Tolerance Is Not Loving

Sodom - San Francisco if it works better for you, was a wicked city along with it's sister city, Gomorrah - perhaps Los Angeles. Scripture is eternal, and although Sodom and Gomorrah was long ago destroyed, what they were known for still lives on! Let's look at the tale of two cities: Sodom and Gomorrah:

Genesis 19:1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground... 4  Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.” 6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.” 9 And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.

Much time had passed by since the flood. The whole world had been wicked, and because of that, God washed it clean. Many hundreds of years had passed, and Noah's seed was still righteous. That man was Lot, the brother of Abraham. When he and his brother split to greener pastures, Abraham chose the plains and Lot the wicked cities. When Lot chose Sodom, because it was sinful, he voluntarily entered into temptation. Remembering that temptation is not sinful, but entering into is foolishness, without the mercy of God, Lot would have been burnt up in this hellish place. Indeed, the destruction of the twin cities is symbolic of Hell itself!

Now, let's look at the city which was the same as in the days of Noah, for it was! "The men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house." (verse 4). So Lot was the only righteous man in the city. His household was saved out of mercy, it seems, because his sons failed to believe - even laughing at their father "the joker".

Sodom was sinful. No mention was made of the other sins, but one - the men were homosexuals. They desired the unnatural affections of even the angels who had come to visit. They had no inhibitions. They had no qualms with disenfranchising these two holy creatures with the object of their lusts. Indeed, because of their purity, the homosexuals never sought out Lot or even his sons, but those pure angels. There is a degree of excessive wickedness in their desires!

I've  spoken harshly of homosexuality. Indeed I have! It is obvious here that unnatural lusts doomed the city. In effect, God didn't have further mercy on the homosexuals or those who condoned them because the decadent cities were destroyed. It can be assumed, that because they existed until this time, God had already been merciful to the people. When nothing changed, God was fed up. When God wipes the dust from his Holy feet, and gives up on people, it's because they are reprobate.

Reprobatation is the attitude which God refuses to accept. His people must come to Him on His terms, not their own, and the attitude of the reprobate is totally unacceptable to God. As such, they face eternal damnation. The crowd cried out in Sodom,  "That is intolerant!" The crowd cries out in San Francisco, "That is intolerant!" Solomon said many times, "There is nothing new under the sun," and the condition of the world today is approaching those in the days if Noah, just as Sodom and Gomorrah had.

The penalty for any sin is death, with one exception - that sinners seek forgiveness - are born-again. The new person is without sin, and if sin enters in, repentance is immediate. In other words, the new person mean that the old one no longer exists. That's change! A homosexual can be born-again, but a born-again person can no longer be a homosexual!

So, the penalty for any unpardoned sin is the same, but the sins themselves are not all the same. There is an unpardonable sin, greater sins, original sin, and abominable sins. Stealing a piece of bubble-gum is not the same as murder because murder is hatred! Therefore, we must allow that homosexuality is a greater sin, and is the condition of those who essentially have abandoned God. They can change, but Satan makes it harder! Lot's wife looked back and desired what she was leaving, and was destroyed. She traded one last glance for immediate death!

The men of the city said,  “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them, " referring to Lot (verse 9). The lustful men accused Lot of being intolerant. Indignantly, they said, "He had the audacity yo judge us!" The most quoted and misused scripture in the Bible is "Judge not, lest you be judged!" (Matthew 7:1). Note that Lot had not judged them. He said nothing about their damnation, and even offered his daughters to appease their gods - themselves. However, we do see that God did judge them all! If they had listened to Lot, it is possible that God would have been more merciful!

Obedience is what scripture teaches. Nowhere is that we should  tolerate mentioned in scripture except in Matthew, Mark, and Luke use Sodom and Gomorrah as examples of what God will not tolerate (Matt 10:2, 11:22; 11:24; Mark 6:11: Luke 10:12; 10:14).

Tolerate means "to put up with." God is merciful and patient. He forgives many times over if only people repent. However, after he sees that their hearts are calloused, He gives up. (Matt 13:15). God does not and cannot tolerate sin. He is patient but that's not the same. His penalty for unpardoned sin is death. The reason the world hates Christianity is because God is intolerant of sin! (Hab 1:13) since he cannot even look upon it. Indeed, love the sinner and hate the sin, is the entire gist of scripture. Because God so loved the world, it hurt Him to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah; however, it wasn't because he was unloving and unmerciful but because the people refused to obey Him! He is the patient Father who has to punish, and it does hurt him to do so!

Foolish sinners still accuse us Christians of being judgmental. As such Christians are labeled intolerant and haters. Intolerance is merely not putting up with things. Society has added to the definition of "intolerant" the word hate. Being intolerant is not hateful! That is another lie from demons. In fact, those who don't put up with sin, and rebuke sinners for sinning, are the most loving. Why? Because Christians do God's will, and not their own! Scripture is for correcting and reproving among other things (2 Tim 3:16), and we are told that's what we must do.

When Lot "judged" the men, he offered them a way out. He even offered his virgin daughters to keep them from a worse sin. Lot was trying the relieve them of their reprobation. After all, no normal man would refuse beautiful virgin daughters. These men were lusting after men instead. Lot loved them so, that he wanted them to not engage in such awful sins! Lot tried to save Sodom by making a sacrifice for them. They refused Lot's sacrifice! Lot made it for God since the visiting men were angels, but the people had to have it their way - long before Burger King even dreamed of having it your way!

San Francisco, Los Angeles and other places will be destroyed. In fact, the entire face of the earth will be destroyed in the same manner as Sodom and Gomorrah! It will be for the same sins too. In the last days men will lust after men, and women after women. The earth, not just San Francisco and LA will return to the days of Noah. Rampant homosexuality is that way.

The reader right now may be thinking, "How intolerant!" I'm just writing what God said. By rejecting me, I'm okay with that because I don't hate. However, don't reject God! Whether I tolerate your sin or not is inconsequential. However, God won't. That is consequential!

Genesis 9:24 ... the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. 25  So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26  But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

That was very intolerant of God, so they say. Lot's wife looked back and went straight to Hell because it was hell which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. God had tolerated the people long enough but he never tolerated the sin! He was patient and gave them a way out, but they failed to choose safety with Him. They burned up. In the end of time, because of God's patience, fire and brimstone will cleanse the cities, even the earth, again.

Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man. 2 Peter 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was a day of the Lord. That is when His patience runs out, and He quits tolerating unrighteous lifestyles. The days of the Son of Man, are the day of the Lord. When his patience runs out with most of mankind, it will all end - the earth will burn up and those who have not been taken up before, just as Noah's and Lot's family were, will be destroyed. The fire and brimstone which wipes us out just may be atomic destruction. I don't want to be here but tucked safely away in heaven. How about you?