The Apostate Church
- by Paul Proctor
There is a sobering question that now begs an answer from the
21st century church. Was the cross of Christ simply a lesson in tolerance? Was
that a big wooden T that Jesus hung from two thousand years ago, illustrating a
"higher power's" message to: "Go ye into all the world and be tolerant"? Did
Jesus say: "For God so tolerated the world, that he gave his only begotten Son"?
And did He tell His followers: "By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have tolerance one for another"? This is a crude example of
equating God's love with today's tolerance...mixing and mingling traditional
words and phrases with new age meanings and dialectic slogans like "Our strength
is our diversity" in order to synthesize values and advance alternative agendas.
Because of the ever-increasing perversion of our language by globalists it is
necessary to qualify words like "love" and "tolerance" to avoid confusing them
with biblical directives. Just as the love of a father toward his son is
different from the love of a husband toward his wife or a boy's love for his dog
or a dog's love for bones, tolerance too can have many different meanings and
applications. When modern definitions are mischievously applied to ancient
principals for living the outcome can be more than just confusing. It can be
downright disastrous. Just such a travesty is unfolding before us in the church
today through the ongoing amalgamation of lifestyles, beliefs, interpretations,
principals, practices, definitions, rituals, religions, cultures and worldviews
all for the purpose of forwarding the global gospel of "tolerance diversity and
unity".
It may surprise many of you to learn that the word "tolerance" never even
appeared in scripture until the 60's and 70's when the NEW American Standard and
NEW International versions of the bible came into being. In the King James and
original American Standard versions the word used was "forbearance" which itself
could imply something altogether different. It should also be noted that at the
time the NEW versions of the bible were printed, Marxist liberals were
tenaciously teaching tolerance as the NEW measure of morality in America from
kindergarten through seminary. One would think, as much as that word is used
today with respect to Christians, it would be found repeatedly throughout
scripture. However, the reality is, it appears only once in the NIV and twice in
the NASV as a brief encouragement for believers to put aside *personal
differences and sufferings* for the sake of the Gospel. IT DOES NOT MEAN we are
all to piously sit silent while the world's humanists, heretics and homosexuals
twist and trash the Word of God to satisfy their own appetites and ambitions.
"Tolerance", as it is most commonly used today, is nothing more than a warm and
fuzzy buzzword that was shrewdly employed by globalists to confuse and disarm
believers, undermine the Church and contradict everything the bible teaches
about sin from Genesis to Revelation. "Tolerance" was never meant to replace
love, righteousness, forgiveness or redemption. It is STILL the will of God that
sin be exposed, confessed, repented-of, forgiven or judged...not tolerated for
the sake of peace and unity. (Ephesians 5:11) "Tolerance" is not the Gospel of
Christ but rather the tactical tool of ambitious men who dream of separating us
from our Anchor Stone so we will drift away from "the peace of God which passeth
all understanding" into a camouflaged chaos called Globalism.
Below are a few definitions for the word "tolerance" followed by a couple of
scriptures that can help you determine for yourself which are new age and which
are biblical. The biblical definition is really not that hard to see as long as
your choice is consistent with the entirety of scripture.
TOLERANCE:
1. The capacity to endure hardship or pain. (1st Peter 2:19)(Galatians2:20)
2. The endurance of the presence or actions of objectionable persons, or of the
expression of offensive opinions. (Proverbs 14:17) (Matthew18:15-17)
3. The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or
practices of others. (2nd Corinthians 6:14-18) (James 4:4)
Now simply apply the biblical definition you chose to the only two verses in
scripture where the word tolerance appears.
(Ephesians 4:1-2) "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love" (The
Apostle Paul is addressing Christians here, not the various cultures and
religions of the world.)
(Romans 2:4) "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and
tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to
repentance" (Once again, Paul is referring to the tolerance of God toward
His redeemed, not the enemies of the cross.)
Another relatively simple way of determining where tolerance is appropriate is
by knowing at whose expense the offense comes...yours or God's? Tolerance would
probably be in order if say someone called you a liar. Lashing back at your
accuser with an equally harsh attack wouldn't glorify God in the least or
accomplish anything of eternal value. However, tolerance would most definitely
NOT be appropriate if that same person, Christian or not, willfully
misrepresented, misquoted or in some way impugned the character or integrity of
the Almighty with lies and distortions. In this situation a firm rebuke of some
sort using scripture would be proper to defend the faith. As Christians, that is
what we are called to do. (2 Timothy 4:2-4) This takes courage and a
self-sacrificing kind of love. Silence in the name of tolerance, in such
situations, would only demonstrate cowardice and indifference to the One we call
Lord; the very opposite of the love He teaches and not unlike what we see in the
church today. Even then, rebukes should be carried out with God's interest in
mind, not our own. We tend to defend most fervently that which we love and are
the most proud of. If it is God and His Word that we defend then we are being
Christ-like. If it is ourselves we so passionately defend then we are probably,
self-centered, pride-driven and carnal.
Even though many of our Christian institutions have been swept clean of these
tolerance teachers, the counterfeit communion they served for so many years is
still being passed down the aisles in many churches today. Is it any wonder that
practicing homosexuals are now "married" and "ordained" by a clergy who publicly
question the very deity of Christ and casually bring His claim of being "The
Way, The Truth and The Life" up for a congregational vote? This, my friends, is
the filthy fruit of tolerance and an undeniable sign of the desperate times we
are now entering. If this isn't the Apostasy then I don't know what is.
The cross is a lot of things to a lot of people but it IS NOT a lesson in
tolerance. If God were tolerant of sin He never would have sacrificed His "Only
Begotten" to suffer and die so horrendously for the likes of you and me. He
would have simply winked at Him and said, "Ah...That's OK...Just stay here.
They'll clean up their act sooner or later". But that never happened because the
bible says:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the
LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Yes, the cross of Christ was an act of divine love but it was also a vivid
demonstration of God's absolute intolerance for sin."
"Beware lest anyone spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the
tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
(Colossians 2:8)
Published in the June 28, 2001 issue of Ether Zone.
Copyright © 2001 Ether Zone. (http://www.etherzone.com).
Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and
seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late
1990's to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a
distinctly biblical perspective. Paul Proctor is a writer for the American Reformation
Project and a regular columnist for
Ether Zone.
Paul can be reached by email at watchman@usa.com