The other day I posed a question. During my internship we were required to write down topics for sermons/Bible lessons & pick from a hat. The topic I received was formed in a question – “Is All Sin Equal?” I was kind of bummed at such a topic thinking “This answer is too obvious.” Come to find out, the answer is not nearly as obvious as I originally thought. The witty evangelical quip that “All sin is equal in the eyes of God” isn’t exactly full truth because, Biblically, in the eyes of God all sins are not always equal. Stick with me here…
First of all, I want you to know my answer to this is 3-fold. Is all sin equal? Yes – No – Yes.
Romans 3:23 will let us know that all have sinned which in turn makes us fall short of the glory of God. Well, first of all, we need to know this points us back to the very beginning. First & foremost is why we were created – as the glory of God; our original purpose is to be the glory revealed of & give glory to God. Unfortunately our father & mother of mankind fell into sin which is why we now fall short because we are all sinners. Because of this, we are separated from God. So is all sin equal? Yes, all sin is equal in that it causes a gulf of separation between us & God.
However, we come to scripture that will put a damper in the yes when going through the Bible. Did you know that all sin is NOT equal in God’s eyes according to severity & judgment? It’s true. Real quick, let me discuss some factors that will change the gravity of sin.
- Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit: I want to start out with the most obvious of weighted sins. In Matthew 12:31-32 Jesus explains that anyone who “speaks a word against the Holy Spirit” is found unforgivable. This alone tells us that not all sins are equal. We read that there is a sin that is unforgivable growing up in the Christian culture that says anything can be forgiven. Well … not true when considering this verse & the unforgivable sin. Jesus even weights the blasphemy of the Spirit over the blasphemy of His own name (Jesus).
- Circumstances of Time/Place: In 1 Samuel 2:22-24 we see an instance of someone being involved in another person’s sin. It is a greater sin when someone involves another person. It would be a weighty sin for me to go out & shoot up a mall full of “innocent” people, but it’s considered “greater” when I involve other people & influence them to go with me & take part in my own sin.
- Who Sins are Against: As already shown with the Matthew 12 passage, it is a greater sin to sin against the Spirit than it is the sin against the Son. According to Matthew 18, Romans 14 & many other scriptures it is considered a worse sin to to sin against other believers (specifically weaker believers of which you would cause a stumbling block for by sinning against them).
- How Sins are Done: By how sins are done I’m basically saying this … In what attitude are the sins committed. Let me give a list for you to read that Biblically makes sins greater. Are the sins done deliberately, impudently, boastfully, maliciously, willfully, with delight, frequently, or with constant relapse?
- If You Know Better: Sins are also much greater for the ones who commit them & are supposed to know better. This is similar to the mature believer sinning against the weak believer. It causes a stumbling block because we are the ones that’s supposed to help disciple them. It’s a popular part (at least for me) when Jesus goes off on a rant to the scribes & Pharisees calling them hypocrites & giving them the reasons why. You know the biggest reason they were the hypocrites? Because they knew better! Jesus also mentions to Pilot right before being put on the cross that the ones that handed Him (Jesus) over to Pilot had committed the greater sin. Well how come? Because once again, they knew better.
I don’t want to just leave it there & give people reasons to start judging others according to their sins being greater or not. Fact is, there is a difference in sins when it comes to judgment & severity. That is seen all through scripture. One of my biggest pet peeves of being an evangelical is being surrounded by people who would rather spend hours trying to come up with a witty quip that sounds new & fresh than just simply preaching the Word of God. Perfect is example is “it’s not a religion, it’s a relationship” when James 1:27 clearly says “true and undefiled religion is…” It’s not that Christianity is not a religion because it is. First of all, it is the only true and undefiled religion. Second, it just happens to be much more than a religion (but still IS a religion).
So this is where divisions don’t matter when wondering about the weight of sin – Grace. Sin does separate us all the same way but is not equal in the eyes of God according to judgment. However, when we talk about the Grace of God, fact is God sent Jesus to pay for all sins no matter the size, direction, or square root of someone’s sin (only sin exempt of this is the unforgivable sin mentioned in Matthew 12). When considering Grace, all sin is absolutely equal. Unfortunately we tend to focus on the wrong parts within ourselves. We even tell ourselves “all sin is equal no matter what” & then go compare sins. That’s the natural thing to do since there are divisions but take this quote, “We must learn to think of sin clear-headedly, to deal with it in ourselves realistically, & to negate & hate it everywhere whole-heartedly.”
So is all sin equal? Yes, it causes a gulf between us & God. No, because Biblically there are factors that describe sins with different gravity. But a huge resounding “YES” to being equal that it is all equally covered under God’s Grace in His sending His Son to make the atonement for all of our sins. This last “yes” just so happens to be what Romans 3:24 talks about.
