Never have people spoken as much about love as they do in our own time. “Love” has now become a catchword that is employed both by those who want to be Christians and by those who want nothing whatsoever to do with the faith.
But what do many Christians mean when they employ the term “love?” Above all, they understand it to mean this: As a person expresses himself in matters of faith, he should show himself tolerant, that is, long-suffering, lenient, and easygoing. He should not take purity of doctrine as seriously and rebuke deviation from God’s Word as sharply as in the earlier years of the Church. He should also regard as dear brothers those who accept some main articles of faith but do not wish to subject themselves to the Word of God in all things.