Measure of Sin?

[Snowing 2010]

Sometimes I think sinning some sins is worse than sinning other sins. To be honest, sometimes I sin and have this weird voice in my head that says it's only a small sin, no one will notice. I have a question: is there any sort of measure of sin? can stealing something as small as a pencil be as bad as murdering?

 

[MyEverything]

I think that little voice you hear is the Devil. I believe all sins, no matter how big or small, are the same because they separate you from God.

 

[bibleblevr]

Are all sins a symptom of separation from God? Yes, and in this way they all point to the same basic problem so I suppose they could be all "equal". However to say they are all the same is not true, murder is more damaging to your relationship with God and man then stealing that pencil. Murder also demands a greater punishment

 

[heymikey80]

I tend to side with a response from one of my mentors.

Yeah, there are different grades of sin. The smallest sin starts with the sentence of death, but there are worse things than death in store for those who sin worse.

Our own evil selves like to say, "This one's not so bad," forgetting that on an absolute scale, each one is fatal. It's a "frog-boiling" means of keeping ourselves "okay" with ourselves, but at the same time condemning us to death.

 

[chilehed]

All sins are offenses against God, as well as faults against reason, truth, and right conscience. Sin is a deliberate thought, word, deed, or omission contrary to the eternal law of God.

There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God."

Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God alone, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission. The root of sin is in the heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the Lord: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man." But in the heart also resides charity, the source of the good and pure works, which sin wounds.

Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The Bible shows that there are sins that lead to death for a Christian, and those that do not: 1 John 5:16-17:

"If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly."​

Sins which lead to death are called mortal sins - these destroy charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; they turn man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.

So yes, some sins are worse than others but they are all bad. Christ suffered for all of our sins... and why would someone who loves him intentionally add to his suffering with the thought that, after all, it's not such a big sin?

 

[razeontherock]

The question comes from a good heart. Can I show some hope to our young Brother?

Hebrews 10:2 the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins."

It is not my intent here to burden you with HOW one arrives there, only to point out that it's POSSIBLE. Which is, as they say - - shouting ground ...

 

[chilehed]

The thing that I can't get is that why is it that some Christians won't accepet homosexuals because "sinful" (I don't believe homosexuality is a sin) yet accepet other people who have commieted all sorts of sinners like murders, rapists, adultery, acholhics, etc. Why is it that homosexuals the ones who aren't accepted? God loves everyone. One can not be a proper Christian and not be a proper sinner.

That's really a topic for another thread.

 

[SharonL]

Sin is sin and when God forgives he forgives all not a little. Sin is like stepping out in the water, you may be just a little wet and not soaked to the head, but you are still wet.
It is what is in the heart that matters, if you do something with the intent of stealing - it is stealing, but if you walked off with the pencil with no intentions of stealing - that is not stealing.

The question of why do people reject some sins and accept others, homosexuality was the question - this is because people are trying to make us accept something that the Bible says is a sin as not being a sin. If people would tell us that stealing was not a sin, we would not accept that, then why should we accept the homosexuality lifestyle as being ok when the Bible tells us it is an abomination. Yes God loves all people, He loves the people and hates the sin - there is a difference.

 

[SharonL]

Soddam and Gomora was not a misinterpretation. I am sorry this is not what you believe. The Bible leaves very little to the imagination of how God feels about this.

There is only one unforgivable sin and this is not it. The Bible does not say a homosexual cannot be a Christian, a practicing, un-repented homosexual cannot be a Christian.

 

[JasperJackson]

The thing that I can't get is that why is it that some Christians won't accepet homosexuals because "sinful" (I don't believe homosexuality is a sin) yet accepet other people who have commieted all sorts of sinners like murders, rapists, adultery, acholhics, etc. Why is it that homosexuals the ones who aren't accepted? God loves everyone. One can not be a proper Christian and not be a proper sinner.

It all comes down to repentance. Someone who is living a life of unrepentant sin is not a Christian. If they're doing things that God is against and they don't care then they're not Christians. But if they recognise their sin, ask for Jesus' forgiveness and repent of that sin then they would (should) be welcome in any church. We've got ex-homosexuals at our church. And it doesn't mean they're not tempted anymore and they're instantly "cured", because all of us are tempted to sin every day. But through the power of the Holy Spirit we can resist those temptations.

 

[JasperJackson]

I believe that the Bible was misinterpreted and edited over the centuries. The original Bible never even talked about homosexuality. Sorry but that's what I believe. Please respect my beliefs.

This is a dangerous place to be. If you think that part of the Bible was changed from its original, then maybe the whole gospel has been changed. Maybe our sins haven't been forgiven at all!

 

[heymikey80]

OK, you wished to point this out in this thread as relevant.

I believe that the Bible was misinterpreted and edited over the centuries. The original Bible never even talked about homosexuality. Sorry but that's what I believe. Please respect my beliefs.

OK. I understand that you think the Bible isn't what it is today. However, I believe that the Bible was misinterpreted over the centuries and indeed now, and that it always did talk about homosexuality. I believe that on the basis of historical evidence. Please respect my beliefs.

If you'd like to debate this issue, you may want to go to a debate forum. It is inappropriate to debate in an edification forum.

That said, I've no greater objection to those unrepentant of any particular sin being in the church, any more than any others. I find often my greatest compassion goes out to homosexuals exploited by their own lives. (I'm also sure those who aren't so exploited are just fine with themselves: they're not who I'm talking about.)

I understand that, but what I don't get is why do some Christians hold homosexuality to higher standards in sin. Example: "Homosexuals can not be Christians."

I think the real issue here is over repentance. No objection that we're all sinners. But we're not all repenters. Jesus held repentance to be a big deal.

Again, this is not the place for debate. I'm more than happy to object uniformly on this forum engaging in debate, but let's get it straight -- we hold very different views of history and theology, and if you'd like to argue or discuss the historical development of the text, we can do that. But elsewhere.