Are some sins worse than others?

[Noxot]

if you can make a distinction between evils then I think God could too.

sin has to do with a condition of being. all sin is bad because it implies some kind of separation from God. to have sin is to have your higher parts closest to God closed off. all commandments against sins are different expressions/symbols of this state of lack of some kind of good reality.

our entire universe is symbolic and so everything we do should reflect some kind of heavenly condition. why we do what we do matters a lot.

 

[FredVB]

There are certainly some bad things that are much worse than other bad things, which we see. Yahweh God sees this, and some things are said to be abominable. So it can be said there is more penalty for those things. Yet any lesser sin is still an offense to God, with the holiness of God. Any of such will have one suffering in hell. But what is hell? We can't say it is known, from imagery used to show it is undesirable misery for always. I don't speak of it meaning it is the torment of always burning in flames as is imagined by some certain people. But any sin for which there will be penalty borne, which there is for us without being in Christ who was willing to bear it all for us, will have lasting misery for us forever, as it would never be paid off without Christ. We have nothing of value to pay it off, as Christ had. Atonement still is really about ending sin which would go on, and providing for restoration to relationship with Yahweh God that there should be.

 

[Introverted1293]

To be perfectly honest, I don't know. I do know that in James, it says that if you break one at any time, you are guilty of breaking them all. But I don't know if that means that all commandments are the same.

I used to argue with Christians about this. But to be perfectly honest, I don't like assuming to know what is in the mind of God.

 

[FredVB]

To be perfectly honest, I don't know. I do know that in James, it says that if you break one at any time, you are guilty of breaking them all. But I don't know if that means that all commandments are the same.
I used to argue with Christians about this. But to be perfectly honest, I don't like assuming to know what is in the mind of God.

This is a good point. We can't know things like God knows things. But some of us can still argue things we are sure of like we do.

God still has it revealed what things are wrong, and a conscience is provided to each of us, which we have unless we have it seared away with our thinking. We can feel some wrong things are worse than others. Even if there really is something to this, as it does seem, and Yahweh God's justice in eternity will be fair, it is revealed that any wrongs done ever violate God's perfect standard. So it is if you break one it is as breaking all the commandments, it is an offense against God, you are then a sinner out of fellowship with God your Creator. Any sin would result in eternal separation with always suffering the justice after judgment for it. Surely those who have sinned much worse would suffer more in God's fair justice. This is what Jesus came for, providing atonement to be available to all who would otherwise face such judgment, and with call to repent showing the way with God's forgiveness to be in relationship with God still, and have eternity with blissful life with God, in Jesus. May we see more for this, for further godliness.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Well, yes. Some sins definitely are worse than other sins. Murder is definitely worse than, say, stealing a candy bar.

There is a sense that all sin is sin. But that doesn't mean that there aren't some things which are definitely worse than other things.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[FredVB]

Certainly. This is how in eternity, for such apart from Jesus, there will different levels of consequences in just judgment suffered.

 

[FredVB]

So because sin is sin, there is suffering for it in judgment, either there is by Jesus when he suffered for us for the payment that we could be delivered with justification, or by any who remain apart from Jesus Christ there is suffering in eternity for each sin, greater and lesser, for none can ever be paid for, apart from Jesus Christ the righteous one, who was willing with submission to the heavenly Father to bear everything for us.

 

[AMOG]

I'm wondering if there is a difference in how God regards sins. Would he think that some sins such as murder are worse than others like sex outside of marriage? Or is it impossible for anyone to know the answer?

Many would say that since any sin is enough to separate you from God then all sins are equal, but that is incorrect. God does see some sins as worse then others because Jesus said that if anyone causes a child to sin it would be better for them that a millstone were hung around their neck and they were drowned. He does not pronounce this same warning agianst others and freely breaks some of the jewish laws during his ministry so I find it safe to say that God sees some sins as worse then others. however, there is no ranking per say anywhere in the Bible. For believers in Christ, the most important commandment is clear. Love God, Love your Neighbor as yourself. When faced with a delima I try to remember to do the most loving thing for the greatest number of people. I feel like maybe sins are the opposite of this, the more you hurt people, the worse they are, but that is my own opinion.

 

[Par5]

So because sin is sin, there is suffering for it in judgment, either there is by Jesus when he suffered for us for the payment that we could be delivered with justification, or by any who remain apart from Jesus Christ there is suffering in eternity for each sin, greater and lesser, for none can ever be paid for, apart from Jesus Christ the righteous one, who was willing with submission to the heavenly Father to bear everything for us.

So you believe that someone who was a non-believer who has spent the best part of their life helping others and the worst thing they ever did was to have stolen a candy bar in their youth or let out an expletive when they stubbed their toe will suffer punishment for eternity alongside a truly evil person like Charles Manson for example?
Nice belief you have there!

 

[GrowingSmaller]

Christians emphasise love, so the more stress or the more fear a sin causes, the further from love it is....(?)

 

[bhsmte]

So you believe that someone who was a non-believer who has spent the best part of their life helping others and the worst thing they ever did was to have stolen a candy bar in their youth or let out an expletive when they stubbed their toe will suffer punishment for eternity alongside a truly evil person like Charles Manson for example?
Nice belief you have there!

Yep. I call that morally bankrupt.

 

[Dave-W]

Christians emphasise love, so the more stress or the more fear a sin causes, the further from love it is....(?)

And the closer one gets to becoming legalistic.

 

[FredVB]

So because sin is sin, there is suffering for it in judgment, either there is by Jesus when he suffered for us for the payment that we could be delivered with justification, or by any who remain apart from Jesus Christ there is suffering in eternity for each sin, greater and lesser, for none can ever be paid for, apart from Jesus Christ the righteous one, who was willing with submission to the heavenly Father to bear everything for us.

So you believe that someone who was a non-believer who has spent the best part of their life helping others and the worst thing they ever did was to have stolen a candy bar in their youth or let out an expletive when they stubbed their toe will suffer punishment for eternity alongside a truly evil person like Charles Manson for example?
Nice belief you have there!

Yep. I call that morally bankrupt.

Except, that's not what I actually said. Misrepresentation is not good.

I am absolutely sure there is actually no grown person who is so virtuous, such as was described. For any sins, the wrongdoings from us, we face the consequences that can't be paid for enough from ourselves. But what is suffered is clearly not the same in fairness for greater sinners and those not as bad. I don't believe in eternity those suffering in misery, who are there with being apart from Christ who came to deliver us, would be together at all.

There is fair justice coming. There is no good reason to stay apart from Christ, there is good in repenting of wrongs we do and coming to godliness that was meant for us.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Yes I'm aware blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the worst sin. Other than that though would you say other sins are all equally bad?

There are various levels of hell. There are also venial and mortal sins... So yes. Sins vary in gravity.

 

[Radagast]

I'm wondering if there is a difference in how God regards sins. Would he think that some sins such as murder are worse than others like sex outside of marriage? Or is it impossible for anyone to know the answer?

There is a sense in which that is true; and a sense in which all sins are equally a deviation from perfection.

 

[Landon Caeli]

There is a sense in which that is true; and a sense in which all sins are equally a deviation from perfection.

True. There is the sense that killing someone is more grave than thinking about killing someone.

...Yet, both are evil.

 

[Shempster]

I'm wondering if there is a difference in how God regards sins. Would he think that some sins such as murder are worse than others like sex outside of marriage? Or is it impossible for anyone to know the answer?

The reason we might think one sin is worse than another is that we were raised that way. The legal system is set up that way. Parents deal out punishments based on the severity of the offense.
We need to clearly see that sin is "missing the mark". What this means is that we fail to do, say or think in line with God's character. So any or act, word or thought that goes against God's character is sin. Once we realize this, it changes our whole view on sin.

 

[Dave-W]

We need to clearly see that sin is "missing the mark". What this means is that we fail to do, say or think in line with God's character. So any or act, word or thought that goes against God's character is sin. Once we realize this, it changes our whole view on sin.

Sin is missing the mark. that means you have to be aiming at the RIGHT mark to miss it.

Remember there are also transgressions and iniquities. (those are NOT just missing the mark)

 

[LutheranGuy123]

Think of it this way:

Two men are seeking to stay in your home. One of them is a murderer, who has killed several people in cold blood because he enjoys it. The other is a thief who will probably just run away with your TV. Which one do you allow in your home? Obviously the thief, right? But what if you had the option of allowing neither? You would much rather have the thief than the serial killer, but you don't want either.

In the same way, God doesn't let unrepentant sinners into Heaven. They could be murderers, or just have really bad road rage. He doesn't want either one. It's not that a murderer is just as bad as a chain smoker, it's that neither is good enough.

 

[FredVB]

We look at it the wrong way with this question. If we have known enough to repent of sin and come to Yahweh through Christ, we should desire not to do any sins, and trust God's help in turning from what sins there are with us. None of it is okay to have remaining.