More Tolerant Than God

Can a church be too tolerant? Can a church be so caught up in trying to be so loving and accepting of sinners, that it compromises the power of the gospel? The answer is yes. We have seen this in our lifetime. In our efforts to reach our culture, Churches have become so tolerant of the sinfulness in our culture, that some have actually become more tolerant than God. In fact, we live in a day, where tolerance of sinful behavior has become a value in many churches. These are the churches with the rainbow flag hanging out front. These are the churches who plaster Coexist Bumper stickers on the back of their cars. These are the churches who not only champion homosexual marriages, but boast of accepting any lifestyle choice, all in the name of love. And in so doing, these are churches who have become more tolerant than God. They don’t just tolerate sinful behavior – they celebrate it and teach that it’s okay to practice they very things that God condemns.

Now, you may be thinking: “This could never happen in our Church.” And you may be right. But here’s the danger: In our efforts to be loving and accepting of people far from God, every Church risks diluting the power of the Gospel by what we accept as tolerable behavior. In other words: When we let love overrule the truth of God’s Word, we can rob the gospel of its power to set people free from sin.

Not only that: If we allow ourselves to compromise the truth of God’s Word in the name of love, or in the name of tolerance, we can compromise our witness as God’s holy people and distort the glory of God. This is not a good thing! For when a church becomes more tolerant than God, it can incur the judgment of God. And that’s what we’re going to see today as we look into Jesus’ message to the church in Thyatira, in Revelation 2:18-29 So, if you brought your Bible with you today, let me encourage you to find Revelation 2:18-29, where we will not only see where this church went wrong, but also see how seriously God takes it when we stray from His truth to pursue our own agenda apart from Him. This is why this message begins with a powerful description of

Jesus, the Judge And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” Revelation 2:18 This is not Jesus, the gentle Shepherd, but Jesus, the all-seeing, all-powerful judge who is worthy of our worship. For He is the only One who knows our works, who sees our sin, and judges anyone who thinks they know better than Him. Here Jesus comes to His church as the Divine Judge who’s come to awaken His church to the error of their tolerant ways, and call them to repentance.

Look at how He describes Himself: First, Jesus describes himself by His name. He is “the Son of God” This is the only time in the entire book of Revelation, that Jesus uses this title to identify Himself. Why? Thyatira was known for its worship of Apollo, the son of Zeus. So, right up front Jesus is letting them know that He is the true Son of God, not Apollo. Apollo is nothing but the son of a lifeless idol. Apollo is a small, pathetic, false idol that has no power to affect anything in their lives. And that He alone is worthy of their worship. That He alone is the One who is Lord of His Church. That He is the One who has the authority to call the shots in how this Church is to live in this idolatrous culture. Jesus is the Son of God.

Secondly, Jesus describes himself by his eyes: He is the Son of God, who has “eyes like a flame of fire.” In other words, Jesus reveals Himself as the all-knowing God. His eyes have the ability to see everything. He sees all actions, all thoughts and all emotions. Nothing escapes His penetrating vision. He searches the minds and hearts of every person. Nothing is hidden from his sight. He sees right through the deceptive and seductive teachings of this Jezebel, who has put her teaching above God’s Word.

Thirdly, Jesus describes himself by his feet: “whose feet are like burnished bronze.” What an image! That his feet are like fine bronze speaks of His strength and splendor. Thyatira was famous for its bronze work, but their best work paled in comparison to the works of Jesus. In other words: “Jesus is brilliant in appearance, unrivaled in strength, and utterly glorious as a judge.” This is the no nonsense image of Jesus, that reminds us that He is the divine judge over all of life, and we are not. And with this image of Jesus before us; it’s a strong reminder that we better not play fast and loose with His Word. That we’d better listen up and hear what Jesus has to say to His Church. So, what does the divine judge want us to hear?

First, This is a Great Church Jesus says: “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. Revelation 2:19 This is the kind of church that you would want to be a part of. It’s making difference in their community. They have a reputation for their good works. They’re living out their mission statement. They’re making sure children have school supplies. Their soup kitchen is serving dinner three nights a week. Not only that, but they are known for their love. Their love for Christ had not grown cold. This church was full of volunteers eager to sacrifice time and resources to help brothers and sisters in need. Their widows are being cared for. The weak are being encouraged. Everyone is serving. All their ministries are making a difference. No one was bailing when times are hard. This is a great church. In fact, Jesus says, “You are doing even more works than the last time I visited you.” Way to go!” This is a happening Church, and it’s probably growing and there’s tons of excitement surrounding this church… However, they’ve got a problem -and Jesus is about to expose it. They are a loving church, a serving church, a persevering church. What could possibly be wrong with this church? Well Jesus, says, You’re a great church…

But a Progressive Church In other words, they’ve become a church who’s become more tolerant than God. Look at what Jesus says: But 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

Jesus’ use of the name Jezebel indicates what this false prophetess was teaching. Her name wasn’t Jezebel, but she embodied a “Jezebel spirit” that encouraged Christians to participate in the worship and feasts of the city’s trade guilds. She encouraged God’s people to eat of the food sacrificed to idols and participate in the sexual sin associated with this worship. This is similar to what the original Jezebel of the OT taught. She urged the Israelites to worship Baal and Ashteroth alongside of the Lord. This new Jezebel taught that faith in Jesus need not exclude you from participating in these ungodly feasts. After all, God wanted them to be prosperous, and the way to be prosperous was to participate in these feasts. So, she taught that they had the freedom to participate in the idolatrous and sexual immoral practices of these pagans, so they could reach them for Christ.

Douglas Kelly writes: “She must have said ‘Let’s mingle with these people during the week; let’s go to their religious services and participate in their feasts. Then they will realize that we too know how to have fun and are not judgmental of them.” This was their sin: The sin of tolerance! This Jezebel taught that you could please both God and the world and you do not have to live any different than the world because of your faith in Jesus.

She taught that pleasing ungodly people was more important than pleasing God. In this way, she led this church to be more tolerant than God. She was the first one who had t-shirts printed up that said, “Love is Love.” Everything is permissible in the name of love. Don’t judge what these pagans are doing. Instead, join in with them. Accept their behavior. Celebrate their sin. Take part in their sin.

This is what happens when you love the idea of love, but don’t love God’s truth. Such toleration causes the church to lose out in at least three ways to the prevailing culture: First, you compromise your witness. The Church no longer offers an alternative lifestyle. We lose our distinctiveness as God’s holy people. By accepting and embracing the practices of an ungodly culture, the people in that culture are not allowed to see that there is another way to live. The people don’t appear to be living any different than them. That’s what was happening in Thyatira. The people weren’t able to see their Christlikeness, their holiness, their righteousness or goodness. There was no longer anything about God’s people that revealed to them there’s a different way to live.

Second, the Church no longer desires to glorify God. God’s people no longer live in such a way as to please God. Instead, God’s people become people pleasers. They live for the applause of man, rather than for the applause of God. Their whole motivation for living the Christian life is about fulfilling their mission. This sounds great. But their mission is now about making themselves look good, not about bringing praise and glory to God.

Third, the Church no longer lives according to the truth of God’s Word. This is the key point Jesus is trying to make to this Church. They’ve lost their love for God’s Word. And when that happens, God’s people become weak doctrinally, and they listen to whatever their itching ears want to hear, and they lost their ability to discern the difference between good and evil. And when this happens in a church, Jesus is no longer preached, the gospel is robbed of its power, and anything goes in the name of love. What happens is this: by embracing this tolerant view of love, this Jezebel spirit was leading this church down the road to its own destruction.

This is not acceptable to Jesus. He does not want His church to walk down the path of destruction without intervening. So, what we see next, is Jesus, the Judge, handing out: Some Serious Discipline He’s about to get into their business. He’s come to get His church back in line. And so, we read: “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am He who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. Revelation 2:21-23

Jesus is serious about His Church. He doesn’t want His church to lose its holy witness. He doesn’t want the culture to usurp God’s glory as our motive for living, and He doesn’t want us to abandon God’s truth in the name of love. So, he has come to discipline this church. Here we see five aspects of His discipline to His wayward Church:

His discipline is fair: Jesus gave the Jezebel “time to repent.” He gave her time to change her evil ways. But she said no. This is one of the true treasures of God’s grace. Jesus’ discipline is always wrapped in His grace, love, and mercy. He was kind enough to give her time to repent – to change her ways, to change her teaching. His discipline is fair. He gave her time to change, but she said no, and now judgment falls:

His discipline is full: When you rebel against the judge, you’re not going to get a slap on the wrist, you’re going to receive justice His justice fitting the crime. So, Jesus declares, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her.” The imagery is vivid and striking. He will discipline her with a disease or illness. The bottom line is this: Unless she and her followers repent, they were going to have to pay the price for their rebellion.

His discipline is final: Jesus declares, “I will strike her children dead.” The Message paraphrases this sentence as, “the bastard offspring of their idol-whoring I’ll kill.” These are some pretty harsh words. What is he saying when he calls her followers, “Her children?” These are her spiritual offspring, those who share her nature, her DNA. These are not true believers in Jesus. So, Jesus means to turn them over to the destruction they were pursuing and deserve. His discipline is final and even fatal.

His discipline is fearful: When God takes out Jezebel and her children “all the churches will know.” And what will they know? They will know who Jesus is, as he declares: “I am He who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.” In other words, you don’t want to mess with Jesus’ church. Jezebel and her clan may have fooled this church, but she didn’t fool Jesus. Nothing is hidden from His penetrating all-knowing eyes. Jesus may be full of grace and truth, but He is still the Judge. You can’t put anything past Jesus. He sees your heart. He knows your thoughts. I’m reminded of Psalm 139, that says: You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:1-2 This aspect of Jesus’ discipline should awaken a healthy fear in us. Jesus searches your mind and your heart. You can’t hide your sin from Him.

His discipline is faithful: Now, this Jezebel claimed to “know Satan’s deep secrets.” She taught that in order to fully appreciate God’s grace you must plumb the depths of evil. By doing this, this prophetess claimed she could lead the church into the “deeper life.” But what she actually promoted was the deeper lie of Satan. So, Jesus’ judgment of this twisted teacher reveals His faithfulness to His Church. He will not let His church continue to be deceived by the lies of Satan. So, he disciplines us so that we will want nothing to do with deception or evil. He disciplines us so we will stop pleasing men and start pleasing God. And He disciplines us so that we will learn to love the truth rather than love the ways of the world. His discipline is not just faithful, it is good.

And sometimes God’s people need this faithful discipline of Jesus, to bring us back to be the kind of people who will honor Him. That’s the message Jesus brought to this church, and the message we need to hear today, so we don’t become like this Church and become more tolerant than God.

So, if we’ve compromised His truth in the name of love, then we need to repent. We need to change our ways. And if we repent, and turn back to His truth, then Jesus has Some Stellar Promises for those who overcome:
In fact, Jesus promises two remarkable blessings to those who come back to the truth.

The first blessing He promises is that we will share in Christ’s sovereign rule: Jesus says, The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. Revelation 2:26-27 Jesus promises to honor his faithful followers by allowing us to reign with Him. This is a reference to the coming of His millennial kingdom, described in Revelation 20. A period of one thousand years, when Jesus will reign as king over Israel and all the nations of the world. A time when the world will live in peace, Satan will be bound, and we His faithful ones, will reign with Him, sharing in His authority. That’s the blessing in store for us who continue to pursue holiness, to glorify His name, and hold to His truth.

Here’s the second promise: And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Revelation 2:28-29 This morning star is Jesus Himself. When you choose to live for His glory, Jesus promises to give to us His glory. His light will be your light. He is the light of the world; He is the bright morning star who He promises to be with us, so we no longer walk in darkness.

We live in what the Bible calls “this present evil age.” It is an age where tolerance toward sin is at an all-time high. An age where Churches, in the name of love not only tolerate evil practices but actually teach that God is pleased when we accept those who do evil. Satan’s deceptions are powerful. He continually works to seduce Christ’s church into believing the lie that tolerance of evil is a good thing. And many churches fall for this, simply because they love the idea of love, but they don’t love God’s truth.

Because they don’t love the truth, they don’t teach what God says about the dangers of evil. In fact, the Bible draws a distinct line between love and evil, saying: “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6 God doesn’t want us to have anything to do with the evil ways of our world. He commands us to “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9 “Hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 And when it comes to your freedom in Christ, God’s Word tells us to “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil”1 Peter 2:16 And finally, lest there be any doubt about whether what this prophetess was teaching about tolerating and even embracing sinful practices of our culture, John tells us that anyone who promotes such teaching is not of God, saying: Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.1 John 3:11

So yes, a church can be too tolerant of evil today. In fact, churches who promote love at the expense of the truth can end up being more tolerant than God. So, what would Jesus have us do about this? How would he have us live as conquerors in this present evil age?

1.Love Sinners. But don’t love their lifestyle. Rather, pursue holiness.
2.Love God’s Word. Develop discernment according to God’s Word, so you can recognize the differences between good and evil.
3.Love God. Find out what pleases Him, not what pleases sinners When in doubt, live for Gods’ glory. Don’t ever sacrifice God’s glory by tolerating sin. And if we can do that, then we will be conquerors who will reign with Him.