He was tolerant toward the sinner, but intolerant toward the evil which enslaves the sinner. Sin lies at the root of most of society's difficulties today. Whatever separates a person from God disunites that person from others. The world problem will never be solved until the question of sin is settled. But the Cross is God's answer to sin.
Forest rangers know the value of the 'burn-back' in fighting forest fires.
To save an area from uncontrolled fire, they carefully burn away the trees and shrubs to create a safety barrier. Fire is thus fought by fire. Calvary was a colossal fighting of fire by fire. Christ, taking on Himself all of our sins, allowed the fire of sin's judgment to fall upon Him. The area around the Cross has become a place of refuge for all who would escape the judgment of sin.