Are All Sins Equal in God's Eyes? No They're Not!

BIBLE QUIZ

You've heard that all sins are equal, right? Well, many pastors disagree with that. Here's a simple Bible quiz that should settle the matter.

INSTRUCTIONS: Which of the Bible verses below teach that all sins are NOT equal?
1. Print this page out to record your own answers (and to quiz others; here's a handy pdf.)
2. Circle an E for equal or N for not equal and a U for unclear.
3. Finally, write down the name of the person who spoke most of the Bible verses below which most clearly indicate that not all sins are equal.

So, Equal, Not equal, or Unsure, what do these verses teach about all sins?

- Jesus answered Pilate: "the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." John 19:11
E / N / U

- "You who judged your sisters, bear your own shame also, because the sins which you committed were more abominable than theirs..." Ezekiel 16:51-52
E / N / U

- "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea." –Jesus, Mat. 18:6
E / N / U

- "[Some] shall be beaten with many stripes. But [some] shall be beaten with few… For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required... I came to send fire [judgment] on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" -Jesus, Luke 12:47, 49
E / N / U

- "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation." -Jesus, Mat. 23:14
E / N / U

- "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe [but] have neglected the weightier matters of the law…" -Jesus, Mat. 23:23
E / N / U

- "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." -Jesus, Mat. 23:15
E / N / U

- [Of one particular sinner] "It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." -Jesus, Mat. 26:24

- "Bethsaida… it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum… it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." -Jesus, Mat. 11:21-24
E / N / U

- "In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow…" Revelation 18:7
E / N / U

- "teachers… shall receive a stricter judgment." James 3:1
E / N / U

- "why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" Matthew 7:3
E / N / U

- "the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord." Genesis 13:13
E / N / U

- "Beware of the scribes... who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation." Luke 20:46-47
E / N / U

- These things are an abomination to the Lord: "A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren." Proverbs 6:17-19
E / N / U

- Write down the name of the person who uttered most of the teachings above: __ __ __ __ __.

* Don't Be Nicer Than God: "Teachers... shall receive a stricter judgment" (James 3:1) because God gave them to the Body of Christ "for the equipping of the saints" (Eph. 4:11-12), and of course, not for the weakening of the church. So if you can think of a pastor or Sunday School or some other teacher who claims that "all sins are equal", you may want to humbly share this Bible Quiz with him and pray for him! For of course, there is no scripture that teaches that widespread and harmful cliché and the above verses easily falsify the claim that all sins are equal. If this realization though makes you uncomfortable, you may be nicer than God. But don't worry! There's a cure for that! Now that a blinder has been removed, you can simply reread the Scriptures and strengthen your faith! And you can take advantage of the teaching here at BEL by clicking on over to our Nicer than God study which you can either read or listen to!

* Don't Judge Like a Hypocrite but with Righteous Judgment: As we all recover from any sinful tendency to be Nicer than God, we remember the Lord's warning not to "judge like a hypocrite" but instead to "judge with righteous judgment." The Scriptures will strengthen us as we remember that Judge Rightly is not some guy's name! Following that link will bring you to one of the top-ranked articles (out of 20 million web pages!) for the Google search: should Christians judge. It's over at kgov.com/judge, so we invite you to check it out. You just might love it!

* Murder and Stealing Are Not Equal: Every sin is sufficient to separate a man from God. And yes, as the Lord's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount makes clear, given sufficient time and opportunity, unjustified anger will lead to murder, covetousness will lead to theft, and lust to adultery. Then to get forgiveness for any and all of these and other sins, and to gain eternal life, one must trust (see kgov.com/gospel) in the sacrifice of Christ's death and in His resurrection! Completely consistent with the three preceding sentences and their three most vital truths is this truth: All sins are not equal. For Jesus Himself spoke of one sin being "greater" than another. So of course they are not all equal. How absurd to think so.

* Homosexuality and Fornication, Etc., Are Not All Equal: One sad reason for the spread of the all-sins-equal cliché is that it pays tribute to the god of comfort by giving unrepentant sinners a false sense of security and by reducing the believers perceived responsibility to admonish others. This Christian cliché leads to the tolerance of sin, which itself of course leads to the destruction of human beings and the corruption of the church. For example, as we document in our sadly factual Superfluous List of Christian Leaders Going Gay, national ministries, megachurches, and Christian leaders are being homosexualized in that they are increasingly embracing homosexuality as a healthy lifestyle and homosexuals as church members in good standing. (See kgov.com/homosexuality.) A little leaven leavens the whole lump. So, while the church has taught almost with one voice over the last 25 years, that Christians must be respectful toward homosexuals, our leaders did not realize that they were creating a respectable sin. And anything respectable can't remain a sin for long in the minds of those doing the respecting. Under the spell of all-sins-being-equal, pastors have been warning against the exactly wrong behavior. Today, their congregants are paying the price.

* To Obey is Better than Sacrifice: This is an inverse way of pointing out that all sins are not equal. Any sin, including one bite of a single prohibited fruit, will separate that person from God forever, unless that person humbles themselves and asks God for forgiveness. (Today, that means trusting in Jesus Christ.) Nonetheless, disobeying God in the moral commands often has far greater consequences than disobeying the symbolic ordinances. (See kgov.com/judging#burnt-offerings and kgov.com/the-plot.)

* Let's Put an End to this Equality before it Puts an End to Us: A Denver Christian radio host once said, Murder is the same as stealing a Tic Tac. His alert listeners hoped he wasn't about to confess to swiping a breath mint. Any sin, unforgiven, sends the sinner to hell. (Matthew 18:6.) Some sins, underestimated, will bring many in the "church" along with them.

* Even God's Laws are Not All Equal: In Christianity Today, Andrew Wilson wrote, "All of God’s laws are equal, but surely some are more equal than others." Yet of course, even as Jesus Himself taught, all of God's commands are not equal. For example, circumcision and other laws took precedence over the Sabbath command, and God commanded that those convicted of violating His laws against kidnapping and murder must be put to death whereas for thieves He commanded only restitution.

by Bob Enyart
Pastor, Denver Bible Church

* The Bible Gets Easier to Understand: The Plot is Bob Enyart's life's work. Apparent contradictions plague many Bible students. In this book Enyart set out to demonstrate how hundreds of such contradictions disappear when the reader applies the big picture of the Bible to its details. Tunnel vision focuses so narrowly on a problem that the solution often lies just out of view. As the pastor of Denver Bible Church, Bob Enyart teaches Christians how to use the whole counsel of God to understand the plot of the Bible and solve biblical mysteries. As with all of our BEL resources, The Plot comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. And as we become proficient in the big picture, that is, the overview of the story of the Bible, then countless details, including as one small example, about the cities of refuge, become increasingly clear!

* The Plot on Audio: Far better than an audiobook, for those who prefer to listen (while they walk, job, drive, or work) rather than reading, you can listen to Bob Enyart teach through the fascinating topics in his book in this Plot Audio Set.

* The Plot Boys: For kids ages eleven and up (and their parents :), check out The Plot Boys! Bob Enyart recorded these wonderful programs with two young Bible students, Josh and Stephen, ages 11 and 12, both of whom are being used of God to promote a Christian, biblical worldview! (There's enough material in The Plot Boys for a home-school family to listen to these studies for an entire year's Bible course.

Other BEL Resources:

Hear this on BEL: Click on over to kgov.com/the-greater-sin to hear Bob Enyart teach through these verses.

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