Jerry C. Brewer
No one ever expressed greater love for man than Jesus (John 15:13-14). While we were alienated from God and enemies of righteousness, He gave His life for us (Rom. 5:6-8) God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son to die for us (John 3:16). Before His crucifixion, Jesus told His apostles that if they truly loved Him they would keep His commandments (John 14:21, 23-24).
The love of the Father and the Son for us does not mean they will tolerate our sin. Neither does our love for them and our fellow man mean we are to tolerate sin. To do so is to abet the devil’s servants (2 John 9-11). David, who was called, “a man after God’s own heart,” said, “I hate every false way” (Psa. 119:104. God hates sin (Prov. 6:16-19), and Jesus rose in righteous indignation against those who polluted the temple of God (Matt. 21:12-13), and against the hypocrites of His day (Matt. 23). For anyone to tolerate sin in his midst, under the guise of love, is to disobey—and sin—against God.
One who truly loves will seek to snatch others from the devil’s clutches, never tolerating their sins. Toleration of sin is not love for the sinner. It is of the devil. If we truly love the Father, the Son, and our fellow men, we will be moved to call all men to repentance. That’s Christ’s command and we cannot love Him if we fail to keep His commandments (Mark 16:16; Acts 17:30; John 14:15).
To tolerate a child playing in the street is to risk that child’s death. Love constrains the parent to discipline and warn the child of his danger. That’s exactly the kind of love that the Lord expects from us toward others—love that acts in their best interests in order to save their souls. Toleration of sin is not love.
