Good Morning Friends,
Can Christians practice genuine tolerance in a pluralistic society without quIietly surrendering Jesus’ claim to truth? Our increasingly diverse world brings people of different religions, cultures, and convictions together as neighbors. Christians should welcome that opportunity. We can defend the freedom of others because we want them to defend ours. But tolerance and truth are not the same thing. Tolerance means I can respect your right to believe differently without pretending that everything we believe is equally true. And that raises the question: If Jesus is credible, what do we do with His claim to be the only way to the Father? Or, simply: Is there another Gospel?
Scripture Summaries:
Galatians 1:6–7
Paul warns Christians against turning to a different gospel, because ultimately there is no other Gospel.
Matthew 7:24–29
Jesus says the person who hears His words and acts upon them is like someone who builds a house upon rock. Storms come, but the house stands because its foundation is secure.
1 Corinthians 15:1–4
Paul summarizes the Gospel: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day.
Acts 17:29–31
In religiously diverse Athens, Paul neither attacks his listeners nor pretends every belief is equally true. He respectfully points them toward the living God and the risen Christ.
Message: Perhaps our confusion begins when we mistake tolerance for truth. Or we think the Gospel is Jesus plus my goodness or Jesus plus correct theology or Jesus plus political power or Jesus plus prosperity of Jesus plus religious performance. None of that earns God’s approval. And Jesus never taught us to hate those who believe differently either. He told us to love our neighbors, welcome strangers, forgive enemies, serve others, and show mercy. But loving someone does not require affirming everything that person believes.There is a difference between saying:
“You are free to believe differently from me.”
and saying:
“Therefore, what we both believe must be equally true.”
Our pluralistic world therefore presents Christians with both an opportunity and a temptation.The opportunity is to build friendships, practice hospitality, listen carefully, serve sacrificially, and explain why our hope is in Christ.The temptation is to make Jesus merely one spiritual option among many. But that isn’t the Gospel the apostles proclaimed. The Gospel isn’t primarily advice about how good people should live. It is news about something God has done:
Christ died for our sins and rose again.
So perhaps the most important question isn’t about them. It is about us. Jesus said every foundation will eventually be tested.
What have I built my life upon?
And an even more uncomfortable question:
If I were living a lie or others were living a lie, would we want to know?
And So, Paul leaves us with a question whose answer he considered settled: Is there another Gospel? No. But there is a Gospel for everyone and an abundance of false Gospels too that lead people astray. Christian faithfulness doesn’t require hostility toward those who disagree with us, nor does Christian love require surrendering what we believe to be true. There is another way: Love without compromise. Hospitality without fear. Conviction without hostility. Humility without uncertainty about Christ. Paul demonstrated this in Athens. He listened. He understood. He found common ground. And then he pointed people toward the risen Christ. Perhaps that’s what our world needs from Christians today. Not angry Christians. Not frightened Christians. But Christians whose lives are built so firmly upon the Rock that we are free to love people who profoundly disagree with us. Because if Jesus really is who He claimed to be, pointing another person toward Him isn’t an act of intolerance. It may be one of the greatest acts of love we can offer.
Pray that we will build our lives upon the Rock. Pray that we will practice hospitality without surrendering truth. Pray that fear will never become our method of evangelism. Pray that our lives will make the Gospel credible before our mouths attempt to explain it. Pray that God will first expose the false foundations in our own lives. Pray we sit in the presence of Jesus and listen. Pray then that God would bless us to be disciple makers because God is with us and we have heard the call.
Blessings,
John Lawson
