Dead or Alive - The Tolerant Church

The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church, grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil. - Leonard Ravenhill

Church we have a problem -

I can name entire denominations that are declining or already dead due to sin being allowed to stay

Barna - 20% of all churches in America will close in the next 18 months

We are churches that stand for nothing and thus have nothing to stand on

Today we look at Thyatira - smallest of the churches but with one of the biggest issues.

More is written about them than others

Turn to Revelation 2 - read along with me

Rev 3:18-29

Let’s pray

A Tolerant Church

First of all it is not all bad

The Good

Revelation 2:19 CSB

I know your works—your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first.

A Tolerant Church

A tolerant church can be doing good things

It can look like it is making a difference

Social Justice should led by the church but...

When it is not tied to the Gospel, sound doctrine, growth - what eternal good is it

Matthew 16:26 CSB

For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?

We must be people of Grace and love - but those are meaningless with God’s justice and righteousness

2. The Bad

Revelation 2:20 CSB

But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols.

A Tolerant Church

She was allowed to teach and lead astray - Jezebel - not a good name

OT reference to Ahab's wife who lead the nation to worship Baal

Ever heard - we are not supposed to judge? - Where does it say that?

My Bible tells me we are to judge and hold account fellow believers and leaders

We are called to call out sin in our church and the lives of our family members

James 4:17 CSB

So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.

A Tolerant Church

There are things that have crept into our churches and now are blatant

1. Mankind is a creation of God (modern views of sexuality violate this doctrine)

2. Mankind is sinful and condemned before God (modern views of acceptable behavior violate this doctrine)

3. Truth is absolute (modern views of truth violate this doctrine)

4. The Protestant Bible contains God's will for mankind (modern views of cultural authority violate this doctrine)

5. Jesus alone provides salvation for mankind (modern views of death violate this doctrine)

Ephesians 5:27 CSB

He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.

This is and forever will be the standard

A church in the land without the Spirit is rather a curse than a blessing. If you have not the Spirit of God, Christian worker, remember that you stand in somebody else's way; you are a fruitless tree standing where a fruitful tree might grow. - Charles Spurgeon

The Beautiful

Revelation 2:25–26 CSB

Only hold on to what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations—

A Tolerant Church

There is a remnant

There are those who remain faithful - it is not easy

We will stand out and hold true

The glory of the gospel is that when the church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Tolerance

Tolerance to the point of losing who and whose we are is destroying the churches

Truth is no one is tolerant today - either believe what i believe or your ignorant, racist, close minded

Tolerance is not a spiritual gift; it is the distinguishing mark of postmodernism; and sadly, it has permeated the very fiber of Christianity. Why is it that those who have no biblical convictions or theology to govern and direct their actions are tolerated and the standard or truth of God's Word rightly divided and applied is dismissed as extreme opinion or legalism? - John Stot

We will call sin sin

James 5:19–20 CSB

My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth, and someone turns him back, let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

It will cost us, but I am reminded of Paul’s words

2 Corinthians 4:17 CSB

For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.

What do you want?

Get along or the glory Christ is preparing for us

Let’s pray

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