In today’s culture, tolerance is often praised as a virtue. But what happens when tolerance crosses the line into allowing compromise in the church? Scripture warns that the acceptance of false teaching and worldly practices can subtly erode intimacy with God. The danger is not always obvious, it creeps in quietly, cloaked in the language of grace, until believers find themselves far from the holiness Christ calls them to.
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Author and Bible teacher John Bevere explored this in a recent discussion on the message to the church of Pergamum in Revelation. Quoting directly from Jesus’ words, Bevere highlighted, “But I have a few complaints against you. Jesus said, you tolerate. Remember the word tolerate. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam… He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and committing sexual sin.”
Bevere emphasized that the heart of the problem wasn’t simply the sin itself but the church’s willingness to put up with it. “Repent of your sin. What sin? The sin of tolerance. This is interesting. It’s not the sin of teaching them actually teaching idolatry and sexual immorality. No, he said you are tolerating those who teach this.”
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For Bevere, this cuts to the very core of spiritual compromise. He explained why Jesus introduces Himself in Revelation as the one with the sharp two-edged sword: “I personally believe this is because what he’s about to do with this church is cut something out that is very deadly, and that’s called tolerance.” Tolerance of false teaching, he warns, doesn’t just allow sin to flourish, it robs believers of what they most desire: closeness with God. “The very thing that most people cry out for they give up, and that is intimacy with God.”
Bevere also connected this with the destructive message of the Nicolaitans in the early church, noting how their distorted view of grace mirrors modern trends. “We have developed a grace message, which is exactly what the Nicolaitans did. They developed this grace message that permits a very ungodly, worldly, fleshly lifestyle.” This so-called grace may sound appealing, but it quietly undermines the very relationship with Christ it claims to uphold.
It should be clear to all Christians that silence and compromise are not pleasing to God. As Bevere said, “Remaining silent on these very critical matters is not pleasing.” The call of Christ is not to tolerate teaching that leads people into sin, but to confront it, with both boldness and compassion, so that believers can walk in purity and true fellowship with God.
Bevere’s reminder is firm but necessary. It challenges us to examine our lives and our churches: What are we tolerating that Christ would confront? The words of Revelation are timeless. The call is not to bend with culture but to stand firm in truth. As Bevere makes clear, our response must be decisive: “We refuse to compromise, we don’t tolerate, we don’t tolerate in our own life, we don’t teach it, we don’t tolerate the teaching of it, but we expose it.”
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Now is the time for believers to stand guard against the sin of tolerance and pursue the intimacy with God that only comes through holy living, obedience and uncompromising devotion.
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
