Two Statements To Consider About Inclusion & Tolerance

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.’ (1 Corinthians 15:58); ‘(13) Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. (14) Do everything in love.’ (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

Over the years, I came across two enlightening statements that counter the ‘modern’ or ‘enlightened’ <aka ‘woke’> church’s philosophies on ‘inclusion’ and ‘tolerance’. These two statements are (in my opinion) profound and in a nutshell outline the philosophies we Christians should have regarding our Faith and Evangelistic approach to sharing the Gospel.

The first is a fairly easy statement to digest; “The excuse, ‘I was born this way’, is why Jesus said ‘you must be born again’”.  We hear many folks in the public arena who have stated “I’m ‘<fill in the blank>’ because I was born this way.”  There may or may not be truth in this statement; we know that there are some proclivities, traits, or issues that we may have due to our DNA. 

There are overt physical characteristics that we can’t change (how tall we are, how much hair can grow on our heads) and there are some characteristics that are aided by heredity; such as being obese or skinny.  Some are debatable whether they originate from DNA or are learned; this includes deviant sexual preferences, alcoholism, or drug dependency.  

However, there is no need to debate the origins of these traits as we all understand there are obstacles in all of our lives.  Some folks have less obstacles than others, and some use the excuse, ‘I was born this way’, or ‘I was raised in a <various descriptions used here> home and this is how I turned out’ to avoid dealing with the obstacles.

Jesus has taken away that excuse.  Yes, you may have been born or raised in such a way that you have a propensity to sin, even to the point (real or imagined) that you believe you are hard-wired so that you must sin and go against God and even believe the lie that since God ‘hard-wired’ you this way, you can’t change and since you can’t change God must be OK with it.

Instead, Jesus says (in paraphrase), ‘Hold on! I created you; I also have the means and the manual to re-wire you and refurbish you, if you believe in Me and accept Me as Lord & Savior’.  When you believe, you are born again and thus anything that is hindering you in sin (going against God’s will) can be overcome. God is not OK with sin, and He is willing to fix the issues you have and allow you to overcome your sinful nature, if you allow Him to do so. 

The second statement I’ve come across took me a few times to digest as it sounds antithetical to Jesus: ‘Tolerance <of sin> is not a Christian virtue’.  It sounds harsh, and rather mean-spirited at first.  However, it is true; while tolerance (to a point) is an American virtue (accepting all who are willing to co-exist despite differences). it is not a Christian virtue when it comes to our Faith or the acceptance of Biblical Truth. 

Do we need to accept neighbors who may be of a different denomination, race, religion, or sexual preference?  Yes, we should – and they also should reciprocate willingly to coexist.  There is one American culture with many subcultures; not everyone likes heavy metal or wears dreadlocks, but most will want to eat a pizza or a Big Mac, or watch a football or baseball game. 

We are to love our neighbors, even if they are different.  We should even invite those who are pro-abortion, or gay, or into some other sinful, non-Christian behavior(s) to church, especially to a Biblically-centered, Christ-focused church (like MBC), so they can hear the Word. 

What we cannot tolerate as Christians is for our churches to compromise or attempt to accommodate those with sinful proclivities.  We cannot have a Christian church that accepts anti-Christian behaviors and call them ‘normal’.  We cannot simply placate those who sin with, ‘God loves you all no matter what you do’.  God loves all people, but that’s why He allowed Jesus to be sacrificed for our sins, so only those who accept His sacrifice and His Lordship become His children. 

To tolerate sin is deviant from God’s plan and thus tolerance of sin is not Christian.  Just like we Americans cannot tolerate lawlessness (case in point, many big-city residents are finding out they really do need a competent police force), we Christians cannot tolerate sin. While it sounds rather strong and blunt, in 1 Corinthians Paul says the same thing (perhaps more eloquently).  We are to stand firm in Faith and not allow the world at large to modify our beliefs. 

In Galatians, we learned Peter was feeling the heat (likely from Jewish friends or family) and started preaching the ‘Law + Jesus’ doctrine and trying to force Gentiles into getting circumcised.  But Paul correctly chastised Peter to stop that; trying to please anyone but God means you end up pleasing no one. (I, perhaps wrongly, snicker at the thought of a Gentile gentleman who later may have went face-to-face with Peter, after Paul set him straight: ‘What do you mean I DIDN’T have to get circumcised?’)

There will always be some who will walk away from you who, upon hearing the Truth, will not want anything to do with it – at least initially.  But in holding to the Truth, the seed may be planted so the next time, that person may start to think, ‘perhaps there is something to this ‘Only Jesus Saves’ Gospel’.  A lie (God doesn’t care that you sin in this way) may solidify the bigger lie (you don’t need to repent to be saved). 

This does not mean you have to smack people on the head with the Bible and yell, ‘LISTEN TO ME!’.  Live in the Truth, tell the Truth, show in your actions the Truth, through the love of Christ that you can share with others.   Stay firm but stay loving!  A little Truth (God does not want you to sin this way) will solidify the bigger Truth (you need to repent your sins and accept Jesus’ Lordship to be saved).