In presenting the Gospel, evangelicals often make the point that any sin, no matter how big or how small, is enough to separate us from God. Whether you told a little white lie or murdered somebody, the spiritual end-result is the same: you’re a sinner who needs God’s grace. Nothing too controversial so far, right?
Over at the Parchment and Pen blog, C. Michael Patton argues that we’ve taken the “all sins are equal” concept too far, and that a closer look at the Bible shows that God does, in fact, take some sins more “seriously” than others. He’s not disagreeing with the belief that all sin, big or small, puts you in need of God’s grace. But he says that we shouldn’t assign spiritual equality to sins of very different magnitudes. He cites several examples from scripture, including the famous “committing adultery in your heart” passage in Matthew:
Is there a difference in the eyes of God between thinking about adultery and actually doing it? Absolutely. If we say anything other than this, I believe we do damage to God’s character and encourage the act based upon its premonition. The point Christ makes in Matt. 5:28 is not that lust and the actual act are equal, but that they both violate the same commandment, even if the degrees of this violation differ. This way, Christ was telling all people (particularly the religious establishment of the day) that thought they were safe because they had fulfilled the letter of the law that the law runs much deeper. The spirit of the law is what matters. Therefore, if you have ever lusted, you have broken the sixth commandment. If you have ever hated your brother, you have broken the fifth commandment (Matt. 5:22). But, again, the breaking of the principles of the commandment is the issue, not the degree to which it is broken.
Read the rest of his post for his full argument.
What’s your reaction? Is Patton onto something? Is this distinction just being nitpicky, or does it have a real impact on our understanding of sin and grace?
(Via Evangelical Outpost.)
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January 16, 2008 at 10:00
Interesting. I’ll have to read the rest of the post after my meeting (which I’m supposed to be at in 2 min.).
My concern with assigning different weights to different sins lies in differences in culture. Different cultures assign different degrees of taboo to the same action. How is this resolved without specific references to each action in Scripture?
January 16, 2008 at 10:54
Much as the general trend is to lump all sins together as unrighteousness or “evil” before God, yet it is clear from the scripture that they are not all equal. We note that small sins like lying and cheating were pretty common among God’s people, especially in the Old Testament. This does not suggest acceptance by God, but could as well be covered under the general provision that God overlooked our trespasses in time past.
We could view the issue by drawing a corollary with the modern day picture of the policeman who treats road traffic misdemeanors. Although these traffic incidents all breach the laws, yet, they don’t attract the same fines. Some even get a waiver if they are considered of little consequence.
Another way to look at sins is God’s reaction to them. All through sripture, God was continously dealing with sins, but His reaction(s)varied according to the act(s). In some cases, the Bible records that God was angry, and other cases elicited His wrath. These two words are not exactly the same in usage, although some dictionaries may tend to equate them. Yet in others, He appeared not to have reacted at all.
A third way of categorizing sins is according to their implications. God appeared to have reacted very harshly to David’s sin of adulery with Beersheba because the sin gave an excuse for the enemies of God to loose respect for Him -2Sam.12:14.
The bible also talks about a sin that leads to death, and another that may not.
January 16, 2008 at 14:08
I must say that I do believe that all sin is equal, other than blasphemy against the Holy Spirit the unforgivable sin. I believe this because the Holy Spirit in us convicts us of this. To believe other wise is to try to justify the sin.
Just as in Matthew 5:28 Christ is going beyond the law by saying not only if you commit adultery it is sin but if you even think about a woman lustfully you’ve sinned. It’s not that one is greater that the other. In most cases as in this one it’s that one sin will lead to another and another. We can only strive to be more like Christ thru continuous prayer.
January 16, 2008 at 16:05
If you read the post carefully, you learn that scripture does support different degrees of sin. Michael Patten uses some great texts as examples of degrees of sin. Do I believe everyone is a sinner regardless of sin scale (if you pardon my use of the word). YES. Sin = death regardless of how big or small it is. But the scripture is full of examples of greater sin (as mentioned to pharisees), The sins that God hates in Proverbs, etc.
I’m glad I read Michael’s post. I would recommend you read it and put the texts in context to come up with a conclusion.
January 17, 2008 at 10:05
“This way, Christ was telling all people (particularly the religious establishment of the day) that thought they were safe because they had fulfilled the letter of the law that the law runs much deeper. The spirit of the law is what matters.”
The spirit of the law also matters, there he’s(the author/speaker) making a distinction too, which is just as bad. One distinction does not overwrite another. Distinctions do not justify, God does.
January 17, 2008 at 12:51
By classifying sin, we are allowing to justify ourselves in sinning by not making ourselves to feel guilty and let the Holy Spirit to convince us.
If we are talking about consequences – an adulterous thought can be most of the time removed by a healthy prayer life, but an affair can destroy families. Forgiveness is found in Jesus for both acts, yet each has different consequences.
I prefer to think all sin is sin in God’s eyes and not allow the devil to defer my thinking. We are called to be Holy as Jesus – thoughts included.
January 19, 2008 at 17:43
Examples of Jesus describing differing degrees of sin and its consequences:
Luke 12:47 “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.”
John 19:11 Jesus answered [Pilate], “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
Some takeaway: All sin brings judgment and results in eternal separation from God. However, some sins will certainly bring greater judgment than others.
Conversely, eternal life comes only by grace as a gift from Christ, but there are differing degrees of reward in Heaven based on obedience.
Either way, our eternal destiny is determined by our status in Christ, BUT the nature of that destiny (corresponding reward or punishment) is determined by the judgment of our lives/actions/choices. (2Cor 5:10)
That mindset is important so that Christians are motivated to glorify God and receive their due reward (storing up Heavenly treasure), while unbelievers would be foolish to say “May as well sin longer and harder, I’m going down anyway”.