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Response
All sin is a falling short of God’s glory, as stated in (Romans 3:23). Therefore, there is either righteousness or unrighteousness, and righteousness—perfection—is absolute. In a broad sense, all sins are considered equal to God because they are inherently “unrighteous” and “imperfect.” Anything less than holy possesses the quality of unholiness.
One can envision man’s attempts to achieve righteousness as a group of individuals trying to cross a chasm. Some take a running start, others attempt to pole vault, while some flap their arms on the way across—but none succeed in reaching the other side. Whether they fall short by two inches, two yards, or two miles, they all descend downward. Similarly, in the eyes of God, all sins are equal; the extent to which we fall short is inconsequential. We all fall.
Jesus indicated that, by their very nature, all sins are equal in the eyes of God. During His Sermon on the Mount, the Lord highlighted two major sins—murder and adultery—and equated them with unjustified anger and lustful thoughts (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28). Anger, murder, lust, and adultery are all sins that must be taken seriously.
Having established the general principle that all sins are equal to God by nature, we can introduce some nuances. While both lust and adultery are sinful, they are not identical in every aspect. The presence of lust in one’s heart will result in consequences in this life, but these consequences will not be as severe as actually committing adultery. The same distinction applies to holding a grudge versus committing murder. Coveting has milder repercussions compared to stealing. Sin is sin, but not all sins incur the same consequences in this world. In this sense, sin varies in its impact.Some sins are worse than others.
Scripture singles out sexual sin as having more severe consequences than other types of sin: “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body” «Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. », (1 Corinthians 6:18). In this passage, immorality is considered distinct from other sins such as dishonesty, pride, envy, etc. All sin will negatively impact the mind and soul of a person, but sexual immorality will immediately and directly affect one’s body. The harm caused by sexual immorality will have a physical impact. The extended warning against sexual sin in Proverbs 6 contains this admonition: “A man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself” (verse 32).
All sins are equal to God in that any and every sin will prevent one from entering heaven. In the eternal state, the New Jerusalem will be inhabited by the righteous, the redeemed of the Lord. “Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie” (Revelation 22:15;NLT;cf: 21:8). At the same time, even in the final judgment, there appear to be varying degrees of punishment among the “dogs”: “Someone who does not know [the master’s will], and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly” «But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. », (Luke 12:48, NLT). So not all sins carry the same.Weight of Punishment in Hell.
There is another way in which all sins are equal in God’s eyes: all sins, regardless of their size, can be forgiven through Christ. Scripture states that “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” «Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: », (Romans 5:20). No one can surpass God’s grace with sin. We are all equally sinful before God. However, in Christ, we are made righteous. We are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood” (Romans 3:24-25). Through faith in Christ, we are reborn and thus conquerors over sin: “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” «For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. », (1 John 5:4).
