Are All Sins the Same?

An idea often presented is that all sins are the same through the eyes of God. The problem with this is that it goes much deeper than that. Let’s examine the word of God… James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (NIV). The phrase “all sins are the same” likely came from this verse. The question of whether all sins are the same or not lies in the usage of the word, “sin.”

James explains that if you are a Law breaker (meaning, if you break one of the 613 commandments found in the Law of Moses), then you have sinned against God, thereby placing yourself in need of salvation. Jesus even takes these commands further and says that if you look at a woman with lust in your heart, then you are guilty of adultery (breaking the 7^th Commandment; See Matthew 5:28). Again, in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus explains that murder (breaking the 6^th Commandment) gets the same results as being angry with someone and calls him or her a fool or holds them in contempt will be in danger of Hell fire (See Matthew 5:21-22). So then, sin is itself, a heart thing, and not just something requiring action in order to obtain a sin nature.

Consider a child stealing a piece of penny candy from the local candy store in contrast with a vile, sadistic murderer. God sees both as sinners (Exodus 20:13, 15), but do their sins carry the same weight? Even in the eyes of God?

We have already seen that once someone sins, they are considered a lawbreaker (sinner). But the thing is, there is a subtle difference between the words “sin” and “sinner” All sinners are breakers of God’s Law, but sins definitely have a different value, even to the Lord.

Let me explain something here before we go any further. Once you sin, you are a sinner in the eyes of God. Once you are a sinner, you need to be saved from your sin. So logically speaking, the moment you sin, you need to be saved. The difference between sin and sinner is that a sinner is someone who has broken a Law of God and a sin is a Law of God that was broken by someone. There is indeed a difference.

Let’s examine Luke 12:47-48:

“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

One can see from the text that a person who doesn’t know that they are sinning will receive lesser punishment. This makes sense, because “from the one who had been entrusted with much, more will be asked.” In other words, the more equipped one is, the more he knows what is good and right. This is the same reason “Not many of you should become teachers, because teachers will come under a harsher judgment…” according to James 3:1. Because teachers by their sheer position of teaching claim to know what is right and good, and lead others to do the same. The idea here is that because someone doesn't know that he is doing something deserving punishment, he receives a lesser punishment. This is because not all sin is the same.

Though definitely not equal, the different value of sin is regarded by humans as well as by the Lord. As the comparison in the example above, there is no question of whether or not they carry the same weight in one sense. In another sense, murder is much worse of a sin than stealing candy. What kind of judge would say they are equal in the sense of punishment? No one would say to a 4-year-old who stole a piece of candy from a gas station that they were going to serve a life-sentence in prison. Jesus would also think this is ridiculous. John records Jesus telling Pilate that “those who handed Him over to him are guilty of a greater sin” (John 19:11; emphasis mine). These examples do not take the fact away that once someone sins, they are a sinner in need of God’s grace.

Not All Sin is in the Same Boat, but All Sinners are in the Same Boat

The unpardonable sin (found in Mark 3:28) is not accepting Jesus as one’s savior before one dies. This blasphemy against the Holy Spirit causes someone to be guilty of an eternal sin. Romans chapter one explains that men are without excuse because of the creation that lies before them. In other words, The Designer had to start it all, and because we see the design, we have evidence of the Creator. Secondly, men today are without excuse because they have the biblical account (the gospels) that reveals Jesus to us, who is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). Therefore, we have more than enough evidence to understand the need for repentance. A thorough reading of the gospel of John will further explain this evidence and reveal to its readers “the Light of the World.”

In conclusion, all sin is equally condemning, but not all sin is equally devastating. As with the serial murderer or the small child stealing penny candy, they both are acts of breaking God’s law. Once you sin, you become a sinner who is in need of God’s grace. This is what James is talking about (James 2:10). You may as well have broken all of God’s laws once you have broken one. This does not give us the excuse to go on sinning because we are held accountable, but it is simply making a point of needing grace. In any event, all sins are the same in that they carry us to the place of needing grace through Jesus, but not all sins have the same level of affliction.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us for our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." ~1 John 1:9

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~Romans 6:23

Comments

How to Show a Mormon the Difference Between the Mormon Jesus and the Biblical Jesus

I find that Mormons frequently claim they are Christians, and that they want to be referred to as Christians, and they have even recently sought to distance themselves from the word “Mormon.” The problem is, they worship another Jesus, and here is how to show them the difference between the Mormon Jesus and the Biblical Jesus. Before we get to that, some clarifications are necessary. The Mormon President Russell Nelson said, “What’s in a name or, in this case, a nickname? When it comes to nicknames of the Church, such as the “LDS Church,” the “Mormon Church,” or the “Church of the Latter-day Saints,” the most important thing in those names is the absence of the Savior’s name. To remove the Lord’s name from the Lord’s Church is a major victory for Satan. When we discard the Savior’s name, we are subtly disregarding all that Jesus Christ did for us—even His Atonement.” [1] So, according to Nelson, to call Mormons, Mormons , is a victory for Satan. So, this also means that to call

Joseph Smith had the same Demon that influenced Muhammad

What does Islam have in common with Mormonism? Seriously, the similarities are uncanny. Like human beings, demons are creatures of habit . The Bible does not tell us much about them, but from what it does tell us, we can learn a lot. Jesus reveals to us some things about their behavior: When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first… [1] Jesus clearly knows that demons have typical behaviors. He has seen it many times before. He lets us know that a typical behavior for a demon is that home is where the heart is . When your house crumbles to the ground, you move to a new one. Likewise, when a person dies, the demon is f

The Two Systems: A Confused Definition of Love

A couple years ago I wrote an article called the Jehovah’s Witness training videos . The article was meant to be humorous in a sense, because there are likely not any actual training videos, but it seems that they have all watched them. We can suspect this because they all often have the same points of conversation. When you talk about the Trinity, they will use the Bible like a machine gun and shoot you with verses. The verses are always the same: Colossians 1:15, Mark 10:18… So, there is an implication that they all have the same information. There is one source from where they gather their patterns and behaviors. Similarly, I think we can see the power behind the system of the world as well. We can see what this power is like by the tracks he leaves behind. The contrast of the two systems is really seen in Revelation 14:8. “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” John is using the word Babylon here for

How and Where to Make Divisions

Sometimes, I get asked “Why do you get so up at arms about other religions?” or, “Why do you pick on other religions so much?” I think the following will help you see where I’m coming from, before I spill the beans on such. We have difficulty sometimes in discovering where to make divisions when considering where to spend our money, and who to support, where to make purchases, and where not to do such. We also often have difficulty on how to know if a church or a congregation is a place where someone can actually become saved. Like, how can we know that a Mormon is likely not saved but we can know that a regular church attender at a gospel sound church is likely saved? What is it that would make my church attendance at a specific body no longer appropriate? Both answers to these questions deal with doctrine. If a company is pushing false doctrine using their influence and power to push a heretical doctrine or teaching, this is often when the red flags fly. “Non-essentials” aside for

The Highest Virtue

A virtue is a trait of excellence. What is the highest virtue? It seems that based on the nature of truth, that truth itself is perhaps the highest virtue. For instance, I could say that love is the highest virtue, but then I could ask the question of whether that is true or not. If it is or isn’t true, this places truth virtuously higher than love, at least in some sense. The fact that I can question love through the lens of truth seems to place truth above love in height of virtue. On the other hand, if I said that truth is the highest virtue, then it seems that it would be loving to tell others the truth! Perhaps truth and love go hand in hand, but this also concerns the nature of what truth is. Truth is a requirement for love, which I argue here , but is love a requirement for truth? Love must contain truth in order to be true love. But truth does not have to contain love in order to be true truth. Take for instance, mathematics, or numbers in general… Sometimes, the truth hurts

Defending Christianity against Mormonism

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect ” (NIV 1 Peter 3:15). In other words, LOVE THEM . Mormons Biblical Truths Mormons are monolaters, meaning, they believe in many gods, yet worship only one. LDS believe that “As man is, God once was; and as God is, man may become.” LDS do not believe in Hell. LDS believe God is flesh and bones. LDS believe in baptism for the dead. LDS believe Jesus and Satan are created brothers. LDS do not believe in the Trinity. LDS believe that “it is by grace we are saved, after all we can do” (Nephi 25:23). Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (See also Isaiah 43:11; Acts 5:4; 1 Timothy 2:5; Exodus 20:3; et. al.). God kn

Objectivity is the Language of Heaven

NDErs (i. e. people who have claimed to have had a Near Death Experience ) often report that when they go to Heaven, they frequently see and recognize people such as friends and family members. It is often also reported that when they were communicating with friends and relatives, they realized that they weren’t speaking English, but that they were telepathically speaking to one another. It seems it would be impossible to have communication with others without learning every language that has ever existed under the sun, but since heaven is a perfect place, [1] then communication should be perfect as well. In other words, it seems unlikely that there are barriers to communication. So, I should be able to communicate with the Apostles, upon my arrival for instance, but how? I personally only really know how to speak English fluently. My Spanish, Japanese, German, Russian, Chinese, and Latin is like that of a child, and my Greek is only in reading and writing. If communication is me

Argument from Beauty: Evangelical Christians have Neglected a Favorable Catalyst for the Gospel

It seems to me that some Evangelical Christians have taken a biblical passage in the wrong direction. Perhaps I, considering myself to be an Evangelical Christian, am guilty of such as well. Romans 12:1-2 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Verse 2 is where we get the phrase, be in the world, but don’t be of the world . What this means is that we should know our place. Our place is in heaven. The Bible says that we are citizens of heaven, and that we should think and act as if we are. Philippians 3:20-21 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the po

The Evidence and Power of Testimony

What to say to People who Demand more Evidence for God. Why is there something rather than nothing? Glacier National Park. © Nace Howell, 2018. The question is, how much evidence do you require? Would Jesus have to come back and slap you in the face with evidence that He is God? It seems to me that there is a line we must draw. We do this in all other areas of our lives, so why would we treat theism any different? When a court convicts, they do so “beyond a reasonable doubt.” I would like to take a few moments to explore this a bit. But before we get to that, I want to pose a question, which is… why are you the standard? What makes you think He has to prove His existence to everyone individually? He already created the universe from nothing. In the beginning, there was a big bang. Seriously… do you believe your mom when she tells you a story about her day? Did you believe the reports of 9/11 when they were happening? Do you accept the testimony of anything you hear on social

Does Baptism Save People from Sin?

There is a lot of confusion, and I would go as far to say that there is a perversion, of baptism in the world today. Some people, such as those in the Church of Christ, teach that baptism is a requirement for salvation. Others say that baptism is something we can do for the dead . But what does the Bible teach about baptism? Those who say that baptism is a requirement for salvation use verses like 1 Peter 3:21 which says, baptism which corresponds to this now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Christ Jesus… This is not talking about soul salvation but being saved from one’s own bad conscience. In other words, by obeying Jesus in getting baptized, we have a good conscience in doing so. Other times some people may use Acts 2:37-38 to show that baptism is a requirement for salvation. Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers,

Apologetics and Evidence

Search This Blog