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Everyone has the freedom to express his opinion, even if the opinion has no merit. For example, a person can say white skin is superior to all other skin colors without being hackled and thrown overboard. Opinion police don’t exist, nor should they. However, even though the racist isn’t hackled and thrown overboard, that doesn’t validate his opinion.
Can a person with a strong opinion cross the line? Suppose a person believes Jews are horrible people. We say it’s a horrible opinion, but for the most part, the opinion resides in neutral territory. Suppose the person’s opinion grows, and he comes to believe all Jews should be exterminated. Most people would consider it a wrong opinion, yet it remains in neutral territory.
Next, the person gathers followers who adopt his viewpoint of exterminating Jews. Followers multiply rapidly until they control an entire country. In the name of rightness, they set about exterminating all Jews within their grasp. The nasty germ of an opinion has grown into an evil plague.
The history of the world reveals how commonplace it is for nasty germs of opinions to mushroom into evil plagues.
Who can stop them? The person with a bigger gun. Therefore, all we need do when we see evil plagues erupt is wait for the bigger gun, right?
No. The world depends upon us to do more. From Isaiah 5:24: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” In light of that, Romans 12:21 issues forth a command to all believers: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
While monstrous evil like Nazism certainly draws the world’s attention, it can also remove a believer’s eyes from more subtle evil. For example, redefining the word ‘love.’
God is love. That phrase is in the Bible (1 John 4:16). Sadly, many churches and pastors have co-opted the definition of ‘love,’ and now it means ‘tolerant.’ They teach, ‘God is tolerant.’ Therefore, we must be tolerant. If we all become tolerant about everything then evil ceases to exist. Seriously?
The word ‘love’ in 1 John 4:16 is the Greek word ‘agapao.’ It means self-sacrificing love, not tolerant. God displays self-sacrificing love. He demonstrates this powerfully when He volunteers Himself as the sacrifice on the cross so that we could be saved from our sins.
That’s vastly different than saying He demonstrates His tolerance by sacrificing Himself on the cross so that we would become tolerant of our sins and everyone else’s. Thus, the need to pay heed to Scripture like Isaiah 5:24 or Romans 12:21 is eliminated.
Once we’re free to interpret Scripture in our way, we’re free to dismiss Scripture like Genesis 1:27: “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
It’s immaterial whether the word ‘sex’ or ‘gender’ is used. When a baby leaves the womb, the baby is either male or female. The baby matures into either an adult male or an adult female. No other truth exists. This is truth because God made it so and placed that truth in His Word.
Am I being intolerant of any other possibility existing? Absolutely. Despite that, many churches and pastors would declare me a hateful sinner and in violation of 1 John 4:16. According to them, God is tolerant, and so should I be.
If God is primarily tolerant, then He also becomes irrelevant. This means the person with the bigger gun makes the rules. This gives birth to evil. Nazi Germany is exhibit A. God became irrelevant, and millions of Jews were exterminated.
The rise of many genders came forth because God was made irrelevant. His irrelevancy is a result of making Him tolerant under the guise of ‘love.’ It adds up to a blatant, intentional mis-use of His Word.
Our voices are loud when visible, unmistakable evil occurs. Creeping, subtle evil often escapes our discernment. Opinion becomes truth, and a movement from light to darkness follows. Despite what the world says, we aren’t better people for it.