05/13/2026
Billy Graham's Sermon: "The Sin of Tolerance"
Billy Graham delivered this powerful message, originally as a radio sermon, on February 2, 1959. It critiques the overextension of "tolerance" in modern society, particularly when it compromises moral and spiritual convictions. Graham contrasts worldly broad-mindedness with the uncompromising truth of the Gospel, drawing from Jesus' example of being tolerant toward sinners but intolerant toward sin itself. Below is the full transcript of the sermon, as published in Christianity Today and preserved by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
One of the pet words of this age is “tolerance.” It is a good word, but we have tried to stretch it over too great an area of life. We have applied it too often where it does not belong. The word tolerant means liberal, broad-minded. In one sense, it implies the compromise of one’s convictions, a yielding of ground upon important issues. Hence, over-tolerance in moral issues has made us soft, flabby, and devoid of conviction.
We have become tolerant about divorce; we have become tolerant about the use of alcohol; we have become tolerant about delinquency; we have become tolerant about wickedness in high places; we have become tolerant about immorality; we have become tolerant about crime and we have become tolerant about godlessness. In a book recently published on what prominent people believe, 60 out of 100 did not even mention God, and only 11 out of 100 mentioned Jesus. There was a manifest tolerance toward soft character and a broadmindedness about morals, characteristic of our day.
Tolerance, in one sense, implies the compromise of one’s convictions, a yielding of ground upon important issues. Hence, over-tolerance in moral issues has made us soft, flabby and devoid of conviction. The Christ of the New Testament preached a gospel of intolerance toward sin. He was tolerant toward the sinner, but intolerant toward the evil which enslaved him. He was tolerant toward the Samaritan woman at the well, but intolerant toward the evil which bound her. To the adulteress He said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). He was tolerant toward the thief on the cross, but intolerant toward the sin which brought the thief to the cross. He was tolerant toward Zacchaeus, the little publican, but intolerant toward the sin which made Zacchaeus a thief.
At home and abroad, the American people plead for broad-mindedness, tolerance and charity. Abroad, our ambassadors use all of their powers to influence warring parties to come to the conference table in a spirit of give-and-take. At home, our leaders plead for unity and tolerance. Even in the churches there is a demand for a more tolerant attitude toward sin and sinners. But there is a need for intolerance in the Christian experience.
In some things Christ was the most tolerant, broad-minded Man who ever lived, but in other things He was one of the most intolerant. “He that is not with me is against me,” He declared (Matt. 12:30). He tolerated the ignorant, but not the willfully wicked. He was intolerant toward Satan and his ministers, toward sin and hypocrisy. He was intolerant toward empty profession, for He said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).
The early Christians were tolerant toward the poor, the weak, and the oppressed, but intolerant toward sin and worldliness. They were tolerant toward the repentant sinner, but intolerant toward the unrepentant sinner. They were tolerant toward those who differed with them in minor matters of doctrine, but intolerant toward those who denied the deity of Christ. They were tolerant toward those who were ignorant of the truth, but intolerant toward those who willfully rejected it.
The popular, tolerant attitude toward the gospel of Christ is like a man going to watch the Braves and the Dodgers play a baseball game and rooting for both sides. You cannot root for both sides and be sincere. You must choose one side or the other. The Bible teaches that there are only two roads in life: one leads to destruction and the other to life eternal. Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:13–14).
Tolerance can be a virtue, but intolerance toward sin is a mark of true Christianity. The world hates intolerance, but the world is wrong. Christ was intolerant toward sin because sin is the enemy of God and man. The Christian must be intolerant toward sin, but tolerant toward the sinner. The sinner needs our love, but he also needs to hear the truth about sin and its consequences.
The life that Jesus urges us to lose is the selfishness that lives within us, the old nature of sin that is in conflict with God. Peter, James and John left their nets, but Jesus did not object to nets as such; it was the selfish living they symbolized that He wanted them to forsake. Matthew left the “custom seat,” a political job, to follow Christ. But Jesus did not object to a political career. It was the selfish quality of living that it represented that He wanted Matthew to forsake.
In the realm of Christian experience, there is a need for intolerance. We must be intolerant toward sin, toward hypocrisy, toward selfishness, toward the world’s standards. We must be tolerant toward the sinner, but intolerant toward the sin. We must be broad-minded toward people, but narrow-minded toward sin. The Christ of the New Testament was tolerant toward the repentant, but intolerant toward the unrepentant. He was tolerant toward the weak, but intolerant toward the willful. He was tolerant toward the ignorant, but intolerant toward the rebellious.
The sin of tolerance is the sin of compromising with evil. It is the sin of being broad-minded where we should be narrow-minded, of being tolerant where we should be intolerant. The world says, “Be tolerant,” but Christ says, “Be holy.” The world says, “Compromise,” but Christ says, “Overcome.” The world says, “Broaden your mind,” but Christ says, “Narrow the way.”
Tolerance has made us soft. It has made us flabby. It has made us devoid of conviction. It has made us afraid to stand for the truth. But the truth is that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
My friend, are you tolerant toward sin? Are you compromising with evil? Are you broad-minded toward the things of God? If so, you are on the broad road that leads to destruction. But there is a narrow way, a way of intolerance toward sin, a way of conviction and commitment to Christ. That way leads to life eternal.
Tonight, I invite you to come to Christ. Confess your sin, repent of your tolerance toward evil, and commit your life to the One who is intolerant toward sin but loving toward the sinner. He will forgive you, cleanse you, and give you a new heart. Come to Jesus Christ now, and find the true tolerance—the tolerance of a loving Savior who died for you.
This sermon remains a timeless call to biblical fidelity amid cultural pressures. If you'd like to hear it delivered, a audio recording is available on YouTube. For more of Graham's messages, visit the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's library at billygraham.org.
