Is all sin equal?

[GreenMunchkin]

The thread about guilt made me wonder about this, cos have heard differing views from people. To us, no, society teaches us that murder, rape, etc are far, far worse than stealing a pack of gum.

But we're told that having a lustful thought is the same as adultery, and that having a hateful thought is the same as murder. So, crimes - or, at least, society's perception of crimes - run the gamut in terms of gravity, but in God's eyes, is all sin equal, or is there a sliding scale?

 

[daveleau]

God tells us in Proverbs 6 that there are certain things God hates and detests. While all sin separates us from God, and there is inherited sin from Adam along with sins of commission and sins of omission, this tells us that there are things God puts above other sins.

The key is not finding a hierarchy of sin, but in knowing that any and all sin has the same effect when the blood of Christ is not applied.

In Him,
Dave

 

[rmw8855]

All sin is sin and separates us from God, but all sin is not penalized the same - there is innocent sin, presumptive sin, & sin unto death

Innocent sin - you didn't know it was sin at the time you committed it (i.e. not tithing) or not pre-planned (i.e. social lie to not hurt someone's feelings)

Presumptive sin - you knowingly commit a sin / you planned to commit the sin

Sin unto death - blaspheming the Holy Spirit. This is the only unforgivable sin according to the bible. It is when someone who is saved & has experienced the power of the holy spirit in their life, then rejects the Holy Spirit and basically tells the Holy Spirit to get out of their life & never return. You can curse God or curse Jesus and still be forgiven, but you can not reject the Holy Spirit because he dwells within you.

 

[Izdaari Eristikon]

I had to go with other. All sin is equally sin, and the wages of all of it is death... luckily for us, Jesus paid for it all. But some sins are definitely worse than others, because they harm others or have a worse effect on one's own soul. Raping a child and stealing a candy bar are equally sins, but I don't think anyone would argue that they're equal sins.

 

[Apollo Celestio]

I don't know to be honest. Some sins in scripture are given extra titles. Such as same sex sex, it's regarded as a "great evil" and when it comes up, it say "I cannot let you do such an evil thing!" (Genesis and Judges) And also marrying or having sex with a divorced woman is regarded as an "even greater sin" (I should read that over again.) And there is the other thing I won't mention because I don't even want to think about it.

 

[BelindaP]

All sins are equal in God's eyes, as any form of imperfection renders us unworthy. (Thank you, Jesus for your sacrifice.) However, sins on this earth are not the same, as some harm more than others.

 

[Criada]

God wanrs us to be holy. That is necessssary to come to Him...and any sin cuuts us off from that relatiomship. So to Him it is all the same, no degrees, no 'worrse sins' And alll feely forgiiven.

But obvvviously there are differnnt degreees with regard t o the efffect on others. Coos hating someone may be as bad as murdering them tooo God... but it isn;t to them!!

And some feewl worse thjan oters.... but that is our human perception, not what God sees.

 

[CGL]

"Truly I say unto you, All their sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter: but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirt never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin: because they say, ‘He has an unclean spirit'." - Mark 3:28-29

"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." - Matthew 12:30-32

 

[GreenMunchkin]

Yeah, I should have specified, I don't mean blaspheming of the Holy Spirit - partly because no-one seems to know what that is logistically, so am not entirely sure it's even possible to do, either for regenerated Christians or for non-Christians (who don't know the Holy Spirit to blaspheme Him...)

But the proverbial "7 deadly sins", etc... are they equal in the eyes of God?

 

[BelindaP]

In the eyes of God, all sins are equal, as they all equally separate us from Him by making us unworthy. With regard to their consquences on this earth, the answer is different. Of course, this is a Protestant answer. Catholics group sins into two categories depending on severity and how willfully they are committed.

 

[Rhamiel]

there are mortal sins and venial sins are sins that harm our relationship with God, Mortal sins are sins in which we choose to cut ourself off from God.
the 7 deadly sins are sins that are venial but have such a habitual nature that they become mortal sins (I think all habitual sins are mortal sins but I am not sure) they are called deadly sins becuase they lead to spiritual death

 

[Rhamiel]

all sin is a crime agianst a God who is all loveing and all good, that is why in the OT even things we would see as venial sins (like children mocking a prophet) could justly be punished by death, Now we have the Spirit in us it takes more serious sins to remove ourselves from His Grace
wikipedia i love you
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_sin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venial_sin

 

[psalms 91]

In the eyes of God, all sins are equal, as they all equally separate us from Him by making us unworthy. With regard to their consquences on this earth, the answer is different. Of course, this is a Protestant answer. Catholics group sins into two categories depending on severity and how willfully they are committed.

Totally agree with this, all sin is equal in eyes if God

 

[Cromwe11]

all sin eventually leads to the same place if it runs free.. however, different sins do have different direct affects on people, and some are more damaging than others. Some are more deceptive than others.

Sins like rape and murder are very damaging to society, and to other people. They are also very big in relation to God because they attack the image of God which exists in man.

Sins like pride, however, are often times just as damaging, maybe even more so to an individual because they are so deceptive in nature that it is very hard to get free of them.

Sins like murder, rape, etc, everyone knows they are wrong. Usually even the people who do them, at some point knew they were doing wrong. Usually, people never get to the point of doing those things, unless they first have been decieved through more common place things like pride, wrath, and so on.

One of the worst things about the "big" sins like murder, is that they show just how far a person has sunk into deception. You don't commit those sins unless you've already been corrupted by the more common place sins.

No one sets out in life thinking "I'm ok with murder". Cain, didn't set out thinking "I don't care at all about righteousness or God, so I'm going to kill my brother". He started out thinking "I want God's approval, but I want it my way, on my terms." God warned him that sin was crouching at the door, waiting to devour him, but he didn't listen.

 

[SpiritualAntiseptic]

Well, all sins are equal in the sense that they go against God's will and pull us away from Him.

However, the gravity of the sin and how far it pulls us from God may vary on the intent of person, their habits, their spiritual level and the sin itself.

Murdering someone will, in general, obviously have a greater magnitude in how far we are pulled from God than telling a lie.

The Catholic Church believes that certain sins, when commited with deliberate malice, knowledge and contempt for God, are so great that they destroy all santifying grace within a person. leaving the person incapable of attaining Heaven at death unless they repent.

 

[JPPT1974]

I put yes as meaning that no
Matter how big or small the sin is
It is still a sin and hurts us with God
Unless we repent and ask for His forgiveness.
A sin is a sin no matter how big or small it is.

 

[D'Ann]

God tells us in Proverbs 6 that there are certain things God hates and detests. While all sin separates us from God, and there is inherited sin from Adam along with sins of commission and sins of omission, this tells us that there are things God puts above other sins.

The key is not finding a hierarchy of sin, but in knowing that any and all sin has the same effect when the blood of Christ is not applied.

In Him,
Dave

Amen. Well explained. I believe that any thing that hinders us from being closer to God is a sin. I also believe that some sins are graver than others...

Specifically the "7" sins that you mentioned GM.

Interesting thread.

 

[daveleau]

All sin is sin and separates us from God, but all sin is not penalized the same - there is innocent sin, presumptive sin, & sin unto death

Innocent sin - you didn't know it was sin at the time you committed it (i.e. not tithing) or not pre-planned (i.e. social lie to not hurt someone's feelings)

Presumptive sin - you knowingly commit a sin / you planned to commit the sin

Sin unto death - blaspheming the Holy Spirit. This is the only unforgivable sin according to the bible. It is when someone who is saved & has experienced the power of the holy spirit in their life, then rejects the Holy Spirit and basically tells the Holy Spirit to get out of their life & never return. You can curse God or curse Jesus and still be forgiven, but you can not reject the Holy Spirit because he dwells within you.

I agree, except on the definition of the unforgivable sin. The error was not in the blasphemy, as blasphemy in itself is not unforgivable, and why would blasphemy of the Spirit be more worrisome than blasphemy of God or Jesus. The issue is hardening ones heart so much against God that you cannot see His works as good, and you see them as evil. The issue is the hardening of the heart to the Gospel. The Jewish leaders had done this despite Jesus' repeated pleas for them to know the truth. Yet, they would have nothing of it, and this is the unforgivable sin. The sin that is the equivalent today is rejecting Jesus Christ.

The sin unto death John speaks of is not the same thing, as this is a sin that is committed by a Christian. We know this from the context of 1 John, which deals heavily with the sins of Christians. If a Christian, who is truly saved, commits habitual sin, they will be brought home. This is the sin unto death.

In Him,
Dave

 

[Hentenza]

Romans 6:23
23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All sin, no matter how “small,” is against an infinite and eternal God, and is therefore worthy of an infinite and eternal penalty. Further, this is no sin too “big” that God cannot forgive it. Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin (1 John 2:2). Jesus died for ALL of our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). Are all sins equal to God? Yes and no. In severity? No. In penalty? Yes. In forgivability? Yes.

 

[Quoth]

I had to go with other. All sin is equally sin, and the wages of all of it is death... luckily for us, Jesus paid for it all. But some sins are definitely worse than others, because they harm others or have a worse effect on one's own soul. Raping a child and stealing a candy bar are equally sins, but I don't think anyone would argue that they're equal sins.

Since the poll asked me to discuss the option I chose, allow me to put in my opinion:

What Izdaari said.