Sermon

Ep 449 | The Sin of Tolerance - Terry Osburn 5-22-22

Church of Christ - Bakersfield, Ca

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  1. You know, one of the favorite words that we hear today used by

  2. certain people is the word tolerance.

  3. We hear it so much, people say, well you need, or we need to be

  4. more tolerant of this or that or whatever it may be, and

  5. tolerance, Ness isn't necessarily a bad word.

  6. It's a good word, many things we learned to tolerate.

  7. When I was at home, and mom would cook spinach.

  8. And I tolerated spinach, I didn't like it, but now I tend

  9. to like it. I tolerated it Mom would cook

  10. liver and onions for dad every once in a while.

  11. Couldn't tolerate liver and onions and still don't like it.

  12. Some people just have an interest in those things, but I

  13. didn't. But we have tried to stretch

  14. tolerance and the world is tried to stretch tolerance today over

  15. too large an area in life. We've applied it too often,

  16. where it doesn't even belong. The word tolerant simply means

  17. liberal. Broad-minded.

  18. Willing to put up with beliefs that are opposed to one's

  19. conviction. And the allowance of something

  20. not wholly or completely approved.

  21. Tolerance, in one sense, implies the compromise of your

  22. convictions. That you will yield our ground

  23. on important things on important issues that we Face everyday.

  24. So, being over tolerant on moral issues, makes a person, soft and

  25. lacking conviction. The world has become tolerant

  26. about many things. Tolerance about divorce

  27. tolerance about the use of alcohol tolerance about breaking

  28. the law. Tolerance about wickedness,

  29. tolerance about immorality, tolerance, about laziness

  30. tolerance about murder of babies.

  31. Unholiness godlessness, the world has become tolerant also

  32. of unbelief. There's a clear tolerance

  33. towards bad character and bad behavior.

  34. These days broad-mindedness about what is actually moral or

  35. immoral? These are characteristics of the

  36. world we live in today, the world has been drained of

  37. conviction, beliefs and faith. Let me give you an example.

  38. This morning, I heard this story.

  39. Maybe some of you may have heard it before I did.

  40. But a couple of months ago I heard this story.

  41. There's a man by the name of John sculley, knows.

  42. He was the head coach for the baseball team at Cal Poly.

  43. Pomona and he gave a speech at an annual Convention of coaches

  44. in the baseball industry, all the way from Little League

  45. Baseball all the way up to the big leagues.

  46. It was invention of all these baseball coaches and he broke

  47. down the problem that we have today on our country.

  48. And what he considered, also the world with all the coaches that

  49. were present all the way up to the big leagues.

  50. He asked the question and you may know this answer, I didn't

  51. know this answer. He asked the question.

  52. How wide is home plate? You may know that.

  53. How wide is home plate. So, he asked the Little League

  54. coaches. He said how wide is home plate?

  55. And one of them said, 17 inches. So we asked the Babe Ruth

  56. coaches. He said how wide is home plate

  57. in the Babe, Ruth league? What I'm spoke up and said, 17

  58. inches He says You High School coaches.

  59. How wide is home plate? One of them spoke up and said 17

  60. inches. To the college coaches.

  61. He asked how wide is home plate. A mansard 17 inches.

  62. He said in the big leagues. How wide is home plate?

  63. Said 17 inches. He says, what does that tell

  64. you? He says when you have a big

  65. league picture that comes in and he can't keep the ball over

  66. home. Plate says, what do you do with

  67. you said you sent him back to the minor leagues?

  68. Because he can't control the ball and he can't get it over

  69. home plate. But what he asked us question

  70. also, He says is that okay? Is it okay that we just maybe

  71. then widen home plate because this big league pitcher can't

  72. get it over home plate. We make it 18, 19, 20, maybe 25

  73. inches wide so that this big league player can get the ball

  74. over home plate says no, absolutely.

  75. Not, because there's a standard. Do we change it to fit him?

  76. No, because there's a standard. There's a standard all through

  77. baseball that home plate is 17 inches wide.

  78. And and this is the problem with society today and it's a problem

  79. in the home in the marriages in raising children.

  80. It's a problem in the schools where we taken away, all the

  81. tools that teachers need to be able to train and educate their

  82. students and discipline their students we've taken it and

  83. we've changed the standard. To wear.

  84. Now, we just broaden the standard so that everybody fits

  85. and everybody makes it over home plate. and he said, this is also

  86. a problem in the churches today the religious world has widened

  87. home plate. What was once sin is no longer

  88. sin? There's no discipline or

  89. accountability because there's no more sin sin, is tolerated

  90. than the world. And now also in the religious

  91. community, everyone's going to heaven and the plate has become

  92. widened, but there is a standard and that standard has never

  93. changed. Jesus said, the way is narrow.

  94. I meant to hit that my didn't in the last couple of years.

  95. We've heard so much about, you have to trust the science.

  96. Well, science is something that we can trust.

  97. Sarah science is very narrow-minded, water boils at

  98. 212 degrees, it doesn't boil it 200 degrees in or 100 degrees.

  99. It boils at 212 degrees at elevation at.

  100. Go ahead at sea level The sun rises in the East and sets in

  101. the west every single day that we've ever known.

  102. That, that's science, objects, have a heavier than than are go

  103. towards the center of the earth. And we know it is gravity,

  104. gravity doesn't change one day and everything starts going up.

  105. That's not the way it works. We understand these things

  106. because it's been proven over a period of time.

  107. Also, in mathematics the sum of two plus two is four now with

  108. the so-called new math, these Days.

  109. It may be two and a half, three and a half, four and a half.

  110. Who knows? But everything, I learned in

  111. school was two, plus two is four.

  112. The difference between a two points.

  113. The closest difference between two points is a straight line in

  114. geometry. We understand that So, science

  115. is not. Broad-minded, it's very

  116. narrow-minded. We understand that a compass

  117. always points north magnetic north.

  118. That's how ships are able to navigate and Pilots are able to

  119. navigate. If we didn't have that, then

  120. we'd have ships crashing into other ships or into land and

  121. we'd have planes crashing in to other things as well because

  122. they couldn't navigate correctly.

  123. And if we ask someone today, if we knew, if they, if if they if

  124. someone asks us if how to get to it from here to New York City,

  125. we just say well just get out there on the Street and drive

  126. around a little while. You might find it, but it

  127. doesn't make any sense does it? Because we know that if we get a

  128. map and we follow the directions, we were able to get

  129. there, you know, in the world is said, basically, just be honest,

  130. just be sincere, just have your heart in it and you'll make it

  131. to heaven and you'll be just fine.

  132. The Jesus said in John 14 and verse 6.

  133. I am the way, the truth and the life.

  134. And no man comes unto the father except through me also in

  135. Matthew 7 verses 13 through 14 enter by the narrow gate for

    Matthew 7:13–14

  136. wide is the gate and Broad is the way that leads to

  137. destruction. And there are many who go in by

  138. it, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which

  139. leads to life. And there are few who find it.

  140. Jesus was narrow-minded about the way of salvation.

  141. She clearly points out that there's two ways.

  142. One is a Broadway, it's lacking in faith.

  143. It's not a life of conviction. It doesn't have many morals.

  144. It's an easy way. It's a popular way.

  145. You don't have to be careful on that way because it's very

  146. broad. You know, we broadened up these

  147. sidewalks on the outside so you don't have to be as careful to

  148. stay on them. We made it broader it's easier

  149. to stay on the sidewalks that's the way the world thinks that

  150. life ought to be just live however you want to and you'll

  151. make it just be a good moral person and you'll make it But it

  152. clearly points out that that is the way the majority goes, the

  153. way of the world, and he says, there are many who go in by it.

  154. But he pointed out this out that this road, as easy, as it may be

  155. in popular, as it may be, and is heavily traveled leads to

  156. destruction. But also even in his tolerance,

  157. he says, enter at the narrow gate because narrow is the gate

  158. and difficult is the way that leads to life.

  159. So, it's not always easy. The way the world is easy, it's

  160. careless. And it is tolerant but the way

  161. to heaven. God said it is intolerant.

  162. Our Lord was tolerant, Jesus was tolerant, never any things we

  163. expect intolerance or in. There are many things that we

  164. don't expect intolerance in excuse me, and and failure.

  165. Like a pilot, flying a plane. We don't want him to be just.

  166. Flying it haphazardly, excuse me.

  167. Once I was flying back from Modesto Area back here to

  168. Bakersfield and I was using what they call flight following,

  169. that's where you file, a flight plan and the air traffic,

  170. controller knows where you're at every moment of the way on your

  171. trip. Well as I got down closer to

  172. Bakersfield all of a sudden the air traffic controller comes on

  173. the radio and says we just want to let you know that visibility

  174. at Baker few knickers field municipal airport just went to

  175. one mile. Well you may say well Mi quite a

  176. ways I can tell you that I was flying by what they call VFR or

  177. visual flight rules that's where you have to look and see and

  178. know where you're going and point out points of interest and

  179. things of that nature to navigate and watching your

  180. compass. No pilot is flying in bad

  181. weather uses what they call IFR or instrument flight rules and I

  182. wasn't certified in instrument flight Crews.

  183. I knew how to navigate, I might can do it, so I got on the radio

  184. and I said, well, okay, so what should I do at this point?

  185. He said, don't worry about it. He says, I'll guide you in so he

  186. gave me certain Compass headings and when to turn and to turn

  187. will on what heading and after a while he said.

  188. If you look out your 10:00 you ought to see the beacon at

  189. Bakersfield Municipal, right about now.

  190. And I looked out 11:00 and there it was there was the beacon for

  191. Bakersfield Municipal out here off of Union and plans Road.

  192. But I had to stay on that heading.

  193. And I had to follow, what the air traffic controller was

  194. telling me to make it safely to where I was going to see.

  195. I was supposed to be having three mile visibility to be

  196. flying with visual flight rules, three miles.

  197. I could have just said well you know I'll just try to do it by

  198. myself and who knows? I may not have made it.

  199. I may not have been made a wound up out in the hobby or something

  200. for all I know because I couldn't see the ground or see

  201. my, my landmarks and things, that nature is a nice when you

  202. can trust what people say, people and things you can put

  203. your trust in people, you can rely on.

  204. I didn't want that air traffic controller to be broad-minded.

  205. I wanted him to be narrow. - because he had Mike are in his

  206. hands. Just so when we work toward the

  207. goal of Heaven, I don't want to be broad-minded.

  208. I want to come in on the right heading.

  209. I want to come in on the right course, even though some may

  210. consider that narrow-minded. And, you know, we hear that in

  211. the religious world today, people will say, well, that's a

  212. very narrow-minded view. Well, what does the Bible say

  213. about that? If the Bible says it, then

  214. that's what we need to do, beam doing what the Bible says,

  215. doesn't mean more narrow minded. That means that we are

  216. intolerant of failure and things of that nature.

  217. God was so intolerant of man's lost condition that He sent

  218. Jesus to this earth to suffer on the cross to purchase our

  219. Redemption from sin man's broad-mindedness was so serious

  220. that he couldn't look upon it lightly and he couldn't, he

  221. couldn't be broad-minded about their about their sin anymore.

  222. And their captivity in sin. When you think about the price,

  223. Jesus, Paid for our sins to redeem us from our sins.

  224. Jesus couldn't be tolerant about man's indifference toward him.

  225. He said in Matthew 12 and verse 30, he who is not with me is

  226. against me. He also said in Mark 16 and 16,

  227. he who believes and is baptized, will be saved, but he, who does

  228. not believe will be condemned. That sounds very intolerant,

  229. doesn't it? It is, it's very narrow.

  230. It's a narrow way. Just like he said, Jesus spoke

  231. of two different roads, two different kingdoms, two,

  232. different Masters, two different rewards in two different places

  233. that we can spend an eternity. Jesus said in Matthew 6 and 24,

  234. no one can serve two masters for either.

  235. He will hate the one and love the other or else he will be

  236. loyal to the one and despise the other.

  237. You cannot serve God and Mammon. we have the power to choose whom

  238. and what we will serve today, but the opposite of choosing To

  239. serve Christ. Brings destruction.

  240. Christ said the Broadway, the wide way, the popular way leads

  241. to death and destruction only the way of Christ and the cross

  242. leads home and heaven. So let's notice a little bit

  243. about playing both sides. The popular taller an attitude

  244. toward the gospel is kind of like going to, let's say the

  245. Dodgers and the Giants playing baseball down at Dodger Stadium

  246. and we go down there and we root for both teams.

  247. And we keep rooting for both teams and someone may say to

  248. you, hey, make up your mind who you're rooting for because

  249. people typically route for one side and then you wouldn't have

  250. really much interest in the baseball game.

  251. If you're rooting for both both sides, you want one side to win?

  252. So you wouldn't be very loyal at all.

  253. Christ. Said in Matthew 6 and verse 24,

  254. no man can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and Mammon.

  255. So we have to make the choice. One of the sins of the times, we

  256. are living in these days. The sin of bronde binded us as

  257. the old-timers would say a willy nilly religion Linwood might

  258. say, Just however, you want to feel about it is is fine.

  259. Just as long as you have a good heart and you're a good person.

  260. And you don't kill somebody. That you'll make it happen.

  261. Jesus was intolerant toward hypocrisy.

  262. Jesus got onto the Pharisees more times than it did, any

  263. other sector of the Jews because the Pharisees were more worried

  264. about. The outward appearance then they

  265. were the inwardly. They were Hypocrites.

  266. They were fake, Matthew 23 and verses 25.

  267. And 28 woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites.

  268. He said for you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish but

  269. inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence

  270. even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men but

  271. inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

  272. Counterfeit and fake Christian can do more harm to the church

  273. and the damage and progress of the church.

  274. Then then what the Brethren are trying to to advance the church

  275. in the community or spread the gospel and Jesus was very

  276. intolerant of the hypocrisy of those Pharisees.

  277. Excuse me. That's why Jesus said in Matthew

  278. 6 and verse 16. Don't be like the hypocrites.

  279. Jesus is intolerant towards selfishness, Luke 9 verse 23.

    Luke 9:23

  280. Then he said to them all if anyone desires to come after me,

  281. let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

  282. You know, self certain centeredness of selfishness.

  283. These days is one of the reasons why we have so many problems.

  284. People have printed problems in their Christian Life is because

  285. they can't give up their self and dedicate their life to

  286. Christ. Murdered Christians suffer from

  287. being spiritually nearsighted. They're interested in all the

  288. things that they want to do, instead of what God wants them

  289. to do to the wrong, the Rich Young Ruler.

  290. He said in Matthew 19 verse 21. If you want to be perfect, go

    Matthew 19:21

  291. sell. What you have and give to the

  292. poor. Now it wasn't that that he was

  293. wanting him to make sure that he gave to the poor and that was

  294. the point. It was a point that he had to

  295. give everything up. So all that you have give to the

  296. poor He also said in Matthew 16:25 for whosoever desires to

    Matthew 16:25

  297. save his life, will lose it but whosoever loses his life for my

  298. sake will find it life. Jesus was talking about here was

  299. our selfishness, lose our selfishness.

  300. The type of life that is in conflict with God.

  301. He he wanted Peter James and John to leave their occupations

  302. and follow him. It wasn't that he had a problem

  303. with those occupations. Those occupations were sinful.

  304. That's not the point. It was sacrificing everything

  305. they had to follow Jesus. That they might get distracted

  306. with. So in our lives as Christians,

  307. we have to give up our self. Jesus was also intolerant toward

  308. sin is trawl tolerant toward the center but intolerant towards

  309. sin to the Ultras. He said, John 8 and verse 11

  310. neither do I condemn you go and sin no more.

  311. He forgave her but condemn, the sin because he hated the sin You

  312. know, people say, well, when you condemn sin today, you hate The

  313. Sinner, you hate, that person, you hate them with, with

  314. everything that you, that you have in your heart and you need

  315. to be nice to them. And you need to be tolerant of

  316. them and do what they do. No, we don't have to tolerate

  317. what they do. We tolerate, we are tolerant

  318. towards a sinner, not towards the sin.

  319. We love the sinner, not the sin, God has always been tolerant

  320. intolerant of sin. Excuse me, Peter said on the day

  321. of Pentecost Acts 2:38 repent and let every one of you be

    Acts 2:38

  322. baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your

  323. sins. Christ was so intolerant of his

  324. sin that he died on the cross to make us free from the Captivity

  325. of sin and John 3 and verse 16 for God.

  326. So loved the world that he gave his only begotten, son, that

  327. whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting

  328. life. Sin is the very root of the

  329. problem that we have in a lot of society's problems in the world

  330. today. You know, when we run that sin

  331. is there, it separates man from God.

  332. But it also separates man, from Man.

  333. If leaders in the world today, acted the way they should be

  334. enacted christ-like and followed God the way that they should and

  335. puts in a way out of their life. Then that would solve almost all

  336. if not all the world's problems today.

  337. If mr. Biden would Do what is right and

  338. christ-like of mr. Putin would do.

  339. What is right and priced like if if the others around the world

  340. would do what is right and christ-like and follow God.

  341. Then that puts man in harmony with each other.

  342. All of the problems in the world would be solved, but the Cross

  343. of Christ is God's answer to sin to all who repent and are

  344. baptized for the remission of sins Christ.

  345. Sacrificed on the cross sacrifice, on the cross, cancels

  346. out sin. You know we have these wildfires

  347. in California here in the Summers and one of the things

  348. that that Force Fighters forced firefighters do is they do a

  349. back burner or burn back, whatever you want to call it or

  350. they'll set a fire around a community wherever and burn up

  351. all the fuel of the fire. So when the fire finally gets to

  352. that spot, it has nothing left to burn.

  353. The fire stops its advance in the poems and people are saved

  354. from the fire. In other words, you're fighting

  355. fire with fire, and that's what Christ did when he died on the

  356. cross. He was fighting fire with fire.

  357. Jesus Took upon himself, our sins. so, when we Repent and

  358. were baptized it. Cancels out the same.

  359. We deserve that but Jesus cancelled out, the send that

  360. rightfully, we have coming to us in doing so Christ.

  361. Created a place of Refuge for all of us to escape the Judgment

  362. of sin that we deserve. So, we're asking everyone today

  363. to not tolerate sin. To be intolerant of sin.

  364. Don't be selfish. Sacrifice your life to him as

  365. we're called to do and hearing the word of God, Romans 10:17.

    Romans 10:17

  366. So then Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God

  367. and believing the word of God and believe that Jesus Christ

  368. died for our sins, Mark, 16 and 16.

  369. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

  370. But he that not, he that believeth not shall be damned.

  371. Repent of your sins, Acts 2, and 38.

  372. Then Peter said to them, repent. And be baptized every one of you

  373. in the name of Jesus Christ. Christ for the remission of sins

  374. and you shall receive the gift of the.

  375. Holy Ghost, or Spirit confess the name of Christ.

  376. Romans 10, verses 9 and 10 that if Thou shalt confess with thy

    Romans 10:9

  377. mouth, the Lord Jesus. And shalt believe in thine heart

  378. that God has raised him from the dead.

  379. Thou shalt be saved for with the heart, man, believeth unto

  380. righteousness. And with the mouth confession is

  381. made unto salvation and then be baptized into Jesus Christ.

  382. For the remission of your sins, the like figure.

  383. Our interview even baptism doth also now, save us not the

  384. putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good

  385. conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

  386. And to those who are children of God, confess your sins confess,

  387. your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that

  388. you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of

  389. a righteous man avails much. This is the plan that will save

  390. us. This, this overrides sin.

  391. It cancels out sin when we obey God's commands, we can't

  392. tolerate sin anymore because God doesn't tolerate sin.

  393. Jesus doesn't tolerate sin. That's the lesson.

  394. Yours this morning. We hope that something has been

  395. said that will benefit you in some way.

  396. We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the

  397. Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you

  398. would like any additional information or you would like to

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  400. Please email us at info at True Church of Christ

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