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The dictionary says that tolerance is "the willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own". Of course, society includes the sense that "willingness to accept" means "embrace". I mean, if a Christian believes, as an example, that homosexual behavior is sin, simply allowing it to continue would not be classified as "tolerance". No, in order to be classified as "tolerant", you must celebrate it with those who celebrate it. Interestingly, those who celebrate it are not obligated in any form to celebrate or even tolerate the biblical view that it is sin. So tolerance is a one-way item that all fair-minded people view as a way to celebrate less prevalent views that are currently in vogue.

Don't worry, the point here is not to find an equally amenable definition of the term, so if you don't like that definition, it's okay. It's not the point. No, my aim is not to find a usable term, but to ask "What would Jesus do?" That is, can we find a biblical text that gives Jesus's point of view on the topic of tolerance? And, as it turns out, we can.

You may remember that the first 3 chapters of the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ are mainly comprised of seven letters to seven churches from Christ. John serves as Jesus's secretary, taking dictation in a form of Divine Inspiration not normally seen. So we read, "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write ..." (Revelation 2:1), and John is asked to write down what Jesus says to that church. There is a basic construct of these letters. There is an image of Christ that corresponds to the church. There is usually a "positive" section where Jesus tells them what they're doing right. There is typically a "negative" section where He tells them what they're doing wrong, the possible consequence of continuing, and how to fix it. And there is a "He who has ears to hear" section that tells the outcome.

So, Revelation 2:18-29 is the letter to the church at Thyatira. The imagery of Christ to Thyatira is the one "who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze." Okay. Fine. The positives are "your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first." Good. And then we get to the dreaded, "But I have this against you ..." phrase. Most of the letters have that. This one does, too. What is it that Jesus says He has against the church at Thyatira?

I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing My servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols (Revelation 2:20).

Now, you can define "tolerance" how you will. You can say whatever you want about its meaning and its value. When you do, include Jesus's statement on the subject in your calculations. The thing that Jesus had against the church at Thyatira was ... tolerance.

The word behind the English translation is a Greek word that simply means "permit" or "leave alone." It is not "embrace". It is "tolerate". It wasn't that they celebrated Jezebel's sin; they simply let it be. They made no move to oppose it. They made no move to embrace it. Tolerance. And this was, in Jesus's eyes, a bad thing.

Jesus didn't say that the proper response was to attack this sin. He didn't say to kill Jezebel (literally or figuratively), to have her voted out, to evict her and those with her. Jesus said that He was working on that issue. "I will throw her on a sickbed," He says (Rev 2:22). What did He ask of the church, then? "I will give to each according to your works" (Revelation 2:23). Do good. "Do not hold this teaching" (Revelation 2:24). Reject the teaching. He commended those "who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan" (Revelation 2:24). Avoid the sin and its "doctrines". "Hold fast what you have" (Revelation 2:25). Stand firm. The correct response is to continue to obey, to reject the teaching, to avoid the sin and the teaching that supports it, and to stand firm. The correct response is not tolerance.

What does Jesus think about tolerance? It looks like He has something to say on the topic, and it doesn't look entirely positive. This is not to say that we need to campaign against sin. He didn't tell the Christians in Thyatira to campaign against Jezebel. By the same token, though, simply permitting it or leaving it alone is not, apparently, the right answer. Do good. Reject the teaching. Avoid the sin. Stand. Not an attack but also not tolerance. Now you have to ask yourself, "Will I go with Jesus's view on the subject of tolerance, or will I tend toward the world's preference there?"

"Point of Reference" from Fred Price

Called To Brokenness