The Christian’s Intolerable Intolerance to Tolerance

Now it may be difficult for contemporary Christians to understand what I am about to say, but the Christians living in the first few centuries of the Christian faith were marked and persecuted as Atheists and you will be, too. If a revival doesn’t break out in this country, this is one of the reasons you are going to go to jail.

Now, the culture surrounding the Christian was immersed in Theism. The world was filled with images of deities and religion was a booming business. Men not only tolerated one another’s deities, but they swapped them and shared them like baseball cards. The entire religious world was going on just fine until the Christians showed up and declared that he gods made with hands are no gods at all. They denied the Caesars the homage they demanded, refused to bend their knee to all other so-called gods and the confessed Jesus alone to be Lord of all. And, therefore, they were labeled Atheists.

The entire world looked on such draw dropping arrogance and reacted with fury against the Christian’s intolerable intolerance to tolerance.

Now I want you to look at something. Look at these words. Jaw dropping arrogance. The same scenario abounds in our world today. Against all logic we are told that all views regarding religion and morality are true no matter how radically different they are or contradictory they may be.

The most overwhelming aspect of all of this is that through the tireless efforts of the media and the academic world, this has quickly become the majority view. However, pluralism does not address the issue or cure the malady. It only anesthetizes the patient so that he no longer feels or thinks.

Now the gospel is a scandal because it awakens man from his slumber and refuses to let him rest on such an illogical footing. It forces him to come to some conclusion. How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him and if Baal, follow him. The true gospel is radically exclusive.

I never thought I would have to say this in front of a bunch of evangelicals. I never thought there would come a day when I would have to say such a thing to evangelicals that the gospel is radically exclusive. I never thought that we would begin to lose Christ as the only way.

Now listen. The true gospel is radically exclusive. Jesus is not a way, but the way and all other ways are no way at all. Now listen to this very carefully, because this is what is happening today. If Christianity would only move one small step toward a more tolerant ecumenicalism and change the definite article “the” in “the Savior” for the indefinite article “a” or “a Savior” the scandal would be removed and the world and Christianity could become friends. Do you realize that? If we would simply say that Yahweh is a god we would have no persecution on our hands. If we would simply say that Jesus is a savior, I would be on the Oprah Winfrey show. Do you realize that? All the scandal would remove if we just said he is our savior. You have yours, we will have ours. We are not going to impose anything upon you. We are not going to wrangle in dialog. Nothing. If that is your way, you go with that way and I will go with mine.

If we would only do that, we would never be persecuted. But if we do that, Christianity ceases to be Christianity, we cease to be Christian, Christ is denied and the world is without a Savior.



Watch, listen, read or download the full message: "Regeneration vs Decisionism" by Paul Washer here.