Pastoral Position Paper - Gene Leichty

A dinner conversation during the Christmas holiday became the catalyst for this paper. It was between bites of turkey and sweet potatoes that I was informed that the whole point of the gospel was unconditional love and tolerance. After all, didn't our Lord dine with sinners (Matt 9), chat up a prostitute and hang out with "the least of these"? Was I not familiar with Jesus' own words, "Judge not, lest ye be judged"? Several of those gathered at the table were astonished at the ignorance of a budding Greyfriars student.

"Tolerance" is certainly a popular word today. Our cultural spokesmen say that we must tolerate the words, actions, methods and ideas of all members of society. We must readily accept and embrace folks the way they are - unless they're rapists, serial killers… or Christians. We must stop passing judgment. Today, assimilation classes are mandatory in the workplace. Homosexuality is to be viewed as a viable alternative lifestyle. We are told that whatever our elected officials do in private life must not influence our view of their qualifications for public office. We must not make judgments based on a fixed set of standards. This is a terribly narrow way of thinking and the height of arrogance.

It is not surprising that America has arrived at this point. We've been headed down this road for quite some time. What is surprising, however, is how readily the church (from both pew and pulpit) has bought into this idea of "tolerance." The folks I was dining with in December were Bible-toting, third-generation Christians. How has the church arrived at this point? What Scriptures do people cite to defend this nonjudgmental-at-all-costs attitude? And what is our Biblical response to this?

Their Defense & Our Response
Of all the passages used to defend this "tolerance stance," Matthew 7:1 is certainly the most frequently quoted. Again, the text reads, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Indeed, Jesus forbids judging. The question is whether Jesus forbids all judging or just a certain type of judging? The verse, when quoted alone, does not answer this question. We must read on. Verses 2-5 state:

For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from you eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Taken in context, it's clear that Jesus does not forbid all judging, but rather hypocritical judging. Verse two says that the standard used to judge others will be the very same standard used against us. Jesus is issuing a warning against double standards, not preaching against judging and intolerance. The biggest difference between the two men in the passage sited above is the size of their sin. The "speck" (or splinter) and the "plank" are both the same in nature and detestable to God. Here lies the hypocrisy.

Another passage offered up between dessert and coffee was 1 Thessalonians 4:9b-12 where Paul writes:

…for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

Here we are commanded, among other things, to love one another. But what is love? For my dinner companions, a good working definition of love included a ready acceptance of another's ideals, standards and actions. This, however, is not love as described by God, the author of love. Love, biblically defined, is seeking the good of the other person - both his physical and spiritual good (see John 13:34-5). It is obvious through Jesus' words and actions that love and mercy are not demonstrated through tolerance or silence. Sinners stand on the edge of eternal death and condemnation. When death jostles them, they tumble in. If a man or a woman who is living a life contrary to God's law and displeasing to the Lord, we must make that person aware of their sin and attempt to turn them from their sinful way. This is love.

Another frequently cited passage of Scripture for those who dance around the may pole of tolerance is when Jesus is asked by the scribes and Pharisees to judge a woman caught in adultery. John 8:7-11 says:

So when they (the scribes and Pharisees) continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Hs no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

Again, advocates of tolerance argue that the point Jesus is making is that one should not judge/condemn others. One man is no better than another man. Doesn't Paul state that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? (Rom. 3:23).

In order to get at the heart of Jesus' teaching in this passage, it is helpful to define a few terms. When a person judges, he is issuing a verdict - guilt or innocence. He is making a determination as to whether the actions (or ideas) of an individual are right or wrong. For a Christian, this determination is based upon standards set forth in God's Word. After an individual is judged, he is sentenced. If he has been found guilty, he is condemned. If he has been found innocent, he is freed. Judging and condemning are two very different actions. While Jesus did not condemn the woman in John 8, he certainly did judge her. He said (and very intolerantly) in verse eleven, Go and sin no more. Only in some instances will our duty to judge also involve condemning or pronouncing a sentence. With matters involving church discipline, not only is a judgment made, but in the case of an impenitent sinner, a sentence is pronounced - excommunication or a life lived outside the covenant community.

The issue of hypocrisy is raised in this situation as well. The hypocritical judgment of the Pharisees is exposed. Christ maintains that it is absurd for men to be zealous in punishing the sins of others when they are every bit as guilty themselves. The Pharisees didn't care one whit about the righteous judgment of God being carried out, but were rather obsessed with protecting their own righteousness. They were intent on trapping Jesus. This woman accused of adultery was the bait. And most assuredly, because of their preoccupation with ensnaring Jesus, they had forgotten half of the bait. Verse 2 states that "the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery. It's impossible to be caught in adultery by yourself. Where was the other guilty party? Where was the man?

Judging righteously
There are several passages of Scripture that indicate that it is clearly our responsibility to judge. In John 7:24, we are told how to judge. Jesus says, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. Again, Jesus is forbidding a certain kind of judgment. He wants us to judge righteously and not rashly or unfairly. Get the facts - listen to all parties involved. Make a wise, informed decision. Weigh it against God's law. At the time of this statement, Jesus was being accused of having a demon and of breaking the Sabbath by healing a man. The Jews were judging according to appearance. Jesus asks in Luke 12:57, Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? And in Philippians 1:9, Paul prays that the believers' love would abound still more and more in knowledge and in all discernment.

The Word of God never contradicts itself. The Bible is not inconsistent in its message regarding any topic, including this one. As demonstrated from the verses that discuss judging, it is man's interpretation of God's Word that varies. If you gave 100 men the Book of Romans to read individually and then had them return with a summary, you would have 100 varying interpretations of the same book. Is the variable here the Word of God? No. Everyone received the same Scripture. It is man's interpretation. A man who is seeking to understand God's will must look to the whole counsel of God - search all of Scripture. He must allow the passages which speak plainly on a subject be his guide. He must then go back and prayerfully consider the verses that at first glance seem to contradict what has been said elsewhere. Read them in their context. Look at those verses that immediately precede and follow the verse in question. He must ask himself who is being addressed? Here, verses which initially seemed to forbid judging reveal that what is forbidden is a wrong kind of judging. Hypocritical judging is displeasing to God, but He loves righteous judgment on the part of His children. Paul clearly makes this distinction in Romans chapter 2.

Not only are we commanded to judge, but we are given standards to follow in executing judgment. One such standard is the spirit with which we judge. Righteous judgment should be carried out with humility, with a readiness to forgive. We, too, will one day stand before the judgment seat of God (II Cor. 5:10). We are also called to speak God's truth with boldness and authority. We have His holy Word that teaches both what man is to believe concerning God and what duty (standards of obedience) God requires of man.

The Blemished Bride
If Scripture is plain regarding this issue of judging, how can so many churches today get away with preaching a gospel of "tolerance"? In Revelation 2:2 Christ rebukes the church of Thyatira, "I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols." This church has been lead into immorality, being assured that these sins are tolerated by God.

I believe that there are two reasons why Christians have so readily adopted a gospel of "tolerance". First, the god preached from pulpits across this country (much like the god preached at the church in Thyatira) is not the God of the Bible, but rather a god fashioned after the rebellious heart of man. Seeker-friendly, evangelical churches have been preaching half-truths about God for years. They preach the love of God, but not His demands for holiness. They extol his mercy and forget justice. They preach God's willingness to forgive, but not the need for sinners to repent. They have been more concerned about creating a comfortable, non-threatening environment for sinners than maintaining the purity of Christ's bride - his church. Second, I would argue that many Christians are unfamiliar with God's Word. Most modern evangelicals aren't students of the Scripture. They don't meditate on God's Word. They don't seek after the things of God. They are content to be spoon-fed like babies each Sunday morning, unaware that what they're ingesting is so diluted that it's unhealthy. Like Israel of old, the Church has become rebellious and lazy, forgetting God in its prosperity.

This half-truth about God, combined with the theology that God loves all people indiscriminately (John 3:16) -- has certainly helped hoist the flag of tolerance over the church. Follow this reasoning for a moment: God loves all people. God, therefore, loves me. If God loves me and everyone else, then He must love me in spite of my actions and ideas. After all, the half-gospel that I've received says nothing about God's demands of perfect righteousness and justice. And if he finds no fault with me, then I should find no fault with others. This reasoning fails, however, on two levels. It proceeds from a wrong premise, that God loves every man indiscriminately, and from a wrong assumption, that a God who loves is willing to ignore or tolerate a person's sins. This view is unscriptural, godless and deadly.

The bottom line is this… God has called his people to live antithetically - to live in opposition to this sinful world and in devotion to Himself. We do this by declaring sin to be sin, not by pretending that it is not. How do we define sin? We do not - God does. His law is set forth in Scripture for our understanding. And because we have His law, we are not only enabled to, but commanded to, judge between right and wrong… between what pleases God and what grieves Him; not only for ourselves, but in the lives of others as well.