Tolerance Is Not a Biblical Virtue - What the Bible Actually Says
Was Jesus tolerant? Modern culture elevated tolerance as the highest virtue. The Bible says something radically different. Find out what.
There is a word that has become untouchable. Sacred. Beyond all criticism. A word that in the mouth of a modern person carries the power to settle disputes, shut down discussions, and deliver moral verdicts.
That word is tolerance.
The modern formula is simple: tolerant = good person. Intolerant = bad. Bigot. Fanatic. Someone not worth talking to. Tolerance has become the highest virtue - the only one no one dares question.
There is just one problem: tolerance in its modern meaning is not a biblical virtue. You will not find it on any list of virtues in Scripture. It is not among the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). It is absent from the description of love (1 Cor 13). It does not appear in the Sermon on the Mount.
The Bible demands something entirely different - something far more difficult than tolerance. It demands love. But biblical love, not the kind on posters. Love that speaks truth. Love that admonishes. Love that sometimes says “no.”
What Is Modern Tolerance?
To understand the problem, we must first distinguish between two entirely different meanings of the word.
Old tolerance - the kind our grandparents understood - meant: “I disagree with you, but I respect your right to exist and express your views.” This was a noble position. You could disagree while still treating another person with dignity.
New tolerance - the kind enforced by modern culture - means something completely different: “If you disagree, you are a bigot. If you think something is wrong, you are hateful. If you say there is objective moral truth - you are dangerous.”
Jesus - the Most “Intolerant” Man in History
The central argument of tolerance advocates is Jesus. “Jesus accepted everyone.” “Jesus never judged anyone.” “Jesus would definitely be tolerant.”
Really? Let us look at what Jesus actually did.
Overturning Tables in the Temple
And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
- John 2:15-16 (ESV)
A whip. Overturned tables. Scattered coins. Physically driving people out of the Temple. This is not the behavior of someone who “accepts everyone as they are.” This is a violent, deliberate, physical confrontation with what Jesus deemed wrong.
Imagine this scene in today’s church. Someone walks in, makes a whip from cords, and starts overturning the coffee tables in the foyer. What would happen? Police. Arrest. Headlines about “religious extremism.”
Whitewashed Tombs and Brood of Vipers
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.
- Matt 23:27 (ESV)
You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
- Matt 23:33 (ESV)
“Whitewashed tombs.” “Brood of vipers.” “Hypocrites.” This is the language Jesus used toward the religious leaders of His time. By today’s standards? This is hate speech. A social media ban. Cancel culture. The end of a public career.
Jesus did not say: “I respect your point of view, though I have a different perspective.” He said: you are dead on the inside, and your spiritual offspring are vipers.
”Repent”
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
- Mark 1:15 (ESV)
“Repent” - in Greek metanoeite - means: completely change your way of thinking. Turn away from what you are doing. This is the opposite of tolerance. Tolerance says: “You are OK just as you are.” Repentance says: “You are not OK. You must change.”
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
- John 14:6 (ESV)
This is arguably the most “intolerant” statement in human history. One way. One truth. One life. No one - no one - comes to God except through Jesus. Not through Buddha. Not through Muhammad. Not through “your own spiritual path.” Only through Him.
Biblical Love Is Not Accepting Everything
Love That Admonishes
Modern culture has equated love with acceptance. To love = to accept everything without reservation. The Bible says something radically different.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
- Prov 27:6 (ESV)
A wound from a friend is better than a kiss from an enemy. The person who tells you the truth - even when it hurts - is your friend. The person who flatters you so you feel good - is your enemy.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.
- Heb 12:6 (ESV)
God disciplines those He loves. Not those He hates - those He loves. Discipline, correction, admonishment - these are proofs of love, not hatred.
You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.
- Lev 19:17 (ESV)
This verse is crucial. Notice the logic: failure to admonish is linked with hatred. Not love - hatred. Silence when someone sins is not an act of love or tolerance. It is an act of contempt. It says: “I do not care about you enough to tell you the truth.”
The Doctor Analogy
Imagine two doctors. A patient comes in with symptoms. Tests reveal cancer - treatable, but requiring immediate treatment.
Doctor A says: “I have difficult news. You have cancer. But it is treatable. Here is the treatment plan - it will be painful, but it will save your life.”
Doctor B says: “Oh, don’t worry! Everything looks great! Go home and enjoy life!”
Which doctor loves the patient? And which one kills him with “tolerance”?
Modern tolerance is Doctor B. It says: “Everything is fine. You don’t need to change. You are wonderful just as you are.” And the patient dies with a smile on his face.
Biblical love is Doctor A. It tells the truth - even painful truth. Because the patient’s life matters more than his comfort.
A church that refuses to speak about sin is a hospital that refuses to diagnose diseases. The building stands, the staff is there, the patients come - but no one gets healed. A perfect example of where selective faith and tolerance instead of truth lead is the case of Lily Phillips and her viral baptism - where a declaration of faith bore no fruit of repentance.
The Early Church - Countercultural, Not Accommodating
The first Christians were not tolerant. They were the most “intolerant” people in the Roman Empire.
Rome was paradoxically tolerant in religion. Worship whoever you want - Zeus, Isis, Mithras, Dionysus - just add Caesar to the list. Acknowledge him as a god. Simple. One grain of incense on the imperial altar and you have peace.
Christians said: no.
Not “maybe.” Not “we’ll think about it.” Not “we respect your tradition, but we have a different perspective.” No.
And they died for it. In arenas. On crosses. In flames. Generation after generation.
We must obey God rather than men.
- Acts 5:29 (ESV)
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
- Rom 12:2 (ESV)
“Do not be conformed to this world” - and tolerance is a pattern of this world. It is a value imposed by culture, not by God. Paul says plainly: do not conform to the world. Renew your mind. Discern God’s will - and God’s will does not always align with cultural expectations.
The Difference Between Loving People and Accepting Behaviors
Here we arrive at the heart of the modern confusion. Culture has imposed a false dichotomy: either you accept everything about a person (including their behaviors), or you hate them. There is no middle option.
But the Bible provides precisely that middle option. And it is the option Jesus chose.
Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.
- John 8:11 (ESV)
Two sentences. Both clauses equally important. “I do not condemn you” - love for the person. “Sin no more” - rejection of the behavior. Jesus did not say: “I don’t condemn you, do whatever you want.” Nor did He say: “You are condemned, go away.” He said both: I love you, but I reject what you are doing.
Anyone who repeats the second sentence today will be accused of intolerance.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.
- Eph 4:15 (ESV)
“Truth in love.” Two elements, both essential. Truth without love is cruelty - cold, merciless, wounding. Love without truth is sentimentality - warm, pleasant, but ultimately deadly. Biblical love combines both: it speaks truth, but speaks it with concern for the other person.
True Compassion Sometimes Says “No”
A parent who gives a child everything it wants does not love that child. It creates a monster. Every normal parent knows that love requires boundaries. That “no” is sometimes the most important word.
Is it not interesting that the Ten Commandments are mostly “no”? Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not covet. A God who truly loves - says “no.” A lot.
Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
- Prov 13:24 (ESV)
The same logic as Lev 19:17. Lack of discipline = hatred. Discipline = love. The opposite of what the culture says.
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
- Rev 3:19 (ESV)
The words of Jesus Himself from Revelation. “Those whom I love, I reprove.” Not those He hates. Those He loves.
What Does the Bible Actually Require?
Not tolerance. Something harder. Something that costs more than an empty “I accept everything.”
The Bible requires love. But love defined not by feelings or sentiment - but by truth and sacrifice.
It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
- 1 Cor 13:6 (ESV)
Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing. It does not accept evil in the name of “tolerance.” It does not say “whatever” in the face of sin. It rejoices with truth - even when truth is uncomfortable.
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
- Gal 6:1 (ESV)
“Restore” - not “tolerate.” Not “accept.” Restore. But how? “In a spirit of gentleness.” With humility. With awareness of your own weakness. Not from a position of superiority - from the position of a fellow believer who is himself vulnerable to falling.
The Courage to Be “Intolerant”
If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
- Ezek 33:8-9 (ESV)
These are terrifying words. If you see someone heading toward destruction and you stay silent - their blood will be on your hands. Not on the hands of the one who sins. On yours. Because you knew and said nothing.
Tolerance says: “Not my business. Everyone has the right to their own choices.” God says: “Warn him. And if you don’t - you will answer for it.”
Do not be cruel. Do not be arrogant. Do not speak truth with contempt or a sense of superiority. But do not be silent. Silence is not love. Silence is betrayal.
The world does not need tolerant Christians. It has plenty of tolerant Christians - the churches are full of them. Those who do not want to offend anyone. Who say what people want to hear. Who accept everything because they fear conflict. This phenomenon has a name - sleeping Christianity - and it affects the majority of church communities today.
The world needs courageous Christians. Those who speak truth in love. Who would rather be rejected than stay silent. Who follow Jesus - not the Jesus on posters, but the Jesus of the Gospels. The one who overturned tables, called the Pharisees vipers, and said: “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Tolerance costs nothing. Love costs everything.
Tolerance costs nothing. All it takes is to stay silent, nod your head, and have no opinion.
Love costs everything. It requires speaking truth when everyone wants lies. It requires risking rejection. It requires saying “sin no more” - knowing that in a moment you will hear: “How dare you judge me?”
Tolerance is cheap. Love is costly. Jesus did not die on the cross for tolerance - He died for love. For the kind of love that speaks truth, even when truth kills.
Choose love.