Let me ask you a question or three: is tolerance a good thing? And if you say yes, why is it good? And what are the extents and limits of tolerance?
It’s a live question in our society today. As many thinkers have pointed out, there are vastly different views in our culture about what it means to be human. But proponents of some views shout down those who hold other convictions.
So, for example, some people essentially believe that we are just minds trapped in physical bodies. (This is called ‘transhumanism.’) Others say that our biological sex is decisive for understanding who we are. But others say we should listen to Nature at large, or to our own intuitions and desires, or we just make our own choices to construct reality as we see fit.
Hence, you get the situation where even a lesbian professor at Sussex University, Kathleen Stock, was driven out of her post because she believed that biological sex was primary, but militant transgender activists wouldn’t tolerate an opinion that disagreed with theirs.
In other parts of public life in the UK, the majority opinion has a low tolerance for immigration, refugees, and asylum seekers. Our Prime Minister wants to ‘stop the boats’ and our Home Secretary wants to send people to Rwanda – despite both of them coming from immigrant families themselves.[1]
Tolerance, it seems, is rarely the two-way exchange it claims to be. It often ends up as a one-way street.
As we’ll see in a few minutes, tolerance of the wrong kind is a big issue at Thyatira.
But first, let’s look at what Jesus commends at Thyatira. Because there’s actually some pretty good stuff going on in the church there.
19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
If that were the sum total of a church’s profile that I saw when I was looking for a move of appointment, I would probably think yes, I’d love to be the minister of that church! And if you had moved to a new town and came across a church that could be described like that, perhaps you too would think that this was the kind of church where you would like to belong.
I mean, what’s not to like? This is not just a Sunday religious club. They are serious about their faith and putting it into practice. And I could connect a lot of Thyatira’s qualities to Midhurst. ‘Deeds … love … faith … service … perseverance … doing more’ – yes, I can think even after only two months with you of ways in which this church exemplifies these qualities.
I think of the way some members are getting involved in the Midhurst Community Forum, in order to make a difference for good in this town, and the possibility of an official partnership between the church and the forum.
I think of the way you showed care and concern for Debbie and me when you learned that we had had a difficult move here.
I think of how I learned at the Pastoral Committee of the quiet dedication of our Pastoral Visitors, who get on without fuss in regularly staying in touch with the people on their lists.
I think of the way Jeanette took the trouble to contact me specifically to tell mw how much she had loved being your minister. If you ever formed a church fan club, I think Jeanette might stand for election as the President!
In fact, risky as this may be to put on record after only such a short time with you, I want you to know how much Debbie and I look forward to driving over here to see you.
So yes, I know the age profile of the congregation has skewed older. I know the numbers are not what they used to be. But while we may need to draw some lessons from that, don’t let it hide the fact that a lot of good, commendable Christian things are going on here.
And provided we don’t overload the same few individuals, a good challenge for us would be to consider how, like Thyatira, we could be ‘doing more’ of the ‘deeds, love, faith, service, and perseverance.’ What are the opportunities for us to do that?
Let’s not forget that the kind of church which receives praise from Jesus is one in which the prevailing attitude is, ‘What can we give?’ rather than “What do I get out of this for myself?”
Then secondly, let’s look at what Jesus criticises at Thyatira. Here’s where the question of tolerance in a bad way will come in. What we have is cultural compromise by some Christians that is tolerated by the church.
You might say this is a variation on a theme from the previous church, Pergamum. In that city, there was cultural compromise in that some members, like in Thyatira, were eating food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality (verses 15, 20). The difference at Thyatira is that the church was actively tolerating it (verse 20).
Why am I describing these sins of eating food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality as cultural compromise? Thyatira had a number of professional guilds for the different trades and occupations that were followed there, and these guilds were the basis for social recognition and progress. It was particularly known for coppersmiths (which may explain why Jesus introduces himself as having ‘feet like burnished bronze’, verse 18). Each of the guilds had a patron god. At social events held by the guilds there would be a meal, and beforehand the food to be served would have been dedicated to that god. Post-meal entertainment was usually provided by prostitutes.[2]
So if a Christian tradesman went to his guild meeting and wanted to get on in the society, he probably associated with the false god by accepting the food, and then broke Christian sexual standards with a prostitute.
You might think that the church would condemn such behaviour, but evidently not. If we think that the church in the early centuries was just filled with zealous, passionate Christians who were willing to give up everything for Christ, we are mistaken. There was cultural compromise going on regularly, as one new book amply illustrates.
This, then, is the wrong kind of toleration. It’s good and fine to tolerate people who are different from us and show them kindness and love, but what was going on here was a toleration of outright sin.
Do we do that? Sometimes we do. It may be that a church member has committed an egregious sin, but pressure is placed on the minister not to engage in our disciplinary procedures, because the friendship of church members with this person over-rides the concern for the holiness of the church.
I know that all too well from when I began ministry as a probationer thirty-one years ago and had to deal with a long and painful child protection situation, when Safeguarding had not fully come in. Some church members cared more that I was raising queries against members of the church family than they did that I spent eighteen months living under threats of violence from them.
Or another common example is this. A church is so concerned to make ends meet that it will allow regular bookings from organisations whose practices are in conflict with Christian belief. For me, it’s a really delicate issue when a church is approached by a yoga teacher. For yoga is originally not just a set of exercises but an act of Hindu devotion, and therefore not to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. If the meditation aspect is left out and all that is being taught is an exercise regime, I am less worried, but I find too many churches will brush this all under the carpet (or should that be the yoga mat?) because when push comes to shove, balancing the books matters more than costly devotion to Christ.
Could it be that today, as in the days of Thyatira, that Jesus is also calling some churches to repent? Could it be also that he has given some churches time to change their ways and they have refused, leaving Jesus himself to cause their decline and death?
The Anglican New Testament scholar Steve Walton warns that
Compromise is not about choosing to worship other gods instead of Jesus; it’s trying to include other gods along with our worship of Jesus.[3]
What are the stages of compromise? Walton says we go through four stages[4]: attraction to the other ‘god’, rationalisation that it’s OK to do so, indulgence in practices contrary to Christ, and finally a re-definition of our faith. If we recognise that process going on in our personal lives or our church, we need to turn back to Christ.
In conclusion, what does Jesus ask of his church? In Thyatira’s case, he says,
hold on to what you have until I come (verse 25)
and
do[es] my will to the end (verse 26).
In other words, keep on with all the good things the church is known for, and weed out the cultural compromise.
Let us not judge our success in the faith on whether we are a big and growing congregation or not. Instead, let us judge it in the way Jesus does: are we doing things that bring joy to his heart, and are we faithfully keeping ourselves away from the idols of our day with a single heart for Christ alone?
[1] I am indebted to Steve Walton for this approach to introducing the passage.
[2] Again, I’m following Steve Walton here. See his slides.
Big Circumstance 