TOLERANCE: A CHRISTIAN VIRTUE?
In 1 John 4:1, the Apostle John – an intimate of the Lord Jesus – gives the following exhortation and warning to Christians: ‘Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.’
In our 21st century, multi-cultural, multi-faith, multi-lifestyle society, ‘toleration’ is definitely one of the spirits of the age. It is enjoined as a good, even a ‘Christian’ virtue. Thus one Nick Pratt (sic) is quoted in the Metro of 19/10/12 as being very angry when his son George was prohibited from joining the Scouts due to his professed atheism. Said Mr Pratt: ‘Christianity is meant to be about being tolerant, forgiving and understanding …’ But is a blanket ‘tolerance’ truly ‘of God’? What happens when we ‘test the spirits’?
- Consider the Person of God
Contrary to common belief, the God of the Bible is actually revealed as an intolerant God. He brooks no rivals for He has no rivals. Idolatry – that is, giving worship and honour to anyone or anything other than the one true God – is condemned in the Bible throughout its pages. The God of the Bible is jealous and zealous for His own glory. Thus in Exodus 34 He commanded His people to break down the altars and pillars of the false gods found in the land of Canaan. His reason for this was Himself. He affirmed ‘you shall worship no god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God’ (Exodus 34:14). The true God therefore is not tolerant but jealous. He demands, requires and is worthy of our exclusive obedience, allegiance and worship. He alone can affirm ‘I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other’ (Isaiah 42:8). And in the very first of the Ten Commandments – the summary of the moral law – God commands: ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ (Exodus 20:3). The Shorter Catechism explains:-
The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God and our God, and to worship and glorify Him accordingly.
The first commandment forbiddeth the denying or not worshipping and glorifying the true God as God and our God; and the giving of that worship and glory to any other which is due to Him alone.
- Consider the Law of God
The God of the Bible exercises no tolerance at all when it comes to the breaking of His law. As God our great creator, He has the right to lay down His law and demand obedience to it. Breaking His law is serious solely from the fact that it entails a rebellion against Himself – treason against the King of kings. So in Galatians 3:10 we read ‘it is written ‘Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them.’’ So the God if the Bible is completely intolerant when it comes to punishing law breakers. They are liable to His ‘curse.’ Non Christians who rebel against God can expect His merciless judgement in the life to come. And even Christians who lapse and flout God’s law, can expect His chastisement in this life, for the God of the Bible is inflexible when it comes to the law He has laid down. The slightest infringement brings punishment: ‘For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it’ (James 2:10).
Will God punish all who have broken His law? Yes. But the Good News of the Gospel is that sinners may be pardoned and escape from the punishment they deserve, for in His wisdom and mercy, God devised a way whereby sinners could be justly pardoned. In sending His Son to die in the sinners place, and take their punishment, God was true to both the justice and love which lies at the heart of His nature. Calvary was the supreme demonstration of both God’s love and wrath – wrath in condemning sin, and mercy in pardoning the believing sinner: ‘to prove at the present time that He Himself is righteous and that He justifies those who have faith in Jesus’ (Romans 3:26). Which leads us to:-
- Consider the Salvation of God.
The Bible is intolerant when it comes to salvation, for according to the Bible, the salvation Christ procured at Calvary is an exclusive one – there is no other pardon for sin and there is no other way of salvation apart from the sacrifice of Christ on the cross: ‘And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under haven, given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).
There were those in the province of Galatia who preached an alternative way of salvation from the cross of Christ. They ‘did it their way.’ In response, far from enjoining toleration, the Apostle Paul expressed his indignation and wrote one of the most intolerant letters of the New Testament. It is doubtful whether Galatians pass the censors today. Paul was gripped by the necessity of the cross – its indispensibility for our salvation and the futility of seeking salvation anywhere else. ‘If justification were through the law (that is, our own efforts) then Christ died to no purpose’ (Galatians 2:21), he wrote.
So the exclusive nature of the Christian Faith does not sit easily with the current spirit of the age. Christian belief and behaviour are contrary to the current tide and world view which promotes ‘tolerance’ whilst, paradoxically, is increasingly intolerant of the Christian Faith. The words of the Saviour however still remain: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me’ (John 14:6).
Having considered something of the intolerance of the God of the Bible, along with the intolerance of His law and His salvation, the question is begged as to why He does not intervene straight away in fearful judgement. Isn’t our current world a total affront to Him? The answer is as follows. Paradoxically, again, the Bible reveals that almighty God is long-suffering as well as intolerant. In His great mercy, He tolerates sinners for a while. He exercises His patience with them so that they may come to Christ and be saved. Yes, intolerance is part of His holy nature. But He amazingly has His elect people, destined for eternal glory. So although He will surely intervene one day, He withholds His final judgement so that Christ’s church – the church of the redeemed – may be built. As Peter explained: ‘The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance’ (2 Peter 3:9). So whilst God’s intolerance is to be revered, His forbearance is fuel for our praise. Apart from the latter, we would not have come to saving faith in Christ.
Timothy Cross
