so ex- ceedingly zealous for the traditions of their fathers. The moral character of their zeal and its effects were determined by the immediate objects towards which it was directed, v. 2.
2. The doctrine of justification, or method of securing the pardon of sin and acceptance with God, is the cardinal doctrine in the religion of sinners. The main point is, whether the ground of pardon and accept- ance be in ourselves or in another, whether the righteousness on which we depend be of ourselves or of God, v. 3.
3. Ignorance of the divine character and requirements is at the founda tion of all ill-directed efforts for the attainment of salvation, and of all false hopes of heaven, v. 3.