STRUGGLING WITH TOLERANCE

GALATIANS 2:1-9

STRUGGLING WITH TOLERANCE

In our world we live in today one virtue is esteemed above all other others: tolerance. As you know has led to many things including efforts to get rid of the Ten Commandments from any public building. They probably wouldn’t mind putting up their 11^th commandment, “Thou shalt be tolerant.” About the only thing you are not expected to be tolerant of is biblical Christianity. That’s a paradox.

American Christians today are struggling with tolerance in many areas. We are asked to tolerate all types of things in our nation. We are supposed to tolerate all types of lifestyles, all types of activities, and all types of people. Many of these things used to be forbidden, but now they are encouraged. We are told to be tolerant of the beliefs of all religions since all religions are different roads that lead to the same place-God. What are we to do?

I. WE MUST DECIDE WHAT BATTLES TO FIGHT.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines tolerance as “the capacity for or practice of recognizing and respecting the opinions, practices or behavior of others.” However, the politically correct of America include these in tolerance PLUS they demand that we must embrace and see all other opinions as true.

Is that logically possible? Can all opinions be true? Every person I know has a ton of opinions. The laws of physics, nature and mathematics prove that everyone’s opinion cannot be truth. Sincerity and depth of conviction are commendable virtues, but they do not guarantee truth. What are we to do?

Since we are a remnant of God’s people who live in a land of paganism, there is an opinion we could battle every hour. There are many things about our society that a true follower of Christ has got to be against, but we have to understand that every hill is not worth dying for. Each of us must decide which battles God is calling us to, but all must fight the battle that Paul speaks about.

God called Paul to carry His gospel about Jesus Christ into the world of the heathen Gentiles. God blessed his ministry and many were committing themselves to follow Jesus Christ. One of the places he went was Galatia, which is modern day Turkey. Some of the converted Jews came and observed what was happening and went back to report it in Jerusalem . This started a controversy between the two ministries. Could a person be truly saved if they did not undergo circumcision? Some of the Jewish believers stated that the Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to be saved. Paul went up to meet with them at a council. He pointed out that if they had to be circumcised then man would have a part in saving themselves. The ultimate decision was the right one. Only faith in Jesus was necessary for a person’s salvation. This is why Paul stated that he wouldn’t submit to their beliefs about salvation. It was a matter of preserving the truth of the gospel and it was a battle that all believers must fight.

Jesus states this very plainly in John 14:6. We can gallop off in 50 different directions today and do battle with any number of things that are sinful and harmful to our society, but above all God desires that we keep our focus on the main thing that must be preserved-“the truth of the gospel.” This is where we draw the line in the dirt and say “Zero tolerance.” It’s a hill worth dying for.

II. UNITY IS BASED ON AGREEMENT ON TRUTH.

Why can’t we unite with all other religions? When I was in Israel this was something that I wished for. On Friday at noon the Muslims enter the city of Jerusalem for their prayer time. In the late afternoon the Jewish store owners began to close their stores so they can get home and then to the synagogues that night. They may return on Saturday, but this is a day of rest for the whole land. At sundown on Saturday, all the Jewish population goes out to celebrate a night off. On Monday everyone goes back to work, except the Christians who go to church. Wouldn’t it be nice if all of these could come together in a unified religion?

We read in Amos 3:3-“Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” I know that many of you walk together in your neighborhood or at the park. If this is to work it takes both of you deciding to be at the same place at the same time and walking or running at the same pace. Without this you can’t walk together.

It’s the same way with truth. It is ridiculous to think that two people can walk together when they disagree on whether the Bible is God’s truth when it talks about Jesus. We are not talking about personal opinions here. We are talking about being divided over whether or not to believe the Bible in areas where it is perfectly clear. Paul knew this. This question about circumcision was more than a small thing. It would determine whether or not the Gentiles believers and the Jewish believers would be able to be in the same church. If they disagreed on how a person is saved, then there could be no fellowship between them.

We live in a world that values emotion above reason, tolerance above truth. Our generation is very uncomfortable with the idea that there is a God who has spoken and that what He has said is the ABSOLUTE truth. This is far too narrow and exclusive for the taste of our world to accept, even if it is in the Bible. We will never be able to unite in religion with them. Why?

There are several reasons. 1. We believe that the source of truth is outside of what we feel or think; that it is in God’s Word. 2. Because of #1 we teach that God’s Word is the final authority on everything. If the Bible condemns it, we condemn it. If the Bible commends it, we commend it. 3. Because of these, we must base our salvation and live our lives based on the truth of the Word. 4. This leads us to disagree with others are don’t believe or speak the truth of God’s Word.

III. OVERCOMERS KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING.

Paul says in verses 7-9 that they preached the same message, and because of that they were of the same fellowship. We read that after the council was over they basically said, “Keep on preaching the gospel and winning the lost. Don’t worry about those who disagree.” They realized that as long as they kept the main thing-preaching the gospel-the main thing, then everything else would work out.

Our model of tolerance is God. He loves us enough and treats us with enough dignity to take seriously what we believe. But He also loves us enough to tell us the truth about life. He loves us enough to allow us to choose Him or reject Him and takes that seriously enough to hold us responsible for our response. In light of His example how should we respond to those we disagree with?

We are to keep speaking the truth. Just as Paul did we must let nothing keep us from “Transforming our world into fully devoted followers of Jesus to the fame of God.” We must speak the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.

We are to keep speaking the truth of God in love. Paul spoke of thisuofm

in Ephesians 4:15. When applying God’s Word to an issue, we are not judging anyone but communicating God’s judgment on the matter. As it says in 2 Timothy we are not to quarrel, but to gently instruct those who oppose us.

We are to pray for those who oppose us.

We are to attempt to befriend them. We don’t have to embrace their ideas to embrace them. The only way we can touch them for Christ is to touch them as people. I is our calling to minister to their needs as friends so that we might earn the right to be heard when it comes to the truth about salvation.

CONCLUSION

As many of you know I have taken groups snow skiing for years. I have enjoyed everywhere we have gone, but the most beautiful scenery of all is at Monarch Ski area near Salida , Colorado . One of their lifts takes you to the very top of the mountain and you ski the Continental Divide. As far as the eye can see there are large mountains. The Continental Divide goes all the way from British Columbia through the Rockies in the United States through Mexico and Central America . In the states the water or snow that falls on the east side will go to the Mississippi River and that which falls on the west side will go to the Pacific.

Jesus is the Continental Divide of salvation. We must stand for this no matter what so future generations will know the true and only way of salvation. This will become increasingly harder and harder as time goes on. It’s a hill worth dying for.

Ridgecrest Baptist Church | 7469 Old Canton Rd. | Madison, MS 39110 phone: 601.853.1090 fax: 601.853.1092