Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Welcome to week #2 in our series called “Gee, Wally…” We’re thinking through how much has changed in our culture in 50 years. The world of Beaver Cleaver in 1958 is certainly different than our world in 2008.

In this series, we’re exploring three main aspects of the prototypical American worldview of 2008. These three beliefs, in large part, really define America’s view of life and spirituality.

Last week we explored the belief of relativism. The belief that no religion, no faith, no belief system, no philosophy or perspective is better than any other. No one religion can make an exclusive claim to truth. No one faith can possibly be the one and only true faith.

This week, we’re moving on to the second defining belief in modern American spirituality.

In this series, we’re wondering what the Beaver might say if he was on the air today instead of in the 50’s. He might say something like this.

“Gee Wally, why does Mrs. Henderson date other women?”

He wouldn’t have asked that in 1958. But in 2008…definitely.

And if his wise brother Wally held the typical American worldview in 2008, he would answer, “Boy Beaver…don’t you know that every person gets to decide what is right and what is wrong for themselves?”

Last week, we explored the belief of relativism, which says that no religion or faith is exclusively true. Because most Americans believe in relativism, that leads to this belief that everyone gets to decide right and wrong for themselves. If there is no true faith, no one exclusive God, then who makes the rules? Answer: you and I do. We determine right and wrong based on our own thoughts and feelings. You don’t get to tell someone else what is right and wrong. Because what is wrong for you might be right for them.

This is the belief system of tolerance. Let’s pray and then we’ll explore this second major tenet in the typical American worldview.

The dude showed up naked. I’m not kidding, the guy showed up with absolutely no clothes on. This is a true story that happened on the campus of UCLA. One day, a student decided, “You know what? I think I’ll go to class naked.” And that’s exactly what he did!

The next day, he woke up and thought, “Oh, I’m running late. I’d better take my clothes off and go to class,” and he showed up to class naked again. This went on for days. Everyday…the guy had great attendance…everyday he would attend class wearing nothing but a smile.

And here’s the crazy part…no one said a word! He came to class with no clothes on for weeks, and no one said a word about it. The other students said nothing. The professor said nothing. The university said nothing.

What in the world is going on when a student comes to class naked and no one says a word about it? What’s going on is this thing called tolerance. What’s going on is that you’re no longer allowed to tell someone that what they’re doing is wrong. You’re not allowed to say there is such a thing as right and wrong. So, because they believed that they couldn’t tell this guy that he was wrong, a bunch of seemingly intelligent people at UCLA allowed a student attend class naked.

We are living in the age of tolerance. And at the outset, that sounds like a good thing. The word tolerance sounds good. In the 1958 world of Leave it to Beaver, it was good.

The old definition of tolerance was “to show respect for a person who has different beliefs than you, even though you don’t share those beliefs.” For example, if you have a friend who is a Muslim, you love that friend even though you don’t agree with his beliefs. That’s the 1958 definition of tolerance. And it’s a good thing.

But now there’s a new sheriff in town. Tolerance in 2008 has been redefined.

Here’s how the new definition goes: “every single individual’s beliefs, values, lifestyle, and truth claims are all equal.”

Did you see the change? It’s no longer about respect. Now, it’s all about acceptance. The old tolerance said, “Even though I disagree with your beliefs and lifestyle, I still respect you.”

The new tolerance says, “I fully accept your beliefs and your lifestyle as valid and true and good.”

Big difference. But does the Bible give us any direction here? Let’s get into the Word of God and see what he has to say about it.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul wrote two letters to a young church leader named Timothy. In his second letter, Paul wrote, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, NIV)

This is a classic preacher verse. It’s drilled into every preaching student in Bible College. Most every preacher has committed it to memory, because it so accurately describes what we want to be as pastors.

But it’s not just a verse for preachers. This verse has far-reaching implications in our current age of tolerance. And all you have to do is change the emphasis of one word.

Paul told Timothy to be careful in how he handled “the word of truth.” He calls the Bible “the word of truth.” What about the Koran, which is the Muslims’ holy book? What about the book of Mormon? What about the Tipitaka, which is the Buddhist holy book? Paul doesn’t leave any room for these other writings. He claims that the Bible is the only, the exclusive word of truth.

And here’s the rub in our culture of tolerance. If the Bible is the word of truth, then what the Bible says is right is right. And what the Bible says is wrong is wrong.

I don’t get to decide for myself what is right and wrong for me. If the Bible is the word of truth, then I can’t make subjective judgments regarding what is true. There is an objective, absolute standard of truth. The Bible is the benchmark in determining right and wrong, good and evil.

That is not even close to what our culture believes. It’s estimated that less than 25% of Americans believe that there is such a thing as absolute truth.

Another study, and this one is really scary, said that 6% of American teens believe that there are moral absolutes. Just 6%. But what about Christian teens? Surely that number would go up if the survey was of Christ-following teenagers. It does go up…a little. 9% of Christian teens believe that there are moral absolutes.

Think about what that means. If this study is accurate, it means that 91% of Christian teenagers say that, when it comes to morality, there is no such thing as absolute truth. 91% of Christian students now believe that it is impossible to tell right from wrong. They believe that when it comes to a person’s morality and lifestyle, nothing is objective. Nothing is absolute. If it’s right for them, then it’s right.

Last week, we explored this claim that Jesus made. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV)

Jesus claimed to be “the truth.” The one and only, the exclusive truth. And yet 91% of his young followers believe that truth is relative and that what is right and wrong is determined by individual people.

This means that if Mrs. Henderson wants to date other women, that is her own personal decision and you have no right to question it. In fact, under the new tolerance, it goes further than that. Not only do you have no right to question a person’s moral choices, but you have to celebrate them. You have to herald their moral views as good and right and true. Anything short of that is narrow-minded, bigoted intolerance.

The implications for the church are pretty easy to see, and it’s scary. You can’t tell a teenage couple that sex is reserved for marriage. You’ve got to tell them that they have to explore their own sexuality, and whatever they decide is right is right.

I can’t counsel a guy not to hit the strip club with his buddies, because it’s his choice.

You can’t call it pornography. It’s free expression.

See the trend here?

The new tolerance is conditioning us to go soft on the Biblical doctrine of sin. In the simplest of terms, the Bible clearly says that some things are good and some things are bad. And the bad things, the things that displease the Lord, are labeled as sinful.

But the new tolerance says, “No, no, no! You can’t do that. You can’t call something a sin. It is actually a person’s choice, and if they decide that it’s good, then it’s good. And you have to tell them that it’s good.”

But God’s Word says something very different. In the book of Isaiah, God says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. (Isaiah 5:20, NIV)

If God has labeled something as good, then we can’t call it evil. And if God has labeled something as evil, then we can’t call it good. God is sovereign, which means he gets to make the rules. He sets the standard.

So there’s the dichotomy. God says that he determines right and wrong. Tolerance says that right and wrong are determined by individuals.

So what do we do with this? As Christ-followers, how do we honor him and his truth in a culture so steeped in the new tolerance?

The little book of Jude in the New Testament holds the key for us. Jude tells us to live out God’s truth with conviction. In the age of tolerance, nothing short of passionate conviction for the ways of God is going to cut it. Anything less and we’ll crumble under the weight that our culture puts on us.

Picking it up in verse 17, Jude writes, “But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”

These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.

Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” (Jude 17-21, NIV)

Jude warns us that we’ll be surrounded by people who only follow their natural instincts. They’ll decide right and wrong for themselves.

But look at what he said to us. “But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.

Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”

Build yourselves us in your most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love. You know God’s love. You know God’s truth. Stand for it with passionate conviction.

The problem is that conviction isn’t how a lot of us determine right and wrong. One Christian author who has studied this for years has determined that 70% of people determine right from wrong based on feelings. 25% determine right from wrong based on belief. 5% determine right from wrong based on conviction.

70% decide right and wrong based on feelings. I feel this is right. I feel this is wrong.

25% base it on belief. I believe this is right. I believe this is wrong.

But only 5% base it on conviction. This is right. This is wrong. And as God’s people, this is where we have to land.

The seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was this past Thursday. As I was remembering the events of that day seven years ago, one thing really struck me…it’s one of the few times that I’ve seen when everyone was able to delineate right and wrong.

When the terrorists knocked those buildings down, killing thousands of innocent people, we didn’t say, “Well, I feel that this was wrong.” We didn’t even say, “I believe that this was wrong.” People in our country said in one unified voice, “This is wrong!” It was a judgment based on conviction.

When God clearly lays out something in his word, his people need to approach it with that same kind of passion, that same kind of conviction. God is passionate about the truth, and he’s calling us to live for the truth with that same passion.

That’s why Jude urges us to keep building ourselves up in our faith. Stay connected to God’s truth. Pray in the Holy Spirit, asking him for guidance and wisdom. Let passion and conviction for God’s truth permeate your life.

In the book of Romans, the Bible says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2, NIV)

Our culture of tolerance is constantly pushing the people of God to conform. “You don’t really believe that, do you? Man, that’s really old-fashioned. Don’t act like a fundamentalist. You’re more enlightened than that. Jesus was tolerant, wasn’t he? He just loved everybody, regardless of their lifestyle or choices. That dogma of sin is way out of date.”

The pressure is on for us to leave our “old-fashioned, out-of-touch” convictions behind and become more enlightened, more tolerant. And Christians are caving in right and left. But it is my passion to see the believers here at Amelia hold the line.

Living out God’s truth with conviction…and compassion. Jude commanded us to stand for God’s truth with conviction. Keep our guard up. Keep building ourselves up in God’s truth. That’s what we do about us

But now, look at what he said about other people. “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.” (Jude 18-19, NIV)

The Bible promises that we’ll be surrounded by people who follow their own instincts. They make right and wrong their own personal decision. Jude calls them “scoffers,” because these people will scoff at your faith. They’ll call you a bigot, they’ll call you intolerant.

But look at what else Jude says about them. They “do not have the Spirit.” Jude is talking about the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that when a person gives their life to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into their life. God takes up residence in them, guiding them, encouraging them, leading them.

These people that Jude is talking about do not have the Holy Spirit because they’ve never given their lives to Christ. In other words, they’re lost. They’re living their lives far from God.

You know how much you love Jesus? How much he’s changed your life? You know the promise that you’ll spend your eternity in his presence? These people don’t have any of that. That shouldn’t fuel anger in us. It shouldn’t make us condescending or critical. It should make us compassionate.

A few verses later, Jude goes on to tell us, “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” (Jude 22-23, NIV)

Do you see the fusion of conviction and compassion in these verses? When we’re interacting with someone who is living far from God, we know with conviction that they’re wrong. We know they’re living in sin. We know they’re in danger of hell. We know the truth with conviction.

And because we’re convicted by the truth, we show compassion for someone who is living outside the truth. We show mercy mixed with fear. Our love and compassion for this person drives us, not to try to win an argument, but to try to win them to Christ.

Let’s say that Mrs. Henderson really is dating other women. What do you do as a Christ-follower? There is probably no other issue where Christians get more bad press than with homosexuality. We’re nothing more than intolerant, homophobic, fundamentalist morons, right? We’ve been given those labels in large part because so many Christians go at this issue with conviction, but with no compassion.

Now, let’s be clear about it. The Bible does say that homosexuality is a sin. In 1 Corinthians 6, the Bible says, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, NIV)

Homosexuality is outside of God’s design for human sexual experience. The Bible clearly labels it as sinful behavior. No matter what our culture tries to say or do, we can’t give up our conviction for God’s truth.

But we also can’t use our own conviction to stamp out our compassion. Remember what Jude commands us to do. Show compassion and mercy to those who doubt. Those who are living in a sinful lifestyle.

When Nicki and I went to our high school reunion a few years ago, one of our classmates was there with his gay partner. I really wondered how this would go, because this guy knew that I was in ministry. He used to attend my home church when we were in school, so he’s very familiar with what I believe and teach. I hadn’t seen him since he had started living a gay lifestyle, so this was going to be the first chance I had to make any kind of impression. He may have been expecting something different from me, but what he got was respect and compassion.

If you’re listening to me today and you’re wondering about your sexuality, or maybe you’re living a openly gay lifestyle, I want you to hear this. God has called homosexuality a sin. I can’t change that. I can’t soften that. He set the standard. And I and this church family love you too much to tell you any differently. It’s not loving to lie to you. We’re all leading lives that have been messed up by sin. There isn’t a perfect person here. But we worship one that is. But even though he is perfect and we’re not, he loves us. So much so that he died to take the punishment for our sins so we wouldn’t have to. There is no sin in your life that cannot be forgiven by the cross of Christ. There is no life that cannot be changed by the power of God.

I wish that’s how more Christians would react to homosexuals. I realize that there are a lot in the gay community who are militant, who are insulting, condescending, and hateful toward believers. But we’re called to live by a higher standard than that.

And keep in mind…in our culture of tolerance, homosexuality is just one example. It’s just one example of something that the Bible calls sin, but that our culture demands that we praise, honor, and accept.

And even though this isn’t popular, we need to remember that the Bible doesn’t call us to be tolerant. It calls us to be loving.

Josh McDowell wrote, “We must aggressively practice love. Everyone loves love, it seems, but few recognize how incompatible love is with the new tolerance. Tolerance simply avoids offending someone; [love] actively seeks to promote the good of another person.

Tolerance says, "You must approve of what I do."

Love responds, "I must do something harder; I will love you, even when your behavior offends me."

Tolerance says, "You must agree with me."

Love responds, "I must do something harder; I will tell you the truth, because I am convinced 'the truth will set you free.' "

Tolerance says, "You must allow me to have my way."

Love responds, "I must do something harder; I will plead with you to follow the right way, because I believe you are worth the risk."

Tolerance seeks to be inoffensive; love takes risks.

Tolerance glorifies division; love seeks unity.

Tolerance costs nothing; love costs everything.”

It was love that cost Jesus everything. It was his love for you and me that cost him his life. Jesus was not tolerant of sin. If he was, then he wouldn’t have died on the cross to forgive it.

At the same time, the cross stands as the greatest example of God’s intolerance of sin and his love for sinners. And through the cross, God is calling you to give your life to him today.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: Gee Wally, compassion, conviction, Jude, homosexuality, tolerance