Are Bible-believing Christians intolerant?
For Christians, God and His Word are the standard for their lives and actions. This means that the behavior of a believer must always be in accordance with the will of God. At the same time, this means that a Christian should not do anything that does not have God's approval and, moreover, should not approve of anything that is sin in God's eyes. A Christian should always respect the will of God above the opinions or laws of men. The same applies to social trends. As long as state laws are in accordance with God's will, Christians are called to submit to the authorities and to obey their laws con-scientiously. However, if a person or an authority demands something that is expres-sly directed against God and his will, then Christians are obliged not to obey it.
The Bible testifies that we live in a fallen world that wants little to know of God and His holy commandments, and that people place their own will and standards above God. In the mean-time, especially in Western societies, a variety of things are propagated and practiced that are far from God and his original plan for mankind. These are presen-ted by their proponents as "positive" or "pro-gressive", although in truth they contradict all reason and knowledge of nature.
While more and more churches are rejecting the Bible as a divine standard and instead adapting to the spirit of the times of society, a few are faithfully holding on to God's Word. Those Christians who consistently live their faith in accordance with God's com-mandments are often described as "intole-rant" or "radical"; especially if their attitude deviates from society's contemporary values. Others go even further by falsely equating the supposed intolerance of Christians with hatred of those who think differently. Some even view Bible-believing Christians as a dan-ger to themselves and society. This ignores the fact that Christians do not represent their own opinions, but rather proclaim the will of God; like it corresponds to their mis-sion. In addition, the vast majority of people do not consider that they will one day stand before God and have to give an account for their lives and that eternal damnation awaits anyone who lives outside God's will. So this is not about tolerance, but about the fate of people.
In addition, there can be no tolerance with-out limits. Because this would mean that eve-rything would be allowed, which in turn would lead to the stronger ones being able to enforce their interests and moral con-cepts without restrictions. On the other hand, very few people would tolerate murder, theft or torture. For living together in a society to function, moral boundaries are absolutely necessary. The question, however, is who gets to set these? After all, people sometimes have very different values and moral concepts. What is legitimate for one person may be offensive to another and vice versa...
For Christians, only God is the one who can determine what is permitted and what is not. In this respect, only God has the right to set moral boundaries; and not us humans. Be-cause God is our creator and He knows what is best for us as humans. When we place our own moral standards above God's Word, we make ourselves God. However, none of us are entitled to this. Furthermore, this is the main reason why humanity is in its current state. God is not intolerant, nor is God against di-versity; as some claim. After all, it is He who created the breathtaking diversity in nature and throughout the universe. It clearly shows that God loves diversity. However, we must accept that God sets limits for us as hu-mans that we should not exceed. If we do this, it will be to our own ruin.
Christians are called to bear witness to the truth in the world, i.e. to point people to God's will. In this way, people are given the opportunity to turn from their ways and thereby be saved from eternal damnation .Christians telling the truth is an expression of their love for God and for their fellow human beings. A Christian who hides the truth from others just to show tolerance risks the other person's ruin and may become complicit in the other's sins.
If we do this, it will be to our own detriment. Even if people consciously do not want to accept God's will, Christians are still called upon to approach them peacefully and res-pectfully. Under certain circumstances it may be necessary for Christians to distance themselves from people; for example, if some-one sins unrepentantly or if there is a risk of being tempted to sin by the way the person. A Christian should not hate his fellow human beings, treat them badly or harm them. Ra-ther, he should pray that they will repent of their sins in time, while they still have the op-portunity. At the same time, Christians should strive to be impeccable examples to those who do not know God by doing good so that peo-ple may come to know God. However, anyone who refuses to change their attitude until the end will receive their just judgment from God.