Being a Christian today can see you labelled a religious “fanatic” and while it seems totally unfair it isn’t uncommon. Even in Paul’s day he was accused of being a crazy person. Even in the churches he was labelled as such by those who opposed him.

In 2 Corinthians 5 we read this…
13 If we are ‘out of our mind,’ as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.

In Acts 26 we read…
24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defence. ‘You are out of your mind, Paul!’ he shouted. ‘Your great learning is driving you insane.’

The religious leadership of Israel said the same about Jesus…
20 Many of them said, ‘He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?’ (John 10).

Today we are going to look at what could be described as a reasonable fanatic as opposed to all the crazy fanaticism we see in our own day.