Question 1

What things should I never tolerate in my life?

Accepted Answer

Deuteronomy 7:2-5“When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you. This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols.”Modern believers have not been given a land to conquer, but we must never tolerate idolatry and sin in our lives. Modern society accepts many idols as good and acceptable. These are not usually statues or other physical images, but other things that take God’s place in our hearts. Contemporary culture often considers any lifestyle or belief system to be good and true for the person practicing it. But this is in direct opposition to what God teaches about the nature of truth.2 Chronicles 18:1-2Jehoshaphat enjoyed great riches and high esteem, and he made an alliance with Ahab of Israel by having his son marry Ahab’s daughter. A few years later he went to Samaria to visit Ahab, who prepared a great banquet for him and his officials. They butchered great numbers of sheep, goats, and cattle for the feast. Then Ahab enticed Jehoshaphat to join forces with him to recover Ramoth-gilead.We should not be tolerant of evil or make alliances with those who are evil. That kind of tolerance can lead to a position of moral or spiritual compromise.Ezra 9:1When these things had been done, the Jewish leaders came to me and said, “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.”We should not adopt worldly lifestyle choices just because everyone is doing it.Psalm 101:5I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.We should not tolerate conceited pride in our attitudes or malicious behavior from others. Pride clouds our ability to distinguish truth from lies. It also leads to injustice in our relationships and communities.Deuteronomy 12:30“Do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’”There is only one true God. In our inner lives and outer practice, we should not tolerate the worship of anything or anyone but God.2 John 1:10-11If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.In spite of the high value placed on hospitality in the ancient world, John told believers not to show that degree of tolerance to false teachers. We are not to tolerate false teaching about Christ in the church.

Question 2

Is tolerance dangerous?

Accepted Answer

1 Kings 11:3He [Solomon] had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.Ancient kings often solidified foreign alliances by marrying additional wives, as King Solomon foolishly did. Even though Solomon had been blessed with great wisdom from God, he put himself in the dangerous position of having to make daily choices to please his pagan wives and therefore tolerated, and eventually condoned, their idolatrous worship practices. When compromise negatively affects our commitment to obeying God, we have become too tolerant.2 John 1:10-11If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.Hospitality is a wonderful virtue, but believers must place an even higher value on truth. With regard to this, John told believers not to show that degree of tolerance to false teachers. We must not support their lies.

Tolerance