Perhaps it’s not surprising that we have a president of the United States of America that has also embraced this new tolerance and has said as much in an interview on March 27, 2004 with Cathleen Falsani, a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times.  When she asked about what he believes, he responded in part: “So, I’m rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place (speaking of heaven), and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there’s an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived”. When she asked if he was a born again believer, he responded in part: “Yeah, although I don’t — I retain from my childhood and my experiences growing up, a suspicion of dogma. And I’m not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I’ve got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others. I’m a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at its best comes with a big dose of doubt.” Obama’s view on the new tolerance was confirmed in his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo before the Arab Spring, where he put the Torah, the Koran, and the Holy Bible all on the same level.  (See my blog post: President Obama Denies the Exclusiveness of Christianity). The new tolerance cares not which religion or god you worship as long as you don’t make one more superior than the rest.

Yet, the whole spirit and tenor of the New Testament proclaims Jesus Christ as the Only Begotten Son of God, who is the only way to salvation. Indeed He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Will you deny that truth or uphold it in the face of violent opposition? The early Christians did, because they were convinced that no one other than Jesus Christ would receive their unswerving allegiance or worship; that no king on earth would usurp that place of authority. Will you be willing to die for that truth? Or will you be swept away by the new tolerance which opens the gates for the Antichrist to proclaim himself as being above everything that is worshiped. You might ask: how will that happen? It does so in the same way that it allowed Caesar to proclaim himself as a god and be accepted by the pagan masses. If you make all religions equal in the sight of man as this new tolerance does, then it’s an easy step for any man to proclaim himself to be a god and entitled to your worship.

This is why it’s absolutely essential for every Christian to stand against this new tolerance sweeping the planet by proclaiming the old truth that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father and the only name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.  (See John 14:6; and Acts 4:12) This is one dogma that’s worth fighting and dying for! Let me encourage you to reject any notion that we should create a dialogue with other world religions for the sake of peace thus giving them credence that they worship the same God as Christians. We must not lose our testimony and witness to a dying world for the sake of unanimity and peaceful coexistence. Let us come out and separate ourselves from those who want to follow this new tolerance. To do so my friends, may well classify us as religious fanatics allowing us to take our rightful place alongside those early Christian martyrs. I write this with a heavy heart, because I know that the time is short. We must stand firm.

The Bible gives a brief illustration as to why the law is holy, righteous, and good (see Rom. 7:7-12) which we should pay close attention to, because it will help us to identify the sin or evil in our life and pluck it out as a gardener does an unwanted weed. The Bible also says we should put off the old life as we would pull off an old tattered set of clothes giving multiple illustrations about the different sins that can easily beset a Christian. Notice that in either case the number and types of sins are not exhaustive, so it is imperative to search the Scriptures and allow the commands of God to penetrate our souls bringing about conviction and repentance. To do so will bring us to the realization that there are over 121 express commands in the New Testament alone for the believer in Christ to grapple with, digest, and use to purge the unwanted sins in our life. The good news is that Christians can count on God through His Holy Spirit to have the strength in Him to turn away from sin and purge it completely. Dear friends, this is only the first step in achieving holiness that God desires.

Unfortunately many Christians stop at this point and then can’t understand why the besetting sin comes creeping back into their miserable life.  It is so heart breaking for me to see meaningful Christians slip back into their old sins and taken captive to do its will. How tragic it is to see them controlled by their old sin nature once again.  And the reason why in almost every case, is they have not put anything in place of the old sin. To press the gardening analogy the gardener must now plant good seed and keep it fertilized so that the strength of the lawn will keep out the unwanted weeds. Once again, the Bible is our best authority giving us multiple illustrations on what to put in place of the old sin (See Eph. 4:22-32). Take a moment and read through this list of illustrations again keeping in mind that this list is not exhaustive. For example, in verse 25 it says, “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood” but it does not stop there; it continues by telling us what needs to be put in the place of falsehood by saying, “and speak truthfully to his neighbor” and then adds a reason why it needs to be accomplished by saying, “for we are all members of one body.” So here is the point, God’s command will show us our sin, convict us of it through His Holy Spirit, and then lead us to repentance, but then we must continue on by putting something in place of the old sin. Put off the sin, put on a righteous act.

Jesus Christ also gives us another illustration (or parable) about an individual who sweeps his house clean and then does not put anything in the place of it; so along comes Satan bringing with him many more demons to occupy the place making his state much worse than before (See Mt. 12:43-45). So you see it is very important not only to follow the “shall not’s” thus cleaning your house, but also to follow our religious duties driven by the spirit of love. Jesus Christ is always our best example. He lived His entire life not for himself, but for the sake of others. Out of love He fed the poor. Out of love He healed the sick and counseled the hurting with words of truth and life. His brother James also wrote: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). The point is my friends, we should be so busy doing good to others that we never have enough time left in a day to follow our evil desires or be enticed by the many evil influences coming at us from the world. To be holy is our sure defense to stand firm as we fast approach the end of days.