The single greatest asset to Christian living is that we have a direct revelation from God himself, called the Bible. Our doctrine and our spiritual formation should flow out of what God has revealed in His Word. Yet, so often, a lack of depth and discipleship lead to opinions which then leak into bad theological cliché’s that Christians pick up and use for their own convenience.
In today’s confusing culture, often times these wrong-cliché’s turn into positions of convenience to not have to deal with the hard issues and questions. OK, have I piqued your curiosity? One such cliché that is misleading is when we say, “sin is sin and your sin is no different than my sin.” Okay…well that’s not really true. Allow me to explain. In the sense that Romans tells us that everyone has sinned and that the smallest blemish makes us unrighteous, then yes, all have sinned and there is none righteous. But, let’s be honest, most of us don’t mean that. What we typically mean by saying “sin is sin,” is that everybody’s sin is equal, I’m just like you, so don’t hate me for saying you’re a sinner that needs Jesus. Right? Can we just be honest and admit it’s a nice little de-escalator that we use to soften the blow of calling out sin?
Here’s the truth. There are levels to sin. Yup, there are. To say that there are not is actually pretty offensive and disgusting. So, you mean to tell me that my son sneaking a candy bar before dinner is viewed the same as a mass-murderer in the eyes of God? Because when you say “sin is sin” that’s exactly the logical conclusion you are making, and it’s bad theology. See the doctrine of total depravity (meaning we are all born of a sinful nature which leads to death and that we incapable of saving ourselves) does not mean that the sinner engages in every possible form of sin.
There are degrees of sin. In fact, Jesus said in John 19 that Pilate was guilty of a “greater sin.” God is a just God and sinners who have not taken hold of God’s grace will give an account for their words and deeds, Matthew 12. There are certain sins which rose to the level of Paul’s writing to churches to correct them, some were serious enough that he told the rest of the church to have nothing to do with them and cast them out. And, just as our legal system (which is ordained by God) has different punishments and recourses for wrongdoing, so does sin in God’s economy.
By the way…on the other side of the equation, there are at least 22 references that indicate that the saints of heaven will receive rewards based on their level of faithfulness on earth.
OK, here’s what we need to know…we are born with a sin nature. All sin places a mark on righteousness so that we cannot get to God on our own. There are levels of sin and levels of punishment. Every person has sinned and needs God’s grace…and His Word says that grace abounds all the more for those who need it more (why would we need more grace for more sin if all sin was the same?). All sin is not the same, but all sin is in need of grace. The greater the sin, the more entrenched the sinner, the greater the gospel shines and provides a way of freedom.
So, let’s be careful when we speak of sin to carefully navigate the truths of God’s Word so that we never diminish the power of the gospel and the unmerited grace that is available to all who would put their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
