Hey Andy, are there different levels of sin?
Hi, you know, I’m glad you asked this, because there does seem to be a huge problem of sin (and not just today, but always). Not only in the sense that sin has always been around, but also in the sense of our indifference to it.
The Severity of Sin
Although people today do judge sin, they don’t do so nearly as severely as Jesus did, and they even judge it by putting it into levels or categories of severity (as if they had a right to do so). For example, some of my Catholic (and post-Catholic) friends still talk of “The 7 Deadly Sins”. Yet, the Law of Moses says that if you break ANY PART of the Law, then you’ve broken it ALL. The Bible also tells us that Jesus didn’t die just for the sake of those 7, but all sin, because (as Paul reminds us) the penalty for sin is death. Not just the famous 7, but ALL sins. So ALL/every sin is deadly.
Treating All Sin Equally
Many also look to the 10 commandments and pick/choose which ones they want to follow. They may envy somebody else’s car or gadget, or fancy a Victoria’s Secret model or movie star, regardless if they (themselves or the subject) are married or not, and think it’s OK, since “It’s not like they murdered anyone”. Actually, if they wanted to judge severity by numbers on the list of 10, then they should look at the first 2 (or 3, if you’re Catholic): Serve only the Lord. Have no graven images or Idols; Keep the Sabbath Holy. In fact, in God’s eyes, if you commit murder, or if you think lustfully about a woman, you’re subject to death. If you embezzle millions of dollars from the church or steal paperclips from your office, you’re subject to death. Because you see, all of these examples are sin, and in God’s eyes, all sin is punishable of death.
Let me explain this with a picture:
Thank God for Jesus!
Thankfully though, Jesus didn’t die just for the big sins, but the little ones, also. And if you want to remain cleansed from those sins, then you need to stop your evil ways, repent of them, deny yourself, and accept Jesus through faith. For as Jesus said, “If anybody wishes to be my disciple, then he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me,” and Paul said, “for if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved”. But I would suggest you do it now, lest you die before you’re able to request a stay of execution.
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