It certainly doesn't seem to be equal in the world's eyes does it?
Have you ever gotten in trouble for making a "B?" My wife likes to lament about her high school days from time to time. She was always a good student bringing home good grades and finishing 4th in her class. But from time to time she would bring home a report card with a "B" on it, and the world would come screeching to a halt. As she sat in her room, grounded, with no phone privileges, she would often think, "It isn't like I failed the class... it could be a lot worse!"
To some extent, we all have felt this way. We get reprimanded by a police officer for speeding and we think, "at least I'm not out murdering someone!" We get in trouble for not taking out the garbage at home and we think, "at least I'm not a deadbeat dad!"
It is a natural inclination to compare our wrongs to the wrongs of other people in an attempt to minimize our sin.
It is hardwired in us to say, "what he is doing is so much worse." But this matter is complicated in our lives somewhat when we run across a teaching found in most churches that sounds something like this: "To God a sin is a sin."
Is this true? Are their not degrees of sin? The answer to this question is not simple. It is YES and NO.
Let me explain:
Romans 3:23 says:
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Put very simply, this means that every single one of us, no matter how good you appear to be, has made mistakes. The Bible calls these mistakes sin. It may be a little white lie that you told to your spouse. It may be an egregious act like murder. On some level, every single one of us has sinned.
As a result of this sin, however "big or small," we are separated from God.
Isaiah 59:2 says:
... your iniquities have separated you from your God...
So, a sin is a sin in the fact that no matter how "big" or "small" your sin is, it separates you from God and as a result of it you cannot have a right relationship with him. Because we are all sinful, we all need the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to pay for our sins.
So a sin is a sin in the fact that it separates us from God and requires the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to pay the penalty. This also means that all sin is forgivable. If you have murdered, committed adultery, cussed, sped, lied, cheated, stole; If you are guilty of pride and selfishness; if you have committed a sin... and we all have... then your sins can be forgiven because of what Jesus Christ did on your behalf.
On the other hand...
Just because sins are equal in the fact that they separate us from God that doesn't mean that the consequences for all sins are the same.
If you tell your sister that the dress she is wearing in fact does not make her look fat when it does, then that little white lie may hurt some feelings. However, if I take my revolver and go on a killing spree then lives will be changed forever as a result of my actions. Ultimately, I could end up going to prison for the rest of my life, and perhaps even given the death penalty.
Even in the Old Testament Law was designed in a similar way.
Leviticus 7:26-27 says:
... you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal. If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.
The eating of blood was such a serious offense, that the consequence was the alienation of that individual from his relatives and friends.
Leviticus 11:27-28 records:
Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening. Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.
The touching of an unclean animal's carcass would make someone unclean until evening. They would be unfit for worship, and would have to wait until evening to participate in the life of the nation. A serious offense. A sin nonetheless, but one that doesn't forever cut one off from his people.
These are simply two examples from the OT law that show how the consequences of sins are in fact different based on the "seriousness" of the sin.
IN A NUTSHELL:
Sins are all equal in that they all separate us from God and require the death of our saviour to pay their debt.
Sins are not all equal in the fact that the consequences are in many cases different based on the "severity" of the sin.
So a sin is a sin in the fact that it separates us from God, but the ramifications or the consequences of our sins are different, based on the "severity" of the sin.
No comments:
Post a Comment