Sin

[LejaOMG]

Can someone explain to me the reason for the pervasive belief in Christendom that all sin is the same? e.g. "no sin is worse than another" and so on.

Thanks in advance

[Chal™]

IMO a sin ia a sin is a sin. regardless of what it is, it is still a sin. as far as the "no one is greater", i believe that the punishment in the end is the same. whether you lie, cheat, steal, kill, whatever, it is a sin. There are no separate degrees of punishment so why would there be separate degrees of sin?

yes, in man's eyes, there are differences, but not in God's eyes.
Exodus 20 it states:
And God spake all these words, saying,
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

breaking any one of these is going against God's word. Against His rules. No matter which rule you broke, it is broken. so again, a sin is a sin is a sin all destined for the same punishment so no one is greater than the other.

[DamieQue™]

Jan 18, 2009 17:22:20 GMT -5 LejaOMG said:

Can someone explain to me the reason for the pervasive belief in Christendom that all sin is the same? e.g. "no sin is worse than another" and so on.

Thanks in advance

I've actually been wrestling with this one a while myself. All sin is offensive to God - but I'm having trouble coming up with a framework (outside of it being offensive) that all sin are equal.

[Mrs. Eyes]

I thought there was one that God found worse then the others. Was it blasphemy?

[Prissy New Year!!!]

Jan 19, 2009 18:19:37 GMT -5 DamieQue™ said:

Jan 18, 2009 17:22:20 GMT -5 LejaOMG said:

Can someone explain to me the reason for the pervasive belief in Christendom that all sin is the same? e.g. "no sin is worse than another" and so on.

Thanks in advance

I've actually been wrestling with this one a while myself. All sin is offensive to God - but I'm having trouble coming up with a framework (outside of it being offensive) that all sin are equal.

I am not a Bible scholar so there is a good chance that my answer is either incomplete or totally wrong...but here goes.

I think that sin is sin, but the consequences are going to vary. Sexual sin, because it is done against or to your body (which is supposed to be the temple of the Holy Spirit) would be more damaging than lying or stealing for example. Witchcraft and the occult are other sins that open you up to profane spirits so the consequences of those would be more severe.

I am waiting on Jay to come in here and tell me how far off I am...

[DamieQue™]

Jan 18, 2009 23:26:46 GMT -5 Chal™ said:

IMO a sin ia a sin is a sin. regardless of what it is, it is still a sin. as far as the "no one is greater", i believe that the punishment in the end is the same. whether you lie, cheat, steal, kill, whatever, it is a sin. There are no separate degrees of punishment so why would there be separate degrees of sin?

I didn't quote your whole post, but you brought up Exodus which is Old Testament. Even then in that time, the offerings made for various sins were different - if all the sins were equal in magnitude - wouldn't the offering for each be the same? Or for example if we go to Genesis we see that the first couple of sins (disobedience by Adam and Eve to God, and Kane's murder of Abel) do not result in physical death - whereas other old testament sins (ex. Korah, Dathan, and Abihu's rebellion against Moses) did result in death (well actually they were swallowed up by the earth). Doesn't this imply difference in punishment (and thus difference in sin)?

[LogAKAlly <3'n Keef]

I was always told that blasphemy was the unforgivable sin

[DamieQue™]

Jan 19, 2009 18:37:49 GMT -5 Prissy New Year!!! said:

Jan 19, 2009 18:19:37 GMT -5 DamieQue™ said:

I've actually been wrestling with this one a while myself. All sin is offensive to God - but I'm having trouble coming up with a framework (outside of it being offensive) that all sin are equal.

I am not a Bible scholar so there is a good chance that my answer is either incomplete or totally wrong...but here goes.

I think that sin is sin, but the consequences are going to vary. Sexual sin, because it is done against or to your body (which is supposed to be the temple of the Holy Spirit) would be more damaging than lying or stealing for example. Witchcraft and the occult are other sins that open you up to profane spirits so the consequences of those would be more severe.

I am waiting on Jay to come in here and tell me how far off I am...

So you're basically saying what I'm saying - that in the context that they are offensive to God they are the same...

[frozenmenace]

Blapheming against the Holy Spirit is the only sin that will not be forgiven. Any other sin can be forgiven if the individual asks for forgiveness. I have never seen it written anywhere that there are degrees of sin.

[DamieQue™]

Jan 19, 2009 18:43:20 GMT -5 @frozenmenace said:

Blapheming against the Holy Spirit is the only sin that will not be forgiven. Any other sin can be forgiven if the individual asks for forgiveness. I have never seen it written anywhere that there are degrees of sin.

I think some of us are wondering if there aren't degrees of sin based on the punishment subsequent to the sin. In reality one may have nothing to do with the other... it could be that all sin is the same and the consequence is just different for each - not worse or better - just different. I honestly don't know... I've been thinking/wondering about this for awhile.

[Chal™]

Jan 19, 2009 18:39:21 GMT -5 DamieQue™ said:

Jan 18, 2009 23:26:46 GMT -5 Chal™ said:

IMO a sin ia a sin is a sin. regardless of what it is, it is still a sin. as far as the "no one is greater", i believe that the punishment in the end is the same. whether you lie, cheat, steal, kill, whatever, it is a sin. There are no separate degrees of punishment so why would there be separate degrees of sin?

I didn't quote your whole post, but you brought up Exodus which is Old Testament. Even then in that time, the offerings made for various sins were different - if all the sins were equal in magnitude - wouldn't the offering for each be the same? Or for example if we go to Genesis we see that the first couple of sins (disobedience by Adam and Eve to God, and Kane's murder of Abel) do not result in physical death - whereas other old testament sins (ex. Korah, Dathan, and Abihu's rebellion against Moses) did result in death (well actually they were swallowed up by the earth). Doesn't this imply difference in punishment (and thus difference in sin)?

true, but in the end they all died.. its just the when, where, and how that was different. i guess when it gets to this point, it all boils down to what you believe. I was taught that when a person dies, the soul lies in wait for Judgement Day and it is then you will receive your punishment or reward.

What i'm saying is some sins are worse than others, but at the same time, in regards to both eternal consequences and salvation, all sins are the same. Each and every sin will lead to eternal condemnation. Romans 6:23 states For 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, goes against God. Consequently, no sin is too big for Him to forgive.

Reading over this post, i can see and acknowledge the SLIGHT inconsistany so in summarization i'll put it in a whay that I found online. Are all sins equal? Yes & No. Yes in the severity of the sin. No in penalty or forgivability.

[frozenmenace]

Jan 19, 2009 19:07:45 GMT -5 DamieQue™ said:

Jan 19, 2009 18:43:20 GMT -5 @frozenmenace said:

Blapheming against the Holy Spirit is the only sin that will not be forgiven. Any other sin can be forgiven if the individual asks for forgiveness. I have never seen it written anywhere that there are degrees of sin.

I think some of us are wondering if there aren't degrees of sin based on the punishment subsequent to the sin. In reality one may have nothing to do with the other... it could be that all sin is the same and the consequence is just different for each - not worse or better - just different. I honestly don't know... I've been thinking/wondering about this for awhile.

Well, seeing as no one has ever died and come back to tell us what their judgment was, it would all just be speculation and guessing on our part. However, I am one who believes that punishment/judgment for our sins begins right here while we are still alive. God rewards us for the good that we do and punishes us for the sins we commit while we are still living. Then the ultimate judgment comes after we die. This is my belief.

[THE emPRISS]

For those who are saved...Sin is sin...no matter what you do, you can be forgiven. Its pretty clear in the Bible. (Hit up a concordance). There is one unforgivable sin. (again, hit up your Bible).

As for punishment, judgment is handed down on that fateful Day. What is of utmost importance is whether you are saved or not. You can be "sinless" (figuratively speaking) but if you arent saved, it matters not.

[kingdelta]

I found this on line.

Question: "Are all sins equal to God?"

Answer: In Matthew 5:21-28, Jesus equates committing adultery with having lust in your heart, and committing murder with having hatred in your heart. However, this does not mean the sins are equal. What Jesus was trying to get across to the Pharisees was that it is still sin even if you only think about or want to do the act. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day taught people that it was okay to think about anything you wanted to, as long as you did not act on those desires. Jesus is forcing them to realize that God judges a person’s thoughts as well as his actions. Jesus proclaimed that our actions are the results of what is in our hearts (Matthew 12:34).

So, although Jesus said that lust and adultery are both sins – that does not mean they are equal. It is much worse to actually murder a person than it is to simply hate him – even though they are both sinful in God’s sight. There are degrees to sin. Some sins are worse than others. At the same time, in regards to both eternal consequences and salvation, all sins are the same. Each and every sin will lead to eternal condemnation (Romans 6:23). All sin, no matter how “small,” is against an infinite and eternal God, and is therefore worthy of an infinite and eternal penalty. Further, there 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.

[Cambist]

I agree with Frozen that God doesn't wait until you're dead to punish. It's done right here on earth.

I also don't believe in the traditional concept of Hell so I guess that would inform my thoughts on this topic.

Is there a heirarchy of sin? I don't know but i've never read where there was.