Notes from Sunday sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll
A few weeks ago, Pastor Mark Driscoll was interviewed by Piers Morgan. If you are interested in catching a clip of the interview, please check out the link at the top of the page. And if you do, you will notice that Morgan only wished to badger Driscoll, as opposed to giving Driscoll a fair chance to fully respond. I think Driscoll handled himself excellently, given the circumstances, and I continue to applaud Driscoll for bringing the Gospel to the masses.
Here, I'd like to spend some time in response to Morgan's comment: "However, like everything in life, shouldn’t it be dragged kicking and screaming into each modern era, and be adapted, like the American Constitution. Because in my view about this, it’s not that I don’t respect Christians, or Catholics, or whoever, who absolutely swear by every word in here, it’s just, I just don’t believe anyone who’s genuinely Christian should be spouting bigoted opinions about sections of the community for their sexuality."
It saddens me greatly to hear such statements, and it exasperates me as well. Unfortunately, this sentiment is shared by many who reject God.
First, I understand that sentiment. I was a hardcore atheist not long ago. And back then, I, too, screamed defiantly, "Who are you to tell me what is acceptable or not? You respect my choices, and I will respect yours." So, those of you who are badgering Christians for "judging" you, hey, I get you.
Here's my take on the whole issue. I don't think it's as simple as tolerance, and I don't think tolerance is the problem at all. I think the problem is whether we see the Truth.
Here's the thing. If I don't believe there is a set standard, and if you don't believe there is a set standard, then there is no reason for me to take your standard as mine or vice versa. This is when tolerance is super important. When there is no way to prove who is right and and is wrong, I have as much right to stick to my beliefs as any other person. And if I want that right to be respected by others, then I have to respect that same right held by other people as well.
But, what if there IS one golden standard that clearly defines what is right and wrong? Tolerance, as defined by Piers Morgan (but not defined by Christians, as I will address later), would be more detrimental than beneficial. Say I'm babysitting a two-year-old. He sees me cooking over a fire and wants to touch the fire. There is no gray area about "Fire burns." I obviously would not let him touch the fire. And now, I have a screaming baby, because it's his desires versus mine. What do I do?
Now, don't yell at me for over-simplifying the argument at hand. Am I really over-simplifying? Let's chat with logic here.
Everyone (excluding psychopaths) would agree that I should not let the baby play with fire. Why? Because we all know that fire burns. In this situation, "Fire burns" is THE golden standard. It is a fact. It is a Truth.
I highly doubt anyone would criticize a parent who refuses to let his/her baby play with fire. I highly doubt anyone would yell at that parent and tell him/her to be more tolerant.
Tolerance, defined by Morgan, has a double standard. When it comes to facts, we do what is right. Screw tolerance. When we don't have all the facts, then we do whatever we think is right and demand everyone else to respect what we do.
Christian tolerance, on the other hand, does not operate like that. We know the Truth--We have a God that loves us--and we aim to share that Truth with love. (Yes, there are many Christians who need to share with more love, a LOT more love. But hey, we are all growing in our capacity, so let's give them some room to grow, lest we also become the judgmental, unloving ones.) God is our golden standard, and He makes it very clear about what is right and what is wrong. From the Christian perspective, homosexuality, for example, is playing with fire. We would never let a baby play with fire, so why would we condone homosexuality?
Piers Morgan's definition of tolerance, therefore, is him screaming like the baby that has been refused the chance to play with fire. And instead of trying to understand why fire burns, he's throwing a tantrum demanding the okay for him to play with fire.
Christian tolerance, if Morgan would let Driscoll finish, is Truth wrapped around with love. We lovingly explain to people what is right and what is wrong--not in our own eyes but in the eyes of God. We do not badger people, because that is not helpful. The end goal is to help people see and understand, not to drive them into a hole. Christian tolerance is NOT giving the nod for people to do what is clearly wrong in God's eyes. Christian tolerance is loving people even when they are going down the wrong path, so that Christians can guide people back to the path of righteousness.
If you are still having trouble understanding Christian tolerance, I ask that you take a deep breath and clear your mind. Leave the emotions out and think about this: Is God really THE Golden Standard? If no, then we can all go back to doing what we think is right (as opposed to doing what God deems as righteous). If yes, then the issue at hand is much bigger than tolerance. The center of the universe is no longer you but God, and that will dramatically change your view of the world.
And before you throw your hands up at me and tell me to go away, honestly ask yourself why you don't believe. Is it because everyone mocks Christians, and everyone just knows Christians are morons? Or, is it because you have actively sought evidence, and you have convincing proof God is just a figment of our imagination? Why is it that people know it's stupid to jump off the bridge just because everyone else does it, and yet, when it comes to something that claims to dictate our eternal life, people do it all the time? Don't jump off the bridge just because everyone else does it. Clear your emotions and honestly seek the answer. We have a book that tells us we hold the fate of our eternal life in our own hands. Don't you think it would be wise to do a bit of research into whether that's true or not before you just jump in with the crowd and scream hogwash?
And before you shoot back saying, "Well, if God is really all that loving, He wouldn't condemn me to Hell." Honestly, that is like a teenager screaming at his parents for grounding him because he got caught doing something wrong. If we encourage girls to stay away from boys who say things like, "If you really love me, you'd have sex with me," how could we condone haughty statements about the love of God? God made this world with a breath. Our pride is nothing when we stand in front of Him. So, I urge those who pridefully think they are better than God, please, please, please earnestly seek the answer.
In the link above, Driscoll elaborates on Christian tolerance. Below, I only highlight points I found to be especially inspirational.
LETTER TO THYATIRA: JESUS SPEAKS ABOUT TOLERANCE
Revelation 2:18–29
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
The rebuke is, “You tolerate.”
And Jesus continues: "I have this against you, you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice,” not alternative lifestyles but “Sexual immorality.”
Driscoll: "Now when Satan and marketers got done with it, sexual immorality became alternative lifestyle, because alternative lifestyle sounds like, 'Oh, I don’t know, chicken, ham, fish, I just don’t know, there’s so many alternatives.'
Jesus: "I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed and those who commit adultery.”
In God's eyes, adultery is NOT another alternative lifestyle.
Driscoll: You get the impression this isn’t hugs-and-muffin Jesus, amen? Like, he’s just not walking around, hugging people, throwing out Zen-like fortune cookie statements. You know, riding a unicorn. He’s just not, that’s not this guy. This is resurrected-from-death, ruling-and-reigning, living-in heaven, judging-the-living-and-the-dead, big Jesus.
You always, everything, have to start with Jesus. If you start talking about morality, politics, culture, lifestyle, orientation, you’re going to get confused. Start with Jesus Christ. Who is he and how is it connected to him?
CHRIST
Jesus is the Son of God. Big title. Jesus is God. He is equal to God the Father. He is the maker of heaven and earth. He rules over all peoples, times, places, cultures, preferences, and lifestyles.
The church belongs to Jesus. Jesus is the one who has the right to say whether we are being obedient or disobedient. I don't get to make that judgment about myself or anyone else. No one gets to make that judgment but God.
We will all give an account to Jesus. There is no escaping that. And it is said that all those who stand in front of Him would agree with the award or punishment he/she receives. What this means is, on that day, no one would disagree with Jesus' judgement. If He punishes us, we will KNOW that we DESERVE it. What's the difference between knowing we are sinners now versus knowing we are sinners when we stand in front of the Great White Throne of God? If we earnestly confess now, Jesus cleanses us and guides us back on the path of righteousness. And upon Jesus' return, we get to reign with Him as kings and priests. If we confess we are sinners on Judgment Day, sorry, there is no cleansing. We get thrown into the lake of fire. It's not about a how could a loving God do this to us. It's about how ungrateful we are as sinners. Jesus came and died on the cross for us, so that He could redeem us in the eyes of God. We are given chance after chance to repent and place our faith in Him, yet we refuse time after time. The point of free will is so that we can choose to be with God without being forced to. Well, when we stand in front of Him, looking at the lake of fire, who would refuse Him? There's not much free will going on there, is there? Judgment Day is when we are held accountable for the decisions we have made. There is no, "Oops, I didin't know." Deep down inside, we all know we have had plenty of chance to know, but we chose to remain blind so that we can do whatever we wanted to do (Roman 1:18-20).
In the Letter to Thyatira, Jesus is pictured as immovable, unshakeable, and faith in him is built on a sure foundation. Jesus doesn’t just have an opinion, a perspective, an ideology. JESUS IS THE TRUTH.
While Jesus was on the earth, He fed the hungry, He healed the sick, He cast demons out of the possessed, He welcomed into friendship women, children, those marginalized and ostracized. And part of being a Christian is living by the power of the Holy Spirit, the lifestyle of Jesus. We give to those in need, we serve, we love, we care. That’s what Jesus did. He loved, gave, cared, served. And Jesus commanded Thyatira for doing this.
However, Jesus rebuked Thyatira for tolerance.
This is not just a new issue. This is an ongoing issue. Satan and demons oppose Jesus. Satan's entire goal has been to prevent salvation, so that he could prove he is better than God, that he deserves worship, not God. And thus, he tried to prevent the birth of Christ, but he failed. He tried to kill baby Jesus, but he failed. And he went on to try to kill all Jews throughout many different periods of time, and he failed. Israelites have been through a lot, but they have survived it all. If that does not show you the amazing protective powers of God, nothing will.
Even today, Satan continues to pull God's people away. He is always tempting people to compromise God's standards. How do we retain biblical conviction and kingdom commitment in the midst of a culture that does not love Jesus or believe the Bible? We tolerate.
In the case of Thyatira, they tolerated Jezebel. She called herself a prophetess. God did not appoint her as the spiritual leader. She appointed herself. She taught and seduced God's people to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. She was given time to repent, but she refused.
Jezebel was was a very powerful woman, had political authority and spiritual authority, and had financial ability. Instead of committing to God, she created an "alternative lifestyle," a new religion that claimed to have a new, involved, evolved, enlightened, spiritual ideology. She encouraged the worship of a false god named Baal, a type of demonic idolatry.
She was, in sum, powerfully influential.
However, not everyone who is powerful and successful is empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Driscoll: You can’t just look at somebody and say, “Look at how rich and powerful they are, God must be blessing them.” No, or Satan is blessing them, and demons are empowering them and enabling them. And that was the case with Jezebel. Jezebel took Baal worship and integrated it with something called syncretism. This is biblical belief, plus other religions, ideologies, and perspectives. It’s a hyphenated faith, it’s a syncretized faith, it’s a diluted faith, it’s a compromised faith. It’s a “both/and,” when Jesus says, “Either/or.”
LESSONS FROM JEZZEBEL
1. Jezebel's teaching was popular not because it was so biblical, but because it allowed sexual sin.
Driscoll: This is like in our day, someone becomes very popular because they say, “You could be a faithful Christian and a homosexual. You could be a faithful Christian and an adulterer. You could be a faithful Christian and a fornicator. You could be a faithful Christian and a porn watcher. And you can have both, and God doesn’t judge, and we shouldn’t judge, and we should be tolerant and diverse. And Jesus loves you, and we love you. And who are we to judge?”
Well, Jesus loves you, but Jesus does judge. And He said, “This I have against you, you tolerate that.”
Driscoll: Let’s not change the Word of God, let’s allow the Word of God to change us.
I always remember Dr. Chuck Missler's comment, "God readily forgives confessed sins. God, however, cannot tolerate continued sin." Why not? Because God is perfect. Sin cannot exist in His presence.
So, sure, we can change the Word of God. But what does that do, really? God, as stated clearly in the Bible, is immutable. This means, God does NOT change. So... we go and change His Word so that we can feel better about ourselves when we do things that He has made clear is wrong. And... we somehow think God is going to be okay with that?
Driscoll: Oftentimes the issue is not an unconvinced mind, it’s an unwilling heart. It’s someone that says, “I don’t like what the Bible says, and it’s trying to change me, so I would rather change it, so I can do what I want.”
2. There is a price to be paid for faithfulness to the God of the Bible.
Jezebel came along and told God's people that they can be Christians and still enjoy society's alternative lifestyles. Many people of Thyatira thought that was great and compromised. They would go to church and hear about sexual purity, but then if there's a crazy event going on, well, nobody’s perfect, right?
Again, God readily forgives confessed sins but cannot tolerate continual sin. If we have the Truth in us, we cannot continue to walk around as if we are blind.
3. Time doesn't heal all wounds.
Jesus said, “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”
Driscoll: Sometimes you can wait a long time. It’s not going to get better. Your family still may not love the fact that you love Jesus. Your boss may not love the fact that you love Jesus. Your professor may not love the fact that you love Jesus. The culture we live in, the city you live in, it may not be excited that you’re excited about Jesus. You need to accept that. You need to own that. We worship a guy who got crucified. And those who loved and served him most faithfully, they followed in his footsteps. I’m not saying that we want to suffer, we want to be opposed, we want toe persecuted, but I’m saying that if we’re not, it may be because number one, we don’t talk about Jesus, or number two, we talk about him, but we don’t tell the truth.
4. It’s a sin for Christians to be more tolerant than Christ.
Jesus said, “But this I have against you, you tolerate.”
Driscoll: Some of you are more tolerant than Jesus. Hey, bottom line, not everybody is going to heaven. Bottom line, not all religions lead to the same path. Bottom line, not all saviors can save. Bottom line, not all sacred books say the same thing or tell the truth.
The point is, there can only be one Truth. Jesus said the only to the Father is through Him. Other people say there are multiple ways to Heaven. They cannot all be true. Tolerating all these statements is clearly foolish and detrimental, because it does not help clarify who represents the Truth and who is lying. It just keeps our eyes closed, so that we can ignore the problem and hope that it goes away. Fire burns. If we close our eyes and pretend we don't see it, it will eventually burn down everything, including ourselves. So, go put out the darn fire already.
CHRISTIAN TOLERANCE
1. Legal tolerance in culture
Driscoll: We don’t impose Christian faith; we propose Christian faith. We defend the right of religions, ideologies, spiritualities, and perspectives that we disagree with because we believe in a marketplace of ideas. Throw Christianity in the mix, and the truth always wins, and it is the one that will prevail.
2. Social tolerance in community
Should we tolerate atheists, agnostics, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. socially and personally? Totally.
Jesus tells us to love our neighbor. He doesn’t say agree with them. But, we should love, serve, be good friends with, neighbors to people of other beliefs, and ideologies, and religions, and perspectives.
3. Theological tolerance in the church
Driscoll: We want to invite all of God’s people to come in. And you’re all coming in from different places and perspectives. Even those of you who are Christians, you’re going to study, and learn, and change, and grow. And Lord knows I have and am. We need to be that kind of community that loves, and serves, and tolerates, and brings along fellow brothers and sisters, and reconsiders ideas, and learns to live together peaceably. Should we tolerate other churches? Yeah. They may disagree with us on certain secondary issues. Our church has male pastors, their church may have women pastors. But they really do love Jesus, believe the Bible, they are family, we’ll be with them in the kingdom of God. So, yeah, we need to be friendly and, for the sake of evangelism, partner that people might meet Jesus. And lovingly have a discussion about some of the things we disagree about. But that’s not war. This is just dialogue between brothers and sisters.
4. Heretical tolerance in the church
Driscoll: The Bible is God’s Word. Jesus is God’s Son. Jesus lived without sin, died on the cross in our place, rose as our Savior. These major themes are like national boundaries. State boundaries are like, you Baptist, you Lutheran, you Presbyterian, you Assemblies of God, you Four Square, you Reformed, you Arminian? We should get along across the state borders, but we still have to protect the national borders.
So, somebody comes along, and they’re teaching heresy. They’re claiming to be a Christian, we’re not talking about Christians, they’re claiming to be Christians, and they’re doing what this woman is doing. Teaching false doctrine, encouraging false thinking and behaving. Saying, “No, we don’t tolerate that.”
The people are like sheep. The pastors are to be shepherds. Jesus is the chief shepherd. And Satan sends in wolves, spiritual leaders who are powerful, influential, winsome, and evil.
This is my heart for you as your pastor—I love, I love this church. Given fifteen years of my life to this church. And some will say, “Boy, man, he gets a little frustrated right there.” Yeah, shepherds tend to get fired up with wolves.
When there are wolves, shepherds wake up, they stand up, they step up, because they love the sheep. “No, you can’t teach that here. You can’t promote that. That’s not biblical. That’s not right. You can’t just use these people. You can’t just lead them astray. The answer is no.”
Do we allow wolves? No.
Non-Christians aren’t wolves. What we’re talking about is those who say they’re Christians, and then lead people away from Christianity. That was exactly what’s going on at Thyatira. Jesus was basically admonishing them, saying, But this I hold against you. Not only are you good at hugging, but you’re good at hugging wolves. Keep hugging, but stop hugging wolves.
Anytime a shepherd allows wolves, they really don’t love the sheep. They really don’t love the sheep.
My thoughts: I agree that we approach everything and everyone with love. I agree that we want to invite not just God's people but people in general. Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He told His disciples to spread the Gospel. We are His disciples today, and that is our end goal. We cannot effectively spread His Good News if we pissed everyone off first, can we? Our goal is to help everyone understand just how awesome Jesus' Good News is, and the only effective way to do that is with love. LOTS OF LOVE.
However, people stray. Christians stray. Church leaders stray. It is our duty to rebuke our brothers and sisters when they have strayed, because we hope that they would rebuke us when we have strayed. The path to the Father is very narrow, and it is only through Jesus. If we have strayed, and no one is looking out for us, or no one bothers to tell us because we all want to just get along, we can easily fall off that narrow path. Rebuking obviously needs to be conducted with love and understanding, but when the rebuked refuses to re-evaluate or to engage in a healthy discussion, then unfortunately, the rebuked will have to be left behind (Acts 13:49-52).
5. Immoral tolerance in the church
Jesus said, “This I have against you, you tolerate sexual
immorality.”
Driscoll: Should we as a church tolerate, from those who are professing Christians, immorality? I’m not talking about non Christians. The problems in the church, the divisions in the church, is not because of the non-Christians, it’s because of those who say they’re Christians. They profess a faith that they do not practice, and may not possess. Some of you’d come in and say, “Why do we have to talk about sin? Why, if somebody lives a life of habitual, unrepentant sin, and they say they’re a Christian, why is there this thing I heard about called church discipline, where you try and get them to change?” Because Jesus said, “This I have against you, you tolerate things I don’t tolerate.”
Now, let me say this, Christianity begins with tolerance and moves to repentance. Meaning, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you are, what you’ve done, come to Jesus just like you are. And he’s going to change you. So it begins with tolerance and it moves to repentance.
Dr. J. I. Packer, a well-noted scholar, theologian, and Bible teacher. He’s lived a long, faithful life and carries a lot of spiritual authority. He’d been pastoring in Canada for many years, and then, his denomination kicked him out.
Driscoll met with J. I. Packer a while back and asked him what happend.
Packer said, “My denomination has become heretical, apostate.”
This is a big statement about any church.
Packer continued, “Christianity is about repentance, and anytime we don’t practice repentance of our sin, and preach repentance for other’s sin, we’re heretics. Because Christianity is about repentance.”
Christianity explains to us why we are sinners, why we’re wrong, and why we need to change.
Driscoll: Christianity starts with tolerance, come as you are, and then Jesus says, “I’m going to change you.” And if we never call people to repentance, if we never say, “The way you’re thinking is wrong, the way you’re acting is wrong, the lifestyle you’ve chosen, the identity you’ve embraced, the actions that you celebrate are ones you should be mourning,” then we’re no longer Christians. We’re no longer faithful. We would be cult leaders, heretics, apostates. Those in culture would cheer us, but Jesus would rebuke us and say, “But this I have against you, you tolerate.”
Let me just say this to you, I just feel impressed of the Holy Spirit to just say this before I proceed forward. For some of you, this makes sense, but emotionally it gets tested when someone you love goes astray. You can hear me preach with conviction in my voice, and a Bible in my hand, and say, “That sounds right. We need to hold the line. The truth is the truth. Jesus is Lord. People need to repent. That starts with me. I’m not perfect. I need him first. And then I can humbly proclaim him to others. That makes sense to me.” And then your child comes home and says they want to explore their sexuality. Your grandchild comes home and says they want to choose to explore an alternate sexual identity. Your mom or your dad decide they want to try a new form of spirituality that’s kind of Christian, kind of not. Your spouse decides they want to start going to a church that doesn’t talk about sin, repentance, and Jesus, but maybe everything and anything but that. The person in your church that you really care for, and maybe they’ve loved you, or served you, or helped you, they go astray. What they’re believing is not biblical. How they’re behaving is not ethical. And all of sudden what moves from a mental conviction becomes an emotional confliction. You’re like, “Oh, man. Are they not a Christian? Are they going to hell? Are they wrong? When I talk to them about it they smile, they say they’re happier than they’ve ever been. They say they love me and it’s working. Maybe they even say they feel closer to Jesus than ever.” This is where we need to humbly hold the line. Humbly tell the truth. Humbly love and serve well.
GOD IS IMMUTABLE
Jesus said, "Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her."
Driscoll: This may be physical and spiritual adultery (aka, idolatry). It’s sexual immorality, which is behind a lot of demonic teaching, and false leaders, and cults, and errant doctrine, but it’s also spiritual adultery/idolatry. The church is Jesus' bride. And if a church starts whoring around with demons and other religions, and being disobedient, it’s spiritual adultery. This is a massive theme in the Old Testament. Christianity, Jesus Christ, is about repentance. This means we don’t change God, God changes us. We don’t change God, God changes us. We don’t look at God and say, You’re old-fashioned and outdated.” Because he would say, “I’m eternal without beginning or end. You’re the one who sinned. You’re the one who’s aging. You’re the one who’s dying. I’m perfect, you’re not. I don’t need to change, you do. I don’t have any defects, you do. I don’t have any shortcomings, you do. I’ve not said or done wrong, you have.”
If there’s a problem between us and God, the problem’s with us. And we’re not God. This really comes down to the root issue of authority. Who is going to be God?
Jesus says, “Repent.” That’s a change of mind. “I’m thinking wrong about this. I don’t care if I went to Bible college, and seminary, read books from a guy with more degrees than Fahrenheit, educated beyond his intelligence, and we took a vote, and everybody on my Facebook page said they liked it. It’s wrong. And I need to repent because what I’m thinking is wrong. And the way I’m feeling is wrong. And the way I’m acting is wrong. And the way I’m reacting is wrong.”
And that’s repentance. It begins with the assumption, if I disagree with God, I’m the one who needs to change. And then it becomes less about changing the Word of God, and more about obeying the Word of God.
See, this is why the prophets always get killed. They come out preaching, “Repent, repent, repent.” And some people say, “Yes, we will. And thank you God, and we need grace and mercy, and we’re born again.” And others say, “If you won’t shut up, we will kill you.” And they do. And they do.
Jesus went on to say, “And I will strike her children,” the followers, “dead. And all the churches will know that I am He who searches heart and mind, and I will give to each of you according to your works.” Jesus cares about all the churches. And some churches serve as negative examples for other churches. And sometimes Jesus judges a church, and sometimes he shuts down a church because it’s not faithful to him, and it’s a bad witness to the world.
CLOSING THOUGHTS BY DRISCOLL
Two thousand years after Thyatira, same issue, same pressure.
1. Every culture must practice both tolerance and intolerance. When somebody asks us, “Are you tolerant?” Or they say, “That’s not tolerant.” We’ve got to unpack it. We’ve got to think about it. We’ve got to talk about it. Every culture must practice both tolerance and intolerance. Not just Christianity.
2. The new tolerance is hypocritically intolerant of Christianity. Christianity remains, and I know it sounds like I’m whining, but I am, so when you have minority groups you’re not allowed to pick on them or make fun of them—unless they’re Christians. And in most major cities Christians are a minority group. Yet, you can make fun of them in sitcoms, movies, say outlandish, atrocious things, broad-brush, all of that.
See, that’s been some of my experience, it’s like, “Hey, you know, I believe the Bible.” “Oh, you’re intolerant.” “Well, are you intolerant of those who us who are intolerant of you? It seems like we’re both hypocrites. You may as well convert to Christianity. If you’re going to be a hypocrite, at least be a hypocrite that’s not kindling.” You know?
3. Christians will be maligned, misrepresented, and mistreated. Not everybody’s going to understand what we believe as Christians. And even if they do, they’re not going to articulate it most truthfully. “Oh, yeah, they hate women.” How many women would say, “Um, we’re here too”? You know, like, there are women here, you got to factor that in. So, people are going to misrepresent what we believe. Or, they’re going to malign what we believe. We’re not all going to get it right all the time, and even if we do, people may not say it the way we said it. We just need to learn to assume that that’s part of the Christian life. A soldier goes to war, and he gets off the boat, and bullets are flying, and he doesn’t freak out. He realizes, “Oh, we didn’t come to the beach for vacation. That’s why we’re not wearing flip-flops. We’re in enemy territory, trying to set captives free, and there’s going to be some bullets coming.” That’s us. We’re not on vacation, we’re at war. And our war isn’t against people, it’s against Satan and demons who have blinded people’s eyes, and hardened people’s hearts, and distorted their direction, and we want to introduce them to Jesus.
I’ll tell you the truth, sometimes I get really depressed, and I get into a deep funk, and I just, I wonder if I can make it for forty more years. And I have some hard, dark days. And I’m not saying it’s any easier for you. But I’m saying, we just need to say, “Jesus, you said, ‘Woe to you when all men speak well of you.’”
4. We want to love and serve well.
5. We should not be offensive, but we should offend. Meaning, the goal is not just to infuriate everybody. Meaning, if you do tell the truth, somebody’s going to be offended.
Like, I had a guy come up to me recently, he’s like, “Do you think I’m going to hell?”
Looks at me, I said, “Yes.”
He says, “Well, that’s very offensive.”
And I said, “And true, because you just told me that you hate Jesus. So, you know, I’m trying to say this lovingly, nicely. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee, we can sit down and talk about your feelings. You know, I’m fine with all of that. But at the end of the day I’m trying not to offend you, but the truth is, if I just tell you the truth, you’re going to be offended.”
Be willing to have people offended, that they might be converted. We shouldn’t seek to be offensive by mistreating and maligning people, but we should know that we will offend just by answering the questions and telling the truth.
6. Our faith is not solely a private matter, it’s also public. Nobody gets offended because they don’t think you really believe it. Our faith is private and public. It’s for us, and for us to share with others.
7. The gospel requires us to disagree with someone to evangelize them.
