Spike's High
by Laurence Windham

Tolerance is not the virtue many think it is. Being only a second cousin to Patience, tolerance signifies that change is not the goal, only passivity. Such is not synonymous with Christian character. We are called to be proactive.

One of the errors in the church that should not be tolerated is legalism. It binds men's consciences, frustrates evangelism, abandons the dynamics of creating true culture, and produces ugly Christians. And as bad as these may be, they are just the fruit of the root problem of legalistic teaching. That being, a form of righteousness that we have in ourselves. In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul blasts this teaching with the strongest words he can. The Judaizers were teaching that before the Gentiles could become Christians they had to become Jews first. To do something extra-gospel to become a Christian necessarily means one has to do extra-gospel things to remain a Christian. This is dangerous ground. Paul characterizes this as leaving the gospel and turning away. What remains is something that is called Christian, but is condemned by God.

This pseudo-righteousness (which is condemned by God) becomes the standard by which others are judged. This can be very subtle. I know of people that think Reformed theology cannot be true because some of its proponents smoke cigars. Since the Reformed display such a horrendous lack of piety they necessarily must be wrong theologically. Like all error, the outworking of it borders on idiocy. More often than not, those who oppose certain pleasures like a fine wine or home-brew, have no conviction regarding cholesterol, at every opportunity consuming their weight in gravy. They find the theatre a place of evil, but are enslaved to the programming of cable television.

As you can see, the damage done by this teaching merits our opposition and attack. They should be given no quarter. As humbly and as kindly as the situation merits … slam them!

It may surprise you, but there are some folks that have received our publication but cancelled their subscription, because they don't like our tone (I know it's hard to believe). Bottom line, what does that mean except they are judging us as intolerant? So be it. It is my conviction that if Jesus showed up and saw that they are sending their kids to government schools, ordaining women, accepting homosexuality, etc., He would say to them, "What the hell do you think you are doing?!" The reason I think Jesus would say this is I know that John the Baptist, Elijah, and Paul would. Perhaps even Peter would. Apollos would sure straighten them out. Nehemiah would probably beat them up, David might spit wine in their face, Moses would, well, I digress. The fact is, these simpletons find no allies in the Bible and should find none who name the Name of Christ.

I mentioned earlier that this type of teaching frustrates evangelism. The way this happens is that false "Christian" standards are expected to be embraced simultaneously with faith in Christ. There is a confusion of making a person who has no good in them, becoming good to receive the goodness of Christ. The result is conversions based on something less and more than the Gospel. There is an interesting story that took place during the rise of this type of evangelism in the church. During the period of history marked with camp meetings and citywide crusades, two preachers of note remarked to each other that it was their opinion that 50-75% of the people in the churches were probably not converted! They gave no reason for their evaluation but one mitigating factor was the gospel of that era was tainted with Prohibitionist rhetoric, the idea of getting your life right before you can become a Christian.

Art, music, writing, and other forms of creativity are so scrutinized that our mandate to produce a culture that is Christian is stifled. Legalism is not productive and is by nature suspicious and narrow. This results in separation from the world rather than a separation to God. The difference in the two is one claims to be Christian and the other is distinctly Christian. One has is its protocol of abstinence, while the biblical one has advancement. We are called to change the world we are in by creating, not just tearing down.

The end result of all of this is an ugly facsimile of what a Christian is supposed to be. Talk about something hard for God to stomach! False representation of His name and character has always been dealt with severely.

The Judaizers went so far as to lessen the redemptive work of Jesus Christ by adding to the gospel. "Jesus is willing to save those who save themselves," seems to be the creed these folks live and preach.

We must remember that this particular teaching is not just another facet of Christendom; it is something far removed, heretical, and alien to the grace of God.

I am aware that this system of belief has made its way into the church. That doesn't mean that we should tolerate it. It must be despised and rooted out. This vileness springs from the worst of sources-the human heart. It is the religion of Cain and Saul and the Pharisees. It is also the unwritten religion of the pagan. This comparison of oneself to others invariably leaves out the gospel and snuggles one down into a happy medium of not being as good as some but not as bad as most.

We must labor to convert these people to the pure gospel. They are starting the game by playing out of bounds. They would have us do the same.