Too many Christians have flattened the moral contours of revelation such that we no longer distinguish between falling into sin and running headlong into sin. This means that some of us are too hard on ourselves…some of us are too easy on ourselves…and many of us give up striving after holiness because we will never completely leave sin behind in this life. 

Many Christians hold to the mistaken notion that every sin is the same in God’s eyes. Some Christians embrace this conviction by way of a misguided theological calculation—“If every sin deserves eternal judgment, then every sin must be equally heinous.” Others promote the idea for apologetic reasons—“Your sins are no worse than anyone else’s sins.” Still others believe in the equality of every sin out of a genuine sense of humility—“Who am I to think that my sins are less vile than anyone else’s sins?” While each of these reasons is understandable, and in some sense commendable, the witness of Scripture and the testimony of the church’s confessions tell a different story.

The assumptions embedded throughout redemptive history make clear that some sins are worse than others. Consider several examples.

• The Mosaic law prescribed different penalties for different infractions and required different sacrifices and payments to make restitution.
• The Mosaic law also distinguished between unintentional sins and high-handed sins (Num. 15:29-30).
• Sins of rank idolatry and willful rebellion were more serious indictments on the kings of Israel and Judah than was the sin of failing to remove the “high places” in the land.
• God’s anger was often specifically directed against the leaders of the people. That is, the sin of the king or the priests or the elders meant greater judgment than the sins of the laity.
• Jesus warned that cities in which he performed his miracles would be more severely judged than Sodom and Gomorrah (Matt. 10:15).
• Jesus considered Judas’s betrayal to be a sin worse than others (Matt. 26:24).
• God’s anger is especially roused when sins are against children, the weak, or the helpless (Jer. 32:35; Matt. 18:6; Luke 20:47).
• Excommunication seems to have been reserved for only the most flagrant sins (1 Cor. 5:1-13).
• Cornelius was considered a devout man who feared God (Acts 10:2). Though not saved by his good works, even among non-Christians there is a difference between being a decent person and being a dirty, rotten scoundrel.
• James teaches that there is a progression of sin: from tempting desires, to the internal nurture of those desires, to external action, to final death (James 1:14-15).
• According to John, there is a sin that leads to death, but not all sins are unto death (1 John 5:16).

The Bible simply doesn’t make sense—not the Mosaic law, not the exile, not church discipline, not the frequent warnings of judgment for certain transgressions—if all sins are equally vile in God’s eyes. In fact, life doesn’t make sense if every sin is the same. Parents do not discipline their children the same for every act of disobedience. Employers do not inflict the same punitive measures for every violation of company policy. Law enforcement officers do not treat every offense in the same way. Our judicial system does not hand down the same punishments for every infraction. We all know instinctively that some transgressions are worse than others.

What we know to be true in ordinary life we must not forget in our spiritual lives. As much as it shows admirable humility or apologetic concern, we must not act or teach as if every sin is the same in God’s eyes.

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