Intolerant Love

So we were discussing toleration in Principles of Evangelism class this week and I thought why not expand on that. The idea that Christians are intolerant is absurd if we are truly following the principles of Christ we are to be the most accepting people on the planet. Look who Christ was around, the riffraff, the prostitutes, the adulterers, the prisoners, the delinquents, and the lepers. Christ said in Matthew 9: 12-13 "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
So if this is so should we, as Christians, not follow after this example? And if we are following after Christ, then why are we considered intolerant? As Christians we accept people from every walk of life and lifestyle into God’s kingdom. Rich, poor, black, white, young, old, straight, gay God desires all of these people to be saved. The reason we are considered intolerant is because once a person has come to Christ, there will be a change in them that pulls them away from sin. They are new creatures with a regenerate nature. So the reason we appear intolerant is because the Church, like God, cannot accept sin into the church. So once a person becomes part of the family of Christ they are also expected to strive for holiness and turn from sin. Why? Because we are to imitate and become like Christ. Sin keeps us from having a perfect relationship with God.
The church cannot be tolerant of sin because we know there is something greater out there. The pleasures of sin are temporary, but the love of God is eternal. We should always strive for holiness because our God is Holy. This is why we may seem intolerant to the world.
So in conclusion we are not to be intolerant of those outside the church, but we are to be intolerant of sin inside the church. Christ takes us where we are and brings us closer to Him.

I leave you with these words from Lady Liberty.

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Just remember who the true door is.