In 2025, the world celebrates “tolerance” — but what happens when tolerance replaces truth?
In this powerful episode of Behind The Mike Podcast, host Mike Stone breaks down why real love doesn’t stay silent and why silence doesn’t bring peace — it just lets confusion grow louder. Using Scripture from John 8, John 4, and Ephesians 4:15, Mike explores how Jesus embodied both grace and truth — and how believers today can do the same.
If the Church won’t speak truth in love… who will?
🔹 Topics Covered:
The modern distortion of tolerance
Why silence isn’t the same as peace
Jesus’ perfect example of grace and truth
How to speak truth without losing love
The courage to stand firm in a culture of compromise
📖 Key Verses:
John 8:32 — “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Ephesians 4:15 — “Speak the truth in love.”
John 1:14 — “He came full of grace and truth.”
👣 Next Episodes:
➡️ What Does the Bible Say About Angels?
➡️ Demons, Evil, and the Occult — A Biblical Look at Darkness
🙏 If this message encouraged or challenged you, share it with someone who needs to hear truth wrapped in love.
📌 Subscribe for weekly biblical conversations, hope-filled stories, and real talk about faith:
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#BehindTheMikePodcast #MikeStone #ChristianPodcast #TruthVsTolerance #SpeakTruthInLove #FaithOverFear #GraceAndTruth #BiblicalTruth #ChristianCourage #jesussaves
⏱️ Timestamped Chapters
00:00 – Introduction: Why this topic matters
00:29 – When love became silence
01:01 – The culture of tolerance and rejection
02:22 – Truth sets people free (John 8:32)
03:29 – The danger of a diluted gospel
04:27 – Jesus: full of grace and truth
05:29 – What real love looks like
05:59 – How to speak truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)
06:27 – Expecting pushback: courage in faith
07:22 – Parents, students, and pastors under pressure
08:01 – The Church’s voice in a confused world
08:55 – Next week: Angels, demons, and the occult
10:57 – Closing encouragement and challenge
Episode Transcript
Hey friends.
Thank you for joining me todayon Behind the Mike Podcast.
I always try to prayerfullyconsider topics or what
we're going to talkabout on the show.
And today was one thatI've realized has just been
really stuck inside of mefor a while now
and just realizedthat a few days ago.
So I put some timeinto this one, like I do
(00:21):
all of my podcasts and wantedto really dive
into what I was feelingand compare that to what
God's Word says.
So somewhere along the way,we have decided
that love means silence.
That truth hurts too much to sayout loud.
So we've stopped saying it.
We started thinking,if I just stay quiet,
(00:44):
I'll keep the peace.
But listen.
Silence doesn't bring peace.
It just lets confusionand chaos become louder.
And the truth is, if the churchwon't speak truth in love,
who's going to do it?
We live in a culturethat preaches tolerance
(01:05):
but practices rejection,especially when
it comes to God's Word.
Say what the world approves ofand your celebrated speak what
Scripture saysand you're canceled.
But Jesus didn't die,so we could just blend in.
He died so that we couldstand out in truth and in love.
(01:28):
Well, I'm Mike Stone,and this is the Behind
the Mike Podcast,where we look at life
through a biblical lenswith honesty, with hope,
and sometimeswith hard questions.
So stick around.
Let's dive into this.
(01:50):
All right, let's be honest.
We live in a culturethat loves the idea
of tolerance.
But today's tolerancedoesn't mean patience
or respect anymore.
It means agreement.
So if youdisagree with the crowd,
you're labeledhateful or narrow minded
or worse.
And for Christians, that can beintimidating.
(02:14):
It's easier to stay quietthan to risk being criticized
or misunderstoodor called intolerant.
But when we stopspeaking the truth,
we don't just lose influence,we lose people.
Because the truth iswhat sets people free.
Jesus said in John 832,then you will know the truth,
(02:36):
and the truth will set you free.
You see, without truththere's no freedom,
and without freedomthere's no hope.
Well, sadly, what I've seen overthe years is
some churches have beguntrading conviction for comfort.
(02:57):
We don't want to offend anyone,so we soften what Scripture says
or we avoid saying it at all.
But here's the thing.
Silence doesn'tprotect the gospel.
It just dilutes it.
It waters it down.
And a diluted gospeljust simply can't save anyone.
(03:18):
There's a quote that'soften attributed to G.K.
Chesterton that says,tolerance is the virtue
of the man without convictions.
That's not the kind of churchJesus has called us to be.
When I think about and readabout how Jesus handled truth,
I'm amazed by the balancethat he carried.
Or maybe balance isn't even theright word.
John 1 (03:41):
14 says, he came full of grace and truth.
Not 50/50, not half graceand half truth.
He was full of both.
So, for example, when Jesus metthe woman at the well in John 4
he didn't ignore her sin,but he didn't
(04:02):
condemn her either.
He simply spoke truth.
He said, the one you havenow is not your husband.
Pretty strong truth.
Then he offered herliving water,
forgiveness, freedomand purpose.
Grace and truth.
(04:22):
Hand in hand.
Or think about the womancaught in adultery in John 8.
The crowd was readyto stone her.
Be done with her.
Jesus disarmed themwith one sentence.
Let him who is without sincast the first stone.
Then he turned tothe woman and said,
(04:42):
nobody condemns you.
Neither do I condemn you.
Now go and sin no more.
He didn't say you're finejust the way you are.
He said, I love you too muchto leave you that way.
And that's what our worlddoesn't understand.
(05:03):
Real love does not affirmeverything.
It transforms everything.
If Jesus preachedthat same message today, he'd
probably be called intolerant,probably be kicked out of a lot
of churches,but he'd keep speaking
truth anyway, because truthwas his expression of love.
And it needs to beour expression of love
(05:26):
as the church today.
So how do we do that?
How do we speak truth in lovewhen the world doesn't
want to hear truth at all?
It's a challenge.
Ephesians 4 (05:39):
15 says, speak the truth in love.
Growing in every waymore and more like Christ.
And that's the key.
Our goal isn't to win debates.
It's to become like Jesus.
Here are three things that helpkeep me balanced.
(05:59):
Number one, stay anchoredin Scripture.
If your truth changeswith trends,
then it's not truth.
It's just opinion.
The Bible, it's not outdated.
It's eternal.
And when we stay rooted in it,we speak with authority,
not arrogance.
Number two, speak with humility.
(06:20):
Truth without love is harsh.
And love without truthis hollow.
Jesus never raised his voiceto prove that he was right.
He simply lived right.
And truth spoke for itself.
And number three,expect pushback.
Jesus warned us
in John 15 (06:37):
19, if you belonged to the world, it would love you
as its own.
But as it is, you do notbelong to the world,
and that's whythe world hates you.
We saw thatjust a little bit ago
with Charlie Kirk.
He spoke truthand the world hated him.
(06:58):
Think about this.
If everyone agrees with us,we might not be
representing Christas clearly as we think.
But take heart.
Truth always outlasts trends.
Maybe you're a parenttrying to raise kids
with biblical values in a worldthat's rewriting morality.
Maybe you're a student feelingthe pressure to stay silent
(07:20):
about your faith.
Maybe you are a pastorthat's torn between compassion
and conviction.
Remember, thistruth is not a weapon.
It's a light.
And the darker the world gets,the brighter
that that light shines.
(07:40):
So the question is,is the church losing its voice?
In some places, maybe.
But the story isn't over.
Every time one singlebeliever stands up, one single
believer speaks outand they love well, the church
finds her voice again.
(08:02):
So here's my challenge to you.
Don't confuse silence for peace.
Don't mistaketolerance for love.
Jesus didn't dieto make us comfortable.
He died to make us courageous.
And courage means this.
Speaking the truth,not to condemn, but to redeem.
(08:27):
Not to prove people wrong,but to point people home.
Because in the end,truth doesn't divide.
It delivers.
It's what sets us free.
If this episode encouragedor challenged you,
would you share itwith someone who needs
to hear truth wrapped in love?
Today I would like to,just kind of let you know what
(08:53):
we're whatwe're going to be doing
the next couple of weeks.
I hope that this was helpful.
I'm always very awarethis time of year
that on October 31st,many across
this country celebrateHalloween.
And whether you go backto the roots of it
(09:13):
or you think it's paganor you think it's okay.
I don't really care what it is.
We've got a podcast, from a yearor so ago on that.
So feel free to look that up.
But I do recognize that we,we kind of turn our attention
as a society to to the occult.
Or maybe it'sjust some fun wrapped in
(09:37):
maybe a semblance of evil.
Either way, howeveryou look at that.
I want to let you know next weekwe're going to be
talking about angels.
What does the Bible sayabout angels?
I've been hearing on the radio,and in different places.
I've been hearinga lot of things that have made
me question,what do I really believe
(09:57):
about angels?
So I've just completedsome research and I've looked
at some things that,believers and people with
far more knowledge than I doin the Christian realm
have to say about angels.
And, so I want to share thatwith you. Next week.
We're going to betalking about angels
the following week,if all goes as planned.
(10:19):
I want to touchon something again that draws us
to October 31st, regardlessof what you believe.
I want to touch on evil demonsand the occult,
and I want to find outexactly what God's Word
has to say about that.
Not necessarily Halloween.
I'll leave that up to you.
(10:41):
If you are a Christian.
Then that's between you and God.
Again, check out theHalloween episode we did,
a year or two ago and,and then come back
next week for angelsand the following week
for demons and the occult,and we'll learn together
what all this means.
So until next time,stay grounded, stay gracious
(11:02):
and stay faithful.
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