Does Tolerance For Sin Equal Love For Sinners?

Is God tolerant of sin because He is a loving God? Absolutely not. God died on the cross to demolish sin. He hates it. Because God is loving, he did away with sin and provided a righteousness that can be ours apart from sin through His son Jesus Christ.

Tolerance for sin or any other religion that does not believe in the triune God is sin itself.



Now don't misunderstand me, God is very patient, loving, kind, gracious and merciful toward sinners. It is for this reason that he has not destroyed the earth altogether because of ungodly acts. 2 Peter 3:9-11 says,

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the Heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works done on it will be exposed. since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people are you to be in lives of holiness and godliness...?"

God is coming back and there will be no more sin, but in the mean time his love is not just sort of ignoring or overlooking the sin, every man will be held accountable for every act of unrighteousness if they have not submitted their life under the authority of Jesus Christ. (Hebrews: 10: 26-31)



For this reason, I am urging you to be silent no more. It is possible to be loving toward others while hating and detesting and speaking out about apparent sin. The one in the act of sin may not like it, but it is our duty as ambassadors to be bold and vocal in a world that is only screaming tolerance. (2 Cor. 5:20) So read your Bible and pray and always be ready to defend your reason for intolerance.



The Webster's Dictionary defines tolerance as: receiving or enduring without offering resistance.



Now is this what Jesus did? Did he offer resistance to sin? Yes he did, this is why he was crucified. And if we are true believers the Bible says we must be ready to be crucified with him by the society we live in today. People who call themselves followers, but aren't ready to follow down the scornful path Jesus walked, are not in God's fold. (Galations 2:20)



Webster's also defines tolerance as: the allowable deviation form a standard.



There are standards we are to adhere to and live by written out in the Bible. We live in a society where each individual decides what's right and wrong for himself. This is mockery of God's laws and it says in his Word that He will not be mocked. If you are tolerant and allow others to deviate from God's standard, then you are sinning by omission rather than by commission. In other words, by saying nothing, you're in agreement of the sin.



Another definition in Webster's says tolerance is: the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance especially with repeated use or exposure.



Now usually we think of drug or alcohol addicts when we think of this definition of tolerance, but I think Christians are intentionally subjecting themselves over and over to sin and becoming immune to unholiness, or tolerant of it. How many people do you know that call themselves Christians but support Hollywood films with liberal actors and liberal themes? How many people do you know that watch television shows that take the Lord's name in vain or encourage immorality? Because the majority of those that go to church on a regular basis and call themselves cleansed, born again believers do these things, the majority of Christians are tolerant of sin. Who doesn't like to be entertained, or to relax and get in a good laugh, but if unholiness is involved it is blasphemy, as simple as that. There's no way around it.



My call to all true lovers of Christ is to be intolerant of everything this world stands for. Do not compromise in any area. It is crucial, especially in these times, that we are strong for the Lord, not lazy or wishy-washy. Be loving, be kind, but do not be weak-willed when you are confronted with a decision to be bold or to remain silent.



I close with a poem I found on the Internet that answers the question if tolerance for sin equals love for sinners:

This is a poem called: ”Where ’tolerance’ leads”, it speaks of a woman who is blaming her best friend for doing nothing, for keeping quiet, for tolerating evil, and for leading her to hell with her tolerance:

When we disagreed
while watching the news,
You chose to ignore
my misguided views.
I trusted you and thought
you were my friend,
But you stood by and watched me
come to this end.
When I fell for the lie
”my body, my choice,”
Fear of offending me
silenced your voice,
”Don’t let me die!”
the child in me implored,
But you drove to the clinic
and dropped me off at the door.
You didn’t tell me Jesus
took all of my blame,
Because you didn’t want to be
called a mean name,
It was all about you
not shining the light.
You didn’t speak up
to show me what was right.
That my sins were paid for
by a God who loved me,
You could have explained it
so I could see.
Yes, you were ’tolerant’
when love would have cost more,
When there was time
to choose heaven’s door.
But for the first time I can now tell,
With a warm, pleasant smile,
you let me go to hell.
You called it ’Tolerance,’
but it was not love.
You let your friend go to hell,
Who were you thinking of?

This sad poem shows how easy it is to fail God and man by trying to be too tolerant.