Lie #3: God Is More Tolerant of Sin Than He Used To Be

October 11, 2020                       NOTES NOT EDITED
Ten Lies People Tell About God
#3 He Is More Tolerant Than He Used to Be
2Sam. 6:1-8

 SIS: Many people live as if God has changed His standards in regard to sin, but He has not.

 The new political “buzz word” is “tolerance: toward divorce;  toward lying; toward witchcraft; toward homosexuality; toward abortion on demand.  Yet, tolerance is not even accepted in a chemical lab (water is always 2 “H's” and 1"O"); a symphony (not even a half-step is acceptable); mathematics (2+2 is always four); athletics (based upon rules not warm-fuzzy feelings); an automobile (piston rings must fit the cylinder walls within one thousandths of an inch).  Grocery shopping (a dozen is 12 eggs, not 11).

People may have tried to create a “safer,” more tolerant God, but God has not, and will not change.

 Let us observe something from the text we read earlier this morning about Uzzah being struck dead for touching the Ark of the Covenant when it looked like it might tumble off the cart.  Uzzah was not killed because of his good intentions, but because of his violation of God's laws.  Good intentions combined with Wilfull ignorance leads to tragedy.  God's decrees are commands, not suggestions.  And they are eternal.

 Good intentions are no excuse for bad theology!  Five characteristics of God never change:  His Nature, His Truth, His Standards, His Judgement, and His Mercy.

 1.  His Nature Never Changes (Mal. 3:6; James 1:17)

Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. ⁷ Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty

 James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows

 Seen from a logical viewpoint, there are several reasons why it is impossible for God to change. ❶First, if anything changes it must do so in some CHRONOLOGICAL order. There must be a point in time before the change and a point in time after the change. Therefore, for change to take place it must happen within the constraints of time; however, God is eternal and exists outside of the constraints of time (Ps 33:11; 41:13; 90:2-4; Jn 17:5; 2 Tim 1:9).  ❷Second, if anything changes it must change for the better or the worse, that is a change in QUALITY, because a change that makes no difference is not a change. For change to take place, either something that is needed is added, which is a change for the better, or something that is needed is lost, which is a change for the worse. But since God is perfect, He does not need anything. Therefore, He cannot change for the better. If God were to lose something He would not be perfect; therefore, He cannot change for the worse.  ❸Third, when someone changes his/her mind, it is often because new INFORMATION has come to light that was not previously known, or the circumstances have changed that require a different kind of attitude or action. Because God is omniscient, He cannot learn something new that He did not already know. So, when the Bible speaks of God changing His mind, it must be understood that the circumstance or situation has changed, not God. So when Exodus 32:14 and 1Samuel 15:11-29 talk about God changing His mind, it is simply describing a change of dispensation, and outward dealings, toward man.

2.  His Truth Never Changes (Isa. 40:8; Ps. 119:89,152; Mt. 5:18)

The Christian concept of truth is found in the word, "alētheia," which is Christianized from classical Greek by the Apostles' undestanding of 'emeth.  The common foundation shared between the words is the idea of a "sure foundation."  Alētheia translates the idea of "reality as opposed to something that is merely apparent.”  For example, in classical Greek thinking, a MIRAGE is not alētheia, because it is not real.

The Hebraic idea of "truth" ('emeth) focuses upon the "reliability of an idea or thing."  Truth is that which is "trustworthy," rather than treacherous. 

 With these two ideas together we get the Christian concept of truth being that which corresponds to reality, and is therefore completely reliable.  This is the sense of "absolute" truth, as opposed to "relative truth."  That which is only relative cannot be changeless and therefore is unreliable.

 The Biblical measure for "truth" is God's Word.  2 Samuel 7:28 expresses this idea:  ⁷ “O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer. ²⁸ O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy ('emeth, true).

In the Biblical sense of the word, truth, there can be only one of two measures of truth. ❶One, is to make man and his wisdom the foundation for truth. The ❷other is to make God and His eternal Word the measure of truth.  There is no middle option. Here is how the Word states the matter:

 Isa 40:8  The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever; Ps 119:89 Your word, O LORD, is eternal;

it stands firm in the heavens; Ps 119:152  Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever; Mt. 5:18

⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

I think it is telling that people will accept the idea of "relative truth" very readily when speaking of religion and eternal matters, but would never "tolerate" the use of relative truth in other areas of life.

How long would you continue to fly with ❶an airline whose motto was "Your Aircraft Is Designed And maintained by Persons Who Believe Safety is "Relative."

How excited would you be about going under the scalpel of a ❷surgeon who told you: "You know, I never bothered much with anatomy in Med school, since all medical truth is relative anyway"?

 How long would you leave your child in a school where the ❸chemistry teacher said to her, "You're free to drink from either that container of H2O or that beaker of H2SO4. After all, they're both clear liquids and we're only talking about a couple of molecules here or there, so imbibe whatever you prefer"?

The fact of the matter is that "truth really matters."  It cannot be subject to change at the whim of man.  It must--and is--solidly founded in the timeless character of God as revealed in His Word.

3.  His Standards Never Change (Lev. 11:44-45; 1Pe. 1:14-16)

Lev 11:44-45  ⁴⁴I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. ⁴⁵I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

1 Peter 1:14-16  ¹⁴As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

The “false view of tolerance” circulating today suggests that “truth is relative” and we must accept every point of as equally valid. Everything is about finding the “middle ground.”  Someone has said that a person trying to accept the view of everyone is like a man standing in the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD: he liable to get hit from cars incoming in both directions.  There is no “middle ground” when it comes to holy obedience—God’s standards are “absolute.”

Some erroneously believe that grace means, "free from the law to do as I please."  Grace actually means, "free from the law so I can please God."  The difference between these two approaches to God's standard is the difference between eternal hell and eternal heaven.

A few weeks ago we talked about "imputed righteousness" which teaches us that salvation involves not only the "removal" of the penalty of our sin, but the "imputation" of Christ's righteousness as our own.  This “imputed righteousness” gives us the power to have an ever increasing level of victory over sin.  Christ did not die to make us "neutral" in the eyes of God, but to make us "righteous"--that is, living right--in the eyes of God.  Salvation involves both a "minus" and a "plus."  Jesus took away sin and added righteousness.

God REQUIRES, we continue in the grace and righteousness He bestowed upon us in Christ at salvation.  This is called "sanctification.  God’s standards are not suggestions!

4.  His Judgment Never Changes (Ez. 18:19-20; Ro. 6:23)

Ezek 18:20  The soul who sins is the one who will die.  Rom 6:23  The wages of sin is death.

Many people think they will be able to persuade God on Judgment Day to “change His mind in regard to His NO TOLERANCE stand on sin.  I remember reading about a guy sentenced for a serious crime.  The JUDGE struck his gavel and said, “That’ll be 30 years in prison.” The man with his voice trembling pleaded, “But, Judge.  I won’t live long enough to complete 30 years.”  The kindly JUDGE replied encouragingly, “Well, just do what you can.”  God is not now more tolerant in regard to sin and He will not be more tolerant on Judgment Day.

In the days of the westward expansion in north America, when men saw that a PRAIRIE FIRE was coming, what would they do? There was no way for them to outrun it or guess the safe route out. The pioneers took a match, burned the grass in a designated area around them, and then they would take their stand in the burned area and be safe from the threatening prairie fire. As the roar of the flames approached, they would not be afraid. Even as the ocean of fire surged around them there was no fear, because fire had already passed over the place where they stood.

Judgement is INFLATION proof.  1n 1956, the year I was born, a house cost $11,725.  Now, the average nationwide house price is $310k.  In 1956 the average wage was $4,454.  Today, it is $92,000.  A new car the day I was born cost about $2,050.  Today, about $36,718.  Gasoline was 22 cents per gallon compared to $2.25 today. You could mail a letter for 3 cents, but now it will cost you 49 cents.  Inflation has significantly reduced the purchase power of a buck, but there is one thing inflation has not—and will not touch—the wages of sin the year I was born was DEATH!  The wages of sin is still DEATH today!  Judgement is coming and God’s penalty for sin has not changed.

Some people are counting on God changing His mind about the penalty for sin at the judgment.  It will not be so.  There is no escaping the judgment. There is only one safe place to stand and that is where the prairie match of God's judgment has been struck sin’s power has been scorched: The foot of the cross.

5.  His Mercy Never Changes (Ps. 103:11-12; Ro. 6:23)

What is mercy?  The application of God's love in place of God's wrath based upon Christ's sacrifice.

Ps 103:11-12; 17  11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us.  ............................................... 17 but from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,  and his righteousness with their children’s children.

Rom 6:23  the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Titus 3:4-6  ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

A POLITICIAN received a campaign portrait back from photographer.  “This picture does not do me justice.” Photographer: “Sir, with a face like yours you don’t need justice – you need mercy!”

Napoleon was not known for his mercy. A mother pleaded for mercy for her son.  Napoleon barked, “But your son does not deserve mercy.”  Mother: “It would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is what I ask.”  Napoleon: “Then I will give him mercy.”

Pledge of Allegiance should read: “with liberty and mercy for all.”

Mercy does not mean that God will ignore sin.  Mercy is the nature of God put into actions to provide payment for our sin.  Mercy is love in action.

A TEENAGE GIRL went to Christian summer camp. She was not very interested in spiritual stuff, but she wanted to have fun.  She was a “fence-sitter.”  She got along pretty well with just about everyone.  Some of the “naughty” kids tried to get her to participate in some “sinful behavior.”  She politely declined.  She wasn’t for the “naughty” crowd nor against them.  She was a “fence-sitter.”  Some fellow-campers shared the gospel with her and encouraged her to “get saved.”  She politely declined.  She wasn’t really against the Christian kids, but she was for them either.  She was a “fence-sitter.”  Years passed and the girl died.  Judgement day had arrived. Satan came for the fence-sitter.  The girl, now a woman protested, “But, I did not take either side.  I was tolerant of all views.  I stayed on the fence.”  Gleefully Satan quipped, “That’s right.  But I own the fence!”

The latest political buzz word is tolerance. But, God has not changed his mind on sin.  God has not changed His standards for holy living.  God has not changed the judgment that will surely come for all who live in rebellion.  When it comes to living a holy, acceptable life in the eyes of the Lord – we cannot put our hope in the lie that God is more tolerant than he used to be.  In fact, in this day of grace – the standard for righteousness is even higher.  God’s standard is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ never changes:

“He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).