Question: Please give us a biblical definition of “tolerance”. When should we be “tolerant” of (1) a believer in a sinful lifestyle; (2) other religions as represented by our families, neighbors, etc.; (3) unbelievers who wish to “fellowship” within our congregation:
Answer: Tolerance is the act of enduring or allowing something to happen without interference. You can tolerate my existence by not murdering me. You can tolerate my beard by not handing me a razor and suggesting that I shave. You can tolerate my unfunny jokes by simply not confronting me about how they annoy you.
[1] We are required to never tolerate a self-professed believer in a sinful lifestyle (1 Cor 5:1-2; Rev 2:2, 20). God calls us to be holy, and thus he says, “remove the wicked man from among yourselves” (Deut 17:7; 19:19; 22:21, 24; 24:7; 1 Cor 5:13). Pastors are called to address sins (not just full-blown sinful lifestyles) within the congregation (2 Tim 2:25-26; 4:2).
[2] In a sense, we are called to tolerate other religions. We are not to go around killing those who simply deny Christ; this is self-evident just by reading the Acts of the Apostles. But in another sense, we are not called to tolerate other religions. To allow someone to go on denying Christ, an error that ends in their eternal demise, without any pushback or correction is a terribly unloving thing. The Apostle Peter preached to the Jews that rejected and killed Jesus; he did not say, “Well, they have their thoughts about Jesus and I have mine.” No, he called out their sin and proclaimed the gospel (Acts 2:22-36). The Apostle Paul preached to the pagan philosophers in Athens; he did not say, “well, they have their gods and I have mine.” No, he spoke of the one true God and proclaimed the gospel (Acts 17:22-31). Not tolerating false religions in this way may make relationships with family or neighbors more difficult, but Jesus did say that he came not to bring peace, but a sword (Matt 10:32-39).
[3] If by “fellowship,” we simply mean the unbeliever comes to a service or Bible study, then yes, we are to tolerate the unbeliever who comes to visit (1 Cor 14:23-25). If by “fellowship,” we mean what the Bible means, then no, we are not to be in communion with unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14-18). Allowing unbelievers to be numbered in the congregation is an absurd thought, because fellowship in the church exists because each member has fellowship with God (1 Jn 1:3, 6-7).
This question, and my answer come from a recent application.