Earnestness

An attitude characterised by seriousness and commitment. Scripture commends earnestness in believers' attitudes towards God and in the concerns of the gospel.

The significance of earnestness

In repentance

Joel 2:12 See also 1 Samuel 7:2–3; Revelation 3:19

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”

In seeking God

Jeremiah 29:13 See also Psalm 119:2; Hebrews 11:6

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

In salvation

Luke 13:24 See also Matthew 7:24–27 parallel Luke 6:47–49; Hebrews 2:3, Hebrews 6:11; James 1:22, James 2:14

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.

In love for God

Deuteronomy 6:5 See also Matthew 22:37 parallels Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27

And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

In prayer

2 Chronicles 7:14 See also Isaiah 62:6–7; Matthew 6:5–6

and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

In trusting God

Proverbs 3:5 See also Isaiah 26:3–4

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

In spiritual progress

Philippians 2:12–13 See also 1 Corinthians 9:24; Hebrews 12:1; 2 Peter 1:5–11

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.

In serving God

Matthew 6:24 parallel Luke 16:13 See also Deuteronomy 18:6–7; Luke 9:57–62; 1 Corinthians 12:31, 1 Corinthians 14:1; 2 Timothy 2:15

No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Examples of earnestness

In seeking God

Psalm 63:1 See also 2 Chronicles 15:15; Hosea 5:15

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.

In prayer

Acts 12:5 See also 1 Thessalonians 3:10; James 5:17–18

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.

In evangelism

1 Corinthians 9:19–22 See also 1 Thessalonians 2:2–9

Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law. To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.

In Christian living

Philippians 3:13–14 See also 1 Corinthians 9:25–27; 2 Corinthians 8:7–8

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

Regarding personal needs

Matthew 9:18 parallels Mark 5:22–23, Luke 8:41–42; Luke 7:4

Jesus Christ's own earnestness

Matthew 26:39 parallels Mark 14:35, Luke 22:42 See also John 2:17, John 4:34

Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”

Earnest concern for the people of God

For Israel

Luke 19:41; Romans 9:1–3 See also Nehemiah 1:2–4; Isaiah 22:4, Isaiah 62:1; Jeremiah 4:19–21, Jeremiah 8:21, Jeremiah 9:1, Jeremiah 13:17; Lamentations 3:48; Micah 1:8–9; Matthew 23:37 parallel Luke 13:34; Romans 10:1

As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it

I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit. I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,

For the church

2 Corinthians 11:28–29 See also Acts 20:31; Romans 1:11; 2 Corinthians 2:4, 2 Corinthians 11:2–3; Galatians 4:19–20; Colossians 1:24, Colossians 1:28–29, Colossians 2:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:17

Apart from these external trials, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with grief?

Earnestness may be misdirected

Romans 11:7 See also Acts 26:7

What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,