In last week’s post, “Judge Not,” I wrote about how we need to live out our lives with mercy. I commented upon how tolerance has become the supreme virtue of our society. This is an especially acute problem for us as Christians because the Gospel is not a “tolerant” message. While it is a message of Mercy, it is also a message of Truth. The Gospel states that Jesus, and His death on the cross, is the only way to God.

Yesterday came the results of the latest polls confirming that Americans value tolerance above all else, even when it come to religion. The most disturbing part of the poll is that the majority of self-described Evangelicals also believe in tolerance. According to the poll, 57% of American Evangelicals believe that “many religions lead to eternal life.” Time Magazine titles its article “Christians: No one path to Salvation.” The individualistic nature of American society has finally come home to roost, even in Evangelical churches. The irony is that the word “evangelical” means “Gospel” or “good news.” The Church for 2000 years has taught that Jesus is the only way to eternal life. So not only do we face having to live and proclaim an exclusive message in the society as a whole, but we now have to work just as hard with the people within our churches.

I have come to believe that this is “the great challenge of our time.” The Time article quotes Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Seminary, as saying, “More so than Christ’s divinity or Resurrection, he says, “the exclusivity of the Gospel is the most vulnerable doctrine in the face of the modern world.” I agree with his assessment and I am burdened by this. I am pastoring a new church whose stated mission is “to bring the Gospel of Jesus to the unchurched residents of downtown Phoenix.” This is not going to be an easy task. The mindset of tolerance which dominates the thinking of our society has now infected the Church of Jesus as well.

In Romans 12:1-12, St. Paul says:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

About a hundred years ago, when the Fundamentalist/Modernist battle was raging, the Church interpreted these verses in terms of behvavior. “Not being conformed to this world” meant not doing certain activities such as going to the movies, playing cards, drinking alcohol, etc. Unfortunately, the Church had this wrong. “Not being conformed to the world” has to do with our thinking. That is why Paul follows the command of not being conformed with “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Good behavior will naturally follow, it flows out of good thinking that is grounded in the Word of God.

What has happened is that Western society has changed seemingly overnight. For 1500 years Christian thought, ethics and morality were accepted as the norm. The past 40 years has turned it upside down. We in the church, who live in this society, have been “conformed to this world”…that is to the mindset, the thinking, the prevalent philosophies of this age. Again, as I wrote last week, the one who sets the thinking of this age is Satan (Eph. 2:1-3). He is the one who is actively deceiving human beings to accept tolerance as the ultimate virtue. And it sounds so good.

In our day, it does sounds “sinful” to tell anyone else how to live. On the contrary, it sounds so loving, so caring, so tolerant to support your friends, family, co-workers, fellow student to pursue whatever makes them happy…whatever brings them fulfillment. I admit, it is tough to work against. “Be a good person”, “do your best”, etc, etc. But of course, that is not what Christianity teaches. It teaches that our best is not good enough. There is only One whose best is good enough and His name is Jesus.

So where do we go from here? Again, I admit to a lot of questions and not as many answers. I think first off, we need to be in prayer, individually and corporately. I do not believe we are going to “take our society back.” Rather, we must by our lives, live in such a startingly subversive way…lives that are holy and compassionate, that the world around us must take notice. This is how the Church lived in the first several centuries amongst a sea of plurality that was the Roman Empire. I also think we need to be ok with taking head on those doubts, questions that we all have (believers and unbelievers alike). Knowing our Faith at a deep level will strengthen us and help us to engage those within our culture who are still bound by the shackles of deceit. May God help us.

I keep recommending Tim Keller to you. He is doing so much work on this front. Here is a short interview with him in the latest Christianity Today answering some of the questions are society raises: “Tim Keller Reason with America.”

Semper Fi,                                                                                                                                       Shane