What do you think?
Are homosexuals, or lesbians worse sinners than the liar? No. Sin is an equal opportunity employer. Once you join, you are simply a “sinner” who has missed the mark of perfection that God requires. All sin separates us from God. When Jesus was questioned regarding this issue–whether certain sins were more worthy of God’s judgment than others, here is what He said:
Luke 13:2-5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?Luke records an event that is otherwise unknown to us from anywhere else in the Bible. Apparently Pontius Pilate had ordered the death of certain individuals who were attempting to offer sacrifices. In the process, the tower at Siloam fell and many innocent people were killed. Jesus asks the question: “were these people who died as a result of the towers fall, worse sinners than any other people in Galilee?” Jesus answer is “No”. There was no connection between this accident that happened, which resulted in their death, and their own personal sins. This tower at Siloam may have been a part of the wall of Jerusalem, near the pool of Siloam. When it fell and killed many people, God was not personally targeting these individual persons for judgment. Their sins were no worse than any of the others in Israel, or any other person throughout the world.
Luke 13:1-5 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
We have this idea that some sins are worse than others. In this example of those who were killed by the collapse of the Tower of Siloam, Jesus taught that all sins are equal before God. All sins separate us from our Holy God. Jesus said that “unless we all repent, will all perish” (eternally).
Jesus describes the tragic death of eighteen people as an event which had nothing to do with the personal sins of those who lost their lives. In other words, they were not any worse sinners than anyone else. They were simply in the wrong place–at the wrong time. However, Jesus also said that all of must repent of our own sins, before death occurs, or we will be lost forever. Every one of us needs a Savior, and none of us are worthy of heaven by our own efforts. Only the blood that Jesus has shed for us on the cross, is sufficient to pay for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 1:7 … the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Hebrews 9:22, 26, 27 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. 26 (Jesus) has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
Jesus sacrifice of His life was sufficient to pay for all of our sins and He is able to save us all because His life was perfect, without sin, and of infinite value, as the Eternal Son of God. Having an infinite life, He could take our place at the judgment of God and bear the punishment of all people, for all time.
The liar, the fornicator, the adulterer, the homosexual, and the lesbian are all equally sinners. This is declared throughout the Bible. They are all sins that must be repented of, turned from, and ceased in the life of the person who will come to Jesus Christ for salvation. If there is no repentance, there is no salvation.
Unless we all repent, we will all perish.
John the Baptist arrived on the earth before Jesus began His public ministry, to prepare the hearts of the people to repent and receive Jesus as their Messiah. John came as Elijah came, in the days of King Ahab, to declare that his sin was evil and he needed to repent.
John’s message to the leaders in Israel, and all those in the whole word, was that God was fulfilling His promise to send a Savior to pay for all of our sins. Our part is to repent of our sins, and turn to God, through Jesus Christ. This is God’s plan, not man’s. This is the way that God saves people, not the way that man thinks he is saved by doing good works. There are no good works that anyone can do that are acceptable to God, until they repent and turn to Jesus Christ. According to the Bible, there are no “good people,” only saved people. We only become acceptable to God, when we first repent (change our mind about our sin) and receive Jesus as our Savior. All people are sinners and miss the mark that God has required of us. Jesus sacrifice makes us perfect and perfectly acceptable to God.
John began this message of “repent and believe”. Jesus continued the same message, and persists in this message to the present day:
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heaven by good works?
Many people have the idea that they can go to heaven when they die–simply by trying to live a good life, or by attempting to be a good person. This theory is unfounded in the Bible. In fact, the opposite is true. Those who try to make themselves acceptable to God by keeping the ten commandments–actually condemn themselves. The purpose of the ten commandments was not to give us a pattern to follow in order to be acceptable to God–they were given to show us our guilt.
Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
All that the ten commandments tell us is that we are guilty of not doing what God requires. the Lord’s standard for heaven is perfection. Only those who perfectly keep all ten of the commandments–from their birth to their death–are acceptable. The problem is obvious: no person (except Jesus), has ever perfectly kept these laws.
Does God grade on a curve?
It is the thought of some people that if they keep most of the commandments–they will be viewed as “righteous” before God. Unfortunately, this is also not true. James wrote that those who break even one of the ten commandments–are guilty of breaking them all. Again, the standard is perfection.
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
We may keep the commandments outwardly to not kill, or commit adultery–but can anyone claim that they have never thought about these things? If we examine the words of Jesus, we discover that even an outward obedience to the laws of murder and adultery–are violated by the inward thoughts and desires of our heart. All of us have been so angry at a person that we were capable of doing them physical harm. There is seldom a man who has not looked at a woman with some lust in his heart.
Matthew 5:22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, “Raca!’ (stupid) shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Even if we have not been angry, nor lusted for anyone–could we pass the test of the commandments to not lie or steal? I have never heard of any person who has not told a lie or taken something that did not rightfully belong to them. If we have told even a single lie during our life—we cannot pass the test of perfection required by the ten commandments and James 2:10.
The purpose of God’s law is to be our teacher–to bring us into an awareness that we cannot ever keep the laws that He requires. If we will be acceptable to God, there must be another way. The Lord intended that we would find that His Son–is that way.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
You may be a very good person. You may perform wonderful and admirable acts of love and charity. You might devote your life to helping the poor and destitute–these things are still not sufficient to meet God’s requirements.
We must be perfect.
Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Since we cannot ever meet this requirement, we must find another way. Thankfully, Jesus death for us has so fully removed all of our past, present, and future sins, that we are viewed by God as absolutely perfect–when we come through Jesus sacrifice.
Colossians 2:10 and you are complete in Him…
Colossians 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven...
Jude 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy
Your sins are no worse than anyone else’s sin. Your condition as a sinner is also no better than anyone else. You and I need a Savior. This redeemer must be perfect Himself, and have a life of such infinite value that it is sufficient to pay for all of our lives. Jesus as God–dwelling within the body of a man–accomplished this seemingly impossible task.
Those who believe this–according to the Bible, their sins are forgiven and they are fully ready for heaven. If Jesus is your Savior and all of your sins have been committed to Him, then you exist in the sight of God as a perfect being–fully ready for heaven.
Categories: How Salvation Occurs, Salvation through Jesus, Unpardonable Sin, What is required for Heaven?, Why Jesus Suffered
Robert Clifton Robinson 
You are objectively a blasphemer because you say, “all sins are equal.” The Bible adamantly contradicts you, saying, “If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, let him pray for him, and God will grant him life. That is only if the sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not tell you to pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but not all sin is deadly.” Failing to distinguish between deadly sin and sin that is not deadly imperils souls with moral laxity. You cannot commit murder and remain saved. You cannot commit adultery and remain saved. You cannot commit idolatry and remain saved. Yet, one can commit the daily faults of Christians, such as dishonesty in minor matters, impatience, minor disobedience to superiors, and the like and still remain saved. If anyone has committed deadly sin, he must repent, lest he perish and suffer fiery Gehenna. Not all who are justified by Christ will attain final salvation, but only those who bring their garments unstained into eternity. Jesus commanded the adulteress, “Go and sin no more.” Unless you do likewise, you shall surely perish.
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Andrew,
It was disappointing to read the heart in which you wrote to me. If we are both believers in Christ then we should speak to each other in love, humility, and a spirit of unity. If you are merely a scoffer, as your words indicate, then this may be the reason you don’t know the Bible and are unable to rightly divide the scriptures.
The Bible makes no distinction regarding sin. “God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone…For all have sinned and fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
There is no difference in scripture between any sin regarding our separation from God. Lying is the same as murder in separating us from God and preventing us from obtaining eternal life. Jesus came and died for all of us because we were all lost with no hope of redemption.
This is what this essay describes and it is correct in all that it describes.
It is true that those who die in their sins will be judged according to their sins. There are degrees of punishment for those who commit more grievous sins such as murder, rape, and crimes against children. These are degrees of punishment for the unsaved, but not for the saved.
Every person who repents from their sins in sincere sorrow and turns to Christ for salvation, has the forgiveness of their sins and they are forever removed. There is no judgment for anyone who turns to Christ in repentance. In this regard all of our sins are treated exactly the same: They were all a violation of God’s law, and they condemned us to eternal separation from God. Our sins were all treated the same in that Christ died for all sins equally, and He paid the penalty for all sins equally.
The “deadly sins” you describe are a reference to Paul in speaking of a person who claims to be a Christian but continues in their sins, or later denies Christ. The only deadly sin that makes our salvation impossible is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit who is the agent of salvation. If we reject the witness of the Holy Spirit who comes to convict us of sin, and refuse to turn from our sin to Christ, there remains no other way for us to be saved. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is the rejection of Christ as the Holy Spirit presents Him to us.
1 John 5:16-17 “If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17 All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.”
The context is a fellow believer who commits the sin of unbelief and rejects Christ, this sin leads to eternal death and there is no remedy for this sin, except repentance. “Not every sin leads to death,” is a reference to every other sin other than denial of Christ; these can be forgiven. The sin of unbelief that some people, who once claimed to be a believer in Jesus and later deny Him, commit, this sin has no cure, and leads to eternal death.
Paul is not describing any other sin that a Christian may commit, which are all equal and can be forgiven equally by confession and repentance (1 John).
In the future when you write to another believer, if you are a genuine believer in Christ, speak in a manner that is proper for one who follows Jesus.
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