Tolerance was once thought to be a key virtue in the Western world, though it’s never been considered an end in itself. Although the kingdom of God is neither pure autonomy nor freedom to do whatever you want, until the kingdom comes and all our disputes are settled, tolerance has served to preserve some measure of civility and has helped us get on quite well in the world. It functioned like the yellow line running down the middle of the highway. Even if you disagree with someone heading in the opposite direction, the yellow line helps you pass each other safely without the risk of a serious collision.¹ Today, however, it seems like evangelicals are at risk of some serious head-on collisions with a society racing in the opposite direction. Many progressives seem to have lost respect for the line of tolerance that has long kept this whole democratic experiment afloat. Mere tolerance—allowing others to do and think as they want (so long as it does not rob anyone else of that same freedom)—doesn’t seem to be enough today.

In the past several years we’ve witnessed a significant cultural and political shift in the West. There are many today who would describe the current state of affairs as post-Christian—whatever that means. In the past 1,500 years or so Christianity has flourished in Western soil; it has enjoyed somewhat of a privileged position culturally as well as societally. The church has enjoyed an era of freedom and cultural acceptance. A distinctively Christian worldview has been allowed to provide a great deal of influence in the social and political spheres.

However, over the past several years much of that has collapsed. There used to be a sense in which being a Christian in Canada supplied you with a bit of social capital. Even if the world disagreed, Christians were still viewed by most of society as being morally outstanding. All of that has changed now. Recently we’ve seen the disintegration of traditional values and the rise of a militant progressive movement.

From Surprise to Attack

Today, we can expect to be ridiculed, marginalized, and slowly pushed out of the public sphere. We used to just be able to tolerate those who differ by giving them all the room they wanted to drive in the opposite direction, but now that’s not enough. The church is very quickly being compelled to merge lanes with the culture as its own lane becomes increasingly narrow.

At first many are surprised at our refusal to make the merger. After all, the road on their side of the line is fairly broad and could easily accommodate more drivers. Surprise, however, very quickly morphs into frustration and then outward attack. The movement from surprise to attack is itself the movement from tolerance to intolerance.

In his first epistle, Peter makes note of this movement as he seeks to prepare his readers to follow Christ’s example in suffering.

“For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:3–5).

We’ve already wasted far too much time living in sin. It’s time to stop! However, once we do, Peter fully expects that our non-participation will come as quite a surprise to our unbelieving neighbours. But it should come as no surprise to us when the world thinks that we are completely backward. Far beyond merely being backward, they may even conclude that we are morally reprehensible—that we are really what’s wrong with the world today—that we are living on the wrong side of history. All of this simply makes Peter’s earlier point, that we are sojourners and exiles (1 Pe 1:1; 2:11), more palpable. Once the world gets over their initial shock, they move very quickly to malign and vilify us, because simple disagreement—mere non-participation—is intolerable.

Tolerance is Not Enough

Many are not satisfied with mere tolerance anymore. They are not satisfied with the mere freedom to live and let live as they were in the past. They actually care very little for our tolerance. What they really seem to be after is our approval. The reasons for this shift may be legion. However, I can’t help but think that beneath the surface of all the protests, limitations on free speech, and continual witch hunts of recent days lies an extremely fragile conscience.

Your non-participation—your non-compliance—serves to prick their conscience in such a way that they are reminded of something they know deep down inside—that they are guilty before God.

Paul makes the point that every person has God’s law written on their hearts (Rom 2:14–16). Not only do they know what God requires, but they have hearts that continually condemn them because they also know that those who do the sorts of things that they know are wrong deserve to die (Rom 1:32). In an attempt to mitigate the crushing sense of guilt, they spend their whole lives working overtime trying to smother the voice of their conscience by suppressing the truth (Rom 1:18).

Today’s progressives are engaged in a great project: recreating a society that is safe for sinners. Tolerance—in the sense of mere freedom to do as one pleases—does little to address the deep sense of guilt that is within their heart.

What the world is after is not tolerance but approval!

They deeply desire our approval, and when they can’t have it, they will stop at nothing to silence and marginalize us. So long as the voice of dissent is allowed to exist and be heard, they will never be free from that nagging sense of guilt. Simple non-participation poses a threat. As long as there are individuals on the fringes of society who disagree, they will be left asking themselves, “Am I okay?”

Tolerance for Breakfast

So, the reason why tolerance isn’t enough is because tolerance doesn’t quite scratch the itch. What sinners are really after is to be assured that they are okay and that everything is fine. They need to do something with the guilt—cover it up, embrace it, re-evaluate it, and explain it away.

I find it interesting that what the world really wants in this regard is something that we as evangelicals of all people believe we have to offer. Their souls cry out under the burden of guilt. We preach Christ who bore our guilt. They want justification. We preach justification in Christ. The brutal irony of it all is that they are repulsed by and offended at what they know, deep down, they need most. They want the benefits of the gospel, but on their own terms, and not if it means giving up their autonomy and bowing to the lordship of Christ.

The gospel is what they need, but every day millions of progressives run to a false gospel that promises justification before the eyes of man by faith in their own inherent goodness. You’re supposed to simply look in the mirror and assure yourself until you’re blue in the face, that you are okay just the way you are, and if you can get enough people out there to look at you and affirm the same thing, then it must be true. Perhaps then you’ll start to feel less conflicted. Perhaps then you’ll find that missing piece.

This is the gospel of progressivism. However, we preach the gospel of justification before God by faith in the inherent righteousness of Christ—a righteousness that becomes our very own through imputation. We preach Christ crucified.

So, in your everyday interactions with the unsaved, continue to extend tolerance and learn to forebear. Be loving. Be gracious. And be willing to take it on the chin once in a while when you are maligned for just being who you are because that’s what Jesus did. Do all of these things, but do not pass up the opportunity to preach the gospel, because the gospel eats tolerance for breakfast! The gospel—the true gospel of forgiveness of sins and justification resting upon the imputed righteousness of Christ—and not just your tolerance, is what your progressive neighbour truly needs.

Editor’s Note: This article is a slightly edited version of a 2019 piece originally published on the author's blog.

1 - The illustration comes from Thomas Howard and J. I. Packer, Christianity: The True Humanism, (Vancouver, BC: Regent College Publishing, 1999.), 50. Packer uses the yellow line to illustrate liberalism, or what he calls a “liberal attitude.”